Datasets:

BEE-spoke-data

/

falcon-refinedweb-100k_en-xlong

like 0

Follow

BEEspoke Data 40

Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916), the prime architecture of Bible Student and Zion’s Watchtower Tract Society, to which was later renamed Jehovah’s Witnesses under Joseph F. Rutherford (1869-1942) in 1931’s Bible Student assembly in Columbus, Ohio, correctly contended: .”(Russell 1911: 185) Sadly Russell did not see that his movement became what he explained of a sect above. In this article I showed how Watchtower Society has enslave the conscience of those who either join or are born in this movement, which if Russell observation is correct, could be tagged as a sect. Sect: Ignoring Own Individual Thought And Personal Investigation It was in Watchtower publication of September 15, 1910 where Russell erected walls to which his followers were chained in what he believed to be true. Praising his six volumes of Studies in the Scriptures as “practically the Bible itself”(Russell 1910: 298), Russell feared that a person will be lost, as a member of his movement, if he began his own personal investigation if he did not read his theological works. He expounded,.(ibid) Watchtower Society, followng most of Russell’s teachings, hold it’s members captive to present times with similar chains. Jehovah’s Witnesses, even though many do not even know, are discouraged to pursue their own individual thoughts. The Society decides for them what is true and what is error. Jehovah’s Witnesses accept without questions the Society’s decisions in all religious and personal matters. The Society teaches that personal opinions are contrary to their movement. When a Jehovah Witnesses encounter a problem, he is not to go searching for the truth elsewhere but wait for Watchtower’s solution:. (Watchtower 1952: 79-80) Jehovah’s witnesses minds are supposed to be given up entirely to the self-claimed channel of Jehovah, and henceforth have no opinion of their own. Sect: No Individual Thinking: It Is Dangerous A mark of a matured Jehovah’s witnesses is of the one who “must be in unity and full harmony with fellow believers as far as faith and knowledge are concerned. He does not advocate or insist on personal opinions or harbour private ideas when it comes to Bible understanding. Rather, he has complete confidence in the truth as it is revealed by Jehovah God through his Son, Jesus Christ, and “the faithful and discreet slave.” (Watchtower 2001: 14). To be a student of Jehovah, one “must express himself as he understands the truth. (Gal. 6:6) He cannot have independent thinking.”(Watchtower 1962: 524) Jehovah’s witnesses accept the “discreet slave” because the Society elevates itself to the revelatory position of Christ Jesus himself, as seen above. The claim that “a spirit of independent thinking does not prevail in God’s organization, and we have sound reasons for confidence in the men taking the lead among us.” (Watchtower 1989: 23, 13). “Avoid independent thinking” (Watchtower 1983: 22) the Society requires of their followers as they contended, : ‘This shows that we have to make up our own mind on what to believe.’ This is independent thinking. Why is it so dangerous? Such thinking is an evidence of pride. And the Bible says: ‘Pride is before a crash, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.’ (Proverbs 16:18) If we get to thinking that we know better than the organization, we should ask ourselves: ‘Where did we learn Bible truth in the first place? Would we know the way of the truth if it had not been for guidance from the organization? Really, can we get along without the direction of God’s organization?’ No, we cannot!.. Fight against independent thinking.” (Watchtower 1983: 27). Sect: Apart From The Society, You Cannot Understand The Bible Jehovah’s witnesses “face the fact that no matter how much Bible reading we have done, we would never have learned the truth on our own.” (Watchtower 1990: 19). Those who wish to understand Jehovah God word “should appreciate that the “greatly diversified wisdom of God” can become known only through Jehovah’s channel of communication, the faithful and discreet slave.”(Watchtower 1994: 8). For them to properly understand and apply the word of Jehovah in their lives they need the self-claimed “Jehovah’s visible organization”. “Unless” the Society teach them, ” we are in touch with this channel of communication that God is using, we will not progress along the road to life, no matter how much Bible reading we do”(Watchtower 1981: 27) Those who believe 1981: 29) Jehovah’s witnesses, who need help to understand God’s word, “cannot find the scriptural guidance we need outside the ‘faithful and discreet slave’ organization.'” (Watchtower 1981: 19). The Society assure its follower that, “Heavy research is not necessary, the watchtower has done it all for you. The most beneficial study you can make is to read the Watchtower and Awake magazines or any new book by the organisation” (Watchtower 1967: 338). And concluded, .” (ibid: 587) All Jehovah’s witnesses know to be true, is what the Society say it is true. They cannot know if the Society is true since for them to checkout if it is true, would involve circular reasoning, viz., reading Society saying it is God’s channel, in Society’s interpretation and understanding of Scripture. The Society is true, because it says it is true and Jehovah’s witnesses faithfully and blindly must accept its decisions. Sect: Watchtower Decide What To Read And How Most Jehovah’s witnesses would not read any material you give them because it is considered as demonic propaganda and would cost them favor of Jehovah God. “How could one become guilty of partaking of the table of demons in our day?” The Society asked and answered, “By serving the interests of anything opposed to Jehovah. The table of demons includes all demonic propaganda, which is designed to mislead and to turn us away from Jehovah. Who would want to feed his heart and mind on such poison?” (Watchtower 1994: 9). The only truth is that which the Society gives. Jehovah’s Witnesses are not to shy away from the publication provided by the organization. (Watchtower 1952:79). The Society expounded, “[s]ince The Watchtower assists in understanding the Bible, its study is imperative. Private study of the magazine is essential” then if Jehovah’s witnesses is to “have love for Jehovah and for the organization of his people, [they] shall not be suspicious, but shall, as the Bible says, ‘believe all things,’ all the things that The Watchtower brings out.”(Watchtower 1967: 156) So What? Implication of Society’s Blindfolded Jehovah’s Witnesses Sadly, it is nearly impossible to show doctrinal errors to a Jehovah’s witnesses because every time you pose questions or challenge their understanding of the Bible, majority of them will research within the Watchtower’s database to reaffirm their doubts. They believe the organization because the organization says so. The Society is Jehovah God’s channel because the Society claims to be Jehovah God’s channel as it governs their Bible reading, interpretation, theology and their entire lives. What we could do is to truly love them and try to understand their position. Welcome and dine with them as you read the Bible together. With great gentleness and patience offer them different possible understanding of Bible passages from that of the organization, and show how early Christians ca. 30-300 A.D. understood them to mean. Let them read the primary sources of early church fathers, scholars and articles to which the Society continually misquote and misrepresent. Pray that Jehovah “God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth”(2 Tim. 2:5) You and I cannot set them free from the bondage of the Society. The Spirit of Jehovah God can. We simply need to be there, not primary to debate but to love, listen, learn, and direct them to see for themselves how the Society have closed their mind. Bibliography: Russell, Charles T. (1911) Studies in the Scriptures: The Kingdom Come Volume 3. Watchtower Society (1967) Qualified To Be Ministers. Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. The rest are standard Watchtower literature published at Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. I can send scanned copies at request. Photocredite: Blindfolded People © 2012 Mass Ingenuity 18 thoughts on “Closing Of Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Minds” Dear Daniel, you seem to present Ch.T. Russel as the founder of the Jehovah Witnesses, which he was not and the organisation like it is know today is something totally different Russell had in mind of serious Bible Students. Today we still have several serious Bible Students in the world with several of them being offshoots of the original Rullites and of the Thomasites. Today we also may be more pleased to notice a big change in the WTBSTS and JWs becoming to ask their voice to be heard. Hej Marcus. For some reasons you two comments were spammed. Sorry for that. I contended that Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916) was the prime architecture of what in 1931 was named JW by Rutherford. I know that JW organization has evolved since then and mostly under Knorr. Thank you for your input Marcus. Here in Finland we have a court case brewing against the Jehowah Wittnesses. They have been gathering a register of people according to their preaching and it is basicly illegal for any society to make such a register without the consent of the people they have visited. To me it is alarming that they use the word “slave”, but I guess it could be justified as the Bible itself does not condemn slavery as such. However, that is a bit in the heart of this entire problem. To me the Jehowas Wittnesses represent only a peak of an iceberg in what is wrong about religious moralism. People are easily manipulated when they not thaught independend ethical thinking. If we are prone to think that ethics, right and wrong are derived from some higher authority (such as a dictator, a demagogue, a book or a leaflet, or a god for that matter), we become voulnerable to such suggestions as that this authority actually expects us to act, or to inact contrary to our conscience. I appreciate this article as a former kool-aid drinking cult member. My family still tries to convince me that the shunning I have been given for 27 years now is an act of love. It is so very sad that their inability to think for themselves has destroyed our family. Although if you ask them, it was destroyed by me. I would think they would be happy that I am intelligent and can think for myself, but that is not the case. You are so welcome Debb Hey, made my silly little blog public. I really didn’t know I had it set to private. Sorry about that. 🙂 With respect to the comment from ‘Robin’, I would not that humiliation might not be the third psychological consideration. I *think* I read recently a comment (based on results from JWSurvey or similar) that 54% of the current JW members would leave the church if the practice of shunning was removed. The humuliation of being disfellowshipped – yes, brothers, there is a sinner that walks among us! – is true but consider the implications of a church where 50% of your congregation would walk out the door if they knew that there family/friends/social circle, etc would still be able to talk with them. The psychological tactic of creation an isolated and mutually dependent group is a key to the JWs ongoing survival. God himself actually uses fear to motivate. I am going to quote/paraphrase without reference citations, but to give a few examples: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” “Do not fear men, who can only harm the body, but rather, fear God, who can destroy both body and soul in hell.” “If your eye causes you to sin (i.e. stumble into apostasy) then pluck it out and cast it far from you, for it is better to enter into life blind than with both eyes to be cast into the fiery hell.” Fear of God’s judgement is not in and of itself a completely wrong motivational tool. The problem that occurs in many cases is when church leaders (or cult leaders) prescribe requirements that are extraneous to (or blatantly against) the requirements that God himself places upon us in His infallible word. This is where personal investigation and study of God’s word is so critical in combating overbearing, cultish leaders, whether they be in a cult or in an doctrinally orthodox Christian church. However, the witness and tradition of the church throughout history is also critically important for evaluating and testing our own conclusions on God’s word. We should not blindly follow a cult leader contrary to God’s word, and we should also not (in our zeal for individualism) err on the other side and begin adopting beliefs about the Bible that no one throughout church history has ever believed before. If we do that, then we have escaped one form of cult, but we will have in essence set up our own new cult, made up of only ourselves! The competition between different religions forces them to focus on the trivial, and overly perverted, unimportant doctrinal differences and lose sight of the important things they all supposedly agree on. The “difference” overtakes rational thought and they lose perception that we ALL are from HIM. Don’t we all believe in the One God, One Christ, One Baptism, One Salvation? This Competition means a little less of the “pie”. [MONEY] Unfortunately, money is a big motivator, just ask the Catholics. Power, Control, Money, Personal Agenda – are all behind most of the worlds organized religions. Dear Vidasdechristo perhaps many Christians may believe in one baptism, though have totally different forms of baptism, of which child baptism is not conform the biblical baptism. You also say they all believe in the One God, but that is not exactly true. The majority of Christians do believe that the son of God is also the same God who can not die, but Jesus (Jeshua) really died and was a man of flesh and blood while God is a spirit. As finite men the Infinite God is beyond our comprehension. For those that stand against the one True God they should fear Him. But looking for the right interpretation of scripture one often needs to go back to the original language. In the first example you cite, Psalm 111: 10 the word “fear” (yirâh) is not “terror,” but refers to a “pious posture” or attitude towards God. A cult is a religious group that denies one or more of major doctrines of the biblical Christian faith. It can also be defined as a group of people gathered about a specific person or a person’s representation of the Bible. This includes the JW’s this discourse has spoken of, the Mormons or Latter Day Saints. But this would also include the Christadelphians above who deny the triune nature of God. While the word “trinity” is not used in scripture the trinity is evident in both the Old and New Testaments. Other Christian essentials often denied by Christian cults are the virgin birth, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the bodily (not merely spiritual) resurrection of Christ. JW are loved by God even if they are on the wrong path. God / Jesus did not discourage questions in fact Jesus always responded to them We all need to use our God given minds to test what we are told, and ask the Spirit if its true. The JW seem to forget that it is God who is calling and gives Wisdom. The son of God (be careful, this is not god the son, something totally different) may be the Slave and is our mediator between God. Organisations, churches, preachers may offer themselves as slaves to Jehovah, the Only One God, but they always shall be instruments with their own individual shortcomings. None of the organisations can offer infallible wisdom, like the pope nor any person can be infallible. We all should make an effort to learn from the Word of God itself. We may use writings of other people, but always should be aware that it are only human scribbles, and that they always should be checked with the Word of God. >>The Watchtower society Jehovah’s Witnesses cult organization actually employs three psychological tools to maintain control and subjugation to their policies and rules. 1. Fear 2. Humiliation 3. Exaltation << So did every evangelical church I ever attended. Manipulation is, iby very definition, witchcraft! The use of illegitimate means to control others. In my experience at evangelical churches, GUILT was very often used as a way to get people to give money or volunteer for church work. That is witchcraft! Because guilt isn't a legitimate motivation for Christians, since Christians are NOT GUILTY. That's just one example. The proper criticism of a cult is not to fault them for doing the same things most of our churches do, but to examine their doctrine and practice in the light of God's word. The Fear matter is not only used by JW. In many Trinitarian churches they use a bigger fear to get people stay in their churches and to give them even money. Many churches use the fear of a hell or purgatory, as places of damnation and torture, to have power over their flock. Humiliation is also often used by pastors who shout in those mega churches and preach doom. Some pastor mis-use the name of God and tell their followers they have to subject to them and the Holy Spirit, whom they present as a strong powerful god, while the God of the Bible is Himself Spirit who uses His Power to let His Voice be heard all over the universe. Like His Hand, His Voice, His Foot or not separate gods, the Holy Spirit is not a separate god, but also part of that One God Jehovah. The Watchtower society Jehovah’s Witnesses cult organization actually employs three psychological tools to maintain control and subjugation to their policies and rules. 1. Fear 2. Humiliation 3. Exaltation Fear of being lost or destroyed in the upcoming, pending great battle of Armageddon where the possibility of suffering a horrendous death according to them, is a very real fear. Such a fate awaits anyone who is not counted among JW’s! Those who are considered spiritually strong are exalted to an elevated status within their respective congregation. Brothers can advance to the lofty position of ministerial servant, elder or overseer at which time they command the respect of all in the congregation. Sisters can achieve a highly respectable status as well, though they are not appointed to a position. Those who spend considerable time in the field ministry, pioneering for example (spending a predetermined amount of time door knocking) are considered very strong spiritually. Those who are deemed unfit or unrepentant non conformist can suffer the punitive measure of disfellowshippment. For most JW’s, this is a fate worst than death, to be avoided at all cost. The psychological impact this can have on an individual is immeasurable. Most JW’s will do anything in their power to avoid this type of humiliation. [So it is very easy to become psychologically locked into a specific action (work) with the expectation of a specific reward. — Danny Haszard Bangor Maine born 3rd generation Jehovah’s Witness More JW should know that in case they do find licked in a box of a fear creating and all empowerment organisation that there are still more non-trinitarian groups than the JW WTTS wants to recognise. In case JW would like to leave the stronghold American (Brooklyn) Fort they should not be afraid to fall in a black hole. There are many non-trinitarians who would like to take them up in their family. For sure they would find some with 99% the same believes as well as groups like ours which believe about 87% the same things as the JW. So those who do not want to believe any more that The Organisation is in the position to dictate everything to its members, we would not mind welcoming them into our ranks, or they could find their way to other Bible Students, by which they could go back to the original Ch.T. Russell Bible Students. We do hope that they shall not fall into the trap of the more joyful entertaining denominations of evangelist, pentecostal churches. Out of the JW there are other ways to adhere to the Only One God, Elohim Hashem Jehovah.

How to Take the Work Out of Lawn Mowing, Prevent a Common Type of Toilet Leak, Outdoor Spring Checkup Checklist and more Transcript TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler. LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. TOM: And the weather is finally getting warm now across the country. Gosh, it couldn’t happen any sooner after that crazy, crazy winter that we had. But you know, as the weather gets warm, something else happens: the lawn grows and then you’ve got to mow. So we’re going to have some expert advice this hour to make that job a little bit easier, from This Old House landscaping expert Roger Cook, in just a bit. LESLIE: And also ahead, one of the worst kinds of leaks that you can possibly have is one that you don’t know anything about. They’re usually small and they’re sneaky. Because when you finally do figure out where it is, there is a lot of hidden damage that you have to then repair. Well, one common spot for that is under your toilet. We’re going to have a solution for that, coming up. TOM: Plus, there’s never been a better time to give your home’s exterior a little step-by-step check to see what kind of damage it may have sustained over this winter. So we’ll have that checklist, in just a bit. LESLIE: And this hour, we’re giving away a $40 prize pack from Concrobium, which is a fantastic mold cleaning and prevention product. And you can learn all about it at CureMyMold.com. TOM: But first, let’s get to the phones, 888-666-3974. We want to hear about your home improvement questions, we want to help solve your do-it-yourself dilemmas. If there’s a project on your to-do list, well, maybe you can move it over to ours. We’ll work on it together, 888-666-3974. Leslie, who’s first? LESLIE: Patrick in Iowa is on the line with a roofing question. How can we help you today? PATRICK: OK. I bought a home; it was a for-sale-by-owner. The roof was put on about four or five (inaudible at 0:03:07). TOM: Right. Of course. Yeah. Wow. Sounds like you have a pretty strong case of fraud. PATRICK: And of course, I don’t want to go down a road that is going to be two to three: Now we’ve got Vicky from Ontario on the line with a blinking-light situation. What’s going on over there? VICKY: Well, I know it’s – summer’s here or spring’s here. I don’t know why it’s giving up now but however, yes, we have this light fixture that’s in our laundry room. It’s not really a fixture over top of the light bulb but it’s just the light-bulb thing. And every once in a while – and we’ve been trying to figure out just a pattern but there is no pattern; it’ll start blinking. So we thought it was the light bulb, so we changed the light bulb about three times and it was fine. And then it started to blink again. It started blinking, so my husband took the fixture – like undid the fixture to see if there’s any loose wires but there doesn’t seem to be any. So, we’re just wondering – now, we’re wondering if maybe it’s – where else should we look? We don’t want to have to call in an electrician. We thought maybe you could help us out. So, we’re just wondering if there’s – we don’t want a fire or anything like that. TOM: So, there’s only a couple of places that you could look, one of which is in the fixture. And if the fixture is breaking down internally – so it’s not a loose wire; it’s something internal – then that could cause this. Likewise at the switch. So at the switch for the wall, for the light, if that is breaking down internally or not connected properly, there could be an issue there. Or it could be further down the circuit. It could be something in the main circuit breaker for the house or perhaps even something in the connection. So, it’s nothing to mess with. And when you get a blinking light like that, it could be pointing to something that’s brewing in a wall or in a switch or in the fixture itself. So I would call an electrician and get it resolved. VICKY: OK, OK. Like my husband would say, “Oh, don’t worry. It seems to be fine now.” And it would be but then, again, it would start acting … TOM: Yeah, it’s fine until you have a house fire and then it’s not fine. VICKY: Yeah. That’s what we were trying to avoid; we’re very cautious of anything like that. So, well, OK then. Then we will go ahead and have an electrician come in and take a look at it and see what he has to say. TOM: You know what? If you’re going to have an electrician come in for a little job like that, maybe there’s a couple other things that you want done around the house at the same time. Bunch them up and sometimes you can get a better – you get more done for the same money or for a little bit more, OK? VICKY: Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Get it to get done together. TOM: Alright. Good luck, Vicky. Thank you so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. LESLIE: You are tuned to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show on air and online at MoneyPit.com. We’d love to help you out with whatever you are working on this spring season. Those May flowers are just around the corner, so let us help you get your money pit in tip-top shape, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. TOM: 888-666-3974. Up next, did you hear about the guy who fell through the floor when he sat on his toilet? LESLIE: Man, gravity sucks. TOM: It sure does. Well, toilet leaks can go undetected, sometimes for years. And that can lead to a soggy and weak subfloor in your bathroom. LESLIE: That’s right. We’re going to have tips on how to prevent those sneaky leaks, on air and online at MoneyPit.com. I’m Tom Kraeutler. LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. TOM: And we would love to hear from you with your home improvement question. The number is 888-MONEY-PIT. And one caller we talk to on the air this hour is going to win a spring-cleaning prize pack from Concrobium worth 50 bucks. The winner is going to get a bottle of Concrobium Mold Control and a bottle of Concrobium Mold Stain Eraser and a jug of Concrobium House & Deck Wash. LESLIE: Yeah. You know, what’s really great about Concrobium is that it cleans indoors and outdoors. And it will completely remove mold stains, it will eliminate mold and then, of course, prevent it from coming back. So it’s truly a great product to have in your spring-cleaning arsenal. Check out their website at CureMyMold.com for more information and call us, right now, at 888-MONEY-PIT for your chance to win. TOM: 888-666-3974. LESLIE: Dennis in Wyoming is on the line and has a question about a backer board. What can we do for you? DENNIS: Yes. I just wondered your opinion on the greenboard being used behind a thermoplastic shower wall. I’m installing a shower in an alcove and they sent me the base. TOM: OK. DENNIS: And then I’ve got these three walls that I have to glue … TOM: Usually, it’s – that kind of a liner usually goes on top of tile. Can you put it over greenboard? Well, the problem with greenboard is it’s not very water-resistant. I mean it’s more water-resistant than regular drywall but it’s not terribly water-resistant. It’s designed to be a tile backer. So I would say if you’re going to do it, it’s probably OK but just don’t kid yourself into thinking this is something that’s going to last for more than a few years or maybe 10 years max. But I would be very careful to silicone-seal all of the seams so that you don’t have water that goes through the seams of that shower enclosure and saturate through the greenboard. Because it will sort of soften up and rot out. DENNIS: OK. Well, thank you very much. TOM: You’re welcome, Dennis. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. OK. So, imagine waking up in the middle of the night to take care of nature’s call and when you take your seat, the toilet collapses and you fall through the floor. The worst part is it’s not a nightmare; this is real. Because the gasket under the toilet had leaked and was probably doing so for years. Now, if your toilet bowl is not seated properly on the flange, it’s very easy for water to leak or seepage to damage or weaken or rot out completely that subfloor over time. In fact, here’s a little inspector’s trick of the trade and it’s amazing how many times we found rotted subfloor in the years I was a professional home inspector. What you do is simply place your foot next to the base of the toilet and gently press down on that area close to the base: the right side, the left side. If it’s soft, you will feel it immediately. The other thing that you can do is sort of take the bowl and wiggle it from side to side. And if it’s loose or again, if that floor is soft, you could have a serious problem. You need to get that seal replaced before it leaks any further and causes additional damage. Otherwise, you may be the one that sits down on that toilet and takes the fall for all of those years of neglect. LESLIE: You could call that the ride of your life, actually. TOM: No kidding. LESLIE: Man, that’s a surprise. Well, if you’d like to avoid this from ever happening to you – and I can’t imagine that you wouldn’t want to avoid this. I’m sorry I’m laughing but could you imagine? But it’s still funny. Now, if you actually want to avoid this – and we all do – there’s a wax ring available on the market, right now, from Danco and they’re one of our newest sponsors. And it’s actually called the Perfect Seal. And this is much more than your traditional wax ring. It actually forces the wax into those critical sealing zones around the flange and that will eliminate the chance of having hidden leaks. TOM: Now, the Perfect Seal really has the strongest and the most secure seal of any toilet-installation product on the market. And it fits a very broad range of flange heights, so this eliminates any guesswork. And it’s been tested to withstand three times the pressure of an ordinary wax ring. And this is also cool because the design allows the toilet to be repositioned as needed. You can’t do this with the ordinary wax rings without replacing the entire ring. So if you drop the toilet back down after replacing it and you get it wrong and you have to reposition it – and that can ruin the wax ring in the process. That won’t happen with the Perfect Seal. LESLIE: The ordinary wax rings can really be a pain because that wax ring, in general, they’re messy, they’re sticky. And often, this isn’t a one-person job to replace a toilet. But with the Perfect Seal, it will actually stabilize the floor bolts, making it easy to position the toilet without having a friend to give you a hand. And it works with any ordinary 3-inch or even 4-inch toilet flange. TOM: It’s available at The Home Depot. Learn more at ItsAPerfectSeal.com.: Still to come, are you looking forward to mowing your lawn? What? You’re not? Well, why not? It’s the greatest summertime chore. We’re going to have tips for the perfect cut, every time, from Roger Cook of TV’s This Old House, next. KEVIN: This is Kevin O’Connor from TV’s This Old House, the longest-running home improvement show. And I want to send out a big congrats to Tom and Leslie for the most downloaded home improvement podcast on iTunes. Well done, guys. visit us on Facebook, you can get in on our Go Green for Earth Day Sweepstakes. We’re giving away $1,000 in prizes from Staples to one lucky winner, including $500 worth of Sustainable Earth by Staples products. LESLIE: Mm-hmm. This eco-friendly line is actually going to help lessen your impact on the environment. And it includes everything from office supplies to cleaning products. All you have to do is “like” our page at Facebook.com/TheMoneyPit to enter. TOM: And don’t forget to share the sweeps. And if you do, you’ll even earn bonus entries. LESLIE: Terry in Mississippi is on the line looking for some help to get rid of termites. Tell us what’s going on. TERRY: Yes. I’d like to know: what kind of spray should I get for termites? TOM: Well, termite treatment is not a do-it-yourself project. Because termites really need to be professionally treated because of where they live. They live deep in the soil, Terry. And so, to treat them effectively, a termiticide has to be applied to the soil and in a continuous bond all the way around your house. And what happens with the modern termiticides is they’re undetectable, so the termites don’t know it’s in the soil. They pass through it, they get it on their bodies and then they go back to the nest and pass it to all their termite friends. And that wipes out the entire nest. So, it’s not really a do-it-yourself project. I would talk to some exterminators and maybe ask specifically about a product called Termidor – T-e-r-m-i-d-o-r. Good product. It’s been around for a long time. I used it in my own house and it’s an undetectable termiticide that’s very effective and lasts for many years. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. LES. Still ahead, are you wondering how your house fared after the long, rough winter? We’ve got your spring-checkup checklist,: Where home solutions live, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler. LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. Give us a call at 888-MONEY-PIT. One of the callers that we talk to on the air this hour is going to win a great, spring-cleaning prize pack from Concrobium. And it’s worth 50 bucks. Now, it comes complete with everything you’re going to need to get rid of mold for good, including a bottle of Concrobium Mold Control, a bottle of Concrobium Mold Stain Eraser and a jug – which, I imagine, is a lot larger than a bottle – of Concrobium House & Deck Wash. TOM: You know, your chance to win $50 worth of Concrobium products, 888-MONEY-PIT. old have easily been put in. LESLIE: Right. HEIDI: So do I need to – I mean I would never call this guy again, for lots of reasons. But do I need to pay somebody else to come in and convert that last part of my home into this other fuse box?: You’re welcome, Heidi. Thank you for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. Well, after our long, snowy and rather ice-battered winter, it’s a good time to inspect and tidy up the outside of your home for signs of wear and tear brought on by winter weather. Start with a roof check. You want to use binoculars to look for shingles that are missing, broken, buckling or blistering. LESLIE: Next, you want to clean and inspect your home’s siding. You can use a pressure washer to clear away dirt and algae. And you check for developments like buckling, warping and even insect damage. Next, you need to check the angle of the grading at the perimeter of your home. And you want to make sure that it hasn’t settled so much that it will no longer drain water away from your house. TOM: Yeah. And if it has settled, you want to add soil to maintain that slope away from the foundation. And be sure to clean your gutters and extend your spouts, too. And those are just a couple of pointers from our spring-checkup checklist, which is online at MoneyPit.com.. JOHN: Appreciate it. Thank you. LESLIE: Hey, do you guys have too many trees keeping the sunshine from shining on your home? We’ll tell you what you can do to let the sun shine down,. Hey, I love Pinterest. I’m pinning pretty much everything from sparkly nail designs to bathroom-makeover designs. I just love, love, love Pinterest. So, I’m definitely a pinner. Are you guys a pinner? If you love Pinterest like me, take a look at Weekend Projects section of The Money Pit’s Pinterest page. You can find spring do-it-yourself repair tips and even cleaning solutions. And if you’re working on something, brag about it in our Community section or ask us how to do something and we’ll lend you a hand, just like Jillian in Oregon posted. She says, “My roof and my house, for that matter, get barely any sun with all of the shade trees around here. Many of them are evergreens, so not even in the winter. And they’re huge. I want to get rid of some but I don’t even know where to start. Could I try to thin out some of the branches myself? Can I do any of this myself? Sometimes tells me calling in a pro is probably going to cost me.” TOM: Yeah. But you know what? It might be the best money you ever spent. If you’ve got big evergreen trees like that, seriously, for you to open up some sunlight to get through them or even to take them down, it’s just not a do-it-yourself project. It can be dangerous. In fact, Leslie, do you remember just a few weeks ago, we had a photo that we posted on our Facebook page of a professional landscaper who had a rather gory accident with a chainsaw where he got stabbed in the neck with a chainsaw? One of those crazy, crazy x-ray photos that shows the chainsaw in his neck. Fortunately, it missed major arteries, miraculously, and the guy is apparently OK. Or as OK as you can be with a chainsaw in your neck, I guess. But I mean the point is that even pros can get hurt doing this stuff. And so, the solution to your dilemma with the algae and the mold in your house is to thin out the trees, because sunlight makes the best algaecide out there. And I think what you’ll find is if you not only thin out but maybe eliminate some of those trees, the others will sort of grow in naturally to fill that space. So it may look like you have a big hole for a while but it’ll kind of compensate for itself. And the upside is you’ll get more sunlight in there. So I do think it’s something you should turn to a pro to do. And now is a great time to do it, so that’s our advice. If it is a do-it-yourself project, we’ll tell you but in this case, I wouldn’t do it. Too much risk of getting hurt. LESLIE: The other part is so much of this is so high up that I don’t even think you’d have a ladder to reach any of this. We have a white pine in our backyard that’s just – I’m going to say it’s a million feet tall. It’s not but it’s super-high and it constantly shades my backyard, which is really tiny, and there’s nothing I can do to reach it. And any piece of material that I see my tree guy bring in is something that I’d be afraid to stand on, I’d be afraid to operate: saws with ropes, chainsaws that are on ropes, things that they tie themselves to the tree with. I would not even attempt it. Alright. Next up, Manny in Michigan posted: “I was getting ready to redo my bathroom and during the demolition, I found out that I had some plumbing on the outside wall, which I know is a no-no. Do I have to replumb? Can this be covered by my insurance since it was done, before I bought the house, without my knowledge?” I feel like there’s always going to be some plumbing on an exterior wall that’s unavoidable. You just have to insulate, right? TOM: Yeah. And it’s not the insurance company’s responsibility that you didn’t check your house out thoroughly enough. LESLIE: Right. TOM: That’s something a home inspector should do. So, unfortunately, it is your dime that has to pay for the repair here. And it is a good idea to get that plumbing off the exterior wall or you could just take one winter in the house and see what happens. It might be that it’s stable enough that it doesn’t – or insulated well enough that it doesn’t freeze. But the best thing is to not have plumbing on exterior walls. LESLIE: Yeah. I’ve got a sink on an exterior wall in the kitchen. Knock wood – me banging on my head – it works fine. TOM: You are listening to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. Thank you so much for spending this hour with us. We hope we’ve given you a few tips, ideas, suggestions and solutions to improve your home. If you’ve got questions, we are here 24-7 at 888-MONEY-PIT. You can call any time of the day or night. Our screeners never sleep; they’ll take your question if we’re not in the studio. We’ll call you back the next time we are. Or you could post your question online at MoneyPit.com in the Community section, Facebook page, Twitter, you name it. That’s all for today..)

During the revolutionary war, volunteer soldiers known as Minutemen played a vital role the founding of the United States. Today, volunteer state militias still play an active role in defense and security with more than 14,000 individuals volunteer for these forces in 22 states. In a new Heritage Foundation report, Heritage experts Jessica Zuckerman and James Carafano join two retired state defense force officers to explain why these militias are so important: Modern SDFs (state defense forces). State defense forces serve directly under the control of their governor, rather than a national organization. In states with a high risk of natural disasters or terror attacks, state militias play a vital role in alleviating the pressure on the Reserves or National Guard to respond to immediate state needs. State militias are often underfunded and under-supported. But some states are working on making volunteer forces a core part of their state . This week Arizona passed legislation authorizing the Governor to establish a state guard unit. If Governor Janice Brewer authorizes the legislation, Arizona will then be able to offer a low cost and vital state defense force. Carafano explains the Constitutional support of state militias,. Do you think more states should fund State Defense Forces? scopedriver - March 6, 2012 YES! This is an excellent way for states to strengthen their defenses. Every border state especially should establish and adequately fund a volunteer SDF. Roger Kennedy - March 6, 2012 Yes I think this is an excellent idea for no other reason than the federal Gov’t. will not protect America as shown by the Obama Administration. Jim Johnson - March 6, 2012 Which states currently have such a Militia? It is ironic but I suggested a state militia to friends just this morning. james winter - March 6, 2012 Absolutely. States need to do everything in their power else we will lose our republic. The current crop of Feds and their attempts to control our lives needs to be stopped now. State defence forces will give them pause. Robert Taylor - March 6, 2012 Yes, if allowed by the Constitution. Joseph Battista - March 6, 2012 Yes, as the country’s population continues to grow, it becomes to difficult for the federal government to respond in the way a local force can. I support it fully. James Cheshire - March 6, 2012 Dear Heritage, Great article. This may be the answer for border security. Art Robinson - March 6, 2012 I do not believe the states should be trying to build a force that already exists in our National Guard. Laws passed with hardly a whimper from the states robbed them of a resource that they exercised control over. But since the federal government saw fit to rob the states of their guard forces which, in my opinion, was a sneaky way to supplement an under strength Army the feds didn’t want to pay for, I think the states would be better served if they expended their energies and fought to get control back over their state National Guards. Sunny - March 6, 2012 Absolutely, positively, without a doubt. Our current government is tyrannical and anti our Constitution. Since we cannot rely on our government or trust our government, we must be prepared to protect ourselves from our government. This is heartbreaking but true. Keep your gun powder dry and your courage up. Let it not be said that America went the way of Germany because people were afraid or ignorant or passive. Give us liberty or give us death. Donald Herrmann - March 6, 2012 We need more state wide minuentmen and women !!!!!!!!! We need to protect our state from all outside forces (that includes government forces) John Hayes - March 6, 2012 Yes. It is a very good idea. We have a very dedicated and growing militia in Maryland. I have worked with both the medical unit and the engineering unit at FEMA exercises and they are quite good, very experienced, and bring free labor, knowledge, and enthusiasm to the mission. Papa Black - March 6, 2012 Ditto scopedrive’s comment:”YES! This is an excellent way for states to strengthen their defenses. Every border state especially should establish and adequately fund a volunteer SDF..” I’ve never heard of this , but I’ll check into it. Barbara Cassel - March 6, 2012 This sounds wonderful, but to a 70 year old with some health issues it sounds way out of my league. I don’t have much $$$ so that is another problem. I would love to do something to help but have no idea what. I love this country and it breaks my heart to see Liberals deliberately and systematically trying to tear it down. They remind me of hyenas; stop them here and then they are over there and on and on it goes. Paul Vestal - March 6, 2012 Yes, if the federal government will not enforce the laws the it is up to the states. Alot of codes and laws that are lasted by the feds require the states to help them enforce them P D - March 6, 2012 We citizens bear arms in order to form our own militia, if needed, to oppose tyranny. Tyranny from the States AND federal government. The left will use these State sponsored militias to disarm the populace on the basis that the second amendment only protects the right of citizens participating in a State sponsored “militia” to bear arms. States could then conveniently limit the participation to a low number and to specific groups and then disarm the rest of us with the Federal govts help. The States have National Guards, NOT militias. Sheriffs/law enforcement may deputize if needed. Good grief its a lousy idea. Citizens carry arms in order to be ABLE to form a well regulated militia run by citizens. Robert Rietz - March 6, 2012 It appears that President Obama is on a mission to weaken our country’s Military. State defense forces may become extremly important. Arizona is showing us the way to stand up to an unsupporting federal government. William Vessey - March 6, 2012 This is a core Constitutional function. With law abiding citizens being organized to protect their communities, they will take more ownership of it. Not only will this promote greater security, but greater respect for freedom and liberty provided by the Constitution, and provide another layer of defense within the U.S. should the time come. In addition this will help better link the law enforcement and state National Guard with the communities they represent. Win, Win! Thomas Cicero - March 6, 2012 Absolutely!! We can’t depend on this government to do anything that is not in their best interest.. we must !!! We must support our state National Guard with anything they need ! dave schwolow - March 6, 2012 Absolutely and I can think of nothing more Constitutional. We may not have realized the need in the last 100 years as WE slept. But today, waking from our slumber of believing that our elected representatives were looking out for us, our Freedom, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness..and our Constitution, you bet every state should have a well armed militia. Sue - March 6, 2012 Terrific Idea! We need to take care of our own safety as our elected leaders are too busy meddeling in our lives to do it. Think about it.. who would be more invested in our safety: a Washington “lifer” or our local citizens? Tom McClelland - March 6, 2012 Control and security at the state or below level is a best practice. Dependence on, or allegiance to, a federal only force is not a working solution to personal security. Federal level takes care of national security only…below that level is the responsibility of We the People. Michael P. Hrynkiw - March 6, 2012 Absolutely. With an administration that is destroying the DOD and corrupt politicians who do not support the constitution we have no choice but to defend the states rights. It is authorized by the constitution and is our last line of defense against enemies, both foreign and domestic. Kyle Tuckness - March 6, 2012 Absolutely! A state defense force would contribute not only to the security of the state but in the assistance of the public in the case of a disaster. Additionally SDF’s would contribute to the security of the nation by providing another layer of defense which would dissuade any invasion or war by a foreign power. Gary Shaw - March 6, 2012 Given the way that things are going at the Federal level, it is a sobering thought that State Defense Forces might find themselves on the other side on some issues from their own National Guard. Ed Fritz, Jr. - March 6, 2012 It’s a great idea. Anything that can help our overtaxed military works for me. Ken Clausen - March 6, 2012 State militias with state controls would be most valuable in these times. Those individuals who have concealed carry permits would be a natural to help with the militia. Also, there are plenty of seniors that would volunteer as minutemen or women! John D Nelson - March 6, 2012 I echo Donald Herrmann’s comments. I think a State Defense Force is needed in every state, especially Arizona, for the reasons he stated. LOUIS DUKE - March 6, 2012 Yes would keep state militia out of control of the feds,now when they are trying to take control of every aspect of the states. Brad Kelley, Severna Park, MD - March 6, 2012 I do think states need defense forces. I used to belong to the Maryland Guard, which has since disbanded. While I believe states should monitor local defense forces through its police departments, I do not believe states should fund them. Most politicians in my area never served in the military, know nothing about fire arms and would only present a problem to an all volunteer unit or units. The Maryland Guard worked fine and was run by veterans along with volunteers like myself. We paid for our uniforms and owned our own guns. There’s the difference. G.A. Jurko - March 6, 2012 Yes, as the gentlemen emailed earlier, if allowed by the state’s constitution, we will definitely need them to protect our rights should Obama make it to a second term. Mark Brown - March 6, 2012 Definitely. Maybe they couldn’t be sued by OBama for border state issues. M. Tracy - March 6, 2012 YES, I think its a dandy, comforting plan for further securing our populace against either foreign or domestic anarchists. Robert - March 6, 2012 In view of the adversarial environment that is overtly cultivated by some in our government, a state run militia is crucial. LtCol Willard Lochridge - March 6, 2012 As founder of the New York Naval Militia’s Military Emergency Boat Service (MEBS) following the events of Sep 11, 2001, our state in 2002, formed MEBS, with eventually 10 high tech patrol boats. These boats crewed Navy, Marine and Coast Guard reserve personnel aguemented both USCG and state law enforcement agencies to help safeguard state waterways and our Atlantic coastline. I can attest to militia’s value to help safeguard our states and country. patrick - March 6, 2012 What a great idea!! A more localized militia means a much quicker response, with no delay of a federal disaster declaration. It would also be much more sensitive to local needs. I think anything that lessens the need for federal troops within the U.S. border is a good thing!! Karl Day - March 6, 2012 The Constitutionality of a citizen militia is unquestioned. Given that our current government is leading us down the path to socialism and ultimately Communism, it is only reasonable that we arm ourselves, train ourselves and form organized forces to effectively resist the coming tyranny that will likely be imposed on us by Obama and his henchmen. Our Democratic Republic is in great peril from enemies both foreign and domestic. Ron Lovick - March 6, 2012 YES !! Shirley J Hurley - March 6, 2012 Absolutely! Given the sorry responses given by the Federal Government to lawmakers requesting aid & assistance on the southern border it would benefit each state to have a group they can count on. Each state should form one and fund one. Leslie Cahill - March 6, 2012 Yes! Del Chase - March 6, 2012 Yes, definitely! They also should be called a “Regulated Militia”. This may blow the smoke out of the sails of those well meaning individuals that disagree with the meaning of our Second Amendment. Having it both ways may not be bad as a member and an individual. Darren Hitch - March 6, 2012 Yes, absolutely I think this is a good Idea. This is core tradition of the country and it has been diminished over the years. The local militias could be a valuable tool to a state in times of emergency although they really couldn’t replace a professional military force, police or rescue services they could provide a valuable low cost supplement to such units, especially at times of war when large segments of the Military, National Guard and Reserve are deployed depleting both the state guard units but also police and firemen who often are members of the guard. Gary Hannah - March 6, 2012 Each State must have a means to enforce its laws, just witness what the current administration is doing to Arizona. Every Militia must, of course, be properly trained. I guarantee you will have no shortage of volunteers. If we do not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it! Diane Winston - March 6, 2012 Yes. As the Federal government continues to usurp more of the States’ rights and expand its power, I believe the States must act to protect their citizens and their Constitutional rights. The Founders understood all too well the value of a militia and now the “king” is on this side of the Atlantic we may find we need them again. HENRY TRIPPE - March 6, 2012 Great idea! I am a retired member of the Maryland Defense Force and enjoyed helping the various programs of the NG and community organizations. Gloria Mayes - March 6, 2012 YES. MUCH NEEDED IN THIS DAY AND TIME. John Tirrell - March 6, 2012 The resurrection of this idea is long overdue! I look forward to Governor Brewer signing this state guard unit into law. graham thompson - March 6, 2012 In general no. There are far too many “enforcement” agencies in this country now. Adding more to the “mission creep” mentality of government can only add to the loss of freedom we’ve already experienced. However I could visualize a beneficial function of such organizations in border states. It is clearly apparent that the federal government refuses to enforce one of their most important functions…border security. As far as natural disasters are concerned, it is the responsibility of the individual citizen to be prepared as much as possible for such occurances and cease relying on “big brother” to handle every inconvenience that comes “down the pike.” Dewey Switzer - March 6, 2012 Yes, I think all States should have these and support them. Our Government HAS shown that its interest lies in retaining power(Re-election) above all else. DS Sharon Minton - March 6, 2012 My State/City has long held an established unit of the National Guard. This unit has been activated on a number of valiant occasions, and has always shown as bright as any military unit. They are a distinguished bright star to our community and our State, and I – for one – have always felt safer knowing their presence is there as I pass their airfield while traveling Interstate 65. Robert Finkel - March 6, 2012 Agree with scopedriver. Even other states should consider having a volunteer SDF. Jeff Nickelson - March 6, 2012 Yes. I believe every state should have a volunteer militia that is not controlled by the Feds. I love the idea that a bunch of citizens are willing to stand up qnd risk their lives for our freedoms. I joined the New Mexico Militia when I was younger, in the 1980s. I am older, don’t move well, blind in one eye, and am missing part of my scull now, but would join and fight if I where allowed. Stephen hammann - March 6, 2012 Yes, This would give Statess some autonomy outside the federal govt. Earl Taylor - March 6, 2012 In regards to the comment”if allowed by the constitution”My feelings are: if the Federal government is going to ignore the same, the states must be prepared to protect the constitution and their rights. philip schiebout - March 6, 2012 Absolutely, anything the federal government does costs a fortune. I believe the states need to step up to the plate with their own balanced budget and defense force. The federal government wants to control everything in our lives and we are all getting very tired of it. The federal governments job is to defend our borders which they are not doing. god help us all. Dona Hogge - March 6, 2012 I may not be in the best of health but I can shoot and am more than willing to defend our country to the best of my ability. Count me in!! krys - March 6, 2012 Yes – this would also keep the Government under control from over extending it’s powers on the people in situtations they purposly cause. Gary Truelove - March 6, 2012 Maybe it is time to move to AZ. They seem to be leading the country (as an example) in the right direction whereas my home state of CA drifts further left and in the wrong direction. Ruth C Costea - March 6, 2012 I am in favor of having a state militia like our Founding Father’s supported and like our Constitution allows. It is the only way for states to have state rights and protect themselves for the oncoming tragedies to come, foreign and domestice, David L. Ballard - March 6, 2012 Yes I think state militias could be a vital part of the defense of the state against terror attacks and natural disasters. As long as they are controlled by the state and not the federal government it is a good thing. Cam Varner - March 6, 2012 Absolutely, in addition to traditional roles they may be the last chance to protect states rights. I would volunteer immediately. And they (we) may be required to counter this administrations civilian force that will be “as well armed as our military” James J. Laughlin - March 6, 2012 Yes…States Rights First…we created the Feds, and must take care to insure our right to control them from injuring/inuring us. And, be aware of the risks…of lists, confiscation, detention, imprisonment. Revisit: Waco, Ruby Ridge, etc. Prepare. William - March 6, 2012 This may be the only way to for states to defend their citizens Lee Butrico - March 6, 2012 I think it’s a great idea. What a support to the 10th. And what a great idea for my border state of Texas!! Which states currently have active militia? Dan Schlosser - March 6, 2012 Yes ! To protect us from the Federal Govt ! Jim Griggs - March 6, 2012 Hell yes. This federal government cannot be depended upon by the states. Any administration will act in a self-serving manner to please its base, regardless of the consequences to the majority of the population. This particular administration is proving daily that the rights of citizens mean nothing. It will be the only sure way to protect the borders. Diana Barton - March 6, 2012 YES, I think every state should have a Militia, under the command of the Governor, just to protect their citizens from what might come our way. Do you remember the 600,000 man force our current president spoke about before he took office? Could that be what happened to our National Guard? Rafael Jerman - March 6, 2012 It is totally constitutional and I say YES, though I’m only a militia of ONE. ONE, only because I’ve not found a way to be part of a legitimate group. I know what it’s like to live under communism and therefore have a deep appreciation for the fragile nature of freedom much more so than those who’ve lived in relative freedom all their lives. Freedom, when taken it for granted, is soon lost. It saddens me to say that I’ve come to fear the very government that, in the eyes of so many, stands as the only place of refuge against tyranny. For me, this fear has been amplified under this administration. A well-regulated and trained civilian force is a great benefit to any state, but more importantly, it can serve to prevent the unthinkable; total population disarmament. Barry Beverage - March 6, 2012 Absolutely! Nick Siener - March 6, 2012 This is an absolutely great idea. It will give opportunity to those who wish to serve their community, and prehaps provide surgical manpower where needed in time of turmoil. The force would give opportunity for those most concerned about their community and Nation. There multiple ideas that wash across my mind for uses for such a force. May I ask that you publish which states have such a force? Chester Lynn Lyon - March 6, 2012 I think its a good idea, as long as the milita is in step with the constituion. With the govt’s. action concerning Arizona’s right to defend its borders, it really make you think about where such actions will stop. My father served in WWII and he believed the US possibly would be taken over without a shot being fired. It is my belief that without faith, we are loosing our freedom. A lack of faith determines many things. Overall, I think a milita would be good. George Becker - March 6, 2012 Yes, this is an excellent way to keep the federal government in check. “When the government fears the people there is liberty, when the people fear the government there is tyranny.” Gunther Winkel - March 6, 2012 If these forces will not be subject to federalization, YES. Cheri Hughey - March 6, 2012 This is an excellent idea and in keeping with what our Forefathers envisioned. Every state in the union needs to be involved with this, if for nothing else than to protect us against an over-reaching and ever oppressing federal government. Lewis Green - March 6, 2012 Yes, states and even local municipalities should prepare for the inevitable in the event of a federal breakdown. The federal government (in it’s current structure) will not support each state in the event of a national breakdown. The states and local municipalities will be on their own and will be defenseless unless they are prepared. jack britton - March 6, 2012 Every state should have a well trained volunteer militia Each county should be able to produce a trained company size detachment. Like the minute men,they should be able to deploy in the same manor.We can no longer depend on the fed’s to protect us from everything that we need protection from.our constitutional founders warned us of these things John La Noue, Sr. - March 6, 2012 Great Idea! We have one in Texas. bob williams - March 6, 2012 Yes, It would represent an excellent alternative to the national guard and I can’t help but think would serve individual states interests better. marvin entrekin - March 6, 2012 the problem today is the enemy is in the white house with no one to challenge his authority or truly define the limit of this course of action. where is our congress and the law branch??? surely the constitution doesn’t give this much power to one leader.!!! GOD help us Linda Nolan - March 6, 2012 They could be a good source of manpower in securing the border between us and Mexico! Ken Marx - March 6, 2012 Yes. A volunteer militia (meaning without the usual pay and benefits) would be a great way for states to be prepared during both man made and natural emergencies. As a retired Air Force officer, I would be willing to serve in such a force. Tim Lorenz - March 6, 2012 I have felt for the last two years that I would be willing to volunteer for a two week stint at the border to prevent illegals from crossing Arizona’s border. If this was expanded, and thousands of volunteers were positioned every 1/4 mile in groups of two, our illegal immigration problem would stop immediately. But then, that would be outrageous to the left – vigilante militarism. But it would stop the bleeding (so to speak), and give our Governor time to put a permanent solution in place. Jude Richardson - March 6, 2012 I agree with P.D., and his arguements. Terrible idea. Ken - March 6, 2012 This country is made up of individual states. First, each state must preserve its freedoms and second, they must adhere to the constitution as it was written by the framers Roy Don Vardeman - March 6, 2012 Yes I believe in the value of State Defense forces to their states and thus to our nation. Texas has a very active and effective volunter force called The Texas State Guard of which I have been a member since 1995. In the past few years the Texas State Guard has been invaluable to the people of Texas with their expertise in providing food water, and shelter during hurricanes, tornadoes, fires and floods. Yes.State Defense Forces(Militias), properly trained, outfitted and supplied, are very valuable to and for their respective States. Chaplain(LTC) R. Don Vardeman Shannon Roe - March 6, 2012 I think we need to be alert to Obama’s resolve to create a domestic force—and the likelihood that he would nationalize these ready-made units for that purpose. Yes, it would be unconstitutional, but that doesn’t appear to hinder him, and the other branches are not calling him to account as his overreaches grow more and more outrageous. Elaine Kawada - March 6, 2012 Absolutely! Yes, who will protect us against our government. Anyone remember Waco, Texas? Eugene Geraldo - March 7, 2012 We never hear anything about Obama’s private Army that are trained to quell any civilian uprising. We need a State Militia that is organized and trained also. Obama does not pay any attention to the Constitution that he swore to follow, and he will not protect our Border States either. We spend $380 Billion on illegal aliens every year but he wants to increase payments for our Veterans Health care and other benefits. Yes, we need a Militia, in every State. Jerry Vautrot - March 7, 2012 These militias should be funded by the states. I trust my Governor and state authorities a lot more than I trust the DC bunch, especially the current administration. Gaylon George - March 7, 2012 Yes! Nothing beats the patriotic volunteer in defending their state against any outside influence, whether it be natural disasters or an encroachment by an armed enemy, including the fed’s trying to overstep their constitutional bounds. Having an organized armed citizenry is the best solution to stop tyranny from any source. Don Merchant - March 7, 2012 Yes. Joining a militia may be the only wat to protect our right to bear arms. jaye - March 7, 2012 i fear for the nation i was raised in, i fear too many young people chose not to be involved in the fight to take our nation back, they are unaware of the misfortune coming thier way. i fear these young people will wake up one morning to find all thier freedoms have been frettered away.i am 66, i was raised in anAmerica that was free, and when we woke up[ came of age] we found some of our brothers and sisters were not free, and we changed our world so all people were free… but that was a cake walk compared to what young people face today..a nation 16 trillion dollars in debt, a socialised nation were all rights are gone…look at russia, pution[sp] was elected with 60% of the vote [it was so rigged it sucks]. that’s what you are heading for and you don’t even know it. the communist have been growing right under your noses…krushev , president [or prime minisre] once said, ‘ we will defeat you without firing a shot , we will over come you from within…look around young people, your country is slipping away,WAKE UP YOUNG PEOLPE..you must in force take this nation back….please Mavis Henricksen - March 7, 2012 Yes, I believe a State Militia is a good idea, but not a new idea. I believe the National Guard started out as a state militia and got nationalized, I believe in World War II. National Defense is Constitutionally the duty of the Federal Gove rnment, but if they aren’t protecting our borders, it seems each state has the right to protect theirs. According to the Constitution any right not specifically given the Federal Government is a right of the States to regulate. Half the things the Federal Government are into are not their business, and they are not taking care of the things that are their business. The biggest threat to our country has never been Russia and a Cold War or even the Terrorists, it is threats from within, a facist government or even worse, a government that sells us out economically. Mac - March 7, 2012 I am with Art Robinson on this issue! Donald L.R. Bowman - March 7, 2012 Hell Yes! Wayne Renz - March 7, 2012 Lets look at this in another way. Members of a Militia not only safe guards our community with arms, but also with their eyes and ears. A member of a Militia will recognize something in their community that mite be out of the norm or may be a threat, and they would be more likely to sound the alarm rather than pretend nothing is wrong (I don’t want to get involved). The Militia would know how and where to report a problem. A Militia is not only guts, guns and a big ego. Its working together and using your brains and fallow the Law. Zachary Cook - March 7, 2012 I am a member of the Viriginia Defense Force. It was nice reading this article because no one seems to have heard of us. I think state militias are awsome, and Virginia will be ramping up the capabilities of the defense force within the next four years. Perhaps our numbers will swell as a result of the Federal troop reductions. Edward Blau - March 7, 2012 With the likes of Eric Holder ACTING as out chief law enforcement officer, and the regime suing Arizona, I believe that a state militia is a good thing to have, so that states can be more independent and self reliant, than having to count on the regime for permission to utilize the National Guard for any reason. John Smith - March 7, 2012 Anything that is on a lower ‘tier’ down from the national level is good. This is because making something more local increases accountability since more of those you serve could be next door to you. This has been proven in the past with several services and other things. It seems that any time something is moved out of the local domain and made into something national, it goes to pot. This is because the DC crowd doesn’t know how to do it and don’t care. This state guard idea is good. I support it. JB Brown - March 7, 2012 YES, Provided that rules are enacted to keep the federal govt. from co-opting these militia’s into it’s own,as our president has expressed a desire to build a “defense force more powerful than the U.S military” for homeland security ? Lauren - March 7, 2012 As long as the state does not use the militia to disarm the people, regrettably oaths do not seem to matter to public officials any longer. I hold property in the state of MD and let me tell you that there is a criminal cabal running that state. As long as a representative from the leadership of the militia has equal or greater station with the State with regard to power, this would be an effective means to guard our nation and one I would fund and participate. Free people must always be careful with police powers. John W Smith Jr - March 7, 2012 YES………..and the sooner the quicker ! Lauren - March 7, 2012 I agree with P.D. on this topic-It is best that the militia be free and independent from the State as well, as much as this may be problematic for Jan Brewer for whom I have great admiration. Didn’t BO say he wanted a “civilian army just as well-funded as our military”? What did that mean? I think it best if those of us who wish to defend our constitution organize well, stay mentally alert and well educated, and gather on our own peacefully. It may be best that our militia be territory oriented rather than “State” oriented, that way the people stay in control. Chaeles Theriot - March 7, 2012 I think this is an excellent idea because in the end it’s the people who will have to take back our country. We are and should be the ones responsible to protect our borders and our families. John Stair - March 7, 2012 For numerous obvious reasons, yes, I fully support such state militias and sooner the better! Who is keeping up with the development of a massive “civilian army” our president invisioned in 2008? Is it happening? I’ve not seen nor heard from any true Patriot “watchdogs” on the status of this “Obama army.” JK - March 7, 2012 Absolutely! States should enable able bodied men and women of good conscience to serve in a voluntary protective capacity. Merely receiving a paycheck from a government entity does not magically transform a policeman, sheriff, or soldier into a protector that an ordinary citizen cannot do equally well, or even better in some instances, with proper training. Especially considering that many “ordinary citizens” are retired policemen, sheriffs, or soldiers. It is the training that is significant and that should be provided to qualified volunteers. Here in Florida, it is actually your next door neighbors that significantly outperforms FEMA after a hurricane strikes. Likewise, an SDF could have almost instantly and easily provided the order and structure needed in the aftermath of Katrina in New Orleans after local police forces where rendered ineffective. Mayor Nagin should have empowered law abiding citizens to protect themselves and their neighborhoods rather than disarming them which instead effectively empowered the criminal elements. Lou Rose - March 7, 2012 Without a doubt. The more proactive we are about protecting ourselves, the stronger we will become. Forget what the Federal Government might say they can or will do for us. They have more than they can handle now!!! Norman - March 7, 2012 Definitely! During the Revolutonary War the militia served chiefly as a local defense force, while the Continental Army was the major force in the war. Things have changed since then, however. The American middle class is under seige from unions, bureaucrats, the IRS, college professors, lawyers, etc. This is due to several factors: 1) Collectively, the middle class possesses great wealth and earning power, whether it be from a business, investments, or a job. 2) Members of the middle class are especially vulnerable to harrassment and confiscation of their assets due to their having to devote almost full time to their jobs, families, and businesses. Due to 1 and 2 above, they can’t afford lawyers, and they are “easy pickings” for harassment by government and intimidation by unions. This great mass of wealth is what Obama and his colleagues covet in order to finance “Obamacare” and other foolish programs. So it all boils down to a definite need for a common defense – a militia. David L. Aune - March 7, 2012 Yes I think it would be very advantageous for states to fund these forces not only monetarily but also training them to do the job. Lauretta - March 7, 2012 OH YES! Especially here where WE LIVE in the corrupt State of Illinois. Pray for Us. We NEED IT. Thank you Heritage very much. ALVIN GRIFFIN - March 7, 2012 Sounds like a great idea. Don’t depend on the U.S. Gov. for anything. I Hope that will change someday. Eustace R. Lake - March 7, 2012 Yes, I believe that they shall not be subject to any Federal involvement. Each State should provide a system that allows their units to operate without political involvement. Joyce Swanson - March 7, 2012 I can think of no other thing that would please me more! Every state needs to protect it’s rights from a government that wants to make us all alike. That’s why we live in different locations. The landscape, people, way of life suit different folks. Yes, let’s promote state militias! Ken Carter - March 7, 2012 In the early 1980’s we tried to establish such a unit in Albuquerque, N.M. There is an already massive force of trained and experienced ex-military types like myself from all branches with a wealth of abilities which could, if organized with minimal funds, step right into a number of roles that the National Guard & Reserve forces are being tasked with at present. The vast number of officers and non commissioned officers available would make mustering and organizing such units a truly easy thing to accomplished if only given the word to act on it and the backing to make it legally legitimate. These units could also relieve law enforcement agencies of tasks better suited to military type organizations. They would also, as James Winter points out, give Those People in D.C. pause if the believed they could use force against the states. These type units are authorized under the Second Amendment already and should be pursued quickly if at all. Phyllis West - March 7, 2012 ABSOLUTELY…..STATES CAN NO LONGER DEPEND ON OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT …as a matter of fact, states need to be able to protect themselves fromthe Federal Government as demonstrated with this Obama administration. I was discussing this very thing with my souse tyesterday. How do we get in touch with our state militia in TN? I fear with the “small arms treaty” that Obama has now commited to, our State Sovereignty is under threat. All he needs is a small crisis (aka Iran) to to implement a Police State and take our weapons. Aric - March 7, 2012 Yes! Since our extra-Constitutional (and therefore illegitimate) Federal Government has become public enemy number one through debt and tyranny, it is foolish for States not to have some defense against it. Joseph H. Schooff - March 7, 2012 I heard couple years ago obama was getting his own militia. what happened to that. Probably going on under cover. Richard Gaskill - March 7, 2012 This president is cutting or defence soo deep,that a minuteman or a state militias is NOT going to be enough to protect america.It`s going to boil down to the average armed american to defend ones selfs,and one another from any and all threats to the american people. Lura L Hacker - March 7, 2012 Yes, every border state should fund an SCF, and also others. Especially in this day and age when one is not sure that the federal government will act in the best interests of the American people, and with traditional constitutional values. I hasten to add that the state militias should operate under these same principles. Robert Kroning - March 7, 2012 Yes. But be prepared to answer charges of ‘vigilantism’. Gilbert Gervasi - March 7, 2012 Absolutely, especially today when our national heritage is under threat perhaps more than qt any other time in our history. I would be willing to pay additional taxes to see that this happens. David Andree - March 7, 2012 I am hesitant becaue these unts could be more easily subverted and taken over by people with evilintent. On balance I would favor it, if it can be properly organized with adequate safeguards WaupacaPatriot - March 7, 2012 I was not aware of this type of volunteer group. I am goiong to cantact my state (WI) assemblyman and ask him to sponsor legislation to create a force here. GREAT concept…quick response and first line of defense against a federal gov’t takeover. LT Alan D. Briley, RN - March 7, 2012 I am currently a serving member of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s State Guard, known as the Virginia Defense Force. We are part of the Virginia Department of Military Affairs, just as is the Virginia National Guard and Air Guard. We are held to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but our Commander in Chief is the Governor of Virginia, not the POTUS. We are not paid, unless the governor calls us to State Active Duty. We supplement the Guard in Virginia, acting as support troops. Chris McGreer - March 7, 2012 ABSOLUTELY! Constitutional the States are part of Federal Republic and are not to be entitlements to the Federal Government. The States birth the Federal government and not the other way around. It means they are responsible for their own responses to natural disasters and other harmful forces and events upon their state and peoples. (Unless it is country on country) (Is FEMA Constitutional? It encourages entitlement mindset, just look how governor’s ask for Federal help during a snowstorm or worse.) This principle of responsibility goes down to the Sheriffs and they deputizing citizens as needed for both natural and man threats upon their people and property in their respective counties. It goes down to the basic unit of government and economics, which is the family. The family has a responsibility to respond to natural and man made threats on their families and property – that do not allow timely response by the Sheriffs and the courts to straighten out the event. All need the means to respond to the different types of threats and are responsible to provide for those means from emergency food, sheltler/heat/ and weapons (2nd Amendment plus). Freedom – personal responsibility VS Freely put oneself in bondage – entitlements (and false security). True Federal Republic of Sovereign States VS Central Government of Elite Oligarchy of Statist. Steve Mitchell - March 7, 2012 This sounds like an excellent idea for every state. Especially since our Federal Gov’t seems to do little but play politics and I actually fear for the survival of the Union. J. Hillman - March 7, 2012 Thank you for this information. I was not aware that the National Guard units were no longer under state control Norman Gerring - March 7, 2012 Some border states might be wise to defund thier National Guard and fund their own SDF. If the federal government won’t honor the constitution and defend our borders then it is up to the states. Trevor - March 7, 2012 Yes! A well regulated state militia being necessary to protect freedom and liberty within the homeland both from enemies foreign and domestic. It is constitutional, and may well prove useful someday. However, also by the Constitution, the States are not allowed to keep troops or Ships of War in time of Peace, and the President of the United States is the Commander in chief of the Militia of the states. In order to comply, a State Militia must be not be a constant standing force, but more like the National Guard. I do however support the ability to use the Militia for disaster relief and certain extraordinary situations of enforcement, as well as protection of liberties by enemies domestic, and be funded by the state if it desires. James shiplry - March 7, 2012 The more I see , the More I see a need for this Yes I think every state should have volunteer Militia Roy W. Brown - March 7, 2012 I am a retired Lieutenant Colonel from the Indiana Guard Reserve (IGR). It is an excellent force and I believe each state should have such a military force. The IGR has accomplished much in many ways for the state of Indiana, especially the Indiana National Guard. There are MANY other things the IGR can do if allowed. I also think there should be more money authorized and appropriated, in these uncertain times, to offer a bit of pay, and for needed items for the IGR. I will offer my advise and or additional information if you would like it. Roy W. Brown LTC (ret) IGR rowley - March 8, 2012 YES. We are not being Protected domestically by the Federal Gov. We, who live on the Border, are having to survive with a Federal Gov. that is actually blocking our local and self Protection. WH has determined that “We the People” are expendable. Randell M Broussard - March 8, 2012 yes, I believe in light of an overbearing federal government it as important to have a state contingent of regulated civilian defense forces to protect the state as it was back in the beginning of our country. States rights have been teampled on ever since the civil war, which was the primary reason for that war, not slavery. Diane Wolf - March 8, 2012 Yes, absolutely! It is imperative that all Americans unite and having a state militia will allow them a sense of security they do not have with the current administration. joe garrett - March 8, 2012 YES Lawrence Schreiber - March 8, 2012 Why not? This brings it down to the grass roots level not unlike the tea party movement. This enlists those real patriots, those who do the work everyday. Irene Munzer - March 8, 2012 Absolutly. Especially in these scary times! Tom Kilcoyne - March 8, 2012 I would agree as long as the Federal Gov’t cannot take them over as they do now with the National Guard. Remember Obama has promised in his 2008 campaign to establish a civilian force equal and funded just as well as the Armed Forces. A scary concept for a free people !! Yet he is well on his way to doing this with Homeland Security Forces who are now trying to expand their powers by obtaining law enforcement powers as is being demonstrated in the State of Tennessee (see 2/29/12 op ed by Rep. Marsha Blackburn). Very scary indeed !!! c t blomstrom - March 8, 2012 yes-it may be our last line of defense against a federal government out of control Richard Walker - March 9, 2012 I definitely think that localmilitias under direct control of the state should become a greater part of our resources. If necessary, I’d support a separate tax to fund for thier support/creation. The further we get from Federal control, the better our states will be run. I am very concerned about the direct link between the President and the National Guards. My only consolation is that I believe that the state guardsmen will not turn their wepons on their own citizens unless the situation is dire – such as the Los Angeles riots of 1966 Joseph McKennan - March 10, 2012 Yes. Every state should have a militia but only if the members are guaranteed to be native citizens. This will remove the danger of terrorist ‘plants’ like in the military with that army officer who turned out to be a muslim extremist sympathizer. Jenni - March 10, 2012 Amendment II. “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Cary Reprogle - March 10, 2012 I have always agreed with the concept of state militias, if my memory of our history is correct, it was the minutemen who kicked hell out of the British, we may need them again. ” INVITE VETS to JOIN” Jeff Hayes - March 10, 2012 Yes, I think they will become very necessary in the very near future. Its obvious to me that the federal government is not going to protect us. It is becoming the enemy of our freedom loving society and will seek our destruction or bondage. John Woltz - March 10, 2012 Yes, it is the only way that we can insure against the type of usurpation of States’ rights that the current admin is presently attempting on so many fronts. Please write more on who and how States can add this important feature to their defenses against border crossings and an out of control fed govt!!! Gerald Beaudet - March 10, 2012 No. Any adversary, either foreign or domestic, seeks to create an atmosphere of fear and frustration such as we are now experiencing. They want us to start turning on one another. Arming the populace in groups would only create chaos. Americans should not be killing Americans. If a particular State, e.g., AZ, TX, WA, finds need for a militia, then let the governor raise that body for protective purposes. Otherwise let us use the ballot box to alter public policy. Ronald DuBois - March 11, 2012 Every state should encourage a well-trained and well-armed militia. Our Founders viewed them not only as a rapid response to foreign intervention, but as a restraint on those with tyrannical motives. Thomas Jefferson said, “What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that the people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms.” Bernard P. Giroux, Dartmouth, MA - March 11, 2012 No. Not unless these forces are clearly under the command and control of state governors who can negate any federal calls for placing these men under federal jursidiction. Robert F Johnson - March 11, 2012 There have been times in our country when a milita was necessary. Remember in 1946 when a the sheriff in Athens, Tennessee tried to win the election by stealing the ballot boxes. A group of WWII veterans saved the day by storming the jail and returning the ballot boxes to the court house where they could be counted by the proper authorities in the presence of the public. rufus pearson - March 11, 2012 yes when the gov. falls to forces unknown states have to step up and protect it people Sharon - March 12, 2012 A well-regulated militia, being NECESSARY for a FREE state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms (any weapon) shall not be infringed. 2nd amendment, US constitution. Nothing to do with hunting, everything to do with maintaining freedom. Dave Gell - March 12, 2012 Absolutely! RG - March 12, 2012 Now is the time. The National Guard and Air National Guard are being cut. The USAF has a strangle hold on the states and is stripping their assets. A state guard is the solution. The USAF could in no way control the deployment and alignmnet of these forces. A State Guard network with MOUs with other states could supply Emergency Response to the entire nation. The defense of this country is what matters: not which service or which contractor gets the biggest slice of the pie. Jean Cross - March 12, 2012 Yes; ditto to James Cheshire i.e. may be answer to border security. Lawrence Medow - March 13, 2012 This is a excellent program. With the state of the country and world today, it is imperative. Our current government is doing less and less to protect us, forgetting the Constitution! Clemente D. Catts - March 16, 2012 More should be done for the SDF’s by the states and the federal governments. The federal government should grant leave right as they do for the National Guard when called to state active duty to members of the State Defense Forces who are federal employees. The New York Guard is one of the best SDF in the country, but like all SDF’s needs more support from both state and federal government in areas of equipment and training. In WW1 and WW2 the New York Guard came to the aid not just the state of New York, but also the federal government by guarding critical installations such as water supply, transportation systems and war plants. And today we can still filled that need if only given the chance to do duties such as being members of Task Force Empire Shield and other such operations around the country. Not much is given to the memory of those who unselfishly gave of their time and some who gave their lives serving at home in the New York Guard and other SDF;s around the country, I would invite you to the memorial services hosted by the 56th BDE NYG at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. on the 1st Sunday in May. If your State has a SDF please consider joining. George Amthor III - April 16, 2012 Absolutely! When states’ rights and our personal freedoms are at stake, we need to have a plan for defending ourselve and our state from a tyranical Federal Government. that guy - May 5, 2012 For those that are interested in joining a State Defense Force, Texas has the largest SDF to date (more than 2,000 and counting). Link here: Tom R - May 8, 2012 Yes, if our revoluntionary patriots in the late 1700’s who were fighting for our independence and freedom didn’t have the militia and guns we would not be the United States of America today. We must protect ourselves against our Federal leaders who lead us down a path of destruction and abolition of all our freedoms. The Constitution, freedom and capitalism works. Proof is in our position in the world and at home before Obama took office. Stephen - November 25, 2012 Thank you, Gerald Beaudet for being the only voice of reason I heard.

YIR III: From dwarfs to giants – the missions of Dawn, Juno, and Cassini Moving out into the asteroid belt and farther still to the gas giants, NASA’s Dawn, Juno, and Cassini missions churned away in orbit of their respective hosts – with Dawn continuing an up-close-and-personal investigation of the dwarf planet Ceres, Juno’s fantastically accurate arrival at Jupiter but frustratingly crippled start to its science mission, and the beginning of the end for the Cassini mission that’s set to end in September 2017. Dawn – Revealing dwarf planet Ceres: Launched on 27 September 2007, Dawn became the first spacecraft to enter orbit of two completely different celestial bodies on 6 March 2015 when it slipped into orbit of the dwarf planet Ceres after first spending 14 months in orbit of the protoplanet Vesta. This year, Dawn marked the first anniversary of its arrival at Ceres, and Dawn’s deputy principal investigator, Carol Raymond, stated that “Ceres has defied our expectations and surprised us in many ways thanks to a year’s worth of data from Dawn. We are hard at work on the mysteries the spacecraft has presented to us.” Among Ceres’ most enigmatic features is the mountain Ahuna Mons, which appeared as a small, bright-sided bump as seen by Dawn’s camera as early as February 2015 from a distance of 46,000 km (29,000 mi) before the spacecraft entered orbit. As Dawn gradually lowered its orbital altitude over its first year, the shape of this mysterious feature came into focus. From afar, Ahuna Mons looked pyramid-shaped, but upon closer inspection, it is best described as a dome with smooth, steep walls. Dawn’s latest images of Ahuna Mons, taken 120 times closer than in February 2015, reveal a significant amount of bright material on some of the mountain’s slopes, and less on others. “No one expected a mountain on Ceres, especially one like Ahuna Mons,” said Chris Russell, Dawn’s principal investigator. “We still do not have a satisfactory model to explain how it formed.” But Ahuna Mons isn’t the only feature on Ceres that interests scientists. About 670 km (420 mi) northwest of Ahuna Mons is Occator Crater – which the Hubble Space Telescope revealed to have a prominent bright patch on its surface prior to Dawn’s arrival. Dawn’s subsequent orbital observations have revealed that there are at least 10 bright spots in this crater alone, with the brightest area on Ceres located in the center of Occator. “Dawn began mapping Ceres at its lowest altitude in December, but it wasn’t until very recently that its orbital path allowed it to view Occator’s brightest area,” said Marc Rayman, Dawn’s chief engineer and mission director. By late-April, Dawn returned stunning new images from its low-altitude (385 km – 240 mi) mapping orbit of the dwarf planet’s numerous bright material craters. In particular, Dawn’s view of Haulani Crater, with a diameter of 34 km (21 mi), revealed evidence of landslides from its crater rim – indications that the crater is a relatively new formation. “Haulani perfectly displays the properties we would expect from a fresh impact into the surface of Ceres,” said Martin Hoffmann, co-investigator on the Dawn framing camera team. The crater’s polygonal structure is also noteworthy as most craters on planetary bodies are nearly circular, but the unique straight edges of some Cerean craters, including Haulani, are due to pre-existing stress patterns and faults beneath the surface. Moreover, another crater, Oxo, also presents a uniqueness in that its rim is slumped – indicating an area where material has dropped below the surface – and that its crater floor contains minerals observed nowhere else on Ceres’ surface. However, a big focused remained on Occator crater, and by mid-year, Dawn had finally returned enough information about it that scientists were gaining a better understanding of its composition. At the end of June, NASA announced findings that Occator’s bright areas contain the highest concentration of carbonate minerals ever seen outside Earth. “This is the first time we see this kind of material elsewhere in the solar system in such a large amount,” said Maria Cristina De Sanctis, principal investigator of Dawn’s visible and infrared mapping spectrometer. Specifically, the dominant mineral of this bright area is sodium carbonate, a salt found on Earth in hydrothermal environments. On Ceres, the material appears to have come from inside the dwarf planet, having been lifted to the surface by an impacting asteroid – which suggests that temperatures inside Ceres are warmer than previously believed. More intriguingly, the results suggest that liquid water may have existed beneath the surface of Ceres in recent geologic time and that the salts could be remnants of an ocean, or localized bodies of water, that reached the surface and then froze millions of years ago. “The minerals we’ve found at the Occator central bright area require alteration by water,” De Sanctis said. “Carbonates support the idea that Ceres had interior hydrothermal activity, which pushed these materials to the surface within Occator.” This discovery announcement came just one day before Dawn completed its primary mission on 30 June. At this time, Dawn had taken 69,000 images, completed 48,000 hours of ion engine thrusting, collected more than 132 GB of science data, completed 2,450 orbits of Vesta and Ceres, travelled 3.5 billion miles since launch, and explored two new worlds. On 1 July, Dawn entered its extended mission, which will see the craft continue to operate in Ceres orbit into 2017 – at which point, due to its highly stable orbit of the dwarf planet, it will become a permanent artificial satellite of Ceres. By the end of July, Dawn had returned information that helped scientists start to answer the question of what happened to all of Ceres large impact craters. Presently, Ceres is covered in countless small, young craters, but none are larger than 280 km (175 mi) in diameter. To scientists, this is a rather large mystery given that the dwarf planet must have been hit by numerous large asteroids during its 4.5 billion-year lifetime. “We concluded that a significant population of large craters on Ceres has been obliterated beyond recognition over geological time scales, which is likely the result of Ceres’ peculiar composition and internal evolution,” said Simone Marchi, a senior research scientist at the Southwest Research Institute. Marchi and her colleagues modeled collisions of other bodies with Ceres since the dwarf planet’s formation, and these models predicted that Ceres should have up to 10 to 15 craters larger than 400 km (250 mi) in diameter, and at least 40 craters larger than 100 km (60 mi) wide. However, Dawn has shown that Ceres has only 16 craters larger than 100 km, and none larger than 280 km across. “Whatever the process or processes were, this obliteration of large craters must have occurred over several hundred millions of years,” Marchi said. One potential reason for the lack of large craters could be related to Ceres’ interior structure. Specifically, since Ceres’ upper layers contain ice and salts – which are less dense than rock – the topography could “relax,” or smooth out, more quickly if ice or salt dominates the subsurface composition. Moreover, past hydrothermal activity, which may have influenced the rising of salts to the surface at Occator Crater could also have something to do with the erasure of craters. If Ceres had widespread cryovolcanic activity in the past, the ejected cryogenic materials could have flowed across the surface and possibly buried pre-existing large craters. However, its wasn’t just Ceres’ surface features that scientists learned more about this year. In August, a careful study of minute changes in Dawn’s orbit from the first year of its orbital mission helped scientists gain a better understanding of Ceres’ gravity field – and therefore its internal composition. “The data suggests that Ceres has a weak interior, and that water and other light materials partially separated from rock during a heating phase early in its history,” said Ryan Park, supervisor of the solar system dynamics group at JPL. Among the things confirmed about Ceres in this data return is that Ceres has hydrostatic equilibrium – meaning its interior is weak enough that its shape is governed by how the dwarf planet rotates. This confirmation validated one of the reasons why the International Astronomical Union classified Ceres as a dwarf planet in 2006. Moreover, the data indicate that Ceres is differentiated – meaning it has compositionally distinct layers at different depths, with the densest layer at the core. Scientists were also able to confirm that Ceres is much less dense than Earth, the Moon, Vesta, and other rocky bodies in our solar system. The data also led scientists to conclude that Ceres’ weak mantle can be pushed aside by the mass of mountains and other high topography in its outermost layer – as though the high-elevation areas “float” on the material below. Overall, by combining this new information with previous data from Dawn about Ceres’ surface composition, scientist are beginning to reconstruct Ceres’ history – in which water must have been mobile in the ancient subsurface while the interior did not heat up to the temperatures at which silicates melt and a metallic core forms. Following this announcement, Dawn controllers began maneuvering the spacecraft into its higher, mission extension orbit in early September. Dawn had been – for eight months – in its low-altitude science orbit, but due to its mission extension and limited supply of hydrazine for orientation operations, controllers decided to raise Dawn’s orbit for its extended mission so that the hydrazine can be used more sparingly. “Most spacecraft wouldn’t be able to change their orbital altitude so easily. But thanks to Dawn’s uniquely capable ion propulsion system, we can maneuver the ship to get the greatest scientific return from the remaining mission,” said Marc Rayman. The orbit raising maneuver, which began from an altitude of 385 km (240 mi), will push Dawn to 1,460 km (910 mi) above Ceres’ surface – just about the orbit in which Dawn first slid into orbit around the dwarf planet. Also in September, Dawn scientists released information on a possible detection of a temporary atmosphere around the dwarf planet. The surprising finding emerged after Dawn’s Gamma Ray and Neutron Detector (GRaND) observed evidence that Ceres had accelerated electrons from the solar wind to very high energies over a period of six days. In theory, the interaction between the solar wind’s energetic particles and atmospheric molecules could explain the GRaND observations. A temporary atmosphere would also be consistent with water vapor detections via the Herschel Space Observatory. Juno – Triumphant arrival, less than stellar start to science mission: After a spot-on precision arrival at Jupiter on 5 July, the Juno spacecraft entered its long, highly elliptical 53.4-day initial polar orbit. Originally, Juno was to complete two of these 53.4-day orbits before performing a perijove burn on 19 October that would have altered its orbit to the pre-mission determined 14-day science orbit. However, just a few days before this scheduled burn, controllers noticed a performance issue with a pair of valves that are part of Juno’s fuel pressurization system. At the time, Rick Nybakken, Juno project manager, said, “Telemetry indicates that two helium check valves that play an important role in the firing of the spacecraft’s main engine did not operate as expected during a command sequence. “The valves should have opened in a few seconds, but it took several minutes.” Controllers subsequently delayed the planned orbit adjustment burn to allow time to study the issue. As of writing, controllers have still not determined a best way forward and are currently investigating the valves’ potential link to similar failures on Akatsuki and an Intelsat satellite. For Juno, this meant more orbits of Jupiter in its longer orbit. Currently, the spacecraft has completed just three close flybys of Jupiter – not counting the flyby that occurred on the night of its arrival. The third flyby occurred on 11 December, with the fourth now slated for 2 February 2017. For comparison, when the third flyby occurred on 11 December, Juno should have been gearing up for its fifth flyby. Now, if controllers are unable or unwilling to perform the orbit adjustment burn, the effects on the science mission as well as the mission’s planned duration are somewhat unknown. What is known is that the amount and quality of science collected during a close flyby is not affected by the prolonged orbit – which has a much greater apojove than the standard science orbit would but a nearly identical perijove. Nonetheless, NASA has been quiet on the effect the prolonged orbit might have on the science collected at other points in the orbit and the effect the prolonged exposure to Jupiter’s harsh radiation field will have on the craft’s instruments – which now receive just under 4 times the amount of radiation exposure between scientific close flybys of Jupiter. Moreover, Juno’s mission is slated to only last until February 2018 – at which time it is anticipated that Juno will have to be deorbited into Jupiter’s atmosphere due to system failures triggered by the intense radiation. Additionally, Juno mission directives call for a minimum of 7 to 10 operational flybys of Jupiter to achieve minimum mission success. Given the safe mode pre-approach profile flown in October, the first operational flyby did not occur until 11 December – though even this wasn’t a fully operational flyby as a critical instrument, the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM), was not active due to the need to upload a software patch to allow Juno’s software to process information from JIRAM. At present, if Juno is forced to remain in its 53.4-day orbit and if it still needs to be purposefully disposed of into Jupiter’s atmosphere in February 2018, the mission stands a high chance of not actually or just barely meeting minimum mission success criteria. Cassini – 19 years after launch, the intrepid little probe prepares for its Grand Finale exit: For Cassini, 2016 began as the last 11 years have – dutifully looping around the majestic ringed planet Saturn. The first major event for Cassini this year was a carefully choreographed observation of Enceladus as it occulted – passed in front of, as viewed from a specific location – the star Epsilon Orionis, the central star in Orion’s belt. Previous Cassini observations of Enceladus saw its polar eruptions spraying three times as much icy dust into space when the moon neared aposaturnium – farthest point in its elliptical orbit around Saturn. But scientists hadn’t had an opportunity to see if the gas part of the eruptions – which account for the majority of the plume’s mass – also increased at this time. They got that chance on 11 March… and the results were surprising. During a carefully planned observation, Cassini set its gaze on Epsilon Orionis, and at the appointed time, Enceladus – roughly at aposaturnium – and its erupting plume glided in front of the star. Cassini’s Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (UVIS) measured how water vapor in the plume dimmed Epsilon Orionis’ ultraviolet light, thereby revealing how much gas the plume contained. Since lots of extra icy dust appears at this point in Enceladus’ orbit, scientists expected to measure a lot more gas in the plume. But instead of the expected large increase in gas output, UVIS only saw a bump of 20% in the total amount of gas. “We went after the most obvious explanation first, but the data told us we needed to look deeper,” said Cassini scientist Candy Hansen. This led Hansen and her colleagues to focus on one of Enceladus’ ejecta-spewing jets that was discovered to be four times more active than anticipated – producing 8% of the occultation-observed plume’s total gas instead of just 2% as predicted. Thus, the occultation observation revealed that at least some of the narrow jets that erupt from the moon’s surface blast with increased fury when the moon is at aposaturnium – but why the gas in the plume was so much less than anticipated is still a mystery. However, the new observations provide helpful insights on what could be going on with the underground plumbing – cracks and fissures through which water from the moon’s potentially habitable subsurface ocean makes its way into space. Following this observation, the first major scientific release from previously gathered Cassini data occurred in April when scientists announced confirmation of a 2014 discovery that the Ligeia Mare sea on Titan was composed primarily of liquid methane. “Before Cassini, we expected to find that Ligeia Mare would be mostly made up of ethane, which is produced in abundance in the atmosphere when sunlight breaks methane molecules apart,” said Alice Le Gall, a Cassini radar team associate. “Instead, this sea is predominantly made of pure methane.” The confirmation of the 2014 discovery came from data collected with Cassini’s radar during flybys of Titan between 2007 and 2015. But with this discovery – as do most things in science – came a host of new questions, one being how the methane in the lake is replenished. same data also revealed that the shoreline of Ligeia Mare may be porous and flooded with liquid hydrocarbons. This hypothesis comes from Cassini data that did not show any significant difference between the sea’s temperature and that of the shore throughout the local winter to spring timeframe. Scientists had expected that – like on Earth – the surrounding solid terrains would warm more rapidly than the sea. “It’s a marvelous feat of exploration that we’re doing extraterrestrial oceanography on an alien moon,” said Steve Wall, deputy lead of the Cassini radar team at JPL. “Titan just won’t stop surprising us.” And the moon did not stop surprising throughout the year. On 25 July, Cassini performed its 122nd close flyby of Titan, observing the moon’s long, linear dunes, thought to be comprised of grains derived from hydrocarbons that have settled out of Titan’s atmosphere. Cassini has shown that dunes of this sort encircle most of Titan’s equator, and scientists use the dunes to learn about winds, the sands the dunes are composed of, and topographical changes. The flyby also allowed Cassini to investigate a mysterious region known as Xanadu Annex. The main Xanadu region was first imaged in 1994 by the Hubble Space Telescope and was the first surface feature recognized on Titan. The new Cassini data revealed that the Xanadu Annex was composed of the same type of mountainous terrains observed in Xanadu. Overall, though, Xanadu and its Annex remain something of a mystery as mountainous terrain elsewhere on Titan appears in small, isolated patches. But Xanadu covers a large area. “These mountainous areas appear to be the oldest terrains on Titan, probably remnants of the icy crust before it was covered by organic sediments from the atmosphere,” said Rosaly Lopes, a Cassini radar team member at JPL. Nonetheless, the observation of Xanadu and southern hemisphere terrain during Titan flyby 122 marked the final observation of southern hemisphere targets for Cassini. In August, when Cassini flew by Titan again, it focused – as will the final three remaining flybys – on the northern hemisphere lake region. During the August flyby, Cassini discovered deep, steep-sided canyons on Titan flooded with liquid hydrocarbons. The discovery marked the first direct evidence of the presence of liquid-filled channels on Titan, as well as the first observation of canyons hundreds of meters deep. Then, when Cassini returned to Titan on 30 November, the flyby was carefully choreographed to gently nudge Cassini into the initial phase of its penultimate orbit. The nudge from Titan’s gravity altered Cassini’s orbit just enough to send the probe arcing high over and under Saturn’s poles and amazingly close to the outer-most edges of Saturn’s rings. The new orbit resulted in an orbital period of seven days, and Cassini will perform 20 of these Ring-Grazing Orbits. As Cassini moved toward completion of the first of these orbits and its first ring-graze, the craft fired its main engine for 6 seconds at 07:09 EST on 4 December – about one hour prior to the first ring-graze. The engine burn completed Cassini’s orbit alteration to place the craft into the proper position for its penultimate 20-orbit mission. At 08:09 EST that same day, Cassini grazed through the faint, outer-most F-ring of Saturn. A few hours after the ring-plane crossing, Cassini began a complete scan across the rings with its radio science experiment to study the rings’.” On 11 December, Cassini completed its second ring-graze dive, returning spectacular, up-close images of what is arguably the most majestic structure in the solar system. But as amazing and scientifically rich as the images are, they are a reminder that all good things must come to an end. the Space Science Institute. The current series of Ring-Grazing Orbits will set Cassini up for one last flyby of Titan on 22 April 2017 – a flyby that will mark the commencement of Cassini’s Grand Finale. The final encounter with Titan, designed to cause Cassini’s orbit to jump over Saturn’s rings, will begin the 22 orbit Grand Finale sequence that will take Cassini into the 2,400 km (1,500 mi) gap between Saturn and the inner-most of its rings. These 22 orbits will culminate on 15 September 2017 at 08:07 EDT (12:07 UTC) when Cassini plunges into Saturn’s atmosphere – transmitting back as much data as it can until Cassini bids its farewell. *Click here for Part 1 of NASASpaceflight.com’s 2016 Year In Review* *Click here for Part 2 of NASASpaceflight.com’s 2016 Year In Review* (Part 4 – Pluto – of NASASpaceflight.com’s 5-part Year In Review will be published in the coming days) (Images: NASA and L2 Artist Nathan Koga. The full gallery of Nathan’s L2 images can be *found here*)

Page 18 article text (OCR) It Golesburq Reaister-Maif, Gdesbura, ill, Friday,. July )2. 1963 Market Reports Today New York Stexki NEW YORK <UtH) - Stock market midday prices: Admiral 18 3 /4 Int Paper 29 Aldens 26% Int T&T 5044 Allegh Lud 10% Iowa Pitt — Alld Chem 49% Johns-Man 47% Alld Strs 52 Allis Chal 17% Alum Ltd 27 Alcoa 67% Am Air 26% ABC Pmt 30'/4 Am Can 45 7 / 8 Am Cyan 59% Am M&F 20'A Am Mtrs 18Vs Am T&T 121% Am Tob 28% Anaconda 49% Armour 41% Atchison 29% Avco 28V4 Bendix 51% Beth Stl 30% Boeing 35% Borden 62-V4 Borg War 45 Case 9 Catplr 45% Celanese 48 Celotex 27% Cent Soya 29% C&NW 26% Chi RI 25% Chrysler 58% Cities Svc 67'A Coca Cola 95'A Colum Gas 29% Comm Ed 49 Cons Ed 85% Cont Can 47% ' Cont Oil 60V4 Deere 63% Douglas 23 V* Dow Chem 59% Du Pont 243% Eastman 109V4 El Auto Li 25% Erie 3% Fairbks M 12% Firestone 34% Flintkt 21% Ford Mtrs 51% Friden 34% Fruehauf 29V* Gen Dyna 25Vi Gen El 79 7 / 8 Gen Fds 82 Gen Mtrs 70 Gen Tel 24% Goodrich 47% Goodyear 33% Grant WT 23% Gt Nor 53 Greyhound 40% Gulf Oil 48% Homestake 52V4 Hupp 7'/H HI Cent 55 111 Pwr 38 V\ Inland Stl 39 IBM 435% Int Harv 57% Int Nick 60% Kennecott 72% Kresge 23% Kroger 30 Lib McN 15 Lockhd 54% Mar Oil 57% Maytag 35% Min Hnywl 103% Minn Min 58% Monsanto 50% Mont Ward 37% Nat Bis 53 Nat Can 16 Nat Dairy 65% Nat Gyps 46Vi Nat Ld 73 NYC 21% No Amn 57 1 /Nor Pac 46 Nor St Pwr 36% Olin Math 42 Outbd M 11% Pac Tel 31% Penney 42 Penn RR 19% Pepsi Cola 54 Phil Pet 52% Piper Air 28% Pure Oil 44% RCA 70 Rep Stl 36% Revlon 42% Rexall 35% Reyn Tob 39 Safeway 59 7 /s Schenley 22% Sears 89% Shell Oil 45% Simmons 41'A Sinclair 45% So Pac 36% Sperry 14% Sq D 45% Std Bds 74% SO Cal 65% SO Ind 60'A SO NJ 69% SO Ohio 61% Stude Pack 6% Swift 40 Texaco 72% Texas Inst 75% Un Carb 105% Un El 27% Un Pac 41% Unt Air L 37% Utd Corp 8% Utd Fruit 26% Utd Gas 38% US Gyps 85% US Play C 26% US Rub 45% US Stl 46% Wstghs Ab 30% Wstghs El 35% Woolworth 70% Yng S&T 100% 19.00-19.25; mixed 1-3 190-230 lbs 18.50-19.00; 230-260 lbs 18.00-18.50; 2-3 250-270 lbs 17.75-18.25; 270-300 lbs'17.25-17.75; 1-3 325-350 lb sows 15.25-16.25 ; 350-400 lbs 14.50-15.50; 400-450 lbs 13.50-14.75; 2-3 450-550 lbs 12.75-13.75. Cattle 7,500; calves none; slaughter steers 50 to 75 lower; couple loads mostly prime 1,250- 1,275'lb slaughter steers 27.00; mixed high choice and prime 1,100-1,450 lbs 25.75-26.75; choice 900-1,450 lbs 24.75-26.00; load high choice 1,496 lbs 25.25; good 9001,250 lbs 22.00-24.00; choice 8001,100 lb slaughter heifers 24.0025.00; several loads high choice with some prime 1,000-1,050 lbs 25.50; utility and commercial cows 14.00-16.00; utility and commercial bulls 19.50-20.75. ( Sheep 200; spring slaughter lambs steady but hardly enough for a market test; half deck choice and prime 98 lb spring slaughter lambs 22.00; good and choice 80-100 lbs 20.00-21.50; cul to good slaughter ewes 4.50-6.50 nels filling up pipelines quickly. Speculators noted that lenders on July contracts in the pit had begun to circulate fairly freely. Wheat was % cent a bushel higher to 1 cent lower, July $1.79 %; corn % higher to % lower, July $1.30%; oats unchanged to V\ lower, July 66% cents; rye % higher to % lower, July $2.26%; soybeans % to 1% lower, July $2.63%. Braves and Cards Split Doubleheader Peoria Livestock PEORIA, 111. (AP) — (USDA) —Hogs 3,800; moderately active butchers about steady with an in complete clearance; sows steady to 25 lower; 1-2 190-230 lb butch ers 18.75-19.00;. mixed 1-3 180-240 lbs 18.25-18.75; limited volume 2-3 240-270 lbs 17.75-18.25; 2-3 270-300 lbs 17.00-17.75; 1-3 270-380 lb sows 14.75-15.75; 1-3 380-450 lbs 13.7514.75; 2-3 450-550 lbs 13.00-13.75; 2-3 550-650 lbs 12.50-13.00. Interior Hog Prices SPRINGFIELD, 111. (AP) — (USDA)—Interior Illinois hog pric es (Stale-Federal): Receipts 20,000; 1-3 190-240 lb butchers 17.7518.50, mostly 17.75-18.25; 1-2 190230 lbs 18.50-18.75, around 475 head at 18.75; 1-3 240-260 lbs 17.0017.75; 2-3 260-300 lbs limited vol ume unevenly 16.25-17.00; 1-3 280330 lb sows 15.00-16.00;. 1-3 300-400 bs 14.00-15.00; 2-3 400-500 lbs 13.00-14.00; 2-3 500-600 lbs mostly 12.25-13.00. Eggs and Poultry Red Rowe, Hatchery Knoxville Road, Galcsburg Large clean Eggs 22c Under grade Eggs 16c Leghorn Hens 3c Heavy Hens 7c Chicago Produce CHICAGO (UPD—Produce: Live poultry too few receipts to report prices. Cheese processed loaf 39-44; brick 39-43%; Swiss Grade A 5055; B 49-53. Butter steady; 93 score 57'-; 92 score 57 1 -j; 90 score 55%; 89 score 54%. E^gs steady; white kir^e extras 31; mixed kirge extras 30'-; mediums 25%; standards 28%. Galesburg Hog Market Galesburg Order Buyers C. B. & Q. Stockyards Market 25 cents lower. Best bulk of eastern shipping hogs, 18-$18.25: top, $18.50. Quotations: 200-230 $17.75-$18.50 230-250 $17.25-$18.25 250-300 $16.00-$17.75 Packing sows ...$12.50-$15.25, Monday's Estimates CHICAGO (AP) - Estimated livestock receipts for Monday arc 12.000 cattle, 7,000 hogs and 700 sheep. Bushnell Livestock Market is steady. Top $18.50; 190-250 pounds, $17.75-$18.25; 250300, $l(i:75-$17.75; sows steady, bulking at $13.50-$16; cattle, steady; lambs, steady. Chicago Livestock CHICAGO (AP) - lUSDA) Hogs 6,000; butchers weak to 25 lower; 1-2 190-225 lb butchers FOR SALE ANGUS BULLS. Farmers price. G. R. GAMES, Victoria Grain Futures CHICAGO (AP) - Transactions in the grain futures market were mixed with prices rather unsettled today on the Board of Trade. Wheat and soybeans started off under moderate pressure but prices quickly recovered somewhat from the opening lows. Corn started steady to firm then turned mixed. Trade was only moderately active with no significant new factors. Brokers said wheat may be undergoing its peak of harvest time pressure just now with movement into commercial chan- ST. LOUIS (AP)-An attempt by the St. Louis baseball Cardinals to duplicate their first game efforts in a twi-night doubleheader failed, as the Milwaukee Braves turned on their old teammate Lew Burdette to salvage the nightcap. The Cardinals thrilled a capacity crowd in the first game Thursday night by hacking away for five runs in the seventh to win 6-3. The fans were let down in the second game when their favorites, seemingly on their, way back in the eighth, couldn't quite catch the Braves who triumphed, 5-3. A two-run double by Dick Groat and a home run by Bill White- all in that fabulous seventh—were the crowning points in the Cardinals' opening win. The Braves had led 3-1 going into the seventh, but the rebounding Cardinals caught them off guard. Cardinal fans thought the Redbirds were about to duplicate their first game efforts when they came back with two runs. But the rally was still one shy needed for the victory. The Braves, facing old teammate Burdette for the first- time, showed little mercy as they got to him for four runs and seven :iils. Lee Maye's seventh inning lome run proved the deciding^ un. It came with none aboard. The Cardinals and Braves will face each other tonight at Busch Stadium. Tony Cloninger (5-4) is expected to face the Cardinals' Bob Gibson (8-4). Market* of o Glance By United Press International Stocks lower in moderate trading. Bonds irregular. U. S. government bonds firm in quiet trading. American stocks irregularly lower. Midwest stocks lower. Cotton futures irregular. Grains in Chicago: Wheat, corn, oats, rye, soybeans mixed. Hogs weak to 25 lower, top 19.50; cattle 50 to 75 lower, top 27.00; sheep steady, top 22.00. Galesburg Grain Market Consumers Grain * Supply Co. 12:15 P. M. Wheat $1.78 Corn (old) $1.21 Corn (new) $1.05 Oats 58c Soybeans (old) $2.45 Soybeans (new) ...$2.43 DeForest Feed A Seed Co. Wheat $1.80 Corn $1.20 Oats 58c Soybeans $2.45 Chicago Grain Range CHICAGO (AP)— Prev. High Low Close close Wheat Prev. High Low Close close 1.80'/fe 1.78y 8 1.78% 1.80 1.82 J A 1.80 1.81 1.81% 1.89V 2 1.86V 8 1.89V4 1.87% 1.91V4 1.89 1.90y 8 l .90 1 /<! Jul Sep Dec Mar May 1964 Jul Sep Corn Jul Sep Dec Mar May Oats Jul Sep Dec Mar May Rye Jul Sep Dec Mai- May 1.86 1.83V4 1.86 1.84% 1.61 V-i 1.62 V 2 1.30V;; 1 95 Vo 1.59'/ 8 1.60V4 1.61 V4 1.60% 1.61% 1 .62V2 1.29 3 / 8 1.29% 1.23% 1.24 1.301/ 1.24T 1.18i/i 1.17 1.21% 1.20% 1 .241 /4 1.23% .67% .70% .72% .72% .66 .67% .70% .72% .72% 1.17% 1.18% 1.20% 1.21i/t 1.23% 1.23% .66% .66% .67% .67% :70% .70% .72% .72% .72V4 .72% 1.30% 1.33% 1.36% 1.26% 1.26% 1.26% 1.30 1.30 1.33% 1.34 1.36 1.36% 1.29 1 / 1.33 1.36 1.34% 1.34% 1.34% 1.34% FOR SALE COOKING APPLES H. B. REYNOLDS ORCHARD Oneida, III. Phone 483-3881 Sportsman's Park CHICAGO (UPD—Byrd Yates, reined by Jacques Grcnier, matched the meet's best mile clocking for a 3 -year-old pacer at Sportsman's Park Thursday night in winning the feature race. The time was 2:02.4. Mighty G. E. ran a length behind in second place and whipped O. F. Brady by a neck. First Gold Cup NEW YORK (UPD—The first Gold Cup race for motor boats in 1904 was won by C. C. Riotte, whose fastest heat was at 23.6 miles per hour. HEAD t'HE WAN'l ADS' Soybeans Jul Aug Sep Nov Jan Mai- May 2.65% 2.61% 2.62% 2.65 2.67 2.62% 2.63% 2.66% 2.66 2.61% 2.63% 2.65% 2.66% 2.61% 2.63% 2.65% 2.69% 2.65 2.67 2.69 2.72% 2.68 2.69% 2.71% 2.74% 2.69% 2.72 2.74 TERMITES? FOR FREE INSPECTION -CALL — ALEXANDER LUMBER CO. 215 EAST SOUTH STREET 343-2171 ' Agents for COPPES TERMITE CONTROL SERVICE, INC. over 10 yrs. dependable service TERMITES ROACHES — WATER BUGS Other Pest Control Free Inspection estimates and • Locally owned and operated • Insured Frantz Chemical Co. PHONE 342-5713 FRONTYARD SALE 27 MICHIGAN SATURDAY, JULY 13 Fiefrigerntor. slove, bed, dishes. Pans and Misc. items. 10 A.M. til Sold Backyard & Rummage Sales, etc. Must 12 noon runs. be in our office day before ad Call 342-5161 Galesburg Register-Mail Display Advertising Dept. SUMMER SPECIAL! July lst-August 15th Furnace & Warm & Cold Air Ducts $| 75O Cleaned Furnace & Chimney All Work Insured and Guaranteed! SERVICE CLEAN ELDON AUTEN, Owner Ph. Galesburg 342-5016 Avon 465-3940 M7 $]05O ! I 4 ipdroom, Carpeted Living Room, Paneled Recreation Room, Kitchen with Built-in Stova •nd Oven, Hi Bath, Basement. $3000 IHOW APPBAISAl PRICE - LOW DOWN PAYMENT - PHONE 343-5068 1 MACHINERY USED 1—540 Utility Case Tractor with industrial loader (160 hrs.). See us on this one. New guarantee. 1—John Daere'4010 Tractor. 1—John Deere A Tractor. 1—841 Case Tractor (only 410 hours). 1—400 Int. Diesel Tractor (complete overhaul on engine and torque converter). i— 1 SI Int. Soli propelled Combine with 14-il. grain head with hune reel and 4-row corn head, used one season. 1—12A John Deere Combine. 1—No. 25 John Deere Combine. }—Case 331 ocute rake. Abovo Machinery is in very good condition- GRAIN BELT EQUIP. CO. Wesi edge New Windsor. 111. Dealers in Case Farm Machinery Telephone New Windsor Z-40. €Meete Cattt Ofihtf CHICAGO (AP)-Wheat No. 1 red 1.83%; Nd. 1 hard 1.96tt! No. l yellow hard i.M %46ttt No. 4 yellow hard 1.93V4. Corn No. 1 yellow 1.35'A; sample grade yellow 1.24. Oats No. 1 extra heavy white 74. No soybean sales. Soybean oil 9>/fen. Dew Jones Averages NEW YORK (UPD-Dow Jones I p.m. CDT stock averages: 30 indus 707.31 Off 2.45 20 rails 174.23 off 0.64 15 Utils 139.61 Up 0.22 65 stocks 255.59 off 0.65 final Orchn Review CHICAGO (AP) - The grain futures market was mostly sharply lower in the early afternoon today as liquidation became general in all commodities on the Board of Trade. Setbacks in wheat ranged to more than two cents a bushel and in soybeans to around three cents. Corn was down more than a cent on new crop months and other grains off major fractions. Carlot receipts today were estimated at: wheat 331 cars, corn 119, oats 5, rye.none, barley 19, soybeans 34, Wheat fihished 1 cent a bushel lower to 1% higher, July $1.7978%; corn %*1 cent lower, July $1.29%-%; oats Vs-% lower, July 66 ft /s cents; rye V* higher to % lower, July $1.26 7 / B ; soybeans 1%2% lower, July $2.62%-%. Wall Street NEW YORK (AP)—The stock market weakened, taking a mod- irate loss late this afternoon, as Chrysler slid* Volume for the 1 day was estimated at 1? million shires compared with 4.13 million Thursday. Losses of most key stocks went from fractions to about a point. Chrysler, however, dropped about 2 points and was unloaded on a series of sizable blocks, Earlier in the session Chrysler had held fairly well, absorbing a fractional loss while the list as a whole was Irregular, showing a slight gain on average. The market 's gain was washed out in the afternoon as a number of stocks took sharp losses. Beckman Instruments dropped more than 3, MGM about 2, and Boeing more than a point. Control Data was a 2-point loser. Losses of a point or so were taken by IBM, Du Pont, and Merck. American Smelting also was off around 2. Oils, which had been strong in early trading, held to the plus side. Xerox was up about 5 points. Steels Were narrowly mixed, SMORGASBORD Spoon River Cafe LONDON MILLS, ILL. — Every Sunday — Serving 11:38 A.M. to 4 P.M. 75c - Child under 12 $1.50 — Adults STUMP CUTTING May cost lew than you think to gat rid of that unsightly •tump. Call DeWAYNE JOHNSON EXCAVATING Phona 342-0I1S GOOD—3 bdrm. at bath, amall Knox Co. village. BETTER—3 bdrm. a: bath, Knoxville, block to itorei. BEST—3 bdrm. * bath, 1 acre, hot water heat, Knoxville. $2500.00 - $6500.00 $9500.00 Also, real good 2-bdrm., gaa ht. Galesburg prop. See Dole H. Bragg Phone 289-2121 FURNITURE AUCTION 960 North Cherry Street Saturday, July 13 — 1:30 P.M. (DST) As I have sold my home, I will sell my furniture as follows: 1 drawer walnut table; 2 matching couches; marble top coffee table; pie crust table; occ. table; club chair; floor lamps; table lamps; figurines and bric-a-brac; combination Philco radio and record player; love seat; tea cart; Seth Thomas mantle chime clock, spinet desk and chair, sewing rocker, ladder back chair, mirrors, books, spool legged table; 2 caned walnut ladder back chairs; drop front desk; seven head hand carved chair; glass door roll top secretary; 9-pc. round table dining room suite; china cabinet; chaise lounge; marble top dresser and commode; 48" spool bed, Birdseye maple chest of drawers; 42" bed complete; triple mirror vanity and chair; boudoir chair; 4-drawer chest; gold chair; 2 cedar chests; some bedding and linens; wardrobe; 2 hampers; shoe storage box; throw rugs; bamboo shades; Detroit Jewel gas stove; cabinet base; step stools; easy spin dry washer; apt. size washer; pictures and frames; filing cabinet; trunks; electric heater; some antique dishes; some cut glass; China head doll; costume jewelry; other jewelry; copper tea kettles; cider press; girls' bicycle; wagon wheelbarrow; step ladder; ladders; garden and yard tools; hand tools; log chain; iron kettle; fruit jars; set of 6 dining chair; piece of white marble; dishes; some club aluminum, and other items too numerous to mention. JAMES E. WEBSTER—Owner CORBIN'S AUCTION SERVICE KENT and COOK, Auctioneers — Phone 343-9033 " FREDERICK ERICKSON—Clerk REMEMBER THIS SALE TO BE HELD RAIN OR SHINE HOUSEHOLD AUCTION SATURDAY, JULY 13 7:00 P.M. (DST) 559 N. CHAMBERS ST. SALE WILL BE HELD RAIN OR SHINE The following merchandise will be sold to the highest bidder: 2 nice matching lamps, turquoise 2-pc. modern liv, rm. suite; 3-pc. blond end table set; blond full stereo console record player; tan sofa lounge; 19" blond Admiral TV (works good); blond kneehole desk and chair; 9-drawer child's chest; 3-pc. charcoal modern bedroom suite, consisting of Mr. and Mrs. dresser, chest of drawers and bed with box spring and innerspring mattress; 11 or 12' '61 model Coronado refrigerator. This refrigerator looks like new, 5-pc. yellow chrome set; white '60 model apt. size gas stove, (visador oven); child's swing set; bought new at Easter, cost $40.00 new; child's toys; '63 model Honda 110-motorcycle. OWNER—WAYNE DAWSON JR. DALE F. COFFEY—Auctioneer AUCT. COMMENT: This furniture is all lale model and In nice condition. Don't forget the time—7 p.m. sharp. Par Annum Payable Semi-Annuaily Investments by the 15th Earn from the First with Insured Safety AT AND LOAN ASSOCIATION 250 EAST MAIN ST. WANTED TO RENT 2, 3, and 4 Bedroom Homes for Gale Products Management Employees, being trans* ferred to Galesburg. Call Gale Products, 342-2131, Personnel Dept., between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. nils unchanged to tow «r, motors Prices oft itie America Stotk mostly lower. Rubbers and building materials maintained narrow advance*. Radio Corp. held a fractional gain while General Electric canceled an early rise arid showed a fractional net loss. Exchange wf ft fnlxeoY Corporate bonds were rhlxed, U.S. government bonds wert un* changed to a shade higher. Angus Ctittlt FOR SALE Unlit, cawft *ftfi ctltet, epee •id bred heifen. Ross E. Honito Little York, 111. Phona HA t-*ltt WANTED TO BUY Storm windows, combination storm doors, glass doors, old window shutters, stools and tanks, lavatorys, windows, lumber all sizes, no oak; stokers, furnaces, hot water Yienters and odds and ends at miscellaneous Items. We have a nice hot water boiler and Xew radiators for sale—and some building material. We wreck all type of houses, buildings, farms, sheds, garages, so If you have a building you want off of your lot give Us a call—note this phone number, daytime 342-6226; evenings after 6 o'clock 343-3816, CALL or WRITE ' MAY & SON WRECKING and USED LUMBER CO. Our Naw Location—1353 Monmouth Blvd.— Olfic* at 951 W. Main AUCTION SATURDAY, JULY 13th 10 A.M. Good Income Property 2 APARTMENT HOUSE 784 Ella St. 5 rooms and bath down, 4 rooms and bath up. Private entrance, double garage, gas heat, large beautiful lot. Lovely screened and glassed-in porches (both up and down.) Immediate possession. To be Sold by CORBIN AND KENT AUCTIONEERS (If not sold before sale date) ' Shown by appointment call Dick Wilcoxen 343-4979 or auctioneer KNOXVILLE COMMUNITY SALE INC. KNOXVILLE, ILLINOIS "Your First Local Auction. Your Best Local Market." PHONE 289-9213 "SALE EVERY MONDAY" MONDAY, JULY 15, 1963 SALE STARTS AT 12 O'CLOCK SHARP 1 Registered Black Angus bull. 100 Head of Black & Hereford steers, wt. 950 lbs. Two way cattle all from one man. 32 Choice Black steers and heifers, wt. 850 : 950 lbs. 30 Black and Whiteface steers, wt. 750-900 lbs. 15 steers and heifers, wt. 500-550 lbs. 12 Black heifers out of Registered cows, 650-700 lbs. Some Black cows with calves at side. 50 Mixed pigs, wt. 60-70 lbs. 60 Hamp pigs, wt. 80-90 lbs. 30 White pigs, wt. 70-80 lbs. Unthrifty Hogs Will Not Be Accepted IF YOU HAVE LIVESTOCK TO SELL — Call Us for An Estimate or An Appraisal W. E. Brunlga Bill Reynolds Knoxville Sale Co. Farmington CH 5-2054 Galesburg, 111. 342-09M 289-9213 AUCTIONEERS Lewis Marks — Carl Steck Baler Twine Prices hove advanced $1.50 per bole But NOT at DeForest FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY (Money Bock Guarantee) BALER TWINE each $7.70 10 Bales or more --each 7.50 ROTO BALER TWINE each 8.80 10 Bales or more each 8.60 BINDER TWINE each $10,15 10 Bales or more each 9.95 Stronger - Uniform - Knotless • Treated DeForest Feed & Seed Co. GALESBURG ABINGDON i

Page 10 article text (OCR) i'age 10 REDLANDS, CALIFORNIA APRIL 25, 1964 Don't, count on your toothbrush to prevent cavities Parents may Avant to censor this item before their kids see it Some manufacturers might like to censor it before anybody sees it. Anyway, Dr. Ralph R. Steinman, who happens to be a resident of Yucaipa, has stated that "brushing teeth makes no difference in preventing cavities." What gives it impact is the role in which he spoke, and the place where he said it He was speaking as professor of oral medicine at the Loma Linda School of Dentistry. It was in the Health Bulletin that he reported that at least two studies show that children who brush the most have slightly more decay than those who skip brushing. "The areas most susceptible to decay," says Dr. Steinman, "can't be reached with a toothbrush." The real ans\ver to tooth decay. Dr. Steinman believes, lies in chan^ng our eating habits. The chief causes of decay, he says, are, first, between-meal snacks; second, desserts; and third, refined grains, such as macaroni, cold cereals and white bread. The amount of nibbling children do, says the dentist, has a "very, very close relationship" to the number of cavities they have. The average person consumes about 100 pounds of sugar a year. Dr. Steinman has cut his family's individual consumption to 12 pounds. Toothbrushing is such an ingrained habit with Americans, and the merits of various brands of toothpaste are so constantly and forcibly presented to our eyes and ears, that most of lis would consider it heresy to give up brushing our teeth. Dr. Steinman undoubtedly has a good point about diet, though. Too many of us have the idea that v.delding the brush and tube two or three times a day is all.we need worry about. Time and tide don't wait William 0. Douglas, Associate Justice of tlie U.S. Supreme Court, put registrars of voters in nearly every California county in a bind Wednesday when he ordered them to stop preparations for the June 2 Presidential Primary Election. Harold Stassen had appealled to the court, claiming that he should have a delegation to tlie Republican National Convention on the ballot "All right," Mr. Douglas said, in effect. "We won't let the registrars print the ballots until we decide if your name should go on them." This created a neai' crisis because a great deal of lead time is necessary in order to get sample ballots, absentee ballots and regular ballots printed in sufficient time. It must be remembered that in a single county it takes numerous variations of tlie ballot to ac comodate local contests such as justice court judgeships. Fortunately, the rest of the Supreme Court does not shai'e what often appeai^s to be Mr. Douglas' view of the law — tliat anything in the U.S.A. can wait until the court has had time to consider any point of law that is so tiny it takes a microscope to see it Yesterday the court found that sbc justices did not consider the Stassen appeal to be sufficiently gi-ounded. Not w a i t i n g until Monday — which is the custom — the court made its decision known at once. The election officials in California could get on with their work, \vithout further loss of precious time. The simple moral to the whole Stassen case is: "Meet your deadlines." California law was explicit as to how many valid signatures were needed to put his delegation on the ballot and the deadline was fbced. Stassen did not file petitions bearing sufficient valid signatures within the period prescribed by law, "Time and tide wait for no man" . . . and that includes aspurants for President. The Newsreel Evolutionists now think that nature may have tried out several different kinds of man before deciding on the one we're stuck with. A perennial problem of our diplomats is that they don't get enough money for cocktails. Also, these days, it takes a rich ambassador to pay the putty and window- glass bill. Scientists are beating the gamblers. There may have to be a new house rule: "Check your 6-guns and computers at the door." Proponents of daylight saving point out that Benjamin Franklin thought it up. He was also the man who thought it was a good idea to fly kites in a thunderstorm. When he reaches his mid-teens the average American boy is likely to be taller and heavier than his father. But, of course, there may also be other factors in the decline of parental discipline. The problem of getting men to the moon is about to be solved. Getting them to and from work in our cities will, of coui:se, take a little longer. With a Grain Of Salt By Frank and BiD Meere B/ FRANK MOORE At 3:07 p.m. Tuesday the Rev. Keith Kenny, Chaplain of Uie California Senate, opened the day's session with a prayer of 137 words. Just 35 minutes later the same minister in the same chamber again offered an opening prayer — but this one was as quick and short as' grace before supper. The Girl Scouts of Antioch Troop 2578, who were in the gallery, may have been astonished at this repetitious ceremonial. But old Senate hands didn't bat an eye. They are quite accustomed to the Constitutional quirk that causes them to play a daily double header. The first one concerns money (the budget) and the second one, laws. When you visit the Legislature in Sacramento, the proceedings may look chaotic. Many a visitor is shocked that "DO one paid any attention whild Senator Jones was speaking." But as a veteran of umpteen hundred committee, club and organizational meetings, wc watched with unbounded admiration the rapid dispatch of business in Uie Senate Tuesday. Amateurs can spend half an hour merely reading Uie minutes of the last meeting and setting the time and place of the next meeting. By our rough tally, the Senators, in just 3S minutes, dealt with 33 different bills and resolutions, heard 15 committee reports, answered nine roll calls, and gave their consent to 11 important appointments by the Governor. Man — that's really rolling. It is (rue, of course. Oiat much of the maUer was trivial, such as congratulating Gov. Edmund Brown on his S91h birthday and applauding "Picnic Day" at the University of California, Davis. But tlic Senate did deal with such substanUal appointments as Lawrence E. Wilson as Warden of San Qucntin Prison, Warren Thompson as Director of the Department of Rehabilitation, and Dr. James B. Lowry as Director of I^Icntal Hygiene. They considered the plight of schools which have no property lax revenue because they are situated in State Parks. They approved of a small experiment in houses for farm workers, to be needed because the bracero program is ending. They authorized the State Division of Beaches and Parks to consider whether picnic and camp grounds should be financed under the November bond issue for Mitchell Caverns on tlie Mojave Desert of our county. This was on a resolution by Senator Eugene Nisbct of our county; a similar resolution by Assemblyman Stewart Hinckley of Redlands will cause Cima Dome to be similarly considered. Although many of the matters in these daily sessions do not loom large in the entire state scheme of things, they arc frequently important to somebody somewhere in California. How do they dispatch business in their sessions so fast? JIainly by expert use of the parliamentary rules wc laymen have so much book learning m, but use so poorly in most of our meetings. They do most of the detailed, compUcated work in committees. They have a printed order of business and slick to it They waste no time in talking about things they are already agreed upon. They follow the rules. When they are through, they quit. If only they could cvport some of that expertise to their constituents back home, we could shorten most of our meetings by one half. A seasoned skipper at the helm Teletips TELEVISION TOP SHOW: — S:30, Chan. 2. The Defenders. "The Thief." A kleptomaniac faces life imprisonment after she is charged with her fourth offense. Glynis Johns, Laurence Naismith head guest cast. 6:30 — Chan. 4. Hour-long special story of a new therapeutic technique which helped bring a boy "back to life." Shows the work of the Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential. 8:30 — Chan. 4. Joey Bishop Show. Joey and Andy Williams as his guest star, openly defy their wives and discover they can be replaced. Robert Goulct and Danny Thomas make "cameo" appearances. 9:30 — Chan. 7. Ken Murray is tonight's host. Performers arc Eddie Albert, Jane Blorgan, Roman and Martin. Redlands Yesterdays FIVE YEARS AGO Temperatures — Highest 74, lowest 48. Hundreds of youngsters join in the annual pet and bike parade from the YMCA through the business district to the Redlands Bowl. Redlands - grown citrus dominates the citrus sweepstakes in the National Orange Show which is currenUy in progress. Mrs. Theodore Krumm becomes fifth honorary life member of Redlands Horticultural and Improvement Society at luncheon opening the annual Flower show. TEN YEARS AGO Temperatures — Highest 66, lowest 52. T\vo-day Scout-O-Rama at the National Guard Armory draws more than 1500 visitors. Jim Verdieck's UR tennis team sweeps the independent colleges division of famed Ojai tournament. FIFTEEN YEARS AGO Temperatures — Highest "8, lowest 53. Five major programs get under way in Redlands as Square Dancing hits a new popularity peak. The giant seedling orange trees on the Hinckley ranch on Cottonwood road being cut back and grafted as an experiment. The 14th annual hobby show, under Lions club sponsorship, will be held in the loby of the YMCA. BERRY'S WORLD SATURDAY EVENING S:00— 2—Movie 4—Tax Cut: Facts and Fallacies 5—Movie 11—Movie 3:15— 3-News 3:25— 9—Discussion 3:30_ 7—770 on TV 3-Movie (C) 7—Wide World of Sports 4:00— 7—Candidate 11—Trails West 5 :30— 4—NBC Sports Special 11—Texan—Western 5:55— 9—Discussion 6:00— 4—News and Sports (c) 3—Abbott t CostcUo H—Bilko 13-Rocky (C) 6:30— 4—What Ever Happened to Eight 5—Jimmie Bodgers 7—Talk Back 3-Our Miss Brooks 11—Movie 13—Bourbon Street Beat 6:45— 2—News 7:00- 2—Sea Hunt 5—Jack Barry 7-Havc Gun-Will T'vl. 9—Movie 7:30— 2—Jackie Gleasan 4—Lieutenant 7—Hootenanny 13—Deadline 8:00— 5—Leave it to Beaver 11—Wrestling 13—Movie 8:30— 2—Defenders 4—Joey Bishop (c) 5—Movie 7—Lawrence Wclk 9—Movie 9:00— 4—Movie 9:30— 2—Phil Silvers 7—Hollywood Palace 10:00— 2—Gunsmoke 5—Dan Smoot 11—News, sports, Featiures 13—Jlovie 10:15— .5—Manion Forum 10:20— 9—Movie 10:30— 5—Movie 7—Movie 11—Hollywood News 11:00— 2, 4—News 11—Movie 11:15— 2—Movie 11:30— 4—Movie 13—Boston Blackie SUNDAY DAYTIME 9:00— 2—Camera Three 5—Adventist Hour 9—Movie 11—Movie 13—Variedades 9:30- 2-Light of Faith 4—Christopher Program 10:00— 2—Learning '64 4—This is the Life 5—For Kids Only 7—Movie 13—Panorama Latino 10:30— 2—Love to Bead 4—Frontiers of Faith 9—Project Today 13—Faith for Today 11:00— 2—Business System 4—Movie 9—Our Jliss Brooks 11—Wonderama 13—Church in the Home 11:30— 2—Sum & Substance 5—Home Buyers' Guide 9—Movie 12:00- 2—Capitol Hill 7—Movie 11—Top Star Bowling 13—Oral Roberts 12:25- 2—News 12:30— 2—Face the Nation 4—Legacy of Light 5—Mo\ie 13—Social Security in Action 12:45-13-Film Feature 1:00— 2-Science Unlimited 4—EUiics (C) 11—Morie 13—Voice of Calvary 1:15— 9-News 1:25— 9—Discussion 1:30_ 2—Food for Fun 4—ConfronUtion (C) 7—Issues Si Answers 9-Movie (C) IS-rCal's Corral _ 2:00— 2—Los Angeles Report 4—Tales of the West (C) 5—Auto Racing 7—Directions '64 2:25— 2—News 2:30— 2—Viewpoint 4—College Report 7—Discovery '64 3:00— 2—Movie 4—Movie 7--CavaIcade of Books 13—News 4:30— 2—JIusical Theater 4—Sunday 5—BooU and Saddles 13—Movie SUNDAY EVENING 5:00— 2—Sports Spectacular 5—Blue Angels 7—Trailmaster 11—Movie 5:30— 2—Amateur Hour 4—G-E College Bowl (c) 5—Invisible Man 5:45—13-FiIm Feature 6:00— 2—TwenUeth Century 4—Meet the Press 5—Polka Parade 7—Movie 13—Rocky & His Friends 6:30-2—Mister Ed 4—Great Conversations 9—Maverick 11—Movie 13-Rod Rocket 7:00— 2—Lassie 4—BiU Dana 5—Movie 13—Pan American Parade 7:30— 2—My Favorite Martian 4-Disney's World (C) 7—Empire 9—Movie 8:00— 2—Ed SuUivan 8:30— 4—Grindl 7—Arrest and Trial 11—Controversy: Rumford Act 9:00— 2—Celebrity Game 4—Bonanza (c) 5—Jledic 11—Boston Symphony 13—Vagabond 9:30— 2—Made in America 5—It is Written 9—People are Funny 13—Dan Smoot 9:45—13—Capitol Reporter 10:00— 2—Candid Camera 4—Soul of an Age (C) 5—ResUess Gun 7—Movie 9—Movie 13—Ann Sothem 10:30- 2—What's My Lme? 5—Business Opportunities 11—Opmion in the Capitol 13—Movie 11:00— 2—News 4—News, Sports (C) 5—Open End 11:15- 2—Movie 11:30— 4—Movie 11:55— 7—News (C) THE ALMANAC By United Press Internitienal Today is Saturday, April 25, jUie 116th day of 1964 wiUi 250 Ito follow. The moon is approaching its I full phase. The morning star is Saturn. The evening star is Venus. On this day in history: In 1846, the first shots of the Mexican War were fired. In 1901, New York became the first state to reqmre license plates on automobiles. In 1945, the U.S. First Army and Russian troops joined forces over the Elbe River. ^ Also in 1945, delegates from 46 countries niet in San Fran- Icisco to form the United Nations. A thought for the day: Scot- Itish novelist Sir Walter Scott said—'Too much rest is rust." ASSIGNMENT; West Neqro revolt slews Son Francisco renewal By Neil Morgan SAN FRANCISCO — Untfl this spring, the great pliilbsoph- ical batUe for urban renewal was thought to have been long won in most U.S. cities. With varying success, agencies in major cities now buy blighted land, raze old buildings and sell the land back to developers who build by a new master plan. But because those blighted urban areas in many cities are the homes of minorities, especially Negroes, the process- of redevelopment is being slowed In the Negro revolution. Urban renewal specialists are often as dedicated as the dam builders who must sweep thousands from their homesteads before the waters back up. In U.S. cities, thousands are routinely forced from their homes by urban renewal. But because the moving force is local, and not from the federal government, the protests of the evicted are potent. The process of renewal bends and shapes to the pressures of local politics as well as to the sense of humanity. Los Angeles is far behind schedule on its massive Bunker Hill renewal project, almost in the shadow of City Hall, where a 136-acre slum will be replaced by tower apartments for six to eight thousand residents in a walk-to-work location; many of them will be employed in office buildings and hotels which are planned for Bunker Hill. San Diego only now is beginning to think seriously of urban renewal; this city and Dallas are the largest cities in the nation which have not gone into some kind of renewal. San Francisco has a redevelopment program more experimental than most — more socially oriented, and with greater variety in function of the finished projects. Its proponents claim better quality and design for projects such as the Golden Gateway, a com munity of apartments and offices now rising in the old produce district; Western Addition Area 1, a slum back of Van Ness avenue where major residential, institutional and commercial buildings ah:eady have been completed; and Diamond Heights, near Twin Peaks, where middle and upper priced residential units are being built on scenic sites never before occupied. But even in San Francisco, this month, there were signs that public officials were hesitating on the city's largest and newest redevelopment program in the face of fevered protests by Negro spokesmen. Til program is Western Addition Area 2, a 73-bIock area of about 15,000 people where an estimated 48 per cent of t h e residents are Negro. Negro leaders have pledged to turn the district into a bloody battleground if wrecking crews aren't called off. Residential units built in renewed areas often are too expensive for former occupants of the area. The result is that many move from a rehabilitated slum into other slum areas. Urban renewal decreases the number of low-cost housing units available within a city. Carried to its extreme, it forces some low-income families outside a city's limits. San Franciscans arc not insensitive to this problem. As early as 1961, Dr. Ellis D. Sox, public health director, asked bluntly in a meeting of San Francisco civil leaders: "Where in hell are they going to go?" That same question echoed through three days of tense hearings this month in San •Francisco, during which the five white commissioners of the Redevelopment Agency were challenged to seat at least one Negro member on the board. The tone of the protest was militant and sometimes irrelevant. But plaintive arguments came starkly clear. "These officials came around a long time ago and told us our place would be bought and torn down, and not to fix it up, not even paint it," one householder testified. J'Now they come back to appraise it and they say, 'Gee, it's not m very good shape, is it?" " One NAACP aUomey referred to urban renewal as "the newest device of racial discrimination. It concentrates on buildings and not on people." Yet even among the protestants, there has seemed widespread favor for some kind of renewal of their blighted area. The difficulty is in the mechanics. Renewal experts, pointing out their past efforts to relocate displaced residents and to un- derwTite costs of moving, were quick to respond. "What they're asking for is idealistic but impossible," replied M. Justin Herman, executive director of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency. "They want integrated housing throughout the city at a price all can afford." Urban renewal spotlights human misery and rejection. "The war is over," testified one former Negro shipyard worker in San Francisco, "and they don't want us here anymore." Sighed Herman: "It is obvious we must either leave slums for people to go to, or provide a controlled substitute. We need to look at the big picture: What must we do as a total city for these people, as distinguished from what urban renewal can do in a single small area?" BACK AGAIN JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (UP!) —Jlrs. Barbara Hennessy, the first person bom at the naval air station when it opened here in 1944, gave birth to a boy Thursday, at the hospitaL NOTICE OF BEARING ON PETITION FOB PROBATE OF WILL AND FOR LETTERS TESTASIC.VTABV No. 335SS In the Suptrior Court of the Slate of California, in and for the County of San Bernardino. In the matter of the Estate of WH,LIAM PEAKZ. Deceased. Notice Is hereby given that the petition of Fred Peake and Mary M. Felthouse for the Probate of Win of WiUiam Peake. the above named decedent, and for the issuance of Letters Testamentary thereon to Fred Peake and Mary M. Felthouse petitioners, reference to which is hereby made for further particulars, wilt be heard at 9:30 o'clock a.m.. cn Friday. May 8. 1964, in the court room of the Probate Department. Room 308 of tht above entitled Court at the courthouse In the City of San Bernardino in the atMve designated county and state. Hated April 22. 1964. V. DENNIS WARDLE. Oerk. By Martin Sponslcr. Deputy Clerk. r. A. LEONARD. Suite 6. Investment Building. Redlands, California. Attorney for Petitioners. I First Publication April 24. 1964) NOTICE OF HEARING ON PETITION FOB PROBATE OF WILL AND FOB LETTERS TESTAME-VTABT No. 33567 In the Superior Court of the State of California, in and for the County of San Bernardino. In the matter of the ZsUte of MARGARET A. PEAKE, Deceased. NoUce is hereby given that lh« petition of Fred Feake and Mary M. Felthouse for the Probate of WiU of Margaret A. Feake the above named decedent and for the isniance of Letters Testamentary thereon to Fred Peake and Mary M. Felthouse petitioners, reference to -which is hereby made for further particuUrs. wiU be heard at 9:30 o'clock a.m., on Friday, May 8, 1984. in the court room of the Probate Department. Room 308 of the above entitled Court at Uie courthouse in the City of San Bernardino in the above designated county and state. Dated April 22. 1S64. V. DENNIS WARDLE, aerk. By Martin Sponaler, _ OemitT Clerk. F. A. LEONARD, Suite 6, Investment Bonding, Redlands. CaUfomU, Attorney for Petitioners. (First FubUcation AprU 24, 1864> SIDE GLANCES By GUI Fox One Minute Pulplf Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor. —Deut. 5:20. We cannot hope to command jbrotherhood abroad 'unless we practice at home. — Harry S. Truman. "1 WQUldnt fMl too bad, Mrs. Gibson. A slngf* flowv Iwics real Ji^tanasey!"

Page 4 article text (OCR) Toelday, May 25, T9S4 153 Attend A pnkaTea Held May f itonk'a i-t .The Brolherhdod of the Good Hope Lutheran church' served -the Mother & Daughter 'banquet held in the 'church parlors Thursday ' evening, May 20. The toastmistress was Mrs Edward Brandt and the guest speaker was the Dean of women Mrs Tjelstad 6f Waldorf college. The oldest mother present was Mrs - Boyd Pannkuk, , youngest daughter -present was Joselyrt Sleeker, daughter of Mrs Henry Sleeker, Jr., youngest mother present was Mrs John Rike and mothef With most da.ughlers present was Mrs Telko Sleeker with four. There were 153 guests present. Mr and Mrs Senus Isebrand were weekend guests of Mr and Mrs Ben U. Meyers of Spirit Lake, They also, went fishing With goocf luck ^ptrfed, - _ " j , . ..—•'"it.l.i.- ; H . „» ., tea &» Maihati,' l [ *., ) > The Buffalo Boosters 4-H held a Mother's Tea at the hbmte nf Jane Amesbmy on, Saturday, May 15. '.Ouestar included -Mesi dames, Ted Dunrnire, Ervln Eden, Wnr Fritz, Jake Qeigler, Elroy Hatten. K, E. Hill. R. L..Kran,tz; Wml 'Peterson, Forrest Willis, Earl ZWelfel, Chris Brandt, Stanley Hards, L. G. Huber, Earl Stott, 'and the leaders Mrs Clarence Brandt and Mrs Ted HooVer, Jr. Mr and Mrs B. J. Gill and family of Goshen, Irid.. were guests of Mr ftnd «Mrs Robert Lang on Thursday arid Friday. Mf Gill and Mrs Lang are brother and sister. •Mr and Mrs Locke Easton oi Mason City were Friday and Saturday guests of Mr and Mrs Jack Easton. , Mrs Wm. Baddeley of Ayrshire came'Thursday to visit her daughter and to attend the Mother- Daughter banquet. She will return home Friday. Mr .and Mrs Rollie Pannkuk of Minnesota Lake, Minn, were- Sunday evening guests of Mr and Mrs Senus Isebrand. A pre»nuptial shower was given CLOSED Monday, May 31 IN OBSERVANCE OF I MEMORIAL DAY Security State Bank Iowa State Bank THANK YOU Many thanks to the hundreds of Kossuth 'county farmers and Algona friends who visited us during our Grand Opening Saturday. Your presence and fine compliments on our new building were appreciated. And thanks for the number of floral displays. Prize Winners THERMOS JUG—Bob Wilberg, Fenton TWO GALLONS OIL—P. W. Arend, Bancroft SET OF SPARK PLUGS—Donald Besch, Whittemore Hovey Implement Co. North of Milwaukee Depot Phone 90 Algona McCullough's AIR AMBULANCE S E RV ICE To Iowa City-$50,00 To Rochester - $30.00 Attendant — Oxygen — All Modern Accommodations in Brand-New Plane Phone 521W McCULLOUGH'S Air Ambulance Service Phone 521W Seneca Band CAROL HURLBURT ' —Mitt St'ntet V , . .•,..-..... Carol Hurlburt will be a candidate i'K Miss North Iowa at the Band Festival June 8 from Seneca, chosen by members of the Seneca High School band. She is the daughter of Mr an,d Mrs Maynard Hurlburt, farmers living near Swea City. A junior in high school; Miss Hurlburt,is in.the sextette; girls' glee club and mixed chorus. She is vice president of her class and is a member of the Methodist Youth Fellowship. She plays basketball'and kit- tenball, is an accomplished tumbler and plays piano. Miss Hurlburt will represent Miss Seneca in the North Iowa Band Festival parade and throughout the day's program. in honor of Harriet. Radamaker at the Ramsey Reformed church Monday evening, May 17. Miss Radamaker will become the'bride of Gene Ringsdorf, June 4. Evelyn Willemssen was chosen Titonka's queen for the Band' Festival which is- to be held in Mason City. Mr and Mrs Robert Nielsen and Gary and Mrs Lour Spilde visited the Virgil Miller home Thursday and Friday. ' Mr and Mrs Richard Thackert of _ Woodward were Thursday evening guests, of Mr and Mrs Paul Thacker and family. Mr and Mrs Bud Alke were Wednesday evening visitors at the Owen Tjaden home. Mr and Mrs Lester Reed and family of Eagle' Grove have moved to the home. vacated by the Lyle Opheim's. • Mr Reed is the new plumber for the Beed Hardware. Mr and Mrs Lester. Callies drove to Clara City, Minn., Tuesday to' buy merchandise for the store. They were accompanied by their store clerk, Verla Brandt. Mr and Mrs Otto DeWall flew to St.'James,-'Mlirri* ; 'W*dnesd«Jc HOSPITALS- to attend the funeral of a nephew of Otto's, Who was killed in a plane crash in 'California.. ,>They returned home that • evening. Mrs B. H. Schwerin was -hostess to the Buffalo Township Homemakers Club Friday afternoon with Mrs Raymond Bartlett as co-hostess. The Titonka Woman's Club met at the home of'Mrs R. L. Krantz Thursday evening. Mr and. Mrs Arthur Boyken and daughter left on a two week's trip to the southern States. They intend to visit relatives at Selma, Ala. and Luroy, South Carolina. Rev and Mrs Alton Schwandt of Mineola are the parents of a baby boy, born Thursday evening May 20. Mrs Schwandt is the former Mary Alke, daughter of Mrs Anna Alke. They have named the baby Nathan Williamr Mrs George Sachau entertained her sewing club Tuesday evening. Mr and Mrs Glenn Miller and daughters left for Versailles, Mo. Friday evening to spend a few days with his brother and family, Mr and Mrs Wayne Miller. BeefAss'nTo Tour Thursday Bill Phelps, president of the Kossuth County Beef Association •has announced the following program for the tour next Thursday afternoon, June 3 at Swea City. Meet at 1:30 p.m. at the Wayne Thompson farm, 2% miles west and V> mile north of Swea City. Mr Thompson's feeding enterprise consists of 62 steers which he plans to market in 60 days. Albert A. Anderson farm at 2:15 p.m., 7 miles north and l l /2 east of Swea City. This enterprise consists of 35 steers in dry- lot to be marketed in mid June. Win. Phelps farm at 2:45 p.m., 8 miles north and 4',2 west of Swea City. Here are 150 yearlings on feed of which 113 are spayed heifers. They were purchased October 5. A short meeting with Rex Beresford, beef specialist; Dale Hull, ag. engineer and Ken Fulk, is planned at Mr Phelps' farm as a coffee time. This vyill be a question period in addition to the comments each of these men have at each stop. There is no charge and the public is invited to join the tour. Promoted To Sgt. Mr and Mrs Mclvin Kern hav. received word of the promotion of their son Dclmar Kern to staff sergeant in. the United States air. forc'e. Ik- has been in the service since July of 1951, and is stationed at Kelly Air Force base, San Antonio, Texas, at the present lime. Dehiiar and his wife, the former Joanne Wolcott, and their daughter Kristine are expected home on leave Die first' week in July. U-D-M Cldtsilicds Pay Dividends 0 iu. o oiij iviis vet Algoha.g irl.? lb. S o*. M&X 12 f Phil, B', Teylw; Al- goria, T & A; Cheryl Kay Grimm, Whittemo«e r surgery; Steven K. Holding, Hurt, hiedical. - May 13 ^».'Mrs Gfafne's Ackef- ,man, AIgdna ( tfredlpal^Mrs Ed" 9 oz. May 14 — Mrs James Blumer, Algofla, (maternity; Mrs Dennis Stripling, LuVerne, glvl 6 lb. 3^4 oz.; Mrs Helen W. Cunningham, Algona, medical! Mrs Francis Mienke, tferfton, maternity* Darold ttofer,' Sexton, medical; Harm Onnen, Britt, medical; Mrs Wm. Zimmerman, Algona, surgery. May 15—Mrs John Von Bank, West Be'nd, girl '8 lb. 8 oz. May 16—Phillis P. Wood, West Bend, medical; Rose E. Farrow, Lakota, accident; Mrs Arnold Danielson,. Algona, girl • 6 lb. 16 'oz.; Edwin E, Johnson, Algona, surgery. . May 17 —! Mrs Elmer Freidel, Algona, 'maternity; Patricia L., Gdetz, Wesley, T :8i A; Kristin Ann Rakow,< Wesley, T &"A; Mrs Dennis Weber, Whittemore, maternity; Thomas G. Nurre, Bancroft, medical; Mrs ,Tony Plemel, Algona, medical. ' ' .. May 17—Mrs Frank Knutzen, Algona, boy,-,9".lb. 14 oz.; Mrs Matt Frideres, Algona medical; Mrs Cecil Rezabek, Algona, boy, 8 lb. 3 oz. v , " May' 18 — Marliri Duffy, Sr., Whittemore, medical; Mrs Harold Elbert, Rodman, girl; 6 lb. 15% oz.; Mrs Robert Winter, Algona, maternity ; Michael Snodgress, Algpnif, accident; Mrst Willis Stru- epke'r,"Whittemore, gift, 8 lb. 8 oz. May 19—Marilyn Plathe, Lu- Verrie, T & A; Mrs Selma Vigars, Algona, medical; John Mahoney, Algona, medical, • ; May 20 —-Mrs Henry Lappe, Bancroft, medical; Mrs Tony Plemel, Algoria, toy; 3 lb. 2 oz.; W. C. Taylor." Algbna, surgery. - May 21—Henry Kohlhaas, Algona, .medical: Mrs R.' C. Dewel, Algona, tbris'illectoniy; Myrtle St. John, Algona,:medical; Joe-Weig, Wesley, medical. May 22 .-r* Mrs Harvey Punke, Cor with, r medical (expired); Sister Mary Anysiar Bode, medical. May 23 ' : —Mrs Tony Guzowski, Algonai boy,'4'lb. 8 oz.; Marie Metzger, Algona, medical; Mrs Christine Spongberg, "Alg o n a, medical; Mrs Roy Sanders, Eldora, accident; Marita Duffy, Whittemore, surgery; Mrs Delvin H. Carver, Algeria, boy, 6 lb. 124i oz. • >'• Brother Succumbs ',<; Mr and Mrs George Lee had word of the death of the former's brother Dick Lee, 76, at Central Lake, Mich., May 6. Roy Lee wae ls0-a. brother. and . there are fojXfc, '" -. . . r6thers'"Tri MftntanSr Cause fo death was a heart ailment. Confucius was .known to his disciples as Kung. • , •, We Have the Equipment For. THE LATEST RAGE! UNDERWATER SWIMMING AND EXPLORING Swim Fins 1.95 pr. Sizes Small.- Med., Large. These come boxed. Pick your own sice, Swim Masks ._ 88c Oval Shaped -*- Boxed Swim Goggles 69c Boxed-,WiH Fit Anybody .DIAMOND'S SURPLUS STORE -r'-,,-- -•• <*--"i~»"v.:;:'~U% PRES( Specialty Clayton it Rusk tfl&inialn A complele preacriptldn depa^l- ment — using only lop tjualitv' drugs. Courleoui and accutaie service at all times. ' For Weddings and Special dtttherlfigsl Fancy Napkins with Monograms 100 for $2.00 bold or Sliver Cooling! Refreshing!' Lastingly fragrant! « • Wonderful Palm'Beach Stick Cologne is non-spill . . ., perfect for travel- perfect for year 'round «| 50 pim use. Five favorite scents. ' — ™ SPECIAL ! — Palm Beach Deodorant $1.50 stick and one stick free — all for only $1.50 BARGAINS RICHARD HUDNUT Home P§rman*ttf and 60d Sham prio f6r --ptiie of permanen albne< »-.^-^j.j^__^i,^_ $1.5 R. C, X,'— A BJeHng Aid (helps curb desire lo ove* saf) 8d tablets « 1.9i TAFON Appetite Ap- peaiBefhent ^ '_^ 9.49 MtJHlNE lor your eyes, 60c size A*.--..^..*.^ S4e POLIDENT Denture Cleaner ...2-»..^^ S9c AOUA VELVA Shave Lallan ^^j.-^.^.^....^^ S9c KODAK FILM V620 or V120 4Sc KODACHROME 8mm Mov^e Film, roll . 4 TINCTURE Merthiolaie, 1 oz. 60x .size — -.—i 29c SEAFORTH Shave Lotion, $1.00 Special 2 for $1 GARDEN NEEDS ACME Garden Guard ' lb. ..,_ SOc ACME Tomato Dust, lb..-. 60c SLUG SHOT, lb. .. SOc ARSENATE OF LEAD, lb. !._*_ - 64c CHLORDANE Dust, lb. 60c WEED-NO-MOHE, 8 c)z. 1.00 BANDAIDS, Ig. size/I. 49c HOLLAND Bathing .' , Caps : 79c TARTAN Suntan Lotion ..... 48c SPRAY DEODORANT- Reg. Siza Econ. Size 59<= 98= Plus tax Plus tax Good New/s CLAYTON & RUSK For Those Who "V Want the Best We Have Been Chosen'By Bell & Howell *" As A Local Dealer For , I ' ' ; BELL & HOWELL Movie Equipment buy Ihtt BELL & HOWELL 8mm-"SUN DIAL" MOVIE CAMERA! only *49 95 Save $ I5 an this BELL & HOWELL 8mm MOVIE PROJECTOR • • Make wonderful home movies with the new Bcil & Howell Wilshire 8mm movie camera." Sun Dial sets camera automatically. Priced at only $49.95...and with camera you. get a Bonus Certificate that saves you JI5 on a matching SOO-watt Wilshire projector—light, compact, .easy to operate. Projector regularly j $99.95—with certificate, only $84.95 (Save on your Bell & Howell movie outfit here today! /isit our complete camera and film department Diamond Perfect Blue White DIAMOND RINGS That Interlock Beautifully Which means they can't shift or twist over! Buy the rings 6epa«- j. a » e |y_ we 'll hold the matching ting until you set the date. Illustrated. Magnificent Fishtail Setting, 8 brilliant diamonds ........ $150. •Ift Here NOW/ NEW,TUBELESS "Royal-T" 3 -TRANSISTOR v HEARING AID Operates a month on on' . iff "A" battery! No "B" battery. Greater clarilyl By Makers of Zenith TV and Radio! Fresh Hearing Aid Batteries for Every. Make. OPEN EVERY NIGHT OPEN EVERY NIGHT Slats Lock Securely 5 FT. STEP , LADDER Regular $4.94 Value Sturdy, but easy to move. Shelf for wash or paint pail. Safety* rodded steps. 5 FOOT GLASS CASTING ROD 6 Ifr Inch "Zephyr" Special Purchase Famous ftjgutdr $2,95 Valu* Comparable to rods more han twice Its price. CHeck all its higher prlcecP features. Bevel and depth attachment. 5,200 R.P.M. speed. Telescoping guaro'. Quick /heating bet- -Ji a _ torn*, lustrous satin finish. Choice of 5 utenslli, — ~ Each full'Size/?. 34 Inch DazzKng Titanium WHITE HOUSE PAINT $4.59 Gal, in 5's ALL STEEL WAGON Strong steel with " e | 7u .!, q . rly bpked-on red enamel • . . . large enough to bold TWO milk can>. »/••* $ 5 2t-lnch famous Quality ROCKET BICYCLES Famous for balance and long mileage,. Brilliant new color*. Men'f and Woman's. YOU* FULL COST.. . NO EXTRA SHIPPING CHARGES TO Self - powdering formula . . . stays white, surface dirt withes ciwayl 69 Per Gal. Imitation Daredevil METAL WOBBLERS Wide assortment of imitation daredevil spoons. * Majestic 1 ' (conotnatic feet,7 116 Inch PLASTIC HOSE Sturdy green plastic hose with bran couplings, light* weight to handle. New T" Type Plastic BUGDEFLEC ' Strong pla»ti< 8Vi *+a** inches wide with 9Vi *2 iZ% inch height at center. AUTO SHINE-UP BAR " W ^ CAR PLATE ROTARY MOWER Tho r o u g hly cleans finish before applying wax. Reg. $69.99 $ 52 95 S1MONIZ BODYSHEEN CAR PLATE LIQUID WAX $125 One-step liquid .polish and far cleaner. Jehnton'i wax spreads en . . . wipes off without rubbing. $3 QAS CAN DEEP GLOSS JOHNSON'S "Q'ARNU" WITH PUKHASf Of YOUR fOWfH MOW f HI AUTO BRUSH $2 49 30 Oz. Can P«.llih and clean er gives deep lustrous gloss. fxtension haa- dlc, soft bristle, ideal for can god windows. Power products, H.P, 3 eyelet engine. 16-inch cut, 5 cutting heights and side trim action. ...... YOUR FULL.COST.. . NO f XJRA PAYI1SHIPPIN6 CHARGES TO PAY}

Page 12 article text (OCR) 12 Galesburg RegisterMaif, Galesburg. Ill> Saturday, Aug.10, 1963 Smith Pitches No-Hitter in Tournament Van: Team Gave Him Support CANTON — "I had real good support," said Galesburg American Legion left hander Van Smith, who had just tossed a no-hitter against Lake Forest in the finals of the state tournament here, Friday afternoon. Smith's effort kept Galesburg in contention for the state crown after the defending state champs had lost to Northbrook, Thursday, in the double-elimination affair. Lake Forest's lone tally came in the fourth inning thanks to two Galesburg errors. But, aside from that shaky inning, Galesburg's ficldfrig Was close to impeccable. Smith, who Was aware after the third inning • that he had a nd- hitter going, said his fast ball was hoppnig, but 1 it was his success with his curve ball that pleased him the most. "It's the best my curve has worked in a month," related Smith. *' I think it's because I have been pitching a lot this week." It was a curve ball that Smith threw to Mark Weshinskey to get the Lake Forest hitter to ground out for the final out of the contest. "I threw him a curve to try to get him to hit to the opposite field. I wanted him to hit away from his power," the slick southpaw said. Weshinskey didn't cooperate completely. A left-handed batter, he pulled the ball and grounded to second baseman Mike Davis. Davis scooped the ball up and flipped it to first sacker Carl Swansoh. The game .was history. London, Clay Fight LONDON (UPI) — Brian London's manager, Al Phillips, says that he has agreed to terms for a bout against Cassius Clay of Louisville, Ky., the No. 1 conten der; for' the' world heavyweight crown. "Through my agent in America I have agreed to terms for London to fight Clay for pro moter George Parnassus in Los Angeles some time in Septem ber," Phillips said. Masterpiece Keeps Locals In Contention in Finals Babe Ruth Tourney in Semi-Finals First round play in the Babe Ruth League Tournament was completed Friday night at H. T. Custer Park as Knights of Columbus defeated Hinchliff-Pearson 64 and Gale Ward won over Davis Store on a forfeit. The Police Department was to play Monmouth this afternoon at 3 p.m. on the H. T. Custer Park diamond. The winner will meet CB&Q. Roadmen at 1:30 p.m. Sunday and the K of C's will battle Gale Ward at 3 in the semifinals. The championship game is scheduled for 7:30 Sunday night. Take 2-1 Victory CANTON—Galesburg rebounded from a first round loss in spectacular fashion here Friday afternoon, defeating Lake Forest 2-1 behind the no-hit pitching of lefty Van Smith. This near flawless mound performance kept Manager Sam Andree's charges alive in the battle for American Legion state baseball honors. The defending champions lost their first game to Northbrook, 4-0, the day before. It was the second state tournament loss for Lake Forest and eliminated the Fifth Division entry. Smith walked only one, the first man at bat in the game and set Lake Forest down in order in every inning except the first and fourth. Two runners were safe on errors in the fourth frame in Major League Leaders By United Press International NATIONAL LEAGUE Player & Club G. AB R. H. Pet. Groat, StL - — ... Clment, Pitt Gonzlz, Phil T.Davs, LA Pinson, Cin Aaron, Mil Wiliams, Chi White, StL Kuenn, SF Santo, Chi Cepeda, SF 115 464 63 158 .341 105 412 58 137 .333 114 422 63 135 .320 99 370 42 118 .319 118 475 72 150 .316 115 453 82 142 .313 112 433 65 133 .307 115 467 81 143 .306 76 258 37 78 .302 112 443 55 131 .296 111 405 67 120 .296 AMERICAN LEAGUE Player & Club G. AB R. H. Pet. Ystmski, Bos 106 403 66 135 .335 Rollins, Min 96 362 56 114 .315 Kaline, Det 108 418 70 130 .311 Pearson, LA 111 420 58 127 .302 Wagner, LA 112 418 57 126 .301 Malzone, Bos 108 417 48 125 .300 Geiger, Bos 81 270 54 80 .296 Hershbgr, Chi 92 322 48 93 .289 Causey, KC 103 416 56 119 .286 Smith, Bal 98 303 41 86 .284 Twilight League There will be a meeting of league officials and team captains of the Twilight League at Northgate Lanes, Aug. 13, at 7:30 p.m. League bowling will start at 6:30 p.m., Aug. 27. Home Runs National League — McCovey, Giants 33; Aaron, Braves 31; Mays, Giants 28; Cepeda, Giants 20; Santo, Cubs 20. American League — Killebrew, Twins 26; Allison, Twins 25; Stuart, Red Sox 25; Wagner, Angels 22; Howard, Yanks 22. Runs Batted In National League — Aaron, Braves 94; White, Cards 81; Santo, Cubs 77; Pinson, Reds 75; McCovey, Giants 74. American League — Kaline, Tigers 75; Stuart, Red Sox 74; Wagner, Angels 70; Allison, Twins 66; Battey, Twins 64. Pitching National League — Perranoski, Dodgers 11-2; Koufax, Dodgers 18-4; Maloney, Reds 17-4; McBean, Pirates 12-3; Marichal, Giants 18-5. American League — Bouton, Yanks 15-5; Radatz, Red Sox 124; Pizarro, White Sox 14-5; Ford, Yanks 16-6; Downing, Yanks 8-3. Springfield Wins First Game in C-M Regional LAMAR, Colo. (AP) — Springfield, 111., has won its first-round game in the Connie Mack Great Plains Baseball Tournament, beating Casper, Wyo., Friday, 9-6. Springfield took command in the third with a five-run spree manufactured on six of the team's nine hits. They included three doubles by Edward Welsh, Alan Guski and Ken Page. Springfield pitcher Gerald Hamende struck out 13 and walked two. READ THE CLASSIFIEDS! Gene Fullmer Will Try to Regain Title from Tiger IBADAN, Nigeria (UPI) —Bull- shouldered, Bible-reading Gene Fullmer, a brawny mink-rancher of West Jordan, Utih, will try to recapture the world middleweight crown from stocky, fast-fisted Dick Tiger of Nigeria tonight in their third title fight. And in case Fullmer, 32, does defeat the idolized Tiger, the Nigerian government will have a force of 1,750 soldiers and police ready to protect Gene, if necessary, from the expected sellout crowd of 45,000 in the new outdoor Liberty Stadium. However, Tiger is favored at 4-1 to keep his 160-pound crown ATTENTION! Home Owners With Mueller Hiif Climotrol Heating Equipment WHOLE-HOME AIR CONDITIONING added to your warm air system SEE YOUR DEALER TODAY Distributed by WILUS STEEL CORP. in their scheduled 15-round fight. And if England's Jack Hart, the referee and only ring official, decides that 33-year-old Tiger is the winner, no trouble is expected. A sellout gate would approximate $280,000. Among the various starting times that have been given out for the fight, the newest and perhaps the likeliest was 7 p.m. (2 p.m. EDT). Intermittent rains for nearly a week threatened until Friday afternoon another delay of this bout, which already was postponed twice because of a stone-bruise on the ball of Fullmer's left foot. The previous dates were July 13 and July 27. The Nigerian government, us ing this match to boost the country's prestige, has guaranteed $182,000 to promoter Jack Solom ons of London. He, in turn, guar anteed Tiger $100,000 and Fullmer, $60,000. Tiger, took the 160-pound cr6wn from Fullmer on a decision at San Francisco, Calif., last Oct 23. But in their return fight at Las Vegas, Nev., last Feb. 23, Tiger kept the title but had to be satisfied with a draw. Fullmer seeks his 55th victory and 25th knockout in 62 bouts. Tiger wants his 48th win and 22nd kayo in 63 starts. Fullmer was stopped once, by Sugar Ray Rob inson. Tiger never was halted. READ THE CLASSIFIEDS! HOME OWNERS BE SURE AND SEE Russ Barstow Chandler-Hinchman Agency 240 East Simmons St. RUSS BARSTOW — LOTUS REGAN Phone 3430159 which Lake Forest scored its only run. Strikes Out 6 The Galesburg southpaw fanned six, keeping opposing batters off balance with a trcky curve and live fast ball. He struck out the side In the sixth. Galesburg was scheduled to go against Edwardsville this afternoon at 2 o'clock with the winner of this game to play Kankakee at 8 tonight. Kankakee lost to Northbrook 11-1 last night. To win the championship, Galesburg, which must keep winning to stay in the running, must make it five straight victories. Manager Andree was not on the playing field when the game finished, having been dismissed early by plate umpire Dewayne Gailliert. Sam was ejected at the end of the sixth inning for vigorously protesting calls. Galesburg scored both of its runs in the first inning when third baseman Randy Welch led off by singling to left center, advanced to second on a sacrifice by shortstop Pat Prina and came home on a double by right fielder Larry Pickrel. Pickrel then stole third and came home on a throwing error by catcher Tim Feemster. After that Lake Forest pitcher Dave Kreischer settled down and fanned Dan Stewart and Frank Dexter to end the inning. Gets Tougher From then on Kreischer also proved stingy, holding Galesburg hitless until leaving the game for a pinch-hitter in the top of the fifth. Bud Murray pitched the last two innings for Lake Forest, giving up a single to Pickrel, his second hit of the day, in the sixth. Tension mounted in the top of the seventh as all three Lake Forest batters got wood on the ball. However "Smity" got the first two on fly outs and the last batter on a grounder to the second baseman. GMesburg (2) ah i h All-Stars Close Out LLPlay The American League and the National League farm teams split all-star victories, Friday night, as Little League action concluded for the season at O. N. Custer Park. In the first game, the N.L. topped the A.L., 10-5, with John Moody picking up the victory. The American League came back to win the second contest of the night, 4-2, with Kent Williams being the winning pitcher. Both major league and farm league Little Leaguers will march in the Labor Day parade. At that time all players, in uniform if possible, will report to the parade spot for the Little League. Scrappers to Play Buda in Return Game Galesburg Bill's Scrappers will host Buda in a girls Softball game Sunday at 8 p.m. in O. N. Custer Park. The Scrappers bowed to Buda, 9 to 6, in a game at Buda Friday night. Manager Bill Costello of the Scrappers aims to get his team back on the winning side of the ledger tomorrow night, after losing two straight games in recent days. Lake Forest (1) ab r h O'Connor 2 0 0 Loos 3 0 0 Carlson 3 10 Hinman 3 0 0 Feemster 3 0 0 Weshins'y 3 0 0 Zaugg 2 0 0 WeigeJ 2 0 0 Kreischer 10 0 Murray 10 0 Totals 23 1 01 Totals 21~2~3 Score by innings: Lake Forest ._000 100 0—1 Galesburg 200 000 0—2 Welch Prina Pickrel Stewart Dexter Bwanson Davis Sundquist Smith 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Little League State Meet in Championship DOWNERS GROVE, 111. (AP) —Prospect Heights and Naperville will meet today for the Illinois Little League Baseball Championship. Prospect Heights reached the finals Friday night with a 3-2 victory over Harvey American. Greg Luzinski of Prospect Heights singled home two runs and Frank Patski hit a home run for the winning margin to enable their team to advance to the finals against Naperville which clubbed nine home runs Thursday to win a finals berth. The winner between Prospect Heights and Naperville will advance to the regional tournament in Canton, Ohio, Aug. 15-17 with the winner of that affair making the Little World Series in Williamsport, Pa., beginning Aug. 19. READ THE CLASSIFIEDS! Major League Box Scores NIGHT GAME ST. LOUIS ab h rbl 4 0 0 0 4 111 4 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 4 0 10 3 10 0 2 110 3 0 10 3 0 12 Javier White Boyer James Groat Flood McCa'r Sha'on Gibson MILWAUKEE ab r h bl Maye 3 12 1 Boiling 3 0 0 0 Aaron 3 0 0 0 Mathews 2 111 Torre 4 1 0 O Menke <?23 McMiVn 2 0 0 0 QrandaU 4 111 Hendley ! 0 j_0 Totals 28 6 6 6 Totals 31 3 5 3 Score by innings: T .nuis 000 120 OOO— d Milwaukee 123 000 00x-6 ™oyer. PO-A-St. Louis 24-14, Milwaukee 27-14. DP—Groat, Javier and White: McMillan, Boiling and Torre. LOB—St. Louis 3, Milwaukee 5. 2B—Menke, Crandall, Maye. 3B-Gibson. HR—White, Menke. SB—Maye. S—Boiling. ip Gibson L, 12-7 —8 Hendley W, 7-8 -9 h r ar bbeo 6 6 5 4 6 5 3 3 2 7 HBP—By Gibson, McMillan 2. U —Steiner, Donatelli, Crawford, Venzon. T—2:00. A—12,976. NIGHT GAME CHICAGO I NEW YORK ab h I bl Brock 5 13 1 Burton 4 0 0 0 Willia's 4 12 0 Santo 3 0 11 Ranew 4 0 0 0 Hubbs 3 0 10 BerteU 4 0 0 0 Rodge's 4 111 Toth 4 0 0 0 McDa'l 0 0 0 0 ab r h bl Hickm'n 5 2 14 DETROIT Carmel 3 0 11 ab h r bl Hunt 4 0 0 0 Bruton 5 0 2 0 Snider 4 0 11 McAu'e 4 0 0 0 Thomas 4 12 1 Kaline 5 0 0 0 Hicks 4 12 0 Cola'to 3 111 Coleman 4 0 10 Cash 3 0 3 0 Moran 3 2 10 Wert 4 110 Craig 2 0 0 0 Freeh'n 5 110 aHark'ss 0 10 0 Smith 2 0 0 0 — aBrown 0 0 0 0 7 9 7 1 bB.P'ps 3 0 2 1 . Lolich dHer'g NEW YORK ab h r bi 4 0 0 0 4 0 10 3 0 2 0 3 0 10 4 110 4 0 10 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 10 0 0 3 0 0 0 NIGHT GAME Subek Rich'on Tresh Maris Pepife Howa'd Blanc'd Reed Linz Boyer Bouton LOS ANGELES ab T h bi 3 0 0 0 3 0 10 4 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 4 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 0 10 10 0 0 10 10 0 0 0 0 Pearson Fregosi Wagner Thomas Rodgers Moran Kostro Piersall Lee aR.S'd'i Fowler Totals 31 1 6 1| Totals 29 0 5 0 a—Doubled for Lee in 8th. Score by innings: New York 010 000 000—1 Los Angeles 000 000 000—0 E—Nope. PO-A—New York 27-15, Los Angeles 27-10. DP—Kubek. Richardson and Pepitone. LOB— New York 7, Los Angeles 5. 2B— Maris, R. Sadowski. S—Lee. SF— Blanchard. Bouton W, 15-5 Lee L, 5-8 8 Fowler 1 U—Stevens, Runge, Umont, Muro. T—1:55. A—30,826. h r ar bbso 5 0 0 2 3 6 113 7 0 0 0 0^ "DT- NIGHT GAME Totals35 3 8 3! Totals 33 a—Walked for Craig in 9th. Score by innings: Chicago 000 020 010—3 T.Fox CHICAGO ab r h bl 5 0 10 Landis N.Fox 4 H'sh'ger 4 Nichol'n 4 Lemon 3 McCraw 1 Ward 4 Hansen 4 Carreon 4 DeB'h're 2 3 0 0 OiT.Phi'ps 0 1 0 0 OlcWeis 1 go New York —000 120 004—7 E—Toth, Snider, Santo. PO-A— Chicago 26-9, two out when winning run scored. New York 27-15. DP—Brock and Ranew LOB—Chicago 8, New York 4. 2B—Moran. 3B—Brock, Williams. HR—Thomas, Rodgers. Brock, Hickman. S— Craig. SF—Santo. ip h i ar bbio Toth L, 3-7 8 2 ,b 8 5 3 2 6 xMcDaniel 0 12 2 10 Craig W, 3-20 9 8 3 3 1 8 x—Faced two men in 9th. HBP—By Craig. Hubbs. PB— Bertell. U — Forman, Gorman, Landes. T--2:31. A—11,566. The University of Alabama holds a 34-10 edge in its football series with Mississippi State. Three games were ties. ooo 1 2 o 0 2 0 0 1 1 ooo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 OIBrosn'n 0 leMaxw'l 1 Totals 38 3 10*~2l Totals 37 1 7 1 a—Announced for Smith in 6th; b—struck out for Brown in 6th; c—singled for T. Phillips in 7th; d—struck out for Lolich in 8th; e—flied out for Brosnan in 10th. Score by innings: Detroit O10 000 000 2—3 Chicago .... ..OOO 001 000 0—1 E—DeBusschere, Landis, Wert. PO-A—Detroit 30-12, Chicago 30 -14. DP—Wert. McAulliffe and Cash. LOB—Detroit 11, Chicago 9. 2B-- Nicholson, Bruton, B. Phillips. HRf —Colavito. S—McAulliffe. b iti bbso 5 113 6 2 0 0 0 3 jusiiwucic • Va 5 113 2 T. Phillips 1% 2 0 0 1 2 Brosnan L, 2-6 —3 , 3 _2 __X _1 1 U—Flaherty, Kinnamon, Hurley. Carrigan. T—3:09. A—33,396. Lolich _ T. Fox W, 5-4 ... 3 DeBusschere 5U 5 BLATZ WARRIORS—Shown above Is the 1963 edition of the Blatz Warriors. The Warriors will battle the Midlothian White Sox, current leaders In the Greater Chicago Semi-Pro League, tonight at 7:45 on the H.T. Custer Park diamond. Pictured (1-r) In the front row are batboy David Bevard, Rusty Potter, Harold Holmes, Dave Thielbert, Gene Mender, Fred Stevens, Jim Lester, and batboy Steve Klapp. Back row—Ralph Cannon, Jeff Sandburg, George Shea, Dick Johnson, Dick Fllbnan, Lee Bevard, and Jim Tachl- rone. Pioneers and Bobcats Battle to 2-2 Stalemate BLOOMINGTON — John Hermanek's fine pitching went for naught here, Friday night, as Bloomington and Galesburg battled to a 2-2 standoff. The Pioneer righthander fanned 11 and walked only- two in an eight -inning pitching performance. He gave up only five hits. Galesburg was scheduled to host Springfield in a doubleheader this afternoon, and the locals will travel to Peoria for a twinbill tomorrow afternoon. The tie has been ruled as a completed contest by league officials. They said that there would be no time to continue the game. Bloomington broke the ice in the first when Bill Solff singled home Monty McBryde, who had doubled in front of him. Galesburg went ahead in the fourth when Porky Brooks walked and tallied on Larry Johnson's triple to left center, Johnson scored on the play when shortstop Doug Rader's, relay throw to third was off target. Bloomington knotted the count in the bottom of the sixth. Rader, leading off, was safe on Johnson's error. Tim Murtaugh laid down a sacrifice bunt and reached first safely when Hermanek threw the ball into rightfield. Rader moved to third on the play. Tom Steward struck out and Angie Vallejo popped out to shart center. Dennis DellaPina, acting as a courtesy runner for Murtaugh, _ intentionally got himself caught between first and second. Rader broke for the plate, and Dennis Doyle's throw clearly had him out. However, Galesburg catcher Dewey Kalmer dropped the ball allowing Rader to score. Bloomington had runners on first and second in the bottom of the eighth but was unable to score. Galesburg (1) ab r h Bruington 4 Doyle Brooks Johnson Simon Huffman 4 2 1 3 3 3 Kalmer 3 Hermanek 2 Blgley Bloomington (2) ab r h Neal 4 0 0 MCBryde 4 1 1 Wolff 4 0 2 Scheinbl'm 4 0 0 Rader 4 12 Murtaugh 2 0 0 Steward 4 0 0 Vallejo 2 0 0 Sieve 2 0 O aBullock 0 0 0 Brackenh'f 0 0 0 bDellaPiha 1 0 O Peters 0 0 0 Totals 25 2 6| Totals 31 2 5 Score by innings: Galesburg 000 200 00—2 Bloomington 100 001 00—2 a—At bat for Sieve in 6th when runner thrown out stealing; b— fouled out for Brackenhoff in 7th. RBI—Johnson, Wolff. E—Johnson 2, Bruington, Kalmer, Hermanek, Rader. PO-A—Galesburg 24-6, Bloomington 24-12. DP— Rader, Vallejo and Steward 2. LOB —Galesburg 4, Bloomington 8. 2B —McBryde, Rader. 3B—Johnson. SB—Neal, Rader. SH—Murtaugh. IP Hermanek 8 Sieve 6 Brackenhoff 1 Peters 1 h * ar bbio 5 2 1 2 11 4 2 2 5 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 BANANAS Golden, Firm/ Ripe Perfect for salads and desserts — Ideal in Gelatin moulds. Serve as a snack to the kids. Ripe Tomatoes £»19° Sweet Corn Home Grown tfoz. A&P's Super-Right — Roast or Steaks ^se^ FRESH PORK BUTT 39 A&P's Super-Right Pork TENDERLOINS Cut from tender, ^pe^ young, corn-fed ^fjH A Serve with A&P • • Apple Sauct |jj A&P'* Super-Right Sliced LUNCH MEAT Bologna,Souse, Cooked Salami, 8-0Z. m J C Spiced Luncheon, DltT —^ka Olive, Pickle r| W. J^M J^M or Minced ^k^F ^Mr PORK&BEAH$ Sultana *-10< ITALIAN DRESSING A f 6 l 45< A&P MUSTARD 2 £ 29* (HERRI-ADE ASST. 6/19f A&P CIDER VINEGAR ,„. 25< PEANUT BUTTER Sultana *£• 79(f Salad Dressing Lemonade Milnot Ann qt. Page jar Puresun 6 >OZ. Frozen can 49' Apricots Aunt Jane Swei 10* Pickle Sticks For Baking, 14Va>0z. Whipping-Use It As Cream can .. ton. Mb., 13-OJ, Unpeeled Halves "n Aunt Jane Sweet 16 '0*, jar White-Enriched 20 -M. 29< 35' CREAM PIES Morten's Frozen f Chocolate • Lemon 1 4 *QI, • Banana pi* O Strawberry 9 29 Ift* Bread *?iOe IV UlVdU Made with Buttermilk lo « f 111 SAVI CASH AND PLAID STAMPS TOO! All PRICES EFFECTIVE SUN. THRU AUGUST 14, 1963

1School of Geomatics, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin 123000, China 2State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China 3Zhuhai Orbita Control Engineering Co. Ltd., Zhuhai, 519080, China 4School of Remote Sensing and Information Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China Received date: February 08, 2017; Accepted date: March 27, 2017; Published date: March 29, 2017 Citation: Xu A, Wu J, Zhang G, Pan S, Wang T, et al. (2017) Motion Detection in Satellite Video. J Remote Sensing & GIS 6: 194. doi: 10.4172/2469-4134.1000194 Copyright: © 2017 Xu A, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Visit for more related articles at Journal of Remote Sensing & GIS In view of the problem of satellite video motion detection, a background subtraction method of combining global motion compensation and local dynamic updating is proposed. In the first instance, the improved ViBE model method is used to establish the background model in the middle frame. The background model has one more dynamic update factor. Secondly, the motion model of global scene between frames is estimated by using uniform blocked forward-back LK optical flow, and the global motion compensation is performed. Last but not least, comparison between compensated frame and model, and connected domain analysis are employed to detect and segment the motion objects. Even more, we can correct the update factor of model according to the “pseudo motion” judgment. And then, the model would be updated locally and adaptively. “Target-wise” evaluation recall rate method is proposed which statistic the object entirety but not pixels. We do four experiments using Skysat and JL1H video. The results show that the proposed method perform a favorable effect on “Target-wise” recall rate and the error detection rate is low. The “Target-wise” recall rate is better than 80%. The error detection rate is reduced by at least 10 times, and even more than 160 times, compared with the classical method. The method could be suitable for advanced application and motion analysis in satellite video At the end of 2013, Sky Imaging (USA) launched SKYSAT-1. It is the first moonlet in the world which could film HD video. The observation of earth went into a brand-new and dynamic mode. In October 2015, Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co., Ltd (China) launched two HR video satellites JILIN No.1 and 2. These are the first ones which are able to film colour videos with high levels techniques including resolution ratio, width and stability. It was also the first-time China manages to prove the video data processing and moving object detection and tracking techniques on-orbit [1]. Different from the single static image shot by the conventional remote sensing satellites, video satellites employ the sensor on board and the maneuver capability of the satellite platform to form videos of the images shot in the targeting areas. Besides the information included in the classical optical remote satellite, it can also acquire the dynamic information directly, realizing the sustainable earth observation extensively within a certain period. The analysis and interpretation of the remote sensing information could be transferred from the static single image to the dynamic sequences, marking a significant step. In a video clip, people focus more on the state and features of the moving targets. The detection of the moving targets is the core issue in the field of machine vision [2]. Background subtraction method [3] is frequently adopted because of its relatively better accuracy compared with the other motion detection methods. The key of this method is to build the background model by adopting the proper methods for pixel sampling. Meanwhile, an appropriate model updating should be carried out according to the segmentation information of the detection of the previous frame to adapt to the change of the background [4]. The classical methods for motion detection target on the processing of the video data on the ground. The experiments and practices have proved their higher accuracy as well as better effectiveness. They are critical in the field of the application of the video on the ground such as the monitoring for the important areas [5] as well as the statistics of the urban traffic information [6]. However, the detection of the moving targets is faced with the following challenges in the field of satellite videos: 1) The scene of the satellite video is constantly changing due to the satellite traveling, platform wobbles as well as the adjustment of the sensor attitude. These changes could be categorized into two segments: the global motion and local pseudo motion caused by parallax. Therefore, there are big differences between two adjacent frames with relatively complex relations. The background which is actually static and the moving objects would move or get deformed and detection errors might occur. 2) The frame width of the video is large. And both the resolution as well as the contrast ratio are lower. The size of the moving object is small and the information related to its features and textures are lacking. Some detections might be missed since it is difficult to segment and extract in the videos. As seen in Figure 1 (the image taken from the overlapping display of two adjacent frames), factors such as scene motion and shape changes might result in the big differences between frames. The double images of the moving objects and the background as well as the pseudo color of edges are obvious. Figure 2 shows the frames difference of the adjacent frames. Residual errors could be detected including the residual noises, differences between frames as well as the pre-processing errors, etc. Therefore, two major aspects should be involved in the moving object detection of the satellite video. One, for the dynamic scenes with large width, the estimation and compensation of the global motion should be applied. In a relative datum space, the background of each frame should be fixed and kept static. So the moving object could be highlighted. Two, an accurate and robust background model should be established. And it is also a must to segment and extract the objects with small sizes. The processing of the object with local pseudo motion should also be considered. Meanwhile, proper strategy for background updating should be adopted according to the outcome of segmentation. As for motion processing, some scholars have carried out similar studies. Literature [7] carried out the motion compensation through feature matching and motion filtering. Literature [8] extracted the motion parameters through compressed video motion vector. However, the adoption of this two methods is targeted on the ground or the mobile platforms in the low altitude. In addition, the partial local pseudo motion caused by parallax has not been considered. Guo [9] team from Wuhan University employed the rational function model of the affine correction for processing the image video stabilization. They also considered the geometrical distortion. And the result of processing was good. However, the adoption of this method require us to solve the PRC geometric model. In the literature [10], a three-view geometry was adopted to restrict and block the pseudo motions. But a continuous tracking for the corresponding points in multiple frames is needed. So the requirements for matching precision is fairly high. And due to the adoption of the intersection principle of the three-view drawing, the accuracy is not high if the intersection angle is small. Besides, the model to be solved is too complicated. In the respect of motion detection based on background modeling, many high-quality and classical background methods [11-13] have been adopted. These classical algorithms are targeting on the detection of the fixed camera on the ground. There is no need to consider the global motion or the local “pseudo motion” of the background. Therefore, appropriate improvements are required according to the features of the satellites video. Considering the issues mentioned above, this thesis, targeting on the features of the satellite videos and the problems faced by the moving object detection, provided an effective method specialized for the satellite videos. The main approaches ideas are as follows. 1) When the compensation for the global motion occurs, the one unified model for the whole frame could not accurately describe the changes among frames because of the large width of the image and few features which are unevenly distributed. Therefore, a method of motion compensation of uniform blocked forward-backward optical flow is proposed. Through the constraint handling of the local scope, the problems of inaccurate estimation of the models triggered by the small number of features and uneven distribution could be solved. Meanwhile, the tracking of the forward-backward optical flow should be carried out to guarantee the robust matching of the correspondence points. 2) The background model should adapt to the dynamic changes of part of the local scenes. The updating frequency of the local areas bearing the relatively big changes should be increased. Therefore, the updating factor of each pixel in the background will be introduced while building the background model. The updating frequency of the each pixel for background should be dynamic and undertakes adaptive changes according to the detection results. 3) After the compensation for the global motion, the object extraction and detection should be carried out. The candidate target is the made up by two segments: the real moving objects and objects with local “pseudo motion”. And the object with the local “pseudo motion” includes the object of parallax “pseudo motion” and “ghost” object. On one hand, the parallax object possesses the following characters: 1) Mainly appear in the edge areas; 2) the size of the object is relatively large and the length-width ratio of the minimum enclosing rectangle is high; 3) The motion direction is aligned with the direction of the translation vector of the inter frame motion model between frames. On the other hand, the “ghost” object is static which is located at the initial position of the object. Hence, we could take advantage of the features of the parallax and “ghost” object to extract the potential unreal moving objects. The scenes of the pseudo motion object areas are bearing big changes in the video and the update frequency of the background model of the corresponding areas should also be increased. Therefore, the adaptive adjustment on the background updating factors of the neighborhood peripatetic of the zone for unreal motions should be adopted to adapt to the local dynamic changes of the scenes. In this way, a more robust and accurate background model could be established to effectively improve the accuracy of the detection. Description of the proposed algorithm In terms of motion detection in the satellite video, the basic procedure of the proposed method in this paper is as follows: 1) Establishing the background modeling by using the middle frame; 2) Estimating the motion model between frames, conducting motion compensation based on this model, and getting the result of segmentation via the comparison between compensated frame after resampling and the background model. 3) Extracting potential object by employing the method of connected components analysis, while renewing background model in accordance with detected segmentation information and the candidate “pseudo-motion” region, and processing the next frame continuously in this way. The algorithm flow is shown as the Figure 3. For detail description of the key technique, please see the subsections below. The modified VIBE background model A scene consists of foreground and background in video processing. The detection of moving pixels is actually a procedure to distinguish and categorized each pixel into background or foreground. Therefore an accurate background modeling is significantly critical. In lots of classic algorithm [4,6], using the first N frames for background modeling can build up a precise model via the mathematical statistics analysis of the correlation information and contextual sequences between frames. However, this method fails in extracting dynamic information form the first N frames, especially in satellite video. The duration of satellite video is short, usually less than 2 minutes (even just tens of seconds). So N frames will cause heavy information loss. Besides, the model sampling for the moving regions is a hybrid of both foreground and background, in which some targets with small size might probably be misunderstood as part of the background, causing the decrease of the detection rate. Hence, this thesis adopted the background model theory of VIBE [12] algorithm, completing the model only based on one frame. VIBE employs the pixel-wise random neighbor-sampling of single-frame, to build up the background model. For each pixel position, N pixels would be selected randomly from the pixel and its 8 neighborhood zones as the background samples at the position. The background model at each pixel position is marked as: v here stands for background sampled pixels. This random sampling method promises an equal probability to every pixel in selection, which results in a reliable background model, which is objective and interference-free. On the other hand, because the model just saved the pixel samples from 8 neighborhood zones, the detection of the target with small sizes could be guaranteed and the detection errors caused by the background wobble slightly could also be avoided. But considering the problem of the local “pseudo motion” issue in satellite video, some adjustments for VIBE model should be conducted. In this paper, the updating factor, a, has been introduced to this model, representing the renewal frequency of the M(x) in background model. The setting and usage of factor a will be illustrated in following Chapter. As a result, The background model of each pixel position here modified into: Global motion compensation Motion between frames results in the displacement and deformation of the static background in a video, causing severe interference for the motion detection. The differences caused by the inter-frame motion are the greatest challenge to the motion detection in the satellite video. So the motion compensation for inter-frame is a critical step. Inter-frame motion of the satellite video consists of the global motion as well as the local motion, and this Chapter will focus on the compensation for the global motion. A global motion compensation method of blocked forward-backward LK optical flow here is proposed, and the basic ideas are as follows. Firstly, conduct the uniform blocking processing and extract Good Features in each block. Secondly, track the Good Features with forward-backward LK optical flow [14] to realize the matching of the corresponding point sets. And then, estimate the motion model of each block based on the corresponding point sets. Last, collect and systemize all the transformation results to complete the motion compensation for the whole frame. The details are illustrated as follows: Image blocking and Good Feature extraction: Broke up the reference frame uniformly into M*N blocks. In this case, the reference frame can be regarded as a new image made up of image blocks in M rows and N columns. Mark each sub-block as Bmn , referring to the image block at row m(1<=m<=M) and column n (1<=n<=N). While extracting features in blocks, we use the method—Good Features [15], with a filter window of 3 × 3. The value of the minimum factor and distance could be set to be slightly smaller, ensuring more enough Good Features could be extracted in the regions with low frequency and weak characteristics, and be equally distributed. Figure 4 has shown a single frame from the video shot by Jilin No. 1. It was divided into 10 × 10 blocks, and Good Features had been extracted in B10,1. The point tracking and matching of the forward-backward LK optical flow: LK optical flow, is a classical algorithm for tracking the inter-frame points in videos. This method is based on the hypotheses of micro-movement, brightness constancy, and motion similarity in local region. By calculating the offset of inter-frame to estimate the position of this point in the next frame, to realize the feature matching. In order to ensure the robustness and accuracy of tracking and matching of the feature points in domains with low frequency, we use the Good Features matching method with the forward-backward LK optical flow. An accurate point tracking algorithm is supposed to hold the alignment between forward and backward direction. The tracking trajectory must be the same no matter it is tracking forward or backward. As shown in Figure 5, the forward tracking was conducted firstly: LK optical flow was conducted to track the Xt point (frame t) to Xt+1 (frame t+1) and then to the Xt+k (frame t+k). Afterwards, the backward tracking should be adopted to track the Xt+k to t (frame t) also by LK optical flow. Two trajectory path ways were generated. Then the contrast of the distance between point Xt and ^Xt was conducted. If the distance is less than the fixed threshold, the outcome was reliable. In this paper, k equals 1. According to the method mentioned above, the Good Features extracted in Block B10,1were tracked and matched. And then an overlapping display of the adjacent frames were conducted and the corresponding point sets were marked. As showed in Figure 6, a large amount corresponding points could be extracted accurately. Meanwhile, an even distribution of the points could also be guaranteed. The estimation of model and motion compensation: After performing the matching, the corresponding points are used to estimate the inter-frame 2D affine model parameters of B10,1 and to establish the geometric transformation relations between frames. In the meantime, the MSACM-estimator SAmple Consensus algorithm [16] can be used to remove the matching points with errors to further optimize the model’s parameter, and improve the accuracy of the interframe transformation. The 2D inter-frame affine parameters are in the form of a 3 × 3 matrix: Then, the digital differential rectification method of “reverse solution” [17] is applied. A blank image is established as the compensated frame. The size of the image is the same as the reference frame. According to the transformation relationship, the corresponding sub-image B10,1 of the original compensated frame is resampled into the blank frame. Then the new compensated frame is generated, and so as to complete the global motion compensation. Two Adjacent subimages B10,1 overlaid display after the motion compensation is shown in Figure 7, which also include the parameter-optimized high-accuracy Good Features matching point set. Motion detection and segmentation After the global motion compensation, the moving targets pixels could be extracted by the contrast between the compensated frame and background model. The method is: for each pixel, compare the similarity between pixel and its corresponding sample pixels in the background model, and if numbers of the designate similarity is larger than a certain threshold, the pixel can be categorized as a background pixel, or else it is a moving pixel. This judging process for the similarity can be explained by the 2D space’s Euclidean distance. As shown in Figure 8, V(X) is the pixel to be confirmed, SR(V(X)) is the Euclidean distance space centered with V(X) and having R as the radius. is the sample pixels of the background model. If the intersection number of SR(V(X)) and is equal or greater than T, then V(X) could be regarded as the background pixel, the grayscale of which is recorded as 255; or else V(X) is regarded as foreground pixel, the grayscale of which is recorded as 0. It is represented in the following formula as: When judging, Euclidean distance is represented by the inter-pixel gray difference. When all moving pixels classification is completed, a fore- and back-ground binary image is obtained. On this basis, the connected component analysis and extraction could be conducted. Each connected component is regarded as a candidate moving object and the segmentation then was completed. The judgment for “pseudo-motion” and background model updating The candidate objects segmented is made up of three major components: the authentic moving targets, parallax “pseudo-motion” objects, and the “ghost” objects. The judgment of “pseudo motion” is targeting on the judgment of the local parallax “pseudo motion” and the “ghost” objects. Firstly, based on the three characteristics of parallax “pseudo-motion”, all the candidates are further processed to separate out potential local “pseudo-motion” objects. The selection criteria are as follows: 1) Taking advantage of the coordinate of the nodes of connected component, the minimum enclosing rectangle of the target can be extracted. Calculate the length-width ratio, which, if is more than 3.5, makes this target a potential “pseudo-motion”. 2) Extracting the edge from the local region of the target candidate. To confirm whether the overlapping area between the target and the edge surpasses 90% of the acreage of the target. If so, then the target can be regarded as a potential “pseudo-motion”. Extend the envelop rectangle of potential “pseudo-motion” targets 1 pixel outwards, and in the meantime, extend 10 pixels outwards towards the direction of the translation vector of the motion model to get the updating factor rectangle A. Figure 9 shows the detection results of a frame. The red box represents the minimum bounding rectangle. Based on the “pseudo motion” judgment, this target has a high possibility to be a target of “pseudo-motion. The green dotted box is the extended updating factor rectangle A. The reason for choosing 10 pixels is to take the change of target motion direction into consideration. It is also noted that the orbits of video satellites are usually the sun synchronous orbit, and as a result, the translation vector’s direction is usually upwards or downward. Then, the judgment of the “ghost” target is conducted. While establishing the background model, the moving pixels was adopted as the samples to build the background model at the initial position of the target. When the target left the initial position, the actual background pixel of this position was regarded as the target pixel. Figure 10 shows the detection results of the plane. The dual image of plane appeared at the initial position, namely, “ghost”. According to the features of the “ghost” object, the judgment methods were defined as follows: record the position where the moving target appears for the first time. If the moving target keeps still for continuous ten frames, it would be regarded as a potential “ghost” target. The areas where the moving target and “pseudo-motion” object are located might change as well as its adjacent areas. To adapt to the dynamic changes of the scene and reduce the detection errors, a self-adaption local updating should be conducted following the segmentation of the moving target and the “pseudo motion” judgement. The updating strategy is as follows: every pixel background model possesses an updating factor a. For each detected background pixel, we randomly select one number, s, from the natural number [1,a]. If s=1, a sample could be selected randomly from its background model M(x)m and replace the sample with the detected background pixel. Therefore, the updating frequency of each pixel background model is around 1/a. The probability that the sample of each background model is replaced is 1/N. It could be shown in the following formula: Having been processed with the above method, the local “pseudomotion” regions is updated, while other areas are updated according to the probability. This enables the background model be able to descript the concurrent scenario in a more precise manner to adapt to the local change of “pseudo-motion”. It can effectively reduce error detection and increase the preciseness of detection in the premise of not decreasing the detection rate. In this experiment, the updating factor is set as follows: Here A is the extended updating factor rectangle which mentioned above. Num(*) represents the number of pixels in target. If the number of pixels is less than or equal to 3, this candidate target can be categorized as the background directly, and also the background area of this target is updated; Ghost means “ghost” target, and when the “ghost” target areas are confirmed, they will be refreshed by a=1 regionally. After 20 frames, the update is nearly done, making a=10. Illustration In order to prove the validity and correctness of the proposed method, four experiments were carried out under the condition of satellite video. Firstly, conduct the global motion compensation, and then, the detection results of two methods, 1) the classical methods without considering the ‘pseudo motion’ and local updating, and 2) the method proposed in this paper, were compared. Data for experiments were borrowed from the videos shot by Jilin No.1 and Skysat Satellite with a resolution of 1.1m. The size of the targets were small and the contrast against the background was low. In experiment 1, there are a large amount of moving vehicles and certain noises were included in the video. The purpose is to test the detection performance of the algorithm, as well as the performance of blocking the “ghost” and noises. In the second experiment, a car in the video was in a static condition at first. After a while, the car got initiated and swerved with an acceleration. This test mainly was conducted to examine the capability of detecting the object from static condition to the moving condition. It was also employed to block the “ghost”. As for the video of the third experiment, no moving target appeared, but there are a large amount of parallax “pseudo motion”. The main aim of this experiment is to check the processing effectiveness of the parallax “pseudo motion”, namely, the measurement of the precision of the algorism. In the 4th experiment, both the real moving target and the local “pseudo motion” target are included which could check the detection capability and precision of the algorithm comprehensively. Method of numerical evaluation The method of numerical evaluation contain two way. The first, “Target-wise” Recall Rate. In the evaluation of detection capability (numerical quantization) towards moving object, the RR (Recall Rate) [18] is a common method. RR represents the ratio of number of real moving pixels in the classified foreground pixels to total moving pixels, a pixel-wise method. Classic detection rate measures the algorithm’s performance in detecting moving target pixels. Nevertheless, under the satellite condition, including lower contrast between the object and background, blurred edge of motion targets, synchronized moving objects in small size and pixel quantities, low rate among the total, even if algorithm showing high detection performance, the classic pixel-wise RR method might not read high statistic value and well describe the performance of the algorithm in inspection. On account of this, “targetwise” Recall Rate evaluation method is put forward in this paper. With respect to the features of the satellite videos, the whole object should be regarded as the statistical object in the accuracy assessment. Meanwhile, it is also necessary to measure the detect ability of the calculation of the whole object. The calculation formula is: (1) this formula, TPobj and FNobj represents the number of the objects which satisfied the following conditions: (2) In formula (2), Area (*) refers to the acreage, ∩ is the intersection operator, GT(i) represents the i-th object in image GT, Ground-truth, I(j) refers to object j in the image of the detection results. GT(i) and I(j) are matched according to their locations. Ø represents no object; T is the threshold with a value from 0 to 1. After the ergodic of the whole image, we could get the object number of TPobj and FNobj. Then we could employ the formula (1) to calculate RRobj to make accuracy assessment. The value of T in this experiment is 0.4. Second, The error detection rate was adopted as the measurement of precision of the moving objects detection. The statistical method of the error detection rate is as follows: evaluate the background pixel as the percentage covered by the error classified foreground pixel in total pixels. Experiment 1 The experimental data is a clip of video filmed by JILIN No.1 Video Satellite in an urban area. There are several small-sized vehicles on the road. The contrast between vehicles and the background is low. Figure 11 shows one frame of the video and the results of the detection without motion compensation. It can be seen that the difference among different frames of the satellite video is obvious. The effectiveness of the detection without motion compensation is fairly poor. So the global motion compensation is the significance step in motion detection. For observation, three ROIs was extracted where the moving objects more concentrated. The detection result is shown by Figure 11. The grey scale of the motion pixel is 225 while that of the background pixel is 0. The result of the “target-wise” recall rate are illustrated in Tables 1 and 2. Table 1: “Target-wise” RR of experiment 1. Table 2: Error detection rate of experiment 1. The result of the observation of the test reveals a good effectiveness of the moving object detection. The “Target-wise” detection accuracy has reached 80% or beyond. The detection rate of the processing results by the classical methods is slightly higher. High similarity between the target and background, low contrast of the grey scale as well as the small size caused the invalidation of the model comparison. This also trigger the missed detections. However, the effectiveness of the classical methods was not good when it comes to the measurement of the precision ratio, especially a large number of detection errors of the “ghosting” pixel. As what we can see from the red square area of the second rank in Figure 12 a wide range of “ghosting” pixel has not been removed for the objects with bigger sizes and higher grey scale contrast. The inaccurate background model is the main reason. A timely background updating was failed to be carried out after the objects were moved. However, the effectiveness of the detection method proposed in this paper is fairly effective. Firstly, the target “ghost” region was figured out. And then update part of the background model in this area. As a result, the detection errors of the “ghost” pixel could be effectively decreased. Meanwhile, the analysis of the connected component boost the blocking effectiveness of the noise pixels. Experiment 2 The experimental 2 data is the video filmed by JINLIN No.1. Figure 13 revealed the processing results. In the 39th frame, the vehicle in the red square area was in a static condition, waiting for turning. This could be regarded as the background. And all the other moving vehicles could be detected. The test outcome shows that the detection error of the “ghosting” existed in the processing results of the classical methods. However, few “ghosting” targets could be observed by using the methods provided. In about 100th frame, the target in the red square was still at the static condition. By upgrading the global background model, the “ghosting” was removed by using classical methods. However, this cost a longer time. In about 207th frame, the objects begin to move. Since it had been regarded as the background when it was in a static condition, the “ghost” occurred in the static situation. In around 234th frame, the object came into the condition of turning and began to speed up. The detection errors of the “ghosting” get increased. And because the methods proposed had removed the “ghost” by performing the pseudo motion processing, the detection errors are obviously lower than the classical methods without processing for pseudo motions. Meanwhile, the effectiveness of the detection of the object silhouettes is good. In about 254th frame, the “ghosting” was still obvious in the classical methods. In the 300th frame, the turning was completed and the detection effectiveness was good. This experiment reveals that the provided methods takes good use of the processing for the pseudo motion to upgrade local background in time. As a result, the detection errors of the “ghosting” could be eliminated rapidly and guarantee the detection rate of the objects. The quality is superior to the classical method. Experiment 3 and 4 The data of Experiment 3 and 4 is from the surveillance video of an open pit mine area filmed by SKYSAT. A large amount of side slopes consisted by the ladder mineral rock stratum existed in the open pit mine. The elevations of between slopes are greatly differentiated. The parallax were still serious even after the compensation for the global motion. The local “pseudo motion” could be distinctly observed at the edges of the slope. The outcome of the Experiment 3 was shown in Figure 14. In around 20th frame, the changes of the background was relatively small and the pseudo motions were not obvious. The errors detection were less. From about the 50th frame, the changes of the background became obvious. The global update of the fixed frequency of the model created by the classical methods could not adapt to the “pseudo motion” of the background. And a large amount of detection errors occurred. However, the method provided could block most of the detection errors by processing the “pseudo motion”. The accuracy is superior to the classical method. Table 3 illustrates the accuracy. Table 3: Error detection rate of experiment 3. The outcome of the Experiment 4 is shown in Figure 15. Both the proposed method could block the errors caused by the “pseudo motions” and could also guarantee the detection and segmentation of the actual target. Satellite video is a kind of new remote sensing data with dynamic and continuous characteristic, and it opened a new era of earth observation pattern and dynamic change information extraction. In this paper, aiming at the specialty and difficulty of motion detection in satellite video, we proposed a detection method of the global scene motion compensation and local dynamic updating. The method proposed could effectively solve the problem of high error detection caused by global scene motion and local pseudo-motion of parallax and ghost in the satellite video motion detection. Experiments demonstrated that our method have good effect on object detection and segmentation, meanwhile, can effectively remove the error detection caused by local pseudo-motion. Comparing with the classic method, our method makes the precision improve significantly. The suggested method is computationally robust and effective, and could meet the needs of motion analysis under the condition of satellite videos. In addition, the proposed "target-wise", an evaluation norm, which is more suitable for the evaluation of small moving object recall rate and simplifies the statistical processing. This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFC0803102) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (91538106, 41501503, 41501383).

JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 Joint Service Publication 754 TRI-SERVICE REGULATIONS FOR PAY AND CHARGES CONDITIONS OF RELEASE 1. This information. 2. This information is released by the United Kingdom Government to a recipient Government for defence purposes only. It may be disclosed only within the Defence Department of a recipient Government, except as otherwise authorised by the MOD. 3. This information may be subject to privately owned rights. Sponsored by: CDP Remuneration JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 JSP 754 AMENDMENT DETAILS Edition Chapters Affected Dated 1 First Edition 17 February 2006 2 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 24 May 2006 3 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,10 4 August 2006 4 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 12 October 2006 5 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 30 March 2007 6 1, 2, 4, 6, 9,10 1 August 2007 7 3, 6, 7, 9 23 November 2007 8 1, 2, 5, 6 , 7, 9 1 May 2008 9 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 1 October 2008 10 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9,10 1 April 2009 11 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 31 October 2009 12 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 1 April 2010 13 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 1 October 2010 14 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 1 April 2011 15 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 1 October 2011 16 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 1 April 2012 17 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9 1 October 2012 18 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 1 April 2013 JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 i TRI-SERVICE REGULATIONS FOR PAY AND CHARGES CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION Contents Section 1 - Principles Section 2 - The Military Salary Section 3 - Roles and Functions Section 4 - Glossary of Terms Section 5 - List of Standard Abbreviations Section 6 - Table of NATO Ranks Section 7 - Business Process Guides CHAPTER 2 – PAY AND THE MILITARY SALARY Contents Section 1 - Calculation and Authorisation of Pay Section 2 - Splits of Net Pay Section 3 - The Pay Statement Section 4 - Minimum Drawing Rate Section 5 - Advances of Pay and Methods of Repayment Section 6 - Recovery of Items from Pay (except Advances) Section 7 - Voluntary Deductions Section 8 - Miscellaneous Debits and Credits CHAPTER 3 – BASIC PAY Contents Section 1 - Pay Terminology and Structures Section 2 - Pay Range Allocation – Other Ranks Section 3 - Commencement of Pay Section 4 - Yearly Incremental Progression Section 5 - Performance Standards for Pay Purposes Section 6 - Accelerated Incremental Progression Section 7 - Pay on Promotion and on Relinquishment of Rank for Non-Disciplinary Reasons Section 8 - Substitution Pay Section 9 - Acting Rank Section 10 - Pay on Reduction in Rank and on Loss of Seniority due to Disciplinary Reasons Section 11 - Pay on Change of Branch or Trade Section 12 - Pay for Dual Career Employment Qualifications Section 13 - Pay on Transfer of Service, Re-entry, Re-enlistment and on Transfer from or to the Reserve Forces or Transfer from a Foreign or Commonwealth Force Section 14 - Suspension/Cessation/Forfeiture of Pay CHAPTER 4 – RESERVES Contents Section 1 - Pay Principles for Attendance-Based Reserve Forces Personnel Section 2 - Periods Qualifying for Pay and Attendance-Based Pay – Reserve Forces Personnel Section 3 - Commencement of Pay and Subsequent Incremental Pay Progression – Reserve Forces Personnel Section 4 - Disability Allowance – Reserve Forces Personnel JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 ii Section 5 - Bounties – Reserve Forces Personnel Section 6 - Call-Out Gratuity – Reserve Forces Personnel Section 7 - Reporting Grants Section 8 - Cadet Force Adult Volunteers Section 9 - Early Years Commitment Bonus – Teritorial Army CHAPTER 5 – EMPLOYMENT GROUPS WITH SEPARATE PAY ARRANGEMENTS Contents Section 1 - Medical and Dental Officers’ Pay Section 2 - Veterinary Officers’ Pay Section 3 - Officers Commissioned from the Ranks Section 4 - Chaplains’ Pay Section 5 - Special Forces’ Pay Section 6 - Royal Navy and Royal Air Force Professional Aviators’ Pay Spine and Pilot Employment Stream (Army) Section 7 - Royal Navy and Royal Air Force Non-Commissioned Aircrew Professional Aviators’ Pay Spine and Pilot Employment Stream (Army) Section 8 - Specialist Aircrew Section 9 - Military Provost Guard Service Section 10 - University Cadet Entrants’ Pay Section 11 - Royal Navy Clearance Divers Section 12 - Non-Regular Permanent Staff(Territorial Army) Section 13 - Senior Officers’ Pay Section 14 - Nursing Officers’ and Nursing Other Ranks’ Pay CHAPTER 6 – RECRUITMENT & RETENTION PAYMENT Contents Section 1 - Recruitment & Retention Payment – Overarching Policy Section 2 - Recruitment & Retention Payment (Diving) Section 3 - Recruitment & Retention Payment (Submarine) Section 4 - Recruitment & Retention Payment (Submarine Escape Training Tank) Section 5 - Recruitment & Retention Payment (Nuclear Propulsion) Section 6 - Recruitment & Retention Payment (Hydrographic) Section 7 - Recruitment & Retention Payment (Mountain Leader) Section 8 - Recruitment & Retention Payment (Experimental Diving) Section 9 - Recruitment & Retention Payment (Air Dispatch) Section 10 - Recruitment & Retention Payment (Parachute) Section 11 - Recruitment & Retention Payment (Joint Helicopter Support Unit Helicopter Crew) Section 12 - Recruitment & Retention Payment (Special Forces) Section 13 - Recruitment & Retention Payment (Special Communications) Section 14 - Recruitment & Retention Payment (Special Forces Communications) Section 15 - Recruitment & Retention Payment (Special Reconnaissance) Section 16 - Recruitment & Retention Payment (Special Intelligence) Section 17 - Recruitment & Retention Payment (Flying) Section 18 - Recruitment & Retention Payment (Flying Crew) Section 19 - Recruitment & Retention Payment (Aeromedical and Escort Duty) Section 20 - Recruitment & Retention Payment (Parachute Jump Instructor) Section 21 - Recruitment & Retention Payment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal Operators) Section 22 - Recruitment & Retention Payment (Nursing) JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 iii CHAPTER 7 – RETENTION PAYMENTS Contents Section 1 - BLANK Section 2 - Commitment Bonuses – Interim Scheme Section 3 - Commitment Bonuses – New Schemes Section 4 Financial Incentive Schemes for Recruitment and Retention CHAPTER 8 – STATUTORY PAYMENTS Contents Section 1 - Statutory Payments and Grants - Overview Annex A - Sure Start Maternity Grant Annex B - Family Maintenance Grant CHAPTER 9 - CHARGES Contents Section 1 - Single Living Accommodation and the Substitute Equivalents Section 2 - Service Families’ Accommodation and the Substitute Equivalents Section 3 - Fuel and Light Charges Section 4 - Garages and Carports Section 5 - Garage Encroachments Section 6 - Contributions in Lieu of Council Tax Section 7 - Rent, Rates and Council Tax Rebate Scheme Section 8 - Caravan Site Facilities Section 9 - Services Cotswold Centre, Corsham Section 10 - Food Charging Section 11 - Council Tax Relief for Service personnel on Specified Operations ATTACHMENTS Directed Letters & CILOCT / CTR Signal 2013/14Armed Forces Pay Review Rates of Pay and Charges for the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, the Army and the Royal Air Force 2013/14 Senior Salaries Review Body – Rates of Pay and Charges for 2, 3 and 4-Star Officers 2013/14 Armed Forces Pay Review Rates of Pay, Distinction and Clinical Excellence Awards for Medical and Dental Officers, Medical and Dental Reserve Officers and Officers Serving in the Cadet Forces 2013/14 Armed Forces Pay Review Pay Rates for Special Forces and Niche Capabilities 2013/14 Armed Forces Pay Review Revised Rates of Pay and Charges for the Royal Naval/Royal Marine Reserves, the Territorial Army, the Royal Air Force Reserves and all Cadet Forces CILOCT and CTR Signal – Daily Rates with effect from 1 April 2013 Back to top JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 i CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION SECTION 1 – PRINCIPLES 01.0101 – 01.0103 - Joint Service Publication 754 01.0104 - Joint Personnel Administration 01.0105 - Authority 01.0106 - 01.0107 - Appeal Process 01.0108 - Definition of Terms 01.0109 - Amendments SECTION 2 – THE MILITARY SALARY 01.0201 - Introduction 01.0202 – 01.0203 - The X-Factor 01.0204 – 01.0205 - Civilian Employment 01.0206 - Additional Employment including Professional Sports Activities SECTION 3 – ROLES AND FUNCTIONS 01.0301 - 01.0302 - The Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body 01.0303 - 01.0304 - The Review Body on Senior Salaries 01.0305 - Service Personnel Policy Pay and Allowances 01.0306 - The Joint Services’ Job Evaluation Team 01.0307 - Single-Service Pay Colonels 01.0308 - Reserve Forces’ Personnel 01.0309 – 01.0310 - Service Personnel and Veterans Agency 01.0311 - Service Personnel and Veterans Agency Change Gate 01.0312 – 01.0316 - Joint Personnel Administration Centre 01.0317 – 01.0319 - Unit Human Resources Administration Staff ANNEX A - Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body - Terms of Reference ANNEX B - Review Body on Senior Salaries - Terms of Reference ANNEX C - A Guide to the Preparation and submission of Pay and Charges Casework. APPENDIX 1 - Format for a written submission to the PACCC. APPENDIX 2 - Factors to be considered by HR Admin Staff. SECTION 4 – GLOSSARY OF TERMS SECTION 5 – LIST OF STANDARD ABBREVIATIONS SECTION 6 – TABLE OF NATO RANKS SECTION 7 – BUSINESS PROCESS GUIDES Back to top Back to Main Contents Page JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 1 – 1 CHAPTER 1 SECTION 1 PRINCIPLES Joint Service Publication 754 01.0101. This Joint Service Publication (JSP) is the authoritative publication for all Service Pay and Charges issues. It is designed for use by all Service personnel, their line managers and specialist administration staffs, to determine entitlement to pay and the criteria for the payment of appropriate charges. 01.0102. This publication details the regulations for payment of the military salary, Recruitment & Retention Payment, additional emoluments and appropriate deductions, such as food and accommodation charges. 01.0103. The policies contained within this JSP have been equality and diversity impact assessed in accordance with Departmental policy. This resulted in a Part 1 screening only completed (no direct discrimination or adverse impact identified). This JSP is due for review again on 1 October 2014. Joint Personnel Administration 01.0104. Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) represents a harmonised and simplified personnel and pay policy. JPA was introduced to replace single-Service systems for personnel and pay administration that were inflexible and costly to maintain. Authority 01.0105. Tri-Service pay and charges policy is authorised by The Queen by way of Royal Warrants made under section 333 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 (c. 52), namely the Armed Forces Pay, Bounties and Allowances Warrant 2009 and the Armed Forces Pay, Bounties and Allowances (Amendment) Warrant 2010. With few exceptions, Chief of Defence Personnel (CDP) is responsible for all Service pay policy. Where policy responsibility lies elsewhere, the lead organisation is indicated at the top of the relevant regulation within this JSP. CDP delegates the pay policy lead to the Director Service Personnel Policy (D SP Pol). The Service Personnel and Veterans Agency’s (SPVA) Pay and Allowances Casework and Complaints Cell (PACCC) is responsible for casework that results from that policy. Appeals against casework decisions made by the PACCC will be considered in accordance with Chapter 1, Section 3, Paragraphs 01.0314 - 01.0315 . Within D SP Pol’s area, the head of Remuneration has day-to-day responsibility for pay and charges policy, the regulations for which are promulgated in this JSP. In discharging these responsibilities Hd of Rem may consult with the single Service Pay Colonels. Sponsorship and periodic JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 1 – 2 review of the policy is vested with PERS TRG-REM-PAY POL 2 , whilst responsibility for publication of new editions of this JSP is delegated to PERS TRG-REM-PAY POL 3 . 01.0106. Retrospective Claims. No claim will be paid for any payment or refund relating to any period more than 6 years prior to the date of the claim, or such shorter period as may be specified in these Regulations. Payments or refunds may only be paid where entitlement can be established beyond doubt and where it can be proved by reference to accounts or other documents that payment has not already been made. 01.0107. No person shall be entitled to claim as a right any pay, promotion, emolument, or other benefit conferred by any provision of this JSP in the event of such provision being at any time varied or cancelled. Any charges imposed by any provision of this JSP may be varied or cancelled and new charges may be introduced. Definition of Terms 01.0108. A full glossary and definition of terms is included at Chapter 1 Section 4. Amendments 01.0109. Proposals for amendments to the policy contained in this JSP are to be submitted through single-Service chains of command to Pay & Charges 2. The PACCC may also submit proposed amendments to policy resulting from processed casework direct to CDP Remuneration. Amendments will be published as and when necessary. Advance amendments may be issued to forewarn personnel of significant changes. Back to Chapter Contents Page Back to Main Contents Page JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 2 – 1 CHAPTER 1 SECTION 2 THE MILITARY SALARY Introduction 01.0201. The ‘military salary’ (basic pay, not including X-factor) introduced in 1970, is paid to all Service personnel. The levels of pay and charges are set by the Government based on recommendations by the Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body (AFPRB) or, for two-star officers and above, the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB). The basic principle applied since the appointment of the AFPRB in 1971 is that the package of Service pay and charges must be fair in relation to those applying to civilian occupations. In order to determine levels of pay within the military salary, a technique for measuring job size, called job evaluation, is used. Pay is maintained at levels broadly comparable with those received by civilians doing jobs of a similar size and job evaluated weight. Charges levied for accommodation and food also reflect broad levels of expenditure on similar commodities in civilian life abated, where justified, to reflect circumstances peculiar to the Services. The level of military salary is enhanced by the ‘X-Factor’. The X-Factor 01.0202.. • Full-time Personnel - The full level of X-Factor is payable up to level 9 on the OF4 range. X-Factor tapers beyond this up to and including the rank of OF8, to reflect the fact that officers of these ranks are affected to a lesser extent by X-Factor elements. • Reserve Personnel – The full level of X-Factor is payable up to level 5 of the OF4 range. X-Factor tapers beyond this up to and including the rank of OF8, to reflect the fact that officers of these ranks are affected to a lesser extent by X-Factor elements. 01.0203. The components of X-Factor are within a framework covering the features, impact and social aspects of the job. The components of X- Factor include: a. Danger. b. Turbulence. c. Separation. d. Job Satisfaction. JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 2 – 2 e. Job Security. f. Trade Union Membership and Industrial Action. g. Stress at Work. h. Individual Rights. i. Support to personnel and their families. Civilian Employment 01.0204 As a matter of both policy and financial regularity, Service personnel should not be paid twice for their working time (unless during terminal leave, see 01.0205, or annual leave/off duty, see 01.0206. Therefore, whilst undertaking Regular service, and in receipt of Service pay and allowances, Service personnel are not permitted to receive payment from another employer for services they are paid to deliver by the Crown. In these circumstances, any remuneration paid by another employer in connection with such services is therefore payment for services for which the Crown has already paid the individual Service person, and such payment is therefore due to the Crown rather than to the individual. Examples include, but are not limited to, officers seconded to industry 1 , Judicial Appointments and Medical pre-registration house officers employed in civilian hospitals. Advice should be sought from DFM if personnel are in doubt about the propriety of accepting payments. Where payment occurs, the civilian authority should be requested to forward payments in respect of salary, on a monthly or quarterly basis, to SPVA, via the individual’s accounting unit 2 . Cheques should be made payable to: ‘The Accounting Officer, Ministry of Defence’ and crossed 'A/c Payee only'. The cheques will be banked by SPVA in Lloyds sub account HMG3605. Cheques should include the unit RAC/UIN to ensure the proceeds are credited to the correct unit. Payment should include: (a) A sum equivalent to the employer’s superannuation contribution to their superannuation scheme. (b) The employer’s National Insurance contribution. (c) Any extra payments of entitlement. (d) A statement showing breakdown of salary. For full guidance on how to write out cheques for recovery to MoD see JSP 891 para 7.40. 1 This policy does not apply to those on secondment terms who remain subject to Service law but who do not receive pay. 2 Naval Barristers undertaking pupillage training should declare their second income to their Tax Office and maintain a record of all fees and expenses. The net income (after deduction of Income Tax/NIC, reasonable expenses and any chambers’ fees) is to be paid to the MoD as per paragraph 01.0204 above. All paperwork should be submitted to Fleet DNLS Legal Training for checking prior to being forwarded to SPVA. JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 2 – 3 01.0205 Where an individual commences civilian employment pending discharge from the Service, payment from both sources may be received during the terminal leave period. Additional Employment including Professional Sports Activities 01.0206. In accordance with single-Service Queen’s Regulations (QRs) (RN J.8401 – 8403, Army J.5076 – 5078 and RAF J.909 - 910), all Service personnel must seek approval from their Commanding Officers before accepting temporary employment during normal leave or off-duty hours. Individuals undertaking professional sporting activities should refer to single- Service guidance on participation in sporting activities (Chapter 12 of the RN Sports Handbook , Chapter 111 of AGAI Volume 3 , and AP 3415 Section 2 Chapter 2 Annex B ), which detail how their pay may be abated. All personnel also need to ensure that any additional employment does not contravene Service Regulations on Commercial Sponsorship (QRRN J.8301 - 8305, QR(Army) J5.024 and QR(RAF) J914). Back to Chapter Contents Page Back to Main Contents Page JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 3 – 1 CHAPTER 1 SECTION 3 ROLES AND FUNCTIONS The Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body 01.0301. The Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body (AFPRB) Role. As Service personnel have no negotiating body such as a trade union or federation to look after their pay interests, in 1971 the Government set up the AFPRB to carry out an annual review of the military salary. Membership of the AFPRB is drawn from eminent civilians of widely differing backgrounds, one of whom is always a retired senior member of the Armed Forces. Their role is to advise the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State (SofS) for Defence on the levels of pay and charges, and some allowances, which they consider appropriate for members of the Armed Forces up to and including the rank of OF6. When set up, it was stated that the recommendations of the AFPRB would be accepted by the Government unless there were clear and compelling reasons for not doing so. There are no Government Departments represented on the AFPRB, and the case for the Services is presented by the submission of papers of evidence by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and at meetings held between the AFPRB, MOD and Service representatives. The rates of pay and charges recommended by the AFPRB in the light of this evidence are passed directly to the Prime Minister and SofS. The final decision whether to accept the AFPRB recommendations rest with the Prime Minister. On the basis that they are agreed, SofS then presents the AFPRB annual report, which contains the rates of pay and charges, to Parliament. The rates are also promulgated annually by CDP Remuneration in a Directed Letter (see 01.0305 ). 01.0302. AFPRB Function. Terms of reference for the AFPRB are shown at Annex A to this Section. The Review Body on Senior Salaries 01.0303. The Review Body on Senior Salaries (SSRB) Role. The SSRB advises the Prime Minister on the remuneration appropriate to senior public servants (senior Civil Servants, senior members of the judiciary, officers of the Armed Forces at OF7 rank and above, and any other group which the Government might from time to time specify). Rates of pay for senior military officers are recommended by the SSRB, agreed by the Prime Minister, published in the SSRB report and promulgated annually by Hd of Rem in a Directed Letter. 01.0304. SSRB Function. Terms of reference for the SSRB are shown at Annex B to this Section. JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 3 – 2 CDP Remuneration 01.0305. The Remuneration Team is part of the CDP organisation within MOD Head Office, and retains overall responsibility for pay and allowances policy, providing documentary evidence and reports to the AFPRB and SSRB for consideration. Hd of Remuneration is responsible for promulgating changes in pay policy throughout MOD and the Services through the publication of a Directed Letter and then for day to day maintenance of this JSP to ensure that it reflects current pay policy. Hd of Remuneration is also responsible for promulgating rates of pay through the publication of a Directed Letter. They also act as final arbiters for any casework forwarded by the Pay and Allowances Casework and Complaints Cell (PACCC) and for enforcing, or where necessary agreeing revised, policy for all aspects of tri-Service pay and charges regulations. In some cases, delegated powers of responsibility are issued to single-Service authorities to authorise payments in exceptional circumstances, however, single-Service staffs are not empowered to alter existing regulations. Recommendations for changes to existing regulations and policies are to be submitted by single-Service authorities through individual Pay Colonel (Col) staffs, who are the single-Service points of contact for all pay policy matters, for submission to CDP Remuneration for consideration. The Joint Services’ Job Evaluation Team 01.0306. The Joint Services Job Evaluation Team (JSJET) includes representatives of all 3 Services. Their role is to assess the relative job weight of each trade, at each rank, using a process called job evaluation (JE) as follows: a. JSJET analyst’s interview selected jobholders to analyse their job in depth, based upon a detailed job description provided by the Head of Arm or Service responsible for the trade. JE is concerned with the job and not the jobholder and does not take account of the abilities of the individual. b. This information is then taken forward to a tri-Service JE judging panel, supported by the Head of Arm or Service responsible for the trade. This panel assigns a job weight to each rank for the trade under review. c. The job weight scores are then used to determine how the trade will be paid at each rank. Again the Head of Arm or Service responsible for the trade has a key role to play. Single-Service Pay Colonels 01.0307. The single-Service Pay Cols and their staff each work for their respective single-Service Principal Personnel Officer 1 (PPO). Their role is to 1 2 nd Sea Lord for RN/RM, Adjutant General for Army and Air Member for Personnel for RAF. JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 3 – 3 support their respective PPOs in providing the single-Service lead in pay and charges policy, delivering their respective Service’s case for remuneration and charges to CDP Remuneration and the AFPRB. In addition single-Service Pay Cols are responsible for taking forward casework from their respective Service as part of the formal redress/complaint procedure. The single-Service Pay Cols are: a. RN. FLEET-DNPS PPA DACOS b. Army. LF-DPS(A)-PS10A-AD c. RAF. Air PersPol-PayAllces DACOS Reserve Forces’ Personnel 01.0308. For the purposes of pay and charges the Reserve Forces and Cadets Assistant Head of Capability (RF&C AHd Cap) is the policy focal point for the Reserves. Service Personnel and Veterans Agency 01.0309. The Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA) is responsible for the delivery of current and future Personnel Administration services to agreed standards and ministerial targets as laid down in the Framework Document for the Agency and the Corporate Plan. 01.0310. SPVA contributes to the operational effectiveness of the Armed Forces through the provision of pay and administration services to Service Personnel. Additionally, the Agency provides direct support to the mobilisation of Reservists and the deployment of operational manpower systems. Service Personnel and Veterans Agency Change Gate 01.0311. SPVA(C) Gate are responsible for processing new or changed requirements from single-Service Authorities, Pay Colonel staffs, CDP Remuneration staff and other authorities as appropriate, to the JPAC PDT for payment. Joint Personnel Administration Centre 01.0312. The JPAC Role. The JPAC, part of SPVA, is the management centre for the running of joint personnel administration and the Joint Personnel Administration Centre Pay Delivery Team (JPAC PDT) deals specifically with enquiries relating to pay, charges and allowances. 01.0313. The JPAC Function. With regard to pay and charges, the JPAC is responsible for the calculation, accounting and issuing of pay to Service personnel based on information supplied by individual accounting units and other Service or outside organisations. It is also responsible for effecting statutory deductions and authorised recoveries. JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 3 – 4 01.0314. Casework. There will inevitably be occasions where the eligibility and entitlements detailed in this JSP do not fully cover the circumstances of every Service person. Where it is considered that there is sufficient justification for exceptional treatment of any pay and charges matter, a case detailing the full scenario, justification and requirement (supported by any relevant documentation) is to be staffed from the Unit HR Admin Staff and signed by an OF2 or above on the Unit HR Admin Staff. If there is no Unit HR OF2 or above then all casework is to be signed by the Unit CO. Units are then to forward the case to the PACCC for consideration (in the Army’s case through the appropriate Brigade Headquarters for comment). A guide to the submission of pay and charges casework to the PACCC, including the required format, is at Annex C to this Section. The PACCC is a department within SPVA with the delegated authority to deal with all tri-Service pay and charges casework. In conducting casework it will consider all of the associated factors and seek to make consistent and fair decisions. The PACCC does not have authority to alter existing policy or to set a precedent; it will refer such cases to CDP Remuneration for a policy ruling before a final decision is made. Where the PACCC has the authority to decide on a case it will consider: a. whether the case presented falls within the policy intent. If it is clear that the policy intent was not to exclude the circumstances of the Service person submitting the case, the PACCC may approve the case. If, however, a group of 5 individuals or more seek, simultaneously, the same regulatory treatment that the PACCC considers is justified, the PACCC will request that CDP Remuneration reviews the policy to determine eligibility prior to ruling on the case; b. whether the regulations lay down a specific timeframe for eligibility. Cases that exceed the timeframe will be referred to CDP for consideration prior to any decision being promulgated. c. That all cases relating to any period of more than 6 years prior to the date of the claim are time expired and will not be paid in accordance with para 01.0106 . 01.0315. Appeals Process. Individuals may submit an appeal a decision on casework made by the PACCC, staffed through the Unit in accordance with para 01.0314 above (under a covering letter signed by the Unit CO) to the SPVA (via SO2 Appeals, MP 600, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow, G2 8EX). A first appeal is to be submitted within 3 months of the initial notification by the PACCC of the decision. The first appeal will be considered by the Assistant Head Military Operations and Development SPVA or Assistant Head Veterans Services and Armed Forces Pension Scheme SPVA who will review the evidence prior to informing the Brigade/Unit of the decision. Where individuals still believe that they have been unfairly disadvantaged, they have a further 3 months from the date of the notification letter of the first appeal to lodge a second appeal to SPVA (via SO2 Complaints and Appeals, MP 600, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 3 – 5 Glasgow, G2 8EX) which will be considered by the Chief Executive. For both first and second appeals CDP Remuneration may be consulted prior to a decision being made. There is no further route of appeal after the Chief Executive SPVA has made a decision. However, once the SPVA appeals procedure has been exhausted, it may be possible to raise a Service Complaint under the policy and process set out in JSP 831, Redress of individual Grievances – Service Complaints. 01.0316. JPA Service Delivery Complaints. Complaints relating to Service Delivery Failures should not be confused with Service Complaints . Detailed instructions for submitting a JPA Service Delivery Complaint can be found on the SPVA Infocentre web page. Unit Human Resources Administration Staff 01.0317. Role. Unit Human Resources Administration Staff (Unit HR Admin staff) are responsible for all aspects of personnel administration within their Unit. In some cases Unit HR Admin staff will also have a parenting responsibility for the administration function of individuals serving in lodger units posts under their remit. 01.0318. Function. In relation to pay and charges, Unit HR Admin staff or delegated HR Admin Staff (for “orphaned” personnel) are responsible at unit level for maintaining pay details within JPA, and are responsible for ensuring that changes to an individual’s circumstances that will affect pay and charges, and associated details are promptly notified to JPA either manually through the JPAC or directly on-line. Unit HR Admin staff are to ensure that all documents supporting pay and charges are correctly and legibly prepared and that all advances are properly authorised and within the terms set out in Chapter 2 Section 5. 01.0319. Customer Interface. Individual Service personnel will be able to access JPA as a customer, to view their own pay, and also action certain occurrences affecting their own pay, allowances and personal details. Full details for accessing information and processing are contained in the on-line business process guides. Back to Chapter Contents Page Back to Main Contents Page JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 3 – A – 1 ANNEX A TO CHAPTER 1 SECTION 3 ARMED FORCES’ PAY REVIEW BODY - TERMS OF REFERENCE 1. The AFPRB is to provide independent advice to the Prime Minister and the SofS for Defence on the remuneration and charges for members of the Naval, Military and Air Forces of the Crown. 2. In reaching its recommendations, the AFPRB is to have regard to the following considerations: a. the need to recruit, retain and motivate suitably able and qualified people taking account of the particular circumstances of Service life; b. Government policies for improving the public services, including the requirement on the MOD to meet the output targets for the delivery of departmental services; c. the funds available to the MOD as set out in the Government’s departmental expenditure limits; and d. the Government’s inflation target. 3. The AFPRB shall have regard for the need for the pay of the Armed Forces to be broadly comparable with pay levels in civilian life. 4. The AFPRB shall, in reaching its recommendations, take account of the evidence submitted to it by the Government and others. The AFPRB may also consider other specific issues as the occasion arises. 5. Reports and recommendations should be submitted jointly to the SofS for Defence and the Prime Minister. Back to Chapter Contents Page Back to Main Contents Page JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 3 – B – 1 ANNEX B TO CHAPTER 1 SECTION 3 REVIEW BODY ON SENIOR SALARIES - TERMS OF REFERENCE 1. The SSRB provides independent advice to the Prime Minister, the Lord Chancellor and the SofS for Defence on the remuneration of holders of judicial office; senior civil servants; senior officers of the Armed Forces; and other such public appointments as may from time to time be specified. 2.. If asked to do so by the Presiding Officer and the First Minister of the Scottish Parliament jointly; or by the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly; or by the Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales; or by the Mayor of London and the Chair of the Greater London Assembly jointly; the Review Body also from time to time advises those bodies on the pay, pensions and allowances of their members and office holders. 3. In reaching its recommendations, the Review Body is to have regard to the following considerations: a. the need to recruit, retain and motivate suitably able and qualified people to exercise their different responsibilities; b. regional/local variations in labour markets and their effects on the recruitment and retention of staff; c. Government policies for improving the public services including the requirement on departments to meet the output targets for the delivery of departmental services; d. the funds available to departments as set out in the Government’s departmental expenditure limits; e. the Government’s inflation target. 4. In making recommendations, the Review Body shall consider any factors that the Government and other witnesses may draw to its attention. In particular it shall have regard to: a. differences in terms and conditions of employment between the public and private sector and between the remit groups, taking account of relative job security and the value of benefits in kind; b. changes in national pay systems, including flexibility and the reward of success; and job weight in differentiating the remuneration of particular posts; JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 3 – B – 2 c. the need to maintain broad linkage between the remuneration of the three main remit groups, while allowing sufficient flexibility to take account of the circumstances of each group; and d. the relevant legal obligations, including anti-discrimination legislation regarding age, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion and belief and disability. 5. The Review Body may make other recommendations as it sees fit: a. to ensure that, as appropriate, the remuneration of the remit groups relates coherently to that of their subordinates, encourages efficiency and effectiveness, and takes account of the different management and organisational structures that may be in place from time to time; b. to relate reward to performance where appropriate; c. to maintain the confidence of those covered by the Review Body’s remit that its recommendations have been properly and fairly determined; and d. to ensure that the remuneration of those covered by the remit is consistent with the Government’s equal opportunities policy. 6. The Review Body will take account of the evidence it receives about wider economic considerations and the affordability of its recommendations. Back to Chapter Contents Page Back to Main Contents Page JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 3 – C – 1 ANNEX C TO SECTION 3 TO CHAPTER 1 A GUIDE TO THE PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OF PAY AND CHARGES CASEWORK 1. AIM. The aim of this Annex is to provide advice and assistance to those involved in the preparation and submission of casework to ensure that comprehensive cases are submitted in a standard format that enables balanced and fair decisions to be made in a timely manner. 2. PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OF CASEWORK. Casework is to be prepared and submitted in the format at Appendix 1 to this Annex, with a covering letter from the Unit. Service personnel are not to submit casework themselves; all cases must be submitted in accordance with para 01.0314 on behalf of the Service person. Unit HR Admin Staff must satisfy themselves that the case is justified, where necessary Units are to seek advice from their Administrative Chain of Command prior to submission. Cases submitted to the PACCC must contain the following essential elements: (a) the full background to the case, including all relevant facts together with the full details of any advice sought from other agencies. (b) a clear description of the entitlement being sought together with a full justification quoting full details of the relevant regulations (including all references). (c) justification as to why a decision should be made in favour of the Service person supported by appropriate documentary evidence. It is imperative that the elements described above are included in the casework submitted to the PACCC as failing to include the information will result in the return of the casework to the Unit CO unanswered. Sub paragraphs 2(a) and 2(b) are straightforward and should provide factual information set out in a concise, chronological and logical manner. Sub paragraph 2(c) requires consideration and interpretation of the regulations as they apply to the individual case and is the most important part of the submission. Guidance on completing this is at Appendix 1. It is important that all supporting documents are attached. All pay and charges cases must include copies of relevant pay statements. 3. STAFFING PROCEDURES. In order to submit a comprehensive and credible case to the PACCC as quickly as practicable, it is essential that submissions are staffed through the Chain of Command and commented upon by Unit HR Admin Staff in accordance with para 01.0314 . Unit HR Admin Staff must consider the facts and assess whether the case merits support. A guide to the factors to be considered is at Appendix 2 to this annex. When submitting a case that is supported by the Chain of Command, Unit HR are to include in their covering letter the reasons why the case is supported and the outcome sought. Unit HR Admin Staff must apply the regulations and should not be afraid to identify those cases which do not have JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 3 – C – 2 an entitlement; advising the Service person of their decision and returning the case to the individual. Should the Service person still believe that they have a case then it is to be forwarded to the PACCC, through the Chain of Command and must include a copy of the Unit HR’s initial response to the case. It is acceptable to forward a case with a covering letter stating that it is not supported and explaining the reasoning behind the decision. Fully staffed cases are to be sent via email to: SPVA-DMS-PACCC (MULTIUSER). In exceptional circumstances e.g. where units do not have access to scanners and/or email, casework should be sent to the PACCC by one of the following routes: a. By mail to: Service Personnel and Veterans Agency Pay and Allowances Casework and Complaints Cell Mail Point 600 Kentigern House 65 Brown Street GLASGOW G2 8EX b. By fax to: 94561 2605. 4. SUBMISSION OF APPEALS. All Appeals should be submitted in the same format as initial casework under a covering letter signed by the unit CO. Reference should be made to the Initial Case (and 1st Appeal for 2nd Appeals) and state exactly what outcome is required. The letter should briefly detail the basis of the Appeal, highlighting any key areas and should include any new evidence together with a statement from the Service person who is appealing (there is no need to resend original case material). All enclosures should be dated and in chronological order. The letter should end with a brief statement of the unit view articulating whether the appeal is supported or not. 5. PACCC PROCEDURES. Once a case is received by the PACCC, a letter acknowledging receipt will be sent within 24 hours. Provided all the facts are to hand, the PACCC will aim to process the case and inform the Chain of Command of the result within 10 working days of receipt. If there is a need for further information or documentation the PACCC may return the case, under covering letter, detailing the additional information that is required. Where it is not possible to meet the 10 day timeframe, the PACCC will forward a holding letter to inform the Unit/Bde that the case is still under consideration. If a case is novel or contentious or relates to policy, it may be necessary to seek advice from CDP Remuneration, who in turn may need to consult other relevant authorities which may result in further delays. If this is the case, the PACCC will continue to send holding replies every 20 working days until a final decision is made. It should be noted that if the claimant is not satisfied with the PACCC’s response, they may submit an appeal in accordance with paragraph 01.0315 . Under no circumstances will the PACCC engage in telephone conversations with the Service person regarding cases with which it has dealt. Callers will be directed to follow the appeals process should they feel aggrieved at a PACCC decision. JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 3 – C – 3 Appendix: 1. Format for Written Submission to the PACCC 2. Factors to be considered by Unit HR Admin Staff Back to Chapter Contents Page Back to Main Contents Page JSP 754 1 – 3 – C – 1 - 1 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 APPENDIX 1 TO ANNEX C TO SECTION 3 TO CHAPTER 1 FORMAT FOR WRITTEN CASEWORK TO THE PACCC 1. SHORT TITLE (EG. FRI, AIP). Name & Initials: Number: Rank: Service/Regt/Corps: Unit: Contact Number: Unit Address: Email Address: DOB: Arrival Date: PStat Cat: Future Availability Date: CEA Claimant (Y/N): Termination Date: 2. BACKGROUND. Start at the beginning and go through the facts in chronological order. Where relevant include: (a) Dates of all important events (any delays in actions or submissions at unit (or Bde) should be explained). (b) What advice was sought or offered and by whom. In cases of incorrect advice, be specific about dates, places and names (enclosing evidence if available). Vague references to a telephone conversation or a general conversation is insufficient. (c) Relevant family or compassionate circumstances (enclosing welfare or medical reports). (d) Any financial hardship suffered (including a financial statement). (e) Any remedial action taken by the Service person. 3. ENTITLEMENT SOUGHT. Be clear about what is required, i.e. entitlement to Recruitment & Retention Payment or a Commitment Bonus. Refer to specific paragraphs of the JSP, where relevant. 4. JUSTIFICATION. This is the key part of the submission. It must be argued in a logical and convincing manner. If this presents difficulties, does the case deserve to go forward? The key issue is whether the circumstances of the case fall within the spirit and intent of the regulations. If it falls at the ‘margins’ is it possible to argue that there are other circumstances which should be taken into consideration within the scope of the regulations? Consider: (a) Excessive turbulence or separation; (b) Family circumstances; JSP 754 1 – 3 – C – 1 - 2 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 (c) Availability of advice; (d) Alternative options - if any; (e) The financial effect on the Service person. (f) Personal choice or Service requirement. There will be cases that, although outwith current regulations, may nevertheless merit support. The same basic format should be applied. It will, however, be important to show why a particular case warrants special treatment. The case itself may point to the need for a revision of current policy. Both aspects should be considered when drafting the submission. Avoid: (g) Emotional statements and intemperate language; (h) Blaming others for personal mistakes. If the regulations have been unintentionally transgressed, have the honesty to say so; (i) Persistent submission of marginal cases; (j) Veiled threats of appeals, letters to MPs, etc. It is recognised that these are courses of action available to all Service personnel and it is not necessary to reiterate this in a letter to the PACCC; Ensure that all supporting documents are attached to the submission, e.g. welfare reports, medical evidence, assignment orders, course certificates, Service housing applications, receipts, pay statements, bank statements etc. This list is not exhaustive; the guiding principle should be that all statements should be backed up with copies of evidence or references to official documents that supports the statements. Where evidence cannot be obtained this should be explained. If in doubt enclose any additional documents in support of the case. 5. SUMMARY. Close with a short, succinct paragraph that summarises the case, whether it is supported by the Chain of Command or otherwise and details the outcome sought. Do not introduce new information or facts; these should have already been included in the background or justification. Name Rank 1 Date Back to Chapter Contents Page Back to Main Contents Page 1 To be signed in accordance with para 01.0314 . JSP 754 1 – 3 – C – 2 - 1 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 APPENDIX 2 TO ANNEX C TO SECTION 3 TO CHAPTER 1 FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED BY UNIT HR ADMIN STAFF 1. Regulations. Does the case fall within the spirit and intent of the regulations? Examine the aim of the regulations in the JSP. If the case is outwith the current regulations in the JSP, it may still warrant support. For example: (a) is this case unique, or are there others like it? (b) do the circumstances indicate a need for fundamental policy review? 2. Knowledge. Ignorance of the regulations is never a defence in itself; however, in a more complicated case it might be seen as a mitigating factor. 3. Alternatives. Is there an alternative method of compensation, monetary or otherwise? Is it a reasonable and fair claim on tax-payers’ money? 4. The X-Factor. Any attempt to correct every imbalance will risk a reduction in the X-Factor within basic pay, which is paid continuously throughout a Service person’s career. The elements that the X-Factor covers are detailed below. Are the circumstances within the case compensated for by the X-Factor? Advantages : Disadvantages : Job security Subject to military discipline Adventure On duty at all times Travel Restrictions on resignation Trade training No negotiations on pay Variety of life & work Danger Promotion / Early responsibility Turbulence / Separation. 5. Extenuating Circumstances. To what extent are the circumstances brought about by the exigencies of the Service? Where there are extenuating personal circumstances, has the Service person acted in a responsible manner? Is their action a matter of personal choice? If so do the circumstances justify the reimbursement from public sources being sought? 6. Culpability. Is the Service person at fault in any way? If so, what degree of blame should be attached to him/her? Did he/she seek proper advice? Was he/she correctly advised? 7. Overpayments. There will be instances in which overpayments occur. However, the general rule is that the Service person will be required to repay any overpayments, irrespective of whether it was received in ‘good faith’. If the relevant policy is not is not in dispute an objection to recovery in accordance with Annex A to Section 6 of Chapter 2 may be more appropriate than submitting a case to the PACCC. JSP 754 1 – 3 – C – 2 - 2 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 8. Retrospective Claims. Casework should only be submitted if the claim is within 6 years of the date of the claim. For claims in excess of this 6 year period no claim will be paid (refer to para 01.0106 ). 9. Procedural Issues. Casework should not be submitted to the PACCC to resolve procedural issues. This work should be referred to the single Service personnel administration Focal Point. Back to Chapter Contents Page Back to Main Contents Page JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 4 – 1 CHAPTER 1 SECTION 4 GLOSSARY OF TERMS The following expressions, when used in the Pay Structure policy statements, shall be held to have the meanings stated below. Accelerated Incremental Progression (AIP) In addition to Yearly Incremental Progression (YIP) (see Section 4 ), an individual may be awarded Accelerated Incremental Progression (AIP) as an incentive for the attainment of key qualifications required by the individual Services. The effect of such AIP is the reward of an ‘immediate increment’ so that the Incremental Base Date (IBD) for YIP is unaffected (see Chapter 3, Section 6 ). Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB) The AFPRB is drawn from eminent civilians of widely differing backgrounds, one of whom is always a retired senior member of the Armed Forces. It is their role to advise the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State (SofS) for Defence on the levels of pay and charges, and some allowances, which they consider appropriate for members of the Armed Forces up to and including the rank of OF6 (see Chapter 1, Section 3, Annex A). Ante-dated Seniority Ante-dated Seniority is a mechanism which provides for the granting of a seniority date in a rank which is prior to the actual date of assumption of the rank. Personnel granted an ante-date of seniority for experience gained before entry or during service will count such ante-date, as detailed by single Service regulations, for the purpose of qualifying experience for increments of pay. Incremental progression is therefore calculated from the date from which seniority is granted rather than the actual date of assumption of the rank. Basic Pay Basic pay comprises base pay and X-factor (see Chapter 3, Section 1 ). Business Process Guides Business Process Guides (BPGs) detail the actions required by unit administrators to ensure that pay and charges policy is properly delivered by JPA. Early Payment In Cash An Early Payment In Cash (EPIC) is a sum that is paid to an individual other than their normal monthly pay to bank. Incremental Bar The Services set incremental bars to meet their individual manning requirements. In addition to the factors at 03.0409 , incremental progression is not possible when a bar is in place. For example, if an increment bar is set at Increment Level (IL) 5, an individual barred at IL5 would not be able to progress to IL6 until the appropriate criterion has been satisfied (see Chapter 3, Section 4). Incremental Base Date (IBD) An Incremental Base Date (IBD) is the date upon which, in normal circumstances, a YIP is awarded. This date is calculated initially from the date of enlistment and thereafter will normally change on the effective date of promotion to a subsequent higher paid rank (see Chapter 3, Section 4 ). Incremental Level (IL) An Increment Level (IL) is one of a series of pay rates that go to make up a pay range (see Chapter 3, Section 1). JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 4 – 2 Mark-Time Rate of Pay (MTRP) A Mark Time Rate of Pay (MTRP) is a rate of pay that is higher than that to which an individual would normally be entitled for their rank, experience in rank, employment category or qualifications and is applied in certain circumstances to ensure that an individual does not take a cut in pay. A MTRP does not attract annual pay uplifts and incremental progression is only applicable in accordance with Chapter 3 Sections 4 and 6 . An individual will generally remain on a MTRP until they have satisfied the criteria to entitle them to a higher rate of pay on the relevant range for their trade/rank (see Chapter 3, Section 1 ). Minimum Drawing Rate (MDR) The MDR is the minimum rate of pay beyond which no further compulsory deductions should be made from an individual’s pay account in respect of the items listed in 02.0406. The MDR mechanism is designed to protect Service individuals by guaranteeing that certain otherwise compulsory deductions will not be made from their pay once the MDR threshold has been reached (see Chapter 2, Section 4 ) Pay Profile All trades and non-commissioned aircrew categories in the Armed Forces are allocated to a pay range within one of the two pay spines on the basis of Job Evaluation (JE). The output of the process is called a pay profile for the trade (see Chapter 3, Section 1 ). Premature Voluntary Release (PVR) PVR is when a Service individual elects to apply for a voluntary termination of Service earlier than their normal retirement date. Qualification Points (QP) A qualification point (QP) is an incremental bar which can only be crossed through by the attainment of a specific qualification or promotion mark/grading. QPs may be imposed at different ranks and trades within the incremental ranges beyond which individuals will not proceed unless they have the necessary qualification or promotion marking/grading. QPs are set to meet the particular manning requirements of the individual Services (see Chapter 3, Section 4 ). Range A range comprises a number of Increment Levels. For pay purposes, rank is assigned to a range. In certain circumstances more than one rank may share a range (see Chapter 3, Section 1 ). Rate of Pay All personnel receive a rate of pay – this is the actual monetary value published each year in a Directed Letter issued by CDP Remuneration ( see Chapter 3, Section 1) . Return Of Service (ROS) A Return of Service (ROS) is a period of reckonable service required from an individual on completion of a specified period of training or on receipt of a financial recruitment or retention bonus. Reckonable Paid Service Reckonable paid service is every day for which a Service individual receives pay. Reckonable Service Reckonable service can include days for which the Service individual has not been paid, and these circumstances are described in the relevant Chapters. Reserved Rights of Pay (RRRP) A Reserved Rights Rate of Pay (RRRP) is a level of pay that is assigned to an individual but to which they are no longer entitled because the rules for entitlement have changed since they became eligible. A RRRP will attract annual pay uplifts, Yearly Incremental Progression (YIP), and Accelerated Incremental Progression (AIP) based on JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 4 – 3 Back to Chapter Contents Page Back to Main Contents Page the level appropriate to the individual’s earlier pay range. (see Chapter 3, Section 1 ). Specially Determined Rate of Pay (SDRP) A Specially Determined Rate of Pay (SDRP) is a rate of pay above the maximum Increment Level of a range to which an individual would normally be entitled. Therefore, the rate of pay applicable as a SDRP will be unique to the individual and not published in CDP Remuneration’s Directed Letter on Pay and Charges (see Chapter 3, Section 1 ). Spine A spine contains a number of pay ranges. There will only ever be one range per rank within a spine (see Chapter 3, Section 1 ). Standstill Rate of Pay (SSRP) A Stand Still Rate of Pay (SSRP) is a pay level that is assigned to an individual on promotion or entry to the Service which, because of the need to guarantee a certain level of pay, is above the normal entry level for the rank. In such circumstances, progression beyond a SSRP is only possible once the appropriate seniority in rank has been achieved. A SSRP will attract annual pay uplifts and incremental progression is only applicable in accordance with Chapter 3 Sections 4 and 6 (see Chapter 3, Section 1 ). Table A table is the collective term for a number of pay spines applicable to a specific group of Service personnel (see Chapter 3, Section 1). X-Factor (see Chapter 1, Section 2 ). Yearly Incremental Progression (YIP) Yearly Incremental Progression (YIP) is awarded on the anniversary of the Incremental Base Date (IBD) to individuals who are not on the maximum Incremental Level for their trade and rank and have satisfied the criteria set out in Chapter 3, Section 4 . YIP is awarded to reflect experience and performance in rank. JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 5 – 1 CHAPTER 1 SECTION 5 LIST OF STANDARD ABBREVIATIONS A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A AAC Army Air Corps AC Aircraftman ACAD Army Compressed Air Diver ACF Army Cadet Forces ACT Annual Continuous Training AD Army Diver ADC Additional Duties Commitment ADI Army Diving Instructor ADQUAL Additional Qualification ADS Army Diving Supervisor AEW Airborne Early Warning AFOMS Armed Forces’ Occupational Maternity Scheme AFPRB Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body AFPS Armed Forces’ Pension Scheme AFPS 75 Armed Forces’ Pension Scheme 75 AFPS 05 Armed Forces’ Pension Scheme 05 AFT Advanced Further Training AGAI Army General and Administrative Instructions AHO Advanced HUMINT Operator AIP Accelerated Incremental progression AML Additional Maternity Leave AMTC Airmen Aircrew Management Training Course ANC Advanced Navigators Course AP Air Publication APC Army Personnel Centre APW Army Pay Warrant AR Acting Rank ASCAB Armed Services Consultant Appointments Board ASGPAB Armed Services’ General Practitioner Approval Board ASTOR Advanced Stand Off Radar AT Additional Training ATC Air Training Corps AVC Additional Voluntary Contributions AWACS Airborne Early Warning Aircraft System AWC Air Warfare Centre B BACS Banks Automated Clearing System BFT Basic Flying Training BPG Business Process Guide BNC Basic Navigators Course BPG Business Process Guide BR 2806 UK Military Diving Manual BRNC Britannia Royal Naval College JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 5 – 2 BSEN British Standards, European Norm C CB Commitment Bonus CBDA Clearance Divers Breathing Apparatus CBPS Central Bank Payment System CCB Continuous Career Basis CCF Combined Cadet Forces CDE Clearance Diving Elements CDL Chief of Defence Logistics CDP Chief of Defence Personnel CDS Chief of the Defence Staff CEA Clinical Excellence Award CFAV Cadet Force Adult Volunteers CILOCT Contribution in Lieu of Council Tax CMR Casual Meal Rate CMS(R) Common Military Syllabus (Recruits) CO Commanding Officer COS Chief of Staff COTF Chaplain of the Fleet CS Career Stream CSA Child Support Agency CTB Completion of a Task Basis CTR Council Tax Relief CTT Conversion-to-Type CWO Commissioned Warrant Officer D DA Distinction Award DBWG Diving Billet Working Group DCI Defence Council Instruction DCOTF Deputy Chaplain of the Fleet DDNLM(Pay) Deputy Director Naval life Management (Pay) DDP(P&A)(RAF) Deputy Director Policy (Pay & Allowances) (RAF) DEFT Defence Elementary Flying Training DER Deductions of Earnings DFC Daily Food Charge D SP Pol Director Service Personnel Policy DIN Defence Instructions and Notices DM(A) Directorate Manning (Army) DMEO Deputy Marine Engineer Officer DMS Defence Medical Services DMSD Defence Medical Services Directorate DO Dental Officer DOMCOL Domiciled Commonwealth Overseas Leave DRFC See: RF&C – Reserve Forces and Cadets Division DSF Director Special Forces DTI Department of Trade and Industry DTU Defence Technical Undergraduate DVTAB Dental Vocational Trainers Accreditation Board DWP Department for Work and Pensions E ECMC Entitled Casual Meal Charge JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 5 – 3 EOOW Engineering Officer of the Watch EP/TP Experimental Protocol/Test Plan EQ Employment Qualifications EWC Expected Week of Childbirth F FBWG Flying Billet Working Group FC(F) Field Conditions (Food) FJAFT Fest Jet Advanced Flying Training FMG Family Maintenance Grant FRI Financial Retention Incentive FsAST Flight Simulator and Synthetic Trainers IPT FSLO Flight Simulator Liaison Officer FTRS Full Time Reserve Service FTRS(FC) Full Time Reserve Service (Full Commitment) FTRS(HC) Full Time Reserve Service (Home Commitment) FTRS(LC) Full Time Reserve Service (Limited Commitment) G GD General Duties GDP General Dental Practitioner GDPTP General Dental Practitioner Trainer Pay GMP General Medical Practitioner GMPTP General Medical Practitioner Trainer Pay GST General Service Training H HBWG Hydrographic Billet Working Group HHI Helicopter Handling Instructors HMIT HM Inspector of Taxes HMM Higher Medical Management HR Human Resources HRR High Readiness Reservists I IBD Incremental Base Date IC Internal Communications IL Increment Level IMA Interim Maintenance Assessment INM Institute of Naval Medicine IOT Initial Officer Training IPP Initial Pension Point ISTAR Intelligence Surveillance Target Acquisition Reconnaissance ITEPA 2003 Income Taxes (Earnings and Pension) Act 2003 J JE Job Evaluation JEFTS Joint Elementary Flying Training School JPA Joint Personnel Administration JPAC Joint Personnel Administration Centre JSJET The Joint Services Job Evaluation Team JSP Joint Service Publication JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 5 – 4 L LAC Leading Aircraftman LE Late Entrant LOA Local Overseas Allowance LPC Landing Point Commanders LSAP Long Service Advance of Pay LSL Long Service List LSN Line Serial Number M MA Maternity Allowance MAP Maternity Allowance Period MCDO Mine Clearance Diving Officer MCMV Mine Counter Measure Vessel MCQ Marine Charge Qualification MDG Medical Director General MDR Minimum Drawing Rate MEARW Multi-Engine Advanced Rotary Wing MEO Marine Engineer Officer MEPT Multi Engine Pilot Training MFAPRG Minor Forms of Aircrew Pay Review Group MIP Medical Incremental Progression ML Mountain Leader MLBWG Mountain Leader Billet Working Group MLSE Military Local Service Engagement MMRR Medical Manning and Retention Review MO Medical Officer MOD Ministry of Defence MODCEAC Ministry of Defence Clinical Excellence Awards Committee MODO Medical Officer/Dental Officer MOU Memorandum of Understanding MPGS Military Provost Guard Service MPP Maternity Pay Period MTD Man Training Day MTRP Mark Time Rate of Pay N NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NCA Non-Commissioned Aircrew NCB Non-Continuous Basis NCO Non Commissioned Officer NCOW Nuclear Chief of the Watch NERP New Entrant Rate of Pay NGR General Right to Notice Discharge NHS National Health Service NI National Insurance NIC National Insurance Contributions NMCDO Nuclear Main Control Desk Operator NMEAOW Nuclear Marine Engineer Artificer of the Watch NPOC Nuclear Propulsion Operators Course NQW Not Qualified for Waterwork NRD Normal Retirement Date NRPO Nuclear Reactor Panel Operator JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 5 – 5 NRPS Non Regular Permanent Staff O OAL Officer’s Appointment List OCFR Officer Commissioned from the Ranks OCP Operational Conversion Phase OCU Operational Conversion Unit OES Operational Evaluation Squadron OJAR Officers’ Joint Appraisal Report OML Ordinary Maternity Leave ONCAWG Officers and NCA Working Group OPG Overall Performance Grade ORA Overseas Rent Allowance ORD Optional Retirement Date OR Other Rank OSB(FC) Operations Support Branch (Fighter Control) OSDS Open Space Diving System OSR Official Service Residence OTC Officer Training Corps P PACCC Pay and Allowances Casework and Complaints Cell PAS Professional Aviators’ Pay Spine PAYD Pay As You Dine PAYE Pay as you Earn PAX Personal Accident Insurance PC Permanent Commission PES(A) Pilot Employment Stream (Army) PI Performance Indicator PJIRG Parachute Jump Instructor Review Group PMOC Personnel Management Operations Centre PMPS Performance Management and Pay System POL Post Operational Leave PRHO Pre-Registration House Officer PSTAT CATS Personal Status Category PVR Premature Voluntary Release Q QFI Qualified Flying Instructor QM Quarter Master QML Qualified – Medical List QP Qualification Point QP Qualifying Period QW Qualifying Week R R Irish (HS) Royal Irish (Home Service) R Irish (HSFT) Royal Irish (Home Service Full-Time) R Irish (HSPT) Royal Irish (Home Service Part-Time) RARO Regular Army Reserve of Officers RAuxAF Royal Auxiliary Air Force RAVC Royal Army Veterinary Corps RB Reserve Band JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 5 – 6 REC Research Ethics Committee REME Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineer RF&C Reserve Forces and Cadets Division RFA 96 Reserve Forces Act 1996 RI Recruitment Incentive RMAS Royal Military Academy Sandhurst RMR Royal Marines Reserve RNR Royal Naval Reserve ROS Return of Service RRP Recruitment & Retention Payment RRP Recruitment & Retention Payment RRP(AD) Recruitment & Retention Payment (Air Dispatch) – Ceased 31 March 10 RRP(AED) Recruitment & Retention Payment (Aeromedical and Escort Duty) RRP(D) Recruitment & Retention Payment (Diving) RRP(EOD) Recruitment & Retention Payment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal Operators) RRP(F) Recruitment & Retention Payment (Flying) RRP(FCP) Recruitment & Retention Payment (Flying Crew) RRP(H) Recruitment & Retention Payment (Hydrographic) RRP(JHSU HCP) Recruitment & Retention Payment (Joint Helicopter Support Unit Helicopter Crew) – Ceased 31 March 10 RRP(ML) Recruitment & Retention Payment (Mountain Leaders) RRP(N) Recruitment & Retention Payment (Nursing) RRP(NP) Recruitment & Retention Payment (Nuclear Propulsion) RRP(Para) Recruitment & Retention Payment (Parachute) RRP(PJI) Recruitment & Retention Payment (Parachute Jump Instructor) RRP(SC) Recruitment & Retention Payment (Special Communications) RRP(SD) Recruitment & Retention Payment (Special Duties) – Ceased 30 Nov 2008 RRP(SETT) Recruitment & Retention Payment (Submarine Escape Tank Training) RRP(SF SDV) Recruitment & Retention Payment (Special Forces Swimmer Delivery Vehicle Troop) RRP(SF) Recruitment & Retention Payment (Special Forces) RRP(SFC) Recruitment & Retention Payment (Special Forces Communications) RRP(SIP) Recruitment & Retention Payment (Special Intelligence) RRP(SM) Recruitment & Retention Payment (Submarine) RRP(SM)SUP Recruitment & Retention Payment (Submarine) Supplement RRP(SR) Recruitment & Retention Payment (Special Reconnaissance) RRRP Reserved Rights Rate of Pay RTU Return To Unit RWA Residence at Work Address S SA Specialist Aircrew SAC Senior Aircraftman SAP Statutory Adoption Pay SAR Search and Rescue SAS Special Air Service SATOS Specialist Aircrew Terms of Service SBS Special Boat Service SBWG Submarine Billet Working Group SCC Sea Cadet Corps SCC Senior Corps Commission SDRP Specially Determined Rate of Pay JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 5 – 7 SDS Ship’s Diving Supervisor SEARW Single Engine Advanced Rotary Wing SEBRW Single Engine Basic Rotary Wing SEP Sustainable Experience Profile SETT Submarine Escape Training Tank SF Special Forces SFA Service Families Accommodation SG Surgeon General SI Statutory Instrument SI 1986/1960 Statutory Maternity Pay(General) Regulations 1986 SLA Single Living Accommodation SM Submarine SMO Senior Medical Officer SMP Statutory Maternity Pay SNCO Senior Non-Commissioned Officer SofD Superintendent of Diving SofS Secretary of State SP Specialist Pay (Now Recruitment & Retention Payment (RRP) SPAG Submarine Parachute Assistance Group SPAR Special Paid Acting Rank - See Acting Rank (AR) SPP Statutory Paternity Pay SPVA Service Personnel and Veterans Agency SRR Special Reconnaissance Regiment SSC Short Service Commission SSFA Substitute Service Families’ Accommodation SSMG Sure Start Maternity Grant SSRB Senior Salaries Review Body SSRP Stand Still Rate of Pay SSSA Substitute Service Single Accommodation SUPA Substitution Pay SUY Senior Upper Yardmen T TA Territorial Army TMW Tactical Medical Wing TSARs Tri-Service Accommodation Regulations TSRB Top Salaries Review Body - See SSRB U UAS University Air Squadron UCE University Cadet Entrant UKMAM UK Mobile Air Movements UKSF UK Special Forces URNU University RN Reserve Unit V VO Veterinary Officer VRT Volunteer Reserve Training W WC Weapons Controller WCQ Weapon Charge Qualification WSO Weapons Systems Officer JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 5 – 8 Y YIP Yearly Incremental Progression Back to Chapter Contents Page Back to Main Contents Page JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 6 – 1 CHAPTER 1 SECTION 6 TABLE OF NATO RANKS Royal Navy Royal Marines Army Royal Air Force OF 10 Admiral of the Fleet* Field Marshal* Marshal of the Royal Air Force* OF 9 Admiral General General Air Chief Marshal OF 8 Vice Admiral Lieutenant General Lieutenant General Air Marshal OF 7 Rear Admiral Major General Major General Air Vice-Marshal OF 6 Commodore Brigadier Brigadier Air Commodore OF 5 Captain Colonel Colonel Group Captain OF 4 Commander Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant Colonel Wing Commander OF 3 Lieutenant Commander Major Major Squadron Leader OF 2 Lieutenant Captain Captain Flight Lieutenant OF 1 Sub Lieutenant/ Midshipman Lieutenant Lieutenant/ Second Lieutenant Flying Officer *Promotion to Admiral of the Fleet, Field Marshal and Marshal of the Royal Air Force is now held in abeyance in peacetime. JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 6 – 2 Royal Navy Royal Marines Army Royal Air Force OR9 Warrant Officer Warrant Officer 1 Warrant Officer 1 Warrant Officer OR8 Warrant Officer 2 Warrant Officer 2 Warrant Officer 2 - OR7 Chief Petty Officer Colour Sergeant Staff Sergeant Flight Sergeant OR5/6 Petty Officer Sergeant Sergeant Sergeant OR4 Leading Rate Corporal Corporal Corporal OR3 - Lance Corporal Lance Corporal Lance Corporal OR2 Able Rate Marine Private Senior Aircraftman /Leading Aircraftman / Aircraftman OR1 - - - - Equivalent Civilian Ranks for SUPA and AR are shown in Chapter 3 Sections 8 and 9. Back to Chapter Contents Page Back to Main Contents Page JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 1 – 7 – 1 CHAPTER 1 SECTION 7 BUSINESS PROCESS GUIDES 01.0701. Business Process Guides (BPGs) detail the actions required by unit administrators to ensure that pay and charges policy is properly delivered by JPA. 01.0702. The BPGs are to be found on the SPVA ‘infocentre’ web page and where appropriate a hyperlink has been established at the last paragraph of the relevant Chapter Section of this document. 01.0703. Administrators must ensure that due reference is given to JSP 754 before using a BPG. Back to Chapter Contents Page Back to Main Contents Page JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 i CHAPTER 2 PAY AND THE MILITARY SALARY SECTION 1 – CALCULATION AND AUTHORISATION OF PAY 02.0101 - Joint Personnel Administration Centre 02.0102 – 02.0103 - Calculation of Military Salary 02.0104 - Leap Years 02.0105 - Addressing of Tax Enquiries 02.0106 – 02.0108 - Payment of Military Salary 02.0109 - Bank Payments 02.0110 - Non-Bank Payments 02.0111 – 02.0112 - Refund of Bank Charges 02.0113 - Early Payments in Cash SECTION 2 – SPLITS OF NET PAY 02.0201 – 02.0204 - Splits of Monthly Net Pay SECTION 3 – THE PAY STATEMENT 02.0301 – 02.0302 - Introduction 02.0303 - Electronic Pay Statements 02.0304 – 02.0305 - Hard Copy Pay Statements 02.0306 – 02.0307 - Notification to Joint Personnel Administration Centre 02.0308 - Certificate of Pay and Tax Deducted ANNEX A - JPA Pay Statement SECTION 4 – MINIMUM DRAWING RATE 02.0401 - Aim 02.0402 - Scope 02.0403 – 02.0404 - General 02.0405 - Minimum Drawing Rate Calculation 02.0406 - Items to be Included SECTION 5 – ADVANCES OF PAY AND METHODS OF REPAYMENT 02.0501 - Aim 02.0502 - Scope 02.0503 – 02.0504 - General 02.0505 - Eligibility 02.0506 - Early Repayment 02.0507 - Business Process Guide SECTION 6 – RECOVERY OF ITEMS FROM PAY (EXCEPT ADVANCES) 02.0601 - Aim 02.0602 - Scope 02.0603 - General 02.0604 - Advances of Pay 02.0605 - Recoveries from Pay 02.0606 - Recovery Periods 02.0607 - Early Repayment 02.0608 - Hardship Cases 02.0609 - Objections Against Automatic Recovery 02.0610 - Business Process Guides ANNEX A - Objection to Recovery JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 ii SECTION 7 – VOLUNTARY DEDUCTIONS 02.0701 - Aim 02.0702 - Scope 02.0703 - Conditions 02.0704 - The Payroll Giving Scheme 02.0705 - Payments to Sports Lotteries 02.0706 - Payments to Service Clubs, Associations and HQ Messes 02.0707 - Payments to Service-Facilitated Insurance Schemes 02.070 8 - Business Process Guide SECTION 8 – MISCELLANEOUS DEBITS AND CREDITS 02.0801 - Aim 02.0802 - Scope 02.0803 - Conditions Back to top Back to Main Contents Page JSP 754 Edition 18 dated 1 Apr 13 2 – 1 – 1 CHAPTER 2 SECTION 1 CALCULATION AND AUTHORISATION OF PAY Joint Personnel Administration Centre 02.0101. The Joint Personnel Administration Centre (JPAC) will calculate and authorise pay for all Service personnel based on the information supplied by accounting units and other Service or external organisations, including self- service inputs from individuals. JPAC will also effect deductions and authorised recoveries such as tax and Earnings Related National Insurance Contributions (ERNIC) based on the information provided above. Personnel serving abroad maintain a requirement to pay UK tax on their Service emoluments irrespective of where they are serving. Calculation of Military Salary 02.0102. Prior to JPA the military salary was calculated using daily rates of pay. The biggest single effect JPA will have on ‘basic pay’ is the move to annual salaries paid monthly to all personnel other than those paid on an attendance basis who will remain on daily rates. Rates of pay will therefore be expressed as an annual salary which will be divisible by 12. Basic pay will be the same each month, comprising one twelfth of the annual salary, less the appropriate mandatory deductions (e.g. Income Tax and National Insurance). Recruitment & Retention Payment (RRP), allowances and charges will continue to be paid/levied on a daily basis. 02.0103. When salary is due for only part of the month or a change in pay occurs during a month (such as Yearly Incremental Progression (YIP), promotion or Substitution Pay (SUPA)) the relevant part-month payment is calculated by dividing the monthly payment by the number of days in that month and then multiplying the resulting figure by the number of qualifying days. This means that when a pay event(s) occurs mid-month, the total month’s pay will comprise the relevant proportions of the separate rates applicable. Leap Years 02.0104. With effect from the first leap year after the introduction of JPA Log in to post a comment

Actions Work Header Like New merriman Summary: Methos is definitely not a new Immortal, but Richie doesn't know that and Methos isn't about to tell him. Notes: This is a slight canon divergence AU. In Prodigal Son Richie lists where he's been since he parted ways with Duncan in Seacouver and notes that he met a girl in New Orleans and they went down to Rio. Instead, I've had him meet Methos in New Orleans and had Martin Hyde start hunting him there. No one goes to Rio, alas. Expanded notes and thoughts on the writing of this story can be found here. Work Text: Being Adam Pierson meant more than a few limitations Methos was usually quite willing to deal with in order to maintain his cover. So his clothes were well worn? They were comfortable. So he had to buy cheap train tickets and fly coach? It was better than traveling by mule, or, heaven forbid, boat. He lived in relative comfort and he just didn't invite anybody over. He worked at the bookstore with Don Salzer but that was all perfectly fine because he liked it there. And most of the time he didn't mind pretending that he was utterly helpless in a fight. It had been expedient at the Academy to be considered hopeless for field assignments. Up until recently it hadn't mattered. The only other Immortals in town were Marcus Constantine and Darius. Old friends. Old old friends. Then things changed, as they do, and Paris had somehow become a hotspot of Immortal activity. Lovely for the field agents and for some of the researchers catching breaks on old files. Suddenly, though, it had become a whole lot more likely that someone would pass by Methos, notice him, and challenge him. And since Adam Pierson had a less than stellar combat reputation among his fellow Watchers he wasn't going to be able to explain away his survival by claiming good training at the Academy. It was time to be out of sight for a while, let people forget Adam Pierson couldn't handle himself in a fight, let Paris calm down perhaps. "I think there's a good possibility that Methos might have spent some time in New Orleans," he explained to Don the morning after feeling another Immortal near the cafe he normally got coffee at before work. Don sighed. "Are you certain, Adam? We didn't have any indication that he was ever in that region." "Well, no, I'm not certain," Methos said, allowing a tiny sheepish note into his voice. "But that's why I need to actually go there. Dig into some of the local history. See if I can find any records, talk to some of the researchers there. I can't do this remotely, Don." "Fine, fine," Don said. He waved a hand vaguely in Methos' direction. "I'll clear it with Vemas. But you had better come back with something other than a hangover!" Two days later Methos was touching down in New Orleans, ready for a relaxing trip during which he could miraculously find some evidence that he had been in the city a few hundred years back. After all, he really had been there. He had plenty of material to work with. He could pick and choose what to "discover" while he was there. Methos? A doctor? Perhaps he'd first trained in Ancient Greece! Which was bullshit - he'd been far more interested in philosophy than physical medicine at the time, but it was the sort of bullshit the Watchers loved. And then he could find more leads for other places, stay out of Paris for months if he worked it just right. Unfortunately for Methos, he was only in town for a day before he was hit by a car in a very public intersection, several passers-by coming to his aid right as he recovered from what had probably been a nasty head injury. And somewhere very close there was another Immortal. Very close indeed. Like, right above him, looking around at the crowd and warning people back. "It's cool, looks like he was just stunned. It's fine, folks, really, I'm an EMT. He's my buddy." The other Immortal was young, both in looks and reality if Methos' instinct was anything to go by. He was giving a disarming grin to the people who'd gathered and who were already apparently deciding that things looked under control and did they really need to be involved? "You okay, man?" the other Immortal said quietly. "I'll explain shit as soon as we can get out of here. The less fuss the better, believe me." He waved to the driver. "Hey, it's fine, no harm done!" he called out. "No harm done?" Methos muttered as the young Immortal got him up and hurried him away from the scene, around the corner and into a bar. He waved to one of the bartenders and guided Methos towards a back room full of broken furniture and old decorations. Methos wondered for a moment why he was letting a relative child nanny him and decided it must have been a nastier head wound than he'd initially thought. And, well, it was amusing. "Hey," the other Immortal said as he sat Methos down and offered his hand. "I'm Richie Ryan." "Adam Pierson," Methos told him. No need to get fancy with false names now. "Cool. So. I can probably answer a bunch of your questions, but… There's no easy way to say this: I think you might be Immortal." Methos stared at him, laughter just micrometers from his lips. Might be Immortal. It was amazing. Had the kid not felt him nearby? Well, no, maybe not. After all, he hadn't felt the kid either. So they'd been just far enough away to not notice each other, then the car had hit him and Ryan had felt him revive. A dozen possibilities flashed through Methos' head in just a few seconds. He could admit he was definitely Immortal, but not new, and run with it from there. He could be old or young or whatever, it wasn't like he had to stick to a particular story with someone he'd just met. But then what if this Richie kid demanded a challenge once he knew Methos wasn't brand new to it all? And then too, he couldn't just take off. He'd already introduced himself to the local Watcher office, told them he was doing research in the city. If he was lucky, none of them had been actively keeping an eye on his new pal. What a mess. Of course, there was a way to perhaps mitigate the possible damage. There was nothing that said Adam Pierson couldn't have been potentially Immortal, after all. It would hopefully forestall a challenge from Ryan and it would keep his cover intact even if he got drummed out of the Watchers for becoming the other side. All that sorted in a matter of moments, Methos looked up at Richie Ryan and shook his head. "Immortal?" he asked, as incredulously as he could manage. "What the hell do you mean? There's no such thing!" The kid actually laughed and dragged a chair over to sit down across from him. "Yeah," he said. "I know. It's tough to believe. But there is such a thing and man, we're it. I mean, not it it. There are others. But I know I am, and I can tell you are. You feel that… I dunno, that sort of hum? Like you're standing near power lines or something? That means you're like me." He looked at Methos, who was staring at him now. "Aw geez, I wish I was better at this." Now, what did new Immortals do? Methos wondered to himself. It had been a while since he'd taken on a student of his own, and his last few hadn't really been good examples of typical behavior. Better question: What would newly Immortal Adam Pierson do? Well, Adam Pierson was an academic. Even if he couldn't very well tell Ryan what, precisely, he'd been studying, he could still approach it from an academic point of view. With a touch of hysteria. A little hysteria would be perfectly reasonable right about now and honestly, the situation did warrant it enough that it wouldn't even be completely faked. "Convince me," he demanded. "How do I know you're not some cult recruiter?" "Well…" Ryan sighed and pulled out a pocket knife. "Don't freak out, okay? I'm not going to hurt you and I swear, this is going to be fine." Methos almost lost it and laughed, but managed to direct it into shock and horror as Ryan demonstrated. Wherever this was going, he was pretty sure he'd be getting good practice on his poker face. Two hours and several beers later (Ryan had offered to pay and Methos hadn't protested), Methos was trying to fully inhabit this 'lost babe in the woods' character he'd had to pull out of thin air. Sure, he'd played at pretending to be younger than he was. It went with the territory of not letting anyone know who he was. Anywhere between two and three thousand years old and younger Immortals just didn't care about the hundreds anymore. But then you still had to deal with hunters who figured older Immortals were the best targets. It was better to stick within the past couple hundred years, but while Ryan went on about the basics Methos realized he hadn't really ever tried to be a new Immortal. Well, not this new. Not since he was new. Which he wasn't going to strain his brain over. "So, I know it sounds weird, but you're going to need to learn how to use a sword," Ryan told him. "We all carry them. I mean, I've never met one of us who doesn't. Unless you want to live on holy ground? But the guy I learned from? He said that never really works out for most of us. You leave eventually and then you're out of practice and someone comes along and WHACK, off with your head." Methos turned wide eyes on Ryan, who shrugged. "Hey, I didn't make the rules. I just follow them. So, you know, I think the way this works, I'm supposed to teach you some things. I'm pretty new to it myself but I can hold my own. I had a good teacher. I can show you how to use a sword. I picked up a spare for myself on my way down here from Seacouver. You can use that until you get one of your own. Or, you know, I'll get a new spare and you can keep it. But you've at least got to know how to use it enough to keep your head attached." "Why can't I just get a gun, shoot anyone who attacks me, and run as fast as I can?" Methos asked. It was, after all, one of his preferred methods. But these kids today, they were either assholes with creative interpretations of the rules or they were so honor-bound they'd practically let you retrieve your sword and continue even if they had you dead to rights. Ryan winced a little. "I mean, you could? But it's kind of frowned on? And then you've got guys coming after you again later, cause man, you shot them and that pisses people off, you know? Not to mention, eventually someone's gonna know you're the guy who shoots and runs and they're gonna shoot first and not bother to wait until you revive." Methos briefly wondered if Ryan had learned that from his teacher or from experience. He'd pegged the kid as not even really older than he looked, but that was the sort of answer you didn't get from the young. You got that from those who'd tried it and failed. "Great," Methos sighed, making himself look every bit the woebegone and overwhelmed 20-something he was supposed to be. "Now I've got to add swordsmanship to my studies. I've got a dissertation to finish!" And an entire secret society of professional busybodies to keep in the dark, if he could manage it. "Look." Ryan leaned forward. "I know this all sounds ridiculous and your life's turned upside-down, believe me. I get it. And I wish I could just let you go back to your classes or whatever. But, see, I can't." "Why not?" Methos asked. "I'll be fine! Honestly. I'll take some fencing classes back at home or something." "Sorry," Ryan said, and he did indeed look sorry. Mostly. "See, the thing is, my teacher? We don't see eye to eye on a lot of stuff, had a falling out about a month back. But he's this genuinely good guy, you know? Real honorable and shit. And we may not be on great terms right now, but I know for a fact if I let you go without teaching you something? He will find me and level this glare at me that will peel my skin. I'll have nightmares about it. There's no way I'm letting you go off without being able to defend yourself." Honor. Great. Methos sighed and gave up. He'd have to just skip town in the morning. If the regional office hadn't gotten wind of this little disaster already he'd just tell them he got a tip or something and had to leave to follow it up. At the urging of his would-be teacher he scribbled down his hotel and room number (wrong hotel, wrong room number) on a napkin, then took Ryan's advice to go and rest up for the remainder of the evening. Once back in his actual hotel room he plugged in his computer and pulled up the database he'd been working on to find out about one Richie Ryan.. Richard Ryan Born: 1974 First death: 1993 Teacher: Duncan MacLeod Status: Active Watcher: Mike Barrett Methos quickly packed up his things. Not that he had much. Traveling light was an art he'd been practicing since as long as he could remember. A late night departure would be remembered, but an early morning checkout wasn't unusual, so Methos set an alarm for five a.m. and tried to get some sleep. And he did get some. Not as much as he'd planned, because around midnight he woke up to the sense of another Immortal nearby and the sound of his window opening. He reached for his gun from under the bed, his sword being stashed in his luggage, but sighed and dropped it when he saw Richie Ryan climbing through the window. "You know that's a good way to get yourself shot!" he snapped at Richie, not bothering to temper his annoyance. Newly Immortal grad student Adam Pierson didn't like having strange Immortals breaking into his hotel room any more than old as the hills Immortal smartass Methos did and Ryan would just have to cope with that. Richie smirked at him and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'd be fine. My first death was a shooting. Kind of takes the edge off it. I was just thinking maybe you'd be panicking right about now, convincing yourself it's not real, I'm just some crazy guy." He sort of trailed off there, a slightly guilty look coming over his face as he glanced at the open window he was standing by. "I might have miscalculated here," he admitted. "But I didn't want you to run off." "You climbed through my window," Methos pointed out. "You broke into my hotel room." "You gave me the wrong hotel," Richie countered. "I didn't sense you there so I've been checking hotels near where you got hit. Look, I know this is bizarre and you're probably freaked out, but I can't just let you take off without making sure you won't lose your head to the first jackass with a sword who thinks you're an easy target." For a moment - okay, two moments if he was being honest - Methos almost wished that he was indeed a new Immortal. That he was some lucky sap who'd had his first death in public and not had to run. That he'd happened upon a well-meaning Immortal who was offering to teach him and was apparently invested in keeping him alive. Another moment was spent feeling a tiny bit guilty that Ryan hadn't found an actual student. Of course, Methos realized he had no idea if Richie Ryan was at all a competent swordsman even. He could just be coasting on luck. Or he could be decent with a sword - he was Duncan MacLeod's student, after all, and both MacLeods were known to be among the best - but not a decent teacher. Not yet, anyhow. But it looked like he was going to find out one way or the other. "Fine," Methos muttered, falling back onto his bed and grabbing a pillow to put over his face. "Are you going to babysit me all night?" he asked, voice muffled. "Yup," Ryan said. Methos heard him take a seat at the tiny table in the corner of the room. Wonderful. For all his good intentions, however, Ryan had apparently not been ready for a 5 a.m. wake-up call. When Methos' alarm went off Methos himself was already awake and poking through the database on his computer where Ryan couldn't see the screen. He hadn't thought to bring a modem with him, so he couldn't get onto the web to see if there had been any updates, but he could at least read up on MacLeod the younger and his most recent student's history. At the sound of the alarm, Ryan started in his chair and almost fell out of it, catching himself just in time. Methos watched him, amused and approving of the kid's reflexes. He wasn't hopeless, so that was nice at least. "Are you serious?" Ryan asked him when he saw that Methos was already awake. "Morning people," he sighed. "I'm a student," Methos pointed out. "I told you I have a dissertation to finish. I was just doing research here. I have to go back to Paris soon." He'd already explained that the day before, but he'd gotten the impression that Ryan thought this was more important. Of course, it would have been, had Methos truly been new to it all. "Paris, right," Ryan said, nodding. "Yeah, well, I've got buddies in Paris too. I could probably even crash at Mac's barge if I needed to. We'll make sure you've got the basics before you go back, I swear." Which was how Methos found himself being coached in some of the most beginner forms, in the basement of the bar Ryan had taken them to right after the fateful accident the day before. And okay, Methos had to admit to himself he was out of practice. Enough so that he wasn't faking being out of breath by the end. It also helped with his act that the style of fighting Ryan had been taught was far more formalized than what he himself had gotten used to over the centuries. Methos had a feeling that Ryan was teaching him the same way he'd learned from MacLeod, which told him plenty about both of them. "Now, the cool thing about this Immortality stuff?" Ryan said as they left the bar. "You won't be in nearly as much agony tomorrow as you think you will. Like, none at all. It's great." Methos found an internet cafe that evening and checked up on any news from the Watchers. Not a peep about Adam Pierson's unfortunate accident in New Orleans, so it looked like he'd gotten off lucky. He made a point of emailing Don, even though Don checked his email about once every two months, then logged off. All things considered, it was turning out not to be such a terrible vacation after all. He was even almost - almost - looking forward to another day spent relearning some basic techniques. It wasn't all that bad, getting a refresher course, even if he did feel like an utter fool every time Ryan managed to truly surprise him. Methos felt there was a certain unfairness to it, that he had once been one of the most dangerous men on the planet, and now he was getting his ass handed to him by a kid only just into his 20s. But it wasn't unfair. It was what happened when you got complacent. So he kept his mouth shut and focused on getting something out of the situation. Except on the fourth morning Ryan was late to meet him. He finally showed up, an hour late, looking flustered and a little harried. Methos tried to act like he hadn't noticed, but when he was able to disarm Ryan easily with a clumsy move that should have left Methos lying on the floor, he had to say something. "Are you okay?" he asked when they took a break. "You were a lot tougher yesterday." "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. It's just." Ryan stopped and shook his head. "Never mind. You don't need to worry about this shit yet." "But I will some day?" Methos ventured. "Maybe it's better I find out now?" That earned him a glare, then a guilty look as Ryan apparently thought better of snapping at the man he thought was his student. "Look, you probably figured this out but some other folks like us? Not the sort of guys you want on your tail. And apparently…" "You've got one on your tail," Methos finished, sighing inwardly. He did not want a hunter coming after him, ever. Not that he wanted Ryan hunted either, but he had left Paris in the hopes of getting away from the action for a while. Of course it would find him anyhow. That was life. Ryan nodded at him and sat down. "Look, I'm sorry about this. We can keep going, see if this guy just passes through and leaves town." "What are our other options?" Methos asked. "Aside from getting our heads chopped off. I don't like that option." "You and me both," Ryan agreed. "Other option is we leave town before he does. Find somewhere else to go. I could probably get you up to Seacouver, where Mac - my teacher - is. He's older, better at this than me. We may be on the outs but I'm sure he'd help you, no problem." The second to last thing Methos needed right then was to be escorted to Duncan MacLeod, one of the biggest trouble magnets in the world according to his Chronicles. The last thing he needed was to lose his head, which seemed a distinct possibility if he stuck around or let Ryan take him all that way. Never mind that MacLeod would likely figure out within seconds that he wasn't as young as Ryan thought he was. "Look," Methos said, dragging a chair over to Ryan. "How about this: I go find a nice quiet place to keep studying, maybe on holy ground for a little while. Not forever! Just, you know, a little bit. You lose this guy. We meet up again somewhere." Or not. Not meeting up was an essential part of the plan now. Ryan looked doubtful as he considered the proposal. Methos watched the kid's face as he went back and forth between clearly not wanting to let a "new" Immortal go off alone, and also not wanting to have to deal with exposing said Immortal to a hunter or look out for him if whoever it was decided to target the new guy first. It was kind of sweet, really, that the kid was so protective even at his age. But Methos was pretty sure it might eventually get Ryan killed. Finally, Ryan let out a heavy sigh and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, that's probably a good idea. But you've got to be careful. We'll finish up today, make sure you know some good tricks, then we'll take off for opposite directions. I'll see if I can make sure this guy follows me. I mean, he probably will. I don't think anyone even knows about you except me." Which Methos was certainly grateful for, though he wasn't about to go explaining just how grateful he was or why. "Sure. Here, I have a friend who lives in an old church in Boston. Got renovated into condos. I'll go crash with him for a while," Methos said, quickly jotting down a phone number he hoped was the right area code. "That'll work, right?" "Yeah, sure," Richie said as he took the scrap of paper. "It should. Look, I'll call you when I know it's safe, all right?" Methos nodded. "Yes. Very good. And I'll keep my head down." "Good." They spent the rest of the day working on tricks to get out of fights, then Ryan headed off, promising again to contact Methos when things were clear. Methos made short work of getting out of town, calling the regional office just before leaving to tell them he'd gotten a good lead and thanking them for letting him poke around the city. He'd never even bothered to ask about their local archives, but then he could always say he knew what he needed wouldn't be in the archives or someone would have found it already. Once he was safely on a plane to Chile he could finally relax. Darius would likely laugh himself sick over the whole situation, if Methos ever bothered to tell him. In the meantime, he'd relax, take that vacation he'd intended in the first place. One year later - Seacouver Methos arrived at Duncan's loft, beer in hand as a preemptive attempt at peace for what he was about to say. And there was Richie Ryan, in the loft, staring at him like he was seeing a ghost. Well. There was no getting around it now. If Ryan hadn't already told Duncan about his first attempt at teaching a new Immortal, he would soon enough. "Hey," Methos said to both Ryan and MacLeod. "I think maybe I should explain a few things to you guys." Actions rhuad, Untrust_Us, pointysparkles, possiblythepresident, Shirley_not, plingo_kat, the_crownless_queen, L0RE, stevecarlsberg, SlowMercury, AstaraelDarkrahBlack, jadehunter, Paramour (LovelyDevil), conjurewithlies, Loeka, acanaceous, RangedLunatic, Readertee, Fedora, modhp, Louve_Franglaise, tifflesz, Glistoi, Nebularific, Wyrme, waywardmuse, dwelian, LoverOfScribbles, Tree1138, squashedrosie, arinrowan, norcumi, Venefica, elycc, PawnsVictory, JenErik, aoutrance, enviropony, LadyJana, Dru, slothful, TygerC, littleflame, KillRagnar666, Kettricken, Yabbit, Yoshishisha, jamjar, Lanna Michaels (lannamichaels), kunterbunt, and 30 more users as well as 52 guests left kudos on this work!

Her terror of the ticking biological clock. All his genetic stuff about being a provider. These things are real. They are scary. And they will follow you, even from Chapel Hill to China. A Short Story by Thomas Mullen It wasn’t officially called The Stork Hotel. It had won the nickname because it was only four blocks from the Ministry of Unwanted Baby Girls, or whatever that was technically called, so all the incoming parents-to-be stayed here. This building no doubt housed the greatest percentage of infertile humans on earth. The bar at the Stork Hotel was like any other hotel bar. Score one for globalization. Tiny lamps designed to look like candles sat in the center of the small tables; indecipherable trance pop emanated from invisible speakers. Scattered about were four or five couples — the youngest of them looked to be in their late 30s, all fellow professionals who had tempted biology by waiting too long. Every couple was holding hands. Kelly and I had wandered the neighborhood that evening and had been amazed by the thriving industry that had sprung up around the place, everyone hawking knock-off baby strollers and Pack-n-Plays, locally sewn onesies, cartons of diapers. The prices were fabulously cheap. I was solo now, sipping my rum and “soda” (didn’t quite taste like Coke) a respectful three stools away from the only other loner, a woman with dark hair gone streaky with gray. “Here for a baby?” I asked her after our eyes had met a couple of times. “How’d you guess?” “This is probably the last chance we’ll get to have a normal night’s sleep for years, and here we are drinking.” “Mine’s just soda,” she said. I considered lying and saying the same thing, but she’d probably heard me order. What time was it? The bar had that weird Vegas feeling, everyone jet-lagged and confused, but without the adrenaline. Kelly was out cold in our room, but I felt like I had transcended sleep. “So,” the lady at the bar continued. We sort of felt like we had to talk to each other now. And she was pretty. Energetic, round eyes that matched her green sweater set. The hotel was unaccountably freezing — it was June, and they seemed to like A/C even more than people back in Carolina do. “How old?” “Forty-two,” I said, surprised by the question. “No,” and she laughed, “your kid.” “Oh,” and I laughed too, “um, 17 months. A girl.” Duh — they all were. “Mine’s six months.” We traded little parenting nuggets, as if we had any clue whether it would be easier to adopt a malleable infant like hers or an intractable toddler like mine. As if we’d ever know which child was the more traumatized by whatever she’d lived through, the abandonment and the Communist orphanage, the hidden invisible diseases that the government claimed to screen for but who really knew, the legacy of genes we’d only learn about with the passage of time. Our heads turned at the sound of wailing. A new mother was circling in the lobby, a baby girl on her shoulder, her husband offering moral support a few paces back. The parents were wearing pajamas, which wasn’t something you normally saw in a hotel lobby, but here no one cared. This was probably their first night as a family. They’d doubtless tried every calming trick their books had recommended and now were hoping a change of scenery might help. The baby could really wail. I’d seen other American parents with new kids in the elevator, in the restaurants across the street, at the stroller-and-onesie shops. People here greeted each other with “Congratulations” instead of “Hello.” The girl in the lobby was crying like she’d just seen someone murdered. “Ahhhhh,” the woman said next to me. I smiled, too. My wife had given birth over the phone three months ago. I had answered her call with the usual “Hey, darlin’,” and she’d busted out with “It’s a girl! Fourteen months old! Sixteen pounds! Her name’s Jia!” I was stunned. We’d been told it would be at least another nine to 12 months before our application would reach the top of the pile. “Wait, are you sure? Are you sure it’s ours?” “What do you mean ‘sure’? They called me!” “But they’d said 12 months. Maybe they mixed up and this is someone else’s?” “John! They called me this morning! She’s ours! We’re parents!” It was barely 9. On my screen was the design for a new weave I was working on, shades of indigo and lavender. I’d made a sample of it the other day — it was a sleek modern look and it had good hand (meaning it feels good) but I was having trouble getting it down to the predetermined price point. Out my window I could see massive yellow clouds of pollen in the morning wind, greening the sky. “Oh my God,” I said. “Oh my God.” We talked like that for a few minutes, bewildered and happy and confused all at once. The man at the adoption office had emailed Kelly a photo during their call, and Kelly forwarded it to me while we said “Oh my God” a few more times. My Internet connection took forever to load. Kelly started crying while I waited for the damn email to open. We had tried to get pregnant for years. It seems you go most of your life desperately hoping to avoid pregnancy, the teen condoms and 20-something IUDs and the cohabitational birth control pills, then suddenly a hinge swings and you’re doing all you can to reproduce, the charts and the basal thermometers and the joyless calendarized sex. I’d once had a condom-breakage incident with a college girlfriend and was so traumatized by the experience that she and I had broken up immediately and I’d gone the rest of the semester celibate. Then time zooms past and you’re in your late 30s (or worse) and fighting against biology and the cruel arithmetic of the market and graduate school and career earnings, and you’d give pretty much anything to have the joy of 19-year-old Trojan-clad fucking just once more. And to have a kid, of course. Kelly was two years older than me, an art history professor at Chapel Hill. We’d met back when she was working toward her Ph.D. and I was at the same textile design firm I’d worked at since finishing art school. We’d held off on kids for a while as she finished her degree, and then her first teaching gig had been a part-time, indentured-servitude thing at UVa, so we’d actually been a long-distance couple for the first two years of our marriage. After we tried in earnest to get pregnant (and that’s what it became, too: earnest; can there be anything less arousing than earnest sex?), we both would wonder how many missed opportunities there’d been over those two long-distance years, how many nights we might have conceived if only we’d been in the same state. Not that I blamed her — the delays and the waiting hadn’t bothered me that much, honestly. Her eggs, however, were less forgiving. We tried and failed, again and again — suffering four first-trimester miscarriages and countless periods, which showed up at their regularly scheduled date with enraging consistency. Finally we’d started talking adoption. Which meant having a non-white kid. Which I was totally fine with. During those last few years of failed procreation, I’d been mulling over the possibility, had visualized myself dressing a Guatemalan 3-year-old or cleaning semi-hardened applesauce off the pale face of a Korean infant. What was the big deal? A formerly depressed designer I worked with had recently adopted a Chinese girl, and he recommended it the way any other annoyingly happy middle-aged guy would push yoga or His Savior Jesus Christ. So there I was at my office, waiting for the horrible Internet connection to bring up the photograph as my wife cried on the line. Zeroes and ones zoomed across the globe and there she was, little Jia with the chubby cheeks that told us at least she wasn’t malnourished over in her little totalitarian state-run orphanage. I waited for the lump in my throat to loosen. “She’s beautiful.” Let me be clear: I’m not that stereotypical Gen-X manchild. I work hard, I’ve been promoted five times and been profiled in design magazines twice; I gladly sold a house with seven acres of wilderness, which I loved dearly, so we could buy a cookie-cutter three-bedroom in the snazzy Chapel Hill school district; and I rarely have more than one drink a night (except when the Heels are on — hey, I’m not a monk). I was completely ready for fatherhood, until an hour after Kelly gave birth over the phone. I spent most of that time calling my parents and my brothers (all of whom where lovingly burdened with multiple children), then surfing the Web for airfare to Beijing and some travel and language books on China. I wandered over to the cubicle of the guy who’d recently adopted from China, and from there the news quickly spread — I wound up chatting with half the company, I was just so out of it and wired. So I decided to tell my boss. Theo’s office was at the end of a long hallway decorated with framed photos of some of our most widely used designs. Three of mine had made it onto The Wall — more than anyone else’s. It was like getting your own star on that sidewalk in Hollywood. I usually tapped one of my frames when I walked by, for luck maybe, but that day I was so jazzed that I forgot. “Hey, Theo,” I said. “John, hey, thanks for coming.” His smile looked a little weird. “Sorry to leave such a cryptic message like that.” “I’m sorry?” His weird smile was replaced with a weirder blank face. “You didn’t get my message, ’bout half an hour ago?” “Oh, no, I’ve been on the phone all morning.” I dimly remembered another call blinking when I’d been talking to some relative or another. “It’s been a strange day. That’s why I’m here, actually. I know you frown on people requesting big chunks of time off in August before High Point, but I’m going to need — ” “Hey, could you sit down, actually?” As bosses go, Theo was great. He described himself as one generation removed from hard-core redneck and he liked to make fun of the company’s Northern liberal transplants, as well as the “artsy-fartsy” designers like myself, but the insults felt well-intentioned. That, and he paid the bills. “Sure,” I said. “What’s up?” “John, I know we go back, and you know I’m not one to beat around the bush. I wish I knew the best way to do this, but I don’t. And even if I did, there’s really no such thing as a best way to lay someone off, so really all I can do is say it. Which I guess I just did. I’m sorry.” I missed it. I still felt like I was floating, like the world around me had changed colors and I was searching for the right names for all the new hues. He waited, then tried again. “It’s nothing personal, and it’s not just you. We’re letting go of seven designers, John. Seven, can you believe it? I didn’t want to think this was coming, I was in denial, I refused to read the writing on the wall. But it’s NAFTA, John, and all the other free-trade bullshit. I’ve been bleeding for years now and this is the best way I can see fit to stay alive.” “Wait, you’re laying me off? Seriously?” “I’m so sorry, John. You’re one of the best I have. But also one of the most expensive, given your seniority. I’ve been talking to Terry in HR and we can swing a six-month severance — we might could do seven, depending on a few things. Technically I pay her to deliver shitty news like this, but I thought you deserved to hear it from me.” “I’m fired? Theo… What did I do?” “It’s not about you, John. This is big-picture macroeconomic stuff. I’m telling you, there will be no textile industry in this country in a few years. I’m basically offering prayers to dear Jesus and Confucius that some Chinese firm offers me a good price — it’s that or the death by a thousand cuts. They’re the ones who invented that, right?” There had been a few layoffs a year earlier, but those had been low-level designers who were hired after an ill-advised expansion, and some administrative people who were probably redundant anyway. I had heard about how China was siphoning textile-manufacturing jobs — anyone in Carolina knew that. But experienced designers like me? I had figured the grunt work could be exported, the sewing and stitching and dyeing, but that I of the creative class was safe. “Theo, this is really, really bad timing.” “Tell me about it. My oldest starts college next year, and the twins are only two years behind.” “Theo… I’m going to be a dad.” “No kidding. Congratulations! I sort of figured you two weren’t interested.” He explained that I could remain at the company for three more weeks and that Terry in H.R. would be more than happy to help me try and land at another firm. He then pointed out that every other firm was either laying people off or closing. He asked me if I’d considered going back to school, maybe becoming an art teacher or something. I went back to my office and stared at the little girl on my screen. “So,” said Irene, the lady at the Stork Hotel bar. I was in the middle of my second drink, and she had matured from straight soda to whiskey and soda. “Your wife doesn’t share your insomnia?” “She took a sleeping pill so she’d be on the right schedule. How about your husband?” “He’s in the process of becoming my ex-husband.” “Oh. I’m sorry.” “I’m not. Fuck him.” Thus far Irene and I had discussed the enraging complexity of international adoption, our various airline travel headaches, and college basketball (she’d gone to Maryland, which allowed us to bond over the fact that we hated each other). Divorce and its discontents seemed a weighty topic to bust out with. “We went through the adoption process together. There’s no way I forced it on him. Jerry is not the kind of guy who gets forced. We filed the paperwork together, did the interviews, everything. Then when we were finally selected, he tells me he has cold feet. He tells me he doesn’t think he can do it, he isn’t dad material. Well, I am mom material, and I’ll be dad material too if I have to be.” “Good for you.” “Raising a kid solo was not my plan, but the way I look at it, when we got that phone call from the Ministry, from that point on, I’m pregnant. Just because my husband decides he can’t handle it doesn’t mean I can just stop being pregnant, y’know? Not after eight years of trying.” “We tried for four. But it felt like eight.” “Eight felt like 20.” We laughed at ourselves then. It was the only thing to do. And I was nervous. She had this way of looking at me when she was talking, really looking. I told myself she wasn’t being flirtatious, she just had a penetrating gaze. But I wondered. I’d noticed that she had a great body, and the booze wasn’t helping. “Anyway,” she said, “I can’t let them know about the divorce or they might rescind, so I’m lying and saying that my husband couldn’t make the trip due to an unforeseen work assignment, but that we’re still a wonderful couple, perfect candidates. I’ve become a human trafficker, lying to another country so I can take away a child.” “Except, they’re giving the kids away. ‘Please, take our children, especially the unproductive and costly female ones. Meanwhile, we’ll take your jobs.' What a great trade system they’ve devised.” She didn’t know how to answer that. So I added, “You’re doing a good thing.” Behind the bar two televisions were showing "Friends" reruns with the sound off. Cantonese script ran across the bottom. “You a Jennifer Aniston fan?” she asked when she followed my eyes. “No, but see that sofa she’s sitting on? I designed the fabric for it.” It was a green jacquard, very fine. Made to look expensive but be affordable. Not necessarily one of my favorites, but it had been a big hit. I also had seen chairs, ottomans and bedspreads endowed with my handiwork on "Seinfeld," "Sex and the City" and "The O.C." If you’ve flown US Airways in the last few years, you’ve sat on another of my patterns — boring, but we made a killing off it. “Oh, wow. So, you design furniture?” “I used to. Now I’m a dad.” By the time I made it home the day of The Phone Call, Kelly had already printed and framed an 8 ½ x 11 version of Jia’s photo. It was hanging in the front hallway, the first thing I saw when I opened the door. Kelly was standing there beside it, looking at me with tears in her eyes. It got me, too, even though it was low res and kind of fuzzy blown up like that. I didn’t have the guts to tell her about the layoff. We split a bottle of wine with dinner and when she pulled me into bed for the celebratory, no-procreation-pressure lay, I was a less-than-enthusiastic partner. I told her it was the wine, and we fell asleep with vastly different visions of our future family dancing in our heads. I finally told her the next night, pretending that Theo had just given me the news. She said all the right things, none of which I wanted to hear. That six months' severance would be more than enough for me to find another position (untrue, with the entire textile industry vanishing). That we had a lot in the bank anyway (untrue, now that we’d been paying a Chapel Hill mortgage with good-school taxes for three years). That she could support us on her own salary for a little while (staggeringly untrue, and what about her oft-stated desire to take a year off and bond with the baby?). “Look, Kelly. This is really awful, awful timing. I wonder if we should put off the adoption.” She stared at me for a few seconds. “What?” “I mean, we need to be able to provide for this child. Food and clothes and — ” “John, she’s our daughter. We can’t just give her back. There’s no return policy.” “But we don’t actually have her yet. There must be a way to just ask them to drop us maybe six to 12 months down the list, so I have time to get back on my feet and — ” “Are you serious? Are you actually seriously saying this?” I stood there wondering if there was a way I could rephrase what I was actually seriously saying. “Sweetie,” and she put her hand on my arm, which she didn’t seem to realize felt so patronizing, “I know this is a hard thing. We need to take time to digest it. But we’ll be okay.” Surely my skills were transferable, she said. There were plenty of marketing or advertising agencies out there, right? I didn’t ask if she thought ad agencies were looking for 40-something guys who’d recently designed a bitching curtain set. Instead, what I said was, “We spent so much time getting your career set up just so, but now that mine is off-kilter, it doesn’t matter, it’s full-speed-ahead with the family thing. That doesn’t seem fair.” Her eyes welled up. “This could be our last chance.” Her voice broke on ‘chance.’ “If we go to them and say ‘No thanks’ or ‘Can we have a time out?,’ how do we know we aren’t blacklisted forever? What if we’re about to hit some age where we aren’t considered ‘ideal candidates’ anymore?” “That’s not how it works.” I felt like I wasn’t directing my own voice anymore, that I was being compelled by outside forces. “Paul at the office has at least five years on me and they adopted in February.” “I can’t take that chance!” She marched past me, took the framed photo off the wall. “This is our daughter, John. I’m her Mommy. I’m not giving that up! Not for unemployment or bankruptcy or a terminal illness!” For a moment I thought she was going to drop the picture, so I reached forward and steadied it. She looked down at it too. It was parallel to the ground now, facing up. One of Kelly’s tears landed on Jia’s cheek. We both held opposite corners of the frame. I told Kelly I was sorry. Then I reached down and wiped the tear off my daughter’s face. At some point in the evening the stools between mine and Irene’s had disappeared and we were sitting next to each other. She hadn’t been throwing the drinks back as quickly as I had but she still seemed pretty drunk to me. Another couple sat down next to us, both of them tanned and fit, blond hair going silver. “Tomorrow the big day for you too?” the guy asked. “Yes,” Irene said. “I can’t believe it’s finally here.” “We got here yesterday to acclimate, but now I wish we hadn’t,” the wife said, smiling. “Seeing all the babies everywhere, my God, I just want to go over there now.” They both looked so fucking happy. The husband asked what our baby’s name was, and I was about to correct the singularity of that question when Irene startled me by taking one of my hands and answering, “Kai. Four months old.” “Wow, a little one!” the wife said. “That’s so young for this program.” “Yeah, it is,” Irene said. “We’re so excited. We’ve been waiting forever.” My surroundings had already been a bit spinny from drink, but now the heart was really a-pumping. What was she doing? Did she just not want to explain her complex marital status to these buoyant strangers? She’d explained it to me easily enough. I tried not to look so shocked as I turned to face Irene, who gave me the quickest of glances. She was still holding my hand. Their names were Craig and Bonnie, from New York. They had met at a mutual friend’s second wedding and had endured a few in vitro snafus. I never before had been around people so willing to spill their most intimate secrets, and I wondered if that’s what parenthood was like, if my future would be one of distressingly filterless conversation. Hello, nice to meet you, my wife is infertile, we’ve had years of unproductive sex, how are you? Let me tell you about my little girl’s bowel movements. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for this. Fortunately I had Irene to lie for me. “We live in D.C.,” she told them. It turned out Bonnie had grown up in the D.C. suburbs, so we talked about different neighborhoods of a city I’d only been to twice in my life. Mainly I smiled dumbly and let my “wife” do the talking. Perhaps this was how most fathers feel. We were nearing the end of our round when the two wives went to the bathroom together, as if they were old college friends. I found myself checking out Irene’s ass as she walked down the hallway. It occurred to me that this might be my best chance to run from her and her nefarious plans, if I wanted to. I’d never been unfaithful to Kelly. I’d cheated on a girlfriend once in my early 20s and had felt horrible about it, had vowed never again to exile myself to that land of deceit and shame. I’d had my share of crushes over the years (the textile-design business was staffed by a disproportionate share of gorgeous young women), but I’d never acted on them. "Friends" had been replaced by "Seinfeld." I watched Kramer gesticulate mutely for a bit while Craig told me how excited he was to be taking two months off from the PR firm he ran. Then the “wives” returned. We chatted more, Irene answering most of the questions. I wondered if she considered this training for tomorrow, when she’d have to lie to the bureaucrats about the lovingly feathered nest she and her husband had prepared for their child. Then the bartender turned off the TV and told us in barely accented English that the bar was closing. Irene winked at me and said, “I’ll charge it to the room, honey.” By the time Kelly and I had landed, walked two miles through Beijing Intergalactic Spaceport, made it through customs, retrieved our luggage and taken a taxi to the Stork Hotel, we were dazzled by jetlag and nerves and something akin to the physical terror of being in labor. Also hungry, so we’d gone out for some Chinese food, of course. Fortune cookies are supposedly an American invention, but here they were, and they tasted as bad and Styrofoamy as ever. My fortune, which like the menu was printed in English, said that I was a person of strong character and integrity. Kelly’s told her she would soon meet someone who would change her life. “It’s odd to be in a country where they actually still make things,” I said as we wandered past the stalls and shops, the baby products sharing space with miniature Great Wall statues, tourist maps and T-shirts with the Chinese flag. “I wonder if they even need to print ‘Made in China’ on anything or if it’s just assumed.” Over the past few weeks we had accumulated the usual strollers and bouncy seats and infant swings. One day I’d received an email blast from Babies"R"Us informing me in deceptively sedate language that our co-sleeper had been recalled due to some problem with a bolt and spring that could perhaps occasionally lead to the strangulation of your child. I’d looked up the company online and found that the loving deathtrap had been made in China. A few days later that thing about the bath toy whose paint contained lead (also from China) was all over the news. Turned out we had a set of those, too, so I tossed them. It was hard not to panic about this. We didn’t even have the baby yet, and already she was under threat from all sides. I started to monitor the recall watch lists, a couple parent/consumer Web sites and a rather right-wing anti-Chinese blog that I found kind of funny, if in bad taste. I figured I deserved a little off-color humor after spending hours crafting cover letters and sending groveling emails to old contacts. A week before our flight, I mentioned the latest recall to Kelly over dinner. (It was the one about those train magnets detaching and becoming a swallowing-and-messing-with-the-kids’-intestines hazard.) “I don’t need to hear about every one, John.” “I’m just staying informed. I need to protect the little munchkin.” “But we don’t have any toy trains.” “I know, but I’m mentioning it so you don’t go out and buy one by mistake.” “If it’s recalled, that means you can’t buy it anymore. It’s pulled from the shelves.” “Well, someone might have bought it for us as a present, and they’ve wrapped it up and are waiting to send it to us until after we come back, and by the time they — ” She put down her fork. I’d made this amazing pork tenderloin stuffed with spinach and roasted red pepper, spending most of the afternoon on the thing just to avoid my computer. “You’re going to be in that country in a few days,” she said. “You need to learn how to not hate it.” I told her maybe I was just nervous about fatherhood. Kelly and I had always had an egalitarian relationship, but all that genetic stuff about being a provider and protecting the clan was kicking in. If the woman who had told me during one of our first dates that she’d never want to be one of those kid-obsessed schoolmarms was going to suddenly spend hours reading about different playschool philosophies, join a knitting club and float the idea of owning a Subaru fucking Outback, then I was allowed to guard our household against cheap consumer goods whose lack of compliance with American safety guidelines posed a mortal risk to our progeny. She didn’t respond to that, just took a bite of pork, chewed it very slowly and washed it down with the rest of the rather generous glass I’d poured her. “This is excellent,” she told me. Less than a month later, we were impulse-shopping in the fabled land of productivity, dazed by the cornucopia. At one of the shops Kelly bought a pink toddler T-shirt that read “Benevolent Dictator.” “Hey, there’s the answer to your question,” she said, pointing out another baby onesie. It proclaimed, in bold red lettering, “MADE IN CHINA.” Craig and Bonnie’s room was on the first floor, so after last call we paid our tabs and said goodbye and congratulations in the lobby. Irene was holding my hand again. She pressed the up button for the elevator. I wondered if she was the type to do this a lot, if that was the real reason she and her husband split up. The doors opened, we got in, and she pushed the button for floor 5. My room was on floor 7. I realized I was letting the doors close and I hadn’t pressed 7 yet. She stepped closer to me. Our hands were sweaty. We wound up kissing each other. I’d been hard for a while and she was pressed against me now. The newness was so unreal, the fact that this was an unfamiliar mouth, a tongue that had its own habits. It was as though, up until that moment, I had thought that kissing or even sleeping with someone else would be exactly the way it was with Kelly, that only the body would be different. It woke me up. The doors slid open. She took a step, still holding my hand, but I told my feet not to move. She smiled at me and tugged harder. “I’m sorry,” I said. Feeling meek more than loyal, cowardly more than honorable. “What’s one more celebration?” The doors started closing. She kicked at them and they reversed, just like in America. “It’s nothing personal,” I told her. She watched me for a second. The look in her eyes seemed to say, I’m not one to beg. “Good luck tomorrow,” I said as the doors closed, this time all the way. When our alarm went off at the Stork Hotel, I didn’t feel quite as hung over as I should have. Kelly had woken earlier, the sleeping pills wearing off and the circadian rhythm taking hold, but she’d let me stay in bed until two hours before our appointment. If she’d smelled booze on me, she didn’t say anything. “I can’t believe it’s time,” she said. “I can’t believe it’s today!” The thing is? I couldn’t either. In a good way. Despite all my fears, I did want to be a dad, and I would never let myself become someone like Irene’s husband, running off with his selfishness at the first sign of sacrifice. I just wished I had more money in my bank account, or a future. Was that so terrible? So maybe we would fall behind on the mortgage and maybe I would have to teach high school art and we’d have to buy a crumbling bungalow in a shady part of Durham and our little chubby-cheeked Chinese daughter would attend a school that didn’t have metal detectors, but should. Maybe all those things and worse would come to pass. But I’d damn well be there when they happened. We hugged. Then kissed for like a minute. “Will we be allowed to do this in front of the baby?” I asked. “Maybe when she isn’t looking.” We checked that we had all the necessary documents and looked ourselves in the mirror to ensure that we appeared wholesome, responsible and bursting with love. I had counseled Kelly against wearing one of her better tops in case little Jia cried all over her shoulder (because wouldn’t we seem like kidnappers to her? at least at first?) but she was defiantly wearing a white linen blouse that she’d spent 15 minutes ironing. She looked great. During the walk to the Ministry, I worried that we’d hear the sounds of screaming children inside, but Kelly reminded me that we weren’t going to the orphanage itself, just the building where the bureaucrats handed off the little tykes to their American rescuers. The waiting room felt like a DMV, only smaller, and Communist. We gave our names to the fluent-in-English clerk, a bored older woman, very non-maternal. She told us to sit and wait. We sat down directly across from Craig and Bonnie. “Oh, hi, John,” Craig said, big happy smile on his face. Then he noticed I was with a different wife. I couldn’t think of what to do. Both he and Bonnie were staring at me, their lips still wearing smiles of recognition but their eyes puzzled. They shifted in their seats uncomfortably. I finally managed to look at Kelly. “Oh, Kelly, this is Craig and Bonnie. From New York. I met them last night in the lobby, when I had insomnia.” Then I faced them again, silently praying. “This is my wife, Kelly.” “Very nice to meet you,” Bonnie said after a pause. I felt nauseated and my head pounded, as if the hangover had waited until then to kick in. “I didn’t realize you were up last night,” Kelly said. “Yeah, well, I couldn’t sleep. Nerves. I was just walking around the lobby and we all got to talking. They’re adopting a little girl too.” We traded ages and names again. I stared at my feet as the wives chatted. When I looked up, Craig was watching me with what might have been awe or fear. Then someone called our last name. Both of Kelly’s hands clamped onto one of mine, the tightest she’d ever gripped it outside a cinema. She was a very nervous movie watcher. Always convinced disaster was about to ensue. “Ready?” she asked. Craig and Bonnie had vanished, as had so much. We stood, took the same breath, and walked up to the young bureaucrat who’d called our name. He was smiling as he held open the door to our future. Eight Questions for Thomas Mullen Thomas Mullen has brought a distinct voice to Southern literature. His novels — and the story you just read — make brilliant use of allegory to draw attention to big issues that face us all. He’s just got one problem. He’s a Red Sox fan. Next Week: We Look Under the Kudzu If you pledge, as The Bitter Southerner has, to cover the “duality of the Southern thing,” that carries with it the obligation to cover the Whole South. Not one group over another, not one standard of beauty over another, but the entire ball of wax. Few people have covered the Whole South as well as Nashville photographer Tamara Reynolds, who traveled through Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, the Carolinas and Tennessee to gather next week's photography special, “Southern Route.” This incredible series of photographs represents Reynolds' own lifelong wrestling match with the duality. ,” she says. “There is more to be revealed under the surface of things. Like kudzu, things may appear different from above than what lies beneath. While questioning my appreciation of the South, I found the beauty that is within. And through compassion I have come to accept.” As should we all.

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2330733126188148544.post1774590954582869670..comments2013-07-13T13:30:01.082-04:00Comments on Bonum, Verum, Pulchrum: Heaven's VengeanceBonum, Verum, Pulchrum is not the legion's fault this guy fell int...it is not the legion's fault this guy fell into pornography. really, all of you GROW up and take responsiblity for your own damn decisions! Dumb [email protected]:blogger.com,1999:blog-2330733126188148544.post-29565595877127373372010-05-28T17:15:15.599-04:002010-05-28T17:15:15.599-04:00To Anonymous (two posts above), Yes, those are si...To Anonymous (two posts above),<br /><br />Yes, those are signs of your son loosing everything he may have learned at the school as soon as he left. I have known some students to leave the Apostolic schools and become great examples for Catholic teenagers in our society. They attend daily mass, pay attention during mass, and take part in parish activities. Still, others who have left the schools believe they are free of all superiority and the “rules” that they followed in the Apostolic schools. It seems that since they now have no superior, they feel they can do whatever they feel. Others seem to feel they “have to learn to fit into society” or their new high schools or whatever. And their solutions are to go completely down hill, seeing that most people around them already are. It all depends on what the student takes from the religious upbringing at the Apostolic schools.<br /><br />The Legion formation was completely flawed when Maciel was alive. The whole purpose of the strict formation was to protect a child molester by forming an army of people who looked up to him and set him on a pedestal. Their silence and atmosphere of secrecy just show some of the flaws during their formation. An order should never hold their founder to such a high esteem until he has been beatified or canonized by a pope. This was one MAJOR mistake the followers of the Legion made. Maciel used the Legion as an institution to steal money from and hid behind his follower’s commitment to him and his “good works.” The formation caused many priests and brothers to be blinded… most refused to believe anything bad that had to do with the founder. An order founded like this will take a while to truly recover from learning of all the evil that their founder did. It will take time, but good changes are happening already. Priests and brothers no longer even mention Maciel and all of his works have been removed from the schools and work places run by the Legion. They admit that he was a bad man but as of yet, are unable to act on what they say. They have not truly realized the full severity of his crimes and how much damage he caused to other people. Of course a priest or brother will not go up to you and say, “sorry I totally told your sons all this bull crap, will you forgive me?” Most are probably too ashamed to mention all the things they once said to defend the founder. You have to understand this. And I bet you that, that one priest who still believes Maciel will be a saint has probably been in the Legion for MANY years. It seems as if the older priests are more stubborn to admit the truth because they have probably seen the founder do so many “good things.” <br /><br />The local LC priests in my area fully admit the wrong done by Maciel. They never mention his works any more and realize the harm that Maciel did to their order. I truly feel sorry for all the good men in the Legion who joined believing the Legion was a pure institution. The Legion is the one order in the church that is attracting many young vocations. I can see how it would seem to be a viable choice for many young men discerning the priesthood. <br /><br />I will never join RC because of this scandal but I do believe the Legion does good work. I just hope some of the formation does get changed soon. They are well trained priests but are flawed in their mentality. It is good that their seminarians are spending 14+ years in the seminary. However, the formation that takes place within those 14 years needs to be changed a little.<br /><br />God [email protected]:blogger.com,1999:blog-2330733126188148544.post-39803607394358101762010-05-25T23:50:06.931-04:002010-05-25T23:50:06.931-04:00I have felt the pain, though not nearly to the deg...I have felt the pain, though not nearly to the degree you have. I was in rc for 3 years....now 10 years out. When our group split up and most of us left, there were 2 of us who had sucked up the spirituality....me more than the other. <br /><br />I thought I was going crazy. My mind was so twisted from the control and the warped spirituality. I guess I received some gift from the Holy Ghost because I totally sensed the evil of that organization the night I left. It was all so real to me....so evil. I begged God to hold in His arms people like you. To protect the vulnerable and shut it down. The horror of that realization sent chills through my body. The horror of the abuse, the horror of the abuse of the mind, everything was just incomprehensible to me....and very real. I KNEW it was VERY evil! I went through a classic textbook case of cult deprogramming, although I didn't realize it until a friend sent me information about it. <br /><br />But I have to say God really is so good. He permitted us to be a part of this so that one day we could help in some way to bring it down. Maybe by going through this our faith will become stronger, because we trusted in the Good Shepherd to lead us to the truth, to fight the good fight and trust in Him.<br /><br />I said to a friend of mine where there's smoke, there's fire....and fire there was. That was 10 years ago. I never thought I would see anything like this come out in my lifetime. Now fast forward to today - and the realization that it was more evil than I thought.<br /><br />Today I read the original St. Michael prayer that Pope Leo XIII composed. If you get a chance, look that one up. It will knock the socks off of you. The pope composed it in 1888 after he had a vision in church of the devil saying that if he was given 100 years - he would destroy the church. That prayer was supposed to be said after every Mass...and it was for many years. Now we have quite a bit shorter version. You'll be amazed how different the two are. It's a whole page long and goes on and on about how the devil wants to strike the shepherd to scatter the sheep....the evil that has entered the church, and on and on. We really are living this...but one day it will end and what a glorious day it will be.<br /><br />I pray every day for people who have suffered what you have suffered....and I remember the Holy Scripture that says the Lord will wipe away every tear.<br />From the bottom of my heart, may God richly bless you all of your [email protected]:blogger.com,1999:blog-2330733126188148544.post-71910792186801128592010-05-15T09:22:38.144-04:002010-05-15T09:22:38.144-04:00"Your son may have left the school a much bet..."Your son may have left the school a much better man spiritually. You cannot make assumptions based on other peoples bad experiences.<br /><br />May God Bless you and also the creator of this blog!"<br /><br />My sincere thanks for your blessings, and I pray that God will send you many as well.<br /><br />I re-read my entry and see how you could understand that I am simply afraid of things that might happen in the future to my son as a result of his past formation. But the reality is that I already see worrying signs: arrogance about his superior religiosity as compared to the rest of the sinners of the world, no problem with the idea of lying if it brings about a "good" end, etc. Moreover, he has dropped all signs of any kind of authentic prayer life, making me believe that the prayer cards and lists of spiritual obligations he had when under the control of the LCs did nothing to foster a true spirituality in him. So it's not just about what might happen, it's about the bad signs I already see (and, of course, do my best to correct). How much of this is his own character and how much of it was inculcated by his time in the Legion is hard to know. I do know he wasn't nearly as arrogant before he went to ICAS, and he actually seemed to have an authentic desire to grow closer to God.<br /><br />Local LC priests are still proclaiming how much more orthodox, conservative, etc, the LC is as compared to other orders. One local LC priest reassures that Maciel is definitely a saint in heaven and will one day be vindicated. <br /><br />"Those who did not like the formation or was troubled by it should have jumped the boat when they realized that."<br /><br />We did. But your comment that people who didn't like it and were troubled by it should have left (I agree) makes me wonder just why you think those left behind have the wherewithal to reject Maciel and all his works and abusive structures?<br /><br />"You cannot expect an order that held their founder to such a high esteem to change completely within one day. They need time. Slowly, positive changes are being made."<br /><br />I agree with you on this as well: you cannot expect men who adored Maciel as a saint for decades to suddenly understand what a monster he truly was and how his sin and depravity had grave consequences on the structure of their congregation. But while they struggle through this and slowly come to these realizations, I really don't believe they should be in charge of forming young souls. <br /><br />Not a single priest involved with the spiritual formation of my children has apologized for their part (however unwitting it may have been) in teaching my children the poisoned spirituality of a sexual criminal in lieu of real Catholicism. Why is that? It speaks volumes to me. Either they still don't recognize it is poison or they do but don't consider themselves at all responsible in the administration of such spiritual poison to so many young men and women. Either way, it's unacceptable behavior for Catholic priests, and priests who are still so caught up in the deceit of Maciel should not be in charge of forming children until the Pope has guided them through their purification.<br /><br />Any order of priests who doesn't know who they are, what they stand for, what their charism is, and how the deviantly criminal mind of their founder maliciously affected the structure of their congregation need to take a break from the spiritual formation of children.<br /><br />Just my .02. I trust Benedict to save all the good in so many of these well-intentioned men by guiding them through the purification in the most pastoral manner possible. He has assured the LC/RC the Church will be by their side as they go through this painful purgatory, and I join my prayers to all others who hope to see the abuse of authority/conscience and the system of power Maciel devised utterly rid of his malicious spirit.<br /><br />God [email protected]:blogger.com,1999:blog-2330733126188148544.post-23514535126072224162010-05-14T20:06:56.001-04:002010-05-14T20:06:56.001-04:00Dear Anonymous, Please explain to me how sending...Dear Anonymous, <br /><br />Please explain to me how sending your son to a Catholic school that has great education and religious formation will leave "deleterious effects on him for the rest of his life." <br /><br />You know, the Legion priests will never replicate what the founder did and many are holy men who just want to follow God and be faithful to his will. Only a small portion of the UPPER Legion priests knew of his high crimes. The founder was screwed up and has major issues and also took advantage of the innocent - leaving effects that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.<br /><br />However, cant we get on with life now that the pope has issued a communique? The formation issues you seem to speak of are going to be fixed. The founder will slowly be filtered out of the system and hopefully forever forgotten. Those who did not like the formation or was troubled by it should have jumped the boat when they realized that. <br /><br />You cannot expect an order that held their founder to such a high esteem to change completely within one day. They need time. Slowly, positive changes are being made. The Papal envoy is a good thing and the best will come of it. <br /><br />Your son may have left the school a much better man spiritually. You cannot make assumptions based on other peoples bad experiences. <br /><br />May God Bless you and also the creator of this [email protected]:blogger.com,1999:blog-2330733126188148544.post-33006512464656886442010-05-09T19:14:04.330-04:002010-05-09T19:14:04.330-04:00VPB, I wrote an answer to you, but the form does n...VPB,<br />I wrote an answer to you, but the form does not allow me to post a so long message.<br />Could you please write me on [email protected]<br />Thank you,<br />Xavier Léger, (from exlcblog.info)Xavier, All I can say is how sorry I am that this...Bonum, <br /><br />All I can say is how sorry I am that this has been done to you. As a mother of a former Apostolic myself, I am both utterly thankful my son is out and terrified that the time he was in will have deleterious effects on him for the rest of his life. He is still young, he is at home with his family, and I can only hope God will protect him from the harm I put in my son's way by sending him there.<br /><br />I have a sincere question for you, and I have my own reasons for asking it, but I will understand completely if you are not inclined to answer it (answers from any other ex-apostolic school students would be welcome as well): Do you feel the lay teachers were able to have any kind of positive influence there? Did their presence make any difference at all in the difficulties you were having there? I and others would like to think the lay people (not RCs) had even a tiny bit of balancing effect, but I don't want to kid myself, either.<br /><br />You ARE a man, Bonum. In this Communique the Pope praised all men and women who have tried to out this evil for years. You are one of them. Courage and perseverance are marks of true manhood. <br /><br />I pray that God will help lighten your yoke a bit and that He will one day help make sense out of all of this suffering.<br /><br />God [email protected]:blogger.com,1999:blog-2330733126188148544.post-3332604203557506812010-05-04T13:39:55.435-04:002010-05-04T13:39:55.435-04:00I second that A120! We gained almost 30 accounts ...I second that A120!<br /><br />We gained almost 30 accounts of young boys that struggled significantly after leaving the Apostolic Schools, in one way or another. We took this to the Legion, we took this to our bishop and needless to say we rescued our son. The families suffer these things in silence and shame and only speak of it in whispers and innuendos, still afraid of speaking uncharitably and hurting the infallible Legion. <br /><br />Paul, I assume you have no direct experience with the Apostolic Schools because you would not be so rash in your judgments.<br /><br />Sorry, but you got my ire [email protected]:blogger.com,1999:blog-2330733126188148544.post-44894351629717444572010-05-04T11:07:23.056-04:002010-05-04T11:07:23.056-04:00It's the next day now, so I'm declaring it...It's the next day now, so I'm declaring it the time and place for this discussion.<br /><br />Paul, let's see if you can follow this. The Legion suppresses and demonizes all forms of sexual expression, understanding, discussion and even thought as a form of control. Twisting one of the most driven parts of our brain into a taboo shames people into exploring sexual impetus covertly. Internet porn is the easiest place to start.<br /><br />I can understand, Paul, if this is a topic that you haven't put a lot of previous thought into, since it is a very particular situation. But dont fucking criticize this guy's experiences as if the only form of causality that bears responsibility is a direct order. The Legion crippled people to make more docile tools out of them and then dumped them into the world to fend for themselves. It is responsible for many mistakes made by ex-members whom it rendered incapable of making better choices. Next time think things through before making obtuse commentary.<br /><br />PS, I hope you aren't particularly ashamed of the porn thing, Bonum. I'm pretty sure you're in the same boat as 90-95% of us ICAS survivors on that [email protected]:blogger.com,1999:blog-2330733126188148544.post-69359691517287131812010-05-03T22:41:31.767-04:002010-05-03T22:41:31.767-04:00Paul, there is a time and a place for this discuss...Paul, there is a time and a place for this discussion, but this young man's blog on this day is not it. Please [email protected]:blogger.com,1999:blog-2330733126188148544.post-91141083444873188152010-05-03T16:07:04.434-04:002010-05-03T16:07:04.434-04:00Anonymous, Please explain how the Apostolic schoo...Anonymous,<br /><br />Please explain how the Apostolic school causes people to log onto the internet and search out [email protected]:blogger.com,1999:blog-2330733126188148544.post-85818683940145701482010-05-03T12:47:00.993-04:002010-05-03T12:47:00.993-04:00Paul, How dare you make such a stupid statement. ...Paul,<br /><br />How dare you make such a stupid statement. It is the Legion's fault. The Apostolic school took away his ability to have a normal adolescent sexual maturation! <br /><br />Keep your comments to [email protected]:blogger.com,1999:blog-2330733126188148544.post-56095054017901935362010-05-02T23:33:11.205-04:002010-05-02T23:33:11.205-04:00"I learned everything I initially knew about ..."I learned everything I initially knew about sex from internet pornography, shortly after I left the Legion."<br /><br />Very sad, yet not the Legion's fault. Internet pornography is rampant in the world, damaging both men and women. Many who grew up at home with parents can attest to [email protected]:blogger.com,1999:blog-2330733126188148544.post-79683818434771454022010-05-02T15:32:31.714-04:002010-05-02T15:32:31.714-04:00I was never involved in RC/LC so I have no clue of...I was never involved in RC/LC so I have no clue of how you and others have suffered in this evil called Legion. I am praying that the Holy Father's initial steps in acknowledging Maciel's sins will lead soon to dismantling the very disordered system that Maciel created. I am praying for [email protected]:blogger.com,1999:blog-2330733126188148544.post-62491420004092905662010-05-02T14:39:42.479-04:002010-05-02T14:39:42.479-04:00Prays for you. I feel the same way you do today an...Prays for you. I feel the same way you do today and have cried like a baby for the first time since I left RC. I stand with the victims and will continue to do so in the months to come. There are many who see something I don't see. God give us clarity because I've lost my reason to hope.Hopeful (hold that thought)[email protected]:blogger.com,1999:blog-2330733126188148544.post-86254636161064646842010-05-02T14:18:11.224-04:002010-05-02T14:18:11.224-04:00Prayers for you. God bless you!Prayers for you. God bless you!Richard is D-Day, my friend. It will take a little wh...This is D-Day, my friend. It will take a little while longer before we can liberate the consecration camps.Pete Vere may not see it now, but your anger is entirely...You may not see it now, but your anger is entirely manly. You are a fine man who understands the importance of protecting the innocent. No shame there. This is not the way God wanted you to learn this, but your integrity is intact. The details will come. Be assured my prayers and those of many who share this suffering. <br /><br />If you weren't outraged, I would be worried, but I sense that the Apostolic Schools will be short-circuited very soon. Blessings always, my brother in Christ.giselle hear you. I hear your pain and your disappointme...I hear you. I hear your pain and your disappointment. And I share it. I am so sorry. I am sorry that the Church has failed you. I am sorry that the Pope has failed you. As a Catholic layperson and as a mother I am sorry that I, too, have failed you. I am crying today. I am in grief and mourning with you and for you. It is a sad day. I wish I could hug you. I wish I could relieve your pain. I wish I could make it all go away. All I can do is pray for you and that feels so inadequate. May God bless you, and bring you peace and [email protected]:blogger.com,1999:blog-2330733126188148544.post-22120416033063592212010-05-02T10:06:10.285-04:002010-05-02T10:06:10.285-04:00I can understand your frustration and I'm angr...I can understand your frustration and I'm angry at the way you were treated in the Legion. Right now I feel the way you do about "movements" and "congregations". I left RC about six years ago when I couldn't get answers about all my growing concerns. <br /><br />I'm not an expert on the Vatican, but I don't think the Pope's statements amount to a verdict. It may be clear that the Legion will live on in some way, but I think there will be a lot of important changes. I also think it is way too early for the Legion to be trumpeting any kind of victory here. Their founder has been found to be guilty of the worst crimes and declared spiritually void. The order will need to have an administrator take over to institute a reform. There will be a purification of the order. No details yet about what this will look like exactly but I take the statement to be a pastoral one meant to encourage the members not to lose faith as they are about to experience major changes. Just my thoughts. <br /><br />Like you, I'm hoping that one of those changes means the end of minor seminaries. <br /><br />I will pray for you and other victims of the order, and I'll pray for God's will in changing and dealing with the order.Cretos

AMENDED PUBLIC FACILITIES ELEMENT Prepared by City of Lincoln October 1998 Planning Commission Approval: October 21, 1998 City Council Approval: October 27, 1998 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. PUBLIC FACILITIES ELEMENT GOALS AND POLICIES 4 General Water Service Wastewater Storm Drainage Transportation/ Circulation Transportation Systems Management Solid Waste Management Public Safety Schools and Educational Facilities Parks, Open Space, and Recreational Facilities Public Administration Facilities Siting Criteria 3. EXISTING PUBLIC SERVICES AND FACILITIES 18 Background and Summary of Existing Services 4. FUTURE NEEDED SERVICES AND FACILITIES 26 Future Development and Future Public Facility Needs 5. CONSISTENCY WITH GENERAL PLAN 43 TECHNICAL APPENDICES ( Under separate cover) LIST OF TABLES No. Title Pages 1. Land Use Summary 28 2. City of Lincoln Public Services Facilities to Buildout 30- 31 3. Land Acquisition for Public Facilities 42 LIST OF FIGURES No. Title Page 1. PFE Plan Area 2 2. Existing Public Facilities Map 19 3. Lincoln General Plan Land Use Map 27 4. Conceptual Water Distribution Facilities Map 32 5. Conceptual Wastewater Distribution Facilities Map 34 6. Conceptual Drainage Facilities Map 36 7. Conceptual Areawide Circulation System Map 38 page 1 1. INTRODUCTION The Public Facilities Element ( PFE) is a comprehensive plan identifying public services and facilities that will be needed to serve development that could occur under the City of Lincoln's General Plan and its amendments. Preparation of the Element was a joint effort between the City and planning and engineering consultants. The Element presents goals and policies to guide future service and facility expansion and identifies facilities and services that will be needed to serve future development on lands designated for urban uses. The PFE Plan Area is shown on Figure 1. The PFE identifies public facilities and services that are projected to be needed in the year 2010 as well as build- out of the General Plan. The Element does not include facilities on land carrying either an Urban Reserve or Agricultural land use designation. Identification of future facility needs is based on technical engineering reports that are presented in appendices, which are bound under separate cover. A financing plan will be prepared for subsequent development based on the technical appendices and further refinements in order to implement public facilities and ongoing maintenance costs. Since the adoption of the PFE in 1991 the City has annexed an additional 2,770 acres with the recent South Lincoln Annexation and another 4,868 acres with the annexation of the Twelve Bridges area. Revisions to the Land Use Plans for these areas have triggered the requirement to prepare a revised Public Facilities Element for the Lincoln General Plan. This revised and expanded PFE provides a detailed assessment of existing conditions within the PFE Plan Area and the need for future facilities based upon revisions to the General Plan. The Element also presents a comprehensive discussion of goals and policies for anticipated development within the Plan Area. As part of the City's General Plan, the Public Facilities Element will serve as a guide for future development and expansion of public facilities. Future specific plans and development proposals will be reviewed for consistency with the policies of this Element. The Public Facilities Element is a optional element of the City of Lincoln's General Plan. The Element is being revised in accordance with the City's General Plan policy that requires a detailed public facilities plan be completed prior to any annexations to the City. page 2 page 3 Several distinct areas are identified and delineated in Figure 1. These areas are references throughout the PFE. A brief description of each of these areas is listed below: Sphere of Influence: The future, time unstated, corporate limits of Lincoln. The area subject to the City's long- term planning. PFE Plan Area: Defines that area on which the demand for public facilities was estimated. Geographically, it is delineated as the study area less the urban reserve. Core Area: The existing City exclusive of West Lincoln and Specific Plan Areas. The area is generally bounded by " R" to the west, Auburn Ravine to the south, Harrison Ave to the east and Gladding McBean to the north. West Lincoln: That portion of the existing City immediately west of the Core Area. The PFE was prepared to underscore the City of Lincoln's interest in maintaining an adequate level of public services and facilities as development occurs. page 4 PUBLIC FACILITIES ELEMENT GOALS AND POLICIES GOAL: Ensure that adequate public services and facilities are provided to meet the needs of City residents to maintain and enhance the quality of life. Ensure that development is phased according to the capacity of public facilities and services. Policies 1- 1 Maintain adequate public services and facilities to meet the needs of the existing developed portions of the City as identified in the PFE. 1- 2 Require each new development project to provide its proportionate share of the full range of urban level services. 1- 3 Approve development in areas not served by existing municipal facilities, only if provision for service is consistent with this Element for required public facilities, and if the development can provide for the installation and/ or financing of these public facilities. The City will deny development proposals that would negatively impact public services, unless the impact can be mitigated by the project proponent or the City makes findings of overriding considerations. 1- 4 Require financing of all new improvements to be the responsibility of future developers of vacant and undeveloped lands. 1- 5 Require that all new public financing undertaken after July 1990 include a fee to cover start- up and ongoing administrative costs of public financing. 1- 6 Require the design, construction and phasing of capital improvements that will result in the most cost- effective means of providing services to the city's residents and businesses. Require capital improvements that assure the most efficient means of maintaining the community's health and safety. 1- 7 Encourage submittal of a Specific Plan for development projects. GOAL: Ensure that public facilities are adequately funded and brought on line in a timely manner. 1- 8 Develop a financing plan establishing a program to fund necessary public improvements in advance of development within the existing City and newly annexed areas, including fees or special assessments for road improvements. 1- 9 Require that all projects which implement this Element be subjected to review as required by the California Environmental Quality Act. page 5 WATER SERVICE GOAL: Ensure provision of a water system with adequate supply transmission, distribution and storage facilities to meet the needs of existing and future development. Policies Water Supply 2- 1 Require the availability of an adequate water supply to be demonstrated before approving new development. 2- 2 Do not permit development in the annexation area until a potable water supply is obtained through Placer County Water Agency ( PCWA). 2- 3 Coordinate development activity with the PCWA through the subdivision map process to ensure adequate provision of treated water supplied by the PCWA. 2- 4 Consider development of groundwater supplies in the western portions of the City's sphere of influence to supplement the domestic supply provided by the PCWA. 2- 5 Evaluate groundwater recharge capabilities every five years and ensure adequate long- term protection of groundwater resources. 2- 6 Require new water sources to meet or exceed the California Department of Health Services Title 22 regulations regarding water quality. 2- 7 Prohibit the use of treated, potable water supplies for commercial agricultural uses. Water Conservation 2- 8 Implement an active water conservation program to reduce future water demand to the extent allowed by law by establishing building requirements for new construction, providing educational information through local media sources, and establishing effective rate charges to encourage conservation. 2- 9 Require new development to use the best available technologies ( BAT) for water conservation, including, but not limited to water- conserving water closets, showerheads, faucets, and water conserving irrigation systems. 2- 10 Require meters for all new water connections. 2- 11 Encourage use of reclaimed water by industrial, commercial, recreational and agricultural users. page 6 Water Distribution and Storage 2- 12 Continue to operate the City- owned water storage and distribution systems. 2- 13 Maintain a five- year lead time in the planning of needed water system improvements and include identified improvements within the City's Capital Improvement Program ( CIP). 2- 14 Require new development to be responsible for construction of water transmission and distribution lines under 18 inches in diameter. Provision will be made allowing reimbursement should such lines result in an " oversizing" for a particular development. 2- 15 Allow use of connection fees for improving, upgrading and/ or replacing deteriorating lines in the City. Evaluate improvement options to meet requirements of the City Core Area without removal and replacement of the existing system as part of the five- year facilities planning process. 2- 16 Provide a water distribution system which, at a minimum, meets all pressure requirements outlined in the California Department of Health Services/ Waterworks Standards. 2- 17 Provide adequate water storage to supply the needs of the developed areas. Condition new development on availability of storage that meets the following parameters: • Equalizing Storage ( for meeting peak flows) - 25 percent of maximum day demand. • Fire Reserve - Provide fire reserve as required by the Insurance Services Office ( ISO) or as required by the City Fire Chief and City Engineer. • Emergency Reserve - 33 percent of the total of Equalizing Storage and Fire Reserve. Fire Flows 2- 18 Provide water supply, storage and adequately- sized pipelines to provide fire flows at any point within the City to meet recommendations of the ISO and/ or the City Fire Chief and City Engineer and maintain minimum pressures in accordance with requirements outlined in the California Department of Health Services/ Waterworks Standards. page 7 WASTEWATER GOAL: Ensure provision of adequate sanitary sewers and wastewater treatment capacity to accommodate existing and future development in order to protect public health and safety. Policies 3- 1 Continue to provide sewerage services and operate public facilities. Do not permit the use of package treatment plants to serve individual developments. 3- 2 Maintain a five- year lead time in the planning of needed wastewater system improvements and include identified improvements within the City's Capital Improvement Program ( CIP). 3- 3 Minimize wastewater flows through water conservation efforts. 3- 4 Encourage the efficient use of water by industrial operations in order to minimize wastewater discharge. 3- 5 Require new development to be responsible for construction of all sanitary sewer lines serving such development. Provision will be made allowing reimbursement should such lines result in an " oversizing for a particular development. 3- 6 Prohibit cross- connection of sanitary sewer and storm drain systems. Wastewater Treatment and Disposal 3- 7 Require that collected wastewater be of a quality consistent with State Regional Water Quality Control Board standards or those adopted by the City of Lincoln in order to accommodate wastewater within the design parameters of the treatment plant. This may include the requirement for pretreatment of wastewater. 3- 8 Use the best available technology to dispose of treated effluent and give first priority to land disposal. 3- 9 Determine the degree of wastewater treatment to be provided based on the requirements of the chosen disposal system. 3- 10 Promote the use of reclaimed water with priority to recreational, industrial and agricultural users; landscaping along roadways; and wetland mitigation areas. page 8 3- 11 Approve connections to the City's existing sewer system and treatment plant on a first- come, first- served basis as secured through development agreements, building permits, or other financial agreements. 3- 12 Maintain the existing treatment plan and site in public use upon completion of the treatment plant. STORM DRAINAGE GOAL: Ensure provision and sizing of adequate storm drainage facilities to accommodate existing and planned development. Policies Drainage Facilities 4- 1 Require new development to provide stormwater detention sufficient to limit outflow to 90% of pre- project conditions for the 100- year and smaller year events. 4- 2 Require new development to provide stormwater- retention sufficient for the incremental runoff from an eight- day 100 year storm. 4- 3 Prepare a City Drainage Management Plan that will encourage and coordinate the use of detention/ retention basins to achieve Policy 4- 1. New development may be prohibited until the Drainage Management Plan is complete. The Drainage Management Plan shall be completed prior to the construction or revision of a major hydrologic facility. 4- 4 Consider other regional drainage and flood control efforts that are underway in preparing the Drainage Management Plan. 4- 5 Require that the cost of the Drainage Management Plan be allocated solely to land within the City's Sphere of Influence. 4- 6 Design stormwater detention basins to ensure public safety, to be visually unobtrusive and to provide temporary or permanent wildlife habitat values and where feasible, recreational uses. 4- 7 Require City maintenance of detention basins with financing by a separate drainage or special assessment district. When private facilities are used for detention, maintenance will be privately financed. page 9 4- 8 Limit the development of impervious surfaces, as much as feasible, within future construction proposals in order to reduce post- project runoff volumes. 4- 9 Require appropriate runoff control measures as part of future development proposals to minimize discharge of urban pollutants ( such as oil and grease) into area drainages. Flood Control 4- 11 Prohibit development or major fill or structural improvements ( except for flood control purposes) within the 100- year floodplain as regulated by FEMA. Recreational activities that do not conflict with habitat uses may be permitted within the floodplain. 4- 12 Limit the extent of structural flood control improvements along Auburn Ravine, Markham Ravine, and Orchard Creek to the extent feasible, to minimize impacts to biotic habitats. 4- 13 Require City maintenance of flood control improvements with financing by special purpose districts. 4- 14 Require adequate provision of erosion control measures as part of new development to prevent sedimentation of streams and drainage channels. 4- 15 Require drainage designs and practices to be in accordance with the Stormwater Management manual of the Placer County Flood Control District unless alternative methods are approved by the City Engineer. page 10 TRANSPORTATION/ CIRCULATION GOAL: Continue to ensure provision and maintenance of a safe and efficient system of streets and public transportation to meet demands of existing and planned development, without the construction of State Route 102. Policies City Streets 5- 1 Maintain a minimum level of service ( LOS) " C"* for City streets and intersections and all new streets and intersection within the City. For the purpose of this policy, City streets and intersections exclude state highways. 5- 2 Identify and monitor critical intersections on an annual basis and construct needed improvements in a timely manner if LOS drops below " C". For the purpose of this policy, critical intersections exclude those located along the State Highway. 5- 3 Design future roads to provide logical connections and efficient access between future developments. 5- 4 In accordance with the Circulation Element, construct and arterial road to connect Eastlake and Placer Ranch unless otherwise indicated by traffic studies. 5- 5 Provide landscaped corridors along Highway 65 south of First Street, Highway 65 north of 7th Street, Lincoln Parkway, Joiner Parkway, Eastlake, Nicolaus Road west of " O" Street, and all major arterials. Require developers to provide installation and establish a means of providing for maintenance of landscaping by either private convents or a lighting and landscaping district. State Highways 5- 6 Support construction of SR 65 Bypass with interchanges provided, at a minimum at the following locations: * Twelve Bridges Drive, aka Eight Mile Drive, aka Athens Road * Westlake Blvd. * Nelson Lane * Level of Service " C" describes conditions which traffic flows are stable and acceptable but speed and maneuverability are somewhat restricted due to highway volumes. Motorist occasionally wait through more than one signal indication, and occasional backups occur behind left- turning vehicles. page 11 5- 7 The City will continue to place a very high priority on the construction of the Highway 65 Bypass and to aggressively purse its funding and construction with CalTrans, Placer County Transportation and Planning Agency and other appropriate agencies and private sources. 5- 8 Support construction of one above- grade crossing of the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks along Highway 65 as an extension of the Lincoln Parkway, located between the Ingram Slough channel on the east side of Highway 65 and the Ingram Slough channel on the west side of the highway. 5- 9 Support state efforts to study an alignment for Route 102, including provision of alternative transportation modes and corridors, such as light rail and dedicated high occupancy vehicle ( HOV) lanes. Due to the uncertainty regarding schedule, location, and funding of the route, the Public Facilities Element does not assume that the route will be constructed during the time frame of the Plan. Roadway Financing 5- 10 Require developers to construct the first two lanes of any road ( including curbs, gutters and sidewalks) within their projects. 5- 11 Require dedication by affected property owners of rights- of- way for all streets and interchanges ( refer to Table 4, page 50). 5- 12 The costs for funding interchanges, which are not fully funded by the State, will be allocated to areas of benefit and proportionately borne by individual projects. TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT GOAL: See a 35 percent reduction in trips generated by new employment. Policies 5- 13 Actively pursue measures that will help reduce vehicle trips as established in the City's Rideshare Ordinance. 5- 14 Provide pedestrian/ bicycle crossings at appropriate intervals along new roadways that will adequately serve new large- scale commercial office, industrial development, and residential development. 5- 15 Continue to provide funding mechanism for community transit services and require that new employment- generating, large- scale commercial, office, and residential development be adequately served by transit. page 12 5- 16 Establish a financing mechanism for funding a light rail corridor study, and work with local agencies to develop a light rail corridor which would be interconnected with the Regional Transit Light Rail System, and connecting Lincoln Airport to Roseville. 5- 17 Encourage specific plans and development plans to include design of pedestrian access that enables residents to walk from their homes to places of work, recreation and shopping. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT GOAL: Ensure provision of an efficient program for the management and reduction of solid waste materials, including collection and disposal, in order to protect public health and the natural environment, to conserve energy and natural resources, and to extend landfill capacity. Policies 6- 1 Continue to provide City- operated solid waste collection services and exclusively provide commercial and industrial collection after 1992, unless the City Council elects to franchise all or a portion of the commercial/ industrial collection service. 6- 2 Ensure that all new buildings and facilities have proper provisions for solid waste storage, handling and collection pickup prior to issuance of building permits. 6- 3 Aggressively pursue measures for recycling of materials and pursue a financing mechanism for solid waste reduction programs. 6- 4 Discourage commercial/ industrial land uses which generate large volumes of solid waste. 6- 5 Cooperate with the County to meet area- wide goals and objectives for waste reduction, recycling, and with preparation and implementation of landfill expansion plans. 6- 6 Require commercial and industrial uses that use hazardous materials to demonstrate proper transport, storage, and disposal of such materials in accordance with all local, state, and federal regulations. page 13 PUBLIC SAFETY GOAL: Maintain adequate public safety service levels and facilities to support existing and planned development. Policies 7- 1 Maintain the City's Administrative Center within the City Core Area. 7- 2 Evaluate options for establishing a public safety system that incorporates duality of staff positions to maximize efficiency of provision of public safety services and to reduce overall staffing requirements. 7- 3 Utilize the best available technology ( BAT) to maximize public safety response. 7- 4 Update the City's emergency preparedness plan as necessary. Fire Protection Services 7- 5 Strive to maintain a firefighting capability sufficient to maintain a fire response time of five- minutes or less as a general guideline for service provision and locating new fire stations. 7- 6 Require adequate provision of emergency access features as part of all new developments 7- 7 Require sprinklers in all new commercial, industrial and multifamily structures. Police Services 7- 8 Strive to maintain sworn police personnel staffing ratios at 1.8 officers per 1,000 population. 7- 9 Discourage construction of police substations, and maintain a centralized police station. 7- 10 As part of the project review process, encourage developers to include appropriate security design features such as increased lighting, low- level landscaping and easily identifiable access. 7- 11 Promote the establishment of citizen participation in safety programs, such as Neighborhood Watch. page 14 SCHOOL AND EDUCATION FACILITIES GOAL: Ensure the highest possible level of education facilities and resources for all community members. Policies Schools 8- 1 Coordinate planning, siting, and construction of new schools with the appropriate school district to ensure that facilities are constructed. 8- 2 Work with the School District to develop a financing mechanism to fund all school facility costs which are not dependent upon external funding sources, but which utilize whatever state matches are available. 8- 3 Locate new ( K- 6) schools within reasonable walking distances from residential neighborhoods. 8- 4 Locate new ( K- 6) schools on streets which have traffic levels below those established for arterial roadways. 8- 5 Locate new ( K- 6) schools where public services such as parks, recreation, and public transportation are available. 8- 6 Wherever possible, locate school facilities adjacent to other City recreational facilities, to maximize joint use of school buildings, City parks and playgrounds. Libraries 8- 7 Continue to expand library services to meet the educational, informational, and cultural needs of all community residents. 8- 8 Provide a funding mechanism for the construction and operation of libraries within the City. 8- 9 Locate libraries near or adjacent to other City facilities, such as schools and parks, wherever possible. page 15 PARKS, OPEN SPACE, AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES GOAL: Continue to ensure provision of adequate park, open space, and recreational facilities to meet the varied needs of City residents. Policies 9- 1 Meet the demand for additional park lands through an appropriate mix of neighborhood and community parks that provide a range of active and passive recreational opportunities. 9- 2 In the selection of potential new park sits, allow for multipurpose uses, where appropriate; easy locations adjacent to schools, public open space areas, or other public facilities, wherever possible; and preservation of valuable natural and historical features, such as oak woodlands, stream corridors and wildlife habitat areas. 9- 3 Require payment of an in lieu fee and/ or dedication of parklands as well as require payment of a fee for a new park development to ensure that a new parkland can be developed. Included park construction costs in the financing plan. 9- 4 Allow new development to provide private recreational facilities to serve new residential developments partly in lieu of parkland dedication requirements in accordance with City standards for credit. Flood hazard areas, wetlands preserves, open drainage areas, or other valuable and useable open space may be considered by the City for partial credit. The Lincoln General Plan requires the provision of 5 acres of parkland per 1,000 population. 9- 5 Strive to provide the following recreational facilities: • One multipurpose center per 10,000 population with the structural square footage to be determined by the City Council based on the evaluation of community needs. • One 50- meter swimming pool with construction of each new high school for joint school/ public use; and • One mile of pedestrian/ bicycle trails per 2,500 population. 9- 6 Maintain parks through annexation to Lighting and Landscaping District or other special purpose districts. page 16 9- 7 Maintain wildlife habitat values during design and ongoing maintenance of new park facilities through provision of open space and wildlife corridor areas, protection of native vegetation, and control of use of herbicides and pesticides. 9- 8 To the extent possible, create a trail system adjacent to streams, through natural areas, and in location that provide interconnections between parks and developed residential areas. Install trails in conjunction with required subdivision improvements, prior to the construction of housing. 9- 9 Require provision of separated bicycle and pedestrian paths as part of construction of new facilities. 9- 10 Encourage development and expansion of wildlife preservation areas within the City. 9- 11 Establish areas at the existing wastewater treatment plant for use as a wildlife habitat ( such as sprayfields). 9- 12 Expenditure by developers for the construction of publicly financed trails will be reimbursed by the City. 9- 13 The City will maintain a policy of no net loss of wetlands on a project- by- project basis. For the purpose of identifying such wetlands, the City will accept a map delineating wetlands which has been accepted by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act of 1972. The term “ no net loss” may include mitigation implemented through participation in an off-site mitigation bank or similar mitigation mechanism acceptable to the City and permitting agencies 9- 14 No application request for land use entitlements including, but not limited to, Specific Plans, Rezonings, Use Permits and General Plan Amendments, will be approved unless the project proponent has obtained a 404 Permit, or prepared a mitigation plan for, or provides for the avoidance, preservation, and maintenance of identified wetlands. 9- 15 The City of Lincoln may, but need not, accept a Corps of Engineers disclaimer of any jurisdiction over the project of a Corps of Engineers 404 permit as the City's own plan for the achievement of a project's no net loss of wetlands. 9- 16 All wetlands avoided and/ or preserved in perpetuity shall be dedicated to the City or preserved through perpetual covenants enforceable by the City to ensure their maintenance and survival. With respect to areas dedicated to the City of Lincoln, acceptance shall be conditioned upon establishment of a lighting and page 17 landscaping district or other public or private funding mechanisms acceptable to the City. PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION GOAL: Ensure that all residents receive efficient service from public employees and officials through provision of adequate staffing levels and facilities. Policies 10- 1 Undertake a strategic plan for evaluation of labor resources necessary to operate and maintain all public facilities. 10- 2 Initiate preparation of a plan for the siting and development of a Civic Center to be located within the City Core Area. The Civic Center may include City Council chambers, a performing arts center, onsite parking, and meeting and other facilities. 10- 3 If possible, locate the Civic Center adjacent to a public park or open space area. 10- 4 Develop a unified architectural theme for all new public facilities, including a Civic Center. 10- 5 If possible, provide space to accommodate youth and senior programs in Civic Center areas. FACILITIES SITING CRITERIA GOAL: Ensure that public facilities are properly sited and designed to minimize impacts upon natural resources and adjacent land uses. Policies 11- 1 Avoid construction of major public facilities in wetlands, vernal pools, or riparian corridors; within the 100- year floodplain as shown in the Master Drainage Plan; within groundwater recharge areas; or on prime agricultural lands. 11- 2 Site new public facilities to avoid loss of or destruction to large " landmark" native trees. 11- 3 Site and design public facilities to be compatible with adjacent land uses and to enhance the natural setting of the area. Locate a new wastewater treatment plant away from residential areas to minimize potential land use conflicts. 11- 4 Require that new public facilities minimize visual impacts through use of appropriate landscaping, screening, and architectural designs that are compatible with surrounding land uses. page 18 EXISTING PUBLIC SERVICES AND FACILITIES BACKGROUND The incorporated City of Lincoln consists of 7,270 acres with a population of 7,900 people. The City is bisected by State Route ( SR) 65 and the Southern Pacific Railroad which parallels SR 65. State route 193 intersects SR 65 in Lincoln's downtown Core Area. State Route 65 connects to Interstate 80 approximately 10 miles southeast of the City. Existing public services and facilities provided to the City are summarized below. Figure 2 shows the location of major facilities. SUMMARY OF EXISTING SERVICES Water Service Water is supplied to the City of Lincoln primarily through a long- term contract with the Placer County Water Agency ( PCWA), which receives its water from Lake Spaulding in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The PCWA also has significant water rights from the American River. Lincoln purchases treated water from the PCWA and distributes the water through its own system. Currently City demand ranges from nearly 1.4 mgd on an average day to 2.8 mgd on a peak day. PCWA is responsible for water treatment at its Sunset Treatment Plant, located southeast of the City ( see Figure 1). The treatment plant has a capacity of 5.0 mgd and supplies water to both the City of Lincoln and the Sunset Industrial Park south of the City. Water from the treatment plant is transmitted to the City's two 1.5 million- gallon storage tanks via a 14 inch transmission line. The upper storage tank connects to the City's distribution system and lower storage tank via a 20- inch City- maintained transmission line. PCWA water serves the Core Area of the City, from its eastern boundary west to approximately " R" Street. City wells supply water to users west of " R" Street via wells located east and west of the Lincoln Municipal Airport. Each well has an existing capacity of about 700 gallons per minute or about 1.0 mgd. Water lines within the City are generally 4-, 6-, 8-, 10-, and 14- inch diameter lines. page 19 page 20 Wastewater The City of Lincoln operates a wastewater treatment plant two miles west of SR 65 just south of Nicolaus Road. The plant, constructed in 1976, has a no discharge permit and consists of aerated lagoons and storage ponds. This provides a degree roughly equivalent to secondary treatment. Disposal is by spray irrigation over approximately 125 acres of pasture land. Wastewater is stored in ponds during the winter when spray irrigation is not allowed. The treatment plant facilities have a capacity of 1.4 mgd average dry weather flow. Current flows to the plant are approximately 0.8 mgd. Plans are presently underway to increase wastewater capacity through continued expansion and modifications to the existing plant up to 2.0 mgd and then develop a new WWTP site. Total wastewater flows at buildout of the public facilities area has been estimated to be 12.0 mgd. Collection within the City is primarily by gravity although six lift stations are employed. 15- inch and 24- inch collection trunklines extend from the City to the treatment plant. Inflow/ infiltration within older parts of the sewer system is a problem which results in increased wastewater flows to the Wastewater Treatment Plant, particularly during winter rains. Drainage Drainage within the City is dominated by the Auburn Ravine ( south of the City) and Markham Ravine ( north of the City) watersheds, which are part of the Cross Canal Drainage Basin. Both of the ravines flow westward from the Sierra Nevada foothills east of Lincoln and ultimately discharge to the Sacramento River, southwest of the City. Orchard Creek and Ingram Slough are tributary drainages to Auburn Ravine within the area. The City's drainage system consists of a combination of valley gutters, underground pipes, and drop inlets. Urban drainage system discharges into both the Auburn Ravine and Markham Ravine. Non- urbanized portions of the City drain by overland flow and through various drainage swales toward the two ravines and their tributaries. Because of the clay nature of the soils and the common occurrence of a subsurface hardpan layer which inhibit infiltration of rainwater. During extended periods of rainfall, surface soils frequently become saturated, resulting in areas of standing water. Other drainage problems include obstacles to natural drainage flow, such as the railroad and highway bridges on Auburn Ravine. During periods of high water runoff, these barriers back up water south along SR 65 in a natural depression, and south between the railroad tracks and SR 65. page 21 Under existing conditions, portions of the southern public facilities area, i. e. Eastlake Specific Plan area, Lincoln Crossings Specific Plan area and the Twelve Bridges Specific Plan area, are subject to flooding from the Auburn Ravine, Ingram Slough and Orchard Creek. Transportation/ Circulation The City of Lincoln is served by State Routes 65 and 193. State Route 65 provides direct access to the Cities of Roseville and Rocklin in southern Placer County and to Interstate 80 and points west. It also provides access to the north valley towns of Marysville, Yuba City, and Oroville. State Route 193 is a short route linking Lincoln and the Newcastle/ Auburn area. It is the City's connecting link with Auburn and points east on Interstate 80. Major streets within the City are Nicolaus Road ( 9th Street), 1st Street, 3rd Street, 7th Street, Joiner Parkway, 12th Street, East Avenue, " O" Street, and Aviation Boulevard. Public transit service in Lincoln is provided by the Lincoln Transit Service, which is operated by the City, and provides weekday fixed- route service and Dial- a- Ride services within the City limits from 7: 30 AM to 8: 30 AM and from 10: 30 AM to 3: 45 PM. Union Pacific Railroad operates a main line through the center of Lincoln along the west side SR 65. This line is used only for freight service within Lincoln, although Amtrack service operates through the City. Amtrack terminals are located in Sacramento, Roseville and Marysville. The Lincoln Municipal Airport is owned and operated by the City. During 1989, an estimated 240 aircraft were based at the airport, with an estimated 103,000 operations ( landings and take- offs). The existing capacity of the airport is approximately 200,000 operations per year, depending on the type of aircraft. The airport is designed to accommodate an additional runway, which would double its capacity. Solid Waste Management The City maintains a staff of two, and four collection trucks to provide weekly solid waste collection service to all users within City limits. City residents are charged a monthly collection fee based on the number of cans used and number of bin pick- ups. The current level of collection service is adequate to accommodate existing residents and businesses. The City also provides fall leaf pick- up services. Solid waste is disposed of at the Western Regional Sanitary Landfill, located southwest of Lincoln and west of Highway 65. The facility is operated by the Western Placer Waste Management Authority through a joint powers agreement among Lincoln, page 22 Rocklin, Roseville, and Placer County. This landfill presently has an estimated remaining life- span that would carry it to 2013; however, the planned expansion of the landfill and the implementation of state recycling programs could extend the useful life of the landfill beyond the year 2047. Public Safety Fire Protection The Fire Department is provided by the City through a volunteer force except for the Fire Chief who is paid a monthly stipend. Lincoln’s Police Chief, who is a full time City employee, acts as the administrative manager of both the Police and Fire Departments. A volunteer fire captain who also is a full time police- fire dispatcher, has been appointed to the position of the Fire Department Training Officer by the Police Chief. Lincoln’s Fire Department is responsible for recruiting, training and assigning volunteer firefighters, and in cooperation with the Police Department, to respond to requests for emergency medical aid. The firefighter force has 40 authorized positions, but presently consists of 29 volunteers. The City of Lincoln is a signatory to the statewide mutual aid compact. Recently as part of the FY 98/ 99 Budget the City of Lincoln has undertaken the development of a modified form of the public safety concept. The City has approved a structure under the direction of the Police Chief that would establish full time formalized positions directed at providing fire functions. This concept will make use of Community Service Officers that will be trained as EMT’s, and fire suppression as well as other public safety functions of code enforcement. These individuals while on duty will be available to response from their normal police functions to address incidents involving medical emergencies or fire suppression. This Community Services Officer structure will be used in conjunction with the Volunteer program and will provide for the equivalent of a sergeant and lieutenant level positions under the direction of the Police Chief. The response time for the Department is three to four minutes within the City Core Area and five to eight minutes near the airport. In 1996 the Department responded to 146 non- EMS incidents and over 500 medical calls. The Department is dependent on the Sacramento Fire Department to respond to hazardous material calls. Mutual- aid agreements are maintained with Roseville and Rocklin Fire Departments. The Department’s Insurance rating is 5. Lincoln uses a combination of measures to provide EMS. Police officers are trained and certified as Emergency Medical Technicians ( EMT- 1 level). Several volunteer firefighters are also trained and certified as EMT- 1s. Minimum response to medical aid requests consists of at least one Police unit and available volunteer firefighters. EMT- 1s can provide Basic Life Support ( BLS) services. page 23 Water for fire fighting is provided via a single transmission line connecting the PCWA water treatment plant to the City’s two water storage tanks and from recently developed wells located east of the Lincoln Regional Airport. Portions of the City’s existing system are insufficient to deliver adequate fire flows, and replacement of water lines have been recommended. Unincorporated areas around Lincoln are serviced by the California Department of Forestry ( CDF). The CDF station is located at 310 Oak Tree Lane, approximately 2 miles east of Lincoln, south of Highway 193. The station is staffed with one full- time employee, supplemented by volunteers, and maintains a 750- gpm pumper. Police Services Law enforcement is provided by the Lincoln Public Safety Department within the City limits. The Department is staffed by thirteen sworn officers, including the Police Chief and five support personnel. The Department has one station ( approximately 2,000 square feet) at 472 " E" Street, adjacent to City Hall, that is equipped with four patrol cars. The station is reported to be overcrowded, poorly located, and in need of structural improvements to meet Building Code requirements. Some equipment needs replacement. The City plans to move the Police Station by February of 1999 into a remodeled building located at 7th and “ H” Street. This facility will contain 6,557 square feet. In 1996 the Department average response times were as follows: Code 3: 3 to 4 minutes Priority A: 6 to 7 minutes Priority B: 13 minutes The Placer County jail, located at the DeWitt Center in Auburn, is used for all arrests within the City. The rated jail capacity is 136 people. The jail is maintained at over- capacity levels, with a monthly average of 208 people. Schools The City is provided with educational services by the Western Placer Unified School District. The District is headquartered in Lincoln at 1400 First Street and maintains eight school facilities ( all located in Lincoln): five elementary schools, one intermediate school, one high school, and one continuation high school. page 24 The school located in Lincoln are at or reaching capacity enrollment. The District is meeting its peak enrollment and program capacity through the use of portable classrooms and the recent completion of a new elementary school at 1st Street and Joiner Parkway in fall 1994. Lincoln High School has recently been remodeled and expanded and a continuation high school is planned. Libraries There is one library ( approximately 2,200 square feet including basement) in Lincoln, located at 590 5th Street. The library contains approximately 15,000 volumes and is used by 3,200 current card holders. Parks and Recreational Facilities Recreational facilities serving Lincoln residents include McBean Memorial Community Park, Joiner Park, Markham Ravine Park, and three community playground facilities located at existing school sites. McBean Park is the largest ( approximately 23 acres) and most widely used park. It is equipped with a swimming pool, baseball stadium, a dance pavilion, picnic areas, tot area, and multi- use areas. Joiner Park is a 13 acre facility that offers one soccer field, one baseball/ soccer field, two tot lot areas, picnic area, basketball court, vernal pool and wetlands preserve. One park site in the planning stage of development is the Gladding Park, ( approximately 15 acres). Gladding Park is being planned as an intensive recreational area with three lighted baseball fields, a field for soccer or football, basketball and tennis courts, horseshoe pits, rest- rooms, play apparatus, picnic areas, and an open recreational area. In addition a new 19,000 square foot multi- purpose facility was recently completed in the fall of 1994. The facility is operated jointly by the Western Placer Unified School District and the City and provides meeting rooms, a basketball court, cooking facilities, a stage for theater productions and amphitheater. The parks and recreation department supports 1.45 full- time positions, approximately 400 hours of part- time labor, one full- time maintenance employee, one part- time pool manager, three swim instructors, and a summer recreational program. The City requires parkland dedication fees or parkland dedication for new residential developments. The amount of land or fees required is determined by the City Council. A " park tax" is also charged: $ 261 per single family residential unit. The park tax for commercial and industrial projects is based on an evaluation of the structure. In addition, the City requires the establishment of a lighting and landscaping district to provide additional funds for the purpose of developing and maintaining parks. page 25 City Administration The City maintains a staff of employees in the Public Works and Community Development Departments, and at City Hall. The following City positions are included within each department. Department of Public Works 1.0 Director of Public Works/ City Engineer 1.0 Associate Engineer 1.0 Project Engineer 1.0 Supervisor of Environmental Services 1.0 Treatment Plant Officer 1.0 Maintenance Operations Foreman 1.0 Mechanic 7.25 Maintenance People 2.5 Refuse Collectors 2.25 Airport Maintenance 1.5 Transit Drivers 1.0 Secretary Department of Community Development 1.0 Director 1.0 Senior Planner 1.0 Supervising Building Inspector 1.0 Building Inspector II 1.0 Administrative Secretary City Administration 1.0 City Manager 1.0 Executive Secretary 1.0 Finance Director 1.0 City Clerk 2.0 Account Clerk page 26 FUTURE NEEDED SERVICES AND FACILITIES FUTURE DEVELOPMENT Background The City of Lincoln planning area, as represented in the City's Sphere of Influence adopted in 1982, encompasses an area of approximately 21,246 acres. The City's General Plan provides a land use guide for development within this area. The General Plan allows for a variety of residential, commercial, and industrial uses, as shown in Figure 3. The project area for the Public Facilities Element is shown on Figure 1 of the Introduction and includes all lands designated for urban uses in the Lincoln General Plan, excluding lands designated Urban Reserve and Agricultural. The project area includes the City Core Area, West Lincoln, and areas designated for urban land uses in the southwest, southeast and northern portions of the Sphere of Influence. Development Potential Table 1 summarizes the amount of new development that is currently being proposed within those portions of the project area given urban land use designations. Development of these areas at Build- out, could result in a total of approximately 20,556 new residential units, 1,810 acres of industrial land, 294.2 acres of commercial lands, with a resulting population increase of approximately 53,856 people to a total of roughly 62,756. This does not include Urban Reserve Areas. It is estimated that City population may range somewhere between a low of 19,000 and a high of 39,000 by the year 2010. This report is primarily aimed at the public service requirements of an assumed size of 28,465. Lincoln's General Plan makes use of the following land use designations; Urban Reserve, Industrial Reserve, and Agricultural. Under the policies of the General Plan and Public Facilities Element, Agricultural areas are not considered buildable under the General Plan. Areas designated as Urban and Industrial Reserve are not contemplated for development during the planning horizon used for the General Plan and are intended to provide long- term direction for future land uses as demands change. At this point in time, these areas represent only future development potential. page 27 page 28 page. Development Phasing In order to plan future facilities, the total development potential has been set forth for both a year 2010 growth scenario and a build- out scenario. These represent a range of possible population growth to 29,000 in the year 2010 and 63,142 at build- out. This Element assumes that the equivalent of the buildout of the City Core, West Lincoln and initial phases of Specific Plan areas will be fully developed by the year 2010. The development potential outlined above will result in a need for additional public services and facilities. Future needs within the project area have been identified in the areas of water, wastewater, drainage, circulation, solid waste, public safety ( fire and police services), schools, libraries, parks, and public administration. Future facility needs are described below and summarized in Table 2. It is the City's policy that all improvements will be financed by new development, and that development can not occur without needed facilities. Water Service Overall water demand would increase from an existing average of 1.4 to 2.8 mgd to approximately 10.35 mgd in the year 2010 and to 48 mgd with development of all the project area, designated for urban uses. This increased demand for water will result in the need to expand existing water treatment facilities and transmission pipelines owned and operated by the PCWA, as shown in Figure 4. Under the Facilities Plan, the PCWA will be responsible for implementing major water treatment facilities and major water transmission pipelines. Water is supplied to the City of Lincoln through a long- term contract with Placer County Water Agency. Discussions between the City and PCWA indicate that the City of Lincoln portion of any new treatment facilities should be capable of supplying approximately 27 mgd, which will meet water demands anticipated through the year 2010. To date PCWA has had sole jurisdiction over design, construction, and operation of its water treatment facilities and associated transmission pipelines. PCWA has indicated that interim excess treated water could be provided via a new line extension between the Foothill and Sunset Water Treatment Plants. Improvements within the City's page 30 TABLE 2 LINCOLN GENERAL PLAN LAND USE SUMMARY Line Public Service Facility A Existing City B Estimated Incremental 2010 Demand C Cumulative Total 2010 Demand D Incremental Demand to Buildout E Total PFE Plan Area Buildout 1 POPULATION 7,868 20,597 28,465 25,391 53,856 2 DWELLINGS 2,878 8,577 11,455 9,101 20,556 3 4 5 WATER SERVICE Demand - Maximum Daily PCWA supply- mgd Wells supply- mgd 5 4 1 17 18 0 22 22 0 34 34 0 56 56 0 6 WASTEWATER TREATMENT Plant Capacity - mgd 1.4 3.7 5.1 6.9 12.0 7 8 DRAINAGE Storm Drains Detention Volume 89,102 32 33,058 411.3 122,163 443.3 12,250 992.9 134,413 1436.2 9 10 SOLID WASTE Waste generating ( tons/ year) No of refuse trucks 7,500 3 27,684 12 35,184 15 34,125 17 69,309 32 11 12 13 14 FIRE PROTECTION Public Safety Officers Facilities -- sq. ft. Fire Stations No. of Fire Trucks 40 volunteers 4,880 2 8 28 14,054 2 5 68 18,934 4 13 32 17,984 1 6 100 36,918 5 19 page 31 TABLE 2 LINCOLN GENERAL PLAN LAND USE SUMMARY Line Public Service Facility A Existing City B Estimated Incremental 2010 Demand C Cumulative Total 2010 Demand D Incremental Demand to Buildout E Total PFE Plan Area Buildout 15 16 17 POLICE Sworn Public Safety Officers Non- Sworn Public Safety Officers Facilities -- square feet 14 5 2,000 42 9 15,194 56 14 17,194 67 8 25,856 123 22 43,050 18 19 LIBRARY Employees Facilities - square feet 1 3,000 10 15,616 11 18,616 15 24,103 26 24,719 20 21 22 PARKS AND RECREATION Park Acres Multi- purpose Center Bike trails - miles 23 1 N/ A 122 21 8.9 135 3 N/ A 134 2 12.6 269 5 21.5 23 24 CITY ADMINISTRATION Total Employees Facility Size -- square feet 27.5 N/ A 95 24,700 122 24,700 125.7 41,080 247.7 65,780 page 32 page 33 jurisdiction that will be needed to serve future development include construction of new wells, storage facilities and pipelines. The water system will be looped for ease of operation, added reliability, and to keep pipe sizes to a minimum within each area of service. Future development within the City Core Area and West Lincoln will require replacement or upgrading of existing deteriorated pipelines in the Core Area. Wastewater The City of Lincoln has adopted a phased plan for the expansion of wastewater service to new development within the Lincoln General Plan Area. The adopted wastewater management plan is programmed to be implemented in stages to conform with the anticipated phases of development within the City. These staged expansions are summarized as follows. Phase I involves the expansion of the system at the existing wastewater treatment plant up to the limiting capacity of a 5% discharge into the Auburn Ravine, currently estimates of the added capacity would be up to 2.0 to 2.4 mgd. The Phase II expansion would involve the first stage construction of a new wastewater treatment plant and reclamation facility at a new location somewhere southwest of the current City Limits. Initial planning calls for the facility to be developed in its first phase as a 3.0 mgd plant to accommodate both the abandonment of the existing wastewater treatment plant and future growth. The resulting first stage capacity may be more or less, depending upon conditions to be evaluated in a predesign study. The site to be acquired for the new facility will be large enough to accommodate future expansion of the facility as the City grows. Staged expansions of the wastewater treatment plant will likely be sized in increments of 3.0 mgd to serve full buildout within the current General Plan up to an estimated 12.0 mgd. Current planning calls for this facility to be developed as a nitrifying Title 22 tertiary system with year round discharge of treated water into Auburn Ravine. The facility will also be designed to take full advantage of reclaimed water reuse. Preliminary discussions are presently underway with other jurisdictions to evaluate the potential that the City’s new wastewater treatment plant may be able to function in a regional capacity accepting wastewater from a number of other communities and districts. In addition to treatment plant capacity associated collection lines will be required. These are set forth in conceptual form in Figure 5. Collection system facilities will include gravity pipelines plus pumpstations and force mains. The general location of proposed wastewater facilities are shown in Figure 5. page 34 page 35 Drainage To accommodate increased runoff volumes within the project area at buildout, approximately 112,650 linear feet ( 21.3 miles) of storm drains 24 inches in diameter or larger will need to be designed and constructed for prescribed storm events. Detention and retention facilities are proposed to mitigate the impacts of increased runoff from new development on downstream properties. [ Detention facilities will be designed to limit the post- development 100- year storm peak flow to less than or equal to 90% percent of the pre- project peak flow rate for all frequency storms up to and including the 100- year event in accordance with the PCFCWCD Storm Water Management Manual.] The basins will generally be located at the downstream end of sub- sheds, at the point where the sub- shed would normally discharge to the main stream channel. Retention basins will be designed to reduce post- project peak flows to standards required by the Placer County Storm Water Management Manual and the City of Lincoln's Storm Water Management Plan for all frequency storms up to and including the 100- year event. A retention basin was identified in the recent Lincoln Stormwater Management Plan outside the project area downstream ( southwest) of Lincoln. The total estimated retention capacity required for the project is 390 acre feet. Additional flood control improvements for Auburn Ravine, Ingram Slough and Orchard Creek will be necessary in order to provide protection against the 100- year storm. Due to projected growth in the areas upstream from the City of Lincoln, a series of flood control improvements are required. These are shown in Figure 6 and include: • The Highway 193 roadway in the vicinity of the Auburn Ravine bridge would be raised one foot, and an additional 120 feet of bridge opening will be added. This would prevent overtopping of the roadway in the 100- year event. • homes in the Ravine Meadows Subdivision would be protected with the use of a flood wall and additional flood protection facilities. • Flows, which currently overtop the south bank of Auburn Ravine upstream of the Highway 65 bridge, would be re- routed through a new overflow weir structure. These flows would be conveyed south through a flood channel to Ingram Slough. • The Highway 65 bridge roadway profile would be raised two feet, and two additional 20 feet culvert sections will be added. This would prevent the overtopping of Highway 65 in the 100- year event. • Additional culverts would be added at the Joiner parkway crossing of Auburn Ravine, when the roadway is extended, to relieve the pooling areas south of Moore Road. page 36 • page 37 • A retention facility would be added near the confluence of Ingram Slough and Orchard Creek. The facility would be sized to retain the estimated increase in runoff volumes in Ingram Slough and Orchard Creek caused by the changes in impervious surface quantities at the proposed developments south of the City of Lincoln. The 8- day 100- year storm ( similar precipitation to the 1986 event) would require 390 acre feet of storage at this location. • A 130 foot span bridge will be constructed at State Route 65 ( SR 65) at the proposed channel alignment for Ingram Slough. • A 125 foot span railroad trestle will be constructed at the Union Pacific Railroad tracks at the proposed channel alignment for Ingram Slough. • The Lincoln Parkway over- crossing at SR 65 and UPRR will be extended west to cross the proposed Ingram Slough bypass channel west of the UPRR tracks. • The proposed interior 4- lane street and the proposed 6- lane Lincoln Parkway cross the Ingram Slough North Channel at the proposed Lincoln Crossings subdivision. Capital improvement costs have been included in the P. F. E. for the incremental cost of lengthening of these culverts for more than a lane in each direction. • A new channel will be excavated at the confluence of the Ingram Slough bypass channel, and the Ingram Slough North Channel to the confluence with Orchard Creek. • The proposed culverts at the Del Webb Blvd. and Lincoln Parkway crossings of the northern tributary of Orchard Creek will be sized to restrict outflows such that 47 acre feet of detention in the 100- year event will be provided in the natural channel without overtopping the roadways. Transportation/ Circulation Future development will result in increases in daily and peak- hour traffic. Future roadway needs have been determined based on the City's policy to maintain a level of service " C". Level of Service is a qualitative measure describing operational conditions within a traffic stream and their perception by motorists. Levels of service are conventionally represented by letters " A" through " F" which denote progressively worsening traffic conditions. Level of service " A" represent free flow traffic conditions. Level of service " F" represents long queues of vehicles with several signal cycle delays. The Element also assumes that the SR 65 Bypass will be constructed to the west of the City Airport, but no assumption is made with respect to SR 102. Several grade separated crossings are also included and are listed below. page 38 page 39 The future area- wide circulation system is shown in Figure 7. Several existing roadways will require widening by two to four lanes including but not limited to: a. Joiner Parkway bridge b. State Route 65 c. State Route 193 d. Nicolaus Road e. Aviation Boulevard New major roadways or road segments will need to be constructed as a result of increased traffic. These are shown in Figure 7 and include: a. Lincoln Parkway ( extension) b. Westlake Boulevard ( extension) c. State Route 65 Bypass ( new) d. Aviation Boulevard ( extension) e. New local roads Three interchanges and two overpasses are also included in the plan. They are: a. Interchanges: SR- 65 and Twelve Bridges Drive SR- 65 and Westlake Boulevard SR- 65 and Nelson Lane b. Overpasses: SR- 65 and Lincoln Parkway SR- 65 and Athens Road In addition, at least thirty ( 30) new signals are required. Future development will increase the demand for transit services. It is estimated that 11 new buses would be necessary to provide daily bus service from 6: 30 AM to 6: 30 PM. Solid Waste Management In the year 2010, solid waste generation will increase by an additional 27,648 ton per year above the existing 7,500 tons per year currently generated in the City. This will increase to a total additional 69,309 tons per year at full buildout of the PFE Plan Area. Collection service provided by the City will need to increase including the addition of employees and 33 new collection vehicles ( approximately 12 vehicles will be needed in the year 2010). page 40 Public Safety Future residential development will increase resident population to approximately 29,000 by the year 2010, and increase City population to a total of 53,856 residents with development on all lands ( buildout) designated for urban uses. The development of new commercial and industrial uses also will contribute to additional daytime population increases within the City. Nearly five new fire stations and additional police station square footage will be required by the year 2010 as shown in Table 2. Libraries An additional 15,616 square feet of new library space also will be needed to serve the project area by 2010, while a total of 37,702 square feet will be required at buildout of the Plan Area. Parks and Recreational Facilities An increased residential population will require additional parks and recreational facilities. An additional 269 acres of parkland will be needed to serve residents, of which 112 acres will be needed in the year 2010. This estimate is based on a standard of 5 acres per 1,000 population, as provided in the City's General Plan. Other recreational facilities will be needed and are reflected in Table 2. Public Administration Additional administrative space will be necessary to support an increase in City staff needed to serve the projected population. It is estimated that the needed facility size will be approximately 24,700 square feet in the year 2010 and 64,402 square feet with buildout of the Plan Area. A total staff of 247 employees will be needed to serve residents at plan buildout, of which 122 will be needed in the year 2010. page 41 PUBLIC FACILITIES ELEMENT IMPLEMENTATION A financing plan will be prepared which outlines capital and maintenance costs associated with development and constructing new facilities. The plan will be developed as part of establishing Development Agreements with each large Specific Plan Area. The total cost projections delineate land costs, design, and construction costs separate from operation and management costs. It is assumed that land for any facility that serves an area- wide purpose will be purchased, but others, including transportation and circulation facilities, will be dedicated, as summarized on Table 3. page 42 TABLE 3 LAND ACQUISITION FOR PUBLIC FACILITIES ( ASSUMED) Infrastructure Category • Easements or Lands to be Dedicated • Lands to be Purchased Water • Pipelines • Well Sites • Storage Tanks Wastewater • Pipelines • Treatment Plant and Disposal Area Drainage • Detention and retention basins serving project • Drainage easements • Detention and retention basins serving area-wide Transportation • Right- of- way for street, interchanges, light- rail • Light Rail Station • SR 65 Bypass R. O. W. Solid Waste • Landfill Public Safety • One acre or less ( substations) • Fire training facility • Public Safety Center Schools • School Sites Libraries • Library Parks • 5 acres/ 1,000 persons • Greater than 5 acres/ 1,000 persons City Administration • City Administration Center This table sets out the assumed method by which land needed for the described public facilities is to be acquired. Any or all of the land which is assumed to be acquired by dedication may have to be purchased, depending on the circumstances of each case. page 43 CONSISTENCY WITH GENERAL PLAN The purpose of the Public Facilities Element is to provide the City of Lincoln with a comprehensive plan identifying the public services and facilities that will be needed to serve future development that could occur under the present General Plan. This involves an assessment of the development potential of all lands currently designated under the General Plan for urban uses. Included within this study is the development potential of lands within the Lincoln City Limits and the identified Sphere of Influence, including all lands designated for urban uses, i. e., residential, commercial, and industrial, through the year 2010 and buildout. It does not include lands with the Sphere of Influence designated as Urban Reserve or Agriculture. The intent of the PFE is to assist and support the implementation of the present General Plan. Therefore, if the plan is successful in its implementation, it will be consistent with the General Plan. The key areas of concern regarding consistency include: Land use; open space, conservation, and recreation; circulation and transit; housing; and public services and facilities. The consistency of the proposed PFE with the Lincoln General Plan will occur on two levels: consistency with the existing land use designation map and consistency with existing policies. The following is a brief discussion of the pertinent land use designation and policy issues. Land Use Designation The Study Area for the PFE includes the following Specific Plan Areas: Lincoln Crossings, 1,070 acres, Eastlake, 379 acres, Three D, 100 acres and Twelve Bridges, 5,706 acres. It also includes other designated urban areas within the City's Sphere of Influence that are not presently proposed for annexation to the City. The development potential summary of new land uses assumed that a buildout identifies a maximum potential of approximately 20,556 new dwelling units on 4,752 acres, 1,908 acres of industrial land and 304 acres of commercial lands, with a resulting population increase of approximately 53,857 people at buildout. The PFE identifies public facilities and services that are projected to be needed by the year 2010, at which time it is estimated that the population of Lincoln could range between 19,000 and 39,000. Lincoln's General Plan makes use of the following land use designations; Urban Reserve, Industrial Reserve, and Agriculture. Under the policies of the General Plan and Public Facilities Element, Agricultural areas are not considered build- able under page 44 the current General Plan. Areas designated as Urban and Industrial Reserve are not contemplated for development under the current General Plan and are intended to provide long- term direction for future land uses. At this point in time, these areas represent only future development. General Plan Policies The following General Plan Policies have been identified as key to the consistency of the PFE with the with the General Plan. Land Use The Land Use Element plays a critical role in the General Plan in terms of establishing land use patterns for development, and setting policy on population densities and intensity of development. The Land Use Element is the basis for determining future population density and intensity and service requirements, including plans for future streets and roads, water and sewer services, schools, and fire and police protection services. It is also the basis for determining policy on the annexation and development phasing. As previously described, the proposed PFE's intent is to plan for public services that will be needed to accommodate urban land use designations. No land use designations will be changed by the PFE. Open Space, Conservation and Recreation The Open Space, Conservation and Recreation Element provides a description of the lands and waterways that are unimproved and are to be devoted to natural uses through the General Plan Land Use Designation, establishes City policy on protection of unimproved lands and natural resources, and establishes City policy on the provision of recreation sites and facilities. The main goal of this element is to designate, protect, and conserve natural resources, open space, and recreation activities to meet citizens needs. The proposed PFE is internally consistent with this goal. Policies on the Public Facilities Element reaffirm policies on the Open Space, Conservation, and Recreation Element, which seek to protect natural resource areas and agricultural lands, manage drainage areas and floodplains, and provide parks and recreational programs. page 45 Circulation and Transit The Circulation and Transit Element provides a description of major streets, roads, highways, transportation services, facilities and transit services, and establishes City policy on maintenance of existing transportation facilities, transportation improvements, and transit services. The main goal of this element is to provide and maintain a safe and efficient system of streets, highways and public transportation to meet community needs and to promote sound land use. The PFE is internally consistent with the goals and policies of this element and reaffirms existing policies that seek to maintain a level of service " C" and support studies for state route improvements. Housing The Housing Element establishes City policy and action to plan for the provision of safe, decent, and affordable housing for all residents, regardless of income or race. It also provides an assessment of current and projected housing needs for all income groups. The PFE is internally consistent with the goals and policies of this element. Community Safety The Community Safety Element provides a description of activities and services which provide protection from natural and manmade hazards. Consideration will be given in this element to various hazards associated with earthquakes, fires, and flooding. The desired result is to reduce the loss of life, injuries, damage to properties, and dislocations resulting from the hazards identified. Redevelopment The Redevelopment Element Describes the redevelopment area, the problems to be solved by redevelopment activities, the strategy to be used, and established City policy to guide redevelopment efforts. Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections.

HOMEFRONT Homefront Series, Book 1 A breathtaking new series from USA Today Bestselling author Jessica Scott that New York Times bestselling author JoAnn Ross calls “beautifully written and touchingly authentic.” worrying about Gale. OTHER BOOKS IN THE HOMEFRONT SERIES EXCERPT Prologue Tal Afar Late 2006 Shit days were nothing new. In fact, Sergeant First Class Gale Sorren was on a thirty-six day streak, and there was no sign that they were coming to an end any time soon. But he had to keep going. No matter how much he might want to take a knee. The funeral detail was somber and professional, the flight line dead silent now that the aircraft had killed its engines. His throat closed off. His eyes burned. He held his salute as the caskets moved slowly past, one after another in slow procession. His arm trembled from holding it for what felt like a lifetime, but there was no way in hell he was going to drop it. Three of his boys were heading home tonight. There was no sadness. No raging grief. Only a sober, silent tribute to the fallen. The rage would come later. Much later. For now, there was too much work to be done. He dropped his salute and listened to his boys remember their brothers. Recounting their heroism. Their bravery. Gale said nothing. There were no words that could get past the block in his throat. So he let his men remember their friends while he stood watch. He stood there, long after the rest of the battalion had left the airfield. The Air Force security guard came and went and came again. The kid finally gave up trying to get him to move hours later. It was probably for the best. A stone skittered across the blazing asphalt. He watched it tumble to the edge of the tarmac and land in a pothole. He glanced over at the source of the stone’s movement. Tellhouse, one of his fellow platoon sergeants, walked up. Tellhouse was a sergeant first class like Gale. Promotable, too, which meant they were both going to be looking for other jobs soon. Gale didn’t really want to leave his boys mid deployment because he got promoted out of his position. Gale liked Tellhouse for the most part. Except for his temper. They needed to work on that. After all, there couldn’t be two of them enrolled in anger management training. Sarn’t Major would crush the both of them. The problem was they both tended to get pissed off about the same things at the same time. Tellhouse pushed his eye-protection up higher on the bridge of his nose. “First Sarn’t needs you at the company.” Gale made a noise and tried to summon an ounce of give-a-shit over what the First Sergeant wanted. Maybe if the fucker left the office once in a while, Gale wouldn’t be strung out trying to take care of three platoons instead of just his own. Thank God Tellhouse was competent or Gale might have lost his shit a long time ago. Finally, he shifted his weight and moved. Maybe someday he’d find the grief for his soldiers. But that day was not today. Not when they had a mission gearing up in about six hours. He breathed out deeply and fell into step with his fellow NCO. The walk was solemn and silent and filled with things neither of them could say. The war was nothing new. Both of them had spent more than their fair share of time in Hell. But sometimes, days like this just got the best of you. He stepped into the dark interior of the company ops. Funny how a few pieces of plywood and a couple of extension cords suddenly made an office. He stopped short, though, when he saw the battalion command sergeant major standing with the first sergeant. Not extremely out of the ordinary, except that Gale had the distinct impression Sarn’t Major was waiting for him. Gale swallowed the tight knot in his throat that wouldn’t seem to budge. “What’s the occasion?” he asked, looking between the two senior NCOs. First Sarn’t handed him a sheet of paper. “You got a Red Cross message.” The knot in his throat swelled, blocking his airway as he looked down at the handwritten note. The room spun out at the edges when he saw Jamie’s name. The words blurred together. Hospitalized. Stitches. Psychiatric ward. He breathed deeply and looked at his NCO leadership. “When can I leave?” It was the sergeant major who spoke. “I can’t let you go. Your daughter’s life isn’t in immediate danger. She’s safe. Your ex-wife didn’t request your presence.” A loud buzzing filled Gale’s head, blocking out the sound of the sergeant major’s words. “My daughter’s in the hospital,” he finally managed. “I need to be there.” Sarn’t Major shook his head, his expression flat and emotionless. “That’s not going to happen, Sarn’t.” Gale couldn’t say what happened next. An urge to do violence slammed through him. He imagined driving his fist into the sarn’t major’s face and beating the lines off that sun-worn leather skin. All the rage, all the fury, boiled up in a single violent flash. The next thing he knew, he was back outside. Tellhouse’s hands were driving into his chest, holding him against the wall. “Stop. Sorren, fucking stop.” Tellhouse’s words finally penetrated the fog. Gale blinked rapidly and looked at the other platoon sergeant. He stopped struggling to get free. Tellhouse took a step back but still kept his body between Gale and the door. Gale stood there for a moment, reality crashing through the haze of violence, grief, and rage. Helpless, potent rage. “I need a few minutes,” was all he could manage before he executed an about face and walked away. Then there was no rage. No more red-tainted visions of violence. This was something more. Something he couldn’t name and couldn’t process. Jamie was in the hospital. His daughter was in the fucking hospital and Melanie hadn’t requested his presence. He barely felt the gravel beneath his boots as he walked back to his CHU. He was stuck half a world away in a fucking war that he no longer even hated, and there was nothing he could do. He closed the door to his CHU. Locked it behind him with a solitary, metallic click. He stood for a moment in the Spartan emptiness. There was a light coat of dust on the old leather chair he’d gotten from a major on his way out of country. A box of unopened Pop Tarts had fallen over. All around him was dust and dirt. There was an explosion somewhere in the distance. A pop of gunfire at the test fire pit. The war was fucking everywhere. He stood there in the center of his CHU. There was something broken inside him when he couldn’t even cry over his fallen soldiers anymore. Something broken that he was unable to name, that he couldn’t be there when his little girl needed him. The air conditioner in his CHU kicked on. His cheeks were suddenly cool. He lifted one hand at the unexpected sensation. His fingertip came away wet. He unclenched his other hand. The Red Cross message was still there, crumpled at his fingertips. The Red Cross message that told him his daughter was in the hospital. The wetness on his cheeks grew colder, spread down his neck as the words on the paper blurred. He dropped to his knees, doubled over as the violent, unrestrained grief ripped him apart. CHAPTER ONE Fort Hood, Texas 2009 It was fucking hot and it wasn’t even summertime yet. He’d thought he knew hot. Hell, he’d spent enough time at Fort Benning and in Iraq to be intimately familiar with just how hot the planet could get. But somehow, Fort Hood took hot to a whole new level. It was a dry heat, his last sarn’t major had said when he’d given Gale the news that he was getting his assignment wish and being sent to Hood. It was just past the ass crack of dawn and the sun slowly slipping over the horizon, and it was already a hundred degrees. And it wasn’t even summer yet. Next to him, his commander, Captain Ben Teague, was busy being a smart ass. It was his totem animal, or so he said. “I wonder if the sarn’t major would let us run in just our PT belts.” Gale shot him his best are you high expression. Teague grinned and raised his hands. Teague was Gale’s commander and technically that made him Gale’s boss but the commander/first sergeant relationship was… How had Sarn’t Major Cox put it once when Gale had threatened to kill one of his platoon leaders for getting drunk with the soldiers back at Benning? It was an arranged marriage. A unique description, Gale supposed. “I’m thinking that might get us both fired,” Gale said mildly. “Really?” “No, not really. It’ll get the sarn’t major’s boot surgically implanted in my ass.” Gale stopped a soldier and told him to tighten his PT belt around his waist. The new Corps sergeant major had a thing about uniform violations and a loose PT belt was a cardinal sin these days. “Besides, it could be worse.” “How?” “We could be patrolling Sadr City in this weather in full kit.” “You know—” Teague snapped his fingers— “that is an excellent point.” He shoved his hands in his pockets as they walked toward the PT formation area. “I really wish we didn’t have mandatory fun today.” They were both in ACUs. Gale resented the hell out of any morning that didn’t start off with PT, but he damn sure resented it when he was forced to skip PT to go to breakfast. What kind of animals started their days with food? Give him coffee and a good six-mile run any day of the week. “Don’t get me started.” “At least there’ll be coffee.” Teague frowned and glanced at him. “There will be coffee at this kind of thing, right?” “Do I look like I have the slightest idea what we’re doing today?” Gale needed to be spending time with his formation, not doing whatever the hell they were going to do this morning. He was still getting to know his troops and their issues—and there were a lot of them. Issues, that is. “It’s not like I spend my free time checking the battalion’s social roster.” “Hell, I don’t know what you do on the weekends other than bailing kids out of jail.” Teague glanced over at him and Gale braced for more sarcasm. “Do you even have free time—oh hey.” Instantly his commander’s expression softened. Gale followed his line of vision to see Teague’s other half, Major Olivia Hale, talking to the battalion commander. “I know what you do with yours,” Gale mumbled and tried not to be jealous of the new and shiny love between his commander and the battalion’s lawyer. Major Hale nodded at Teague in acknowledgment and turned back to her conversation with the battalion commander. It was the subtlety of her gesture that convinced Gale that she and Teague had a good chance at making things work. They were a good fit. She kept Teague honest in more ways than one, and they were both very good at keeping things professional at work. It was a nice change from all the drama Gale dealt with on a daily basis. Angry spouses, cheating soldiers, and everything in between. Life in the Army sometimes felt more like a reality TV show than a professional organization. He peeled away from his commander and headed to the front of the formation where his platoon sergeants were talking with each other. Sergeant First Class Iaconelli was the headquarters platoon sergeant, and while Gale had his misgivings about a recovering alcoholic on the team, Iaconelli had proven to be a rock since he’d come to work for him. “Are we set for the range tomorrow?” Gale asked Iaconelli. Iaconelli nodded. “Roger, Top. Final checks today before lunchtime.” “Make sure we pull some camo out for shade.” When one of the other platoon sergeants started to protest, Gale talked over him. “We don’t need to practice being hardcore in the heat. We need to be able to shoot, and we can’t do that if soldiers are dropping from dehydration.” Iaconelli nodded. “Got it, Top.” Gale jerked his chin, and Iaconelli stepped away from the formation. “You talked to Foster today?” Foster was on convalescent leave for surgery to repair a torn meniscus. He was also struggling with an addiction to methamphetamines. “Roger. He called in like he’s supposed to.” “How is he doing?” If Gale had serious misgivings about Iaconelli, he had even more about keeping Foster in the ranks, but these men meant a lot to Teague. He was keeping a very close eye on both situations, however. If the time came that he needed to recommend the commander take action, Gale would do what needed to be done. “He sounded steady. I’m going to swing by and check on him after PT.” “Good. If you get even a hint that something is wrong, I want every pain pill counted.” “Roger, Top.” There was resentment in Iaconelli’s answer, too obvious for Gale to ignore. “Something you want to say?” Iaconelli looked out over the formation, grinding his teeth until the muscle in his jaw looked about to snap. “It’s hard enough staying sober without everyone looking at you like you’re using all the time.” Gale studied the other man silently. “Are we still talking about Foster?” Iaconelli didn’t look away. “It doesn’t matter. But maybe give him the benefit of the doubt?” Gale folded his arms over his chest. He wasn’t looking for a fight with one of his platoon sergeants. If Iaconelli needed to get this off his chest, then so be it. Finally, when Iaconelli let the silence stand, Gale spoke. “The fact that he’s still in the Army and recovering from surgery while he’s trying to get clean is benefit of the doubt.” “You don’t know him,” Iaconelli said. “And you do. And that closeness blinds you to the reality that he’s got a long hard slog ahead of him to stay sober.” No point in pulling his punches, regardless of whether they were talking about Iaconelli’s personal issues or Foster’s. “Oh I’m very much aware of the road he’s on.” After another moment, Iaconelli turned and stalked back to the formation. Whatever was eating at him wasn’t going to come out today. But soon. The situation needed watching. Closely. Gale let the other man go. He didn’t need to get into a dick-measuring contest with his platoon sergeant. Foster wasn’t one of Gale’s boys. He was just another soldier, another face in the crowd. If he soldiered, Gale would let him continue to soldier. If not, he was going home. Gale had a war to train his men for and he needed every single body able and fit to fight. Another soldier who was distracting from the mission of prepping to head back to Iraq wasn’t going to garner much sympathy from Gale. The cannon sounded, and Gale called the formation to attention and present arms as reveille trumpeted over the installation. They saluted the flag, and there was a moment of somber pride as the colors were hoisted up at the division headquarters. When it finished, Gale turned the troops over to Iaconelli, who took charge of the formation for PT. Teague fell into step with him as they headed toward the parking lot. “So. You call your ex yet?” Gale sighed but said nothing. He never should have told Teague that Melanie lived in Harker Heights and that he was still summoning the courage to call her. “I’ll take that as a no?” Several weeks had gone by since Gale had reported to Hood. He’d told himself that he needed to get situated first. That there would be time. But he was lying to himself. Because the truth of the matter was he was afraid. Afraid of seeing the daughter who’d nearly died almost two years ago. Afraid to look at her and see the hate and the blame and the guilt looking back at him. Oh, he knew he wasn’t going to win any parenting awards for stalling. He should have been on the first plane smoking and to hell with what the sarn’t major had said. But he hadn’t been. He’d damn near been court-martialed back in Iraq and it had taken Sarn’t Major Cox almost eighteen months to save his ass. The fact that Gale was on his second tour as a first sergeant despite the assault said a lot about how well connected Cox was. Only Cox and Tellhouse knew his history from downrange in this unit and Gale intended to keep it that way if he could. But even the charges and the job didn’t excuse Gale’s action or lack thereof. He told himself that Skype calls and text messages were enough, that she was okay. That Mel had a handle on things. But even those were convenient lies. Fear was a powerful thing and yeah, he was afraid. He’d finally gotten his wish of being stationed near his ex-wife and their daughter and he was paralyzed by fear. Fear of what it meant to live in the same town as Mel and Jamie. Fear that if he tried to be a dad after all these years that he would fail miserably. Or worse, that Jamie no longer needed him because he’d been gone too long. He was afraid to face the bitter truth: that Melanie didn’t need him after all these years. Maybe she never had. *** Melanie was reasonably certain that the fire had not been an accident, but she wasn’t in a position to comment. She was a liaison between the business owners and the real estate council and random speculation like that could cause problems for her office. She fought the urge to check her cell phone for the tenth time that morning. She told herself that Jamie was fine. She’d dropped her off at school that morning after the requisite fighting about whether or not the sky was blue or if the sun was actually going to come up tomorrow. Because all they did was fight. The fights were exhausting, but it was the fear that kept Mel up at night. Fear that Jamie was slipping away again and Mel wouldn’t be there to save her next time. The captain moved away, leaving Mel alone. She stole a quick glance at her phone. No text but no missed calls from the school either. Relief crawled over Mel’s skin. Jamie was still in school then. She tucked her phone back into her purse as she spotted a friendly face—someone she wouldn’t mind actually talking with—and made a straight line for Major Olivia Hale. “I didn’t know you’d be here.” “Mandatory fun and all that,” Olivia said with a smile. Melanie envied the woman—even in ACUs, which were not exactly made for women’s bodies, Olivia looked stylish and effortlessly well put together. Melanie smiled back. “Life isn’t the same without you on the Council harassing the slum lords trying to screw over soldiers.” “It was one of life’s true pleasures,” Olivia said dryly. “There is no one to play the Faux Outrage Drinking Game with me anymore. The monthly meetings are epically more boring.” She sipped her tea, watching the room. “How’s life down in the new unit?” “It’s good. I have a sense of purpose again.” Olivia smiled warmly. Melanie set her tea on a nearby table. “So what are we doing here? And I’m not interested in the official bullshit line, either, so don’t waste your breath.”:...

Although, like Yugoslavia, the Greek resistance successfully challenged German occupation, the result could hardly have been more different. While the Allies were celebrating Tito’s triumph, they were bombing Athens to destroy the main resistance movement – EAM (the National Liberation Front) and its military arm ELAS (the National Popular Liberation Army). This stark contrast originated in the different ways imperialism interacted with people’s war. Today oil makes the Middle East the world’s chief battleground. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries it was the Balkans which saw the fiercest conflicts. Here the tectonic plates of the Russian, British, Austro-German and Turkish empires overlapped. Greece held a unique place within this unstable zone. In 1821, inspired by liberal revolutions in America and France, it won a fragile independence from Turkey. However, to withstand the pressure of its Russian-influenced Slavic neighbours, it always depended on a close alliance with Britain. Support was willingly provided because Greece was a key transit point on the route to India, and so London defended the puppet monarchy in Athens even if this included suppressing its own people. [1] In 1936 the Greek King appointed a fascist dictator, General Metaxas, to forestall a general strike. He, like rulers before him, proceeded to detain some 50,000 Communist Party (KKE) sympathisers. [2] The autobiography of one Central Committee member for the inter-war period records 15 separate arrests, often accompanied by long jail sentences, beatings and torture. [3] Metaxas consciously emulated the Third Reich with his promotion of the ‘Third Hellenic Civilisation’, and maintained that ‘if Hitler and Mussolini were really fighting for the ideology they preach, they should be supporting Greece with all their forces’. [4] Woodhouse, an articulate liaison officer sent into wartime Greece to promote British interests, considered Metaxas had ‘benevolent’ and ‘high-minded motives for undertaking supreme power’. The dictator died in 1941, much to Woodhouse’s consternation: ‘his five years were [ 38 ] [ Greece 39 ] not enough’. [5] Woodhouse must have been relieved when the King declared that ‘all fields of activity, political and military … shall continue in the same spirit as before’. [6] The British supported dictatorship because, as another liaison officer explained in 1944, Greeks ‘are a fundamentally hopeless and useless people with no future or prospect of settling down to any form of sensible life within any measurable time … [They] are not capable of being saved from themselves nor for themselves worth it. This is also the unanimous opinion of all British liaison officers who have been long in the country.’ [7] Despite its fascist government Greece entered the Second World War on the Allied side because Italy invaded what it thought was a target for easy conquest. Here was further evidence that, despite the rhetoric, rulers did not consider the Second World War to be a war between fascists and anti-fascists. Britain’s General Wilson was aware of the irony. It ‘was really a paradox in that in our struggle against totalitarianism we should be supporting one Fascist government against another’. [8] However, in the first major setback any fascist army had experienced Mussolini’s forces were repulsed. To prevent further humiliation Hitler stepped in, [9] whereupon the Greek monarchy fled to Cairo under British protection. The Nazi occupation of Greece produced suffering comparable to Russia, Poland and Yugoslavia. It cost the lives of 8 per cent of the population (550,000 people), and 34 per cent of national wealth. 402,000 houses and 1,770 villages were destroyed, leaving 1.2 million homeless. Furthermore, 56 per cent of roads, 65 per cent of private cars, 60 per cent of trucks and 80 per cent of buses were put out of action. [10] One particularly harrowing episode was the famine of 1941/42 that claimed some 250,000 victims and struck Athens particularly hard. [11] An EAM spokesperson, Dimitros Glinos described how many ‘have been turned into skeletons … Suddenly they have all aged and black worry and mortal agony is etched in their eyes. The gap between their income and the most necessary expenditure has become fearful. [An] entire wage is not enough to buy food… .’ [12] The Greek ruling class was divided in its response to foreign occupation. There were open collaborationists like the quisling Prime Ministers Tsolakoglou and Rallis. More cautious members of the ruling class acted to ‘re-insure themselves by discreetly financing every possible winner’. [13] The King and his ministers turned to attentism. Glinos, wrote that: [ 40 A People’s History of the Second World War ] the kindest interpretation that could be placed on the stand of these leaders is passive fatalism and biding one’s time. ‘Let us wait for others to liberate us …’ [For] above all they fear the people itself. They fear its awakening, they fear its active participation, they fear perhaps, as the people takes its liberties in its hands, that they will no longer be the leaders of its future political life. For they are used up to now to ruling from above… . [14] Unlike their leaders, the ordinary people of Greece could not enjoy the luxury of passive contemplation, and resistance movements emerged. The largest was EAM/ELAS. It found even less sympathy from the British than had Tito, who was eventually allowed to establish an independent republic, despite being less compliant than EAM/ELAS. This discrepancy is at first sight perplexing. Tito, an acknowledged CP leader, never accepted British orders. ELAS’s leadership, on the other hand, comprised three people of whom only one (the EAM representative) was closely tied to the KKE. [15] The others were Stephanos Sarafis, (initially) a non-communist army officer, and Aris Velouchiotis, a kapetan. The kapetans were a group of ‘bold, charismatic and fiercely independent [chieftains who] had appreciated the possibilities of armed resistance earlier than anyone else’. [16] Aris was nominally communist but spent the war in revolt against its orders, being described by the KKE General Secretary as ‘an adventurist and suspect person [who is] helping the forces of reaction ... ’. [17] Furthermore, unlike Yugoslavia’s partisans, ELAS, signed an agreement putting itself ‘under the orders of the Greek Government [and] the Supreme Allied Commander’. [18] Britain accused ELAS of brutality, as exemplified by Aris, who has been described as a ‘sadistically violent man’ [19] who executed people for stealing chickens, [20] cattle-thieving, [21] seduction and rape. [22] In mitigation, however, one British liaison officer recognised that Aris’s tactics instilled martial discipline and were ‘his effective way of putting life into the growing movement of resistance against the enemy’. [23] People’s war inevitably had its share of excesses and cruelty, though these paled against the inhumanity of the imperialists at Auschwitz or Hiroshima. Woodhouse voiced another objection to ELAS. He stated the chief aim of ELAS was to destroy rival resistance movements in a bid to monopolise post-war power. Stalinist methods were indeed ingrained and ELAS did compel smaller resistance groups like EKKA (National and Social Liberation) to merge with it or disband. [24] Yet this criticism should not be taken too far. In relation to its [ Greece 41 ] largest rival, EDES, ELAS proposed unity by offering its leader the post of joint commander-in-chief. [25] He refused. Ignoring this fact, Woodhouse concluded that for ELAS ‘fighting the Germans was a secondary, though not a negligible, consideration …’. [26] The truth was rather different. British antagonism to ELAS did not arise because it was ineffective against the Germans, but because ELAS was part of a much bigger enterprise. It was just the military wing of EAM, a broad-based political movement established in October 1941. This took resistance right into the heart of society. Glinos reported its ‘fight is daily and embraces all levels of existence. It takes place in the people’s market, in the soup kitchen, in the factory, on the roads and in the fields, in every kind of work.’ [27] By the end of the war EAM claimed up to two million members, [28] and the support of about 70 per cent of the seven million population. [29] As we have seen, opponents accused EAM/ELAS of being no more than a KKE front. Though less directly tied to communism than the Yugoslav partisans, EAM/ELAS was certainly associated with the KKE. That Party began the war with just 5,000 members, but possessing a national organisation, knowledge of operating illegally, and above all a belief in mass struggle, the Party’s membership rose to 350,000 by 1945. [30] However, to suggest the KKE simply manipulated the population for its own ends was unfair. Comprising just a fraction of EAM’s total membership [31] the Party could only lead it if the masses freely accepted the Party’s policies. Furthermore, EAM included several other parties, such as the Union of Popular Democracy and Greek Socialist Party. Though the KKE was the largest component at EAM’s foundation in September 1941, by 1944 the Agrarian Party had overtaken it. [32] Finally, the EAM was, as one writer puts it, an umbrella organisation for a vast network of other bodies ‘in each village, town, and orchard, it seemed’. [33] Collectively this made up a resistance state which operated right under the noses of the Nazis. One entity was the Workers’ National Liberation Front (EEAM). Woodhouse, by no means a sympathiser, writes that ‘wherever there was a working population, EEAM inspired it against the occupying authorities’. [34] The most dramatic example of this came when Germany attempted to conscript labour for the Reich. Eudes’s account captures the spirit of the moment: ‘The Athenian sea was flowing into the centre of the city from all directions … 200,000 men, a quarter of the population of Athens, marching empty-handed through a hail of bullets … The Athenians charged, insane but irresistible, transported towards their [ 42 A People’s History of the Second World War ] objective with a battle-crazy momentum that could not be touched by mere blood, by a scattering of deaths … .’ [35] As a result of the demonstration Greece became the place where Nazi conscription of slave labour suffered its most comprehensive defeat. [36] EAM took up other issues of immediate concern that connected with resistance to occupation. According to an eyewitness: ‘The first goal EAM had set was to fight for life – against hunger … The first song that was heard was “For life and freedom, bread for our people”.’ [37] Another feature which might, by comparison, seem a surprising distraction in the middle of a world conflagration, was the transformation of gender relations. Before the Second World War women were regarded as virtual slaves. [38] Their lives were strictly regulated (with honour killings not unknown), and in the countryside three quarters were illiterate. [39] One participant, commenting in the 1990s, recalled that thanks to the resistance: ‘we women were, socially, in a better position, at a higher level than now … Our organization and our own government … gave so many rights to women that only much later, decades later we were given.’ [40] For the first time, women voted and shared in the clandestine election of a provisional government for Free Greece. [41] This body announced that: ‘All Greeks, men and women, have equal political and civil rights.’ [42] Women deputies and judges were elected, and equal pay decreed. [43] This was practical politics. EAM/ELAS could not afford to overlook the contribution of half the population and once involved, women changed themselves: I couldn’t go anywhere without my parents knowing where I was going, whom I was going with, when I would be back. I never went anywhere alone. That is, until the occupation came and I joined the resistance. In the meantime, because we were right in the midst of the enemy, we had an underground press, there at the house … It was very dangerous [but my parents] had to support us. [44] Equality was not a paternalistic gift: The minute you confront the same danger as a boy, the minute you also wrote slogans on the walls, the moment you also distributed leaflets, the moment you also attended protest demonstrations along with the boys and some of you were also killed by the tanks, [ Greece 43 ] they could no longer say to you, ‘You, you’re a woman, so sit inside while I go to the cinema.’ You gained your equality when you showed what you could endure in terms of the difficulties, the dangers, the sacrifices, and all as bravely and with the same degree of cunning as a man. Those old ideas fell aside. That is, the resistance always tried to put the woman next to the man, instead of behind him. She fought a double liberation struggle … . [45] Thus the partisans (known in Greece as andartes) included a women’s regiment. [46] This perturbed Woodhouse who complained to London that ‘many weapons are wasted in the hands of women … .’ [47] But the new role of Greek women reflected a recurrent aspect of people’s war. It was also seen in Yugoslavia, as elsewhere, because the fight was not only against Nazism but also for a different world. The Greek resistance generated mass activism in other arenas too. Areas under EAM control organised self-government on a grand scale. Villagers elected municipal councillors and judges in mass assemblies. A very popular move was to have courts dispense with expensive lawyers: both sides presented their own case, and natural justice prevailed. [48] In the public administration of Free Greece demotic, literally the language used by ordinary people, replaced the formal Greek of the educated elite – katharevousa. One of the most spectacular achievements was a general election involving one million voters [49] conducted under the noses of the Nazi occupiers. Mazower warns against ‘idealising’ this event since ‘voting procedures bore little relation to peacetime practice’. [50] Polling stations and ballot boxes were impossible so votes were collected door to door. But the ballot was remarkable nonetheless. It created the Political Committee of National Liberation (PEEA) which, unlike pre-war official parliaments, was a representative cross-section of society. Its 250 delegates included two bishops and two priests, 22 labourers, 23 farmers, 10 journalists, 10 scientists, 9 school teachers, and so on. [51] The resistance struggle was costly in terms of food and taxes. So there is no reason to doubt one writer’s claim that, ‘Under the thumb of andartes it must have seemed to many that one form of state had replaced another in the struggle for control of food supply’; and ‘you do not argue when you are faced with men with guns’. [52] Yet even Woodhouse admitted: ‘The success of the rebel movement is bound up with the support of the villages: if the villages were disloyal to the movement it could not have made a successful start …’. [53] The benefits were reciprocal. EAM reforms encouraged [ 44 A People’s History of the Second World War ] villagers to furnish ELAS, the military wing, with the wherewithal to exist, and this sustained the defensive shield that enabled EAM reforms to be implemented. In a much-quoted passage, Woodhouse later wrote in grudging admiration that: The initiative of EAM/ELAS justified their predominance, though not their tyranny. Having acquired control of almost the whole country, except the principal communications used by the Germans, they had given it things that it had never known before. Communications in the mountains, by wireless, courier, and telephone, have never been so good before or since … The benefits of civilisation and culture trickled into the mountains for the first time. Schools, local government, law-courts and public utilities, which the war had ended worked again … All the virtues and vices of such an experiment could be seen; for when the people whom no one has ever helped started helping themselves, their methods are vigorous and not always nice. The words ‘liberation’ and ‘popular democracy’ filled the air with their peculiar connotations. [54] If EAM represented political struggle, the work of ELAS embodied the military side of people’s war. A German report on ‘The Political Situation in Greece’ in July 1943 described ELAS as ‘the main bearer of the entire resistance movement against the Axis powers [and] represents the greatest danger to the occupying forces’. [55] Woodhouse agreed: [B]etween October 1943 and August 1944, apart from purely punitive reprisals, nine operations serious enough to warrant codenames were launched [by Germany], all in northern Greece. Except for the last case (in August 1944), all these operations … [were] mainly directed against ELAS, because the Communists ignored the instruction of [Britain’s] General Headquarters Middle East to refrain from offensive operations. [56] ELAS suffered four-fifths of all the casualties inflicted by the Axis. [57] The Nazis themselves counted 19,000 dead and had to commit about 10 per cent of all their anti-resistance forces to ELAS alone. [58] This was all the more impressive in that ELAS received little aid. Its commander affirmed that he could have doubled the 50,000 andartes deployed if properly equipped, [59] and Woodhouse’s [ Greece 45 ] predecessor as chief British liaison officer, Myers, calculated that London provided less than one-sixth of ELAS’s arms. [60] He wrote that despite ‘getting virtually no war supplies’, ELAS liberated four-fifths of the Greek mainland. [61] London hoped that in EDES (the Greek National Republican League) they could find an alternative resistance movement to help with its war. Unlike ELAS, EDES eschewed social radicalism and mass mobilisation and claimed to focus exclusively on the military struggle. Thus it evaded the key question of the monarchy and its fascist past. According to EDES’s political adviser, attempts to formulate a programme were always met ‘with stubborn opposition … Nothing was heard but the slogan “Faith in the leader. All for the leader. All from the leader”.’ [62] That leader was Napoleon Zervas who, according to Britain’s Military Mission, needed ‘persuasion’ to take to the field. After 24,000 gold sovereigns proved insufficient [63] tactics ‘little short of blackmail’ had to be employed to make him fight. [64] EDES’s 12,000 guerrillas were totally dependent on Britain’s generous assistance. [65] When ELAS complained about inequality of treatment, one British officer replied: ‘It’s only natural that we should reinforce Zervas as he is our servant.’ [66] Although EDES did mount some serious anti-German operations, [67] like the chetniks of Yugoslavia it was willing to collaborate with the occupier. One letter to the Wehrmacht read: ‘We are not fighting you Germans, we are fighting the Communists. We are ourselves true Fascists’, [68] and Woodhouse found EDES harboured ‘downright collaborators’ in Athens. [69] So unsurprisingly EDES made little headway against the Germans. By the time ELAS drove them from Greece EDES held only ‘a tiny strip thirty-five miles long and twenty-five miles wide … a Greek San Marino’. [70] Despite EDES’s Allied backers, it took just a fortnight for ELAS to rout Zervas’s force in a short civil war. His troops finally retreated to Corfu on board British ships. [71] The difference in the treatment meted out by London to Tito’s partisans and ELAS arose from the calculations that produced the ‘percentages agreement’ [72] between Stalin and Churchill. This assigned respective British/Russian influence as 50/50 in Yugoslavia, but 90/10 in Greece. So its very strength as a resistance movement made London determined to crush ELAS. It was too effective! The strategy unfolded in two phases. At first ELAS and EDES were treated on a relatively equal footing. A spectacular operation to blow up the Gorgopotamos rail viaduct in November 1942 was carried out by four British agents, 45 EDES and 115 ELAS andartes. [ 46 A People’s History of the Second World War ] They cut the supply line to Rommel for six weeks, depriving him of crucial deliveries during the battle of El Alamein. [73] The greatest level of co-operation came in the summer of 1943 during ‘Operation Animals’, a resistance offensive which fooled the Nazis into expecting Allied landings in Greece rather than Sicily. However, the British attitude was governed by a cynical calculation, so well described by Brigadier Barker-Benfield that it is worth quoting at length: Our long-term policy towards Greece is to retain her as a British sphere of influence and that a Russian dominated Greece would not be in accordance with British strategy in the Eastern Mediterranean … Our present Political and Military policies are at first sight contradictory. The former, by propaganda and public speeches is designed to indicate our disapproval of EAM. Therefore, should EAM reach power we can expect them to be anti-British. Military considerations, however, demand that we should give maximum support to ELAS, who are the only resistance organisation in a position seriously to support our attempts to harass the enemy. Thus our military policy is bolstering up EAM. Although these two policies appear to be diametrically opposed, this is not the case, as it is solely a question of timing. Our immediate policy should be the purely military one of giving support to the guerrilla organisations to enable them to assist in liberating their country and ensuring that Greece continues as a British sphere of influence. This should give way to the political policy of no support to EAM as soon as liberation is achieved. The changeover from one to the other is certain to cause opposition from ELAS and can only be carried out successfully if British troops are sent to Greece at the appropriate time. These troops would have two roles, firstly that of hitting the Germans where they are weakest, and secondly, that of ensuring a British military control of the whole country. [74] The ‘change-over’ from ‘military policy’ to ‘political policy’ can be dated to mid-1943. Before that time General Wilson welcomed ELAS help, saying ‘Bravo to the guerrillas!’ Afterwards he ordered that: ‘all operations cease immediately [and] all guerrillas remain quiet …’. [75] Churchill’s shift in attitude was equally marked. Once he described ELAS as ‘gallant guerrillas containing thirty [ Greece 47 ] enemy divisions.’ Now they were ‘in many cases indistinguishable from banditti…’ [76] In April 1944 the exiled Greek army in Egypt were subjected to the new policy. Britain and the US insisted the King would be re-established, although they knew full well that apart from republicans there were ‘no other organisations in Greece visible without a microscope’. [77] When the Second Brigade protested [78] Churchill accused them of an ‘undignified, even squalid, exhibition of indiscipline, which many will attribute to an unworthy fear of being sent to the front.’ [79] The reverse was true. They had long been asking to be sent into action and instead were now threatened with being disarmed. They replied: ‘We hold our weapons to liberate our country. We do not wish to surrender these arms which we glorified with our blood in Albania, in Macedonia, in Crete, and at Alamein. We request that the order for our disarming be rescinded and that we be sent immediately to the front to fight.’ [80] However, imperialist politics outweighed defeating fascism. Churchill ordered that the Brigade be ‘rounded up by artillery and superior force and let hunger play its part’. [81] Starved into submission, up to 20,000 men were sent to North African concentration camps. [82] The rest of the Greek army was then purged of all dissidents. [83] The lengths to which Britain would go to secure the defeat of ELAS were revealed when the Wehrmacht began to withdraw in late 1944. Neubacher, the chief German official in Greece, was perplexed by the strategy the Allies adopted: [T]hey have hitherto allowed our forces to be moved from the islands to the mainland with almost no opposition by sea or in the air, but they mobilise the red bands against our escape routes on the mainland. By this they apparently intend to keep German forces on the Greek mainland until the moment when their own operation is possible, and in this way they hope to prevent a general revolution. [84] The commander of Germany’s Army Group F reported ‘repeated offers of negotiations concerning the evacuation of Greece’. [85] In what Mazower calls ‘one of the most extraordinary and potentially explosive episodes of the whole war’ [86] an Allied officer, with the full knowledge of SOE Cairo, met the head of the German Secret Field Police to canvas possible joint action (though nothing came of this). German reports were confirmed by statements from British officials: ‘it would be very awkward if the Germans in Greece were [ 48 A People’s History of the Second World War ] anxious to surrender immediately, since we do not want them to collapse until we ourselves are ready to send in British troops to Greece. Otherwise, there will be a hiatus of which EAM will take full advantage.’ [87] Ultimately, this delicate plan almost broke down because the Germans beat an ignominious retreat. ELAS controlled large areas by September 1944 while the British reached Athens only on 14 October. That the British nevertheless attained their goal is very revealing of the politics of EAM/ELAS and the KKE. Like many wartime movements they had mobilised vast numbers to fight, not only against occupation, but for a different post-war world. Why, having succeeded with the former, did the leadership fail to implement the latter? The answer lay in Moscow where foreign policy was shaped by its Anglo-American alliance, and local communist parties knew it. The KKE’s leader, Zachariadis, saw Greece as between ‘two poles: the European Balkans with the Soviet Union at its centre, and the Middle East with its centre in Britain. A correct policy would be to tie together these two poles.’ [88] After Zachariadis was shipped off to Dachau concentration camp, it fell to Siantos to implement the updated line of 90/10 shares: ‘Greece belongs to a region of Europe where the British assume all responsibilities … .’ [89] On his release in 1945, Zachariadis took charge once more and was proud to declare: ‘From the very first day, the people’s liberation movement invested sincere efforts, trying to achieve understanding and co-operation with Great Britain … to help that country master its great difficulties, the crisis through which it was going in the Mediterranean.’ [90] So leaders of the Greek people’s war were mentally disarmed before British imperialism. This was exemplified by the PEEA, the body created by the clandestine general election. It spoke in conciliatory terms, declaring support for the Atlantic Charter and the Allies’ Teheran Conference, and asked only that it be included in a future Greek coalition government. [91] At this point face-to-face encounters between the royal government-in-exile and the guerrillas became possible when a mountain airstrip permitted resistance representatives to travel abroad. When they met the government-in-exile, the Greek resistance (including both EAM/ELAS and EDES) discovered each inhabited different worlds. [92] The Greek PM ‘was very uncertain about the continuance of the resistance movement at all … It might be better [ Greece 49 ] to urge the guerrillas to return to their village [and] cultivate the land.’ [93] British officials on hand agreed: ‘There has never been any doubt that our long-term political interests would be better served by an inactive sabotage policy.’ [94] After hearing this the resistance delegation was abruptly dismissed. Even the EDES delegate was outraged: ‘We were transported like prisoners to the airport… Because we disturbed British policy and the plans of the King, we were “undesirables”.’ [95] EAM/ELAS now had to choose between continuing its Free Greece government, based on the aspirations of the people’s war, or co-operation with Britain. It chose the latter. [96] The way was smoothed by a marginal shift from the monarchy. To regain any support at home it would have to temporarily work with the guerrillas. The result was the Caserta agreement, whereby PEEA members joined the government-in-exile (now renamed ‘Government of National Unity’). In return the resistance had to agree that: ‘All guerrilla forces operating in Greece place themselves under the orders of the Greek Government of National Unity, [which in turn] places these forces under the orders of [Britain’s] General Scobie who has been nominated by the Supreme Allied Commander as General Officer Commanding Forces in Greece.’ [97] To prove its sincerity EAM/ELAS forbade ‘any attempt by any units under their command to take the law into their own hands. Such action will be treated as a crime and will be punished accordingly.’ [98] Russia played its part. EAM/ELAS had awaited a Soviet military mission with great anticipation, not just because of apparently shared political beliefs, but as an alternative source of military aid. [99] When it arrived the mission delivered an ‘abrupt shock’. [100] It offered no support but ordered the resistance to enter the government of the detested King. [101] This sacrificing of the people’s war was criticised from within the resistance itself. At a crisis meeting in the summer of 1944 even the communist Secretary of EAM denounced the betrayal. [102] Woodhouse recounts that: ‘Inside the KKE, the apostles of direct action under Aris Velouchiotis were openly spoiling for a new fight; the apostles of political infiltration under Siantos were wondering whether to persevere with the government-in-exile’. [103] In Eudes’s account the argument has been interpreted as a division between imaginative partisan tactics and doctrinally correct urban struggle policy. The andartes and kapetans were ‘unorthodox … by comparison with the Stalinist ideal’ and ‘recoiled spontaneously from the centralism and quasi-industrial organization of the [ 50 A People’s History of the Second World War ] orthodox Revolution’. The KKE’s Central Committee was ‘prepared to renounce [the guerrillas] at the decisive moment to preserve an abstraction’. [104] There may have been an element of this in play. One of the built-in tensions in all anti-fascist resistance was between its social driving forces and the demands of military strategy. Though Clausewitz’s axiom is correct, politics and their military expression are not identical. In many parts of Europe communist organisation was based on the urban working class, but, until the final showdown, partisan warfare avoided Wehrmacht concentrations, which were located in towns. So there was a disjuncture between the two, which meant guerrilla resistance did not follow a conventional proletarian model. This was true in mainland Greece where the andartes operated in the mountains. [105] However, this town/country split was not paramount. A more important factor was the contradictory position of the KKE leaders caught between people’s war and imperialist war. That proved a fatal weakness at the moment of Nazi withdrawal. When the British arrived in Athens, just 48 hours after the German departure, the royal Government had virtually no representation on the ground. Apart from a tiny enclave controlled by EDES and disputed border areas, ‘the rest of Greece was in the hands of EAM/ ELAS, who occupied the towns, the villages and the provinces’. [106] The Nazi collapse had been rather too sudden for the Allies. Nevertheless, they had meticulously planned for this moment. As early as May 1944 Churchill was organising the despatch of thousands of British troops, ostensibly to ‘restore law and order’. [107] George Papandreou, the Greek Prime Minister, wished to participate in this enterprise. He wrote to Churchill that he was ‘seriously disturbed’ by the success of EAM/ELAS. ‘Only the immediate appearance of impressive British forces in Greece, and up to the Turkish frontier, will suffice to alter the situation.’ [108] is most desirable to strike out of the blue without any apparent preliminary crisis. It is the best way to forestall the EAM: the Greek Government know nothing of this plan and should on no account be told anything’. [109] Though Churchill threw up a smokescreen of democratic rhetoric to justify ‘Operation Manna’, General Alan Brooke was clear that the role of Allied forces ‘was to ensure the [ Greece 51 ] setting up of a Government which we consider the most suitable, but there was no guarantee that the Greek people would be of the same opinion’. [110] This was not a simple policing operation as claimed, but classic imperialism. The British wanted to physically dominate a foreign land. The Allied commanders would have liked to emulate Nazi methods but feared opposition from their own soldiers. As one put it: ‘We could go quicker if we stormed our way through the streets with tanks and “Rotterdamed” the whole quarters by air bombardment as the Germans and Russians in a similar position would probably do. But, apart from other disadvantages of such a policy, the troops would refuse to do it.’ [111] Nevertheless, Churchill told General Scobie: ‘Do not hesitate to fire at any armed male in Athens who assails the British authority or Greek authority … [A]ct as if you were in a conquered city where a local rebellion is in progress.’ [112] Even the Greek PM was appalled [113] and threatened to quit. Churchill told his ambassador in Athens: ‘Force Papandreou to stand on his duty … Should he resign he should be locked up till he comes to his senses.’ [114] To consolidate their hold the British forces and their Greek assistants employed the ‘Security Battalions’. One reason that ELAS agreed to disarm was this clause of the Caserta Agreement: ‘The Security Battalions are considered as instruments of the enemy [and] will be treated as enemy formations.’ [115] It was not honoured. These repressive forces came straight out of the era of Nazi occupation. Recruited by the previous quisling Government they had been equipped and commanded by Germans. The Battalion pledge of allegiance ran: ‘I swear by God this sacred oath, that I will obey absolutely the orders of the Supreme Commander of the German Army, Adolf Hitler’. [116] Churchill’s private view of these militias was extraordinary: ‘It seems to me that the collaborators in Greece in many cases did the best they could to shelter the Greek population from German oppression… .’ [117] In public he was no less forthcoming, telling Parliament: ‘The security battalions came into existence … to protect the Greek villagers from the depredations of some of those who, under the guise of being saviours of their country, were living upon the inhabitants and doing very little fighting against the Germans.’ [118] In other words he preferred collaborators to anti-fascists, and Nazi’s auxiliaries to the people’s resistance! Other reactionary forces used included what remained of the Greek army after its purge – the far-right Sacred Company and Mountain Brigades. [119] While these [ 52 A People’s History of the Second World War ] forces ran rampage, ELAS was ordered to dissolve as a ‘private’ militia (that just happened to have the support of 70 per cent of the population). The head of EAM pleaded: ‘The British must give the Greeks at least the impression that they are a free people … .’ [120] but the KKE understood that the new government was deploying ‘Fascists, disguised Fascists or supporters of the Metaxas dictatorship’. [121] Nevertheless it still hoped to avoid confrontation, and in the face of open violence from the British and Greek governments told its members: ‘Communists. You stood as champions of the national and popular uprising. Stand now as … patriots, united in the struggle for the completion of the liberation of Greece along with the ELAS and our allies under our United Government.’ [122] Operation Manna was fully unleashed when a mass demonstration protested at the violation of the terms regarding new security forces. At least ten people were shot dead by police, the victims including unarmed children. [123] In the uproar the British army indeed acted as if ‘in a conquered city where a local rebellion is in progress’. During the first 24 hours it fired 2,500 shells into residential areas of Athens causing 13,700 casualties. [124] Scobie dropped the following leaflet: All civilians are informed that as from 9am tomorrow all rebel guns firing, whether in the town or in the environs will be hit with all the arms at my disposal – that is to say, with land artillery, naval guns, aeroplanes, rockets and bombs. This attack will continue until the guns are destroyed. For their personal security all civilians in the areas concerned must immediately evacuate to a distance of 500 metres (545 yards) from the position of any rebel guns. No further warning will be given. [125] By the time the ‘December events’ were over Scobie had been as good as his word. There were 50,000 Greek dead and 2,000 British casualties. [126] Incredibly, Churchill claimed ‘our troops are acting to prevent bloodshed’. [127] The clash between the two wars was so stark that it caused an outcry in Britain. One MP pointed out that: ‘British soldiers and Greek patriots lay dead side by side, each with an allied bullet in his heart [because] British policy seemed inclined to support many of the worn-out regimes in Europe, as against the popular forces which had emerged.’ Another suggested the Government backed ‘reactionary and often even quisling elements to delay recognition of the genuine democratic movements in Europe’. [128] Even The Times found it [ Greece 53 ] ‘inconceivable that the British liberation armies … should be asked to coerce or conquer a section of a liberated and allied people which, only a few weeks ago, was engaged in active and gallant resistance to the Germans’. Repression in Athens came ‘at the expense of the war against Germany’ because its forces were, at that very moment, making a daring breakthrough in the Ardennes during ‘the Battle of the Bulge’. [129] While the Gorgopotamus raid had assisted British efforts in North Africa, the attack on Athens drew numerous troops from Italy and hampered the Allied offensive there. [130] The Americans later adopted the role of imperial arbiter in Greece, but at the time they were horrified. In Athens Ambassador McVeagh accused Churchill of handling ‘this fanatically freedom-loving country (which has never yet taken dictation quietly) as if it were composed of natives under the British Raj …’. He also understood that behind the conflict stood those ‘with possessions, on the one hand’ and those ‘without possessions but hungry, homeless and armed on the other’. [131] The battle for Athens was not as straightforward as Churchill had hoped. On 21 December The Times reported RAF headquarters ‘overrun after an all-night battle … by a force which, it was officially announced to-day, included fully armed women, boys and girls’. [132] According to Woodhouse, ‘ELAS at one time held almost the whole of Greece but for a few square miles of Athens’. [133] At home a beleaguered Churchill lamented: ‘there is no case in my experience … where a British government has been so maligned and its motives so traduced in our own country by important organs of the press or among our own people.’ [134] Facing a vote of confidence in Parliament he turned rhetorically to Stalin, his one remaining significant source of support, by suggesting that Britain was locked in ‘a struggle to prevent a hideous massacre in the centre of Athens, in which all forms of government would have been swept away and naked, triumphant Trotskyism installed’. [135] Eventually Churchill had to fly to Greece himself to sort out the mess. Still EAM did not press home its military advantage. A Guy Fawkes style plot to blow up his hotel was therefore abandoned and ELAS battalions gave up their weapons. [136] EAM’s Central Committee sent this grovelling message to the British PM: ‘Your Excellency, the Greek people experienced on the happy occasion of your coming to Athens a feeling of deepest relief …The Greek people has never ceased for a moment to look with unshaken faith and deep regard on our great allies and, in particular Great Britain… .’ [137] Unlike Yugoslavia, in Greece the issue of the two wars was settled decisively in favour of imperialism. It is true that the [ 54 A People’s History of the Second World War ] British postponed the return of the King for a time, and under the Varkiza agreement of 12 February 1945 promised a regime of ‘free expression’, ‘an amnesty for political crimes’, a ‘purge’ of collaborators, plus a ‘plebiscite and elections’ to be ‘conducted in complete freedom’. But, in return, ‘the armed forces of resistance shall be demobilised and in particular ELAS, both regular and reserve …’. [138] ELAS carried out its pledge, surrendering more guns than the agreement had stipulated. [139] The other side failed to reciprocate. In the year following Varkiza a right-wing reign of terror murdered 1,289, wounded 6,671, arrested 84,931, and tortured 31,632 Greeks. [140] Promises of a free election became a hollow joke. A delegation of British MPs reported that: Throughout our visit we found that, with the exception of the extreme right wing, everybody said that the election was carried through by means of forgery, perjury, terrorism, assassination, and every possible form of corrupt practice… [T]he giving of official positions in the state, gendarmerie and police to notorious collaborators with the enemy [means] no such thing as a fair election or fair plebiscite is a possibility. [141] Women who had glimpsed liberation in the ranks of EAM/ELAS now faced rape, torture and death. Between 1948 and 1950, for example, 17 were executed for subversion, the youngest being 16 years old. [142] Others were in jail right up until the 1960s. Their persecutors, now working with US counter-insurgency forces, had flourished under the British, and previously under the Axis. A US Senator described what they were doing: ‘We had to back not the good guys but the bad guys in Greece, to put it simply in the vernacular. We did not back the people.’ [143] On the ground a resistance woman confirmed this: ‘After the liberation … we, who had fought the occupation, we were the bad guys, and those who had collaborated with the Nazis, they were now the good ones. The government rewarded them and punished us’. [144] The civil war eventually cost 158,000 Greek lives, [145] but it meant that in 1947 a US paper could report: ‘Churchill’s victory is complete – and neatly underwritten by hundreds of millions of American dollars. It could only be slightly more complete if Hitler himself had engineered it!’ [146] What happened in Greece was not a difference of opinion within a single world conflict. It was two types of war clashing to such an extent that bombs, tanks, torture, rape and prisons decided the outcome. Notes

Magnification and resolution in dental microwear analysis using light microscopy Article number: 15.3.25A Author biographies Plain-language and multi-lingual abstracts PDF version Submission: 23 February 2012. Acceptance: 10 September 2012 ABSTRACT One potentially problematic aspect of dental microwear analysis is sensitivity to the resolution (fineness of detail) at which dental wear surfaces are viewed. Magnification is one of many variables that determine resolution. Microwear studies based on light microscopy generally report magnifications ranging from 30X-100X, although ambiguities in reported methods prohibit duplication of the resolutions of many studies. Moreover, magnification settings have been arbitrary and, thus far, the biasing effects of different resolutions have not been tested. We tested sensitivity of dental microwear analysis to resolution by manipulating pixel density and magnification in photomicrographs taken under a light microscope using the molars of a browser (moose), grazer (zebra), and frugivore/hard object feeder (peccary). Resolution affected the number of observable microwear features and distorted the proportional frequencies of large and small features. Nonetheless, two observers independently found similar differences between the species throughout a range of resolutions. At no resolution did observers recover statistically undifferentiated data, although interobserver correlation was best when resolution was decreased to 20-40% of the initial resolution. Observer correlation for microwear features with a maximal dimension >20 μm was substantially better than for smaller features. We conclude that (1) dimensionless aspects of microwear data (e.g., proportional numbers of scratches between species) are more robust to resolution than raw frequency data, (2) higher resolution does not produce higher quality data, and (3) the optimal resolution may be dependent upon the size of the microwear features. Further testing of the interaction of resolution, microwear feature size, and the observer will increase repeatability of results and lead to more robust paleodietary interpretations. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Department of Anatomy, New York College of Osteopathic Medicine at the New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USA and Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th St. New York, NY 10024, USA This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Department of Anatomy, New York College of Osteopathic Medicine at the New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USAThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and Division of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA Keywords: dental wear; observer bias; observer error; paleodiet; paleoecology Final citation: Mihlbachler, Matthew C. and Beatty, Brian L. 2012. Magnification and resolution in dental microwear analysis using light microscopy. Palaeontologia Electronica Vol. 15, Issue 2;25A,15p; palaeo-electronica.org/content/2012-issue-3-articles/299-resolution-in-dental-microwear INTRODUCTION Dental microwear analysis is an increasingly utilized method in vertebrate paleoecology. The abundances, distributions, orientations, sizes, and shapes of microwear features have been used to interpret masticatory behaviors, diets, and other aspects of ecology for extinct species, ancient populations of extant species, and poorly-studied modern populations (Merceron et al., 2005a, 2005b; Townsend and Croft, 2008a, 2008b; Green, 2009; Schubert et al., 2010; Solounias et al., 2010; DeMiguel et al., 2011; Firmat et al., 2011; Rivals et al., 2011; Rivals and Semprebon, 2012). We differentiate dental microwear analysis from a newer method known as “texture analysis” (Scott et al., 2006, 2012; Merceron et al., 2010; Schubert et al., 2010; Ungar et al., 2010). Here, “dental microwear” refers to the more traditional technique where an observer quantifies discrete oral events based on individual microwear features (pits and scratches), whereas the later refers to computer-generated measurements of three-dimensional surface texture variables (e.g., complexity, anisotropy) via confocal microscopy. Although microwear is a rich source of paleoecological information, the utility of dental microwear analysis as a paleoecological proxy is diminished by insufficient understanding of ante-mortem and post-mortem dental wear processes, and by non-standardized and untested methods that involve subjectivity, observer error, and sensitivity to instrumentation variation (Gordon, 1988; King et al., 1999; Fraser et al., 2009; Mihlbachler et al., 2012). Texture analysis eliminates the human observer from the interpretation of wear surfaces, but is not completely immune from all human error (such as inclusion criteria for specimens and selection of the area studied) or other complications such as post-mortem wear. In the future, dental microwear analysis and texture analysis will continue to be utilized and possibly combined in ways that offer unique paleoecological insights. Early dental microwear analyses involved quantification of dental wear features on SEM generated images taken at high magnification (e.g., 500X). Standardization of SEM methods was a priority in the 1980s (Gordon, 1982, 1984, 1988; Teaford, 1991). In more recent years, workers have increasingly adopted low magnification light microscopy for dental microwear analysis (LDM). Early LDM studies reported a strong relationship of microwear and diet (e.g., browsing versus grazing ungulates), suggesting that the microwear features visible under low-magnification light microscopy may be highly relevant to ecologically significant dietary variables, such as the percentages of browse, graze, and fruit in the diet (Solounias and Semprebon, 2002; Semprebon et al., 2004; Merceron et al. 2005a, 2005b; Nelson et al., 2005). Nonetheless, there has been little coordinated attempt to test or standardize LDM methods leading some to suggest that LDM is irreproducible (Scott et al., 2008). Mihlbachler et al. (2010, 2012) measured observer bias in LDM. The degree of bias was similar to that reported for SEM methods and did not completely undermine an association of dental microwear data with diet. However, the Mihlbachler et al. (2012) study suggests prior LDM studies may have underestimated observer bias. In this study we test sensitivity of LDM to the resolution of dental microwear features. It is important to draw a distinction between magnification and resolution. Resolution is the more inclusive concept that refers to the fineness of observable detail. Magnification refers to the degree to which the object is enlarged. Magnification is one of many resolution variables. There are two widely adopted approaches to LDM, a stereoscopic method, first introduced by Solounias and Semprebon (2002) and Semprebon et al. (2004), where specimens are analyzed “live” through the eyepieces of a microscope, and a photomicrographic method, first described by Merceron et al. (2005a, 2005b) where digital photomicrographs are taken with a light microscope and analyzed on a computer display. Variables relevant to stereoscopic LDM are numerous and include magnification, quality and intensity of light, quality and cleanliness of the optical instruments, fineness of focus, and variations in the human eye. An additional variable important to photomicrographic LDM is pixel density, or the number of pixels/area with which the tooth surface is sampled by the digital camera (Figure 1). The resolution of a digital image can be referred to as “digital magnification,” although we avoid the term here because digital magnification is non-analogous to optical magnification and does not produce equivalent results (Figure 2). Hereafter, “magnification” refers to magnification produced by the lenses of the microscope, whereas “pixel density” refers to digital aspects of resolution. Both stereoscopic and photomicrographic LDM studies report variable ranges of magnification, ranging from 30X-100X (Solounias and Semprebon, 2002; Semprebon et al., 2004; Nelson et al., 2005; Merceron et al., 2005a, 2005b; Rodrigues et al., 2009). Magnification choice is largely arbitrary and typically determined by the resolution limits of the instruments used (e.g., the maximum magnification of the microscope) and the size of the animals being analyzed, with lower magnifications for larger species (e.g., ungulates) and higher magnification for smaller species (e.g., rodents). Neither magnification nor other aspects of resolution have been tested to determine what resolution, if any, is best for maximally differentiating diet or minimizing observer bias. If there is a particular resolution where microwear analysis can maximally discern diet, it is most certainly dependant on characteristics of the microwear features themselves rather than the size of the animal, although animal size and features size may be related. Microwear researchers have largely treated microwear data as if they were equivalent regardless of methodological differences. For instance, high frequencies of scratches relative to pits are considered indicative of a grazing diet. Likewise, high frequencies of large pits and “coarse” scratches, and other large microwear features may relate to hard object feeding. Such interpretations are often made without consideration of how variable resolutions might influence the apparent frequencies and size distributions of microwear features. Nonetheless, it stands to reason that resolution will impact the number and size range of observable microwear feature. Fraser et al. (2009) reported that “high dynamic range imaging,” a method that reduces over- and under-exposure in photographs, improved visualization of microwear features possibly increasing repeatability. Drawing from this conclusion, one might expect higher resolutions to be preferable because smaller microwear features are visible, and details of all microwear features regardless of size are more finely resolved. Consequently, finer differences in microwear pattern might be recognizable and quantifiable at higher resolutions. However, lower resolution could be advantageous. For instance, Rodrigues et al. (2009) suggested pits with diameters less than 5 μm have no relationship to paleodiet. If this observation is correct, low resolution, where the smallest microwear features are not visible, may eliminate noise in microwear data. Resolution may also interact with the observer in complex and unpredictable ways that influences repeatability. Microwear features range in clarity from fresh features with angular high-contrast edges that observers unanimously interpret in the same way, to older features with worn rounded edges often overprinted by other features (Mihlbachler et al., 2012). Viewing microwear surfaces at decreased resolution may increase repeatability by eliminating the most obscure microwear features, regardless of size, where interpretation is more observer dependent. We manipulated magnification and pixel density to address the following questions: (1) Is there an optimal resolution at which different microwear patterns can be maximally differentiated? (2) How does observer bias interact with changes in resolution? (3) And finally, are there benefits to examining microwear at different resolutions? MATERIALS AND METHODS Dental Microwear Analysis The methods used for molding, casting, photographing, and analyzing dental microwear follow Mihlbachler et al. (2012) and a detailed description of the complete methodology can be found there. Here we provide details necessary to replicate the resolution manipulation aspect of the study. Dental wear surfaces were mold, cast, and digitally photographed under a stereomicroscope using oblique, reflected white light. Specimens chosen for this study were wild and from three ungulate species with different diets, including a folivorous browser (moose: Alces alces), a frugivore/hard object feeder (peccary: Tayassu pecari) and a grazer (zebra: Equus quagga). Two observers (the authors) independently analyzed identical sets of images, and the results of these two observers were compared. The images were randomly ordered so the observers were unaware of the taxonomic identity of the wear surfaces. Each observer partitioned microwear features into four size and shape categories. Features with a maximum/minimum diameter ratio less than four were counted as pits. Features with a maximum/minimum diameter ratio greater than four were counted as scratches. Features were further categorized as follows: large pits (maximum diameter > 20 μm), small pits (5 μm < maximum diameter < 20 μm), wide scratches (maximum width > 5 μm), and narrow scratches (maximum width < 5 μm). Pits < 5 μm were ignored because they were poorly resolved even at our highest resolution setting. “Large microwear features” (large pits and wide scratches) were quantified in a large (400 μm x 400 μm) area, and “small features” (small pits and narrow scratches) were quantified in a smaller area (150 μm x 150 μm). Interpretations of individual features were preserved by tracing over the images in a vector graphics program (Adobe Illustrator) using standardized circles (for pits) and lines (for scratches) calibrated to the diameter and width criteria that match the above described feature definitions (Figure 3). The images and interpretations of the observers are available online (). Manipulation of Resolution Dental casts were initially magnified 10X through the objective lens of a Zeiss Stemi light stereomicroscope and photographed with an Insight Spot 4 megapixel camera. It is important to note that light passing to the camera bypasses the eyepieces, and optical magnification afforded the camera is calculated differently than the magnification afforded the human eye (Figure 4). Pixel density in the resulting images is 1.35 pixels/μm. In other words, each pixel represents a square area of tooth surface that is 0.74 μm wide. This is the identical resolution described in Mihlbachler et al. (2012), the highest resolution used here, and the highest resolution setting possible with the instruments used. Starting with this initial resolution, we iteratively degraded image resolution in two different ways: by resampling digital images with fewer pixels and, secondly, by re-photographing wear surfaces with lower magnifications. Both manipulations result in equivalently lowered pixel density (Figure 2), but with different resulting resolutions (Figure 3). In the first series of manipulations, magnification remained constant, and only pixel density was varied, whereas in the second series of manipulations pixel density was altered via changes in optical magnification. Pixel density manipulations. In the first set of analyses, 30 images (10 per species) were extracted from an earlier microwear study (Mihlbachler et al., 2012) and iteratively reanalyzed at lower pixel densities. Prior to analysis, these images were cropped to 608 pixel x 608 pixel images, covering 450 μm x 450 μm area of tooth surface, onto which the 400 μm2 and 150 μm2 areas for microwear quantification were outlined. The cropped images, with squares superimposed over them, were iteratively resampled in Adobe Photoshop with lower pixel densities, guaranteeing the identical area was being analyzed during each iteration but with fewer pixels. Resulting pixel widths, in relation to the tooth surface, were 0.74 μm (100%), 0.93 μm (80%), 1.85 μm (40%), 3.70 μm (20%), 7.41 μm (10%), and 14.81 μm (5%). Percentiles refer to the density of pixels in comparison to the original images. Data for the highest resolution (pixel width = 0.74 μm) were extracted from the earlier Mihlbachler et al. (2012) study. The remaining iterations were analyzed in reverse order, beginning with the lowest resolution first to eliminate the possibility of higher resolution images influencing the observer’s interpretations of lower resolution images. Paired T-tests (Table 1) were used to test for interobserver differences for all of the microwear variables at different pixel densities. Type I error (falsely rejecting the null hypothesis) is expected to occur in the same frequency of the alpha level of the test (P = 0.05). A Bonferonni correction can be used to minimize type 1 error, but at the cost of increasing the probability of type II error (incorrectly retaining the null hypothesis) (Perneger, 1998). In this case, where non-rejection of the null hypothesis is the desired outcome, the Bonferonni corrected alpha value (P = 0.002) is likely to underestimate the frequency of significant interobserver error. Therefore, we take the more conservative approach and accept the results without Bonferonni corrections. Pearson correlation coefficients (Table 2) were calculated to examine the possibility that even though observers do not consistently recognize the same numbers of scratches and pits, they may still recover highly correlated results and find similar proportional differences between species. Magnification manipulations. Altering the magnification required rephotographing wear surfaces. We found it impossible to reidentify and photograph the identical wear surfaces on all 30 teeth used in this study. Therefore, rather than attempting to reanalyze all 30 wear surfaces at different magnifications, we selected three dental wear surfaces (one moose, one peccary, and one zebra) where we were able to outline areas of the same tooth at different magnifications that were approximately identical. These three teeth were repeatedly photographed at decreasing optical magnifications (10x, 8x, 4x, 2x, 1x, and 0.65x) and, as above, were analyzed in reverse order, from the lowest resolution to the highest. This range includes both the highest and lowest magnification settings possible with our microscope. Resulting pixel widths, in relation to the tooth surface, were 0.74 μm (100%), 0.93 μm (80%), 1.85 μm (40%), 3.70 μm (20%), 7.41 μm (10%), and 11.40 μm (6.5%). Percentiles refer to the density of pixels in comparison to the highest resolution images. We also subjected the most highly magnified images to equivalent reductions in pixel density (pixel widths = 0.74 μm (100%), 0.93 μm (80%), 1.85 μm (40%), 3.70 μm (20%), 7.41 μm (10%), and 11.40 μm (6.5%). RESULTS Observer Error and Resolution Paired T-tests comparing observers one and two for the 30 images found numerous significant interobserver differences in the mean frequencies of microwear features at all pixel densities (Table 1). No clear trends linking digital resolution to interobserver differences were apparent. However, the data collected by both observers were significantly correlated for all microwear variables at all pixel densities (Table 2, Figure 5). Both large and small pits consistently produced higher correlation coefficients than scratches. Interobserver correlation for small microwear features (small pits and narrow scratches) was highest at 40% of the initial pixel density (pixel width = 1.85 μm). Interobserver correlation coefficients for large microwear features (large pits and wide scratches) were higher overall in comparison to small microwear features and highest at 20% of initial pixel density (pixel width = 3.70 μm). Differentiating Diets at Different Resolutions Figure 6 shows the means and standard errors for microwear features recognized at different resolutions for both observers. Pixel density had clear influence on the number of observed features. However, decreased pixel density did not obscure differences between the three species for either observer. Differences between the species were more often found among larger microwear features. Likewise, results concerning large microwear features were more consistent between observers and across different resolution levels. Species-level differences for small microwear features were less significant overall and more sensitive to decreased pixel density. Small microwear features. Small microwear features were not observed at the two lowest pixel densities (pixel widths = 7.41 and 14.81 μm). At higher pixel densities, both observers found significant differences in the frequencies of small microwear features. Zebra had the highest frequencies of narrow scratches, peccary the fewest, and moose with intermediate numbers. However, some inconsistencies between observers and at different resolutions were found. For example, at the highest resolution (pixel width = 0.74 μm), observer two found zebra to have significantly more scratches than moose and peccary, but this result was not repeated by observer one, nor was it replicated by observer two at other resolutions. Both observers found significant differences in the frequency of small pits between zebra and moose at all but the lowest resolution levels where small features were observable (pixel width = 3.70 μm). The second observer always found peccary and moose to have significantly different numbers of small pits, whereas observer one produced more variable results on the relative proximity of the peccary with respect to the moose and zebra. Large microwear features. Large features were seen by both observers at all pixel densities tested. Species differences found in the large microwear features were most prominent and had the most interobserver agreement at resolutions between 20-80% of initial pixel density (pixel width = 0.93μm - 7.41μm). However, the responses of each observer to manipulation of pixel density were non-identical. For observer one, the degree of resolution had little effect on the number of large microwear features recognized, except at the lowest resolutions (pixel widths = 7.41 and 14.81 μm). Observer two was more sensitive to resolution degradation, particularly for scratches. However, these observer-specific responses had little effect on the recognition of differences between the species. Both observers found the zebra to have significantly higher frequencies of wide scratches than moose at all but the highest and lowest resolutions. Both observers generally found the frequency of wide scratches in the peccary microwear images to be intermediate between the zebra and moose but with inconsistency at some pixel densities regarding the relative proximity of the peccary to the zebra and the moose. However, both observers found the zebra to have significantly fewer large pits than the other species, with insignificant differences between the moose and peccary. Magnification versus Pixel Density Figure 2 suggests that changes in magnification have more profound effect on resolution than equivalent changes in pixel density. Figure 7 demonstrates the differential consequences to microwear data for observer one when resolution is degraded by reducing magnification versus reducing pixel density for three images. Surprisingly, higher frequencies of features, particularly pits, were occasionally recorded at lower resolutions. We did find similar instances in the larger data set of 30 images (Figure 6) where pit counts occasionally increased with reduced pixel density, however, the standard errors for the mean values suggest that this phenomenon is statistically insignificant. Reduction of pixel density did not have a major impact on the proportional differences between the three images. Reducing magnification resulted in more inconsistent proportional differences between the specimens. Observer one rapidly lost the ability to see differences in small microwear features between these specimens when magnification was less than 80% of initial magnification. Large microwear features were less sensitive to magnification changes, and the observer found similar differences between the three specimens as the magnification was 20% or more of the highest setting. DISCUSSION Comparisons with Prior LDM Studies Before answering the three questions set forth in the final paragraph of the introduction regarding resolution in dental microwear analysis, it is important to consider how the range of resolutions tested here compare to those of prior LDM studies. The lowest resolution images tested in this study are clearly cruder than any prior LDM study. As far as we can ascertain, the highest resolution images tested in our study are either more finely resolved or similar to the resolutions of most prior LDM studies. Stereoscopic LDM studies, where microwear features are quantified through the eyepieces of the stereomicroscope without digital photography typically adopt a magnification of 35X (Solounias and Semprebon, 2002; Semprebon et al., 2004). One stereoscopic LDM study on rodents used higher magnification (70X) (Nelson et al., 2005). Because optical and digital magnification are non-analogous, comparison of resolutions for these two methods is subjective. We visually examined specimens through the eyepieces using magnifications adopted by other stereoscopic LDM studies and compared them to our digital images. Smaller microwear features and greater numbers of microwear features were visible in our digital images than were visible through the eyepieces at 35x or 70x. The microphotographic method introduced by Merceron et al. (2005a, 2005b) reports an optical magnification of 30x. Digital density was reported in two ways: 300dpi (dots per inch) and 1 pixel/μm. It is unclear what is meant by “dpi” in this context or how it relates to image resolution. However, a pixel density of 1 pixel/μm (pixel width = 1 μm) is slightly less resolved than our maximum digital density of 1.35 pixels/μm (pixel width = 0.74 μm). Rodrigues et al. (2009) and Firmat et al. (2011) conducted microphotographic LDM studies on small rodents at a magnification reported to be 100x. Details of digital resolution were not reported in these studies. It is important to clarify at this point that light diverted to typical microscope cameras does not pass through the eyepiece, therefore the magnification of the eyepiece is generally not a factor in the magnification of the digital images (Figure 4). It is unclear if the reported magnifications of any microphotographic studies refer to the magnification afforded the human eye (i.e., objective x eyepiece) or that of the digital camera (objective x coupler). Rodrigues et al. (2009) recognized pits <5μm in diameter even though they ignored pits of that size. We readily observed pits <5μm but ignored them due to their poorly resolved appearance even at our highest resolution setting. Ultimately, because methods have been incompletely reported, we are uncertain how our resolutions relate specifically to prior microphotographic LDM studies. Is There an Optimal Resolution for Recognizing Dietary Differences? We were unable to find an optimal resolution for maximally differentiating microwear patterns. There was a wide range of resolution within which differences between the three species could be readily differentiated. Even at the crudest resolutions tested, we were able to find statistically significant differences in average pit and scratch frequencies. Nonetheless, resolution clearly influenced the interpretation of individual images and mostly reduced the frequencies of observed features. Resolution influences both the number of observable features and the apparent size distribution of features (i.e., the relative numbers of large and small features) by eliminating small features faster than large features. The size of features and the relative frequencies of differently sized microwear features have been unanimously recognized as important aspects of dental microwear data. We arbitrarily divided microwear features into two size categories (large and small) although microwear feature size is continuous. The resolution with which wear surfaces are viewed will determine the lower size limit of observable features. Therefore the apparent size distribution of microwear features (the proportion of large and small features), and possibly to a lesser extent, the proportion of pits to scratches, are resolution dependent. While magnification and pixel density both influenced the frequency of observed features, magnification changes had a more dramatic impact. The species-specific trend lines produced by magnification changes crossed in Figure 7, whereas the trend lines did not cross when only pixel density was altered. Therefore, changes in magnification did distort the proportional differences in the numbers of pits and scratches in these images, although changes in pixel density did not dramatically alter the perception of proportional differences. Therefore, it appears that variation in magnification may have a greater tendency to alter and distort the perceived differences in microwear patterns between images or between samples. This might suggest that proportional differences in observed raw frequency data (pit and scratch counts) may not have equivalent paleoecological significance at all resolutions adopted in LDM studies. How Does Observer Bias Interact with Resolution? Our attempts to measure observer error here and elsewhere (Mihlbachler et al., 2012) leave us with little hope that different observers can recover equivalent microwear data. Nonetheless, interobserver correlation is consistently significant and suggests that dimensionless aspects of microwear data (proportional differences in scratch frequency from tooth to tooth, for example) are more repeatable than raw frequency data. For this reason, there may be little value in paleodietary interpretations based on raw frequencies of pits and scratches. For similar reasons, statistical analyses of raw frequency data are questionable when collected by multiple observers, or single observers over extended intervals of time, or when data are borrowed from pre-published extant microwear databases. However, because microwear data from different observers are virtually always significantly correlated, dimensionless differences (proportional differences in the numbers of scratches, for example) are more robust to observer bias, even if the raw frequencies of microwear features are often unequal. It might at first seem more probable that higher resolution would minimize observer bias because finer details are visible, thereby diminishing ambiguity in how individual microwear features can be interpreted. On the contrary, we found interobserver correlation coefficients to be higher at reduced resolution. Maximal observer correlation occurred at 20% of initial pixel density for large microwear features and at 40% of initial pixel density for small microwear features. One possible explanation for higher observer correlation at lower resolutions might be that worn overprinted features that are likely to be interpreted differently by different observers are eliminated rapidly as resolution is decreased while newer, higher contrast microwear features whose boundaries are less ambiguous may be eliminated less rapidly. This is one plausible explanation for the observer correlation peaks in Figure 5, although we are uncertain at this point if these results are a robust pattern or if they are the result of random eccentricities of the observers or the images used in the study. Further testing is needed. Are There Advantages to Using Different Resolutions? Microwear features may be more appropriately studied at different resolutions according to their size. The maximal interobserver correlation for small microwear features occurred at double the pixel density of maximal interobserver correlation for large microwear features. Moreover, we found lower levels of observer correlation for small microwear features at all resolutions in comparison to large microwear features. The higher observer error and sensitivity of small microwear features to resolution is clearly a product of resolution limitations. The weaker association of small microwear features with diet (Rodrigues et al., 2009; Mihlbachler et al., 2012) may also relate to resolution limitations rather than a true lack of association between diet and small dental microwear features. Although a minority of LDM studies excludes the smallest observable microwear features (Rodrigues et al., 2009; Firmat et al., 2011), most studies seem to include all observable features. However, higher error rates and poorer association with diet suggest that the smallest, most poorly resolved microwear features introduce noise. If the data from the 30 images analyzed in this paper had been used for paleodietary interpretation, inclusion of only large, well-resolved microwear features (pits > 20 μm diameter and scratches > 5 μm width) would have minimized observer error and increased correlation with diet. Although pixel density had an effect on the frequency of both pits and scratches, there is no sign in our data that increased pixel density, beyond the range tested here, would have improved the quality of data from small features. However, the benefit of higher magnifications for analysis of small features is open to question. CONCLUSION There is a strong need for a standardized methodology for LDM. Repeatability will be maximized when aspects of methodology, such as magnification and pixel density, are based on tests that consider the interaction of resolution, the observer, and microwear feature size. Although different resolutions did not strongly impact the ability of either observer to identify microwear differences related to diet, we found repeatability to be highest within a very specific range of pixel densities, 20% of initial resolution (pixel width = 3.70 μm) for large microwear features, and 40% of initial resolution (pixel width = 1.85 μm) for small microwear features. This suggests that the optimal resolution for microwear analysis is dependent on the sizes of the microwear features. For the relatively low resolutions possible with light microscopy, inclusion of microwear features with a minimum dimension of ~20 μm maximizes observer correlation. Microwear features below this size produce higher error rates and are more sensitive to resolution changes. Exclusion of the smallest microwear features will amplify repeatability. Exclusion of microwear features based on physical dimensions is most feasible for microphotographic LDM (e.g., Merceron, 2005 a, 2005b; Mihlbachler et al., 2012) and will be impractical for stereoscopic LDM methods (Solounias and Semprebon, 2002; Semprebon et al., 2004), where microwear features are subjectively categorized without standardized size criteria. Our particular study was based on large species, and it is almost certain that for smaller species, such as rodents, small microwear features may be important for paleodietary inferences. Given our results, it is doubtful that higher magnifications, above the range tested here, will produce higher quality data for small microwear features. It is probable that reliable quantification of the smallest microwear features exceeds the limits of light microscopy, and that more complex and costly methods, such as SEM or confocal texture analysis, may ultimately be necessary for reliable quantification of small microwear features. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank M. Ayoub and N. Solounias for assistance with molding and casting of microwear specimens. E. Westwig (American Museum of Natural History) granted access to specimens. We thank NSF (grant EAR-0824657) for support to MCM. We thank N. Solounias for fruitful discussions leading up to this research. REFERENCES DeMiguel, D., Azanza, B., and Morales, J. 2011. Paleoenvironments and paleoclimate of the Middle Miocene of central Spain: A reconstruction from dental wear of ruminants. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 302:452-463.aser, D., Mallon, J.C., Furr, R. and Theodor, J.M. 2009. Improving the repeatability of low magnification microwear methods using high dynamic range imaging. Palaios, 24:818-825. Gordon, K.D. 1982. A study of microwear on chimpanzee molars: implications for dental microwear analysis. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 63:195-215. Gordon, K.D. 1984. Hominoid dental microwear: Complications in the use of microwear analysis to detect diet. Journal of Dental Research, 63:1043-1046. Gordon, K.D. 1988. A review of methodology and quantification in dental microwear analysis. Scanning Microscopy, 2:1139-1147. Green, J.L. 2009. Dental microwear in the orthodentine of the Xenarthra (Mammalia) and its use in reconstruction the paleodiet of extinct taxa: the case study of Nothrotheriops shastensis (Xenarthra, Tardigrada, Nothrotheriidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnaean Society, 165:201-222. King, T., Andrews, P., and Boz, B. 1999. Effect of taphonomic processes on dental microwear. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 108:359-373. Merceron, G., Blondel, C., de Bonis, L., Koufos, G.D., and Viriot, L. 2005a. A new method of dental microwear analysis: Application to extant primates and Ouranopithecus macedoniensis (Late Miocene of Greece). Palaios, 20:551-561. Merceron, G., de Bonis, L., Viriot, L., and Blondel, C. 2005. Can dental microwear textures record inter-individual dietary variations? PLoS ONE, 5:e9542. Mihlbachler, M.C., Beatty, B.L., Caldera-Siu, A., Chan, D., Lee, R. 2010. Exploring the influence of observer bias in dental microwear analysis. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29:(Abstracts) 134A. Mihlbachler, M.C., Beatty, B.L., Caldera-Siu, A., Chan, D., Lee, R. 2012. Error rates in dental microwear analysis using light microscopy. Palaeontologia Electronica Vol. 15, Issue 12A, 22p; palaeo-electronica.org/content/2012-issue-1-articles/195-microwear-observer-error Nelson, S.V., Badgley, C., and Zakem E. 2005. Microwear in modern squirrels in relation to diet. Palaeontologia Electronica, Vol. 8; Issue 14A:1-15 p. palaeo-electronica.org/2005_1/nelson14/issue1_05.htm Perneger, T. 1998. What’s wrong with Bonferonni adjustments. BMJ 316:1236. Rivals, F. and Semprebon, G.M. 2012. Paleoindian subsistence strategies and late Pleistocene paleoenvironments in the northeastern and southwestern United States: a tooth wear analysis. Journal of Archaeological Science, 39:1608-1617. Rivals, F.,. Rodrigues, H.G., Merceron, G., and Viriot, L. 2009. Dental microwear patterns of extant and extinct Muridae (Rodentia, Mammalia): ecological implications. Naturwissenschaften, 96:537-542. Schubert, B., Ungar, P.S., and DeSantis, L.R.G. 2010. Carnassial microwear and dietary behaviour in large carnivorans. Journal of Zoology, 280:257-263. Scott, R., Schubert, B., Grine, F.E., and Teaford, M.F. 2008. Low magnification microwear: Questions of precision and repeatability. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 28 (Abstracts):139A. Scott, R.S., Teaford, M.F., and Ungar, P.S. 2012. Dental microwear texture and anthropoid diets. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, in press. Scott, Robert S., Ungar, Peter S., Bergstrom, Torbjorn S., Brown, Christopher A., Childs, Benjamin E., Teaford, Mark F., Walker, Alan, 2006. Dental microwear texture analysis: technical considerations. Journal of Human Evolution, 51:339-349. Semprebon, G., Godfrey, L., Solounias, N., Sutherland, M.R., and Jungers, W.L. 2004.. Teaford, M.F. 1991. Dental microwear: what can it tell us about diet and dental function?, p. 341-356. In M.A. Kelley and C.S. Larsen (eds.), Advances in Dental Anthropology. Alan R. Liss, New York. Townsend, K.E. and Croft, D.A. 2008a. Diets of Notoungulates from the Santa Cruz Formation, Argentine: New Evidence from enamel microwear. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 28(1):217-230. Townsend, K.E. and Croft, D.A. 2008b. Enamel microwear in caviomorph rodents. Journal of Mammalogy, 89(3):730-743. Ungar, P.S., Scott, R.S., Grine, F.E., and Teaford, M.F. 2010. Molar microwear textures and the diets of Australopithecus anamensis and Australopithecus afarensis. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B, 365:3345-3354.

プロフィールを更新しました。 TrackBack URL for this entry: Listed below are links to weblogs that reference プロフィールを更新しました: I maintain paying attention to the information discuss getting free online supply purposes so I've been looking round for such a lot website to get one.:) Posted by: Free Psychic Reading | August 09, 2011 at 04:13 AM I am positive everybody love free review. I wonder if I am for your overview ? Posted by: warrant of fitness auckland | August 09, 2011 at 04:44 AM Thank you for the newcomers steps. That's helpful. I have a query, as a learners, how do you construct credibility within the area of interest? I guess we have to build credibility to build the record? Posted by: auckland car service | August 11, 2011 at 12:56 AM I hold being attentive to the information talk about getting unfastened on-line grant functions so I have been wanting around for the so much website to get one.:) Posted by: shopping comparison | August 11, 2011 at 12:59 AM Attempt to attempt, that's the key to success, giving up shouldn’t be incorporated on our dictionary (i think). Posted by: Psychic Readings Online | August 11, 2011 at 07:49 PM What's captcha code?, pls provide me captcha code codes or plugin, Thanks in advance. Posted by: Delcie Biscocho | August 16, 2011 at 07:11 PM Nice article – that’s the form of day I’m running path myself. Have to like the opportunities the Web supplies for entrepreneurs! Posted by: Craig Alsbury | August 17, 2011 at 08:32 PM excellent good…this publish deserves not anything :( …hahaha just joking :P …nice post :P Posted by: driving experience | August 17, 2011 at 11:16 PM Whats up very good blog!! Man .. Beautiful .. Wonderful .. I'll bookmark your weblog and take the feeds also... Posted by: Toby Schnapp | August 19, 2011 at 08:04 PM ohhh nice data Posted by: Vinnie Claton | August 19, 2011 at 10:36 PM haha … the only who is posting the comments :D Posted by: Mark Whitmer | August 23, 2011 at 05:11 AM Good tips. You did not write sponsoring contest. This provides you backlinks. Posted by: Deadra Berryman | August 24, 2011 at 12:27 PM That’s Too good, whilst it is to be had india hope it will probably make a Rocking position for youngster.. wish that come true. Posted by: Truman Laws | August 25, 2011 at 05:56 PM :O So mush Info :O … THis Is he MOst AMAzing SIte DUDe… :D Posted by: Elois Lofwall | August 26, 2011 at 06:43 PM this text help me to come back out a few ideas to help me make my own agenda for my full time web business. Posted by: Fernando Hallquist | August 29, 2011 at 12:42 PM I paintings in internet advertising on the product aspect, so it’s great to be able gain more insight into how associates are choosing their products, though I strongly really feel that you are uncommon person who takes into consideration the wants of their visitors. Posted by: Edward Debrosse | August 29, 2011 at 08:53 PM When I don’t have an proposal to blog, I cleanup my folders in my PC and do defragmentation in my gadget… Posted by: Kristopher Zuleger | September 05, 2011 at 09:49 AM Keep running ,great activity! Posted by: internet affiliate marketing | September 05, 2011 at 02:18 PM It is a great article. I've now left the rat race, by no means to look back. You’re right that the one approach to make any decent money is via running your personal business! Posted by: Tashia Krommes | September 06, 2011 at 11:24 AM my God, i thought you were going to chip in with some decisive insght at the end there, not leave it with ‘we leave it to you to determine’. Posted by: Emerald Holter | September 06, 2011 at 07:14 PM Please, can you PM me and tell me few extra thinks approximately this, I am really fan of your blog...gets solved correctly asap. Posted by: Online Psychic Readings | September 08, 2011 at 11:26 AM A SUPPORTED BY THE DEVELOPER TOOLS? It was once interesting. You seem very knowledgeable in ypour field. Posted by: Edwardo Gobbo | September 09, 2011 at 07:15 AM Thanks for sharing those good stuffs!! I’ll actually put it into observe!! Posted by: Erich Barcliff | September 09, 2011 at 06:19 PM thanks !! very helpful post! Posted by: Sixta Puzo | September 14, 2011 at 05:37 AM I maintain listening to the information speak about getting loose online grant applications so I have been wanting around for the so much website to get one. Posted by: Reading Tarot Cards | September 14, 2011 at 02:36 PM Great suggestions you've gotten on your site. I'm a logo blogger and learning put in writing effective contents. I had began to write notes so the idea not slip out after I sit in entrance of the com. Posted by: Heat Pump Installers Auckland | September 21, 2011 at 07:29 PM if you want, I'll write you articles. Copywriter looking for work Posted by: discount vst plugins | September 23, 2011 at 12:16 AM You made some good factors there. I did a search on the subject and found most individuals will agree together with your blog. Posted by: Rickie Ferrando | September 26, 2011 at 09:54 AM In fact, what an incredible website and informative posts, I will upload inbound link - bookmark this website? Regards, Reader. Posted by: Frances Sonderegger | September 26, 2011 at 01:55 PM A SUPPORTED BY THE DEVELOPER TOOLS? It was once interesting. You seem very knowledgeable in ypour field. Posted by: Richelle Paranada | September 27, 2011 at 04:52 AM In searching for sites related to website hosting and specifically comparison internet hosting linux plan net, your web site came up. :) Posted by: Georgetta Coupe | September 27, 2011 at 05:38 AM Super-Duper web site! I'm loving it!! Will come back once more - taking you feeds additionally, Thanks. Posted by: real estate meadowbank | September 27, 2011 at 01:08 PM I so trust this comment. if you happen to have restricted sources and limited funds an educational on methods to pass about it could be great. I am a beginner Web Marketer with my first blog. Posted by: Jeffry Soron | September 28, 2011 at 05:29 AM Goodbye, Colonel. Posted by: pen fishing rod | September 30, 2011 at 01:54 AM Hello. Nice job. I did not expect this on a Wednesday. may also be nice story. Thanks! Posted by: Wilmer Roscioli | September 30, 2011 at 04:45 AM Fairly a complete checklist and makes for extraordinarily fascinating studying… Confidently will the ability to do it all though!!! Posted by: Heat Pump Installers Auckland | September 30, 2011 at 07:11 AM What's captcha code?, pls provide me captcha code codes or plugin, Thank you in advance. Posted by: Vaughn Duartes | September 30, 2011 at 07:27 AM The Oakland As have the 8th best record after the all-star break Posted by: Adolfo Waits | September 30, 2011 at 11:34 AM Once I don’t have an concept to blog, I cleanup my folders in my PC and do defragmentation in my system… Posted by: Leona Libberton | September 30, 2011 at 02:03 PM I so agree with this comment. if you happen to have restricted sources and restricted price range a tutorial on methods to pass about it might be great. I am a newbie Internet Marketer with my first blog. Posted by: Laraine Thillet | October 04, 2011 at 02:09 AM Hi there I really like your post Posted by: Alfredia Handcock | October 04, 2011 at 08:05 AM Just right concepts there. Congrats on getting linked from ProBlogger! Keep up the great work. Posted by: carpet cleaning auckland | October 05, 2011 at 06:05 AM Implausible article as all the time, I am significantly contemplating something alongside the strains of an associate section alone site… so very well timed post. Posted by: Earl Fusi | October 06, 2011 at 03:48 AM too run web-based b usiness (providing internet services) as smartly running full time for an IT consulting company. I get the perks of both worlds :) Posted by: Randall Limthong | October 06, 2011 at 10:46 AM Hello, that’s a fantastic list of tips. Picked up a tip or two from it…thanx. Posted by: Online Psychic Readings | October 07, 2011 at 03:39 AM Howdy very nice blog!! Guy .. Beautiful .. Wonderful .. I will bookmark your blog and take the feeds also... Posted by: Kenneth Rutten | October 07, 2011 at 08:39 AM we must promise.. Never giving up.. ;) Posted by: car mechanics | October 10, 2011 at 07:33 AM Hey Guru, what trap you to post an article. This text was extraordinarily attention-grabbing, particularly because I used to be looking for thoughts on this topic final Thursday. Posted by: Valentine Ucci | October 10, 2011 at 08:53 AM Maintain running ,great job! Posted by: Kendrick Boling | October 11, 2011 at 03:50 PM Hello. Nice job. I did not expect this on a Wednesday. This is a great story. Thanks! Posted by: Tiffiny Coppernoll | October 12, 2011 at 05:50 AM Nice submit! GA can be my greatest earning. Nevertheless, it’s not a much.:) Posted by: auckland web design | October 12, 2011 at 07:33 AM Hello. Great job. I didn't count on this on a Wednesday. can be nice story. Thank you! Posted by: Cherise Ploetz | October 14, 2011 at 01:33 AM I want I could find the time put in writing consistantly at my blog, on a day after day basis, such as you do. Nicely carried out! I look in advance your additional article. Posted by: Keva Rayl | October 14, 2011 at 06:34 AM I'm brazillian and really have 2 web enterprise, and answering e-mails take me at least 2 hour in step with day! I will’t proceed with this anymore. However, I don’t know someone that is in a position reply the identical method I do, so I wonder the day I'll can get a trip with out headaches. Posted by: Pura Berezny | October 14, 2011 at 06:51 AM Wow! Thanks! I at all times wanted to jot down in my web site one thing like that. Can I take part your put up to my weblog? Posted by: kitchen renovations auckland | October 14, 2011 at 02:29 PM I maintain being attentive to the information speak about getting free on-line supply purposes so I've been looking around for the very best site to get one. Posted by: Lu Zysk | October 18, 2011 at 01:52 AM I preserve being attentive to the news discuss getting unfastened online furnish functions so I've been wanting around for most effective site to get one. Posted by: Theo Lalla | October 18, 2011 at 09:39 AM Keep on running a blog! its getting through the robust times that make you more potent and then the good occasions will comply with, preserve writing about your studies and we should all pull together. Posted by: Albertha Zubris | October 18, 2011 at 11:07 AM almost more than part of the guidelines work for me ! yippy, i had a rise of 2000 guests in two days ! Posted by: hydraulic power steering | October 19, 2011 at 02:51 AM this article help me to come out a few ideas to assist me make my very own schedule for my complete time internet business. Posted by: kitchen renovations auckland | October 20, 2011 at 03:39 AM I feel easiest think about every topic as who use sort website normally use a number different subjects. I lately build brand new social bookmarking site. You're welcome to look it and specific your comment approximately it. Posted by: Beatriz Dhamer | October 25, 2011 at 02:36 AM Haven’t known that there is contest submitting website before! Posted by: businesses for sale nz | October 25, 2011 at 10:58 AM I am brazillian and really have 2 web enterprise, and answering e-mails take me much less than 2 hour in line with day! I will be able to’t continue with this anymore. But, I don’t realize somebody that able answer the same way I do, so I ponder the day I'll can get a trip with out headaches. Posted by: Bret Berdy | October 27, 2011 at 06:59 AM A SUPPORTED BY THE DEVELOPER TOOLS? It used to be interesting. You appear very knowledgeable in ypour field. Posted by: Selena Rosky | October 27, 2011 at 08:52 AM A SUPPORTED BY THE DEVELOPER TOOLS? It was interesting. You appear very educated in ypour field. Posted by: Justin Danesh | October 28, 2011 at 02:53 AM Tremendous-Duper website! I am loving it!! Will come again again - taking you feeds also, Thanks. Posted by: Numbers Dehghani | November 01, 2011 at 02:53 AM Superb causes but might one Identification like to recognise more approximately like I informed you Im new to tis blogging thing altho I've posted a number blogs I still have heaps to be taught and Im interested in the one that says go back to your previous posts and edit them for website positioning like what do I edit to make them better any phrases particularly I should add ? Like I stated Im the sort of dummie at some issues and search engine optimisation I do not understand thanks your article was interesting. Posted by: Delta Braham | November 01, 2011 at 06:58 AM I do not see a lot effect on my sales on the moment. The fact is that, i was not relying on adsense. I positioned my blog to sell something which i manufacture. So, they cash coming in from sales. Posted by: rest homes | November 03, 2011 at 10:03 AM Nice advice and suggestions, Thanks so much! Posted by: Jody Anselmi | November 04, 2011 at 05:11 AM I’ll be following your blog. =) Posted by: Kenneth Korslund | November 04, 2011 at 11:54 AM I am happy I was able to find your submit! I really respect the knowledge! Would you thoughts terribly if I position a one way link from my web site ? Posted by: Clyde Zachariah | November 11, 2011 at 02:06 AM Improbable article as always, I'm critically considering something along the traces of an associate part by myself website… so very well timed post. Posted by: Cecily Audie | November 11, 2011 at 05:49 AM I usually don’t post in Blogs but your blog compelled me to, wonderful work.. beautiful … Posted by: Patsy Brei | November 11, 2011 at 12:41 PM Hiya, I discovered your weblog in a new listing of blogs. I dont know the way your blog got here up, need to been a typo, Your weblog appears good. Have a pleasant day. Posted by: discount auto rental christchurch | November 11, 2011 at 01:26 PM I think you already have social bookmarking for your blog see the footer. However that's from some other website. I assume you wish to make it direct? There are numerous strategies take a look at however none of them are sio simple so that you want do a little laborious work. Attempt Posted by: trolley jack | November 15, 2011 at 12:26 PM We're in robust times these days, economic is pretty bad. To achieve visitors and readers, it’s actually about putting quality contents and interesting articles. Posted by: Sonny Ehrismann | November 16, 2011 at 03:02 PM that is fascinating about the affiliate marketing. do you do any direct marketing or promoting on your web site? Posted by: Adele Base | November 16, 2011 at 11:11 PM gr8 resrch bro… Posted by: Branden Ebenstein | November 16, 2011 at 11:42 PM What is captcha code?, pls present me captcha code codes or plugin, Thank you in advance. Posted by: Sarah Rosell | November 16, 2011 at 11:42 PM Come on dude, these information* and proof* i imply who's posting* lol :P Posted by: Rebeca Hemm | November 17, 2011 at 05:16 AM Thanks on your assist! Posted by: Genoveva Cordova | November 17, 2011 at 12:20 PM Come on dude, those info* and proof* i mean who's posting* lol :P Posted by: Stacey Reyer | November 18, 2011 at 04:45 PM We are in tough instances nowadays, financial is pretty bad. To achieve visitors and readers, it’s actually about placing quality contents and attention-grabbing articles. Posted by: Lindsey Stellfox | November 20, 2011 at 09:40 AM thank you !! very helpful publish! Posted by: Anette Delhoyo | November 20, 2011 at 03:15 PM sure, i believe that these sort of ideas are important. however, that’s just a bit half in search engine marketing CMIIW. Posted by: psychic on line | November 21, 2011 at 02:23 PM I see fairly just a few affiliate entrepreneurs that shrink back from selling high-value level merchandise, pondering, “who’s going to want to buy that?”. I’m with you, although – it’s a excellent suggestion to supply a wide selection of products at totally different price factors to attraction to a variety of consumers. Posted by: business on sale | November 23, 2011 at 06:39 AM I really like this article.I additionally make a promoting for my affiliate product is 60% dominant from content material at my weblog,and forty% from PPC promoting that i use. Posted by: psychic readings for free | November 23, 2011 at 06:58 AM Thank you so much for this info. :) Posted by: rest homes | November 23, 2011 at 10:00 AM Outstandingly written report, if all blog writers provided the same information just like you, the web would be a more suitable area. Posted by: handmade Christmas ornaments | December 30, 2011 at 12:49. Posted by: best free video editing software | January 01, 2012 at 01:16 PM Wow that was strange. I just wrote an incredibly long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn't show up. Grrrr... well I'm not writing all that over again. Anyhow, just wanted to say superb blog! Posted by: birthday favors | January 04, 2012 at 12:26 AM Usually I do not read article on blogs, but I wish to say that this write-up very forced me to try and do it! Your writing style has been surprised me. Thanks, quite nice post. Posted by: false eyelashes | January 04, 2012 at 01:04 PM Heya i’m for the primary time here. I found this board and I to find It truly helpful & it helped me out a lot. I am hoping to give something back and help others such as you helped me. Posted by: Puppy Training | January 05, 2012 at 01:58 PM You should participate in a contest for one of the best blogs on the web. I will suggest this site! Posted by: prezzi iphone 4 | January 05, 2012 at 03:03 PM Heya i am for the first time here. I found this board and I find It really useful & it helped me out much. I hope to give something back and aid others like you helped me. Posted by: Diablo 3 Mods | January 10, 2012 at 11:21 AM Hello there I am so glad I found your blog, I really found you by accident, while I was looking on Digg for something else, Regardless I am here now and would just like to say kudos work. Posted by: SWTOR Credits | January 10, 2012 at 12:17 PM Hello there, was just in the area and stumbled on your blog. I'm an enormous admirer of the things you come up with at this website and I will surely visit your website in the future. In the meantime, carry on with the good work. It's fantastic to discover a person who knows just what they are referencing. Posted by: Taylor Coomber | February 21, 2012 at 05: read more html code button | February 21, 2012 at 07:38 PM Will the last person leaving the Constitutional Republic that was the United States of America please turn out the lights. Posted by: August Hedquist | April 13, 2012 at 12:35 AM. Posted by: 608672 | August 21, 2012 at 06:28 AM intriguing Here's a ping for your attention Posted by: | November 05, 2012 at 12:08 PM Real excellent information can be found on this web site. Posted by: tera gold | November 09, 2012 at 05:25 AM I enjoyed your wonderful site. super information. I hope you release others. I will continue reading Posted by: lecithin | November 16, 2012 at 08:47 AM These are generally so wonderful! Thanks a great deal of for sharing them.:) Posted by: Al Codere | December 06, 2012 at 01:56 PM excellent tips altogether, you just gained a model new reader. What would you advise in regards to your submit that you created a number of days in the past? Any beneficial? Posted by: Lashonda Inouye | December 29, 2012 at 10:10 PM I will not even know how I ended up right here, but I considered this submit was good. I tend not to know who you will be but certainly you are going to a popular blogger when you aren't previously ;) Cheers! Posted by: Brandi Hemsley | December 29, 2012 at 11:54 PM I ought to get across my admiration on your generosity for men and women who completely will need guidance on in such a problem. Your authentic commitment to obtaining the resolution together experienced been absolutely helpful and have continually enabled fellas considerably like me to arrive at their preferred desired goals. The vital hints and ideas can imply considerably to me and far much more to my mates. Quite a few thanks; from all of us. Posted by: Antionette Situ | December 30, 2012 at 03:22 AM You'll find some intriguing deadlines on this posting however I don’t know if I see all of them middle to cardiovascular. There may be some validity but I will acquire preserve opinion until finally I seem into it more. Very good write-up , thanks and we desire much more! Additional to FeedBurner as appropriately Posted by: Jimmy Grensky | December 30, 2012 at 01:00 PM It’s laborious to search for out educated people on this make any difference, but you sound like you by now know that which you’re speaking about! Thanks Posted by: Nicholle Coultrap | February 02, 2013 at 08:59 AM Thanks for a different magnificent article. Exactly where else could any person get that type of info in this sort of an ideal way of writing? I have a presentation following week, and I'm on the search for such info. Posted by: Jadwiga Tobler | February 09, 2013 at 02:00 AM Hiya, I am definitely glad We have observed this details. Nowadays bloggers publish just about gossips and website and that is seriously irritating. A superb internet site with exciting content, that is what I need to have. Thanks for keeping this word wide web website, I'll be visiting it. Do you need to do newsletters? Cant come across it. Posted by: pr | February 14, 2013 at 10:49 PM Guten tag! Hehehe! I'm not Deutsch, but had ya going! Nice site neway, I love what you wrote. Posted by: Replacement Plates UK | February 25, 2013 at 01:32 AM I've heard this sort of thing on another site, but you nailed it! Posted by: Replacement Motorbike Number Plates UK | February 25, 2013 at 03:56 AM Wonderful work! This could be the kind of information that needs to be shared around the world-wide-web. Shame on the search engines like google for not positioning this publish greater! Come on around and go to my website . Thanks =) Posted by: Chantelle Swepson | March 12, 2013 at 05:46 AM Undoubtedly feel that which you explained. Your popular justification seemed being about the world-wide-web the simplest matter for being conscious of. I say to you, I certainly get irked though men and women contemplate worries that they just never know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the high and also defined out the whole matter with no acquiring aspect impact , people today can take on a sign. Will possibly be back again to have more. Thanks Posted by: Mirella Arjune | March 15, 2013 at 01:03 AM I've read this sort of thing somewhere else, but you got it spot on! Posted by: 24 Hour Security Guards | March 18, 2013 at 12:09 AM Found this from Google express. Awesome stuff, interesting and entertaining! Liking it Posted by: Doormen London | March 18, 2013 at 09:31 AM z42dse Thanks-a-mundo for the blog post.Really looking forward to read more. Will read on... Posted by: Social bookmarks | March 23, 2013 at 01:02 AM Thank you for an additional incredible put up. Exactly where else could anybody get that type of info in such an perfect means of creating? I have a presentation next weeks time, and I'm about the search for these types of info. Posted by: home | March 27, 2013 at 06:42 PM An fascinating dialogue is value comment. I think that you will need to publish additional on this topic, it won't be described as a taboo subject nonetheless usually persons are not adequate to talk on this sort of topics. Towards the upcoming. Cheers Posted by: click this | March 27, 2013 at 10:11 PM Great blog article.Much thanks again. Cool. Posted by: comedy channel | April 07, 2013 at 04:53 AM Thanks for your complete tough perform on this internet site. My aunt seriously adores carrying out investigations and it can be obvious why. My companion and that i know all with the dynamic style you give valuable ideas by means of your web web site and for that reason strongly encourage participation from other men and women about this topic subject although our favourite female is without having a doubt learning a great deal. Carry satisfaction inside the remaining portion from the new calendar year. You happen to be constantly carrying out a initially school position. Posted by: Ashton Persons | April 24, 2013 at 09:57 PM gHlh11 I think this is a real great article.Much thanks again. Keep writing. Posted by: buy social bookmarks | April 25, 2013 at 03:39 AM I really liked your blog post.Really looking forward to read more. Really Great. Posted by: medical receivables funding | May 01, 2013 at 07:48 PM I am continually browsing on the web for articles which will support me. Thanks! Posted by: Stephine Basista | May 09, 2013 at 01:21 AM Hey, you used to publish wonderful, however the survive several posts are actually kinda boring… I miss your super writings. Previous a number of posts are just a bit out of monitor! can come on! Posted by: Na Suon | May 15, 2013 at 04:50 AM Excellent – I really should undoubtedly pronounce, impressed with your site. I acquired no problems navigating via each of the tabs at the same time as linked details ended up currently being really uncomplicated to perform to entry. I just lately identified what I hoped for prior to you understand it inside least. Quite unusual. Is more likely to value it for those who add discussion boards or a thing, web site theme . a tones way in your buyer to communicate. Superb process.. Posted by: Corey Sobolik | October 24, 2013 at 08:45 AM I am hoping that you are going to be elaborating a little more on this topic. I would like a bit more information. Posted by: Jasmine | February 20, 2014 at 07:39 PM Hi Admin! Turn up the heat this summer! Sexy lingeries starting at 50% OFF! Click: Posted by: AliExpress.com FREE SHIPPING | October 05, 2015 at 12:55 PM Excellent post. I was checking continuously this blog and I'm impressed! Extremely helpful info particularly the last part :) I care for such info a lot. I was looking for this particular information for a long time. Thank you and good luck. Posted by: ek is veren firmalar | October 13, 2015 at 03:24 PM A round of applause for your blog article. Much obliged. Posted by: angel eyes | February 03, 2016 at 02:06 AM

Tweet Advances in Consumer Research Volume 15, 1988 Pages 375-380 PROBLEMS WITH VALS IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETING RESEARCH: AN EXAMPLE FROM AN APPLICATION OF THE EMPIRICAL MIRROR TECHNIQUE Sharon E. Beatty, University of Alabama Pamela M. Homer, University of Texas at Austin Lynn R. Kahle, University of Oregon ABSTRACT - This paper examines the usefulness of VALS by surveying a cross-section of students from both the U.S. and other countries and by presenting, explaining, and applying a VALS algorithm, which was empirically developed to mirror the proprietary VALS algorithm. The results suggest that the demographically adjusted empirical mirror approach to VALS does a reasonable job of reproducing VALS. categorizations. The problems of studying values cross-culturally and the use of VALS specifically are addressed. An alternative methodology, LOV, is suggested as a preferable means to examine value structures. INTRODUCTION Values are central to people's lives (Rokeach 1973). Many behaviors are enacted to fulfill values. Values influence attitude formation and the way in which information is processed, for example. Recent marketing research has shown that values have a significant influence on, among other things, television viewing habits, activity preferences, store choice, consumer decision criteria, consumer product choice, reaction to discontinuous innovations, and cigarette smoking (Becker and Conner 1981, Kahle 1985, McQuarrie and Langmeyer 1985, Pitts and Woodside 1984). Values provide clues about how a society operates because values are also central to society. Some scholars view values as the individual's representation of a society's goals. If one wants to understand a culture, investigation of the values of people in that culture provides a promising starting point. Values should logically be a central topic for cross-cultural research. A recent study (Kahle 1986) demonstrated that values vary among geographic regions in the U.S. Nevertheless, few scholars have published rigorous studies designed to investigate comparative values internationally (Berrien 1966; Zavaloni 1980). International Research on Values The opportunities and needs for international research on values have been expanding recently. Cultural exchanges flourish as international relations dictate people's economic and social well-being. Due in part to the importance of the emerging global economy, many countries are rapidly increasing their importance in the international marketplace, and residents of each of these countries may have a slightly different pattern of values, which international marketers will need to fathom. Cross-national study of values can provide needed cross-cultural understanding of consumers. Japanese marketers, for example, have long promoted their products in the U.S., yet they still have much to learn about the American consumer. One reason Toyota agreed to a joint venture with General Motors was that it provided "a relatively cheap and quick way to learn how to operate in the U.S. with a partner who knows the ins and outs of American business" (Business Week, May 28, 1984, p. 58). American businesses are also eager for information about foreign consumers. In the 1986 NCEIS Trade Analyst readership poll of the top ten trade issues, international marketing was listed as the number one priority. An understanding of cross-cultural values can assist U.S. firms in marketing their products successfully to foreign consumers. The positive impact on profits of individual firms could be accompanied by an improvement in the U.S. foreign trade balance of payments. Researchers can examine the relation of values to consumption of specific products within different countries. For example, researchers can explore the effect of values on segmentation and targeting of products. Because values influence the way in which consumers react to product offerings, advertising, packaging, pricing, personal selling, and retailing, the effective marketer should be aware of this influence and incorporate it when developing marketing strategy and when planning products. Some failures by firms attempting to penetrate foreign consumer markets may be traceable in part to misunderstanding of values and how these values influence consumer choice VALS Research Marketing scholars (e.g., Holman 1984) have informally expressed a great deal of interest in the Values and Lifestyles (VALS) methodology developed at SRI International by Mitchell (1983) and others. The creators of this approach emphasize its combined - segmentation power based on demographics, life style variables, and values. Its conceptualization implies that it has potential for international value research. Researchers have been limited, however, by lack of access to the VALS weighting algorithm, which is proprietary. One purpose of this article is to propose and examine a public algorithm for weighting responses to critical questions that will approximate the VALS weighting system, enabling researchers of international values to use it. This proposed system is based on mirroring empirical data reported by Mitchell (1983). The development of VALS started from the theoretical base of Maslow's (1954) need hierarchy and the concept of social character (Relsman, Glazer, and Denny 1950). Mitchell (1983) conducted the primary study of VALS. Through statistical and theoretical means he identified attitude and demographic questions deemed useful in classifying people into one of nine life style types. The life style types in the United States include survivors (4%), sustainers (7%), belongers (35%), emulators (9%), achievers (22%), I-am-me (5%), experiential (7%), societally conscious (9%), and integrated (2%). Weighting of questions for classification was developed using data from a national probability sample of 1635 Americans and their spouses/mates (1078) who responded to an SRI International mail survey in 1980. Although many studies have apparently applied the VALS methodology (Holman 1984), only the 1980 study results have been made public for quantitative inspection, and even then the weighting system was not reported; however, Mitchell did report what questions are used in the VALS algorithm and presented data on the percentage of people who agreed with each item in each VALS type (with the exception of the integrated group3. The lack of public access to the scoring algorithm has also led to a lack of information on the validity of the VALS approach on U.S. data. We know even less about the degree to which this approach would yield meaningful results in other countries. Mitchell (1983) devotes one chapter to this issue, in which he presents the findings from one VALS study that examines 5 countries. He compares European life styles to American life styles, although he suggests that the research reported is preliminary. Beatty, Kahle, Homer and Giltvedt (1986) utilized the VALS algorithm on a Norwegian sample and found a number of similarities between VALS types in Norway and the United States. The debate over measuring cross-national consumer values could progress to a higher level if scholars had easy access to a measurement system that approximates VALS. We are proposing that such an algorithm for scoring VALS can be derived. Therefore, the guiding hypothesis for the present study is that it is possible to develop a weighting system that approximates the VALS weighting system. METHOD Subjects The subjects were 167 students enrolled at a large state university in the Western United States. In order to optimize heterogeneity of variance within such a homogeneous group and because of the importance of international values, we drew the primary sample from foreign students who had at least 25 other citizens of their country also enrolled at the University. This limit was applied to ensure that the student at least had an opportunity for ongoing interaction with fellow representatives of his or her culture. One university admission requirement is a score of at least 500 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), implying respondents have developed at least a minimal facility with English. We also drew a sample of North Americans (70 U. S. citizens and 1 Canadian), again over-sampling out-of-state students. Within these stratification parameters the sampling technique was a simple probability selection. All respondents had lived in the United States for at least 6 months and were thus probably at least minimally familiar with American issues assessed in the survey. Students who failed to reply to the initial mailing received a reminder telephone call the following week and a replacement questionnaire the week after that, resulting in a response rate of 52%. Materials Subjects responded to the VALS algorithm items reported by Mitchell. We excluded the questions on political party identification because a large percentage of respondents were not citizens of the United States. We excluded the question on occupation because all respondents were full-time students. We included a direct question on size of home town residence area. Mitchell coded size of residence area from zip codes, but many of our respondents came from countries without zip codes. Finally, we modified the question on household income to personal income because pilot testing revealed that students found the wording of Mitchell's item confusing. That is, they were uncertain whether their household referred to their school or home town household. In several instances where we replicated Mitchell exactly we nevertheless failed to obtain responses in all response categories. For example, in our young sample no one answered the marital status question with widowed. Categorizing Respondents into VALS Types Because Mitchell does not supply the weights for computing VALS categories and because it is difficult to gain access to these weights (personal correspondence with B. Warrick, April, 1984), we developed an "empirical mirror" strategy to estimate weights. Mitchell (1983) does provide percentages of his respondents who fell into each VALS group for all but one of the VALS algorithm items. These data served as input for our estimation approach. To compute the scores for VALS types we first standardized all algorithm items in our data (i.e., the first 25 items in Table 1) except the nominal, bracketed variables of marital status, political outlook, social class, and ethnicity. In accord with the VALS procedure, we calculated 8 separate VALS equations corresponding to each of the VALS types. The national sample percentages reported by Mitchell (1983, p. 279 ff.) were used to compute weighted means and weighted standard deviations for each of the VALS algorithm items. Next, for each item, the difference between the mean for each VALS group and the weighted overall mean was divided by the standard deviation. These numbers served as our weights and are reflections of the degree to which each category varied from the norm on each question in the national sample. The standardized scores of our sample data were then multiplied by the corresponding ratio. For example, the standardized score for item 1 was multiplied by each of the eight group ratios of the form: group i mean for item 1 - overall mean for item 1 overall standard deviation for item 1 (1) where group i (1,2,...,8) is each VALS type. This process was repeated for each VALS item except the nominal, bracketed items. At this point, all items referring to a specific group were summed, and this summation was performed for all 8 groups. This can be represented more generally as: EQUATION where: VALSk = score for empirical mirror VALS group X Sj = subject's standardized score for item j Xjk = group k's mean for item j Xj = overall mean for item j SDj = standard deviation for item j. Next was the treatment of the four nominal, bracketed variables. Because the absolute value of nominal variables has no meaning other than classification into categories, an alternative measure is appropriate to insure that a score is not biased in the wrong direction. Consistent with the previous items, we calculated ratios of the difference between national sample group means and overall means and the national sample standard deviations. This calculation was done for each category level for the four nominal items. For example, for social class, ratios were calculated for each life style and relevant sample category level (3 levels) combination (i.e., 8 x 3 = 24 total ratios). These nominal item scores were then added to the eight life style equations for the level of the nominal variable selected by the respondent, thus yielding eight distinct scores for each subject. Table 1 shows the rounded item weight or bracket weight used for each VALS group for each item or bracket. The eight distinct scores are merely the summation of these rows with each item weight first multiplied by the respective standardized score of the VALS algorithm items, except that the bracketed item weights are added unadjusted. For each subject the eight scores were assessed, and the largest score defined how the subject was classified on VALS. Because Mitchell provided no data for the integrated category, it was not possible to include that category. Also, the item of father's education (but not own education) was excluded because Mitchell provided no data on it. The actual weights in the VALS algorithm are computed at the item-response level. Because of the common observation among practitioners that VALS relies heavily on demographics, we also computed a demographically adjusted empirical mirror, in which age, income, education, and marital status weights were multiplied by 5. TABLE 1 WEIGHTS ASSIGNED TO ITEMS FOR VALS CLASSIFICATION RESULTS The percentage of the people in each VALS type from Mitchell's national sample and the percentage of people from our sample falling in each VALS category with the actual VALS algorithm, the empirical mirror VALS algorithm, and the demographically adjusted empirical mirror VALS algorithm are presented in Table 2. Only 2 categories differed from Mitchell's national sample by more than 10% for the actual VALS and demographically adjusted empirical mirror: belongers and achievers. The shortage of belongers and achievers probably results from the youth of this sample. Both of the empirical mirror formulations show a significant relationship with actual VALS. For the unadjusted empirical mirror the relation with actual VALS shows a contingency coefficient of .682, 4 = .932, and a x2(49) = 145.2, p < .001. For the demographically adjusted empirical mirror relation with actual VALS the contingency coefficient is .755, t= 1.15 and x2(49) = 220.87, p < .001. These results imply a strong relation between the empirical mirror techniques and actual VALS. As expected, the demographically adjusted empirical mirror appears to provide a closer approximation to actual VALS than does the unadjusted empirical mirror. TABLE 2 PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS IN EACH VALS TYPE WITH THE THREE MEASURING SYSTEMS DISCUSSION Methodology and International Value Research Values are difficult to measure even within homogeneous cultures. Much recent research on consumer values has emphasized methodological concerns (e.g., Beatty, Kahle, Homer and Misra 1985; Homer and Kahle in press; Kahle, Beatty, and Homer 1986). Values are among the most abstract of social cognitions (Kahle 1984), thus rendering them elusive to highly concrete measure. Most values are viewed positively by most people, thus leading to positively bias and ceiling effects. Irrelevant needs, salience, super-ordination, impression management, social change, excessive abstractness, and ambiguity of meaning may all distort self-reports of values. A number of additional methodological challenges exist with cross-cultural surveys and research. Researchers must convey the meaning of questions accurately and in a way respondents can grasp. They must correctly incorporate subtleties and nuances of language. Comparative questionnaires should be translated and back translated by bilingual nationals. Researchers also must select the most effective method of communication (e.g., mail, telephone, or personal interview) within a culture. Construction of an adequate sample is potentially far more complex for researchers in some countries than in others, because sources similar to the ones used to describe populations in some countries may not be available in others. Even with adequate questionnaires, people in some cultures may simply think in ways too different to isolate within a conventional research context. Finally, certain questions to which some cultures are willing to respond may be considered sensitive or inappropriate by others. The generality of the entire approach of cross-national research still needs further demonstration in a variety of nations (the emic-etic problem applied to methodology). Problems With VALS The VALS methodology may be particularly prone to some of the above problems, as well as having its own unique problems. Both the collection and analysis of data are a fairly tedious process. The translation and back-translation of 34 items (which is the short form of VALS) along with the various other questions asked in the questionnaire will be time consuming and can lead to a good deal of cultural bias. The meanings and nuances of a set of attitudinal and behavioral statements will simply have a greater chance of distortion and ambiguity than simpler statements. Some of the statements seem particularly tied to the U.S. culture and need considerable modification. Earlier we noted some necessary changes we had to make in the instrument to make it fit our sample. This type of fitting might be necessary for each sample taken. For example, the new algorithm item, "Just as the Bible says, the world literally was created in six days," may simply confuse a Buddhist in Japan. We are also concerned that the VALS algorithm is heavily dependent upon demographics. It was necessary for us to adjust our demographic questions, and this fact suggests that the VALS questionnaire would always require some adjustment if the sample is demographically non-representative in some way. Further, the meaning of demographics may vary from country to country. For example, the variance in income is much smaller in Norway than in the U.S., suggesting income contributes less to individual differences among Norwegians. VALS' heavy dependence on demographics suggests it is not a pure measure of values or psych( graphics, which reduces the theoretical importance of the methodology and conceptualization. An Alternative to VALS One alternative to VALS is the List of Values (LOV), which was developed by researchers at the University of Michigan Survey Research Center (Kahle 1983; Veroff, Douvan, and Kulka 1981). LOV was developed from a theoretical base of Feather's (1975), Maslow's (1954), and Rokeach's (1973) work on values, in order to assess adaptation to various roles through value fulfillment. It is tied most closely to social adaptation theory (Kahle 1983, 1984). Subjects see a list of nine values, including self-respect, security, warm relationships with others, sense of accomplishment, self-fulfillment, sense of belonging, being well respected, fun and enjoyment in life, and excitement. These values can be used to classify people on Maslow's (1954) hierarchy, and they relate more closely to the values of life's major roles (i.e., marriage, parenting, work, leisure, daily consumption) than do the values in the Rokeach (1973) Value-Survey (Beatty et al. 1985) or in VALS (Kahle, Beatty and Homer 1986). In the LOV method, subjects have been asked to identify their two most important values (Kahle 1983; Veroff et al. 1981), to rank the values (Beatty et al. 1985, Kahle et al. 1986), or to rate the values on a 1 to 9 interval scale from extremely important to extremely unimportant (Kahle and Homer in press). Although LOV and VALS share some disadvantages, the advantage of LOV over VALS are numerous (Kahle et al. 1986). LOV significantly predicts consumer behavior trends more often than does VALS. LOV is easier and quicker to administer. It involves minimal computer work to analyze the findings. It is not as subject to individual interpretation, which can be a considerable problem in international research. That is, the exact phrase may be more easily retained or translated. This advantage also implies that advertising implications may be more obviously based on the findings. LOV can employ higher level (interval) statistics, also. CONCLUSIONS These results seem not to disprove the hypothesis, which postulates that it is possible to develop a weighting scheme to approximate VALS. The results suggest a degree of face validity for the "empirical mirror" technique of deriving weights for VALS scoring, especially when demographically corrected. The phi coefficients and other measures of association suggest empirical correspondence. Of course, the empirical mirror weights are not identical to the weights used by SRI International. But small variations in weights may not alter composite construction to any large degree (Wainer 1976; Wang and Stanley 1970). A further limitation is that SRI International periodically revises the actual weights, thus making the exact algorithm somewhat different from time to time. Additionally, this paper addressed the many methodological problems associated with the study of values and with the use of VALS specifically. An alternative approach, LOV, is presented and compared with VALS on a number of dimensions, such as ease of use and analysis, predictive ability and interpretive/application ability. LOV is found to be superior to VALS on these dimensions. One of the most fundamental principles of science is public sharing of information (Ziman 1968). "Objectivity and logical rationality, the supreme characteristics of the Scientific Attitude, are meaningless for the isolated individual; they imply a strong social context, and the sharing of experience and opinion" (Ziman 1968, p. 144). The time has come to allow scientists to share research on VALS, especially because many marketing texts now promote VALS. Scientific research on VALS should be encouraged. We are just beginning to unlock important knowledge on consumer values. Which of several methodologies is most useful in marketing research can best be answered by further empirical investigation (Kahle 19853. REFERENCES Beatty, Sharon E., Lynn R. Kahle, Pamela Homer and Anders Giltvedt (in press), "A Cross-Cultural Exploration of the VALS Typology," in Robert E. Pitts, Jagdish Seth, and Umberto Valencia, Eds., Cultural and Subcultural Influences in Consumer Behavior, forthcoming. Beatty, Sharon E., Lynn R. Kahle, Pamela Homer, and Shekhar Misra (1985), "Alternative Measurement Approaches to Consumer Values: The List of Values and the Rokeach Value Survey," Psychology and Marketing, 2 (3), 181-200. Becker, Boris W., & Conner, P. E. (1981), "Personal Values and the Heavy Users of Mass Media," Journal of Advertising Research, 21, 37-43. Berrien, F. K. (1966), "Japanese and American Values," International Journal of Psychology, 71, 129-142. Feather, Norman T. (1975), Values in Education and Society, New York: Free Press. Holman, Rebecca (1984), "A Values and Life Styles Perspective on Human Behavior," in Personal Values and Consumer Psychology, Robert E. Pitts, Jr., & Arch G. Woodside, eds. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books. Homer, Pamela M., & Kahle, Lynn R. (in press), "A Structural Equation Test of the Value-Attitude Behavior Hierarchy," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, forthcoming. Kahle, Lynn R., Ed. (1983), Social Values and Social Change: Adaptation to Life in America, New York: Praeger. Kahle, Lynn R. (1984), Attitudes and Social Adaptation: A Person-Situation Interaction Approach, Oxford, U.K.: Pergamon. Kahle, Lynn R. (1985), "Social Values in the Eighties: A Special Issue," Psychology and Marketing, 2 (Winter), 231-237. Kahle, Lynn R. (1986), "The Nine Nations of North America and the Value Basis of Geographic Segmentation," Journal of Marketing, 50 (April), 37-47. Kahle, Lynn R., Beatty, Sharon E., & Homer, Pamela M. (1986), "Alternative Measurement Approaches to Consumer Values: The List of Values (LOV) and Values and Lifestyle Segmentation (VALS)," Journal of Consumer Research, 13 (December), 405-409. Kahle, Lynn R., & Eisert, Debra C. (1986), "Social Values in the American Workplace." In Eric Flamholtz, Yvonne Randle, and Sonja Sackmann, Eds., Future Directions in Human Resource Management, Los Angeles: UCLA Publications, 203-223. Maslow, Abraham H. (1954), Motivation and Personality, New York: Harper. McQuarrie, Edward F. and Langmeyer, Daniel (1985), "Using Values to Measure Attitudes Toward Discontinuous Innovations," Psychology and Marketing, 2 (Winter), 239-252. Mitchell, Arnold (1983), The Nine American Life Styles, New York: Warner. Pitts, Robert E., Jr., and Arch G. Woodside, Eds. (1984), -Personal Values and Consumer Psychology. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books. Riesman, David, Nathan Glazer, and Revil Denney (1950), The Lonely Crowd, New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. Rokeach, Milton (1973), The Nature of Human Values, New York: Free Press. Veroff, Joseph, Elizabeth Douvan, and Richard A. Kulka (1981), The Inner American, New York: Basic Books. Wainer, Howard (19-76), "Estimating Coefficients in Linear Models: It Don't Make No Nevermind," - Psychological Bulletin, 83 (March), 213-217. Wang, M. W. and Julian C. Stanley (1970), "Differential Weighing: A Review of Methods and Empirical Studies," Review of Educational Research, 40, 663-705. Zavalloni, M. (1980), "Values," In Harry C. Triandis and Richard W. Brislin, Eds. Handbook of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol.5. Social Psychology. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Ziman, John (1968), Public Knowledge: An Essay Concerning the Social Dimension of Science, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ---------------------------------------- |

Pages 424-436 (5 of 7) September (5 of 7) Nieupoort the Dutch ambassador to secretary Thurloe. Vol. xlii. p. 489. Right honorable, I Can very wel consider, that in the present conjuncture of time your honor hath many important domesticq affairs. Yet seeinge it appeareth soe manifestly, that all desaffected persons, and such as thinke it to be their interest to raise jealousies and unkindnesses betwixt both states and nations, are daily to that purpose very active, I hope your honor will not thinke it amisse to bee mindfull alsoe of the forrain; most instantly beseeching your honor, that I may bee able to give some accoumpt to the lords my superiors, concerninge my proposals to the lords his serene highnes comissioners for the marine treaty on the 5th/15 instant. That it may alsoe bee ordered (if it be not done already) that the two Holland ships or vessells expressed in the papers, which I delivered to his most serene highnes on thursday last, be released without charges. The depositions here inclosed are sufficient to cleare all scruples; and I doe not doubt, but that the certificat, quoted with the letter A, concerning the torturinge the cooke in the ship called the Sheep-fold of Ameland, will operate soe much, that the man guilty of such exorbitant and inhumane proceedings may receive condigne punishment. The master of the said ship complaineth, that the oats laden therein beinge detained soe long in the port of Dover, are much heated, and like to be utterly spoyled, yf they muste remain longer a shipboard; beseechinge therefore, that the same may bee sold and disposed of for the use of his owners in this commonwealth. To which end I doe seriously recomend to your honor his most humble petition here inclosed. Truly I have found myselfe obliged to trouble your honor with these lines, beinge sure, that such seisures and detentions as aforesaid doe very much exasperate the people's minds, and grief the best affected to the present gouvernment, which I pray the Lord to preserve, remaininge, Right honorable, Your honor's most humble servant, Will. Nieupoort. In Barkshire house, the 16/26 of Septemb. 1656. Tuesday, the 15th of September, 1656. At the council at Whitehall. Vol. xiii. p. 475. Ordered, That it be offered to his highness, as the advice of the council, that his highness will be pleased to grant a commission for the enlisting of a regiment of foot, consisting of twelve hundred, besides officers, as part of the militia forces in the county of Southampton. That it be offered to his highness, as the advice of the council, that his highness will be pleased to grant a commission for enlisting of two companies of foot, consisting of two hundred in each, besides officers, in the town of Southampton, as part of the militia forces there. Hen. Scobell, clerk of the council. Secretary Thurloe to H. Cromwell, major general of the army in Ireland. In the possession of Joseph Jekyll esq. My lord, This is the eve of the parlament, and our thoughts here are soe taken up in prepareinge for it, that I must begge your lordship's pardon, if I be very breife by this post. The councell, upon consideration of the elections, have refused to admitt of neare 100 of those, who are chosen. This greives very much, and it disappoints alsoe some men, who exprest very great readines to be at their old worke. By the next your lordship shall have an account of our condition and temper. His highnes is willinge, if your lordship thinkes fitt, that sir John Reynolds come over; and I humblie beseech your lordship to let hym knowe as much. There hath nothinge occurred since my last worth your lordship's knowledge; and therefore I may with the better grace make an end already, and signe me Your lordship's most humble and faithfull servant, Jo. Thurloe. Whitehall, 16 Sept. 1656. A letter of intelligence from Madrid. Vol. xlii. p. 483. [Paragraph contains cyphered content — see page image] Sir, My last was of the 23d current, axing/advising how one of the gramps/galleons was comeing with five merchantmen, 2 of which was dxtbf/burned, and that by themselves sooner than yeald, and most of the max/money is saved. 2 more arrived in Clyrr/Cadiz, and after all this the gramps/galleon was seen to continue BlkwibI./fighting. The governor of Clyrr/Cadiz sent out three gallies and A ucosqu/40 shallops to releive the gramp/galleon, and they found neither gramp/galleon nor Bartaine filb/admiral Blake's fleet, soe that it is not knowen, wheather the gramp or noe is talke/galleon be taken or not. This is what news the Spanish king has; noathing resents them more but the feare of the max/money to come to yx/your hands. Sparker/Spain loses not above W/400 thousand pieces of eight/pieces of eight his was in those that came. As for news they say, that in the 2 ships that was burned, there were 4 or 5 men of quality, and all their familys, and above 500 men all drowned. The k. of France agent in Marga/Madrid about the palme/peace departs this day/week, without effecting any thing, after all hoapes we had. I beleeve he will not be stopt the 3d time, for Liver/don Louis de Haro has good ax/advice, that card. Creame/Mazarin intends not really, and that ax/advice both from Prant/Paris and Rome/Rome. It is not Sparkers/the k. of Spain's fault but the palme/peace is effected, for he offered very advantageous candles/conditions, and he is of opinion, that he thinks, that if he had come in all what Creame/the cardinal desired, that he would not consent to it: the montage/marriage we thought to be with Fruxe buckler/the k. of France's brother came to be with hemselfe, uppon condition he should claime no title to Sligo/Spain. It does trouble Ix/me to have waxed/written soe often to yxyou, and neaver receave an answer, which hinders much, and that yx/you have not advice of 3 or 4 things that concernis. It is but litell comfort for a man to write and ronn hazard, and not to have the comfort to know if it comes to yx/your hands. — These Stakes/ships that came, brings no nofegayes/news from 133/Jamaica. If Bartaine/admiral Blake had not gone away the day before with most of the fisb/fleet, he had talke/taken the gramp/galleon and the 5 Stakes/merchant men without any question. Ix/I have wander/written to my brother/brother in Prant/Paris, that if in case he had a umbgt/cypher with yx/you, to let yx kapp/you know how Ix/I proceeded with Liver Starkle/don Louis de Haro's secretary with somewhat ealse, and this Ix/I did for fear of my 153 letters to be miscarried. I/I perceave by a lard/letter I received now from hem, that he has communicat all with Cocke Bampfield/colonel Bampfield. Now I have charged him to doe soe no more, unles there was order from yx/you, and writ to hem a lard/letter to show hem a purpos, that Ix/I would have nothing to doe any more in intelligence with what more that was requisite to recall that error; but my buckler/brother neaver told him, that Ix/I had a umbgt/cypher with yx/you. News is come from Clyrr/Cadiz, that the gramp/galleon is burned, as they suppose. This day Liver Starkle/don Louis de Haro's secretary of whom I wander/writ to you, told me, that if the bussune/business would take effect, it should be requisite Ix/I make a journey to London. You may be pleased to take notis, tar/that there is one dispached thither called Ulasb Urctlu/Simon Suarez, Portugal: he has vanden/to give intelligence of all that passes, and got for his journey 500 pearls/pistoles. It is above twantie dayes since he parted Marga/Madrid: hee has ben often times before in London, and som dayes before, he was lately after coming from Portugal, and was aboard general Blake's fleet. He is a proper man, short kgeltg/haired, and somewhat item/grave. Yx/You would a had this sooner but the want of keering/hearing from yx/you hended it, and somewhat more. Those that came from Inglands/the Indies sayes, that yx/you have talke/taken an inry/island called Santa Active/Santa Martha, of which they make no esteem. One of the chiefest things that broke the palme/treaty of peace of France, is the peace of the prince of Condé they hope this wenter perry/the pope will end the difference. This is all at present, till I hear from yx/you. Yours to comand, Georg Pawly. Madrid, the 27th of Sept. 1656. [N. S.] I would you had appointed me one in Paris to receave my letters, and then all would goe sure, but never give hem my name. To Mr. Matthew Bonell, at the signe of the Harrow in Tems-street these at London. Minute of the protector's councell, drawn up by secretary Thurloe. Vol. xxx. p. 149. That the councell beinge by the government intrusted to examine the returns of such members as are chosen to serve in parliament, who are not to sitt &c. untill they be approved by them, have, to the best of their judgments, discharged their duty and trust therein, and shall be ready to give an account of their proceedings thereupon, when they shall be required thereunto by his highness or the parliament. Charisius, the Danish resident, to the States General. Vol. xlii. p. 503. High and mighty lords, In regard his majesty, my most gracious king and master, hath been informed, that the treaties, which were for some time negotiating between his majesty of Sweden and your high and mighty lordships, sooner than he imagined, are brought to a conclusion, he will not hope, that it was your high and mighty lordships aim and intention to negotiate any thing apart and separately without his majesty, and to the prejudice of both sides interest; for he did believe, that according to their good promises made by the lords ambassadors in Denmark, that the treaties to be made hereafter with Sweden, should be negotiated jointly, and the which his majesty promised to observe on his side. His said majesty therefore, my most gracious king and master, hath commanded me to represent to your high and mighty lordships, as also to desire communication of the said treaty, and to use serious and earnest endeavours, that before the same be finished and perfected by a ratification, it may be perused by his majesty's ministers, to consider of the necessities and interests of his majesty to be inserted jointly in the same treaty; and this out of the considerable reasons and motives, that his majesty hath united himself with your high and mighty lordships upon their good liking, and are obliged, with common consent and mutual help and assistance, to take upon them the preservation and security of the city of Dantzick, and to warrant withal the interests of each other, not to treat with Sweden without each others consent; and conceiving therefore his majesty, that if so be he hath really performed the same, by adding of men of war to your high and mighty lordships fleet, and all that may make for the said preservation, he will not doubt but that it was always your high and mighty lordships good intention so to do, which you can yet easily perform, for the further observing and effecting of the said foregoing promise, upon which his majesty doth wholly rely, and which will make for both sides satisfaction. In regard this request doth consist of such strong reasons, and no less equity, I shall expect upon it your high and mighty lordships favourable and speedy resolution, that so thereupon there may be further debated by the councell in Den mark. Wishing your high and mighty lordships herewith a happy and prosperous government, and rest, High and mighty lords, Your most humble servant, Petrus Charisius. Hague, 28th Sept. 1656. [N. S.] Resident Sasburgh to the States General. Vol. xlii. p. 519. High and mighty lords. My lords, the certainest advice we have here is, that marshal Turenne is like to take la Capelle, and the prince don John is with his army near Advennes; it is thought with an intention to raise the siege, or fight the French, notwithstanding that a good part of his army is run away, which is very certain. What will be done between those two armies, is expected with great impatience. St. Gillain in the mean time is forsaken by the Spaniards, and that siege given over. It seems they find the French army so considerable, that they dare not attempt it. I am told by a good hand, that the prince don John is expected shortly at Antwerp, but is not known to what end. Sasburgh. Brussels, 28th Sept. 1656. [N. S.] Mons. de Bordeaux, the French ambassador in England, to cardinal Mazarin. London, 28th Sept. 1656. [N. S.] Vol. xlii. p. 515. My lord, The sitting of the parliament is the only business, which doth busy the minds of England. Your eminence will see, in the duplicate of my letter to monsieur de Brienne, the result of the two first sittings of that body. I will add, that the lord protector did very much enlarge himself against Spain, exaggerating all the enterprizes, which that king had made formerly against England, and the motives, which obliged him to break. They are the same, which he caused to be published the last year. He did also seem to be persuaded, that Spain and the duke of Newburgh do give to the king of England 9000 men to be transported into England. In regard there is very little advice conformable to this, many believe that it is invented and feigned to give an alarm, and to keep the army united at this present conjuncture. The exclusion of 160 members of parliament doth increase the bitterness of the people. Four of the considerable commissioners of the city are of the number, and some counties are wholly left out. If the rest, who are admitted, do not recall them, the body will be wholly submitted to him, otherwise he will be forced to break them as the rest. There was this morning observed a great deal of motion in the assembly, and every body doth admire at this conduct; but it was premeditated, and in all likelihood the army approved of it; wherefore the consequences are not to be feared. Here was a rumour at the beginning of the week, that the marquis of Lede had sent a man into England with letters to the parliament; but it is not confirmed, and no more mention made of it. The report of the peace doth still continue, and the return of the queen of Sweden to Rome doth contribute much to persuade men to believe, that the negotiation of mons. de Lionne will have a good success. The royalists do also endeavour to persuade it; and in regard it is a consideration, which will induce the people to a free contribution, no body hath an interest to undeceive them. I am, with respect, &c. Mr. H. Norwood to secretary Thurloe. Tower, this 18th of September, 1656. Vol. xlii. p. 523. Sir, Allthough I have beene loath to rub the sore, whilst the stitches were tender, that some unjust insinuating persons have made uppon me, yet by the favour of this worthy gentleman (with whom I have the honour of an alliance) I crave leave, after 23 moneths silence, once more to aver, that if it were impartially enquired into, nothing could be more apparent, then of the truth of armes being the best commoditie Virginia vends. But, sir, because I know you have reason to prefer the oath of another to any thing I can say in my owne defence, I shall not hope nor endeavour to recover your charitable opinion, by contradicting a plausible evidence (how true God and mine owne conscience best know) but doe most humbly apply myselfe to the bounty of your goodnes in furthering the inclosed, which onely speakes the sad relation of my present condition; and that my desires by this address may not seem (in respect of the conjuncture) to promote any sinister end, or malignant designe (very alienate to my temper) I shall chuse (if his highnes deny my petition) much rather to be throwne away in exile into those deserts, where I never had health nor content, then to languish here under soe great prejudice and clamorous necessity as I am, and long have beene too sensible of. In that case, I shall onely aske a little liberty uppon bayle to make some preparations necessary to soe long a voyage; to procure which if I obteyne the favour of your good word, I shall be obliged readily in all places and conditions to acknowledge myselfe, with very great respect, sir, Your most gratefull and humble servant, H. Norwood. Sir, I shall take it for a favour, that you will be pleased to order me my papers, that were seized in my chamber, at least such as looke only at merchandize. Mr. Longland, agent at Leghorn, to secretary Thurloe. Vol. xlii. p. 531. Right honourable, A Smale ship arryved here yesterday with fish from Famouth, 12 dayes ago spok with one of generall Blak's frigats at Faro, which told him generall Blak had sent hom the great ships, and had put himself abord the Fairfax, who with 14 saile more was at ankor in Cales Bay. I hav had no letter thence; but this man tels me, the fleet wil sudenly com into the Streits to make peace with Tunis and Tripolly. Here is arryved this day ann Inglish ship from Alexandria, who was forc't to run away thence. The Turk, upon his great los, not being able to furnish and suply Candia with vittels and amunition from Greece or Asia, does now endevor to do it from Egypt; to which end he has sent to tak up all the Flemings and French ther, to goe for Candia with theyr lading. Your honour wil hav more ful and quicker advys of the taking of Valensa by the French then I can wryt you hence; but this I must tel you, that al the Spanish and papall party are much cast down at it, insomuch that the whole state of Millan seems to be in danger. The seven ships of war latly set out by the state of Genoa in company of theyr gallyes, yesterday past homeward in syht of this port, not having don any thing of noat; only shewed theyr strength to the world. I am, Right honourable, Your most faithful servant, Charles Longland. Leghorne, 29th Sept. 1656. [N. S.] From Boreel, the Dutch ambassador in Paris. Vol. xlii. p. 535. My lord, Formerly I advised your lordship, how ill it was resented here, that the emperor had sent an army into Italy. Now it is further certain, that this crown by their envoy at Vienna hath caused to be signified to the emperor, how that the king of France doth take the said sending to the Spaniard for an open breach of the peace formerly concluded at Munster; and that his majesty doth understand, that the said peace is effectually broken by the emperor. The said envoy hath precisely order to return home from that court; and the war is looked upon as certain to be waged the next spring against Germany. I desire you to acquaint their high and mighty lordships with this resolution. Paris, 29 Sept. 1656. [N. S.] Boreel. A letter of intelligence from the Hague. The 23d September, 1656. [N. S.] Vol. xlii. p. 427. The ambassador of Spain hath signified, that the children at Lisle are either stoln away, or fled: and in regard that formerly his excellency signified, that they would restore them to their father, he angry at present, it being said, that they would imprison some other priests in retortion. The generals of the mints have represented, that it will be necessary to take some order about the pieces, as well of gold as silver, being they be set too high at present. 24 September. The ambassadors at Elbing having concluded and signed the treaty the 11/1 Sept. in the night, have sent it hither; and as well the States General as those of Holland are glad of it, yea are very angry, that they have put a term of four months for the ratification, for they were desirous that it had been to be ratified forthwith. I know not whether it be for fear of the Muscovite or somebody else. As to the fleet and the troops that are aboard, if they do persist in their resolution formerly taken without any alteration as yet, but there is likelihood that Tromp shall be likewise recalled. As yet Dantzick doth not care for the inclusion. In the treaty is also the inclusion of the king of France. Gelder and Zealand did also formerly put them in mind, that this state ought to include France; but then Holland said, that in such a case Spain ought likewise to be included. The agent de Heyde is to signify to the resident of Poland and the commissioner of Dantzick, the conclusion of the said treaty. 25 September. This day were debated several points of considerations resulting from the treaty of Elbing, and letters relating to it, and concerning Denmark. 26 September. This day they made an end of resolving upon the points arising from the last letters, that came from Denmark and Sweden, almost according to the report which the lord of la Capelle hath made. Holland hath made a new instance upon the defensive alliance with France and England, but the provinces declared, that they were not ready. And since France is also included in the treaty of Elbing, as well as Denmark, they proposed to make likewise a league guaranty with France upon the treaty of Elbing. Item to make of this treaty of Elbing a perpetual treaty: but upon those two points the provinces declared, that they were not yet ready. This day the deputies of the states of Cleve had audience, representing the evils, wherewith that country is threatened, and demanding assistance and protection. From Prussia they write, that the envoy of Muscovy doth summon the elector to acknowledge Prussia as fief of Lithuania, to quit the alliance with Sweden and all others, and to give the Pillauw or the Memell to the Muscovite, who hath already good store of troops to invade Prussia. They are of opinion here, that Riga doth run great hazard. 27 September. The envoy of Denmark being returned from the great czar, doth report wonders of the great power of the army of the said czar, that he hath 700,000 men in the field. 28 September. The ministers of the elector of Brandenburgh are very jealous of the commissioners of the states of Cleve, saying, that those states are subjects of the duke of Brandenburgh; that they cannot, nor ought not to act, but by order of the said duke and his ministers; and these ministers will have at least, that those states should act jointly with the ministers of the said duke; for they fear, that those states underhand do endeavour to obtain and employ the power and strength of this state against the levies and contributions, which the said duke doth draw from the country of Cleve; a thing which is opposite and contrary to the rights and privileges, to the prescriptions of the emperor, and the constitutions of the empire. Holland hath named one Oostdorp, of their counsell, to go for East Friesland, to demand the payment of that, which formerly this state lent to the states of East Friesland. The States General will add to him one of their assembly. From the east is come nothing considerable at this, but this letter from Copenhagen. The elector is very much surprized at the fierce demands of the Muscovite. 28 September. The resident of Denmark hath by an express memorandum represented and required, that this state will not make so much haste with the ratification of the treaty made at Elbing on the 11/1 Sept. Of this copies are to be sent to the provinces. In the mean time they remember, that formerly the lord minister of Denmark did recommend the hastening of the said treaties; but he did it only by word of mouth to the lord president; wherefore they have resolved never to receive hereafter any report but what is in writing. The ministers of Brandenburgh have at last also delivered in a memorandum to the States General, that they will give some assistance. There was this morning a conference to be held upon the business of Outremeuse, but there happened to be none. In Holland they scruple the ratifying of the treaty of Elbing, by reason of the passage, which beginneth, sub qua tamen aqualitate, &c. for it is said, that in Sweden all the commerce almost is driven on by companies. 29 September. This morning they were busy to settle new magistrates at Bois-le-duc. The ministers of Brandenburgh have this morning represented in general the danger, that is like to be in Prussia, and have demanded a conference with commissioners to make a more particular overture. A letter of intelligence from the Hague. Vol. xlii. p. 541. [Paragraph contains cyphered content — see page image] Sir, The ambassadors, who are with the Dane, and the Dane by those ambassadors, have made very great endeavours to inflame the States General against the Swede. They lately writ that letter, which speaketh of the Muscovite rather in terms of a romance, than any true letter; but however, if he takes Riga and Revel, whether he have 30,000 men, or whether he have 700,000, it is all one. They say in the Dutch language, to have is to have, and to have is honourable; that I say is all one, and will cause a very great alteration. And if that envoy doth speak after such a manner in Denmark, he that is at Koningsberg doth speak to the elector of Brandenburg after a manner no less strange; that Prussia is a fief of Lithuania; that the elector ought to do homage to the Muscovite, as great duke of Lithuania; that he doth demand the Pillauw and the Mannell. When the elector made him answer thereupon, that he had allies, and amongst the rest the United Provinces, the envoy replied, that he is to renounce all alliances. In short they speak wonderful things. Yea, this czar of Muscovy doth give jealousy as far as these parts, and the more since by the treaty of Stockholm, as renewed and reconfirmed word for word, this state is obliged to assist the king of Sweden, if he be assaulted by the czar of Muscovy. And it is presumed and feared, left the king of Sweden should come and summon this state, wherein it will be observed, how they ill consider the said alliance; and if to observe it, they will measure it by the yard of interest, as usually, they will alledge, it may be, that this reconfirmation is not yet ratified, and they may delay the ratification year and day, as they did the treaty made in the year 1649 with Denmark, which was not ratified till the year 1651. Item, they must first attempt viam concordiæ & amicabilis compositionis. Item, Holland having a great trade at Archangel, will fear, that those barbarians (who understand no jesting) will confiscate all their effects in Archangel. Of the imprisonment of sir Henry Vane was spoken in St. Gen. as of a business, which doth deserve little compassion. The royalists do hate him for the original quarrel; the well affected of Holland, because he can do them no more good, and because he got some money by the marriage of the prince of Orange and the princess royal. By these two letters, the one of Charisius, and the others of the lords ambassadors in Denmark, dated the 20th of September, it is to be foreseen, or at least feared, that these two evils will yet happen to the Swede; that the Dane will quarrel with him, and Brandenburgh will forsake him. I am, sir, Your most humble servant. 29th September, 1656. [N. S.] Courtin to Bordeaux, the French ambassador in England. Vol. xlii. p. 547. My Lord, We have at last received the news of the conclusion of the treaty of alliance and commerce between Sweden and the United Provinces. Dantzick is comprehended in it; but it must be, that there is still lest something undone in its regard, since that the ministers of the state at Elbing write, that they will endeavour for an accommodation of that city with the king of Sweden. It may be, it is to obtain more particular and positive conditions. In the mean time the orders are sent to Opdam, to return with thirty ships of war, and to have twelve at an anchor before Dantzick, under the conduct of admiral Tromp. The admiral is to put 1300 soldiers on board the ships, that are to be lest before Dantzick. Those, that busy themselves to penetrate into secrets, interpret this action for a kind of defiance in the observation of the treaty on the side of Sweden, as if that king had concluded by force and necessity; for they conceive, that those few men of war being ready to put into Dantzick, when the rigour of the winter will oblige the twelve ships to retreat, will suffice to defend the place, in case the Swedes will assault it: and some others imagine, that this state not delighting, that the Muscovites come so near the borders of the sea, hath left those twelves ships of war, with soldiers, to assist the king of Sweden against a barbarian, who will spoil their commerce. The bearer of the letter of the lord protector to the lords states did deliver it to them nine days since. There have been several opinions past upon it, and many have taken notice of some terms, which offend the sovereignty of these provinces, and some others made no great account of it, in regard it arrives after the conclusion of the treaty. I make no doubt, but your excellency hath seen it; yet I make bold to send you a copy, and the answer to it in print. Hague, 29 Sept. 1656. [N. S.] A letter of intelligence to secretary Thurloe from Bruges. Vol. xlii. p. 529. Sir, I Marwell verry much, that I can receave noe countenance from your honour to proceed in my intended service. I assure you, I should as really serve you, as any man you may employe, and with as great an affection as you can expect from any man in the world; and if I have gained your honour's displeasure by any misprision or misbehaviour committed by mee in your service, I hartily am sorry for itt, and doe desire your honor's candid forgivenes, which I hope you will bee ready to grant to a penitent suppliant. My collections this weeke, which I deeme worthy your knowledge, are, that the king is about settling a guard (for his owne person) of 200 men, whereof 40 are to bee Scots, the rest English and Irish to make up the 200. Men come in but slowly to him, because of the small allowance, which is 4d. per diem; and now, as I understand, ammunition-bread is added, and all (I believe) will not doe. Charles Steward hath a great hope in some people in England, which I immagin are the Papists in chiefe. Hee hath a smale confidence of the English officers, of whome some are dischardged, and some are yett in command. Some hopes hee hath from the seamen and merchants. The news of the clapping upp of some men in England, which wee did receave this weeke, was a great disheartening to them, that depend upon Charles. Some of them swore (dam them) their designe was spoyled; and the lord Newcastell receaved advertisement, that the militia of London did begin to stirre, and that the common people did begin to complaine of theire heavy grievances, and the request of the army for a new generall; whereupon the parliament was adjorned for the space of three weekes. This is the last and best newes, that gives them hopes; but I trust your wisdome, under a divine influence, will better dispose of the affaires of your countrey. Lilly, that rogue, who lives by Strand-bridge, hee hath sent a letter unto one sir Edward Walker, one of his majestie's secretarys, who is also an astrologer, and one formerly acquainted with Lilly, to wish them have a good hart, and bee currageous; hee was confident, and foresawe it by arte, that the king and his adherents would be restored in the year 57 to the throne and kingdome of England. And hereupon they depend much, because such a prophett said itt, who hath rightly prophesied of the former king's death, soe hee must needs have an infallible prophesie of this man's restauration. Have a care of the navy, for some of the ships are expected in hopes; to which end Charles Steward hath got the Spanish ports to be open for their amicable re ception, as well here in these countreys, as in Spaine. Middleton, the Scottish generall, is gon away discontented out of this court, and things beginne to goe crosse. The duke of Yorke is come, accompanied with 120 horse, and three coaches, as they say, and speciall order was given in all places for his reception, as if the king of Spaine (foresooth) had bin there in person. The chancellor, sir Edward Hide, is now at Antwerp, with the lord Tasse and lord Delling, and withall one Mr. Hannam, a Dorsetshire or a Hamshire man. They labour hard to forward thire busines, but yett they are now at a stand; for the securing of many men in England, and the newes of the adjourning of the parliament makes them sit (as itt were) amazed; but yett however I perceave they have verry great hopes, that their busines will bee don without any forraigne helpe, which as yett I cannot understand, nor dare not bee too inquisitive, least they should absolutely conclude mee to be a spie. By the next you shall understand more of itt. Looke to your selves att home. The report is come hither out of Bruxells, and that thither from the Champeigne, that don John is totally broken with all his army, and that the French army is 23 or 24,000 men at least, and that Chappell is taken for a truth, and Sinte Gilant relieved, and that things goe on the French side secundo Marte. The report is here dubiously reported, but I believed it to be true in some degree, which you shall understand by the next more perfectly. One, that went by the name of coll. Bordeck, is clapt up here for a spy, and one Ascue is also lookt for; but I am not suspected in the least; therefore I humbly desire your honor to send mee your directions to the hands of one Mr. Guill senior, merchant att Flushing; and if I had your directions and commands, I could bee soe privy to all transactions, that I could serve you in most high manner. As concerning my reall sidelity, you may be advertised of collonell Ogle, a fine antient gentleman, that was in hold, but got out againe. Hee comes over. Sir, I doe it out of the good will I beare to my country, and that incomparable man, which the world cannot equall, or in any wise parralell; besides the absolute relation I have to your most noble selfe, as haveing eaten of your bread, and being in all devotion, Noble sir, Your honor's most humble, and undoubted servant. Bridges, the 29th of Sept. 1656. [N. S.] Generals Blake and Mountagu to the protector. Vol. xlii. p. 553. May itt please your highnesse, Being out of water, and our victualls allmost spent, and having not heard from your highness, since the receipt of your commands by the Griffin, we found it necessary to sayle for this place with the greatest part of the fleet, as well to recruite our wants, as to be in the way of further orders. Accordingly we arrived here on the 11th instant, and the 17th following in the night received the enclosed accompt from the commander of the fleet left before Cadiz, which we humbly present to your highness, hoping we shall be shortly able to informe your highness more particularly thereof, having sent out what friggotts wee could, as well to reinforce the guard before Cadiz, as to secure the prizes hither to us. In the meane time, the providences that have already come to our knowledge concurring to bring these ships into our hands, doe very much convince us it is of God in a more than ordinary manner, and we trust it will, by the same good hand, be sanctifyed unto us. We humbly take leave, and remain Your highness very faithfull and obedient servants, Rob. Blake. Ed. Mountagu. From on board the Naseby, in the bay of Wiers, this 19th of Sept. 1656. General Mountagu to secretary Thurloe. Vol. xlii. p. 577. Sir, The Lord hath beene pleased to afford an occasion of writinge to you sooner then I thought off, with soe much safetye and upon soe good an account. Blessed be his name, who hath looked upon the low condition of the nation, and hath turned the reproaches of wicked men with shame upon theire owne faces. Indeed my hart is very much warmed with the apprehension of the singular providence of God, in bringinge this about for us in soe seasoneble a tyme (as I doubt not you will experiment in England) as also the considerablenesse of the thinge in itselfe, which mercyes I trust he will be pleased to perfect, by giving all a safe passage and conveyance to you in England. The Lord keepe up a thankfull hart in us for these and other his wonderfull favors. On wedensday last (September 17) late at night, we received an account from the squadron wee lest before Cales, of theire meetinge with the kinge of Spain's West India fleete; and the successe of theire encounter with them, concerninge which I referr you to our letter to his highnesse, whereby you will have a coppy of captain Stayner's letter to us. Here is now on board us the eldest son of the marquis of Baydex, with whom I have had much conference; he is but 16 yeeres of age, borne in the Indies, a most pregnant ingenious learned youth, as I have mett with, and whose story is the saddest, that ever I heard or read off to my remembrance. From discourse with him, I give you the inclosed account (for the most part.) I shall only observe to you a singular providence in the bringinge the shipps in to ours. The Portugall prize they took neere the western islands, upon their enquirye, told them, that the English fleete were all gone home, and gave them such assurance thereoff (I suppose upon the fight of our partye going for Lisbone) that they steered directly for Cales, and there (as I heare) they saw a barcalonga cominge out of St. Lucas, as they passed by the barr; but beinge confident of their information, failed on for Cales, and in the evening mett with our ships, and kept company with them all night, and kept their lights out, and shootinge of guns, as they used to doe, and mistrusted them not to be English, untill our shipps bore up to them, and God gave oppertunitye for what was done. There is mention of the marquesse of Baydex, in the vice-admirall. Concerninge him understand this sad storye, and true. He was born 18 leagues off Madrid in Spayne, of a noble family, but theire fortunes consumed: the kinge of Spayne made him governour of Chili, which he continued 9 yeares, then remooved him to governe the kingdome of Lima, which he did 14 yeares; and now havinge gotten a considerable estate, and his time of government expired, and beinge sent for home, was embarqued with his whole family and wealth in this fleet for Spayne, where he was to have been made governor of Cadiz. By the enclosed paper you may perceive the event of the vice-admiral, wherein they were. In the fire the marquesse's lady, and one of his daughters sell downe in a swound, and were burned. The marquesse himself had opportunitye to have escaped, but seinge his lady and his daughter, whom he loved exceedingly, in that case, said he would die where they died, and embracinge his lady, was burned also with them. The younge gentleman here on board is thus left without father, mother, or meanes (havinge none in Spayne nor in the Indies) and you see how much he lost in that shippe, and I beleeve he hath little lesse taken by us in barrs of silver (as is reported) himselfe borne in the Indies, and soe not knowne to any person in Spayne. Wee have sent out 4 friggotts to helpe to bringe in the gallions, and to goe and strengthen our guard before Cales. The Lord send a good issue to all. The New Spaine fleete is at the Havana, uncertaine when they will come home. I send you two letters of myne, which were one of them putt aboard a merchant bound for London, the other intended to be sent by other shipps. By them you will perceive the posture wee are in, unlesse we heare from you, and receive other orders, which in that case wee shall comply withall. Thus at present I remayne, sir, Your very humble servant, E. Mountagu. Sept. 19th,, 1656. Aboard the Naseby, in the bay of Wyers. Inclosed in the preceding. Vol. xlii. p. 581. The Spanish West India fleete consisted of 8 shipps, whereoff two are taken, and in our possession, 3 sunke and burnt (as the prisoners say, our men write 4 sunke and burnt) and 3 escaped (ours say but 2.) The admirall shipp (don Marcus del Porto, an old soldier, generall) reported to have in her in plate about 600,000 peeces of 8/8 (he carried the lesse, in respect the reare admirall was esteemed a more experienced and trusty person, and a sitter ship for burthen) was runn ashore in the bay of Cales, and sunke. The vice admirall, a gallion (don Francisco de Esqueuel, a Biscainer, commander) reported to have in her about 600,000 peeces of 8/8, besides, upon the account of the marquesse of Baydex, in jewells and plate 500,000 peeces of 8/8, was taken by our ships, and after sett a fire by the Spaniards themselves, and soe burnt downe and sunke. The marquis of Baydex was in her, and his wife, and children, and family, and all burnt, except his eldest sonn don Francisco Lopez, and don Joseph de Sunega, a younger son, and two of the sisters, donna Josepha and Catalina, and a little child of a yeare old, which are now aboard our shipps. There was saved of other persons of divers qualities in her about 90 persons. The reare admiral, a gallion (don Francisco del Hayo commander) reported to have in her two millions of plate, is taken and in our possession. Wee have many prisoners of greate quality in her, gentlemen of habitts, and Spanish merchants, as also don Diego de Villa Alva, the governor of the Havana. Another shipp, commanded by captain John Rodrigues Calderon, who is sayd to have in her, in sugars, tobacco, and plate, to the value of 600,000 peeces of 8/8, was taken by our shipps, and in the bringinge off, by an accidental fire was burnt and sunke. Another shipp, commanded by captain John de la Torre (one who was borne and married in Cartagena in the West Indies) reported to have in her 12,000 West India hides, some quantitye of sugar, which he brought to sell in Cales, and with the proceed thereof was intended to buy negroes at Angola, and soe to returne to Cartagena againe, is taken, and now in our possession. Another man of warr, who had little or noe plate in him, but some hides and sugar, and other small vessels of noe force or ladinge considerable, one of which was a Portugall, which they had taken as prize betweene the western islands and Masagam in Affrica; the other was a small vessell of advice from the vice-kinge of Mexico into Spaine. These escaped to Gibralter. General Mountagu to secretary Thurloe. Vol. xlii. p. 587. Sir, Since I dispatcht my pacquett to you, I have had almost a whole afternoone's discourse with don Francisco de Lopez, the now marquesse of Baydex, who is a most ingenious and intelligent youth, about 16 yeares of age, born in Lima. He hath given mee very much light concerninge the Westerne Indies; and I have thought it not amisse to trouble you with some of it: if it be of noe use, it is but my labour lost in writinge. He saith, that about 5 moenths since, presently after his father and family departed out of Lima in Peru, there happened the fearfullest earthquake and raininge of fire from heaven in Peru, that has beene heard off in the world, insomuch that the whole cittye of Lima is swallowed up, and also the island of Calloa, in which places there perished about 11,000 Spaniards, and not above 100 Indians with them. In that cittye alsoe the king of Spaine hath lost by the earthquake 50,000 millions of barrs of silver readye wrought up. The famous mines and mountains of Potosi are destroyed, soe that there is noe more hills to be seene, all a plaine, nor any further possibilitye of having silver or gold in Peru. The king hath had noe knowledge hereof, untill now by the shipps, that escaped of this company. It is too large to repeate all that he hath told mee of the monstrous cruelty of the Spaniards to the poor Indians, even those of them, that are counted freemen, and professe the Roman Catholique religion; insomuch that they cry to heaven against them, and are beyond measure greeved with theire sufferings. He tells mee assuredly, that the island of Hispaniola is abundantly rich in mines of gold and silver, and that the only reason, why they have not hithertoo beene wrought, hath beene the kinge's edict, which he hath read, severely prohibitinge the digginge or transportation of any thence; intendinge that as a reserve, in case warrs should grow upon him, that might cause a greater expense of monye, or the mines in Peru faile; and he saies, undoubt edly now that this fatality is come upon Peru, the next order from the kinge of Spaine will be, to open the mines of Hispaniola. He sayes, that scince our attempt there, Santa Domingo is mightily fortified and provided in all points for defence, both with men, and armes, and provisions. He saith also, that the Mexican fleete is now in the Havana; that there are 10 shipps of them, the admirall and vice admirall only gallions for burthen, and they have in them seven millions of plate; the other 8 are gallions only fitted with ordinance and soldiers for warr. They will arrive in Europe (probably) about the latter end of November, or rather in December, as he thinkes. They alwais make the Canaries in theire returne, and they there receive advice from Spaine, whether to betake themselves; and 'tis possible that they may be directed for Gallicia, if they soe will in Spain, as these ships wee have taken would have done, if their Portugall prise had not lied to them and betrayed them. He faith, the Havana is a place almost impregnable; Cartagena easye to be had by starvinge, and that way only; it is a peninsula, and may easily be deprived of commerce and assistance. The people upon the maine are generally very fearfull of attempts from the English, and their unaccustomednesse to warr is the cause thereof, though otherwise naturally they are a people bold enough, and shew it in private and particular quarrells. He faith, if the English be able to mayntaine a fleete at Jamaica, the Spaniard can trade noe more in the Indies but with great fleetes, for already, he saith, the Spanish merchants give over, and will noe more venture theire estates, unlesse the king provide sufficiently for theire protection. He saith also, he heard before they came out of the Havana, that some of our fleete of Jamaica had taken some Spanish shipps laden with negroes, but none of silver. He also saies, there was a report, that 9 shipps were sent by Sedgewicke to England, and that he demands supply of all thinges from England, viz. victualls and weomen, &c. if it is expected he should continue there. And he saies, the natives and negroes of Jamaica insest them sorely, whensoever they adventure out of their fortifications for cattle or the like. He faith, that though the natives upon the maine be readye to receive libertye from the hands of any people, by reason of theire oppressions unheard of almost (as before is said) yet the Spaniards are exceedingly loyall; which appeared not longe since by a prosser, which the Dutch and French made to them at Lima in Peru, that they would engage to come yearely to them with a certaine number of shipps, and bringe them commodittyes at a sarr cheaper rate then they have from Spayne, and trade with them upon there owne account, which the Spaniard refused totally. He saies the inquisition is most severe and cruell in the Indies, but the inquisitors are universally hated to such a degree, that an inquisitor dares not stirr out of his owne house, not soe much as to see a friend, for seare of violence from the people. This is as much as is materiall to write heroff at present. I am Your very humble servant, E. Mountagu. Sept. 20th, 1656. Nasebye, in the bay of Wyers. Col. Bampfylde to secretary Thurloe. Vol. xxi. p. 382. Sir, Yesterday I received a letter from you, but not dated; only by the contents I may conceave it longe since written. 'Tis all I have had from you, since my arrivall in France, though this be the sixt, that I have wrote myselfe, and dictated 2, beside 3 or 4 shorte ones under Mr. Firbanke's cover, to advertise you by what adress I have sent the 3 laste, which I thinke were of some importance, and had been of more, if I cowld have assured myselfe of theyr coming safe to your hands. The 3 laste were dated the 13th, 16th, and 18th of this present, and directed for Mr. James Smith marchand at London. Pray be pleased to let mee knowe by your next, whither theise came to your hands; and if not all, which has missed; for I suspect my laste upon wednesday the 20th may have beene intercepted by one Bennett, the duke of Yorke's secretary. I wowld very willingly be satisfied of the certaynty in this, the letter being of some consequence. In it I gave you an accounte of the interview betwixt the queen of Sweden and the cardinall at Chantillie, and of the king's galloping over thither from Compiegne with his brother and some few attendants, under a pretended designe of seeing the queene incognito, but the business was soe layd, that she muste discover him; which manner of visit from the king was taken as a greater obligation to hir majesty, then all she had received before. The king stayd not above three howers, but returned to Compiegne. The queen of Sweden and the cardinall were longe private, and the next day they 2 alone went in a coach to the house of the marescall de la Mothe's in the mid-way betwixt Compiegne and Chantillie, where she was met by the king, queen, and whole courte of France, and then conducted to Compiegne, where hir entertaynment was with the highest respect, and greatest magnisicence, that the place and condition they were then in cowld afforde. I likewise advertised you, that 2 or 3 dayes before hir departure from Paris, she told those of the clergye, whith whom she conversed with greatest considence, that she intended for Pomerania, aboute the settlement of what she had (upon the resignation of her crowne) reserved for hir maytenance. After she had discourced with the king and cardinal, she gave out, she had received a packett from the king of Swede, which had given hir full satisfaction, and that she intended to returne with all speed for Ittaly, towards which she began hir journey upon wednesday laste; goes by Orleance, Lyons, and soe throwgh Piedmont, and to the court of Savoy in hir way. They have payd hir some part of a debt due to hir father from this crowne, and assure her of the rest. Whither this negotiation is syncere in order to the prosecution of the peace, or that she 88 55 19 43 16 937 229 37 8 99 satisfaction 110 1038 and 218 790 836 which 20 26 22 544 214 13 30 70 74 for 991 as the other 350 20 408 29 31 3 748 is very hard to determine; thowgh the greatest polititians and the finest wits of this place make it the present theame both of theyre meditation and discource. I likewise advertised you I had perswaded 90 73 29 42 74 27 55 to 406 and 424 477 37 35 26 42 36 803 and soe to 137; by which meanes 862 544 515 549 of 796 he is 662 408 790 and faithfull to his owne interest, which I have made this appear to bee, and will take great care, that if he does noe good, it shall not be in his power to hurte 863 174: but I hope he will 5 1 153 392 and 751 102 his unkle powerfull 90 58 146 790 263 35 71 1037. Valance is taken, and one thing I have seen in the capitulation very extraordinary, that as I remember 16 persons were to pass out of the guarrison with the rest, with vizards and in disguise, without any offering to discover them. I have here inclosed sent you a liste of the imperiall forces, which were marching to theyr relifee, but are, as I am informed, recalled, the emperour intending to send an army under the arch-duke Leopoldus to the assistance of the Hollanders, as soone as his sonne is crowned king of Bohemia. The duke of Saxony, and the Protestant princes begin to arme: the prince of Transillvania, and the Cossacques have certainly leagued with, and declared for the Swede. That king is marched with great speed (having actually demolished the castel and fortifications of Warsovia, and left the duke of Brandenburge with his owne, and the gross of the Swedish army to defend Prussia) with 6000 Finlanders and 4000 Germans, and left troopes to joyne with count Magnus for relief of Riga, which is besiedged by a more numerous then either orderly or valiant army of the Muscovite, the grand duke of which offers to enter into a perfect aliance with the king of Poland, upon condition his sonne may be elected after this king's death, which is a ridiculous proposition in wife men's oppinions here. If it pleases God to bless the king of Sweden in this enterprize, the emperor may finde but an ill effect of his breaking the peace. He was once resolved agaynest it, but the Spanish and Jesuits prevayled over his reason and resolution. His army, when alltogether, besides what he has sent into Flanders, will be about 28,000 men. This court is either gone or goeing to la Fere; but if it be true, which is come hither this afternoone, that the Spanish army having raysed a very strong forte upon the mayne pass to St. Gillian, having a castle on the other side, are retyred from thence, I beleeve the king will be shortly at St. Jermin's. But laste night I heard at a great man's table, that the Spaniard had besiedged St. Ghillian, and that marscall de Turenne was resolved to sit downe before Chattellet or la Capelle. The king of France has given passes to allmost all the Irish officers, that repayre to their king, and will not hynder the common souldiers to followe; which is to mee a great wonder; but I am confident it is true. Ten thousand Irish and Spaniards will contribute much to the preservation of the Protestant religion in England, and the liberty and freedome of the nation. They cannot but be very godly men, and vast lovers of theyr countrey, whoe have from the beginning been of the parliament party, and are a postatased and now correspond with and invite the se dear frends. God will, I am consident, blast theyr projects, and them and their designes to nought, as great Ahittopells as they are.

Solution by DeCall Thomas What a mess Forrest Fenn has gotten himself into this time... the flames growing ever higher... he can afford to lose a finger or two... a bit off his tail. These will all grow back. (He's been in a tight spot or two before;) Fenn is the immortal Salamander you know, escaping the fiery furnace unharmed... We will set this poor fellow free. Back to the forest and fen where he belongs... Philosophy: Straight forward and simple. Fenn wrote two books about the poem and his life. One would expect to find hints or clues in those books. Don't be overly creative, just visit the places Fenn spoke of and apply them to the poem. To demonstrate this idea, take "where warm waters halt" (wwwh) in the context of "The Thrill of the Chase" (TTOTC) and we think of "Yellowstone National Park" (YNP) because of Fenn's stories in TTOTC and because YNP is the obvious place to find hot springs, boiling pots, and geysers in the Rocky Mountains. Also, try to follow directions. When it says "take it in the canyon down" simply go "down" rather than go "south" Theme and Structure: The theme of the poem is Fenn's journey through life. The Omegas (Fenn's colophon) are found in the poem. (Halt and Cease in the poem are literally the words representing the beginning and ending of the "quest". We are not looking for a "double omega") This means that the journey is between those two words. The poem structure is both "Palindrome" (mirror) and "Circular" Symbols: Ω entrance and exit on the stage of life Ω ⊙ end to end ⊙ (Hollow Log) Secret Stuff: Yeah, there's secret stuff... View of Minnie Lake looking West. Not easily seen is the island in the center of the lake with it's own pine tree. The tree is actually about 15' tall and the island is about 60' long. From the edge of the lake it looks perfectly like a grave mound and tombstone. Minnie lake is about 2.1 miles from parking at Potamageton Park, Trail 205 trail head. The hike is difficult, but not extreme. We hiked to it in about 2 hours. “As” may seem an odd way to start the poem, but for me it appears to be an instruction to follow. What better "word that is key" than the first word of the poem? I had thought of "alone" but it is the same effect. "As" is the key. So if "As..." = "Like I've gone in there" We are looking for the different ways or places that Fenn had gone alone into. So in the context of TTOTC, we remember that Fenn visited the cemetery alone at night. He went to see the gypsy girls dancing. He went fishing on the Madison River alone. River bathing alone. He flew his fighter jet alone, and his private plane alone. Different roles or hats = different solution layers. Eric = one or alone. (Wikipedia) Alone = ⊙ or mega "O" OPPOSITE of the "X" mark . Entrance to the hollow log. The treasure chest is bold, Fenn's (or our) gifts to the world. Also bold means that Fenn stripped down to place the chest in cold water, and we must strip down to retrieve the chest in cold water. Answer: "Under my hat" or in my mind (mine alone, and any use of the word my or mine by Fenn. Minnie = mine) (Great article on this by Mindy) I believe this means the contributions of Forrest Fenn past and present. Possibly these are riches possessed by the reader? The potential in all of us? Also a Tribute, Riches = Eric Sloan (Hinrichs, credit to Mindy for this idea), Richard Weatherill (bracelet), Dr. Richard Blake (solar physicist) Google Earth screen-shot. This area is the stomping-ground for Fenn's childhood summers. It also represents his emotional, romantic yearning for this region... it belongs to him. Firehole is the important feature here. The Firehole halts dramatically at the Madison Junction (MJ). The Madison River begins here. I have always understood that the shadow man is Fenn, hat and walking stick ready to begin his journey, and standing at MJ. As Dal Neitzel pointed out, warm waters don't halt at Ojo Caliente (River Bathing is Best). WWWH is only important because of it's shape, a Fire Hole, aka a MEGA "O". Halt is an abrupt "end", Ω qualifying as an "Omega". The Firehole is symbolic of his start in the art business, where he dropped chunks of metal into the fiery furnace and from the crucible, he poured molten metal to create bronze art. Compare to a burning, hollow log. Begin “it” is likely his favorite river that he doesn’t want to say of course. “It”, also means one of the different layers, roles, hats, ideas. For example, begin “birth” when the water breaks and the baby born; begin death when the heart stops and the body buried, begin the treasure hunt where the Firehole halts (a “T” where the name changes) and where the Madison River begins. The fire- hole is a mega “O” in shape Ω. Water flows out of the ground and into the river, symbolic of an entrance, birth, onto the stage of life. Parallel symbolism here is Fenn’s start in the bronze casting business… certainly a fire-hole forge, the beginning of his art business and financial success. The most common mistake that I see searchers make is that they underestimate the importance of the first clue. If you don’t have that one nailed down you might as well stay home and play Canasta. f (speaking of WWWH) Why? The beginning and the end are the same. Just trust me on this one. HALT AND CEASE. The omegas are IN the poem. An entire book could be written about the ecosystem of this river and the life that permeates here. Take “it” in the canyon down. Simple and straightforward. (It still applies to each layer or interpretation: birth, death, sex, Vietnam, and literally) The title "Too Far to Walk" is described as the 10+ miles of winding Madison River above baker's hole. THIS IS PROBABLY THE BEST CONFIRMATION OF ANY CLUE EVER MENTIONED BY FENN. If you have Fenn's correct TFTW then you also know WWWH and hoB is, because they are contiguous. Put in, below the home of Brown. All clues are relative to Fenn’s life. Brown = Brown trout, which spawn between Hebgen Lake and Gibbon Falls and also up to Firehole Falls. This is also relevant to the theme of water… water being the stage of life; Fenn’s life, from entrance to exit, omega door to omega door. Can it be any more clear? The most obvious Brown, the most obvious place, Hebgen, his favorite river, his childhood memories. This was his stomping ground for 20 years, his first taste of freedom and adventure. So when did FF discover the omegas? When did FF say, they belong to me, I own it.... mine alone. When did he understand that it expressed his life? He must have felt his heart skip a beat when he knew the world would think of him when they saw them, the double omegas, and see his entire story in a glance. Like something hieroglyphic read by some future generation. The story must be told. So what do Omegas mean, and what spectacular place is his legacy? If the Firehole is the entrance, the beginning, then where is the other omega? The exit. The end of this journey? It cannot be here for it must be at the other end of this trail… And what is the trail? The Madison river. So we take it down wherever it leads us. Birth, childhood, his military career, and his start in the art business, FF enters the flaming o, alone, innocent, bearing treasures of his talents and contributions along the way. Trials and difficulties are certain to come... and secrets untold. Like Fenn's escape from school down the fire escape, we begin to understand... the legend of the salamander... Madison Canyon down. Fenn's Journey. Stretch of Madison river as described in the preface of TFTW. hoB = Hebgen lake because the Brown Trout migrate upstream to spawn. Hebgen Lake, a place mentioned many times by Fenn, and of obvious importance. Brown trout spawn upstream into the Madison, Firehole and Gibbon rivers. We have Hebgen as the most obvious "home of Brown" in the context of Fenn's books, stories, and interviews. Tolerate this interpretation for now.... we have not disproven the idea. In the teachers with ropes picture, I take this to mean the Madison River. The teacher is hand outstretched, clearly symbolic of halt, holding the end of the rope (where the Madison begins). This allows us to identify the big car as Hebgen, or home of brown (similar to house bronze). My additions to the illistration make it easier to see the basic circle of the poem, and the contiguous nature of water in the poem. I see the 9 clues to be 9 places along this water pathway among the 24 lines of the poem. Let's not forget that we are to "put in below" the hoB. This idea fits perfectly below the dam, which interrupts this contiguous flow of water. The fire escape pictured here is like the one at Fenn's school, and fits perfectly with the idea of the Salamander escaping (hollow log) the fire unharmed... the brown streak on his pants was mentioned in ttotc. Stick-Men: This oddity seems to point to the Geoglyph. Fenn is the walking man, Fenn is the football player, Fenn is the other football man. Fenn is the shadow man (with hat). We can deduce that Fenn IS the Axolotl Geoglyph (which also has a hat!!) Elevation: 8,264 ft. or just above 8.25 on the altimeter GPS: Latitude: 44.9313984°N Longitude: -111.3346734°W - “I, one, one” (First Line) match the GPS coordinates 111 deg. W. The 44lb chest could be the other coordinate. Distance: 42 miles from "Begin it" to "quest to cease" (Omega to Omega) Compass - Radial - Clockface: Minnie Lake could be a clock face or Radial. My guess, the tc is between 0700 and 0800 when FF does his best thinking. That's also where the bear is standing, floating hat picture. Most Compelling Evidence: Perhaps the most compelling evidence for this area is the salamander geoglyph nearly 8 football fields wide. The artist is UNKNOWN. Not a forgery, but forged with hard work. Many man hours, equipment and fuel went into this... and for what purpose and what end? Fate and an eye for a deal, Forrest Fenn had to appreciate this unclaimed art. It even has trees (Forest) and (fen) pond weed!! But this alone would not have been enough for his legacy. Within reasonable distance is Minnie Lake. Also undeniable are the sexual overtones here. Why? A masterpiece must have multiple meanings and symbols. Fenn is not a cutesy simple a man, he's a multi-millionaire, jet pilot, Alpha-Male charmer with class and style. Also compelling evidence is the RARE island and shape of Minnie Lake. It has the Fenn grave. It has the hat shape. It has the "O" shape. It has the feminine gender and tribute to women. It has the entrance of cold snow melt into the Madison River system. And, If Minnie Hollow Wood isn't convincing enough, then no solve will ever do. (We know little bighorn is important to FF and, think about it, "BRAVE AND IN THE WOOD"!!!) Fenn has used often the words "little" and "small". I have no doubt that Minnie IS the "little" Indian girl. Minnie1 Minnie2 Minnie3 Note:Alone and Gold are both "Circle-Dot," found first line and last line. Also interesting is the 24th and last letter of the Greek alphabet is an Omega. Omega = Circle DotNote 2: Probably the ugliest picture in the book is of the "Tiger Skin on the Tin Roof" but in the context of a Tiger Salamander on the side of a hill, it fits quite well. Perhaps even a confirmation of what we are looking for. Note 3: Does anyone but me think the poem is 3d? As in hollow log, tunnel, mine?Note 4: Remember the floating hat scrapbook by Fenn? At the time it came out, there was quite a stir about Fenn losing his mind and rambling in his own special style. But to me, it was a picture begging to be interperted. Who could possibly come up with a floating hat?? And what's up with ALL the hats anyway? Answer: This is Minnie Lake "floating" (shape of fenn's hat)above the salamander geoglyph. Fenn IS the Salamander and the salamander has a floating hat. (this is quite convincing to me) Once "below the home of Brown", we are pretty much in walking distance of the treasure. This Google Earth view covers most of the area for "Searching for Lewis and Clark" which started at Red Canyon and ended unknown (which of course, we know, was Beaver Creek). "no place for the meek" is quake lake and Forest Service Road 985, which goes to dirt here. Many wild animals in this area, winter or summer. Steep draws on both sides. Beavers and Boats have paddles. Beaver creek is known for it's heavy silt loads every spring. Our first glimpse of the Salamander Geoglyph. Quake lake earthquake and dirt road starts here. We saw many animals and different tracks starting here. Birth = Life is difficult. Death = judgment day. Etc. Steep mountain sides here. Potamageton park (means a fen) at the end of this forest service road. Birth = Life is short (clock starts ticking). Death = Day of Reckoning Sex = Orgasm soon Secret = Murder? (just using my imagination) Beaver Creek, Boat Mtn. Birth = spanking. Death = nobody can help you now Etc. Heavy loads = silt in streams, water high = high mountain lake. Death = 6 feet under. Sex = pre orgasm Life and water, follow a path. Fenn creates his own destiny. Bravely choosing his course in Vietnam, in love and business. There has been no sign of meekness here… fault lines here too… his books are filled with these stories. I would love to hear the secrets untold… well, not all, since some things are best kept as secrets. Now you see that this journey is perfectly symbolized by the Madison River, Hebgen Lake, and Beaver Creek. Water from beginning to end, like a highway. A life filled with heavy loads, difficulty, and challenges. Most notable is the EXACT location where the picture from page 58 of TTOTC. This is easy to verify in Google Earth using the tree patterns. Also, not so obvious, the cover of TTOTC could be a map of this area. Fenn in the green jump suit being the geoglyph, the boy hat is Minnie Lake, and the horses picture representing the area pictured. Of interest is the field of stumps picture. There is a corresponding field of stumps below the Axolotl Geoglyph, and the moon matches Minnie lake, where the dove of peace nests. Perhaps the first moment Forrest and Donnie realized they would find their way out was just west of Axolotl Lake. The geoglyph is NOT seen from the ground. It is not known how or when FF saw the Salamander and/or the island on Minnie Lake for the first time. 1987 is the oldest picture I have found for the geoglyph (1988 YNP fires). Most likely, FF found this by air or satellite photo. He probably thought this geoglyph was Native American. I have seen for myself that the clearings were cut with modern tools. Also unknown is who composed this scene... (Axolotl Lake with the Salamander with Minnie Hollow Wood) Curious that this place matches so well the legend of the Salamander, "brave and in the wood", the floating hat, the fire at both ends, the hollow log, etc. Note: Electronics Color Code - Red = 2, Black = 0, Green = 5 probably trail 205. Trail 88 also leaves Potamageton Park and goes near Minnie Lake on the North East side. 88 could certainly be a double omega. Omega = 800. 8 = infinity etc. Sage Peak, Minerva, Finding Lewis and Clark mountain man wisdom. Sun or Gold circumpunct. "Look quickly" is letting you know to look in the cold water. "quest to cease" is telling you that it has been a quest and that "cease" is the last Omega Ω. "tarry scant" gives the sense of enjoy the moment and beauty of the place Some form of satisfaction when the journey is complete The clearing of trees and the creation of the Salamander Geoglyph was pre 1987. It's not known how old it is. I've not found any documentation of this geoglyph, nor were the old-timers at the Forest Service any help. The only obvious history in the area was evidence of logging here and damage by fire between 1995 and 2005. You may have wondered what the two different stick-men in football helmets had to do with anything? The tiger stripes on the Salamander seem to represent both the football field (ff) and the ladder (seen on the chest and in the jet pictures). You may also be able to finally make out the "floating" hat comparison. Another interesting point, we see an "M" or "W" under the salamander smile, and going through the eyes and along its back. Switchbacks are probably in many search areas, but the "M" only adds to the meaning (William Marvin Fenn). How do we recognize a correct solve? Is it possible to know we have it right? There can be only one place. It must have meaning to Fenn. It must be symbolic or literal Forrest Fenn. And finally I believe it will likely be spectacular. The Salamander is the ideal idol for Fenn / Fen worship. It's supernatural powers. It is the element of fire. It's connection to fishing and forest and fen. It's even shaped like a Fenn fetish. There is no question the frog in the chest is meant to foresee the missing bell or jar figure. The salamander fits perfectly with the bronze jar theme: Butterfly, Dragonfly, Frogs, (and the oddball gypsy girl). This nocturnal creature comes out at night and on rainy days. Newt form of the salamander has gills that resemble fire. When Fenn says to use our imagination, he is probably speaking in part about this creature... how it hides in and under logs, and despite the surrounding danger, it remains unharmed. Much like Fenn escaping the jet crashes and cancer and the other incodents. Persian origin of the word means "fire within". No wonder FF sees this as some sort of spiritual collision of time and place. Forrest Fenn, a salamander? (check out this cool article) (Maturity Alert) What do we do with this GIANT phallus? Maybe this is how we align the geoglyph and lake to know the exact spot? Hats... every picture on both covers is of Fenn wearing a hat. This is also iconic, of his legacy. A hat trick for sure, especially when you realize it's a home run for Sitting Bull's Peace Pipe. How? Value goes up. Minnie Lake is named after "Minnie Hollow Wood" who fought in the battle of Little Bighorn. She was allowed to wear the headdress (another hat) in honor of her fierce bravery. What a great tribute to women! Now, we also see that Minnie lake is shaped a bit like Fenn's Stetson, and also the floating hat (Mildew) complete with the hole in the center. I have always considered the floating hat scrapbook to be some type of confession.... read it again about the hole... Fenn had also devoted a page or two or three to his dad's fishing hat. We see the only mention of "Minnie" in scrapbook 53 about diggin gypsy (DG) bringing back the Minnie Pearl look. I'm sure FF was trying to hit DG over the head with that one. An Omega does look like a top hat of sorts. I had to include in here Fenn's Easter egg, a circle dot, complete with wooden egg signed by Eric Sloan. This mirrors first line "Alone" with "in the wood" last line. To build his Legend of course. answers plural confirm again there are multiple secrets, including where the chest is. "done it" being = to "Begin it". Meaning various things that he has began or done.... these secrets take a toll in life, thus tired and weak Look at the bracelet. Those are perfect circle dots in blue or green turquoise. Sun worship, gold worship, breast worship.... Fenn loves double omegas. Now look at the island / mound. It looks like his epitaph... Fenn's grave. I have no doubt that THIS was the magic spot that FF wanted to memorialize forever. This is his alone. "My spot, Mine, Mine, Mine, Minnie. This is the end. Death. He said he'd never wear the hat. (Never Die?, never arrive? etc.) This looks very much like the dancing gypsy illustration and also Fenn's feet by the fire pic. I have no doubt that this is the True Blaze and that the woman looking in the floor picture is showing us to look IN the last Omega (pot in the floor = underwater and dragonfly symbol = water)(also pot of gold at the end of the rainbow). July August when the water temp is tolerable. Hear Fenn's life story cold water I doubt anyone could come up with a better "brave and in the wood" as Minnie Hollow Wood and Eric Sloane along with a Salamander escaping the burning log. Title = Ownership. The symbol for gold and sun, ⊙ end to end ⊙ (Hollow Log) This story is far from finished. Forrest Fenn's full story is yet to be revealed. I hope that I (the author) have contributed in some small way. I am a promoter at heart. That is what I do. One does not always need a reward for what he does. I will play this game how I want to.

Technical links from all sources Lots of bit mainly MGB but all relevant to the C. HOW TO DEVELOP THE MGC . OVERCOME MOST OF THE PROBLEMS AND FURTHUR DEVELOP THE CAR INTO A GREAT GT CAR FOR USE ON OUR ROADS, IN TODAY’S TRAFFIC CONDITIONS. This is a full revision of a set of articles on developing the MGC-GT written many years ago. Quite a lot of further development has been undertaken since the first set of articles. This maybe final Revision: 18 February 2010. M any articles have been written about what is wrong with the ‘C’ by comparing experience with the ‘B’. Even today, over 32 years later, motoring journalists (a late ’99 article in Classic Cars, UK) still write as they did in 1967, that the problem with the ‘C’ is the heavy motor and that is the problem, end of story. The big Healey had an even heavier version and didn’t get the same comments. One journalistwrites and the rest simply copy. T he School of Automotive Studies at Cranfield (UK) compared an MGB roadster with an MGC roadster; using their inertia test rig, supporting the cars under their exact centre of gravity by an air bearing plus springs to enable measurements of roll, pitch and yaw. Their conclusions apart from the ‘C’ being nose heavy were that the C’s C of G ( Centre of Gravity ) was 14% higher than the ‘B’ and it’s inertia in transverse yaw was 22% higher. So the ‘C’ is 22% more reluctant to change direction than the ‘B’ . This helps to explain the terrible understeer on slow mountain corners compared with highway curves. I t is the higher C of G plus the big increase in transverse yaw combined with totally inadequate tyre section coupled with a lack of roll control and slight positive camber settings that makes the ‘C’ such a “pig of a car” as a sports car; not helped by the unresponsive LUMP of “BEST BRITISH CAST IRON” (with a flywheel suitable for a light truck) with a real output in the car of only 120 plus horsepower. I thought this pre-amble a good way to start an article on my ‘C-GT’ from when I drove it from Dalgety #2 wharf on the 6 of August 1968, up totoday when we have a 3 Litre sports car able to keep up with modern traffic and indeed what a big engine ‘B’ should have been like had Abingdon had the time and money to develop the production car; think how good the GTS C’s were. I will describe the car as it arrived and then what was done by me with helpful suggestions from a race experienced engineer along the way. As usual with my generation “making it go” was priority #1 (it couldn’t keep up with a mildly tuned EH Holden ), we knew handling was more important, but in 68/69 we didnot have the knowledge or experience to do anything about that problem; so the motor was first priority. A few years later a mechanical engineer friend said “what that car needs are some decent roll bars front and rear”. Not understanding this it took until December 93 to actually address what turned out to be the real problem and it transformed the car beyond my expectation. This was followed later by giving the car 1 deg of negative camber and later again fitting 185/65R15 tyres, a faster rack and pinion, with the added benefit of lowering the car by ½ inch, since raised ½ inch to return to 4.5 inch ground clearance for “speed bumps” and giving an effective diff ratio about one third way between the early and later cars; effective diff. ratio 3.446:1. (Speedo reads 4.5% high). Ground clearance now back to original setting of 4.5 inches. FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF A LONG AWAITED C – GT. Having had 4 enjoyable years with a 63 MK1B it seemed that a ‘ C – GT’ would be a good car as I was going to live in Hong Kong. After settling in Ivisited Dodwell Motors to order a ‘C – GT’ with all useful options and was expecting delivery in late 67. As we all found out later this was a period of total and utter confusion at BMC as “Triumph” men from Leyland were about to try to promote “Triumph” as the corporate sports car and hope MG would fade away. The terrible bloody STAG was close to release. Many spanners were thrown in the works with the formation of BLMC ; some thought “Bloody Lousy Motor Corporation” was what BLMC actually stood for. B y the time the car was due to ship I had returned to Australia so the shipping address was changed to Brisbane (Personal Import Plan #4, from memory) so this is how I got my [new from Abingdon with 17 miles on the odometer, on the wharf] ‘C’ in Australia. Two other used “C’s” were imported about 2 years later, one to Moe in Victoria and the other one to Alice Springs, possibly from SE Asia. O n the 3 August the “SS Auckland Star” arrived with my ‘C’ onboard. I inspected the car on the 5 and took the dry charged batteries to Century Batteries for filling and over night charging, which they did free of charge and I still buy Century Batteries as a result of this excellent service, so next morning armed with my toolbox and 1 Gallon of petrol I picked up my Batteries and headed for the wharf. First step, after installing the batteries and adding fuel, was to remove the plugs and pump up 20 PSI of oil pressure, the motor was tight with only 17 miles on the clock. Then refit the plugs and attempt to start the monster, a few feeble splutters but no go. The plugs were very dirty and oily so out they came, again, and off to the nearest garage (there were garages with real mechanics in 1968) back I went to try again this time 3 cylinders actually tried to run, ah! let’s check the SU pistons, 1 piston moved easily, the other didn’t move at all. So dismantle the struck SU to discover the jet was not centered and struck against the needle (Quality Control was thought to be some strange foreign concept at BLMC ) after centering the jet correctly all was well and the motor started and ran easily but with a lot of choke required to keep it going, no wonder the plugs were so fouled. S o after finding all the bits (passenger side wiper blade in with the tools etc.), picking up the spare keys and signing all the shipping forms I had my car. So off to the Public Weighbridge in the Valley then up to MRD to register the car. PFT-000 (Later known as “Pretty Fast Truck” ) was all ready to go, so off home to fit the plates and registration sticker and my car was ready for the road. A condition for warranty cover required the car going to Leyland Australia at Wacol, for inspection and pre-delivery. I arranged to take the car to Wacol and drove up next day. Arriving at the gate a surly security guard told me “only staff can drive on to this site” and wouldn’t let me in, suggesting I just leave the car with them. I made an excuse about arranging a later time and drove away for a while, (about morning tea-time) then changed into a pair of white overalls drove back saw a different security guard, so thinking at “Security Guard level”, drove slowly up to the gate waved and drove thru; then I had to find the workshop. T he mechanics were not aware that I was coming either and they were busy with a Mini Gearbox so we had a little problem to solve. I suggested that if they told me what had to be done I would be happy to do it myself. This turned out to be very simple as I had already checked the car carefully before taking it toWacol and so far everything worked as expected. So we put it on the hoist to inspect underneath. All was OK except for a couple of exhaust brackets which were bent and were easily fixed. So the staff gave me all the solvents, rags etc. and I set to work removing the heavy and now very grimy shipping wax. Once that was done more paper to sign and all was mine, just run in for 1,500 miles and take the car to Howards Motors for the 1 Service and any warranty work required. Two days later I lost the top layer of skin from my hands, strong solvents, and I never considered taking gloves. I ran the car in over 2000 miles and found that the car understeers badly on slow tight corners but gets better at highway speeds and steered quite well on fast open roads. One day on my way home, down the back road from Mt Cootha (I worked at Channel 0), I forgot that I was driving the ‘C’ and turned into a tight right hand bend like I had for years in the ‘B’ and suddenly discovered chronic understeer, the only cure was to straighten up and brake hard luckily not hitting the bank, then proceed with less haste. A ll the myths about increasing power etc. do not work with the ‘C’, it just understeers straight ahead. One early press comment said the “The ‘C’ goes like a bullet and steers the same way.” This was an accurate description, with my car, after years in the ‘B’, it was a real trap changing into a ‘C’. A trip to Mt. Buller (Victoriansnowfields) followed the running in period and showed what an enigma the ‘C’ was compared with it’s smaller brother. The car was very smooth and quiet (except for the extremely noisy fan), flexible in traffic and able to purr away in 4 at 1000 RPM without fuss, but no low end torque or high end power. Able to cruise effortlessly at 4000 in O/D (108MPH); good high speed stability and cornering but terrible understeer, at slower speeds, where any lock was required. Maximum speed of 120 in both 4 and O/D, economy on trip of 22.5 MPG and around town 17.3 MPG. The first standing ¼ mile time [Lakeside] was 17.9 seconds not as good as my “B” [17.58 @ Lowood] ; not good considering the extra 1100 CC’s. and stated [dreamed up by the marketing people] 145 BHP C.F. 94 BHP for the “B”. W ith a car the same shape as a ‘B-GT’ this said that the motor was not as efficient as the ‘B’ engine, the little extra power being used to overcome the greatly increased mass of the ‘C’. The other strange thing about the car was that when O/D was engaged the car leapt forward but when O/D was disengaged the car physically slowed down then slowly built up revs again. In one of my books on the “C” is a wonderful comment, “The engine must have been designed by an Ex-Naval Diesel Engineer who was transferred to a Tractor Factory, against his wishes T he maintain your interest here are some technical details of the C series engines compared with the B series as fitted to the MGC and MGB. Both engines used the same cam profiles and shared the same cam lift and rocker ratio, giving equal valve lift; there are small variations depending on which Workshop or Tuning manual you read. Nothing is all that accurate with BLMC publications. ( Bloody Lousy Motor Corporation? ). The combustion chambers were by Harry Weslake and very similar for all BMC/BLMC engines of the era. C ylinder capacity of the ‘C’ is 485CC’s and the ‘B’ 450 CC’s, same stroke different bore. The ‘C’ has valve head diameters about 15% bigger than the ‘B’ but the cylinder capacity is only 8% bigger. The ‘C’ is fed by two 1.75 inch SU’s and the ‘B’ by two 1.5 inch units. F rom the above it would be reasonable to expect the ‘C’ to perform similarly with the ‘B’ and with the bigger valves to breathe better and be more effective than the ‘B’. On a ratio of capacity between the engines the ‘C’ should have produced 152 BHP and 178 Lbs/Ft not the claimed 145 & 174 figures the sales and factory data said. I n fact the ‘C’ actually produced a lot less than 124 BHP (when installed in the car, with the normal exhaust system fitted) and at lower revs 5250 “V” 5400 and peak torque was 300 to 400 RPM higher (depends on which manual you read) all indicate that manifolding was hopeless and poorly designed, if it was actually designed at all, with the ‘C’ and together with the massive truck flywheel and a fan that used 12 BHP at 5000 RPM made the ‘C’ feel so different to the ‘B’. As will be described a correctly designed inlet and exhaust system along with a 25% reduction of flywheel mass plus replacing the fan with a thermo/clutch unit transformed the ‘C’ into the big ‘B’ that it could have been from the start. It sounds and feels totally different as well and it actually goes very well now. T he introduction described taking delivery of a new and largely unknown car and finding out how different it was to the MK1’B in characteristics, (not a pleasant experience) . Now I will outline work done on the “huge lump of el-cheapo cast iron” , which BLMC considered a newengine. [Circa 1930.s based on a 1926 Chevrolet 6 say some historians?] Morris Engines Branch had a very bad habit and reputation of making very poor performance 6 cylinder engines, from the very early days of the company, except for those modified & tuned by Abingdon and Downton. O n one of our interstate trips ( MG Qld. Club members) we went to Silverdale Hillclimb, as spectators, while there I asked Paul England (a well known dynamic balancing engineer from Victoria) to take the ‘C’ for a drive and see what was wrong with it. Paul came back and said the engine won’t rev because the flywheel is excessively heavy. This explained the strange overdrive action, discussed last time. O n return to Brisbane a decision was made to remove the engine (16,000 miles) pull it down and have a critical look within. We were still waiting for the workshopmanual. T he first thing we noticed was how clean pistons 1 & 6 looked compared to the others; it seemed little mixture got to 1 & 6. from later experience they certainly did not do 33.3% of the work. The flywheel was indeed very heavy, OK for a heavy slow revving Light Truck. With the redesign of the old 4 bearing C series engine it seems Morris Engines lost the plot. Stuck in the 1920’s/1940’s mind set, after all it was “Good Enough for Grand-Pa”. T he reason for making the new engine wasto power the coming AUSTIN 3 LITRE, an ugly, giant version of the AUSTIN 1800 with a north-south engine driving the rear wheels. This required a smooth engine for the new saloon car. Abingdon got stuck with this exceedingly dud and totally undeveloped and I suggest untested engine. NOTE: The MGB & MGC share cam timing, cam lift, rocker ratio and therefore valve lift. The ‘C’ has 9:1 C.R., the ‘B’ 8.8:1, which would indicate both engines should feel similar but not so; the ‘C’ feels and sounds entirely different from the ‘B’ . I t was considered that about 25% of the flywheel mass could be safely removed (cast iron, not steel). The engine balance was rather poor, [Normal for BMC engines of the time]. maybe this was the reason for the truck flywheel. The press people commented on how smooth the new C series engine was compared to the 5 bearing B series engine and the superceded C series engine as fitted to the Healey 3000 (4 Bearing and very Rough). S o 25% of the flywheel mass was removed and the motor fully balanced. We discovered that the piston crowns were .020 inch below the block face and as the head was being worked on by me we thought it worth while to lower the block face .018 inch to try and improve combustion. The “warranty supplied”, correct valve guides were fitted and the motor reassembled. I cleaned up the head to be similar to the head on my ‘B’. NOTE: The originally fitted valve guides had the groove to retain the seals in the wrong place so that the seals came off and indeed acted like oil pumps for the inlet valves. No wonder the press cars all had plug fouling. These seals still come off. Later I will detail a good fix that cures this oily plug problem. A noticeable improvement in driveability resulted, the engine pulled better and changed revs more like a ‘B’; and the overdrive now operated as it should have from the start. Economy improved and the flexibility remained unchanged, all up a big improvement but well below what one expects from a 3 Litre car. Now you can buy an Aliminum flywheel for a “C” from tuning specialists in the UK. [ Tuned “C’s” in the UK now put out 238 BHP]. A bout this time I read an article about Downton Engineering Works who had a long history of working with BMC and particularly MG; in fact all the heads from Special Tuning were done by Downton . This company were also involved with the development of the MGC competition engines as fitted to the Le Mans and Sebring cars (MGC-GTS). I don’t know but possibly Downton developed their mods. for the proposed Healey 3,000 MK 4, as they had all the performance data long before the car was ready for production and had developed the exhaust system and inlet manifolds. The Healey would have needed something to separate it from the “C” apart from a Grill change. It all became history when Donald Healey refused to sign off on the new Healey, but the tuning kits were sold directly by Downton. Towards the end of production from University Motors. D ownton had developed two tuning kits for the production ‘C’ long before University Motors came into the picture. Kit 43 which retained the existing inlet manifold (reworked) an exchange head and completely new extractor dual exhaust system & Kit 45 the same except that the “Metters Gas Stove” type inlet manifold is scrapped and replaced with 3 fabricated tabular steel manifolds plus the very necessary 3 SU; the additional front SU having a short neck to clear the bonnet. This I decided was the only way to go, as the Downton head produced 174.6 nett BHP @ 5500 RPM. at the flywheel, (The dual exhaust system contributes at least 20 BHP as part of Kit 45. in a letter from Downton). B eing my only car, it was impossible to send the head to the UK on exchange, I asked Downton if they would supply Kit 45 without the head. Understandably they were not all that interested; but also appreciated my difficulty and agreed to ship, but not guarantee the results. The eagerly awaited kit duly arrived and instant activity followed, during the next weekend. The difference was quite surprising (even with my enthusiastic but amateur headwork) now the engine pulled when cold and had a lot more low end torque, it revved easily and developed high end power running to 6000 without fuss. Downton advised that they regularly ran these engines to 6000 RPM. (to add confusion the Workshop manual lists valve crash as 5500 RPM, maybe this is why they quote max, power at 5250 even though the tacho red line starts at 5600 RPM. NOTE: Apparently early factory engines were fitted with weak valve springs. NOTHING WOULD SURPRISE ANYBODY ABOUT BLMC IN 67/68. This info. Was supplied by Downton. I was so surprised with this change, all the well noted problems had disappeared, so I asked Downton if they could supply a head. They agreed to get an Austin head and re-machine it. (MG & AUSTIN heads are identical except for the colour, Greenish for the “C” and black for the AUSTIN). At the next sprint meeting at Lakeside the “C” did a 16.5 seconds standing ¼ mile, on well worn Olympic GT tyres which were awful, lots of wheelspin, C.F. 17.9 previously. (I never got the opportunity to time the car with the Downton head fitted, it would have been quicker). T his head was fitted as soon as it arrived and I immediately noticed a big lift in low end torque, particularly over the rev range where this engine runs as a day to day car, my head was similar in the higher ranges but sadly lacking down low by comparison. The most noticeable difference was fuel economy 28 MPG on a fast trip 25 MPG overall town and country use; a lot better than the original 22.5 and 17.3 figures with the original car. On our Wednesday runs we often average better than 30 MPG, With SHELL OPTIMAX /VALVEMASTER and Michelin ENERGY MXV3A tyres up to 32 MPG has been achieved. T he propellor, sorry fan, was the next item for attention. All the press had commented on the very noisy fan, and they were dead right. A change back from 4 to 2 in traffic produced a roaring noise that drowned out all other engine noise, again an article in a UK magazine suggested a Kenlowe thermostatic fan could reduce the noise and let the wasted power drive the wheels. Kenlowe advised that the fan used 12 BHP @ 5000 RPM, it certainly seemed to be correct with the very short fan belt and alternator bearing life I was experiencing. A lot of engine power went for no useful purpose. I fitted a Kenlowe designed for the ‘C’ in the UK, great no noise, good until a heavy traffic, heat soak situation then the fan could not cope with the Aussie summer, the other problem is the tiny little alternator of 34 amps capacity (less 10% in our climate) but only with the car running at 3000 RPM (which is 81 MPH in O/D), the alternator had the wrong size pulley, surprise, surprise, so at legal speeds an electric fan would only work with an appropriate size and speed alternator; scrap the electric fan and ponder for a few more years. T he solution for the power wasting fan is simple, fit a thermoclutch unit as used by BMW’s for years. This requires very little machining and fits perfectly in the normal fan shroud and unless pointed out most observers don’t even notice the change. The advantages are many, dead quiet, plenty of air in traffic and low speed use, stable idle and no power wasted at cruising speeds. (This change will be detailed later). Since this information has been dispersed far and wide Ian Hobbs from the Adelaide “C” Register has checked around for a cheaper clutch fan and discovered that the hub from a “VL” Commodore with a Nissan fan fits very well with minimum modification to the “C” water pump hub. Ian got the parts from the wreckers for about $50. . D ata from Downton said that the factory figures for the ‘C’ engine gave 123.7 BHP at the flywheel with all engine ancillaries fitted but with a much less restricted workshop exhaust system. Downton ‘s own figures were obtained with all ancillaries fitted, and their exhaust system. Motor Noters who tested a ‘C’ with Kit 43 fitted pondered how a ‘C’ with 149 nett BHP @ 5500 RPM could accelerate and pull so well when the factory car supposedly produced 145 nett BHP @ 5250 RPM. Their conclusion was that the Factory figures were probably optimistic, [obviously extremely optimistic], which explains the 17.9 second ¼ mile. W e now realize why the ‘C’ was such a LEMON, it managed less than 124 BHP in reality, no wonder the could not explain why the Big Healey felt so much stronger; all sorts of silly reasons were offered including additional friction of 7 bearings ‘V’ 4 and excessive windage from the new crank. No doubt the new engine had greater losses than the early unit but not 20 BHP, I believe the Morris Engines people just completely stuffed up the manifolding, probably never understood it anyway, still living in the 20’s. Several books have mentioned that most of the problems with the “C” are manifolding and the flywheel mass. The standard ‘C’ inlet manifold has 2 capillary drain tubes fitted. Just in front of each SU with a dimple in the manifold to collect the pooled fuel. Bloody great design that is, I have never seen drain tubes on a manifold before or since. Kit 43 gave a torque figure of 170.5 Lbs Ft @ 3000, less than the factory sales figures but more than the actual torque of the production car. A comparasion of data from the ‘B’ & ‘C’ is interesting, the MK 1 B has a BMEP (Brake Mean Effective Pressure) of 152 @ 3,100 RPM. The Kit 43 C has 145 @ 3000; one can only guess what the standard car figure was, probably much less than 140 @ 3400/3500 RPM. No wonder the ‘B’ is such a good car. A MK 1 B gave 52.84 BHP/Litre (from MGB special tuning manual); the standard C 42.5 BHP/Litre; Kit 43 gave 51 BHP/Litre and Kit 45 gave 60 BHP/Litre and a BMEP of 161@ 3000 RPM, Power as said of 174.6 BHP @ 5500 RPM and torque of 190 Lbs Ft @ 3000 RPM. Kit 45 gives an increase of 41% over the standard car; this really improves the response, economy and efficiency of the engine. T he MGC – GTS alloy headed engines with 3 dual throat Webbers, big valves and cam produced 200/210 BHP @ 6000 RPM so the engine was certainly capable of very impressive performance with long life and reliability in long distance races. MG Motorsport (Doug Smith) are now supplying “C” engines with triple Webers with 238 BHP. D ownton provided either 9.5:1 or 9.3:1 C.R. heads, I ordered mine at the lower ratio and with my block work ended up with 9.46:1. Pump fuel of course could not cope with this compression, (it was not even OK at 8.8:1 MGB C.R.). BP Nundah had a BP100 pump so all was well for many years; when this closed down the car ran on 100/130 avgas (equivalent to 104 RON when used in a car) which was much better, except that the car was restricted to a maximum of 150 miles from home (300 miles per tank) plus the problems of 44 Gallon drums. Knowing that fuel quality would only get worse (98 then 97 then 96 RON) I reduced the C.R. to 8.6:1 to run on current pump fuel. Shell OPTIMAX is rated at 98 RON and is ideal with 8.6 or 8.8 CR. No pre-ignition at all with correctly set timing, at high temperatures. [If I had of known about retiming the distributor for modern fuels, as we have it today, I could have left the compression unchanged.] I n 1986, it was time for a full pull-down and look see. Maximum bore wear ¾ inch down the bores was less than .001 inch not bad for 53,500 miles fairly hard use; the bearings were fine and the little end bushes well within factory spec., so this is a real long life engine (now 111,838 miles on 5 JULY 2008) The pistons were not well due to carbon build up behind the rings, which had caused the ring lands to wear, caused by the bad design of valve guide seals and the earlier problem of incorrectly machined valve guides (it was really hard to retain one’s sanity with a BLMC 67/68 car, no wonder they don’t make cars now). NOTE: The ‘C’ engine has dry fit cylinder liners despite what the “experts” (drips under pressure) said, this explains the very low bore wear. Knowing how marginal a ‘B’ was (8.8:1) on pump fuel, we decided to reduce the C.R. to 8.6:1 this was achieved by machining the new standard piston tops down .060 inch over a diameter equal to the active combustion area, then balancing prior to re-assembly. The bores were very lightly flex-honed with a 280 grit hone, to allow good bedding in for the new rings; oil consumption is about 1.5 Litre/2000 miles at present. What I would have liked to do with the pistons was to dish the tops the same as standard MGB pistons, I believe this design may give the ‘B’ its good low speed torque.[Motor Cycles with concave pistons had better torque at low revs than those with flat top pistons]. I was surprised how much happier the car was in normal traffic use and day to day driving, and while acceleration was down slightly the car was now used everywhere not restricted to out of town use. The lesson here is that most cars spend 75% or more of their use mixed in with general traffic and it is here where opinion is formed about what a car is like to live with ‘day to day’ and dowe keep it or sell it. As the ‘C’ arrived we all knew that it should be much better and probably could be made into a good GT & Sports Car , but many times I wondered if the pain would be rewarded with effort, time and money; today I am pleased that I did not sell it and now it’s a retirement toy, Fully insulated and air conditioned with tinted screen and windows, a great GT car. I now run the car on “V Power” as the head has hardened exhaust valve seats. Valve clearances have only changed 1 or 2 Thou. Over the last 40,000 odd miles when the major pull-down took place. When I removed the head, in 2007, the exhaust seats were done to run ULP, and the distributor was retimed to correct the timing and be correct for modern fuels, what a difference to the low and mid-range torque with the distributor correctly timed. All 60’s cars need their distributors retimed for current fuels, greater mid range torque and better economy. F inally a question for our technical readers. Why didn’t you change the cam? Answer : The cam is the same as the standard ‘B’ , which as outlined in the last paragraph is very suitable for everyday use, of greater importance is the gearing of the ‘C’ which runs at 2350 RPM in O/D 4 @ 100 KPH. The car would fly with a wild cam but it would always run below the cam, idle like a tractor and be an absolute pain in traffic and day to day use, exactly the opposite to what we have achieved. Now we look at why the ‘C’ handled so differently to the ‘B’. When the car was released to the lots of clever comments appeared in the UK magazines, one of the most remembered being “The problem with the C ’ is to get it to go around anything”. The press cars were supplied with low and equal tyre pressures for the roadster 24PSI, this certainly exaggerated the handling problems. The ‘C’ needs 3 or 4 PSI increase in the front tyres; preferably 36 PSI front 32 in the rear for the GT . With our car on 185/65 XM1’s Michelins and our suspension settings 36 front and 32 rear gives slight oversteer 36/33 slight understeer and 36/32.5 neutral. I think we might be getting somewhere with the handling and driveability. What a pity the factory were not allowed to develop the car properly before it was put on sale, or even prepare it properly for the Road Tests. They really were absolutely hopeless in 1967/68. Even in 1969 when they revised the car they gave the press the original cars, surprise, surprise, the press found no difference. Maybe a “Triumph” plot. L ike the engine the handling was also an ‘enigma’ excellent ride, very stable and comfortable with good roadholding; but a strange combination of heavy understeer at low speeds with acceptable handling at high speeds, this is for the GT with much better weight distribution than the roadster. T o compensate for an extra 220 Kilo’s (roadster ‘V’ roadster) tyres were uprated to 165/80 series with 15 inch wheels & 5 inch rims. The ‘B’ equivalent was 155/80 tyres on 14 inch wheels and 4.5 inch rims. Both cars were under tyred even in the late 60’s. 10 mm extra tyre width to carry a heavy and nose heavy car just defies logical thought. The ‘C’ should have had 185 tyres on 5.5 inch rims, preferably 195 mm tyres on 6 inch rims. To put this in perspective a 1990 BMW 318Is (same weight, 1165Kg, as my C-GT) came with 195/65 HR14 tyres on 5.5 inch rims and it handled extremely well; this car came with gas shocks and roll bars front and rear and was a superb drivers car straight out of the dealership. This was the only car that I never needed to modify as it was correct to start with and a pleasure to driveanywhere, anytime, pure good fun. W eight distribution for the ‘B’ or ‘C’ models in % follows :- ‘B’ roadster, front 52.5 rear 47.5; ‘BGT & V8’, front 50 rear 50; ‘C’ roadster, front 55.7 rear 44.3; ‘C – GT’ , front 54.1 rear 45.9.So the ‘C – GT’ is a little better than the roadster but a long way behind the ‘BGT’ which is evenly balanced with both engines. I was recently reading a Road and Track article on three German sports sedans and two of them had similar front to rear weight ratios to the “C GT” and all handled extremely well; so weight distribution is not the problem it was stated to be in the late 60,s, but Roll Bars were not well understood then and low aspect tyres were still in the future. [GM wanted to charge USD100 per car to fit roll bars as they had the patent, this stopped other manufacturers from using them as a matter of course, until GM relented]. T he decided in their infinite wisdom that the real problem was the weight of the ‘C’ engine ‘V’ s the ‘B’ and that the only solution was to move the engine back into the heater area and rework the bulkhead. Abingdon realized this only too well when they found out that the new engine was a lot heavier than planned [at least70lbs]. So the weight distribution and handling was compromised and this coupled with a 1930’s engine design really stopped the ‘C’ being the successful big brother to the still very popular B & BGT. The Rover engine should have gone into the “C” as the chassis, suspension & brakes are much better than the “B”for a high speed touring car. I re-read, recently, the weightdistribution of the MK-2 3.8 Litre Jaguar which people still regard as one of the best sporting sedans of the 60’s, Front 58% Rear 42%. Themotoring press were not then concerned about weight distribution, or were more used to heavy engines and were not comparing 4’s with 6’s in the same basic package. The Porsche 911 has a front to rear weight distribution about the opposite of the Jaguars and they seem to satisfy the critics. R oad & Track (USA) printed a superb definition of handling: - ‘When you are enjoying yourself and your passenger is nervous; that is oversteer. When you are nervous and your passenger is relaxed; that is understeer’, VERY WELLDESCRIBED. N ow back to the story, the solution was relatively simple once we knew what to do, 30 years ago this knowledge belonged to serious motorsport not to our young MG car club members. Back in the 60’s we used to go to Club sprint meetings at Lowood and later Lakeside for Standing ¼ mile; Standing lap and Flying lap events. These were good fun days with lots of enthusiasm but not much skill, we learned more what ‘not to do’ rather than ‘what to do’ with our driving techniques. Kerry Horgan once said to me at Lowood, “That’s 4 out of 4 wrong, let’s not make it 5 out of 5”. T he ‘B’ was a lot of fun particularly at Lowood, if you went off you disappeared into tall grass with no cement blocks or armco to damage your car; just roars of laughter from the mob. When I took the ‘C’ to Lowood, what a surprise, it certainly was no MGB just a strange handling machine unlike any MG that I had previously driven. Very pronounced understeer, lots of body roll, lifting rear inside wheels etc.. In 78 miles the right front tyre lost ½ the tread depth over the outside ½ of the tyre; so it was obvious that we had a big handling problem but what to do about it was beyond us at this time. A fter the straight was an acute left hand turn followed by a big flat paved area,(Lowood was an old WW2 airstrip) we tried to apply power thru this area while turning with the front ploughing, while at the rear the inside wheel lifted after finding the travel limit of the rebound strap and then hit the bump stop on the other side with a wild rear slide that did not respond to correction but produced an equally wild slide in the opposite direction, meanwhile the front just ploughed on (I was glad that I was inside and not outside looking on, it would have been terrifying.) some of our instructors tried to sort it out but to no avail. T he only way to correct this situation was to straighten up and brake, then try again. We now know what the problem was; the rear rolled until the axle reached the rebound strap on one side, then bottomed the bump stop on the other side and so the wild slides, back and forth etc.. Tim Harlock explained why, many, many, years later. People still do not understand the operation of roll bars, Tim does. I reluctantly accepted the journalists explanation and just learned to live with the Pretty Fast Truck. At Lakeside a good ‘MK I B’ could lap in about 1 min 18 sec; the best I could manage in the ‘C’ was 1 min 26 sec; some 3 Litre sports car. The Carousel was an experience to avoid and I had to back off for the Dog Leg. Now the car manages (an old very hard 175/80 Michelin ZX’s which are 2% bigger in diameter and raise the gearing to 27.49 MPH/1000 ) 1 min 22 secs, 4 seconds better than when I was much more enthusiastic i.e. younger; a more competent driver turned in 1 min 17.6 secs on the same tyres. John Fraser suggested that with a set of new tyres it would probably lap up to 3 seconds quicker; with Lakeside a distant memory I can only guess at how it would perform now. M any years passed and a mechanical engineer friend said “what that car needs is some roll stiffness, not by heavy springs but by correct roll bars front the rear”. About this time I had read all about the Light Alloy bodied competition ‘C’ s with 7 inch rims flared guards etc., all the drivers commented how neutral the handling was and how good they were to drive; tucked away in the article was a mention of a Mini Cooper rear roll bar plus telescopic shocks all round, so my interest was awakened. In practice the rear roll bar was not fitted to the factoryGTS cars. V arious people in the UK commented that the ‘C’ was much better on the heavier “police” springs plus Koni shocks all round; the police vehicles had heavier springs to compensate for the [then] heavy radio equipment carried in the rear of the car. I discussed this with my friendly engineer and he commented; “Heavy springs increase roll stiffness at the expense of ride and roadholding. On our roads, the standard springs are OK but roll stiffness needs attention., Most people, including some so called experts [in the UK], do not understand this. They should study the 1930’s BMW 328 roadster chassis and suspension. B y this time I had fitted a full set of Koni shocks and found a great improvement with the car, particularly the rear (I will cover this in article 4 as it applies equally to all ‘B’ s). I enquired about roll bars locally; one “expert” said rear bars don’t work with the ‘C’ , what worked was a 1 inch front bar but ittore out the mountings so required special heavy mountings. I thanked him for his advise and decided to look elsewhere. I have recently modified my front Roll Bar chassis mountings by adding .080” mild steel plates; pop riveted to the chassis and tapping out the existing 5/16 nuts to 3/8 UNF to distribute the load properly to the chassis rails. The chassis mountings were flexing and after 10 years with the 7/8” roll bar had developed cracks between the mounting nuts in the chassis. I should mention what made fixing the ‘C’ s handing so necessary. In mid 1990 I bought a 318Is BMW which came with German M-Technik suspension, and it handled better than any car I had ever driven. To a driver brought up on MG’ s this was a “Whole New World” and really said that something had to be done to my ‘C’. Both cars weighted 1165 Kilograms; why was one superb and the other absolutely ‘bloody terrible and frightening on occasion’. I n ‘Classic & Thoroughbred Cars’ I noticed a ‘C’ handling kit from Ron Hopkinson MG Spares in the UK. Faxes confirmed that they had a 7/8 inch front roll bar plus a full set of Bilstein Rally shocks and this gave a great improvement in handling. I faxed back to ask if they had a rear roll bar for the ‘C’. The reply was that they did not, but that they had a 5/8 inch rear bar for the ‘B-GTV8’. I could not see why a rear bar would work well on a ‘BV8’ but not on the ‘C-GT’ as from the centre point they are exactly the same , so I ordered both roll bars, ‘suck it and see’ . Back came the reply that they would supply the rear bar but did not recommend fitting it to the ‘C’. NOTE: The ‘C-GT’ with 222 extra Kilo’s and a weight bias of 5% ( C‘V’ B ) to the front has a front roll bar just 1/8 inch thicker than the standard (optional, originally) ‘B’ roll bar. It is now obvious why the ‘C’, particularly the GT with more up top weight, had so much body roll. The MGB roll bar is 9/16 inch; the MGC roll bar is 11/16 inch and the Special Tuning roll bar for the MGB Roadster is 5/8 inch. J ust before X-Mas 93 a card in the post said my parcel was here; so off to the Post Office and back with my roll bar kits. On X-Mas day I removed the standard bar and went for a slow drive around my suburb, what a surprise the car was absolutely hopeless, swinging the wheel between 20 to 4 and 10 to 3 produced a lot of noise and great amount of body roll but almost no change of direction; “Oh, What a Feeling” but not as in the Toyota ad.. B ack to my workshop to fit the new 7/8 inch bar and then repeat the drive. Now it was “as the Pom’s like to say” completely different, the car swung from side to side with little tyre noise but rather heavy steering. After lunch I drove over to Toowong to let my mechanical engineer friend have a drive (he knows a lot about suspension systems but says very little) a slow 25 to 40 KPH drive around the suburb produced this comment; “That’s better now fit the rear bar and that should further improve the turn in and lighten the steering as well”. B right and early on Boxing day I opened the fitting instructions for the ‘B-GTV8’ roll bars and the opening sentence read; Quote : “Remove the existing anti-roll bar.” Note: “Before commencing to fit the handling kit check that the car is already fitted with a front anti-roll bar, if not a fitting kit will be required”. Good old BLMC again, a “B-GTV8” without roll bars must have been fun in the rain, to say the least. S o on to the rear bar section of the instructions. The bar mounts in front of the fuel tank under the boot floor, with the ends going forward over the axle then by push/pull rods down to the bottom spring plates. This is very neat and almost impossible to see. B ecause the ‘B’ has narrower brakes than the ‘C’ the ends of the bar just touch the heads of the bolts for the brake backing plates. This causes no fouling or noise in practice; the only modification required was to slot the bolt holes in the supplied mounting plates slightly to allow for the 1/8” width difference at each end of the bar to be accommodated. A test drive showed we now had a very different car, turn in is good, not a modern 3 Series to be sure but a huge improvement on how the car was when it left Abingdon, in 1968. The steering was now pleasantly light and much more direct even allowing for 3.5 (actually 3.45) turns L to L and 34 Ft turning circle (the ‘B’ has 2.93 turns and 32 Ft for comparison) so off to Toowong for comment. “That’s much better, probably would be even better with 1/16 inch smaller diameter bar on the rear or a little thicker on the front as now it oversteers slightly.” Imagine a ‘C’ that oversteers; having grown up with a ‘TF’ oversteer was normal and not what I considered a problem, what terrifies me is a car that will not respond to the “Helm” and heads for the scrub. Since I wrote this series Tom Pugsley from Canada has brought in a 2.875:1 Quick Rack; rack and pinion for my “C” from MGMotorsport in the U.K. approx AUD400 if you bring it in yourself. Tom has fitted this kit to his “C” roadster and assures me that it is well worth doing. With my Moto-Lita 15.375 inch Wheel instead of the 16.625 inch original this will give a rim movement almost the same as my MK1 “B”. I have had the Quick Rack fitted for years now and it is a big improvement, the steering has some feel to it and you can feel it load up unlike the 3.45:1 standard rack. This was a strong criticism of my mechanical engineer friend who commented that as you could not feel the steering you would not get advance warning when the steering started to lighten as in slippery road conditions. The Quick Rack is 2.875:1. The MK1 “B” 2.93:1 both with the ginormous 16.5 inch wheels (the “C” with leather cover) With the 15.375” Mota-Lita wheel the steering is about the same muscle wise as the car on original skinny tyres. I find that most sporting sedans with power steering have a steering ratio of 2.9 to 3.0 so the MGB was always about right. More than 3.5 belongs in the family shopping trolley class. I now have MINATOR 15/5.5 inch center lock alloys fitted with 185/65 tyres and have minimum clearance from the widest part of the sidewall to the turn in on the rear wheel arches of 11 mm on the right and 12 mm on the left. This is fine in practice and nothing rubs anywhere. 195 section tyres are 12 mm wider overall i.e. 6 mm less clearance or only 5 mm right and 6 mm left which even if a panhard rod were fitted would require turning up the wheel arch edges to provide a safe running clearance. There is no problem at all with 185/65R15 tyres. The ‘C’ and the BMW handled in a similar manner and interestingly both use a 3 PSI pressure difference but the opposite way around, i.e. BMW F30 R33 and ‘C’ F36 R32.5. The ‘C’ now goes around Lakeside with ¼ turn of lock rather than handfulls of lock when new, (standard rack). The final ‘ tweek’ was to remove all the shims from the top “A” arms to see what the camber was (as it arrived the right front had ¼ deg negative and the left front ¼ deg positive camber) we ended up with –1.125 deg Left and -0.75 deg Right, with the lower wishbones horizontal i.e. parallel to the ground. Toe in (currently) set at 5 mm. L ike the problems with the early MGA Twin Cam once again Abingdon were forced to rush out a new model without sufficient testing or development in the field and once again a potentially good car was hounded off the roads by the reported problems and very bad press reports. Without spending money on the engine just a few Pounds Sterling would have given the car good shocks and both roll bars (which are necessary on a standard car with factory torsion bars and rear springs, after fitting a 7/8 front bar the rear bar really improves the car.) and transformed peoples impression of the ‘C’ which might have survived long enough to get the Rover engin e, which was almost available when the “C” was under development. M y car can now keep up with other MG’ s on Wednesday runs without heading for an instant “Off RoadExperience” which as it arrived would have been mandatory. I fed back my experience with the roll bars both on ordinary road work and on circuit training to Ron Hopkinson’s people so that other ‘C’ owners might benefit from our experience. S o after nearly 40 years of, bit by bit, development I now have the 3 Litre sports and GT car that I thought I was ordering way back in 1967. Basically the “C” is a very good car, if it is developed as outlined in these articles, to make it how it should have been in the first place. The C-GT is the better car for lots of reasons, it is stronger, with a much stiffer chassis, has better balance and as a high speed cruiser (no longer possible with the new draconian legislation in Australia) is hard to beat; and it is quiet, particularly when air-conditioned and fully insulated, thermally and acoustically. This is the final part of this saga, it is of interest to ‘C’ owners who do their own mechanical work. Included are items that will be of interest to ‘B’ owners particularly the rear shock absorbers. A ny MG Club who has MGC owners may run this SAGA, if considered of interest to their members, or make photocopies etc.. (1) : THE BIG LUMP . I mentioned the valve guide seals; these are neoprene rubber cups which fit over the valve stems and plug onto the valve guides, they have a raised bead inside the cup which is supposed to fit into a groove in the guide and stay in position. The caps come off the guides and work like oil pumps for the inlet valves. T his set up is totally different to all other MG engines. Early cars had the valve guide groove machined in the wrong place (what’s new at BLMC ) replacement guides were (or should have been) fitted under warranty; unfortunately the caps still come off. If you have oily plugs remove the rocker cover and have a look, you can see thru the springs if the caps are in position or not. The only good cure is to fit US after market Teflon/Steel Valve Stem Seals 11/32” Valve Stem & Valve Guide OD of .530”. These seals fit directly onto the existing guides, a fitting tool and instructions come with the seals. These seals are available from Yank V8 Specialist parts suppliers. I f you are about to remove the head for any reason it would be worth changing the valve guides to bronze (Hidural 5). My head has bronze guides machined the same as the standard iron guides (tight press fit). The inlet guide for the “C” is the same as the exhaust guide for the “B”. I got 6 new inlet guides locally, they were bought in for competition “B’s”. The exhaust guides are not the same as other MG motors as far as I know. You would have to get them made up. I n 1983 @ 53,000 Miles I did a full pull-down and after removing the main water gallery cover and the water pump felt thru the gallery to pump opening (out of sight) and felt a sharp edge; investigation with a torch showed a casting web that was only about 2/3 open. This was not noticed during the original pull-down @16,000 miles The patterns used to cast the block did not meet up properly inside the gallery leaving a thin 1/16” web blocking the gallery behind the pump; a “Gorilla” in the foundry had punched a hole thru this web but not removed it. This gallery feeds the exhaust ports etc thru the head, no wonder the rear cylinders run hot under power. I have since found that this block restriction is QUITE COMMON and well known by re-builders and tuners now. ANY ‘C’ OWNER WHO HAS OVERHEATING PROBLEMS SHOULD REMOVE THE WATER PUMP AND CHECK THIS OUT. I ground out this obstruction and no more water loss, water temp 165 deg F normal running; full power mountain work (which I happen to enjoy) runs the motor up to a maximum 190 deg F. in Summer. Since I wrote this article two “C” owners have checked their engines and both had about a 30% obstruction and tended to run hot. Research by Ian Hobbs (S.A. Club) found a thermostat with an extension that closes off the hole below the thermostat which feeds the bypass hose to the water pump; about 20% of the total flow thru the pump. This thermostat required modification to the thermostat to close off the bypass also it operates at 180*F which is too hot for our climate. The factory unit is 165*F for hot countries the same as the “MGB”. Enthused by this information I did a bit of checking of thermostat catalogues and found a DAYCO DT13C-BP 160*F (used in an Nissan “URVAN” diesel) which on a quick measure looked like a chance. On measuring with the calipers it was better than a chance; it is directly interchangeable with the normal unit. With the thermostat shut the inverted saucer washer is 5/16 inch above the outlet hole, in the fully open position the washer sits on the flat casting with the spring compressed 1/16 inch totally closing off the bypass hose. My manual controlled heater valve that I had fitted in the bypass hose is now scrapped. The car runs at 160/165*F under all conditions with a maximum of 175/180*F under full power or up mountains even with an ambient temperature of 34/35*C. B efore assembly I had the Block face and Head surface ground to flat, at U of Q Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, both were uneven. I usually change my coolant every 3 years and do not need to add water during this time. T o lighten the flywheel we removed material from the front face (engine side) tapering at 45deg from the crank boss to about ½ inch deep then out about 2 ½ inches and tapered back to the clutch housing bolt holes, the details have been lost, this removed approx. 25% off the flywheel mass. Another method of lightening is to mill out the material between the clutch mounting bolt holes; I was advised that this can cause cracking in the flywheel, with use, unless the correct method of milling is carried out, so if you go this way check the machinist out very carefully as stress fractures may develop due to the machining method used. (I believe it depends on the type of cutter used, to mill the holes). I noticed while looking thru a MOSS Catalogue that they have a sort of copy of the Downton Dual exhaust system, also inlet manifolds for WEBER dual throat carbs; this would go a long way to making the ‘C’ into the big ‘B’ that it is supposed to be, the only way to get this engine to perform properly without resorting to a wild cam and high compression is to address the manifold problem. Check “ www. mgmotorsport.com” as they have the proper copy of the full Downton exhaust headers and system also the inlet manifolds for triple Webers; (bloody expensive unless you live in the U.K.). T he fan not only makes a bloody great roar but wastes a lot of power doing it (Later cars were fitted with a modified fan to overcome the constant complaints about excessive fan noise) and the standard engine needs every little horsepower it can get. A BMW fan hub adapter part # 11521259805 fits on to the water pump flange and pulley with a little machining of the adapter, flange and pulley then an early “3” Series Clutch thermal hub bolts to the adapter and a “5” Series fan (with the blades cut down 25 mm) bolts to the clutch hub and is a perfect, if a bit costly solution to the fan problem.(AUD300 @ the time) As mentioned earlier on a Commadore VL fan hub and Nissan fan can be fitted with very little machining. The VL used a beaut Nissan motor. [This will cost approx. $50 with parts from the wreckers]. I n front of the air cleaner intake, in the panel between the radiator and the left wing is a nicely formed hole a little bigger than the air cleaner intake, but covered with a plate [tack welded on]. This was probably to overcome the complaints that in cold countries the engine is excessively difficult to warm up, with lots of choke and related plug fouling. This tacked on cover plate should be removed, in our climate, to get some cooler air to the carb’s and manifolds. M y car from day one had a “Made in Hell” type AUF 305 SU Fuel pump which over the years gave more trouble than you could ever imagine even from an SU. It failed twice in the 12 month warranty period. I never had any trouble with SU ’s on the ‘TF’ or the ‘B’ just routine servicing. Finally I decided that I had had more than enough pain and looked for a modern pump that would replace the SU and mount in the same place. The answer is a Federal - Mogul Carter in line motor pump Part # Carter P60504 available from ‘Progas Qld.’. This pump spec is 2.8PSI 30 US Gallons per hour, C.F. 2.7 PSI and may be (on a very, very good day) 12 Gallons per hour. The Carter draws 1 Amp and runs from 7 Volts up. Mounting is dead easy and the pump comes complete with inlet filter, hoses and mounting/wiring kit. The good news is that it is maintenance free (over 5000 hours life) and costs less than a diaphragm and set of points for an SU . This pump would work well in all MG’s with rear mounted high pressure pumps. T he transmission is good. There is 1 possible area to look at :- I f you experience gear lever rattle/vibration under power in 3 it is caused by resonance in the shift lever. Most modern, and expensive, cars have solved this by rubber isolation within the gear lever or by rubber damping around the lever. For the ‘C’ & ‘Mk 2 B’ the easy answer is to remove the gear knob, nut and boot and slide a 75 mm long ½” I.D. piece of thick heavy hose over the lever (hidden by the boot) the best hose for this is Trailer Brake Vacuum Hose. If you are handy with tools another good thing to do is get rid of the sharp nut under the gear knob; to do this remove the lever, take off the nut then cut ¾” off the threaded end (mild steel) and round off with a file, measure inside the knob for depth then carefully drill out the knob moving down bit by bit, until the knob screws over the chrome section for a nice non pressure fit; when you are happy use plumbers Thread Seal (PTFE) tape around the thread and position the knob. Result the gear knob is 0.875” lower, the sharp nut has gone and it looks and feels much better. The shorter shaft does not rattle (higher resonant frequency). (2) : FRONT SUSPENSION . T he front suspension can be a source of rattles, at low speeds on any road surface, the cause of which evades everybody and all attempts to locate the rattle fail. Our car had this problem with the left front from new, surprise, surprise, one of the first parts to run out after production ceased was, swivel pin & bush kits. When I finally replaced the swivel pin & bushes I found the real problem. F actory clearance for the bush to pin is .0025” to .003”. The special tool for reaming the bushes is probably set to give this clearance. The normal clearance for a 1” shaft running in bronze bushes is .001”. The factory spec. is designed to make a loose assembly; (possibly for grease access) don’t use the special tool, have an experienced machinist ream the bushes to a minimum fit consistent with minimum friction & set the end play to minimum without being tight and all the rattle problems magically go away, use MOLYCOTE or similar Grease. (3) : STEERING . I n the steering column are 2 items for probable attention. 1: T he universal yoke and bearings/cups are probably dry and rusty. 2: T he steering column locates thru the rubber damper into the universal yoke. The end spigot on the shaft should be free to rotate (a few degrees) in the bush in the universal. Not in our car from 17 Miles apparently. I had to drive the shaft out of the bush to release it, all nice and rusty and little sign of ever being lubricated prior to assembly. The simple answer again is to replace the universal yoke bearing & cups which are readily available from bearing suppliers. Remove the shaft from the yoke, this will require some effort, Emery off the rust, ease out the bush to clear rust for a free rotating fit then use Molycote or similar grease to lubricate and water seal the bearing. Now the steering will be less inclined to rattle, and the steering will feel much better. (The rubber shock absorber can now operate as it is supposed to, as it was it was a locked shaft.) (4): REAR SHOCK ABSORBERS & LINK ARMS. N.B. THIS ALSO APPLIES TO MGB’s. T he lever arm dampers are OK when new but don’t stay that way for long, about 35,000 Miles on the ‘C’ . When we replace these wonderful 1930’s devices (which should only belong in the Science Museum) we don’t carefully check the condition of the two important rubber bushes on the connecting link between the spring plate and the lever There is over ½” free play in each direction by light hand pushing. So on the car there is at least 1” of suspension travel with NO damping at all. Does your car jump about on ridges, ripples and little bumps? The best answer is to join the modern age and fit Telescopic Shocks, in the parts list at the end, you will find details of KONI part numbers. The rear shocks and mounting brackets are available, same on ‘C’ & ‘B’ the front shocks for the ‘C’ are not stocked locally but are probably available in the UK. Bilstein and Spax also make shocks for the ‘C’ available in the UK. Since I revised this saga in 2008 I have discarded the “Cart Springs” and in August/November 2009 fitted the “Hoyle Engineering” IRS kit to improve the ride and comfort of the car as earlier in the year I acquired a pair of 2002 Mazda MX5 leather seats from a repairable write off. This was a smart and safe move as we now have protection from “Whiplash” as well as supportive and very comfortable seats. My wife is very happy as her back does not hurt now when on an all day club run. (5) : DIFFERENTIAL . T he diff. is not a source of concern except for ‘B V8’s’. The thing to look at is the roll pin in the Pinion pin, it holds the pinion pin into the diff cage. I was advised years ago that ‘B V8’s’ and Tuned ‘C’s’ can end up with crown wheel & pinion damage because the roll pin (very hard spring steel) can come out or split and if this gets in the works goodbye quiet diff. The answer is simple, remove the cover plate and fit a split pin thru the hollow roll pin; this stops it coming out. It is cheap insurance for all MK 2 ‘B’s, and C’s. 6) : FRONT BRAKES . C heck your front hub disk mounting flanges for run-out, you may be surprised. If your disks run out by more than .003” check the hubs before replacing the disk. The left front hub on our car ran out .0025” causing the disk to run out over .005”. This was only discovered when I replaced the disks with Brembo’s, run out on the left, good on the right; swap over the disks & still run out on the left. NOTE : Healey 3000 MK 3 disks are identical to the ‘C’ disks. The Brembo, spares for HEALEY 3000 MK 3 , disks are a much better material, they don’t rust and pock mark as badly under the pads when not used daily. The downside is that they tend to scream/squeal. Many ‘C’ s have a tradition of noisy brakes. T he answer to brake squeal is to fit Turner Enterprises (USA) Part # SH 301-9 Brake Shim Kit, available from brake specialists, these are self adhesive shims that are cut and fitted to the pad backing plates. They work by reducing the resonance caused by the disk pads and the hollow pistons in the caliper. Keep the Stainless Steel shims which were fitted as new and have nice quiet corrosion free brakes. The brake pistons are hard chrome plated mild steel and though not leaking or causing problems will by now be very rusty. Easy answer, have them copied in Stainless Steel (not Expensive). If you do this you will need the Turner Shim Kit. Stainless pistons are more resonant than mild steel originals. (7) : HANDLING & CONTROL . F rom article 3 a lot can be done for not too many $’s to change the driveability of the ‘C’. With roll bars for the GT 7/8” front and 5/8” for the rear, (maybe 9/16” rear). For the roadster the 7/8” front with possibly ½” rear; too strong on the rear may cause oversteer problems. I have NO experience with the roadster so cannot offer any real advice. K ONI or similar shock absorbers should be fitted as a first step. In the Workshop Manual reference is made to fit shims (from memory 1/8”) to the top ‘A’ arms of the front suspension to allow for the bushes to settle. The bushes don’t settle so the cars came with positive camber. In our car as described we took out all the shims to end up with -1.125 deg. on the left and -0.75 deg. on the right, fortunately this works out perfectly for our normal road camber and the car tracks perfectly (hands off steering, the car runs perfectly straight on a flat road) This not only vastly improves turn in but lightens the steering and gives plenty of clearance for 185/65 tyres. Without removing the shims 175/80R15’s just foul the turn up in the front wings, so may foul with 185/65R15’s on 5.5 inch rims. If in doubt CHECK CAREFULLY. The IRS with Ford disc brakes and Granada 3.64:1 has completed the car, handling is still to be determined on a circuit but so far is as good as it was and with a set of new tyres will probably be better. No rear roll bar seems to be required with the IRS for road use. The rear roll centre and spring rate seem to go well with the factory torsion bars and 7/8 front bar. The car is much more compliant with a reduction of 55Kg in unsprung weight at the rear, my wife weighs 60Kg to put this in perspective. The 3.64 diff. with 185/65 R15 tyres gives a ratio of about 3.79:1 similar to the 1969 cars. Acceleration and applied torque have improved about 10% on the 68 car. (8) : TUNING . T his engine is critical of being over-advanced, (pre-ignition around 3000/3500 RPM under load, i.e. Max BMEP.), the original advance springs in the distributor give way too much mid range advance. In “SAFETY FAST” magazine way back in 1968 was an article on this problem complete with the correct spring set part number.(Lucas part # 54419869) Try as I might I could not find any in OZ. The best I could do was have the existing springs adjusted (on a LUCAS distributor service machine) to as near as possible to the Workshop Manual figures. I feel that we are still not correct at midrange. This over-advance at max BMEP causes pre-ignition which can lift the head enough to cause water loss (sound familiar) so it is better to be slightly retarded at max RPM to protect the engine at Mid Range RPM. Downton advised that with the WESLAKE combustion chamber design, i.e. all BMC 60’s engines, 0.5 deg too much advance is detrimental to performance and the engine; but you can be up to 4 deg from optimum advance without adversely affecting performance. I strongly recommend that all “C” owners get their distributors retimed to firstly correct the wrong factory settings and secondly to set the distributor to run on the modern fuels, which require much less advance, most important at mid-range i.e. 2,000 to 3,500 RPM. I sent my distributor to: Performance Ignition Services, PO Box 464, Nunawading, Victoria, 3131. Ph. [03] 9872 3644. The owner is “Dick” who has run the business for 25 years. To rebuild and retime the distributor and fit electronic ignition is approx $240 + Express Post, both ways. They will also provide Inductive HT lead sets, for the “C” $70, these are reliable interference free HT leads unlike carbon leads which always lead to problems. The original “C” distributor is over 10 degrees too advanced around 2,500 to 3,500 RPM. This is why they always were fuel critical and pinged at midrange. [10]: AIR CONDITING AND INSULATING THE CABIN. In 2006 I fully insulated the firewall, both sides, the tunnel except at the top [1972/3 console fitted] top and inside the tunnel at the top where the console covers, the floor and both foot-wells then installed a full [all new components] air-con system as we suffered de-hydration on a long interstate trip in 38*C temperatures and very low humidity. With a 25% tinted and banded windscreen and 3M 35% metallic film on the other glass [maximum legal tint levels] we got a lovely quiet and cool car. This is most unlike an MGC in our climate. We can drive it anywhere and always be cool and comfortable, all year round. There is a separate article covering the air-con system, it is too long to be included here. (11) : PART NUMBERS for reference . K ONI front shocks 80-2053. K ONI rear shocks 80-1244 (Check MGB part number). K ONI rear mounting kit 6-320A. Same as MGB . F uel Pump FEDERAL - MOGUL CARTER P60504. Supplied by PROGASQld.. T op Radiator Hose REPCO RCH 613 (Falcon XM-XP 1964/66).Head to Heater Hose REPCO RCH 1656 (Holden Barina ML 1986/88). Early cars only, later cars have the heater tap on the head and can use normal ½ inch hose. T HERMOSTATS. DAYCO DT13C-BP 160*F (Nissan Urvan Diesel) REPCO $23 inc GST. B rake Shim Kit Turner Enterprises (USA) Part # SH 301-9. B rakes “Green Stuff” EBC Kevlar type front EBC 2291 (late TR6) file out the pin holes to ¼ inch. Rear EBC S5135 (These are NOT the same as the Capri 3000 V6, this was incorrect information given to me by another self proclaimed expert, many years ago). (12) : GOOD REFERENCE BOOK on the ‘C’ . MGC Abingdon’s Grand Tourer, Graham Robson 1996. ISBN # 0951942336. Limited Edition 1,000 copies.- it covers History, Restoration, Mechanical Restoration etc. at about $ 60 it’s probably the most complete book ever on the ‘C’. Bruce Ibbotson. 18 February 2010. Website Builder provided by Vistaprint

Air Bubbles President’s Message - May 2011 The water is starting to warm up. It’s time for everyone to dust off their gear and get ready for a great dive season. On a personal note, I’ve accepted a job in St. Petersburg Florida. I’ll be moving down in early June; as a result I’ll be stepping down as club president. I will continue to be a member and hope to get up here occasionally to dive with the club. Upcoming events: Weekend diving Palmer’s Cove Yacht Club is nearing the end of its renovations and should be finish by the beginning of May. We have many guest speakers lined up to present so it will be an exciting spring/summer season. Weekly meetings will be held as normal at 8pm on Thursday evenings. Some of us show up around 7pm to grab some dinner. Feel free to come down early and join us. Reminder: DUI Dog Days will be on May 14-15th at Stage Fort Park in Gloucester Ma. If you have never been to Dog Days I highly recommend it. D.O.M: This month I would like to recognize John Sears. John took the lead and organized the PCYC float cleaning dive on April 16th. Due to John’s solicitation we were able to put 10 divers in the water, making short work of the invaders growing on the dock. It’s great when the Froggies are able to assist PCYC and show our appreciation for their hospitality. Excellent job John! M.O.M: This month I would like to recognize Markus Diersbock. Markus has spent countless hours working on the North Shore Frogmen’s Club website (). The site looks amazing and continues to be updated with new and historic information. Thanks for all your hard work! A special thank you goes out to all the divers and shore support members that helped with the float cleaning. -Jes Photos on this page submitted by Jesse Leslie, President. Our Easter Egg Dive and Party will be held on Sunday, May 1. Dive at Stage Fort Park and party afterwards at Dodie’s house. Friends John Sears Contents: President’s Message – pg. 1 Meeting Summaries – pg. 2-3 Easter Egg Dive/Party – pg. 4 Float Cleaning – pg. 5 Upcoming dive related events – pg. 6 Calendar – pg. 7 Red November, by J. Munro – pg. 8-9 Diver/Member of the Month – pg. 10 How to Clean Bottles – pg. 10 Froggy Blankets – pg. 11 June 2011 issue of Air Bubbles is Monday, May 22 Please have all articles and information to the Air Bubbles editor by May 22, 2011. Air Bubbles – April 2011 Meeting Summaries 31-Mar-2011 Meeting called to order: 8:06PM Attendance: 4 Officers, 16 total Members Guests: Terry and Joe Donovan from Hawaii; Andy M.; Chris. Secretary: Minutes read and accepted as amended. Treasurer: report read and accepted. We have money. Now have a link to PayPal on the membership section of the website. We have 93 members. Announcements: Harry’s Father’s wake is 4/6, funeral the following day in Medford. Correspondence: Vinny notified Mike Miller and Ken Flagg they are associate members this year for their military service. Committees: -Program: 16Apr Float, Easter Egg Dive, Dog Days in May beach meetings Pat and Annette’s. Fish count, Dec 11th banquet. Metro West said they’d split the registration fees for the picnic. -Membership: Christopher Wheeler, Manchester, diving since Jan this year. Derek Brown, diving since 2009 Cambridge. Motion made seconded and passed to accept both as members. -Air Bubbles: April issue went out last night. Paul noted that it is traditional when photos submitted that the photographer is acknow- ledged when editor is notified. Old Business: -Still taking names and $10 deposit for blankets, 7 deposits taken already. -4/16- float cleaning, meet at 10am. Dive Talk: Mike and Ellen Garvey in Sipidan for 2 weeks; 85F degrees. 1 camera flooded. Will give a presentation some time. Schools of barracuda, tons of nudibranchs; saw a turtle on a reef looked as though he was eating the coral. General Discussion: -Andy Martinez will give a talk at Salem State Dive Club meeting on 4/29. All invited. -Bobby donated the bag we raffled off at Sea Rovers. Go in and say hi even if you don’t need an air fill. -Michael Tougias will be giving presentation at Beverly Public Library about tug boats and the Can Do – Paul will bring more info -Vinny asked if anyone knows how to polish bottles? Do you want to? A polishing wheel would probably work best. -Mike’s Moments: -Salem news – 6 dolphins turned up dead on MA beaches recently all were pups recently weaned. -Researchers in Red Sea checking on earthquakes on bottom of sea floor; before a quake there’s evidence sand sinking in, upper sediments getting deformed. -Obama admin. is accused of hiding info on dead dolphins in Gulf of Mexico; at least 200 dead dolphins found since Jan. -Freeport TX someone chumming water, 350lbs pound shark jumped and landed in boat. -Mike, Paul and 100 others went to Beverly library for Dougie’s presentation. Nice PowerPoint presentation. Lot of clear pictures and what he does and how he does it. Great presentation. He made public announcement he was returning to the water before telling his wife. -Ginny and Paul went to the Salem Sound Coastwatch event at Salem State. They went through some history of the sound and discussed invasives. Conference went on for 2 days, one day at Endicott College on invasives, pollu-tion mitigations. Where have all the flounders gone? We’ll never get back what we had in the 70s and 80s because water is so much cleaner the flounder don’t have as much to eat. -People in the Keys sightseeing, looking at eagle rays, went into the school, one came out and hit a lady, 10’ wing span 300 lbs. Raffles: John Marren won trifecta 07-Apr-2011 Meeting called to order: 8:08 PM Attendance: 4 Officers, 16 Members Secretary: Minutes read and accepted Treasurer: We have money Announcements: -Jes will be moving to Florida in June; John S will take over as president. -Lauren Byrne wrote a good article on bottle diving in Lady Diver Magazine. Committees: -Program: see activities calendar. -Website: Calendar is up. Let Markus know events to be added to the calendar. Paypal link works. Starting to layer in old info, like legacy Air Bubbles. Goes back to ’96. Also would be good to have old archived pictures and a link to history. The more content we get out there the better. When you Google Frogmen, we’re 4th or 5th, now getting at least 40 hits a day. Let Markus know if you have other ideas for the website. Want to give descriptions of dives/dive sites. If we have an event, can then link to the site ie if you need a resident parking sticker, etc. When Air Bubbles posted, bunch will check it out. Converting the PDF to HTML in case someone doesn’t have Adobe. -Membership: Dan Hering – Andy M who was here last week will be sending in his application -Air Bubbles: Mary Howard–deadline 4/21 Old Business: -Float Cleaning on 4/16th; there will be lunch. Hope to have a dozen people. The more the merrier. -Do we have a caterer for banquet? Faith said she knew someone. What do we want? Want carving stations at spaghetti price. Last year was good; had salad, dinner, dessert. Need silverware, dishes glasses, the works. Casual Catering offers stuffed shells eggplant parm, etc. -Still taking orders for Froggy blankets. Dive Talk: Vinny said Nick Fozza of East Coast Divers was going diving in Air Bubbles – April 2011 5ml wetsuit today. General Discussion: -At Dougie’s presentation last week, it was mentioned that 15 yrs ago, some- one set off a shell with a hammer and chisel diving on the USS NH. -Vinny found the bottom of an 1893 baby food jar. -Mike’s Moments: Hats patches pins etc here tonight -Someone found a single masted sloop in 250’ of water in a lake in Michigan. A group found it while diving with Clive Cussler and sonar operator of National Underwater Marine Agency. Looking for 1950s NW Airlines plane that went down -U Maine student and professor decided to use lobster shell byproducts to make golf balls. -Dutch marines killed 2 and captured 16 Somali pirates to rescue an Iranian fishing vessel -Tsunami big concern with debris from the disaster heading towards the US west coast. Capsized vessels and ships. US fleet trying to track 200,000 buildings washed into the sea. Drift rate 10mi/day. -In London, an 85 year old hit by a truck took settlement money and built a raft to sail across the Atlantic. Went 2800 mi. reenacting KonTiki (in the Atlantic?) Raffles: Dollars Box: Bill Werner Mystery Prize: John Marren Bug Bag: carry over to next wk 14-Apr -2010 Meeting called to order: 8:07 PM Attendance: 2 Officers, 15 Members Guests: Andy Manzak Secretary: Minutes read and accepted as amended. Treasurer: report read and accepted. We have 94 members and money! Committees: -Program: -4/16 - Float cleaning at PCYC -5/1 - Easter Egg Dive at Stage Fort, then party at Dodie’s in Rockport -5/14&15 - DUI Dog Days and dinner -6/9 and 7/7 - beach meetings -7/18-24 - Pat and Annette’s week in VT -7/31 – Great Annual Fish Count -9/25 – Joint Club Picnic and BSC Treasure Hunt -12/11 – NSF Annual Banquet. -Membership: Andy Manzak of Portsmouth, NH, diving for 6yrs, advanced. Heard about us at Sea Rovers. Motion made, seconded and passed to accept him as newest member. Old Business: Float cleaning Sat, meeting at 10am. Glad to have more; will have lunch at noon. New Business: Markus is making tweaks to the website; he has changed background, added a logo, put the Life Magazine photo up. If anyone has a high quality version of that article, please forward to Markus. When membership site is done, can change certain things. Dive Talk: -Lewis dove at the Gloucester breakwater, 35-42F, saw a worm and a crab today. 22’ depth vis 10- 12’. -Claus – last Sun at Chandler Hovey Park; very nice site and dive. As boat traffic picks up, it’s risky. Great site for early spring and winter. General Discussion: -Mike’s Moments -Nazi Warplane off Kent, England found upside down in 50’ water. -Zebra fish: scientists in Worcester looking at the dark stripes, gene for promoting melanoma, found in high levels in human tumors -Monster sharks off QLD Australia – pressuring to scale back permits for nets. Some groups want these removed, but beaches then may not be safe -Bones found in a woman’s brown shoe in Merrimack River Raffles: Dollars Box: John Marren Bug Bag: John Marren 21-Apr -2010 Minutes for this meeting were not taken. Air Bubbles – April 2011 Please join in welcoming our newest Club members: for May 2011 Christopher Wheeler and Derek Brown who were voted in at the meeting on March 31. And Andy Manzak who was voted in on April 14. The Next BSC Meeting The next meeting of the Bay State Council of Divers scheduled for Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at the South Shore Neptunes’ Clubhouse in Quincy. All are invited to attend these meetings Club Easter Egg Dive and Party May 1 The Club Easter Egg Dive will take place at Stage Fort Part on Sunday morning. Be there at 9AM in time to suit up and be in the water for 10AM. Vinny and Charlene have volunteered to cook, color and lay 6 dozen eggs at Cressi Beach. The people finding the most eggs win prizes, and everyone has a good time. The Party will be held at Dodie Carvalho’s house in Rockport (6 Ridgewood Rd). Please bring something to share, and your own beverage. Dodie has a hot tub which she graciously shares with other Froggies, so bring a swimsuit. These two events are always fun, and it’s a great time to check out your dive gear for the coming season if you’ve had it tucked away for the winter. Notice: PAYPAL is now available for dues payment on the members’s page of the website (). Air Bubbles – April 2011 Float Cleaning at Palmer’s Cove Yacht Club The Froggies were asked to clean the floats for the docks at PCYC. On April 16, we had 10 divers in the water and two shore support personnel. Lunch was served by the Yacht Club and a good time was had by all who participated. John surveyed the situation Vinny and John prepare d for their attack!! Meg and Mary geared up for their dive. And then they scraped. And scraped. And Ginny was shore support. Air Bubbles – April 2011 Upcoming Events of interest to SCUBA divers: DUI DOG RALLY May 14-15 at Stage Fort Park, Gloucester What is a DOG Rally? TWO HUGE tents filled with DUI drysuits & equipment CHOOSE from more than 120 drysuit systems to test dive TEST DIVE our newest innovations like the FLX EXTREME and Silicone ZipSeals ENJOY the camaraderie of your local fellow divers GET FITTED by DUI factory professionals and expert dealer staff FREE Barbecue Lunch FREE collectors DUI Test Diver Hat JOIN US Saturday night for dinner and presentation at select locations SEE all of the options available to design YOUR ultimate drysuit system (cont. next column) About the Event When you arrive, check in at the registration table and complete a liability form. You will need to present your certification card and leave a driver’s sue Things to Bring Diver Certification Card Credit Card and/or Drivers License (for us to keep while you have the test equipment) Swimsuit or Lightweight Clothing (to wear beneath the drysuit insulation - not cotton) Regulator Mask & Snorkel Open Heel Fins BC Weights Tank(s) A VERY Small Towel to dry your damp hair! For more information, see Air Bubbles – April 2011 Red November - The Cuban Missile Crisis By W. Craig Reed Retold by Jack Munro In 1962, the NSA Headquarters intercepted Soviet signals coming from Cuba. The previous signals they’d received were all in Spanish, now they had changed to Russian or Spanish spoken with a Russian accent. The NSA and CIA concluded the Soviets had installed offensive ballistic missiles in Cuba, while Secretary of Defense McNamara and Secretary of State Dean Rusk “Chicken Little The Sky is Falling” believed the build-up was defensive. Thousands of miles away in the Arctic Ocean, north of Russia, the USS Nautilus crept along at 3 knots observing Soviet actives in Novaya Zemlya where a 58-megaton bomb was to be detonated. At this same location, a foxtrot-class diesel sub B-130 had detonated a nuclear torpedo just a year before and their Navy was already calling the area Black Harbor. In 1962, the Soviets were plagued with problems with their nuclear boats and counted on the foxtrots to handle the work in the fleet. One thing the Soviets did have that drove the US crazy was what we called Huff Duff. This was a super fast radio transmission which was taken directly from the Germans after World War II. Any of the listening posts we had thought it was static, turned out not to be. The author’s father, John Reed, thought differently. He and his staff were able to figure it out, but it took a year or so to decipher it and intercept the messages and then set up a listening post for monitoring. John Reed was a Chief Petty Officer at that time, later becoming a Naval Officer, after traveling all over the world to different listening posts. He was able to train other people to read this high speed radio transmission and all along the Russians though it was impossible for anyone to decipher. By not cracking the Huff Duff sooner than we did, the Russians had secretly loaded Cuba with offensive nuclear missiles (Komar class missiles fired from patrol boats designed to thwart amphibious landings by the US). The R-14 missiles they hid on land were capable of hitting as far away as San Francisco, CA, along with most other major US cities and we were completely unaware of this. By the time we knew, via U-2s, nearly forty tactile missiles were operational and the patrol boats with the nuclear missiles were also in place. As if this wasn’t enough, four Russian foxtrot diesel boats were also there along with other older subs. The foxtrots were secretly brought to Cuba hiding under their merchant ships, then stationed in four separate areas and were to evade contact at all costs. The foxtrots were Project # 641 boats, not intended for tropical waters. Their crews were paying the price with no air conditioners and only at night, under the cover of darkness, could they snorkel to recharge their batteries. They were sent because the Russians’ nuclear boats were not reliable enough to be sent. Our Navy and all our boats were in great numbers during the blockade of Cuba and we were harassing the Russians day and night. Since Huff Duff was still not readable in real time, we did not know what the Russians were doing. The highest alert the US ever went to during the Cold War was during the Cuban Missile Crisis. We were all on a war footing; the sub base was in lockdown, not communicating with anyone outside the base; civilians had to go home and all military had to stay on base. The boat was loaded with extra food and supplies; they converted a buoyancy tank for this purpose and then spent 35 hours in it packing boxes to ensure they did not move around. Other things were done to the boat in terms of weapons and fire controls to be ready for war before our 90 day patrol began. With both sides getting ready, each side was showing the stick to the other side, like the joint exercise the US Army did dropping paratroopers on Puerto Rico in full site of the Russians, so they got the point that Cuba could be next. These four boats each carried one nuclear torpedo to be used of they were depth charged, fired upon by us, or boxed in with no escape. The four Russian skippers had made a secret pact between them, that they would not fire the torpedoes under any circumstances because it would inevitably cause World War III. The Russian skippers also knew that the torpedoes could only go 10 miles and the kiloton range was 15 miles, and because the Russians subs and Air Bubbles – April 2011 surface craft were in such close proximity during this blockade, they would all be killed because they were within this kill zone. This was the dilemma we all faced during the crisis; we had no idea that the Russians were diabolical enough to use their submarines in this manner. Each Russian boat carried “spooks”, trained to intercept US military radio traffic and electronic countermeasures and monitor sonar. Our sonar was far superior to the Soviets and we knew where they were if close to us, but not that they had four foxtrots and at least three to four other boats. We had no orders like the Soviets. We were to track and report even though we were ready to fire if told to do so. While our intelligence people were desperately trying to figure out what the Russians were up to, our surface fleet was relentlessly harassing the Soviets boats that they picked up on sonar. They had no idea that the Russians had nuclear weapons and were prepared and had orders to used them if necessary. Luckily the Russians did not lose their patience with us. On one of the foxtrots a Political Officer relieved the Skipper and before he fired his torpedo, the Skipper took back command and locked up the Political Officer. Later, that Skipper was forced into early retirement. Boresight was the name given to the program to decipher and read the Soviet transmission. The U.S. had six Polaris submarines at Holy Lock, Scotland which pulled out of port on October 16th and aimed their nuclear missiles at the Soviet Union. By the 14th of October, the U-2s had overflown Cuba and confirmed that offensive missiles were present, set up, and ready to fire. The Russians foxtrot boats were arriving later, as Moscow had given them less time to take up station off Cuba in order to not be detected by the US. B-4, one of the foxtrots, had trouble transmitting, they microburst radio transmission as we had picked it up, as long as conditions were good to perfect and the frequency was right on. The transmission took 9/10ths of a second to send, but seven hours to receive it. Weather played a very important part during the Cuban Missile Crisis by hiding the boats and nearly sinking them on other occasions. While this was playing out in Moscow, they were not transmitting in a timely manner and the boats could not communicate with each other or they would give away their locations. They were stuck monitoring US traffic and Moscow. This lead the crews to believe they were on their own, not a good feeling when you’re in a hostile area. On October 21st, NSA’s super-classified TEXTA (Technical Extracts of Traffic Analysis) confirmed a radar’s ID as a fully operational Soviet offensive nuclear weapons system in Cuba. Their backup by the U-2 flights proved that the Russian nuclear weapons were there and ready to go. President Kennedy was informed. He had met with Gromyko a few days before and was assured that no offensive weapons were in Cuba. Kennedy was not happy that he had been lied to by the Russians so Devcon alert was stepped up. B-52 would be airborne round the clock. Two hundred B-47’s would be stationed at thirty-three military and civilian airports, all with nuclear weapons aboard. The Quarantine blockade set, but the Russian boats were nearly in place and Kennedy’s speech was heard by the Russians, no word from Moscow. The US Navy was blanketing the seas around Cuba. Sixty ships were on station with hundreds of ASW aircraft. A few Russian ships turned toward the North, the foxtrots were picked up, then lost; they only had contact when the diesel engines were running. Boresight got fixed but not all the time orders from Kennedy to Navy, surface the foxtrots or they would be sunk. Devcon 3, in effect now, the Russians realized that they bit off more than they could chew, and Kennedy was no pushover and that the US would go to war. There were many more tactical breakthroughs, Boresight got better and faster and John Reed got it started and made it happen and because of him and a lot of other Americans’ efforts we averted World War III. We were so lucky that our provocations during this time did not trigger an accidental war of no return. Air Bubbles – April 2011 How to Clean Antique Bottles, from eHow.com (- bottles.html ) (Submitted by V. Egizi) Collecting antique bottles adds a unique look to a sunny window or kitchen plant display and brings a nostalgic quality to any room. Available in all shapes and sizes, treasure hunters can find antique bottles in antique malls or in their own backyard. Cleaning your bottles is essential in displaying them at their very best, but some stains and dirt seem fused onto the glass itself. To clean your antique bottles, take care and follow the below instructions. Difficulty: Moderately Easy Instructions: things you'll need: Warm water Dishwashing liquid Mineral deposit cleaner Copper wool pads Denture cleaner Bleach 1 Soak it. Especially important for "dug" bottles, meaning bottles that have literally been dug out of the ground, soaking antique bottles in room temperature water will help to loosen dirt and stains. You can use a mild dishwashing liquid or even denture cleaning tablets to get the first step in cleaning complete. 2 Remove mineral deposits. Especially prevalent in antique flower vases, mineral deposits are that tough, scaly white deposit that is usually found in a ring around a glass container or at the bottom of a bottle. Use a household cleaner designed to remove mineral deposits to rid your glassware of this problem. Simply spray the cleaner to the area or pour a little into the bottom of a bottle and let sit. Rinse with cold water and reapply if necessary. 3 Remove rust stains with a careful scrubbing with a non-abrasive pad. You can also scrape the rust stains gently with a piece of copper-wool as it won't scratch the glass. 4 Get rid of paint drips or dried liquid stains. If a warm water soak doesn't rid your bottles of the stains you can either fill the container with paint thinner or dip it in a bucket of thinner. Close the container and leave it to soak for three to five days. 5 Use masonry sand. Mix masonry sand with some vinegar in your antique bottle and shake. Stains and some clouding will disappear. Keep agitating until the glass is clean but be careful not to scratch the glass. 6 Soak it in bleach water. Cloudiness and some mineral deposits seem to come off with a bleach water solutions. Use a 1/2 cup of bleach and 4 cups of water poured into your bottle. Allow it to sit overnight. Rinse with cold water. Tips & Warnings Place a towel at the bottom of a sink before you fill it with water to soak your antique glassware to help protect it from bumping against the porcelain. When cleaning bottles in water be sure the water isn't too cold or hot as an extreme temperature change will break your glassware. By Diane Steinbach, eHow Contributor Diver of the Month for May 2011 John Sears John took the lead and organized the PCYC float cleaning dive on April 16th, where we had a good turnout. Member of the Month for May 2011 Markus Diersbock Markus has spent countless hours working on the North Shore Frogmen’s Club website which looks amazing and continues to be updated with new and historic information. Air Bubbles – April 2011 SOON.

Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsh, [1857-78], at sacred-texts.com 1 Chronicles ch1 28:0 David's Last Directions, and His Death - 1 Chronicles 28-29 In order to give over the throne before his death to his son Solomon, and so secure to him the succession, and facilitate his accomplishment of the great work of his reign, the building of the temple, David summoned the estates of his kingdom, the court officials, and the heroes of the people in Jerusalem. In a solemn address he designated Solomon as his divinely chosen successor on the throne, and exhorted him to keep the commandments of God, to serve the Lord with devoted heart, and to build Him a house for a sanctuary (Ch1 28:1-10). He then committed to Solomon the sketches and plans for the sacred buildings and sacred objects of various sorts, with the confident promise that he, by the help of God, and with the co-operation of the priests and of the people, would complete the work (Ch1 28:11-21). Finally, he announced, in the presence of the whole assembly, that he gave over his treasures of gold and silver to this building, and called upon the chiefs of the people and kingdom for a voluntary contribution for the same purpose; and on their freely answering this call, concluded with a solemn prayer of thanks, to which the whole assembly responded, bowing low before God and the king (29:1-20). This reverence they confirmed by numerous burnt-offerings and thank-offerings, and by the repeated anointing of Solomon to be king (Ch1 29:21 and Ch1 29:22). 1 Chronicles 28:1 ch1 28:1 David summoned the estates of the kingdom, and presented Solomon to them as his divinely chosen successor on the throne. Ch1 28:1 "All the princes of Israel" is the general designation, which is then specialized. In it are included the princes of the tribes who are enumerated in Ch1 27:16-22, and the princes of the divisions which served the king, who are enumerated in Ch1 27:1-15; the princes of thousands and hundreds are the chiefs and captains of the twelve army corps (Ch1 27:1), who are subordinate to the princes of the host: the princes of all the substance and possessions of the king are the managers of the domains enumerated in Ch1 27:25-31. וּלבניו is added to למּלך, "of the king and of his sons," because the possession of the king as a property belonging to the house (domanium) belonged also to his sons. The Vulg. incorrectly translates לבניו filiosque suos, for in this connection ל cannot be nota accus. הסּריסים עם, with (together with) the court officials. סריסים are not eunuchs, but royal chamberlains, as in Sa1 8:15; see on Gen 37:36. הגּבּורים has been well translated by the lxx τοὺς δυνάστας, for here the word does not denote properly or merely war heroes, but powerful influential men in general, who did not occupy any special public or court office. In חיל וּלכל־גּבּור all the others who were present in the assembly are comprehended. Ch1 28:2 The king rose to his feet, in order to speak to the assembly standing; till then he had, on account of his age and feebleness, sat, not lain in bed, as Kimchi and others infer from 1 Kings 1. Ch1 28:3-7 The address, "My brethren and my people," is expressive of condescending goodwill; cf. on אחי, Sa1 30:23; Sa2 19:13. What David here says (Ch1 28:3-7) of the temple building, he had in substance already (Ch1 22:7-13) said to his son Solomon: I, it was with my heart, i.e., I purposed (cf. Ch1 22:7) to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of Jahve, and the footstool of the feet of our God, i.e., for the ark and for the capporeth upon it, which is called "footstool of the feet of our God," because God was enthroned above the cherubim upon the capporeth. "And I have prepared to build," i.e., prepared labour and materials, Ch1 22:2-4 and Ch1 22:14.; on Ch1 28:3, cf. Ch1 22:8. - In Ch1 28:4 David states how his election to be king was of God, who had chosen Judah to be ruler (cf. Ch1 5:2); and just so (Ch1 28:5, Ch1 28:6) had God chosen Solomon from among all his many sons to be heir to the throne, and committed to him the building of the temple; cf. Ch1 22:10. The expression, "throne of the kingdom of Jahve," and more briefly, "throne of Jahve" (Ch1 29:23, or מלכוּתי, Ch1 17:14), denotes that Jahve is the true King of Israel, and had chosen Solomon as He had chosen David to be holder and administrator of His kingdom dominion. - On Ch1 22:6 and Ch1 22:7, cf. Ch1 22:10 and Ch1 17:11.; and with the condition וגו יחזק אם, cf. Kg1 3:14; Kg1 9:4, where God imposes an exactly similar condition on Solomon. הזּה כּיּום, as is done at this time; cf. Kg1 8:61, and the commentary on Deu 2:30. On this speech J. H. Mich. well remarks: "tota haec narratio aptata est ad prospositum Davidis: vult enim Salomoni auctoritatem apud principes et fratres conciliare, ostendendo, non humana, sed divina voluntate electum esse," To this David adds an exhortation to the whole assembly (Ch1 28:8), and to his son Solomon (Ch1 28:9), to hold fast their faithfulness to God. Ch1 28:8-10 "And now before the eyes of all Israel, of the congregation of Jahve (collected in their representatives), and into the ears of our God (so that God should hear as witness), (scil. I exhort you), observe and seek ... that ye may possess (that is, keep as possession) the good land (cf. Deu 4:21.), and leave it to your sons after you for an inheritance" (cf. Lev 25:46). - In Ch1 28:9 he turns to his son Solomon in particular with the fatherly exhortation, "My son, know thou the God of thy father (i.e., of David, who has ever helped him, Psa 18:3), and serve Him with whole (undivided) heart (Ch1 29:9, Ch1 29:19; Kg1 8:61) and willing soul." To strengthen this exhortation, David reminds him of the omniscience of God. Jahve seeks, i.e., searches, all hearts and knows all the imagination of the thoughts; cf. Psa 7:10; Sa1 16:7; Jer 11:20; Psa 139:1. מחשׁבות יצר as in Gen 6:5. With the last clauses cf. Deu 4:29; Isa 55:6, etc. יזניח, only here and Ch2 11:14; Ch2 29:19. - With Ch1 28:10 the discourse turns to the building of the temple. The exhortation ועשׂה חזק is interrupted by the giving over of the sketches and plans of the temple, and is taken up again only in Ch1 28:20. 1 Chronicles 28:11 ch1 28:11 The sketches and plans of the sacred buildings and vessels. - The enumeration begins in Ch1 28:11 with the temple house, progressing from outside to inside, and in Ch1 28:12 goes on to the courts and the buildings in them, and in Ch1 28:13. to the vessels, etc. תּבנית, model, pattern; cf. Exo 25:9; here the sketches and drawings of the individual things. ואת־בּתּיו is a contraction for בּתּיו ועת־תּבנית, and the suffix refers, as the succeeding words show, not to העוּלם, but to הבּית, which may be easily supplied from the context (Ch1 28:10). In the porch there were no houses. The בּתּים are the buildings of the temple house, viz., the holy place and the most holy, with the three-storeyed side-building, which are specified in the following words. גּנזכּיו occurs only here, but is related to גּנזים, Est 3:9; Est 4:7; Eze 27:24, and to the Chald. גּנזין, Ezr 7:20, and signifies store and treasure chambers, for which the chambers of the three-storeyed side-building served. עליּות are the upper chambers over the most holy place, Ch2 3:9; הפּנימים חדריו are the inner rooms of the porch and of the holy place, since הכּפּרת בּית, the house of the ark with the mercy-seat, i.e., the most holy place, is mentioned immediately after. Ch1 28:12 And the pattern, i.e., the description of all that was in the spirit with him, i.e., what his spirit had designed, לחצרות, as to the courts. סביב לכל־הלּשׁכות, in reference to all the chambers round about, i.e., to all the rooms on the four sides of the courts. לאצרות, for the treasures of the house of God; see on Ch1 26:20. Ch1 28:13-16 הך וּלמחלקות (continuation of לאצרות), "and for the divisions of the priests and Levites, and for all the work of the service, and for all vessels," - for for all these purposes, viz., for the sojourn of the priests and Levites in the service, as well as for the performance of the necessary works, e.g., preparation of the shew-bread, cooking of the sacrificial flesh, holding of the sacrificial meals, and for the storing of the vessels necessary for these purposes, the cells and building of the courts were set apart. - With Ch1 28:14 begins the enumeration of the vessels. לזּהב is co-ordinate with לכל־הלּשׁכות...לחצרות, Ch1 28:12 : he gave him the description of that which he had in mind "with regard to the golden (i.e., to the golden vessels, cf. Ch1 29:2), according to the weight of the golden, for all vessels of every service," in regard to all silver vessels according to the weight. - With Ch1 28:15 the construction hitherto employed is dropped. According to the usual supposition, the verb ויּתּן is to be supplied from Ch1 28:11 after וּמשׁקל: "and gave him the weight for the golden candlesticks and their golden lamps," זהב being in a state of free subordination to the word ונרתיהם (J. H. Mich., Berth., and others). But apart from the fact that no analogous case can be found for such a subordination (for in Ch2 9:15, which Berth. cites as such, there is no subordination, for there the first שׁחוּט זהב is the accusative of the material dependent upon ויּעשׂ), the supplying of ויּתּן gives no suitable sense; for David here does not give Solomon the metal for the vessels, but, according to Ch1 28:11, Ch1 28:12, Ch1 28:19, only a תּבנית, pattern or model for them. If ויּתּן be supplied, נתן must be "he appointed," and so have a different sense here from that which it has in Ch1 28:11. This appears very questionable, and it is simpler to take משׁקל without the article, as an accusative of nearer definition, and to connect the verse thus: "and (what he had in mind) as weight for the golden candlesticks and their lamps, in gold, according to the weight of each candlestick and its lamps, and for the silver candlesticks, in weight - כּעבודת, according to the service of each candlestick" (as it corresponded to the service of each). - In Ch1 28:16 the enumeration is continued in very loose connection: "And as to the gold (את, quoad; cf. Ew. 277, d) by weight (משׁקל, acc. of free subordination) for the tables of the spreading out, i.e., of the shew-bread (מערכת = לחם מערכת, Ch2 13:11); see on Lev 24:6), for each table, and silver for the silver tables." Silver tables, i.e., tables overlaid with silver-lamin, and silver candlesticks (Ch1 28:15), are not elsewhere expressly mentioned among the temple vessels, since the whole of the vessels are nowhere individually registered even in the description of the building of the temple. Yet, when the temple was repaired under Joash, Kg2 12:14; Ch2 24:14, and when it was destroyed by the Chaldeans, Kg2 25:15, vessels of gold and silver are spoken of. The silver candlesticks were probably, as Kimchi has conjectured, intended for the priests engaged in the service, and the tables for reception of the sacrificial flesh after it had been prepared for burning upon the altar. Ch1 28:17 Before וגו והמּזלגות we should probably supply from Ch1 28:11 : "he gave him the pattern of the forks...ולכפורי, and for the golden tankards, according to the weight of each tankard." For מזלנות and מזרקות, see on Ch2 4:22. קשׂוה, σπονδεῖα, cups for the libations, occur only in Exo 25:29; Exo 37:16, and Num 4:7. טהור זהב, in free subordination: of pure gold. כּפורים from כּפר, to cover, are vessels provided with covers, tankards; only mentioned here and in Ezr 1:10; Ezr 8:27. Ch1 28:18 And (the pattern) for the altar of incense of pure gold by weight. In the second member of the verse, at the close of the enumeration, תּבנית, from Ch1 28:11, Ch1 28:12, is again taken up, but with ל, which Berth. rightly takes to be nota accus.: and (gave him) "the model of the chariot of the cherubim of gold, as spreading out (wings), and sheltering over the ark of the covenant of Jahve." הכּרוּבים is not subordinated in the genitive to המּרכּבה, but is in explanatory apposition to it. The cherubim, not the ark, are the chariot upon which God enters or is throned; cf. Psa 18:11; Psa 99:1; Exo 25:22. The conception of the cherubim set upon the golden cover of the ark as מרכּבה is derived from the idea על־כּרוּב ירכּב, Psa 18:11. Ezekiel, it is true, saw wheels on the throne of God under the cherubim (Eze 1:15., 26), and in accordance with this the lxx and Vulg. have made a cherubim-chariot out of the words (ἅρμα τῶν Χερουβίμ, quadriga cherubim); but as against this Berth. rightly remarks, that the idea of a chariot of the cherubim does not at all appear in the two sculptured cherubim upon the ark, nor yet in our passage. לפרשׂים (without the article, and with ל) Berth. thinks quite unintelligible, and would alter the text, reading והסּככים הפּרשׂים, because the two participles should be in apposition to הכּרוּבים. But this is an error; for neither by the meaning of the words, nor by the passages, Ch2 5:8; Exo 25:20; Kg1 8:7, are we compelled to make this alteration. The two first-mentioned passages prove the opposite, viz., that these participles state for what purpose the cherubim are to serve. וסככים לפרשׂים have the signification of כּנפים פּרשׂי הכּרוּבים והיוּ, "that the cherubim might be spreading wings and protecting" (Exo 25:20), as J. H. Mich. has rightly seen. This use of ל, where in ל even without a verb the idea of "becoming something" lies, but which Berth. does not understand, has been already discussed, Ew. 217, d, and illustrated by passages, among which Ch1 28:18 is one. The reference to Exo 25:20 explains also the use of פּרשׂ without כּנפים, the author of the Chronicle not thinking it necessary to give the object of פּרשׂ, as he might assume that that passage would be known to readers of his book. Ch1 28:19 In giving over to Solomon the model of all the parts and vessels of the temple enumerated in Ch1sa Ch2 Exo (Kg2 3:15; Eze 1:3; Eze (Exo 25:40; Exo 27:8); for it signifies only that he had not himself invented the pattern which he had committed to writings, i.e., the sketches and descriptions of the temple and its furniture and vessels, but had drawn them up under the influence of divine inspiration. 1 Chronicles 28:20 ch1 28:20 In conclusion, David encourages his son to go forward to the work with good courage, for his God would not forsake him; and the priests and Levites, cunning workmen, and the princes, together with the whole people, would willingly support him. With the encouragement, Ch1 28:20, cf. Ch1 22:13; and with the promise, Ch1 28:20, cf. Deu 31:6, Deu 31:8; Jos 1:5. אלהי, my God, says David, ut in mentem ei revocet, quomodo multis in periculis servatus sit (Lav.). עבודה כּל־מלאכת, all the work-business, i.e., all the labour necessary for the building of the house of God. Ch1 28:21 והנּה is fittingly translated by Clericus, "en habes." The reference which lies in the הנּה to the classes of the priests and Levites, i.e., the priests and Levites divided into classes, does not presuppose their presence in the assembly. With the והנּה corresponds ועמּך, with thee, i.e., for assistance to thee, in the second half of the verse. The ל before לכל-naadiyb, "are all freely willing with wisdom," in the middle of the sentence introducing the subject is strange; Bertheau would therefore strike it out, thinking that, as לכל goes immediately before, and follows immediately afterwards twice, לכל here may easily be an error for כל. This is certainly possible; but since this ל is very frequently used in the Chronicle, it is a question whether it should not be regarded as authentic, "serving to bring into emphatic prominence the idea of the ndyb kl: with thee is for each business, what regards each willing person, for also all willing persons;" cf. Ew. 310, a. נדיב = לב נדיב, Ch2 29:31; Exo 35:5, Exo 35:22, usually denotes him who brings voluntary gifts, but here, him who voluntarily brings wisdom to every service, who willingly employs his wisdom and knowledge in a service. Cunning, intelligent workmen and artists are meant, Ch1 22:15; Ch2 2:6. לכל־דּבריך, "towards all thy words," i.e., as thou sayest or commandest them, the princes and the people, or callest upon them for assistance in the work.

Since before the Super Rugby competition kicked off this season, the talk has been dominated by one topic: how many teams will be cut for 2018. The SANZAAR delegates are meeting in London this week, and the expectation is that a decision will be made on what Super Rugby – and indeed, SANZAAR itself – will look like from next season. It’s worth remembering at this point that cutting teams is but one of the three options on the table; four, in fact, if you add ‘keep the status quo’ into the mix. SANZAAR commissioned international consulting firm Accenture to produce a strategic review after the 2016 season, and the report made three suggestions for consideration by SANZAAR and their stakeholders: 1. Dropping one team from South Africa and Australia 2. Dropping two teams from South Africa 3. Expanding the competition even further As I mentioned, it’s entirely possible that the stakeholders – which include the four national unions and the host broadcasters from those countries – could yet decide to agree to maintain 18 teams and tweak the structure of the conferences. They could also decide to see out the final years of the broadcasting deal that saw the extra teams added in the first place. It certainly feels unlikely that that will be the case. To hear the acknowledgement from all corners of the SANZAAR universe that the current structure isn’t engaging fans and spectators as they hoped it might is at least refreshing; to ignore it and do nothing would be sheer madness, a new low in common sense. Yet it continues to astound me that, in Australia at least, the expectation from the outset has been that one team will have to be cut. This line of commentary has carried on through reports, opinion pieces, and thousands of comments. It’s been so widely written that if you were new to the game, you’d have just accepted this is going to happen. And in all this, one nagging thought has remained with me: why isn’t Australian rugby fighting for its fifth team? Don’t get me wrong, it’s never been easier to be down on rugby in Australia. You only have to look to your left or right, and there are plenty of soapboxes for you to step upon and unload on the game. Pick your topic, and have your say. But what about fighting for the good of Australian rugby? Ceding more than 30 professional opportunities in Australia does not feel like a move that benefits Australian rugby. Losing 20 per cent of the starting front rowers, or openside flankers, or halves, or back three players in the country does not sound like a move that strengthens the game in Australia. Even if you managed to keep the top 30 Wallabies players in the country, losing the next 30 to overseas clubs – which will happen, we all know it will – does not consolidate the strength of the talent pool. It’s more than that, too; all five sides run under-20s programs feeding into the Australian under-20s set-up. So it’s not just the professional level we’re affecting, the next generation will similarly lose their pathway. And this is why it astounds me that the ARU has been so wishy-washy around the prospect. The consistent line of commentary since the options were tabled has been along the lines of ‘being part of a joint venture’, and ‘needing to hear the thoughts of our partners’, ‘being fluid about our preferred position going forward’. Sorry, what now? Even if all that is true beyond closed doors, what is wrong with actually showing a bit of fight, and making it known publicly that Australia does not want to give up a side? Even if it’s a very real prospect, what would be so wrong with showing the rugby public of Australia that one of our teams just won’t be set adrift and forgotten? Why should rugby fans in Perth or Canberra or even Melbourne have to hear answers to direct questions about guaranteeing five teams next year begin with, “we can’t make any promises”. So far, only the Rugby Union Player’s Association has made anything resembling a statement of intent. “Australia’s professional rugby players are staunch in their opposition to any mooted alternative models which would reduce Australia’s representation in the Super Rugby competition for 2018 and beyond,” the RUPA position stated unequivocally the week before Super Rugby started. Why couldn’t the ARU have backed this up with a similar position? By all means, say you want to look at Super Rugby structures and maybe tweak the conferences so they make more sense and involve fewer circumnavigations of the globe – even explore trans-Tasman comps. But would it be so hard to come out and say five teams is what Australia wants in whatever form Super Rugby takes in 2018? Why not show the fans that Australian rugby is going to put up a fight for the benefit of Australian rugby? Rugby has never been in a more vulnerable position in Australia, yet the public commentary feels like we’re just preparing to roll over and take whatever’s put in front of us. I’ve often wondered what ‘the Australian way’ of the playing rugby really is, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t involve meek surrender. March 7th 2017 @ 4:58am robel said | March 7th 2017 @ 4:58am | ! Report Well said Brett. March 7th 2017 @ 1:17pm ethan said | March 7th 2017 @ 1:17pm | ! Report Yep, I’m with Brett. The Force and Rebels have only been around long enough to just start seeing the fruits of their local development, with more local talent getting the chance at professional level. The problem in the past has been that they had to take the leftovers from QLD, NSW and NPC, so it’s no wonder they’ve been weak. But once they have their own home grown talent pools, they will no longer have to borrow. This means all those who couldn’t get a start in QLD and NSW will be squad members in those states, as opposed to starters in others. This will mean Australian rugby has better depth. It is a long term view that should strengthen Australian Rugby over the next 5-10 years, but to bail out now would be a bit like erecting the wooden structures of a house, only to tear it down because it’s not yet liveable. Like hitting the final straight of a marathon and turning back. Culling a team now would be a very short sighted fix. March 7th 2017 @ 6:14pm kunming tiger said | March 7th 2017 @ 6:14pm | ! Report this argument is precisely correct the Super U20s comp is showing that there is untapped potential in VIC and WA Chance Peni is but one example. Every year they contribute a few players each to the National U20s team. Over time they numbers of local Super quality players will increase. There was an interesting interview with the owner of the Rebels who said that if a franchise was cut it was unlikely to be the Rebels. due to the advertising revenue they generate.. March 7th 2017 @ 6:26pm Boomeranga said | March 7th 2017 @ 6:26pm | ! Report I think this is the Rebels 6th year? I just went back to 2001 to see if I could remember the bottom teams in that year before they were caste aside for being unsuccessful. Hurricanes, Blues, Crusaders and Bulls. Glad we gave NZ 20 years to bed in their teams. March 7th 2017 @ 7:38pm ethan said | March 7th 2017 @ 7:38pm | ! Report Yes 6th year for the Rebels, so you’d expect them to be a bit behind the Force in terms of home grown player development. I think (someone correct me if I’m wrong) that the Rebels have 3 homegrown players in their squad and the Force 7. Not many right now, but the Force in particular, having played their first SR season in 2006, are really entering a period that should bear fruit. If they’ve had development pathways in place for 10 years, then many of those who were just kids when the Force began will now be entering an age where they can challenge for contracts. March 7th 2017 @ 7:46pm AndyS said | March 7th 2017 @ 7:46pm | ! Report I believe it is something like 7 and 12 respectively in the squad. Might be 3 and 7 in the game day team…? March 8th 2017 @ 12:24pm ethan said | March 8th 2017 @ 12:24pm | ! Report Cheers Andy, I seem to recall hearing the numbers 3 and 7 somewhere but it’s reaching to a hazy place in the back of my mind so I could easily be wrong. March 7th 2017 @ 5:11am biltongbek said | March 7th 2017 @ 5:11am | ! Report Hi Brett, I don’t havethe numbers, but how many of the players playing in Australia are not Australian? Are the Franchises not already filling their teams with foreign players to an extent? March 7th 2017 @ 7:35am BBA said | March 7th 2017 @ 7:35am | ! Report I’m not sure on the numbers buy the cynic in me would say that of the overseas players not many of the overseas players will have represented their country before and therefore you could argue that this is a recruitment drive to improve the Wallabies with foreign bloodstock. To be fair this is no different to what they do in the NH. March 7th 2017 @ 8:46am richard said | March 7th 2017 @ 8:46am | ! Report Particularly in Ireland with their “project players.” As an aside,I see James Lowe has signed with Leinster,no doubt a potential future Irish international. March 7th 2017 @ 10:28am robert said | March 7th 2017 @ 10:28am | ! Report he’s already played for the maoris so he can’t play for Ireland March 7th 2017 @ 11:38am Bakkies said | March 7th 2017 @ 11:38am | ! Report ‘he’s already played for the maoris so he can’t play for Ireland’ Maoris isn’t the second team. The Junior ABs is. It is a figment of people’s imagination that he will play for Ireland. Each player has their own circumstances. From the outside looking in it is easy to take the cynical view. Majority who have qualified for Ireland through residency have stayed here regardless of being capped or not. Leinster has four foreign player spots plus a project player which is supposed to be Jamison Gibson Park (ARU also has project players that will look to qualify for the Wallabies). Lowe is replacing Zane Kirchner in Leinster’s squad. Length of the contract doesn’t matter. Kane Douglas signed a three year deal and he could never play for Ireland due to his Wallabies caps. March 7th 2017 @ 1:10pm richard said | March 7th 2017 @ 1:10pm | ! Report Yep,the Junior AB’s are the second team,so it wouldn’t preclude him being selected for another side.And I never said he would be picked,but that he was a “potential’ candidate. March 7th 2017 @ 2:47pm ClarkeG said | March 7th 2017 @ 2:47pm | ! Report When you say Junior ABs you mean U20.? The reason I ask is that the “Junior All Blacks” have not been active for several years. March 7th 2017 @ 2:58pm atlas said | March 7th 2017 @ 2:58pm | ! Report CG, it is the Junior ABs as NZ’s nominated second team. Not the U20s. Don’t understand why, as there hasn’t been a Juniors side since… 2009 when they played in the Pacific Nations Cup competition. March 7th 2017 @ 3:28pm ClarkeG said | March 7th 2017 @ 3:28pm | ! Report Exactly the reason for my question. March 7th 2017 @ 1:20pm ethan said | March 7th 2017 @ 1:20pm | ! Report Man, James Lowe is a great player. No wonder the ABs are so strong when a guy like him can’t even get a look in at the squad! March 7th 2017 @ 1:51pm richard said | March 7th 2017 @ 1:51pm | ! Report The fear I have is this is becoming more common.And contrary to popular belief NZ does not have an endless conveyor belt of talent.We lose enough players overseas,and sooner or later it has to impact on the AB;s. March 7th 2017 @ 2:14pm Old Bugger said | March 7th 2017 @ 2:14pm | ! Report Aah richard…..bless you for that reminder as if, we didn’t already know. It is an unwanted curse upon the whole, of SH rugby and not just, NZ rugby. But IMO, as long as there are kids and a primary, middle and secondary school system, then we will continue to have an endless conveyor belt, of players. The question as always will be, do we have the nous, smarts and coaching capability, to bring about the best and most talented rugby player(s), from that conveyor belt. Doesn’t pay to think about the negatory, all the time……it is too stressful. March 7th 2017 @ 2:45pm richard said | March 7th 2017 @ 2:45pm | ! Report I hope you are right.And its not just players,of equal concern is the loss of so many coaches.It is that intellectual property lost overseas being used v us that is a problem.At least in my eyes.But to some that’s a good thing,as it supposedly benefits “world” rugby. Call me selfish,but my interests lie in what benefits NZ rugby,first and foremost.Everything else is an afterthought. March 7th 2017 @ 2:51pm ClarkeG said | March 7th 2017 @ 2:51pm | ! Report It is already impacting super rugby and NPC. The ABs of course are not the only team playing out of NZ. March 7th 2017 @ 3:10pm richard said | March 7th 2017 @ 3:10pm | ! Report I know.And it is only going to get worse. March 7th 2017 @ 7:45pm ethan said | March 7th 2017 @ 7:45pm | ! Report Yes some players just see where they stand in the pecking order and decide if they can’t move higher up the ranks, they might as well go elsewhere and earn some better money. Can’t say I blame them, unfortunate as it is. The NZ conveyer belt of talent is not endless as you say, but in the last few years it really looks like you could add another team or two to SR and they would still be competitive, so I wouldn’t be too concerned – still plenty of depth despite the departures. March 8th 2017 @ 5:28am taylorman said | March 8th 2017 @ 5:28am | ! Report Exactly, this is getting worse. Now potential ABs are getting picked up before they have a chance to reach their potential. Reason I keep bringing this up is this happened to Auckland. Now their players are everywhere, getting contracted out sometimes before they’ve left school. Look at Tupou at the Reds. Not even out of school when he was thrown some bucks. Back then Aucklanders had the choice not to play for Auckland, now NZers are making the choice not to play for or in NZ fir the majority of their careers. Lowe had every chance of becoming an AB, it’s just that he hadn’t been picked up yet. March 8th 2017 @ 11:02am Old Bugger said | March 8th 2017 @ 11:02am | ! Report Now, now guys. Back when I was we playing, players had a chance to play for BOP, Hawkes Bay, Horowhenua, Whanganui, Manawatu, Waikato, Thames valley and other provincial sides that weren’t consistent, Ranfurly Shield winners. And then, the NZRU introduced the AirNZ/NPC/ITM/Mitre 10 competition in 1976 and the only reason BOP won that inaugural comp, was because the ABs had 2 teams touring overseas, in SA and Argentina. Nevertheless, in the years following ’76, players from those provinces I mentioned above, all of a sudden started getting offers to go to the main centres to play their rugger – centres like Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. What happened to those provincial centres regarding their rugby fortunes when their top players were being snapped up?? Gees, from my viewpoint, it took ages for the BOP to try and stay with the top rugby teams, always just missing the promotion/relegation before they finally, got demoted. Waikato took ages to recover from its initial demotion. The blessing when Super Rugby started was the NZRU could see the damage being done to the provincial sides with rugby players being drawn to the main centres so they did the only thing they could, to build a strong NZ base……they delineated provinces to each Super side and forced those sides to concentrate the core of their teams, from those provinces. Next, they allowed the SR sides to pick players from other provinces only when, that player was not chosen, by their home SR team. And then, they max’d the squad numbers to 25-30players, formed centralised contracts making a total of 125-150players, being placed on the NZRU/SR salary list. Of course, the SR teams still got one over the NZRU, by persuading players to resettle in the new SR region and used personal reasons, as the relocation motivation. So, what is happening to Auckland today is really an extension, of what was happening in NZ immediately post 1976. The only saviour back then, was the players were still in NZ and available for the ABs but that IMO, is no consolation to what happened in those provinces and how they struggled, to hold onto a provincial rugby team or for that matter, a place in the Premier competition. Now, the curse is the challenge from overseas and how NZ can continue as a rugby nation, in the face of such a financial onslaught. I’m forever the optimist and as long as kids want to be ABs when they start school, then I have a belief, that the parents, junior clubs, coaches and the primary, middle and secondary school systems, will identify and promote the next wunder-kids to senior, provincial, SR and eventually, ABs rugby. March 7th 2017 @ 9:08am sheek said | March 7th 2017 @ 9:08am | ! Report BTB, I would like to know the answer to this question myself, but I don’t think it’s a topic anyone in Australian rugby (especially at the top) wants to confront. BBA is right, Australian rugby is being desperately topped up with overseas players. Trying to determine who is or isn’t Australian in rugby terms, is approaching mythical proportions. For the purposes of a professional contract & international career, everyone will put their hands up & declare their dying loyalty to Australia. How true this all is is another story. Very few people are willing to raise the topic lest they be accused of the ‘R’ word. March 7th 2017 @ 9:13am Fionn said | March 7th 2017 @ 9:13am | ! Report And the biggest issue with this is that I doubt overseas players who move to Australia will show much loyalty to the Wallabies. For ever TPN (who is Australian) who is willing to give up high paying offers overseas to help the game in Aus and to represent the Wallabies there will be 10 Pacific Islanders who (somewhat justifiably) decide to go overseas in order to make more money, especially given they often support entire communities back home. Unless Australia gets in a position where, like New Zealand, everyone playing in the country dreams of playing for the national team, and are willing to give up financial benefits for that opportunity, we will never have a consistent team/pool of players to select from. March 7th 2017 @ 9:17am BennO said | March 7th 2017 @ 9:17am | ! Report Recession? It’s quite possible to discuss matters of nationality without being “recessionist”, if people use their brains and talk with sensitivity. But it’s easier to complain about it than talk about it. March 7th 2017 @ 9:34am rugbyfan said | March 7th 2017 @ 9:34am | ! Report this x100!! March 7th 2017 @ 9:19am Akari said | March 7th 2017 @ 9:19am | ! Report I’ve been advocating that Australia should get on a recruitment drive and buy the best that SA (and NZ) has got and bring them over here where they will have an improved chance of playing at the highest level of rugby, BB. Next step would be coaches from NZ but that will be for another time in the near future. There shouldn’t be, I think, any objections to hiring top NZ coaches to transform talented young Oz kids into better players 7th 2017 @ 9:22am Fionn said | March 7th 2017 @ 9:22am | ! Report I think that the coaches from New Zealand should be priority number one, mate… Aussies are always lamenting how outdated our brand of rugby is relative to the modern Kiwi styles. Well, the more effective way to learn how to play Kiwi rugby is being taught by Kiwi coaches.. March 7th 2017 @ 9:54am Old Bugger said | March 7th 2017 @ 9:54am | ! Report You know what….?? You and Akari should be running for the ARU Rugby Board with all the answers you guys are coughing up. Recruit players no, better still, recruit top coaches from over the East-West ditches. Do you guys ever read or hear any NZ sporting teams or NZ public decry their lack of playing and coaching talent, every year one of our national sports teams, gets creamed by an Aussie side??? No cos we go back to the changing rooms and start thinking about how we will turn the result around at the next meeting. And, once in a blue moon, a kiwi national side whether it be men or women, will come out and turn the result around and then thereafter, its back to norm with the Aussie sides on the top podium again. The difference IMO, would be that there is an over-riding effort to learn to be better, to improve and of course, to try and win back some pride and bragging rights. And, although there is an Aussie hockey coach leading our national women side (and a pommie coach leading our NZFootball mens team), we don’t seem to be able to get a consistent success result against the Hockeyroos apart from the occasional upset…..we strive to improve our ranking but always seem to come out second best. Btw, Hager submitted his name when the NZ coach position became available and after he missed out on the Hockeyroos position. I believe he’s been coach for sometime – maybe 8-10yrs?? Every other national team sport I think has kiwi coaches and the improvements come because, of the athletes and sporting teams exposure, to competing against international athletes and teams around the globe and not, plotting to recruit top junior players or senior coaches. I think if there is ever a reason to be disappointed with the current state and national system, then start a movement against the ARU Board and the various State Boards therein and unleash on those entities, to improve. There just doesn’t seem to be any confrontational energy against the ARU and its intermediate Boards by the general public at large……my question is, why not??? As Brett asked ” Is a bit of Australian fight, too much to ask….??” March 7th 2017 @ 10:06am Republican said | March 7th 2017 @ 10:06am | ! Report ……disagree. NZ are always comparing themselves with Australia across sport and more. They recruit heaps of Australians to coach respective national sides while they are obsessively bemoaning their poor form, anytime they are ‘creamed’ by us which is very infrequently these days. They also assume membership of our domestic leagues, something that is not reciprocated in a sport that we could use support from NZ in, i.e. Union. March 7th 2017 @ 10:30am Old Bugger said | March 7th 2017 @ 10:30am | ! Report Gee, apart from Hager, I don’t think there’s anyone else coaching a current national NZ side from what I can recall but, I will bow to your knowledge, if you share their names and sport??? And, I didn’t think it was comparing NZ to AU teams but more an endeavour to succeed more consistently, over those AU teams where such successes, are once in a blue moon. There is no comparison when the results are so lop-sided so why is there an effort for the WBs, to compare, as you might say?? I think you’ll find the same answer as I have – it is an endeavour to succeed March 7th 2017 @ 10:12am Fionn said | March 7th 2017 @ 10:12am | ! Report I think England’s results during and after the World Cup would indicate that the coach has more of an impact on a team’s success than simply the players trying harder. Australia currently has a dearth of world class coaches. I don’t quite understand what you want from Australia. I think that continuing with subpar Australian coaches playing outdated rugby is likely to probably result in continuing subpar results from Australian Super Rugby sides. March 7th 2017 @ 10:53am Old Bugger said | March 7th 2017 @ 10:53am | ! Report I think you’re being unfair to suggest the AU coaching ranks are sub-par. And a dearth of rugby coaches…..nah but, you’ve certainly had a couple of shockers in Foley and Graham but overall, there’s been some pretty decent blokes, holding the clip-board and whistle, if I may say so. However, if it is such a concern why is it that neither Dwyer or McQueen or even EJ himself, have never been called upon to help improve, those coaching capabilities. These guys are all RWC winners. Why has Cheika, who’s done wonders overseas, have difficulty coaching a national side, (where he has the cream of the crop to choose from) to success on a consistent basis?? Btw, what happened to Phil Mooney (I believe that’s his name)?? He was suppose to be going places within the ARU coaching hierarchy but he seems, to have fallen off the edge of the earth and not been heard of, since. Its not what I want from Australia – it really is what Australia wants? Except, I don’t think recruiting overseas for players and coaches, is going to be a long-term succession plan, for Aussie rugby. IMO that plan, has to be initiated at home, by its own and for its own. There’s a start with getting Mick Byrne on board but “Rome wasn’t built in a day” so likewise, neither will AU rugby. Remember, it took Byrne 8yrs of teaching skills improvement to the ABs and a further 4 yrs to refine those skills before he witnessed, any succession consistency……and back-to-back RWC wins. Maybe, time is all that’s needed now…..?? March 7th 2017 @ 11:01am Fionn said | March 7th 2017 @ 11:01am | ! Report I don’t want them to have overseas coaches longterm mate. I think that guys like Dwyer and McQueen’s rugby would be outdated now. That being said, they would probably be a step in the right direction nonetheless! I have a dream of a few top New Zealand coaches being brought over and coaching Aussie sides/coaching the Aussie coaches for a number of years (3-5 years, let’s say) while the Australian coaches apprentice under them. After 3-5 years the Aussie coaches should be running everything themselves and teaching the next generation of Aussie coaches. March 7th 2017 @ 11:53am Bakkies said | March 7th 2017 @ 11:53am | ! Report Australian Rugby has a resource in Grant Batty. Where is he now. Then you have the likes of Pat Howard, Knox, Campo, Topo not coaching professionally in Australia. TIm Lane has done a lot of coaching abroad for a long, long time. Matt Williams is still in Ireland. There is coaching talent out there but personal bs, career choices (see Howard and Kafer) and politics have pushed these guys out. I see Australian coaches with nous coaching attacking Rugby in Irish domestic clubs (outside of the provinces). Along with the Kiwis the Aussie coaches are straight talking, look at the bigger picture and go beyond route one. It is gutting to see Howard get pillared in his current job with Cricket. I know he is getting serious coin and Rugby is constant due to his family however he is wasting his Rugby knowledge dealing with Cricket bs. Leicester rated him highly when he was involved there. He could managing or coaching the Wallabies by now. If it didn’t work then move on to Cricket, outside interests. March 7th 2017 @ 2:58pm Jagman said | March 7th 2017 @ 2:58pm | ! Report Players in the Aus conference are as so NSW 65 QLD 59 WA 16 ACT 14 NZ 11 FIJI 8 VIC 5 RSA 5 TONGA 3 TAS 1 ARG 1 WALES 1 Japan 1 I counted anyone who came to a state or from another country before getting a SR contract as being from that state or country except Ngamanu who I counted as West Australian. L Timani counted as a Tongan, as did Mafi and Tui as NZ rather than japanese. March 7th 2017 @ 3:35pm biltongbek said | March 7th 2017 @ 3:35pm | ! Report Thank you Jagman, it isn’t that bad. March 7th 2017 @ 5:37pm AndyS said | March 7th 2017 @ 5:37pm | ! Report Props Jagman, that must have taken an effort! March 7th 2017 @ 6:32pm Rhys Bosley said | March 7th 2017 @ 6:32pm | ! Report Thanks Jagman, I was going to undertake a similar exercise but you beat me to it. So 18% of Aussie Super Rugby players came from overseas clubs. Big deal, I hardly think that undermines the integrity of the conference. Many of those players like Cubelli are fulfilling a useful role by filling a gap till young Australian players are ready for Super Rugby, and are probably sharing knowledge and experience in the process. I see that as positive. In any case, what makes people think that cutting the Aussie conference to four teams will result in the overseas players being culled? In many instances they are still likely to be chosen over Australian club players, who will stay in the the Shute Shield or Brisbane Premier Rugby or go overseas. Hardly a win for the grass roots. March 7th 2017 @ 6:34pm Boomeranga said | March 7th 2017 @ 6:34pm | ! Report Jagman – would you be willing to list them? I find that really interesting. March 7th 2017 @ 6:59pm Rhys Bosley said | March 7th 2017 @ 6:59pm | ! Report The man has already done a lot of work and you only need to go to the team websites to find out for yourself. Just saying. March 7th 2017 @ 7:05pm Boomeranga said | March 7th 2017 @ 7:05pm | ! Report Fair enough. March 8th 2017 @ 1:41am taylorman said | March 8th 2017 @ 1:41am | ! Report Lower than I thought from NZ, I’m guessing most of that 11 are originally from Auckland because last count that’s about what I got from the Tahs and Reds alone. That’s actually a pretty good sign for Oz rugby. None from the NH, my my…what a surprise. All one way traffic in that respect.

These gun grabbers and their media enablers really annoy me sometimes. OK, a lot of the time. Most of the time. Fine. Always. Take the editorial Crack down on ‘bad apple’ gun dealers over at cnn.com (complete with a photo gallery of spree killings). You’d think that Chicken Noodle News’ online editorial team would make mention of the fact that one the article’s co-authors, Dan Gross, is the president of the Brady Campaign and Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Or that the other author, Ruben Gallego [above] is an Arizona Dem U.S. Rep who proclaimed . . . I know as a US Marine who is trained in close quarters combat that having untrained individuals carrying guns can make the work of law enforcement officers more difficult. And not knowing the anti-gun bias of the writers of a CNN Op-Ed makes the work of discerning their bias more difficult. But bias there is, aplenty. [Note: since this article appeared on TTAG, CNN has added a bio of both authors and a disclaimer.] For many Americans, the profound sadness of mass killings this summer in these cities is compounded by the frustrating sense that these events are being met with nothing more than hand-wringing and empty rhetoric. This kind of bloodshed has become an accepted fact of American life, facilitated by an irresponsible corporate gun lobby and too many politicians, particularly Republican leadership in Congress that refuses to do the will of the American people. Yet, despite the polarizing politics that define this issue, there is still much that can be done to address the scourge of gun violence in America. Number one on Gallego and Gross’ list: background checks for every gun sale, including private sales. Never mind that federal background checks on all gun sales would add delay and expense to what is supposed to be an un-infringed right to keep and bear arms. Never mind that “universal background checks” would put America [further] on the road to gun registration -> confiscation -> very bad things. The important thing: Americans support it! Like they supported slavery. Anyway, “gun safety” proposal number two . . . While Congress should certainly take action to close critical gaps in our gun laws and expand Brady background checks to all gun sales, gun dealers should not wait on Congress to take the steps necessary to prevent dangerous people from obtaining weapons. The Brady Campaign has devised a smart, simple Gun Dealer Code of Conduct that can dramatically reduce gun injuries and deaths now. Among its key provisions is a requirement that dealers not sell any gun without a completed background check — a policy that Walmart, the nation’s largest seller of firearms, voluntarily implemented in 2002, with success. Broad adoption of the Brady Code of Conduct would prevent dangerous people from getting guns and thus reduce gun crimes, injuries and deaths across the board. Similarly, there’s no reason for the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to wait to aggressively pursue America’s top suppliers of crime guns. Indeed, this relatively small group of “bad apple” gun dealers is responsible for supplying almost the entire illegal market. In light of these troubling statistics, DOJ and ATF can and must do more to hold accountable gun dealers that put the public and our communities at risk. That is why we recently wrote to Attorney General Loretta Lynch urging her to lead a national effort to identify, reform, shut down, and — where appropriate — prosecute “bad apple” gun dealers.. Are you picking-up what they’re putting down? If not, keep one very important fact in mind: none of these “bad apple” gun dealers are breaking the law. They’re all selling a legal product legally. If they are breaking the law – for example, knowingly selling firearms to straw purchasers (buyers who are buying for prohibited persons) – they can and should be prosecuted. But they’re not. Because they’re not. Gallego and The Brady Campaign’s true intention: shut down gun dealers. If they force “bad apple” gun dealers in high crime neighborhoods – who supply firearms to potential victims in these locales – to stop selling guns, a certain percentage of “crime guns” will then come from another dealer. The Brady Bunch will shift to attacking that dealer. And so on. If you doubt this “camel’s nose in the tent” strategy, check out the aforementioned Gun Dealer Code of Conduct. What does “Limit purchases of handguns to one per 30 days per civilian, non-law enforcement customer” and “Immediately notify local and federal authorities of any multiple handgun purchases that occur within any ninety day period” have to do with best practices for gun dealers? Them’s gun control laws, folks. Even as we fight to expand Brady background checks to all gun sales, including those online and at gun shows, we must insist that gun dealers in our communities adopt best business practices, and the Obama administration must commit to cracking down on those who can’t — or won’t — act responsibly. “Act responsibly” is Gallego’s and Gross’ way of saying “kick gun dealers’ collective ass – regardless of the law of the land.” Which, I might point out, includes the United States Constitution. The fact that the antis’ ignore our country’s founding document is the most annoying aspect of their anti-gun jihad. But, like gun dealers in high-crime neighborhoods, the Constitution and its supporters aren’t going away anytime soon. Thank God. That’s a great idea! Let’s blame gun dealers for our failures! But not all the gun dealers, just the really big gun dealers! And when we get rid of Wal-Mart and Gander Mountain, then we can attack all the shady little ‘kitchen table’ dealers that popped up since the Clinton administration purged them in the 1990s. And, I know it’ll be hard, but when we get rid of all the big dealers for selling too many guns, and all the little dealers for being too little, I’m sure we’ll think of a way to scapegoat the remaining dealers. These gun-control wackos think That keeping an open mind about gun ownership, is an exit wound. “5% of gun dealers supply nearly 90% of all the crime guns that police recover on our streets.” Instant classic. Fewer than that percentage of cities are responsible for the same 90%, I’d imagine. Same as always, this shtick is about denying urban blacks acces to firearms and other civil rights. 5% of America’s cities supply 90% of its violent crime. Let’s bust them up. No one travels in or out without passing a federal background check. “The Brady Campaign has devised a smart, simple Gun Dealer Code of Conduct \” The Brady campaign has never done a single thing either “smart”, or “simple”, unless you consider converting a national tragedy into personal wealth by becoming professional victims. The only good thing about the Brady Bunch is that both of their main spokespeople – Sarah and Jimmy – are taking a dirt-nap… I hope worms have more discriminating palates. . . . . Pro-gun groups should blanket the internet with the clear failure of CNN to live up to an notion of journalistic integrity. . . . MSNBC got ripped enough for their bias and lost so much ad revenue, they just wiped a lot of their liberal boot-lickers out in one fell swoop. It can happen at CNN as well….. (I pray) ‘And not knowing the anti-gun bias of the writers of a CNN Op-Ed…’ You’d think that the bias would be assumed coming from CNN. Who hasn’t figured out that CNN is a left wing agenda driven network by now? Really–CNN is the outfit that used full-auto rifles to “demonstrate” what would supposedly be available if the Clinton “[semi-auto] Assault Weapons” ban were to be allowed to expire. It was so flagrantly unethical that when Wayne La Pierre called them out on it, they actually did a re-do with the appropriate semi-auto rifles, leading to the exact opposite of the conclusion they had reached in the first report. The CNN producer, of course, claimed he was duped by the sheriff’s deputies who did the demonstration for the first report , and the sheriff who arranged the demonstration (need i say he was a Democrat?) claimed it was all just a big mistake. Anybody who doesn’t know that CNN is a hopelessly liberal shill is either in denial or is not paying attention.. I would love to see those clips – CNN going from “OMG BULLETZ SPRAYING EVERYWHERE!!” to “Hey look, a novice can hit a target repeatedly at 100 yards” I’m afraid it was more like going from “Wow, that previously-banned rifle just destroyed those cinder blocks” to “oh, there really isn’t any difference between this semi-auto .223 with the shoulder thing that goes up and this other semi-auto .223 that doesn’t have one, is there?” Not that they haven’t in the meantime returned to the “assault weapons” bandwagon. Wait a minute. …. so they want the DOJ and the BATFE to go after…… Themselves?????? That would be awesome. “Limit purchases of handguns to one per 30 days per civilian, non-law enforcement customer.” from Brady web site. Stupid and unconstitutional. ‘ First and foremost, what self respecting businessman is going to turn away a loyal customer (especially if he/she knows that they have a clean record)? Why would they? Secondly, If that person can pass a NICS check, then they’d just go to a different shop, and probably never come back to the one they were turned away from. This is just a recipe to hurt dealers. “This is just a recipe to hurt dealers.” Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding!!! We have a winner! I never got the idea that you don’t need 50 guns!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why would a gun grabber even care how many guns I have? I only have the two hands More to the point, a serial killer or a spree killer doesn’t need 50 firearms to kill their victims. In fact they don’t even need one firearm to kill their victims. They can easily kill dozens of people with nothing more than full-size pickup truck or a 1 gallon can of gasoline, a match, and some chain to lock doors. California already has this restriction in place. See how much help it’s been there? Basically, they want to “name and shame” FFLs into voluntarily enacting the travesties that have been foisted on California. Yeah, that’ll go over like a lead balloon here in Texas. It’s the law in California. No, we don’t know why–except liberals. Weren’t these the same people who encouraged grief stricken parents to file a merritt less lawsuit aginst ammo companies, and then left them holding the bag when the judge rightly ordered them to pay the attorneys fees of the other parties. These people have no place defining anyone’s conduct! Evil is the best label for the Brady bunch. Looks like the dude’s creds are on the article now. Ha! Still can’t bring themselves to note that Gallego is a Dem–even tho the article itself takes a swipe at “primarily Republican leadership” for not jumping on the gun-grabbers’ bandwagon. I do not – for a minute – believe that FFLs could remain in business flouting the record-keeping and NICS check laws. That, however, doesn’t rule-out the possibility of a fly-by-night FFL. The ATF’s procedures for screening applicants for FFLicenses and auditing their records can’t be perfect. They probably work very well to keep all legitimate FFLs on their toes making sure their records are kept correctly. But, such procedures would never defeat a trafficker who goes into the LGS business intending to move a volume of guns in a few months and then disappear. What is the ATF going to do about such a character? If they can’t find him they can’t arrest and prosecute him. Is anyone aware of ATF strategies to preclude a trafficker from getting away with such a scheme? My point here is NOT to besmirch the reputation of the many thousands of FFLs who are complying with records and NICS checks. These guys are, after all, responsible and desirous of keeping their licenses. Rather, my point is to inquire as to whether a trafficker can successfully pursue a scheme of fronting his business with a fly-by-night FFL. If so, then the entire proposition of regulating FFLs to keep guns out-of-the-hands of prohibited-persons is a futile farce. FFLs are – by definition – licensed to deal in guns. Nothing whatsoever stands in the way of a trafficker using an FFL to front his “supply-chain-management” – nothing apart from getting caught in his next audit which should be predictably many months in the future. If the trafficker flees out the back door when the ATF auditor announces his arrival then what? Hey anti gunners, I’m a gun rights advocate and I absolutely, positively do not accept mass shootings. Neither does anyone in the NRA, or the “evil / irresponsible gun lobby.” I always carry a handgun to defend against violent attack. If the next mass shooter wannabe starts up near me, he’ll immediately encounter a skilled shooter returning fire. On duty or off. While you anti-gunners are pushing more ineffective laws and trampling civil rights, responsible gun owners are actually able to put a stop to shooters, looters, and violent attacks. All of your hiding under desks, locking doors and otherwise acting like cowards won’t stop the next movie theatre or school shooter. In fact, those nutjobs are completely undeterred by your “Gun Free Zones.” Further, I hearby challenge any anti gunner who wants to blame the gun lobby / gun manufacturers / the “evil NRA” to find a single page from their literature that promotes mass shooting. I certainly haven’t seen any. Stick a paper copy of that Gun Dealer Code of Conduct into your bug-out bag. It will take up a lot less room than the roll you usually carry. This is what civil war looks like as it slides off the drawing board, call ’em on it at every turn. Buy ammo. Why is CNN attempting to overthrow our Constitution? It is because they are going to enslave and kill you and yours. They’d say that’s not their purpose, but what would they say if it was. First we got rid of the ‘kitchen table’ FFLs with the help of Bill Clinton, they were just too small and sneaky to be allowed to survive. Now we’re going to go after all the big retailers because they sell too many guns. Then maybe we’ll take another stab at the little guys who came back over the last 20 years. Finally, we’ll have to come up with something new to scapegoat everybody who’s left. Then, utopia, no legal gun markets! All gun transactions will be illegal, and the world will once again be a safe place for criminals! Tyranny/evil never sleeps. Be a defender of freedom. Go out and buy another gun. And more than one in a month. Police guns get stolen and used in crime. If they’d propose shutting down the police departments such guns come from, they’d at least get points for consistency. Very easy market correction — don’t do business at any dealer who adopts the code. It is obviously a trojan horse, but one the dealers are as free to open the gates for as we are free to keep and bear arms. That said, no dealer that wants my money is going to be telling me that if I get a bonus check and want to pick up a second pistol, that I can’t for 30 days. Another elephant in the room here is that if this kind of measure, the “don’t sell without completed check”, we’ll just see the Feds sitting on checks and not answering them. Basically a backdoor way to trample both 2A and 5A/14A due process rights all at once. Under current law, a dealer may release a gun if he doesn’t hear back from the Feds in three days. I have just as much confidence in that “5% of gun dealers” figure as i do in that “40% of gun sales are unchecked” figure and that “bazillion gazillion school shootings since Newtown” figure. These guys lie about everything. The big story here is, this is all Little Danny Boy can come up with, another big lie that seems plausible at first glance. His attempt to enlist federally licensed gun dealers in his campaign to destroy the right to keep and bear arms is almost cute in it’s simple mindedness. As for the former marine, now US congressman, who learned during his service that an armed populace is damned inconvenient to an occupying military force? Well, he might want to think about that lesson, as it applies to a free country, a little more. I’m really not seeing how being a former Marine makes one an expert on general law-enforcement policies. Or even a particularly competent observer of same. If they don’t support the Constitution, the have absolutely no standing to perform any law-enforcement. Wouldn’t it make more sense to pressure the NICS to do background checks faster, rather than pressure FFL’s to deny people guns for the NICS’ failure to do the check fast enough? The current “back ground check” uses a loophole in the Commerce Clause (, Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3). I know a lot of you (and actually you can include me in that one too) think it is a lot of B.S. and that the 2nd Amendment overrides. And to tell the truth, compared to so of the other laws justified by the Commerce Clause (,Safe Schools Act you really need to read that one sometime WTF!!!!,) it is not the worst. At least there is “commerce” across state lines involved. But how you justify a “universal” background check without stretching that Commerce Clause even more, I don’t know. Perhaps they will pull the tax stamp trick the used for the NFA. The upside is that if they did pass something, it would provide a opportunity to challenge the whole background check possess. But given the the fact the the safe schools act stood (after they added the commerce clause fixes), I don’t have much faith it would be struck down. Under current law, the government can control commerce in firearms, hence licensing of gun dealers, which is deemed to not interfere with keeping and bearing. It is the continuing repetition which attempts to convince the masses criminals obtain firearms from legal dealers and or by legal means. They prey on people who are ignorant of the already in place background check systems, FFL dealers, online transfer sale systems, age limits, and fiduciary responsibility not to not move forward with a sale. In general they develop and promote so many lies it leads to public confusion and an inability to understand fact from fiction. The hope is people will become frustrated an turn against the 2A. I bought 3 handguns in one month! What do they want to do to me? Have the police visit my house so they can see each pistol sitting in my safe? They probably think that is OK behavior by the government, because guns! have atf and doj go after bad apple dealers? Pretty sure they would love to. it would get rid of their competition Similarly, there’s no reason for the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to wait to aggressively pursue America’s top suppliers of crime guns. Well, our Dear Leader will take the advice of Kimmy and pass Executive Orders fixing the Gun Show loophole so people cannot buy guns directly online at internet sites. Anti civil rights groups will come up with creative ways to deny people their rights. They have always said “it’s for your own good”. Easy answer and bottom line will forever be that, we don’t get to chuck the Constitution except as prescribed. Your ok with chucking this little bit, I’ll chuck the rest. what absolutely predates that, though, will be the expiration of Mr. Gallego’s authority to hold himself out as a legislator of anything for anyone. CNN has already shat itself and no longer claims 1A privilege. JUST ONE MORE POS FROM THE EVIL BLUE LIBERAL HOUSE OF (D) BAG. You’re all from satan’s left nut or something? What’s in your water. I called my Senators and asked for some push back on Gallegos, and other recent 2A infringement. BTW. FUAZ When they come for your dusty a_ _ , I’ll be cheering them on. We cannot sit on the sidelines while our communities are terrorized because of loopholes that allow gun dealers discretion to sell a gun after 3 business days if a background check is not yet complete..

Now that you know about our new Bundle feature, it’s time to make the most of it. Sellers, consider setting up a bundle discount for your closet, which is displayed on your About page. While not required, it can be a helpful selling point for buyers and you can adjust your settings at any time. How To Set Up A Bundle Discount: - From the app, go to your account tab, then “My Seller Discount”. - Enable a bundle discount. - Select the discount percentage you would like to offer and the minimum number of items in a bundle needed for the discount to be applied. Note that all “for sale” listings in your closet will be eligible for a bundle discount. Your earnings on a bundle order will be calculated based on the total of the items less your bundle discount. Now that you’re all set to utilize the new Bundles feature, we’ve collected some frequently asked questions by buyer and seller to help you better understand how it works. How will I know when a bundle has sold? Just like any other sale on Poshmark, you will receive an email notification with an attached mailing label. Can sellers create bundles for a buyer using this feature? No. What if a bundle weighs more than 5 pounds? The $5.95 shipping fee only covers up to 5 pounds. If it’s heavier than 5 pounds, you can upgrade your shipping label from the My Sales page within the app. Note that any extra overweight label costs will be deducted from your earnings. Should I still respond to buyers who request bundles in comments? You can still make bundles manually, but you can always request via comment that buyers use the new feature to make a bundle purchase. How does Posh Concierge work with bundles? A bundle will go through Posh Concierge if at least one of the items in the bundle is eligible (costs $500 or more). If the bundle subtotal is $500 or more, but every item is under $500, the bundle will not go through Posh Concierge. Are bundle discounts automatically applied? Can I change my bundle discount settings? Bundle discounts are automatically applied when a buyer makes a bundle purchase. You can adjust your bundle discount settings at any time. Simply go to Account > My Seller Discount. Can I edit an individual listing’s price in a bundle before it’s sold? Yes. You may edit an unsold listing at any time.. Can I combine items from different closets into the same bundle? No, bundles can only be created with items from a single seller. How long does Poshmark save my bundles? Where can I find them? Bundles are saved indefinitely, even if you don’t go through with the purchase. Find them under My Likes and then My Bundles. Note that adding an item to a bundle does not reserve it and its availability cannot be guaranteed. If an item in your bundle is no longer available, it will be shown as such during checkout. How many bundles can I create? As many bundles as you would like! However, you can only make one bundle from a specific seller at a time. Can I make an offer on a bundle? Currently, buyers can only use the Make An Offer feature on a single listing, not on a bundle. What happens if an item sells before a bundle order is placed? Adding an item to a bundle does not reserve the item. If an item saved in a bundle sells out, it is no longer available. Will a seller know if I’ve added items to a bundle before going through with the purchase? Yes, sellers are notified when buyers add items to a bundle. Will placing an item in a bundle mark the item as reserved? No. Listings will remain available for anyone to purchase until you are ready to check out. When you click “Buy Bundle,” all items in the bundle go into a brief reserved state to give you the chance to complete your purchase. Do price drop promotions apply to items in a bundle? No. If an item eligible for a price drop promotion is added to a bundle, the bundle purchase will not be eligible for the individual item’s shipping discount. How can I know a seller’s bundle discount before creating a bundle? If a seller has chosen to offer a bundle discount, it will be featured in her closet’s About page. 62 thoughts on “Bundle FAQs: Make the Most of Poshmark’s Newest Feature” Awesome! Great new feature, will make things less confusing for sure! It would be cool if there were a badge or something at the top of people’s closets that indicated if they offered a bundle discount/what percentage 🙂 Hi Hil, sellers who have selected a bundle discount will have the details displayed on the About page in their closet. It may take some time to see as sellers add this feature. You’ve thought of everything! Thanks for the heads up 🙂 This is fantastic! My question: Is the “minimum $10” for reduced shipping days applied to the bundle if all items together add up to 10< $ ? Or for reduced shipping does each separate item to be $10< ? Also, is the "minimum $10<" for reduced shipping applied before or after the set discount? Great idea but needs tweaking. I would like to see it based on dollar amount as well. I don’t give the same discount on a $24 sale as I do a $200 sale. Also, would like to include the ability for an item to be checked as “bundle discount applies” or not – akin to the “not for sale” button. Great idea! I totally agree with Holly’s comment. I’d also like to be able to make bundles, etc. as the seller and review them prior to selling. Finally, when will edits be available through a laptop or PC? It’s a feature that is currently really a pain. Agreed, as a seller we are helpless to help with a bundle. I also want the ability to interact with the buyer after they’ve created their bundle and be able to offer my own bundle discount based on the items they want. I don’t want my only option in offering a bundle discount to be the automatic % discount that may be too low. I’ve written to Posh support several tines over the last couple of years asking for the ability to list & edit on a computer. My phones/devices have only so much memory and I don’t want pictures using it up! Especially if I’m using apps to modify the pics for listing so there are multiple copies! I always get a pleasant “thanks for the suggestion” email in response, but I’ve never heard even a rumor of it happening! When I’m home and able to share, it’s SOOO much easier not having to click on each item and scroll down to the “share” button. Great idea but what happens to listings that have more then one size or color indicated. Will this new app put my original listing as sold. If this is the case I will constantly be adding the listing over and over till sold out of all sizes. Right now I make a bundle listing only adding size buyer requested and does not cancel out my original listing unless out of size, which I manually edit. Would like this app better if seller had control not buyer. Thanks Is this feature active? I can’t turn on the feature in my closet… Yes, please make sure your app is up to date. Also know that the Android and web versions will be available very soon. I love it but a little disappointed that the update is only available on Apple and not available on Android. Will it eventually be available on Android? I have an Apple IPad but only use my cell phone when I’m out so not sure how that would work. I love how the Poshmark app is constantly evolving and always taking steps in the right direction! XOXO I don’t like this app because dropped shipping costs don’t apply. Shipping costs play a big factor in buying and selling with Poshmark. Hi Doreen, if you feel like you encountered an error with reduced shipping rates for a price drop, please reach out to [email protected]. I think she means that bundles do not get reduced shipping. I have already had two buyers request manual bundles because the bundle feature will not give reduced shipping for my 10% bundle discount I have always given Hi Paige, bundle discounts are managed by the seller. See the steps above for how to do so. I agree. I sell more when they are getting a price cut on the shipping Can I make my own bundles? Discount, say , 20% and have buyers choose which bundle they might like, over $50.00 of course. I saw that this week-end was free shipping week-end and wondered if I could get my closet started by offering my own bundles? Can you make reduced shipping with bundles? I love this new feature but I don’t think many sellers are aware of it yet. Maybe you should highlight it again! I personally am not a fan of this automatic bundling option as I don’t like to have to be responsible for the upgrade and shipping costs if the buyer adds a ton of stuff to one bundle. Last time I had to pay for upgrade shipping label it took way too much of my profit and I Don’t agree to bundles heavier than 5 pounds because of this. What am I to do as a seller to avoid this happening? I agree. I was very worried when buyers started asking about bundles that their items add up to more than five pounds. With shoes and formal dresses this can happen easily and is not the sellers fault I totally agree! Just sold my first bundle and due to increased shipping costs I incurred a loss. Buyers like reduced shipping. Sellers need to make a profit. AGREED! This auto bundle system is awful. I lost half my sale to having to upgrade shipping. I’m a same day shipper and would hate to lose that because someon bundled a bunch of stuff that I refuse to pay the shipping for. Would love to see something like other stores have like a cart to put your items in from different closets then make a purchase and it will automatically add up shipping fees to buyer just an idea But great job posh still love shopping here 😊 I’m trying to set up my bundle discount but I can’t activate the “bundle discount” button on my selling tools area. Can someone assist me with this please. Hi Angie, please reach out to [email protected] and someone help you directly. It’s a good idea in theory, but I feel that Posh should have added BEFORE this was launched. I would much rather make bundles for the buyers, as I have some items that are final sale items. I like to give the best price I can, while also offering reduced shipping… I know it’s only $5, but it makes a HUGE difference in the seller’s mind, since we usually have to swallow that to make a sale, and we are already dishing out 20% of our sales… I was really upset because I had a flash sale today, marked my items WAY low (over 10% from lowest), and I just got notifications saying Posh was letting the people who liked it know I lowered the price, but NOT ONE shipping discount was offered. I had to return a shirt today, that I paid $40 for, but it was a $99 shirt, because by the time I put it on sale, I’d only be making $4, and the buyers did not buy it without a shipping discount…. Plus, now that I lowered mine to their lowest, I cannot make another price drop, if posh decides to give reduced shipping again… Today, I thought my sale would go great, but I didn’t even make one sale, all because of shipping… And there was is no way for me to even relist my items, to lower the shipping again, since I would lose all my comments and likes… And there it is absolutely not fair for the seller to pay for additional shipping, when the buyer is already getting a good deal.. That could sometimes be my only profit lately.., 20% is enough!!!! Please don’t take away a few bucks for reduced shipping, and please let the seller’s control the bundles… It’s getting absurd! Once I realized (in the small print) that the shipping discounts apply ONLY on price drops 10% lower than their HISTORICAL LOWEST price and cost at least $10, I stopped dropping prices for the sales. If there’s a shipping discount, you lower your price and increase it back to it’s regular price when the shipping discount ends, the next time there’s a shipping discount and you lower your prices it can’t just be the 10%. It has to be 10% lower than the last/lowest sale price you ever had on that item. Rather than locking myself in to ever decreasing prices, I have a listing I post as my first listing during the shipping sales that ask for the buyer to let me know if they’re interested in a price drop for the shipping discount. This has worked well for me, bu I unfortunately learned my lesson the hard way. I hope this helps you!!! I also tend to take advantage & buy when I can and I know I don’t hesitate to ask for a price drop during a shipping sale. People aren’t shy in making offers that are so low that they’re insulting, so you’re not going to have a problem with a buyer asking for a lower price to get lower shipping special. Best of luck! 🙂 @Jamie: Sorry your going to have to probably change your selling stragetey, there are much too many people in favor of this app besides every one offers and ask for bundles, Why shouldn’t us buyers be able to add what we want automatically so that we have all the items ‘visible’ and in one place and when we can quickly create our own bundles. Only thing I don’t know yet is how to figuring out how the sellers can give a bundle discount after we choose our bundle items, which I will ask a seller that I currently have 3 special hard to find Two Faced collectable make up palettes and was going to ask for a discount on the 4th palette which is currently going for $230. Maybe the apps will get better with time and demand to meet all of our needs. Hi! I got a notification that says a person has added my listing to a bundle! what does this mean? has the item sold? or do I have to wait for more information, or have they not completed their bundle? thank you so much for your help Hi Victoria, this a recent update to let you know that a potential buyer is interested in your items. It does not mean that the items have sold. What happens if someone adds my item to a bundle but does not purchase? If someone wants to bundle items, but for one item they wanna make an offer as well, is that possible? If they make an offer on an item and I accept, they can’t include it in a bundle anymore correct? Hi Eva, currently Make An Offer doesn’t work with our Bundle feature. One option would be to add items to a bundle to indicate your interest and then comment on the listing that you want to negotiate. One option would be to ask the seller to drop the price and proceed to complete the bundle shortly after. Hope that helps! I think a seller should have a choice on whether we want to offer bundles. I personally only use Posh for lower shippijg rates. I mostly sell shoes which exceed the 5lbs if bundles and I don’t believe I should have to cover extra shipping costs. So I will cancel any bundle orders made, sorry. sorry i don’t see my account tab setting that you speak of above for setting the bundling but perhaps i have it if on each listing there is a bundling option….can you confirm that…i know settings can be tricky depending on when folks joined and what you offer at a given time…many thanks. lisa on my notifications it says: (someone’s username) added your listing to a bundle… Is there a way I can see the bundle? Hi Sophie, there’s currently not a way to see their bundle. You’ll receive a notification and an email regarding a sold bundle. So how do I know how much everything is? I’m guessing whatever each item is, totaled. No? So when they say to look at it, what exactly am I looking at? Hi Cynthia, when items are added to a bundle using the bundle feature, you’ll be able to see a subtotal for all items that includes any bundle discounts and shipping. My account does not have the following options available: 1.From your account tab, go to “My Selling Tools” and select “Bundle Discount.” 2.Enable a bundle discount 3.Select the discount percentage you would like to offer and the minimum number of items in a bundle needed for the discount to be applied. Hi Christine, we’ve edited it to say that you can select My Bundle Discount from My Selling Tools. Note that this is available on the app version only. If you need further assistance, please reach out to [email protected]. I just received a note stating a buyer has added one of my listings to a bundle. I’m very new to this and I am not sure what I need to do. I have a 15% discount on two items. If this person bundles two items, do I need to go in and adjust my prices to reflect this discount? Hi! I just made a sale for $45… yet my email that I just received says that my earnings are $0. What gives? Has the buyer purchased a bundle and nothing else came through? Please help me understand! Hi Mauri, once the buyer accepts the item, or within three days of delivery, your earnings will be credited to your account. If you need more help, please reach out to [email protected]. Hi – I understand that. I’ve completed multiple sales on Poshmark. What I’m saying is that the email itself says that my earnings will be $0. All of my previous sales have listed the earnings amount (less the fee). The “My Sales” portion of Poshmark also lists a sale amount of $0, when all of my other sales have listed the listing price and the earnings. Both of those show up as $0 in the app. I don’t want to ship this out until it is resolved and I also don’t want to put off shipping this item to the buyer! Hmm, that does sound out of the ordinary. Please reach out to [email protected] so someone can investigate the situation and get back to you directly. Thanks! Also – I already reached out to [email protected] for help. I have yet to hear back. Thank you! Hi, I have a buyer that added 4 items to a bundle and paid for it. However, only 3 items showed paid for. Can you please help me? So I can ship out all 4 items to her. Hi Tonilynn, please reach out to [email protected] so someone can help you directly. Thanks! I do not see the bundle option next to like, comment, and share buttons. nor do I see my selling tools in the app? I found it… still getting used to finding things on the app Hi Colette, the bundle option should be visible under the listing details on the app and web. Note that they are only visible on listings other than your own, as this is currently a buyer feature. Selling tools are only available from the app, clicking your account and then scrolling down. If you’re still having trouble, please reach out to [email protected] and someone can help you directly. Thanks! Why can’t I see the bundle feature on my phone or even when on the website?? Hi Cynthia, you should be able to see the bundle option on items that aren’t from your own closet, as you can’t make a purchase from your own closet. If you’re still having trouble, please reach out to [email protected]. It would be nice to know what has been put in the bundle so when someone bundles six tee shirts I don’t have to go through every item in my closet to see which ones she has “liked”. I know that I may “like” many things in a person’s closet but will only bundle two or three things to buy at a time. How does a seller know what to ship out? Hi Wendy, when you receive an alert that an item has been added to a bundle, please note that you’re able to see which item when you locate the notification in your app’s news feed. You’ll only need to ship out items that have sold, which will include a confirmation email. An alert that an item has been added to a bundle does not confirm a sale. If you need help, please reach out to [email protected]. Good morning, Is it possible to see what a buyer places into a Bundle? I have a customer right now who is wanting to make an offer on a bundle, and unless I scroll through the comments, I cannot see what she’s added to the Bundle feature. Help?

In the past anesthesia and muscle relaxants were not administered, vital signs were not monitored, the patient was physically held down by orderlies so as not to break any bones while convulsing, as portrayed in One Flew Over a Cuckoo's Nest. Portrayed more recently and accurately to modern methods in Requiem for a Dream. The objective of ECT is to induce a seizure, generally, a longer seizure is considered better, over two minutes is considered a good lenth seizure. ECT is administered, usually as a last resort, to patients with severely debillitating depression, (and sometimes schizophrenia) when other treatments have proven insufficient. ECT is used as a temporary mood elevator to bring the patient to a point where other treatments, usually antidepressants, can help. ECT is not a cure. One of the scarier aspects of ECT is that although it has been used on mental patients for probably longer than fifty years, it is still not understood why it works. Supposedly the treatment was an evolution of the observation of epilepsey patients with depression. Other disconcerting aspects of ECT are side effects, most notably memory loss. Although the extent of the memory loss is usually portrayed as only affecting events immediately surrounding the time of treatment, it can permanatly erase or obscure memories from months around the treatment, and alter the subsequent quality of the patient's memory, although not in all patients. Other side effects are acute muscle and head pain following treatment due to the severity of the seizures. People are affected very differently by ECT, with reactions ranging from mild discomfort, to severe emotional trauma. My experiences range on the severe side, and having ECT, especially the first course, was the worst experience of my life. It left me feeling fragile and mentally violated in a way that I can't imagine how to describe except that it was a bit like my entire self, my personality and psyche, had been wrested away from me and destroyed, except just enough so that I was fully aware of what was being done to me. I've tried to make several key people in my life promise never to let me go through it again. But not everyone reacts this badly, I know several people who feel that, except for the discomfort, it was a positive experience. As noted by user anomaly above (see last paragraph), ECT has varying degrees of success, ranging from some improvement to "the worst experience of my life." Ernest Hemingway underwent ECT some decades ago. Shortly before committing suicide, he lamented the loss of quite a bit of long-term memory. Call me opinionated, but it seems pretty obvious to me that creating a circuit path between a person's scalp down through his brain, neck, and chest, and then juicing him up with current, is a really, really, really stupid idea. See also transorbital leukotomy and prefrontal lobotomy. Regardless of anyone's opinions, it is a matter of fact that its results are rather "wildcard" in nature. Psychology: The Leap of Faith “Anything that was fun just wasn’t fun anymore. You just can’t do anything. You’re paralyzed.” These are the words of a woman, currently in her sixties, describing the depression she has endured off and on for most of her life; her words are a fairly accurate description of depression, a condition that affects 9.4 million Americans . As one can imagine, many drug companies, notably Pfizer – the maker of Prozac - , make a large amount of money trying to cure this condition. The cure for depression that many seem to forget about is shock therapy, a cure that has been around since 1934. Shock therapy, also known as Electroshock and Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), is a now painless procedure in which a machine sends electrical currents through a person’s brain in an attempt to cure them of a mental illness. Because of the controversy inherent in running electrical currents through mental health patients, and because of its past misuses, ECT remains a treatment that many consider barbaric and somewhat frightening; however, the procedure has changed drastically since it was first introduced in the mid 30s. The real problem with ECT is that though shock therapy has been shown to work and seems to be fairly safe, doctors and scientists alike still do not know what exactly ECT does to the brain or why ECT works. The procedure of ECT has, in fact, been a guess and check procedure since the invention of shock therapy, when physicians discovered that patients afflicted with dementia praecox, a debilitating mental disease, were sometimes cured of their disorder upon developing epileptic seizures. This discovery was followed by the work of a man named Ladislas Meduna, who noticed while working at the Hungarian Psychiatric Institute in the early 1930s that humans who had dementia praecox had lower amounts of neuroglia in their brains than a normal human would, and that humans who suffered from epilepsy had higher amounts of neuroglia in their brains than a normal human would; neuroglia support and assist neurons, the main cells of the brain. From this observation he concluded that patients who had dementia were often cured with the increase of neuroglia in their brains as a result of epilepsy. Later, in 1934 while working in a mental hospital, Meduna injected patients who had “incurable” mental diseases with camphor-in-oil, a substance known to cause seizures; after several mental health patients were cured, Meduna published his findings in 1937. His method of inducing seizures was improved upon with the advent of ECT, and within fifteen years electroshock became a common treatment for patients of many differing psychological disorders. It has been awhile since that time when ECT was first invented, and different people have come up with a few theories as to why epileptic seizures can cure so many mental illnesses. One of theories is based upon the secretion of hormones, which are chemicals the body uses to regulate functions such as sleep cycles and mental states; patients with psychological disorders often have hormone levels that are either too high or too low for their body to function normally. For example, a person suffering from depression will have adrenal glands, organs in the body that produce hormones, that create too much of the hormone cortisol; the common symptoms of depression such as sleeplessness, fatigue, and impaired cognitive ability are all related to processes controlled by cortisol. The electrical currents that are run through the patient’s brain during ECT stimulate the hypothalamus, a hormone producing part of the brain, to release hormones which cause the pituary gland, another hormone producing organ, to release its hormones which repress the production of cortisol. After a few treatments the hormones begin to interact normally, and the patient’s eating, sleeping, mood, and muscle activity become normal again. It is not known yet which substances, hormones or otherwise, control functions such as mood, emotion, thought, and muscle activity; so this theory remains a theory. There is as yet no proven explanation as to what ECT does or why it works. Because ECT is poorly understood, it is usually only used as a last resort when all other treatments have failed or the symptoms of whatever condition the patient has become so severe the patient can no longer tolerate the condition. If such a last resort scenario occurs, the doctor will describe the benefits, procedures, and risks of ECT to the patient; the law also requires that the patient sign a legal consent form before the patient can receive shock therapy. No other psychiatric treatment requires such consent, not even psychotropic drugs with known risks. The patient can also choose to drop out of the treatment process at any time, and many states mandate that the patient sign a consent form before each treatment. Involuntary treatment is usually only legal when the procedure is necessary to save the patient’s life; when a patient’s condition is so severe that he requires supervision to prevent him from harming himself, or the patient requires a nurse to feed him and prevent him from dying from lack of food and water, a judge can enforce involuntary treatment. Sometimes family consent can authorize emergency treatment. After the legal issues have been dealt with, a blood count, an electrocardiogram (a test of the patients heart), and blood chemistry tests are performed on the patient. The physician in charge of the shock therapy examines all medications taken by the patient; the physician may alter the amounts and types of medications the patient consumes in order to avoid complications. Than an anesthesiologist must find out about all the previous times the patient has been anesthetized so that he can decide how the patient should be anesthetized. Women able to bear children undergo pregnancy tests, since certain drugs administered during ECT could damage the fetus. An examination of the patient’s teeth is also required to insure that his or her teeth are suitable for the mouth guard used in the procedure. When it is finally time to perform the actual procedure, the patient puts on a surgical gown, and empties his bladder. He goes to a treatment room where he lies down on a stretcher, and a needle is inserted into one of the patient’s veins. The needle is used to medicate the patient during the procedure. Adhesive electrodes are then attached to the patient; some measure heart rate, some measure blood pressure, some measure motor movement, some measure brain activity, some measure the oxygen and carbon dioxide level in the patient’s blood, lungs, and exhaled air, and some apply the electric current. An oxygen mask is then placed over the patient’s mouth and nose; through this mask the patient breathes one hundred percent oxygen during the entire treatment. The anesthesiologist administers a sedative to the patient, and as soon as the patient’s muscles stop twitching a muscle relaxant is administered. A machine then passes a painless electric current through the patient’s body while the anesthesiologist holds a mouth guard in the patient’s mouth, which prevents tongue biting and damage to the teeth and jaws of the patient. Usually within three minutes the patient can breathe on his own, and after he wakes up he is asked his name, the date, and his current location. In less than fifteen minutes the patient is usually able to answer these questions with some degree of accuracy, and within thirty minutes he is fully aware of himself and his surroundings. Some patients become perturbed after regaining consciousness; such a patient is usually given a dose of Valium or Ativan. After the treatment, patients can perform most activities; however they should not drive until the effect of the anesthetics completely wears off. Also, important decisions such as marriage or divorce should not be made immediately after treatment; if decisions such as these need to be made immediately, a trustworthy adult should supervise the patient. Most patients derive only limited benefit from one treatment of ECT, so physicians almost always prescribe multiple treatments; however, patients rarely have ECT performed on them daily or twice daily except in emergency situations such as someone who is suicidal. Most patients receive two to three treatments a week, and a complete course of treatment takes a minimum of six months usually. Such a schedule is not sufficient for some patients; they begin what is called “continuation ECT”, and this is usually done on a biweekly basis with a minimum of six treatments. I question this procedure. How do physicians know how many treatments are sufficient? The only way to tell would have to be a reviewing of past successes and failures; what this means is that the only way a physician can know the safe amount of treatments for an individual patient is to try what has worked in the past and hope for the best. I interviewed someone who had experienced shock therapy to get a first hand account of the treatment; for the purposes of privacy I will call her Susan. She is now an old woman in her sixties, but a physician had performed shock therapy on her in the early seventies, so she would have been in her forties when she had experienced ECT. At the time, Susan had been experiencing depression that she says was brought on by the overwhelming pressure of taking care of her eight children; she says she never did anything for herself, and it finally caught up with her. In her words, “Anything that was fun just wasn’t fun any more. You just can’t do anything. You’re paralyzed”. She had very little energy at the time, and often could not even get out of bed. She saw a psychiatrist on her sister’s recommendation, and he recommended she go to a hospital where she would be closely monitored. During Susan’s stay, she received no group therapy or any sort of treatment, and talked to a physician only 15 minutes a week. After a month there, she left, and it was after she left the hospital that she received shock therapy. She received a total of twelve treatments, which she said did not help to alleviate her depression. She also lost eight months of her memory, and to this day can not remember her son’s graduation; to this she simply stated “It doesn’t bother me…it was worth a try.” She had not received any medication up to this point, and it was not until three years after the treatments that she began taking antidepressants and sleeping pills, which she says helped. Though her depression returns sometimes, Susan said that these days she feels “really good.” Like all treatments, ECT does not have a one hundred percent success rate; according to the American Psychiatric Association, “Clinical evidence indicates that for uncomplicated cases of severe major depression, ECT will produce a substantial improvement in at least eighty percent of patients”, so it is not a complete surprise that the treatment did not work for Susan. The memory loss she described, however, still occurs even today. According to Dr. Harold Sackeim, a leader in the field of performing shock therapy, patients may experience memory loss, from a “few months before to a few weeks afterwards”; rarely does the memory loss extend further back. However, many patients have reported long gaps in their memory even with recent treatments of ECT. On the other hand, the benefits of ECT are just as difficult to ignore as the risks. Memory loss is minimal for modern day shock therapy due to the now-constant monitoring of oxygen inhaled and exhaled by the patient , and the changeover from sinusoidal currents to square wave currents; the percent of people who die from the procedure is about one tenth of the percent of women who die from giving birth. In a study of hospital patients in a large urban area, 0.8 percent of those patients who underwent ECT attempted suicide, while 4.2 percent of the patients being treated solely with antidepressant drugs attempted suicide. In another study, 190 patients underwent bilateral ECT and 156 (72 percent) were deemed recovered. Dr. Harold Sackeim, while on the program Sixty Minutes, claimed that “The medical community recognizes universally that ECT is the most effective antidepressant we have.” ECT can also cure a wide range of mental diseases, including depression, mania, schizophrenia, catatonia, parkinsonian rigidity, and neuroleptic malignant disorder. In light of both sides of the argument on whether or not to use ECT, I think the National Mental Health Association summed it up best when they said that shock therapy involves “serious risks”, and they urge “increased, rigorous, and objective research on ECT”. They recommend ECT only “after all other treatment approaches, such as medication and psychotherapy, have either failed or have been seriously and thoroughly rejected”. Not only is ECT potentially unsafe, physicians will not know the truly correct way to perform shock therapy until its effects are understood. As it stands, an effective treatment is “seizures in duration of at least 25 seconds in the motor convulsion, 30 to 50 seconds in the heart rate increase, and 30 to 150 seconds in the EEG are now presumed to be effective.” Such a guess and check method of psychiatry is not safe for the patient, especially when ECT involves the passing of electric currents through a patient’s brain. Until shock therapy is truly understood, physicians are putting their patients at risk when they subject them to ECT. Works Cited American Psychiatric Association. Professional page. 6 Jun. 2002. American Psychiatric Association. 6 June 2002. Fink, Max. Electroshock: Restoring the Mind. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999 Sixty Minutes. Host Bob Simon. CBS. Cablevision, Massachusetts. 4 Mar. 2001. Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) ECT not only has a higher success rate for severe depression, but it is also an effective form of treatment for schizophrenia accompanied by catatonia, mania, and manic depression. Recently, there has been an increase in the interest of ECT as it has become a safe option in the treatment of the illnesses mentioned above. The public has been influenced by what they have seen on television and in movies such as, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", whose associations with ECT start with the electric chair and move on to such treatments as harnessing the power from lightning bolts, and electric eels to perform primitive forms of ECT. This makes for an uneasy conversation about the subject. Let's turn that misconception into the truth about ECT. This is an ECT This is first hand knowledge of how an ECT is performed. The patient is sedated using a very short-acting barbiturate and a drug called succinycholine. The succinycholine is used to temporarily paralyze the patient's muscles to keep them from contracting during the treatment which could damage the muscles or cause bone fractures. The physician places an electrode just above the temple on the non-dominate side of the brain, and then places a second one in the middle of the forehead. This form of ECT is called unilateral. Another form of ECT called bilateral has one electrode placed just above both temples. Once the patient is sedated, the process begins. A very small amount of current is sent through the brain, which produces a seizure. Since the patient is totally relaxed from the anesthesia, they sleep peacefully through the process while the seizure is being monitored by an electroencephalogram, and their heart rhythm is being monitored by an electrocardiogram. The actual electric current is only applied for about a second, during this time the patient is breathing pure oxygen through an oxygen mask. The seizure caused by the ECT usually lasts from thirty seconds to a little longer than a minute. During the few seconds that follow the actual ECT current, the patient may experience a temporary drop in blood pressure. This is often followed by a notable increase in heart rate, which may cause the blood pressure to rise. Disturbances in heart rhythm are not unusual, and generally will subside without any complications. The patient usually takes roughly ten minutes to wake up after the treatment. When the patient wakes up, they usually have a brief period of confusion, muscle stiffness, or headache. These effects usually diminish after about thirty or forty minutes. If a patient has a history of high blood pressure or any other cardiovascular problems, they should tell the physician so they can have a consultation with a cardiologist before any treatment could be considered. I am an ECT patient. I have had numerous ECT treatments; too many to count. When I was in a severely manic state and could not recover from medications, ECT treatments would rapidly bring me back to a stabilized mood. Also, if I was in a severely depressed state they would bring my mood back to stable. This is a personal opinion. I am not a medical professional. For any patient who has undergone many medication changes and therapy to no avail, I would strongly encourage you to consider ECT.. What ECT Did For Me Death invited me to a debate On the benefits of suicide I accepted He won Integrity demanded action But I failed As you have guessed by now Post eight courses of electroconvulsive therapy I have forgotten what he said And also much more Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors. Need help? [email protected]

‘Debt Crisis Hits Heart of Eurozone, ECB extends Lifeline’ via Yahoo News USA, the “Number One Economy in the World” has been humbled by its Debt Crisis with a whopping $14.3 Trillion and more in unsettled international loan obligations. Everybody knows whatever happens to America, with its great power and influence, a big part of the world follows. And now, we see many of big guns in the European Union also showing signs of weakness in the stock market as in above link. A video presentation from a well known economist and financial analyst has predicted the downfall of America as early as 2008, when it bailed out many a big name in the American business industry and worldwide. And another one suggested three investment solutions out of the Debt Ceiling Debacle through our link on Money Morning. But what could be the best solution? It seems no ordinary man can save America from its woes, and this time, do you think a miracle from God will save America, or the world? Not even Superman, Batman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Wolverine or much less Lady Gaga or Justin Beiber or even Captain America can solve the problem, lol? The Need for God and Love in this World Is it not true that the America we once knew has put emphasis to God’s role in helping shape this nation since the time it gained its independence from England on July 4, 1776? That was the time when the first President of the United States in General George Washington was head of government. And up until the US constitution was amended by secularists who were convinced that America should be a secular state instead or a godless state on November 2004, when second term President George W. Bush was elected in November 2, 2004, did we see the word ‘God’ removed in the US Constitution and on the Preamble, as an effect of approved amendments. During the term of the greatly loved, God fearing US President Ronald Reagan, we saw him turn the US economy around in mid 1980’s despite gargantuan challenges in his term. After his term, however, many of its people have sadly and slowly slipped from ever thinking about God or to even thank God for the many blessings that the Almighty has granted this nation blessed with great talents, and rich in God’s love and favor, and for a great many years some looked up to the US as the new Israel with many migrating to this ‘land flowing with milk and honey.’ Indeed in 2004, we have seen that in the American preamble, there is no mention of God in it anymore? While I see America embracing all kinds of culture and diversities in its existence as a freedom loving nation, this is all good as it is in God’s words to love one another and to exercise our own ‘free will’ in this life, within the given limits and bounds of the laws of the land in the attainment of due peace and order as we are bound by the laws of man through its duly formed and approved constitution and legal principles of rights and justice. But don’t you think too much freedom can really be dangerous? And come to think of it, how can America, the home of the brave and the strong, ever find its way out from its own mess with possible miracles from God when many have gone astray and have not seen the essence of obedience to God much as it has seen wealth, power and material things to lead its path? If we were to look it up in the Holy Bible, God has made it clear when He said we can only choose one master, and it is either God or Mammon (evil, material, money, sins of lust or pride). Sadly, America and much part of the world have turned to Mammon or evil in this life. Evil has now crept into the windmills of American minds, and so with most of the world. If we have seen America rise to greatness and believe that it is the hands of God that has brought America to where it is right now, is it not proper to give God the honor due Him, and see Him heal this seemingly lost nation and its people who are full of hope and promise of what opportunities may lie ahead? In Malachi 3:8-10, God admonishes us to trust in Him and give Him what is due, a 10th of our income in tithes, through His church, the poor and the needy, aside from our family and community, and he will bless us abundantly. .” Enriching ourselves selfishly is contrary to God’s commandments in Christ, as it is contrary to a government’s concern on its main obligation to satisfy the needs of its people. We cannot close our eyes from the lessons of the past, on how God has kept His covenant of love with His people, that He has always been forgiving as we have in Him a God who is ‘slow to anger,’ but when He is pushed to the limit, He shows his wrath just to remind us His words are true, and we need to believe and follow His lead. We cannot continuously deny the truth in God’s words and the truth of His existence through miracles and wonders He has shown us and with what we see around us including the great technology that we now enjoy with all these making our life easier, implanted in the minds of a select few to become instruments of His love for us, the many apparitions of our Blessed Mother calling us time and again that we may be guided by the light of her Son in Jesus, and the Holy Spirit’s ever magnifying presence in those who have opened their hearts to believe with Christ’s love and divine mercy. What more can we ask for as we still remain blind from all this love that God has shown us? Did we or are we now heeding his call for renewal and conversion? [Read further on our related post: “Commentary on – ‘Love’ by Saint Paul, Love of God and Self-Pity” on TypePad.com with related links on knowing more about God, his message in these times and the essence of ‘love’ in this life.] God knows everything as He is all knowing. And in this short and limited life we are allowed to live on this worldly planet, we are being tried and tested by our Creator how well we receive and abide by His commandments, and how well we understand and live in accordance to the truth in His words. In Near Death Experiences or NDE’s, some doctors and scientists attending to people who claimed to have seen a bright light and deceased people whom they recognized as their love ones during the given time they were known to be clinically or brain dead, have concluded that there is consciousness of the spirit in such instances. Some have claimed to have seen Jesus or a similar image of him. Some claimed to have heard God and have been engulfed by an inexplicable joy, love and happiness in a body of radiant light. Some have vividly given an account of what they have seen and heard during their NDE, duly confirmed by people around them on given instances. Is this not a proof of the truth in afterlife and in the consciousness of the spirit after the death of our body? While Jesus has made clear that his next coming is on the Last Judgment, he also has said, in Matthew 19:26, “… with God, all things are possible.” And Christ, as God made man, can make his presence felt to people who may be need his enlightenment anyway and anytime he so wills, and this is all for the love of man. [Read more on NDE via inside links on: “…’Jesus Saves’ via Christaninsal Over-blog.com, on NDE, Mama Mary and the Saints.”] In many recorded apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mother with miracles of healing, conversion and enlightenment attributed to these, and while praying through Christ’s intercessors in saints and the blessed, yet, deceased people, many learned and respected individuals in society have remained baffled by these events. While many die of deadly illnesses, we see enlightened doctors and scientists who find natural complements and medications worthy of their time and efforts while doing meaningful researches. Many of them have seen more success ratings on similar cures achieved, compared to highly and technologically advanced gadgets and forms of modern therapies and medications. Many honest inventors and innovators with selfless desires to help man in his plight against poverty, pollution, rising cost of power, oil and other commodities and services, have been emboldened to pursue their worthy efforts to help the poor, hapless individuals and the downtrodden who have very limited resources, education and other material capacities to keep up surviving in a morally sick and wealth driven economy. Are these not indications of God’s hands moving us towards Him through those who have seen the light? If many people see the separation of the church and the state as ideal, there should be no qualms on that as God wants man to be obedient to the laws of the land and to pay our taxes, so long as they are for the good of man and help provide for the needs of man. As Christ has said, in Luke 20:25, “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” However, God has created man to be of help to man, irregardless of what race or nationality, what culture or religion, or what economic, political or philosophical belief; and that man use all of God given resources for the love of others, not for the love of one or a selected few. Jesus Christ has always been for the poor and the marginalized, and has always admonished us through the church to help these brothers of ours, in that they may have a better quality of life, and in so doing that we may be blessed. Christ also reminds us not to lose our soul by clinging to what is worldly or evil, as he is more concerned of our spirit, which has a greater influence on our body and on the way we carry ourselves in society. If only our government leaders and politicians on post realize how instrumental and important their roles are as catalysts of God’s plan for us in this life, they should find it their responsibility to lead man towards love of neighbors as it is in this high ideal that man accepts the truth in God’s commandment through Christ, who has been sent by God to truly save mankind from destruction and evil in this world. May we learn to use material things to glorify God, not the other way around where we become enslaved by material things wherein we become more like robots or puppets of our own creation, lost and confused as to how we can get out from an entrapment of our own making as we seek more satisfaction for things that cannot can never satisfy us in full, as we crave for something higher with our pride and vanity getting the better of us, until we realize how foolish we have been wasting our life for something that will never last, and things that we cannot bring along when we come to pass. [Watch this ‘cool’ and meaningful music video: “World Order” which reminds us how we may react like robots or puppets as we allow ourselves to be ruled by our insatiable worldly vices.] Have you not noticed how fast technology has improved, how new things have kept man overwhelmed and how fast time has passed, and yet, in one blink of an eye, how man has been humbled with the downfall of a business giant, the crashing of the stock market, unexplained solutions to the foreseen threat of global warming, the violence and bloodshed among brothers in the east, the death or fall of a dictator, the difficulty in controlling a devastating tsunami, earthquake, hurricane, an oil spill or a series of powerful tornadoes, the explosive eruption of an angry volcano, and many more series of unusual events seen right before our very eyes, and now, the discovery of a mysterious dwarf star, named Elenin, which seems to be a controlled object with an unpredictable movement. Others say it does not look like a mere comet as some in NASA may have described it. And according to some analysts, it may be causing earthquakes and other natural calamities around world as it draws nearer to the earth in between the sun, and the YouTube video contributor estimates this to happen somewhere September 26 and 27 this year, when there is an expected polar shift as Elenin wrestles with the sun having a gravitational pull of its own, and this may spell great chaos and destruction on earth. Are you ready for the inevitable or a rougher ride than all calamities combined? Is God in Christ telling us a message of chastisement and of retribution as what has been proclaimed in the book of Revelation? Even in the Third Secret Message of Fatima from Christ Jesus as revealed to Sister Lucy by the Blessed Mother, a greater punishment is to be expected if Jesus’ call for prayer, atonement and sacrifice will be left unheeded. And with so much evil going on the the world and in the church, Satan is seen to be working doubly hard as he knows he is running short of time. In Revelation 16:15, St. John wrote of God Almighty’s message to all men, “Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.” God in Christ Jesus has been calling on us for repentance, renewal and conversion that we may lead others to see his light. And we pray that God may save us from the perils and threats towards chastisement. Gift of Life Eternal In Matthew 16:25-26, he tells his disciples, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” Jesus also reminds us in Matthew 19:23, as he tells his apostles, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” In Matthew 23:11-12, Jesus Christ said to the crowd with his disciples, “The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Is it not true that when we die we are humbled, not matter how rich, famous or powerful we may have been in our lifetime, whether we like it or not, our decaying body will be like the dust of the earth that will be trampled upon by all kinds of creatures and living organisms at any given time. Whence, we shall be judged not only by God, but by people who have known us, who would either pray for us that our souls may be forgiven and accepted by our Heavenly Creator, or to deserve the fires of Hell, as you have lived a life with no forgiveness in your heart, nor has even asked forgiveness, arrogant, proud, conceited and uncaring, selfish or lacking in the love of others, full of malice, deceit and untruthfulness, no respect to life, too judgmental against others as not to recognize or accept his own faults with no guilt or remorse for any wrong doing, and enjoy the lavish of power, wealth, and all other sins of lust that the evil one finds delight with, yet, never lasts. God calls on us to cleanse our body and our souls as early in this life, as Saint Catherine of Genoa,who has received this divine revelation in her lifetime, calls it as Purgatory or cleansing oneself while living in this life, compared to the Purgatory after death where we are cleansed with two rays of light from God that purify our souls and destroy all our sins before being totally cleansed and worthy to enter the gates of heaven, for those who have lived and renewed themselves in Christ and are already free from guilt as they have fully been forgiven for all their worldly sins including malice towards others before their death, that we may bring our family and our love ones together to be one with Christ and in Christ, and lead others as well to his light, and gain that elusive entry into God’s Heavenly Kingdom. [Read more on our post: “The Truth in Purgatory as in the Vision of Saint Catherine of Genoa,” and see its relevance in our life as it intends to enlighten.] In John 20:23, Jesus said to his disciples, “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” While the US has not been stingy in sharing its vast wealth and technology to the world by: enhancing its role as the policeman of the world against abusive tyrants and dictators in the name of freedom, justice and democracy; providing material and manpower assistance to countries devastated by natural and man induced calamities; and by sharing its advanced technology and know-how for greater efficiency and productivity to countries that need it most, it has, nevertheless, fallen short of providing lasting peace in the Middle East and has become suspect to promoting its own national and global interests. In fairness to the US, however, let us not close our eyes to the many people and countries it has helped, influenced and inspired in the fight for freedom, justice and democracy. Many more are in line, but is war with violence and death to many the real answer as we seek true and lasting peace? Or would it just be a vicious cycle that will keep on recurring because of culture, or a never ending peace with vengeance, sins of lust, pride and selfishness that runs and rules the mind, and with a distorted definition of love without forgiveness in one’s heart? Through Jesus’ Christ’s teachings may we gain wisdom, and through humility, we may find and gain respect and honor. It is in accepting our faults and differences and our willingness to change and be renewed in Christ that we are made whole. And it is in humility that we find strength. As in Proverbs 15:33, “The fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor.” Living this life in accordance to how Christ wants us to live can make our life more peaceful, orderly and joyful, as he wants us to experience how beautiful living in heaven is while on earth, with a life full of love for others, and where the love of God abounds as He lives in us. In John 6:47 and 51, “I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life … I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”.” God wants us to give importance to His words and commandments, and putting Him at the center of our lives through Christ His Son, will be more pleasing to Him. “I and the father are one,” said Jesus in John 14: 11-14, and.” In Numbers 14:18, “God is slow to anger, abounding in love.” But when his wrath comes in disobedience, many people perish. In Matthew 14:22-33, Jesus was seen walking on a stormy sea by his disciples. They were terrified momentarily thinking that they have seen a ghost. When Jesus identified himself, Peter, as the leader noting to be recognized, asked Jesus if he could come to him. Jesus called him to come and he did. He was already walking on the water when strong winds frightened him and he began to sink, for he cannot swim. He frantically asked help from Jesus. Wherefore, Jesus grabbed him by the hand as said, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” Christ calls on us to fully trust in him and not to be carried away by power, wealth, sins of lust and of pride as these will deprive us of true happiness. We may never find lasting satisfaction in all things that are temporary in this life. Rather, is it not in sharing our love with others or anything that is good given from deep within our hearts that we find true satisfaction? In Acts 20:35, in the words of our Lord Jesus himself, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” The more we share our love with others, in any form, be is in prayers, in thought or in praise, or be it anything material, the more we are blessed. And we may as well wake up to reality and ask, “Can we bring any of our belongings when we die?” We may live up to 40, 70, or a 100 years but do we ever realize how the evil one has made a fool of us as he has kept us lured and enslaved by material things? How important is it to live more than a 100 years when we can choose to live for eternity in Christ? Whether we like it or not we will have to face death some time, and when we do, is it now wiser to prepare for eternal life instead of enriching ourselves yet cannot enjoy all these when we die, while forgetting and forsaking our poor or sick brothers who are in need of help or comfort? What is the use of working so hard expending our blood, sweat and tears for a future nobody knows for certain? Or would we rather prepare our soul for eternal life than compromise it and suffer in hell? Do we want to keep our life meaningful with God guiding us, or meaningless with things that can never give us true satisfaction? Is not a meaningless life comparable to a bubble that pops outs into nothingness in just a matter of time and disappears into oblivion? When we die, is it not from dust we came, to dust we shall return? For whatever God has created, only God has the right to take away. Does this not, therefore, makes us mere administrators of material things in this life and not as true owners, and all we have is a borrowed life? Medals, trophies, paintings, cars, mansions, houses, certificates of ownership. bank accounts, investments, savings and other treasures that we keep in our life, will all these matter when we die if we have not lived to love others? Or would these matter more if we have shared all these selflessly for the love of others, feeling so light and happy as we see tears of joy in between hugs of loving, giving and forgiving?.” Looking back in history, have we not seen how many powerful people and a great many nations that have been toppled down from power and humbled as they turned to materialism instead of obeying Christ’s words in loving one another? Is this not true for individuals and families, where those who refuse to do what is good find more trouble living by themselves or with their love ones? In 1 Corinthians 1:19, Saint Paul states, “For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” God moves in mysterious ways and He knows every move we make as we cannot hide anything from Him. He is Omnipotent as He is Omniscient, He is Immortal and Ever-Knowing as He is Everlasting for He has created everything. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End..” May we be enlightened by God’s words and pray that within our hearts and spirit we may better understand the true meaning in every verse of the holy scriptures in the Holy Bible. And with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, may we see the light of Christ in this life. In James 1:6-8, Saint James reminds us not to doubt the wisdom in God’s words, “But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is just like the wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind; That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double minded-man, unstable in all he does.” And with regards to his teachings, Jesus made it clear to his disciples in Matthew 24:35, as he said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” To America, a Call for Redemption America, I can feel it through the Holy Spirit, that you are being called by God to listen to His words of truth, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, that you and your people may be saved … and the whole world may follow. We pray that President Obama, all the leaders and people of this great nation, and other nations of the world heed God’s call for redemption towards humility and obedience to God’s will in Christ by showing their concern to others as oppose to being enslaved by material things. And in so doing, save man from the clutches of further destruction due to the evils of materialism and false beliefs that show no reverence to love and life, which are the very same essence that give meaning to Christ’s words, therefore, to be addressed with due respect and honor. God is calling upon us to use material things to prosper God’s love through the love of others, and be selfless in our efforts to redeem this beautiful land and this beautiful planet as a whole that God has given us. As we are in pursuit of true peace and happiness, only in Christ, in following and believing his words and trusting in him, will we be able to attain this goal, guided by his love, mercy and power over all evil. And with him, we are saved. As in Matthew 6:33, Jesus tells his disciples, “… seek first His (God’s) kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” And never again shall we use material things to benefit evil, rather, use material things to glorify our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose words we see the light as he “the way, the truth and the life,” as in John 14:6. America, let us all be unified as a nation, concerned of this nation’s survival and existence. It is in heeding God’s call for redemption that we can truly heal our land, and this goes beyond redeeming America from its ever growing debt burden and other material woes, as we try to address the root cause which is man’s greatest folly, that of idolatry towards ‘excessive materialism’ and towards sins of lust, pride and power … leading to Mammon. As man has been created in the image and likeness of God, the body with life in it has become the temple of God. The focal point of the attack from the evil one is the body of man. Once weak in its faith in Christ, the body succumbs to sins of lust, love of fame, wealth, power and false glory as all these lead to emptiness and the lies of evil. Pride, vanity and selfishness then drives man to hatred at the slightest provocation, that leads him to retaliation and vengeance. If uncontrolled, may lead to violence and other disorderly behavior, which often times can be compared to childish and immature reactions. With love that is of Christ, we die to our ‘self’ as we become humble and obedient to God as we start to find happiness serving others by showing our concern for all men, and this is what the evil one fears. The evil spirit wants us to be subservient to his evil ways and be controlled by its chains of malice, lies and deception, hatred, vengeance and non-forgiveness that continue to rule in evil people’s hearts. Unfortunately, the evil one has been successful so far in confusing man as to the true meaning of its scheme, purposely distorting it to satisfy its purpose of justifying its evil plans to rule the earth as many who are weak in their faith are swayed to this belief, resulting in the death of many, and the others completely lost as they have been deceived into accepting false beliefs of love which in reality, promotes hate, deception and violence mainly intended to divide rather than unite, create trouble rather than bring peace, sow terror and anger rather than promote love and forgiveness. Let this evil unmask itself and see him by its evil ways, with no reverence to life and no respect to love that is pure, true and unconditional. In truth, it is the opposite of love that is merciful, forgiving and understanding as described in the Gospel of Saint Paul, and this is the love in Christ which is love of others. Be not afraid of the evil one when you are with Christ and in Christ, because by the mere mention of Jesus, His Holy Name, the evil one scampers away in fear for his the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And for those who have been deceived, the need for guidance and enlightenment through love and peace in the light of Christ as we may proclaim the truth that they all be redeemed, renewed and saved to becoming true servants and true followers as men in Christ. Let no evil come to prey on America’s people and the rest of the world who may see and embrace the light, as they shall all be guided in Christ and with Christ. All shall be exhorted to overcome all temptations to do evil, create havoc, disorder, confusion. destruction, or riots as what is happening now in the UK, Greece and in the Middle East. May the love of Christ prevail that peace may reign in their hearts. And standing as one, together in nation building through God and in Christ, we shall see us rise beyond debt and evil, seeing God through Christ, lifting us up to redemption as we maintain our focus onto supporting and enhancing ways that may prosper our faith, which in reality goes beyond our economy, using all of our efforts and resources including nature which comes free from our Creator as needed, bleed if we may, sacrifice and contribute materially, physically and spiritually, as this warfare is now beyond physical, in accordance to our individual capacity while maintaining freedom, truth, peace, justice and equality for all, until we see this nation once again rise from the clutches of evil, and into the palm of God Almighty, whom our forefathers have long honored, revered and worshiped, hence made this land great and wonderful, where His Son in Jesus, the great Savior and Messiah, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, shall dominantly reign from among all of creation. Now is the time to repay God’s kindness in Jesus by offering all the love that we can give, all the love that we can share to America, this great nation that we love, and in this, that we all may be healed and be blessed by our Almighty God and Father, who lives and reigns forever. And that we may be guided to profit not for material and selfish gains, rather to profit in both body and spirit, in our love for our family, in our love for others, and yes, in our love for this great and wonderful nation in Christ Jesus, and be it so too for the love of all people of God around the world. We may have seen similar bleeding made in Thailand, Japan, South Korea, in the UK, Australia, Russia, Germany, the Philippines, and other parts of the world, as we have likewise seen in the US during the civil war and during the two World Wars, when all of these countries have responded to the unseen hands of God through Christ, towards unity and self-sacrifice into productive nation building brought about by that resounding call from their spirit to love one another. Truly, each time, these life changing exercises have ignited a magnanimous response from among the peoples which resulted in awesome economic recoveries in miraculous proportions beating all odds. While not all have been Christians, all have responded, nevertheless, with the same kind of ‘unconditional love’ that Christ has taught us. And in all these, it was the hands of God, with the love and mercy in Christ Jesus, which made possible the humbling of men for ‘love of country and people.’ The ball is on us, America, to show our full trust in our Lord Jesus Christ and our love for one another that we may see this country prosper in the light of Christ. That anyone who believes in this exercise of love in Christ, may also live in Christ. The burden of choice, however, lies solely on the people’s will as a healthy exercise of their own ‘free will.’ As in Matthew 19:26, “With God, all things are possible.” In 2 Peter 3:1-18, Saint Peter, the Rock, on whom Christ started building his church, writes about the Last Judgment as the “Day of the Lord,” that we may further see the truth in Christ, .” In Romans 6:19-23, Saint Paul admonished the former slaves now set!” With all these, we may see the light that USA and its people may be redeemed from the clutches of evil and darkness, that all people be renewed, and that they that are renewed may help change the rest of the world, as they share in the light of Christ to the whole world, that in all these, God may be glorified. [Thanks to my friend, Bob Villasor, for sharing the Elenin phenomenon, may God bless us all.] var addthis_config = { data_track_linkback: true } Obey and trust in the Lord, and be blessed abundantly. And do not doubt a bit, for he will stand by you until the end of age.."

NO. Speaking in Turkey from the steps of the Monument to the Elimination of Superfluous Kurds, the General proclaimed that the Conference on the Final Solution to the Somali Question had been extremely successful, a success he attributed to the utter absence of any Somalis from the Conference who were not on salary from the CIA. “Let’s face it,” said His Loonship, “these dark-skinned people are forever jabbering in foreign tongues and make all sorts of ridiculous demands which no civilised person would stomach for a moment. It’s about time the master races said enough is enough — and what possible better master race is there than a Korean?” Asked about the situation in Mogadiscio, General Loon admitted that as a result of certain unavoidable technical restructurings and strategic reconfigurations, the territory occupied by the African Union peacekeepers had shrunk to approximately the size of half a rugby-field. “But it is a very peaceful rugby-field, thanks to our policy of levelling the playing-fields, and indeed, levelling most of Mogadiscio.” Asked where the internationally recognised unelected government of Somalia imposed by Ethiopian invasion was, UberLoon said coyly, “You should ask the captain of the nuclear aircraft carrier U.S.S. Haveaniceday which is currently deployed to the Arabian Gulf region in pursuit of pirates and anti-Semites on behalf of the International Criminal Court.” That Generalisation explained that the problem was not simply a very large number of Somalis who regrettably showed their refusal to submit to a government lawfully chosen for them by Central Command by shooting at it. “Somalis also burn wood, thus emitting carbon dioxide which is notoriously a greenhouse gas. They catch fish, and the oceans are notoriously becoming depleted preventing me from getting all the sushi I want. What is more, not all of them pay taxes or duty on their imports. Since Somalia has no currency, they are all money-launderers. In short, they are nothing more than an international syndicate of organised criminals, and we in the United Nazis are not prepared to tolerate competition.” Secretary-General Identifies Source of Somalian Problem: Somalis.May 27, 2010 NO. Water, Water, Everywhere But HereMay 27, 2010 They say that it will cost twenty billion rand to refurbish our national water treatment plants. They are lying in their teeth. It will cost a lot more than that. South Africa is a dry country. As a result, we have built lots of dams to catch water to serve our cities, and canals and tunnels to shunt water from places where there is water to places where it isn’t. We have done pretty much what we could do in this regard. The best dams have been built and the best water transfer systems have been built. Now we must figure out what to do next. South Africa is a mining country. As a result, we have dug a lot of holes in the ground which have filled up with water. Oxygenated water behaves differently from the de-oxygenated water which you normally find underground; thanks to the oxygen it loves to combine with other chemicals, most obviously metallic sulphides. Add oxygenated water to sulphur and before you know it you have the fixings for making sulphuric acid, which is not nice stuff to have in your water, as the Mozambicans have noticed when it falls from the sky because of our coal-fired power plants in Gauteng and Mpumalanga. The water which comes out of the mines is therefore acid. Acid water loves to combine with things, too. Meanwhile, the act of mining generates massive amounts of water, which is extremely dirty water mixed with powdered rock, and this quickly becomes chemically contaminated. And the act of processing the ore generates massive amounts of chemical wastes which invariably get into the water. So South Africa is a dry country which has devoted immense energy, and spent vast amounts of money, on poisoning what water it has. This is called human nature and progress. What we actually need to do about it is to start using less. One of the simplest things to do is to start relying less on water from dams. All too often dams are built in relatively dry areas (like the Gariep) and therefore the water evaporates. This is worse, if anything, when the dams begin to silt up (as they always do); the shallower the water, the greater the evaporation. Rather, why not rely on the water which falls on the city itself? The average town or city occupies a sizeable area of land. If the water falling on roofs were captured, it would provide everybody with drinking water at least, and probably with washing water as well. Water falling on roofs is reasonably drinkable, although in some areas, where the pollution levels are high, the first rains would probably have to be treated carefully because the water would be thick with deposited atmospheric poisons. Water falling on the street is less easily drinkable. However, the water pouring into the drains need not be fed straight into the nearest river or the sea. Instead, it can be captured; the street drainage system could flow straight into tanks which could be drained into settling ponds and ultimately treatment plants. Street water is not likely to be as bad as sewage. It can be reclaimed for drinking. Even sewage water can be reclaimed. The water can be settled and passed through sand or clay to remove impurities. (Of course, first pass it through metal mesh to remove rubbish.) Then, use micro-organisms. Bacteria, algae and protozoans could make short work of most chemicals; they break down almost anything into simple gases. The constant flow of nutrients into the tanks would keep them happy. Water flowing out would not be pure — but it needn’t be toxic or even dangerous. You could certainly bath in it. In case of emergency, you could chlorinate or ozonate it and it would be drinkable, though it might not taste pleasant. This is the kind of thing which is done in places like Windhoek. If it can be done in Windhoek it could certainly be done in Upington or Oudtshoorn or Mthatha or Potchefstroom. In fact, it could be done in all major cities, and perhaps in small towns as well. Of course some people would dislike the idea of recycling wastewater and sewage. One might have to establish a “grey-water” reticulation for water which would be meant for washing or irrigation — or for industrial use, which is an enormous gobbler of water — and only drink it in time of crisis. It needn’t be that expensive. Furthermore, ideally every home, and even every block of flats, could have its drinking water provided largely from the rain, and just topped up occasionally. One might have three taps; hot washing, cold washing, and drinking. Industry wastes a tremendous amount of water. Some of it is washing water which ends up clogged with toxic material. However, a lot of this can be recycled. It isn’t, because water is cheap whereas recycling equipment is expensive. On the other hand, if every small town had its water-recycling ponds, if there were a big industry making water-recycling plants, employing vast numbers of people — in that case, it would be fair to demand that industry should install the recycling plants too. Many big plants use as much water as a sizeable city. Industry also uses water for coolant. Evaporative cooling (“cooling towers”) is tremendously wasteful of water, but one can replace it by huge radiators with fans blowing air over them — though, of course, this wastes electricity. (This is the system used in the new huge coal-fired power plants.) This expense is also unnecessary; all such cooling can be made use of, with the assistance of heat-pumps and low-pressure, low-temperature turbines, through closed-circuit electricity-generating systems. The only reason this isn’t done is a) because water seems cheap (although it is so no longer) and b) because such systems seem expensive (but they wouldn’t be if every industrial activity used it). It is not really practical to build a lot more big dams. We do not have enough rivers and we do not have suitable places where rivers can be dammed. So all we can do is catch more water — which can be done by discouraging water from flowing into rivers in the first place, by building small earth dams to trap modest runoff, which either goes into the ground or into the atmosphere, where it contributes to rainfall elsewhere in the country. This is known as water harvesting, and while it is not a very sexy or profitable activity since all it requires is a few hundred people with shovels, it has a lot of potential to discourage runoff into rivers where such runoff means the loss of water to the local environment. However, such water harvesting does not bring any immediate returns; improved access to groundwater and improved amounts of water vapour in the atmosphere do not clearly provide any advantages for local humans. (In the long run they will improve the local vegetation in dry areas; on the other hand, in most parts of South Africa we are foolish to be pumping out any groundwater at all, because there is much too little of it, and in those areas where it exists, it is often dangerously polluted.) One thing we can do, however, is prevent evaporation from the big dams we do possess. We can cover them up. A big dam covering fifty square kilometres needs a lot of covering, but the covering does not have to be heavy and it can float. A kilogramme could cover two square metres; let us then say 500 tonnes to a square kilometre. That big dam could then be covered by no more material than would be needed by a big cargo vessel. Of course there will be more — there have to be access walkways, jetties, etc., and also, if we are to dredge the dam from time to time to avoid silting, it would be necessary to disassemble the covering at least every few years. However, in principle it could be done without spending too much money. (Obviously, in the past, “any money” was considered too much.) Another thing we can do, although only along the coast, is desalinate. This raises images of complicated plumbing in Israeli ion-exchange plants. However, perhaps this can be done both more cheaply, more effectively, and more simply, with ocean thermal power plants. An ocean thermal plant was originally an idea for a floating power plant using the differential between deep water and shallow water. However, what is probably more sensible is to put the power plant ashore, and use the differential between water from only moderate depth (say, 50 metres), where it is fairly cool all year round, and water from shallow, hot ponds. What you do is have two large cylinders, something like grain silos, but airtight. Put a huge airtight pipe between them. Pump the air out of the whole system. (You don’t need a total vacuum, but near-total is advisable). One of the cylinders is in the sun (shine mirrors on it if you like) and stays hot, the other cylinder is in the shade (both would be insulated at night) and stays cold. What you then do is pump warm water from the ponds into very fine sprinklers in the warm cylinder. As tiny droplets of water plummet through the vacuum, the water evaporates. Not all evaporates, of course; droplets of slightly more salty water hit the bottom of the cylinder. The briny puddle at the bottom of the cylinder ultimately drains into a pond where it can either be re-used in the hot ponds, or pumped back into the sea. So you have a cylinder full of warm water vapour. This naturally passes through the pipe into the cylinder full of vacuum. In the other cylinder, you have a mass of fine radiators inside which cold sea water trickles. The warm water vapour condenses there, so there is a constant rush of warm water vapour from the hot cylinder to the cold cylinder. At the bottom of the cold cylinder is a puddle of fresh water, which you can use for irrigation or drinking or what you will. In the middle of the pipe between the two cylinders you put a big low-pressure turbine. The rush of the water vapour generates electricity. Enough to pump the water around the system and still leave a surplus which can be used by the local community. However, the big benefit of the system is undoubtedly the fresh water. The best thing about the system is that it requires no high technology at all; every bit of it can be manufactured by a simple blacksmith and put together by semi-skilled labour. You could build thousands of these plants along the West Coast, from Saldanha all the way to the mouth of the Kunene. There’s no shortage of sun and plenty of need for water. Thousands of shallow concrete ponds might even pump enough water vapour into the air to make the use of irrigation water a little more effective by reducing the evaporation in the vicinity. Some plants could be built on the South Coast too, of course, in places where there’s too little water readily available. It’s hard to guess how much electricity would become available through this process, but even if it was less than a hundred kilowatts per plant, a thousand such plants would provide at least a useful megawattage. As a bonus you could end up with a dense brine which could easily be evaporated away into sea-salt. We should be doing something like this, shouldn’t we? Anybody got any ideas why we aren’t, other than the fact that this kind of thing is cheap, easily done and therefore doesn’t make a guaranteed profit for any big businesses (except the despised and rejected construction and manufacturing industries) or any foreigners? If We Only Had The Power.May 4, 2010 Let’s suppose that we don’t like nuclear power. Fission power is non-renewable; even if you are breeding U-238 into Pu-239 you are only staving off the inevitable time when you run out. Uranium is essentially a fossil fuel, fossilised since a supernova explosion two billion years ago. What are our options with renewables? The longest-used, and therefore easiest to use, renewables are hydropower and wind-power. Unfortunately, South Africa is a semi-desert country. Therefore, we don’t have many rivers. We are blessed with some fairly high mountains and plateaus, so where we do have rivers they fall fairly far before entering the sea, but very often these falls are steep. Steep falls usually mean that there is little room for reservoirs; you can build a weir to block the river, but it will be expensive to do so and the power will be erratic, depending on how much rain fell last week. (A reservoir smooths the flow out from month to month, or even year to year, depending on size.) There are other problems with dams, but the real problem from a power-generation perspective is that there aren’t enough of them, and also they don’t exist in places where people live and power is consumed. Wind-power is a whole other story. There’s a lot of excitement about wind-power in the United States at the moment, which should make us a little suspicious (there have been periodic power fads in the Anglo-American world since World War II) but in principle it’s a simple and good idea: build a lot of windmills to catch the wind. There’s a lot of wind in South Africa. Global warming should produce even more wind, so it’s not going to go away. There are two ways of dealing with wind, which may be summed up as bloody big windmills and nice little windmills. The bloody big windmills, with blades dozens (ultimately, perhaps hundreds) of metres long, are supposed to catch more wind, not only because they are bigger, but because they are lifted above the human activities which affect the wind (houses, trees etc). They also generate megawatts of power. They are ferociously expensive to construct and hideously costly to repair when they break, which they frequently do. Nice little windmills are much smaller. They catch less wind, because they are down where human activities and even natural vegetation might affect them. They come in two varieties; horizontal-axle, where the whole windmill plus generator is set on top of a tower thirty or fifty metres tall, rotating according to the direction of the wind, and vertical-axle, where the windmill is closer to the ground and the generator is right at the ground, and where, because the windmill is the same from any direction, it doesn’t matter which direction the wind blows from. (Some of them look rather like inverted egg-whisks.) These windmills generate multiple kilowatts of power. The Creator feels the need to endorse nice little windmills. Gigantism is all very well, as in our mighty new coal power station (if we’re going to shit in our own bed, let’s at least be proud that we’ve produced the biggest turds in the Southern Hemisphere). However, the advantage of the little ones is twofold; they can be manufactured and assembled with relatively low-skill labour and require little special technology, and they can be easily maintained if they break, since all you need is some scaffolding and a conventional long-arm crane. Bloody big windmills require imported components, high technology, highly skilled steeplejacks absorb the resources of the nation to mend if they go wrong. Where one would need gigantism is in the manufacture of them. Let’s suppose a ten-kilowatt windmill. The Medupi power plant is supposed to generate 4.8 million kilowatts. In round figures we need a million of these little windmills to replace it. That’s a million generators, a million turbines, a million structures. A hundred people could doubtless erect one of these windmills in a week. For a million of them, those hundred people would take 20 000 years. Two million people could do the job in a year. It looks like the end of the unemployment crisis, because manufacturing a million windmills is going to take a fairly large factory. Several fairly large factories, in truth. How much land would this take up? Spaced in a grid a hundred metres apart, a million windmills would take up ten thousand square kilometres, or about a third the size of Lesotho. It’s not enormous. Ten million windmills — enough for ten Medupis — would take up the area of the Free State. If you build bigger windmills capable of more than ten kilowatts, reduce the area. Notice that “take up” here doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything between the windmills; you can farm crops or graze animals or even have some low-lying housing provided that the locals don’t object to the noise of the windmills. Now, that sounds wonderful if rather scary, but there’s a small problem: storing the power. The wind doesn’t blow all the time whereas you need electricity all the time. Same problem as the problem with hydropower. You have to build some additional plants to store the power; the most sensible being to build a water-tank at the bottom of a koppie and another at the top of the koppie with a pump and a water-turbine, a pumped-storage system. Since these windmills are going to be placed in hilly, largely uninhabited areas anyhow, this isn’t going to be a technical problem, but it does add to the cost and reduce the efficiency. All this dispersed electricity will have to be then plugged into the national power grid, which further adds to the cost (power pylons all over the place). Incidentally, you could put some of the windmills out at sea, where there are no human activities to obstruct the wind — although the corrosion problems are gigantic and the power-transmission problems immense. George Monbiot likes off-short windmills; good for him. Well, great. If we spend a hundred billion rand a year over the next decade, we can probably get something like this going. We aren’t going to, of course (there are no plans for anything except importing a few big sexy-looking windmills for propaganda purposes). But is there anything else? The others are solar thermal, solar electric, wave and ocean thermal. With solar thermal you have a lot of great big mirrors. It’s an expanded version of the solar water-heater you have on your roof if you have the money. (If the government were smart it would build a vast factory to produce ten million free solar water-heaters for every building in the country, but if wishes were horses, the Creator would drive a coach and six.) The obvious problem here is that the sun moves around. Therefore the focus of the mirrors move. Therefore you either have to move the mirrors, or move the thing they are focussing on (usually a pipe containing some volatile liquid such as alcohol, water or sodium). This in its turn takes power to move it. However, these are design problems; there’s no reason why solar thermal shouldn’t be effective. Eventually you have a boiling liquid which you run through a turbine. Then you have to condense it (there are all manner of ways to capture the heat for usable purposes, rather than just blowing it up a steamy cooling-tower as we usually do) and re-use. Solar thermal can be of any size you fancy, but a hundred megawatts or so seems a plausible upper limit. Sunlight, conveniently, generates around a kilowatt per square metre, so a hundred megawatts would entail 100,000 square metres of mirrors, which doesn’t seem a huge area. Unfortunately, it isn’t so simple. The wastage of energy is considerable; mirrors don’t reflect all the power, the liquid wouldn’t absorb all the energy, turbines are not totally efficient — most likely you’d need more like a million square metres. A square kilometre, probably scattered across two or three square kilometres of territory. For our national 100,000 megawatts, we need 1000 of these solar thermal stations. That takes up only 3,000 square kilometres, not much bigger than Johannesburg. We could do it, area-wise.. Whereas the wind doesn’t blow all the time, at night the sun doesn’t shine at all. By day, you sometimes have clouds. Therefore, once again, you need power storage systems. That would take up more space, and cost, too. And, of course, the above-cited figures are wildly overoptimistic. However, again it’s something which could be done, which does not require any advanced technology, and which would lead to the end of unemployment as hundreds of thousands of people cemented glass-aluminium mirrors to moving frames, welded pipes or worked in factories producing turbines and condensers. Solar electric is the big easy. You stick the beautiful blue-black cells on a frame, and when the sun comes up electricity comes out. All problems solved! Just by wearing a hat covered with solar cells you can solar-power your environment! It’s perfect! Well, not exactly. There are several problems with solar electric. Solar cells, like computer chips, are made of silicon. Silicon is extremely energy-intensive to make; you have to first remove the oxygen from silicon dioxide (aka sand), which is hard because silicon loves to bond with oxygen and then crystallise and extrude the silicon in a billet (which is violently energy-intensive; silicon melts at high temperature) and this has to be done in a vacuum or an inert atmosphere with super-clean graphite tools (because any dirt or impurity in the tools, or any reactive gas around and the hot silicon will bond with the stuff). If the silicon is impure, you have to start again, because only very special impurities in the silicon can be tolerated. Then you saw the silicon into chips (throwing a lot of it away, but mercifully South Africa has plenty of diamonds for the sawing) and you stick the chips in a vacuum and bombard them with ionised elements which turn their surfaces into something capable of having electrons bounced out of the general electron sea in a metallic crystal, and thus generating electricity. (Incidentally, to get rid of the parts of the surface you don’t like, wash the crystal in sulphuric acid. Yuck!) Then you have your cells, which you can fit onto a surface preferably facing the sun and wait for it to come up. As with solar thermal, ideally your surface should follow the sun. If it doesn’t, the power is erratic. Unfortunately, over time — 20 years or so — the crystal structure of the surface of the cell changes with all that photon bombardment and all those bouncing electrons. Gradually the surface ceases to function as a solar cell. At that stage, you throw it away and buy another one. At the moment, this invariably happens before the electricity generated has paid for the cost of making the cell. Ouch. And, what with the pollution caused by creating the silicon crystal and then turning it into a solar cell, it’s not all that environmentally sound, either. The efficiency of such cells is low and you need enormous numbers of them, ideally in areas where the air is clean (polluted air means less power per cell, and urban pollution accelerates the degradation of the cell’s surface, so sticking such cells in cities, where they are needed, is a problem). Actually things are not quite as bad as this. The Creator is dumping on solar electric purely because it is often seen as The Answer. Things are not so bad, partly because (as almost nobody has pointed out) silicon cells are recyclable. Take the cell back, grind off the degraded surface layer and you have a silicon chip which can return to the vacuum chamber to have its solar-cell capacity restored. This saves the energy required in extracting the silicon, which is most of the expense. Even if you could only do this three or four times, it means that a solar cell would last sixty or eighty years instead of twenty, making it a lot more viable. At the moment huge amounts of silicon chips are being made. A billion a year, perhaps, for our computers and smart bombs and so on. Two billion square centimetres. But that’s 200 000 square metres, folks. At 1% efficiency, that’s 2 megawatts. A long way too little power to run all those computers. We are going to have to jack up our silicon production, just in this country, until it is thousands of times greater than the world’s current production of silicon chips. Uh-oh; can we do that? Perhaps, but it’s not something easily contemplated. Maybe this high-tech system, though it has a lot of long-term potential, is not ideal for South Africa’s needs. Wave power seems potentially better. There are essentially two ways of getting wave power: by having something rigid in the water against which a float bobs up and down (much like the wave-power system developed in Britain in the 1970s called Salter’s Ducks), or an even older system of having a vertical pipe, open at the bottom, with a plunger in it which rises up and down as the waves rise and fall, and compresses air as it rises. With a one-way valve you get quite a lot of compressed air which can emerge through a turbine. In both of these cases you store wave energy up and then release it as rotational energy, turning a generator. Of course, as with wind power, you need a lot of this stuff. The British are fond of wave power because they are an island on a continental shelf, and Denmark, a peninsula on a continental shelf, has similar potential. But South Africa is not an island and our shelf is a lot less shallow than the North Sea and the Irish Sea and the English Channel and the Baltic. In other words, there are fewer shallow places where the wave-power systems can be easily anchored. Another problem is that anything out to sea is a) highly vulnerable to corrosion from salt water, b) highly vulnerable to being broken by bad weather, and c) rather difficult to repair when corroded or broken. The British have had some bad experiences with their North Sea oil rigs, but those rigs were few in number compared with the scale of a thousand-megawatt wave-power system off the South African coast. It would be basically a city taken out to sea, with all that that implies. Again, you need to store the power; wave energy is more reliable than solar or wind because the waves are there all the time — but they aren’t always the same height. Ocean thermal has some possibilities, but the Creator wants to discuss that elsewhere. Fundamentally, the Creator thinks that we need a mix of wind power and solar thermal power for starters — on a very large scale — and, as a subsidiary, start manufacturing a very large amount of solar electric chips and make that grow and grow. Over time, perhaps, solar electric might be the best. Over time, perhaps, wave power might also be worthwhile. The main thing is that if we start now, we can manage it. It will in the end be little more costly than the plan to provide antiretrovirals to all our AIDS sufferers, and it will be much more practical because whereas buying expensive drugs means giving money to a very small clique, building massive numbers of small power plants linked to a mammoth electrical grid will employ huge numbers of people over a long time. We should get going. This afternoon, if possible. Banks Disappoints Interestingly.May 4, 2010 Iain Banks has not written a seriously good novel since Complicity. His convoluted and often disturbing straight novels, after then, became simply essays in pretension (like The Business and Whit) or downright boring (like The Steep Approach To Garbadale). Of his science fiction novels, Feersum Endjinn was probably the last really praiseworthy one; his Culture writing staled quickly into five-finger exercises. In The Algebraist he attempted something comparatively new (although it incorporated plenty of elements borrowed from earlier Culture books) but it wasn’t wholly successful, and significantly he returned to the numb security of the Culture in Matter..

I don’t want to blog too much about Love Wins, as I already put my thoughts into Christ Alone and I don’t want to overly contribute to Rob Bell fatigue. But I do think it’s important to say that many discussions about LW miss the point. LW is dangerously wrong about hell and post-mortem salvation, but these issues are merely symptoms of a deeper and more serious problem: LW presents a different gospel. Many readers miss this because LW says that Paul says that Jesus “paid the price for our sins, so that we could go free” (126). Isn’t this the traditional, evangelical understanding of the gospel? No, and here’s why: 1. LW says that this “courtroom” scene of a guilty party going free is merely an analogy or simile that the first century Christians used to describe the cross. They weren’t describing what God actually did on the cross—a truth that would be true for all times and cultures—but were merely describing the cross “in language their audiences would understand” (128). “What the first Christians did was look around them and put the Jesus story in language their listeners would understand. It’s like this… It’s like that” (129). In response, evangelicals would say that Paul’s doctrine of justification is more than a human analogy. It isn’t merely “like this” or “like that.” Rather, it is precisely what God actually was doing on the cross. 2. LW suggests that this evangelical “analogy” is no longer appropriate for us. If the theories of the atonement are merely human descriptions of the cross, then it makes sense that our understanding of the atonement would change as our culture changes. And so LW concludes that “the sacrificial metaphor”—where Jesus bears our sins in our place—no longer resonates with us, for we no longer live in a world where people sacrifice things to appease the gods. LW says “there are pockets of primitive cultures around the world that do continue to understand sin, guilt, and atonement in those ways. But most of us don’t” (128-29). LW implies that modern people have grown beyond this traditional understanding of the cross. It’s rather “primitive” to “continue to understand sin, guilt, and atonement in those ways.” LW not only misses the point of Jesus’ sacrifice—the cross was the fulfillment of the Jewish sacrificial system rather than the correction of misguided pagan sacrifices—it manages to praise Paul’s “analogy” even as it dismisses it. LW explains: “The point, then, isn’t to narrow it to one particular metaphor, image, explanation, or mechanism. To elevate one over the others, to insist that there’s a ‘correct’ or ‘right’ one, is to miss the brilliant, creative work these first Christians were doing when they used these images and metaphors. They were reading their world, looking for ways to communicate this epic event in ways their listeners could grasp” (129). Here’s the point: while LW does mention that Paul said that Jesus died to pay for our sins, it quickly dismisses this as merely a human analogy that no longer speaks meaningfully today (except perhaps among “primitive” people). What model or theory of the atonement does LW put in its place? Existentialism. Modern people may not appreciate the “sacrificial metaphor,” but they do understand existential angst. This is the lens through which LW interprets the cross, and as I explain in Christ Alone, this contemporary lens produces a different gospel—one that is too weak to keep anyone from going to hell. Thank you…right to the base… A very helpful explanation Dr. Wittmer. Thank you for clearly communicating these issues! Excellent point, Dr. Wittmer. Later in the book he describes the metaphors (“signs, glimpses, tastes”) of baptism and communion/Eucharist as “rituals that are true for us because they are true for everybody” (p 156-57). But I am not familiar with water submersion as a contemporary practice in today’s culture outside of the church. No one is getting “baptized” as initiation into any sort club or group that I am aware of. A good question for Bell might be, Why must we practice a metaphor of baptism as true for everybody and reject the alleged ‘metaphor’ of atonement as an antiquated relic? That’s a sharp insight, Aaron, and it demonstrates the inconsistency that is bound to arise in our theology when we take our cues from culture rather than Scripture. The obvious answer is that the rite of baptism can be interpreted to fit his existentialist system, while bloody sacrifices don’t work so well. Indeed, they are necessarily removed by it, for the whole point of being a Christian existentialist is to know that “the universe is on our side” (p. 137) or that “the gods aren’t angry” with us. The idea of sacrifice puts that in doubt, and so they must be dismissed as inappropriate for our enlightened age. You are correct about taking our clues from culture. John Stott, in ‘The Cross of Christ’, seemed to have been confronted with metaphor understanding of atonement when he wrote: “…propitiation, redemption, justification, and reconciliation. These are New Testament ‘images,’ metaphors of what God has done in and through Christ’s death. ‘Substitution,’ however, is not another image; it is the reality that lies behind them all” (p. 330). Thanks, Dr. Wittmer! 🙂 Interesting. I haven’t read the Cross of Christ, but that quote raises a question for me, a little off the subject of Love Wins, but still relevant. Is “reconciliation” really just an image or metaphor and not a reality? Perhaps that’s not what Stott suggests. Is our “relationship with Jesus” just a metaphor or do we really have a relationship in which we walk with, talk with, and commune with our Creator (Jesus)? I would argue reconciliation is a reality, not just a metaphor/image. BYW, thanks for your book, Christ Alone, Dr. Wittmer. It’s very helpful. Hi Mike, Can you explain “Existentialism” for me and then tell me what an existential atonement theory would look like? Thanks Derek Existentialism may be one lens through which Bell looks to interpret Scripture, but I disagree that he is preaching a gospel too weak to keep anyone from going to heaven. To summerize his thinking as liberal exestentialism seems to limit the redemptive work and faith Rob Bell himself has in the resurrected Jesus. Like Slanley Hauerwas, he is more concerned with what the resurrection calls Christians into as opposed to ones personal doctrinal statement. Or to put it another way, what we do as Christian is actually what we really believe. I would suggest that this is why Mars Hill welcomes people with differing theologies and why Bell calls the christian tradition a wide stream. Personally, I wouldn’t use the term orthodoxy to define this wide stream as he seems to do. Rather, I would just leave it at wide stream. But that wide stream does include existentialists and universalsists — even if one might disagree with them. I also understand your concern that he suggests all we need to do is live into our salvation. In one sense I agree with this because he is getting at the fact of the matter, which is that salavation is available to all. He often quotes Dallas Willard on this point. Unless one believes in double predistination, how can we argue with living into the salvation available to us? How is this differen than the ‘new birth’ language used by George Whitefield or “born agian” language by Billy Graham? Now, I understand this might not be the traditional notion of historic evangelicalism, but evangelicalism is a mixed bag these days. It includes all sorts (though this is probably your concern). Today we have evangelical universalsist. I just don’t see how going back to some pure evangelicalism rooted in Justifation by Faith and Scripture alone gets us anywhere. I was born into evangelicalism and chose to become an Anglican because of its creedal and episcopal rootedness — and its willingness to integrate Scripture, Tradition and Reason. But I see S,T and R in a Barthian and Catholic sense, where God is primarily revealed through Jesus and Scripture is a record of God’s revelation. Thus, S,T and R can be held together quite nicely. As I write this I can hear the Anglo-Catholic in me is coming out. I am sure some Protestant leaning Anglicans would take issue with some of what I’m saying here. They might want me to emphasize the more evangelical side of the Protestant Episcopal Church, but I prefer the more catholic leaning tendencies. I too am concerned that various atonement theories, even ones that are rooted in biblical motifs like substituion, are misunderstood and damaging within our cultural context. Yet, Bell is not dismissing the literary truth of it. Narratively, he is placing Jesus in a different light, focussing on other aspects of the biblical narrative, ones that are maybe easier to hear, but none-the-less, motifs. I may not communicate the same way he does, but in suggesting that Bell’s gospel is one that is too weak to keep anyone from going to hell, seems to suggest he and his friends who believe similar or even more extreme then him, are not Christians? Am I hearing you correctly? Or, should I say hell — I botched that first paragraph. Rather than battle, I wonder this tonight: Perhaps you are correct. It may be a different gospel that Rob is preaching. While you continue to preach a gospel that is incapable of preaching at a local pub on any given night of the week, people who call themselves friends of Rob can be found throughout the city sharing life at pubs and living into the kingdom of God at any given time. People living outside the kingdom are taking notice and giving a listening ear. While your longing are for a pure gospel, I long for followers of Jesus to be willing to sacrifice their traditions for the sake of the kingdom. As the Apostle Paul would say, “I will become all things to all people for the sake of Jesus Christ.” I do not think that Paul would misrepresent God’s Word for the sake of Jesus, in fact I think that that is a huge contradiction. Scripture (pure Gospel) is not tradition, Jesus is the Rock and Scripture is the foundation of Christianity. Maybe Christianity Today misrepresented Bell when they quoted him, “discovering the Bible as a human product,” as Rob puts it, “rather than the product of divine fiat” It seems like these “innovative” leaders are more and more apt to disregard Scripture to be more and more “relevant”. What is relevant is the spiritual death and the need of salvation from Hell!… ‘ Catholic Church is the only thing that frees a man from the degrading slavery of being a child of his age.” G.K. Chesterton (his writings were instrumental in leading C.S. Lewis out of Atheism. Chesterton himself was a unitarian universalist before becoming Catholic.) The Catechism of the Catholic Church maintains the language that Christ paid for our sins. And their doctrines will not change with popular trends. As I wrote to you personally, Rob Bell’s flippancy with historical Christianity is in my view a symptom of a larger problem that began with Luther who went beyond merely urging for Church reform, but basically said “to hell with apostolic succession and ordination” and made jump in believing that each person has the authority to individually interpret Scripture. That is why Origen’s teaching on universal atonement were not accepted, but rejected IN COUNCIL with the rest of the Church because of the belief that Christ works through the catholicity of the Church to maintain and lead the Church in all truth (as he promised his disciples.) This is all seems very obvious now. So ever since Luther said “to hell with apostolic authority”, protestant Christianity now drifting into the spirit of the age and saying “to hell with hell”. And if you take a close look over the last four hundred years of the splintering into 30000 denominations, every protestant denomination has slipped into theological heresy and imbalance (emphasizing one teaching at the expense of the others.) And this is nothing new. When people pull themselves out from under the worldwide ecclesial authority of the Church, they become ships adrift. That is why Lutheran worldwide synod has signed a joint declaration on justification with the Catholic Church (and most believe they are close to being reunified) and now the Anglican Church is beginning to see movement back to the Catholic faith. (with even many clergy placing themselves under the petrine apostolic offfice.) These groups are coming to their senses and seeing the writing on the wall. This is what Cardinal Newman and to a lesser degree C.S. Lewis were pushing for in the Orthodox movement of Anglo-Catholicism. You might be surprised after reading the book “C.S. Lewis and the Catholic Church” by Joseph Pearce (it was at the downtown library.) There are some surprising quotes gathered from Lewis and his friends. After reading that book, there is little doubt in my mind that Lewis would be Catholic today. It also addresses the flaw in Lewis’ concept of “mere Christianity” and where Lewis’ desire to write this book came from. The chapter on that I think is called “Mire Christianity”… The closing lecture included at the end of the book given by Lewis at an Anglican Seminary shortly before he died is very prophetic to what we are seeing today. I’d love to engage in some good interaction on these things with you Dr. Wittmer… Dr. Wittmer, I am half through your latest book, Christ Alone and it has been an encouraging book to read through. So often when books are “in response” to another book you get done reading and you know more about what the author stands against rather than what he/she stands for. You have not only found a balance, but you very clearly state what you and what evangelical theology stands for. The fact that the theology and not the person is under scrutiny is a breath of fresh air. One a side note, it is sad when fellow brothers and sisters do not think high enough of the gospels to think that they can be communicated clearing in “secular” (i.e. pubs, work, school, etc.)atmospheres. If Jesus thought that the gospel was worth it enough to present to his culture (as offensive as it may be) without having to water it down; we as followers of him should be encouraged by that. Thank you for your kind words, Michael! I pray that the book will encourage Christians with the hope that we have in Jesus. And I agree with your comments about the gospel. A watered down gospel simply leaves people where it finds them–and so it is no gospel at all. I appreciate the spirit with which you write this book, Mike. And I much respect your knowledge and gift in communicating truth. But I too share in concerns expressed both by Nate and Daryl. As well as wonder if your book is a critique which is dependent on a Calvinism which I’m sure you see as resonant with scripture. I must add that while I gave your book a good look over, and read parts of it, I am reticent to read it, just as I find myself reticent to reread “Love Wins.” But I think I will do so. You certainly do write in a reader friendly way without watering down so as to lose the essence of what you’re saying, or talking about. Thanks, Ted. My central concern with Love Wins–that it minimizes sin and removes the necessity and meaning of Christ’s work on the cross and resurrection–should be a concern shared by any and all orthodox Christians. I realize that some Christians may be troubled that I have pointed this out, but then I am troubled that they are troubled. This discussion is not about people or personalities–so we don’t have to turn this debate into who is and who isn’t a wolf in sheep’s clothing–but my goodness, if we can’t stand up and defend the gospel of Jesus now, then we’ve probably already lost it. Mike, Thanks. Well, in it Rob suggests or at least seems to leave light to believe that he does accept the gospel as it has been received from scripture by the church. But that he suggests a different outworking of it. The way he writes is not my cup of tea, but it may be what resonates in his view, and others. But he does leave himself open to some serious questions, which he would do well to answer forthrightly, I think. When I read scripture, I see God’s wrath in judgment against sin in terms of God acting, and not only the result of human sin. Etc. Rob does seem to skirt some matters in the book, sad to say. And while he may be approaching it from just one slant, it ends up being the end all for readers, I’m afraid. Ted–we’ll probably have to disagree about how “open” LW is to the gospel. But just to show that it’s not just Calvinists who are saying LW is in trouble on this score, here’s a quote from Scot McKnight’s recent article in Relevant magazine: “Frankly, Rob Bell’s book called into question the Gospel essence evangelicalism has defended since the Reformation. That is the fundamental reason why this book caused such a storm.” Mike, My major complaint with the book is that Rob seems to want to say that scripture says what it does not say. In regard to those who never hear the good news. I leave some, or perhaps much of what he is claiming to be truth as areas we cannot know from scripture, i.e., hidden things which belong to God. And he seems to want to skirt over other things(?). Maybe a different view of scripture, I don’t know. We must live on what is revealed, and I have to acknowledge that I am not enthusiastic about “Love Wins” on that score. I think the good news is certainly tied to all of scripture so that we must be careful that we see Jesus as the fulfillment in ways the New Testament does. Just voicing my thoughts. Thanks, Mike. Clearly you have not answered the questions that Nate and I asked about your comments on Rob preaching ‘another gospel’ (see post above). So I will reiterate the post verbatim. It seems important to me. It is more about clarity than personality.!’ ‘May we all practice the charity of clarity: say what we mean and mean what we say.’ Daryl: You make a pretty convincing case for orthodoxy! I have limited my comments to the content of “Love Wins,” leaving the possibility and the hope that Rob believes more and other than what he has written there. So I will say this: the “gospel” of LW is under God’s anathema, as you rightly point out. Since I don’t pretend to know the content of Rob’s head and heart, I will follow Machen’s example in “Christianity and Liberalism” and leave his personal standing to God to sort out. I am thankful, Mike, that you leave the possibility open that Rob believes more and other than what he has written in Love Wins. Of course, I find it quite odd that anyone would critically evaluate a book like Love Wins, since it has no footnotes. It is clear to me that you and Bell have different hermeneutical approaches and interpretive tools to go about making a point. That is the real issue at stake here, I think. Theology for Bell is much more about contextual interpretation of Scripture, that is, its cultural situatedness then and the important role of the reader’s situatedness today. Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems that you have a greater interest in discovering dogmatic truth. That is, your concern exegetically is to emphasize authorial intention, like Vanhoozer. Moreover, a place like Mars Hill starts with the presupposition that what one does, lives out, missionally — is what one really believes. And, that Scripture informs its people of the important to embody Scripture for the life of the world. Finally, if your posture resonates with a post-concervative type of thinking, that is critical of liberalism. I think it is appropriate to associate the similar tendencies of Bell with post-liberalism, in the sense that he too would critique modern liberalism. All this is to say that to suggest Bell falls into the category of existentialism i.e. liberal protestantism shows me your over-relience on modern categories. Bell, I think, would be much more interested in transcending the reformational, evangelical, protestant tendencies by emphasizing the catholicity of the diverse history that makes up the broad scope of the Christian tradition. Nate: I don’t think that is the difference at all. I also emphasize the cultural context of the first century (essential in determining authorial intent) and believe that we must embody what we say we believe. I don’t think Rob or Mars Hill has an advantage over conservative Christians or churches on this score. I think the problem runs much deeper, and here’s a hint. I don’t mean this in a snarky way, but I think it’s telling that even the defenders of LW don’t praise it for its careful handling of the biblical text. They typically tell us to ignore its exegesis and focus on the questions it raises. You are right that it is difficult to critically interact with LW, and its absence of footnotes is just one of the reasons. But whose fault is that? The book is exceedingly popular, so it merits a response. Thanks Mike, I didn’t intend to suggest you don’t emphasize the cultural context of the first century or that you don’t believe we should embody what we believe. I surely don’t believe anyone has an advantage over another on that score. Neither do I think your remark was snarky. I think your concern for careful exegesis is important. Though I am less interested in building my exegesis on the first century context and more interested in the role of the reading community today. So, yes, “telling” might be the right way to describe my focus on the questions. I am happy for that to remain a critique of my interpretive interests, not Bell’s. Honestly, I may project some of my own hermeneutical interests on what it seems like Bell is doing. I am much more interested in the philosophical hermeneutics of Gadamer and Racour, who will over-emphasize the role of the reader, today. Moreover, I am interested in how interpretation of Scripture can be less about embedded truth claims within the text and more focused on action oriented claims that the text holds over us, the community of Jesus. Well, I think I clarified my position a bit. Does it makes sense? Again, I’m happy to be engaged critically on my interests and willing to suggest these interests may not be Bell’s. Thanks. Mike, Thanks for taking time to respond. I want to ask some questions in reply. You indicate that you choose to follow Machen’s example. Do you want to follow the Apostle Paul’s example? Paul clearly did not separate the message of the false gospel from the messenger. So to agree with or follow Paul’s example would mean we cannot divide the two. We don’t appear to have the liberty to do that. When I was in an Introduction to Theology course I remember Dr. Lubertus Oostendorp saying in a clear, forthright manner, ‘we cannot separate the sin from the sinner…it is not as if God condemns the sin casting it to hell…no the sinner is the one who is cast into hell.’ He was commenting on the then popular slogan ‘God hates sin but loves the sinner’. He was indicating that we do not have the liberty to separate the two. It seems to me, that when we put one’s ‘gospel’ under anathama we also must place the teacher under the same. To do less is to ignore the Apostle Paul and the scriptures. I am just trying to be clear. Wow Daryl, that’s some pretty strong language. Here’s the definition of the word “anathama” I found online: 1 something or someone that one vehemently dislikes 2 a formal curse by a pope or a council of the Church, excommunicating a person or denouncing a doctrine. So you think it necessary to either vehemently dislike and/or have the person who’s theological conclusions are different than yours, excommunicated? In this case (I assume) excommunication would mean taking his books off all Christian bookstore shelves, along with making certain no “proper” church sell them there either? I’m thinking that we burn him, along with his books, at the stake! Before that, however, I think it’s necessary to torture him until he confesses the error of his ways!! I mean, who does this guy think he is bucking years of religious tradition, Luther? Daryl: One last time, I don’t know the author’s head or heart, but if it becomes clear that he doesn’t believe more or other than what he has written in Love Wins, and if he unapologetically continues to proclaim the same, then yes, Paul’s words would apply to him. I am preaching form this text today: “I am astonished that you are aso) Contrary to popular opinion, the Christian faith is not like going to a Salad bar! Contrary to popular opinion, Christian faith is a salad bar! What, you say? I doubt there is one among us who hasn’t chosen what to believe based upon their understanding, and what they themselves deem to be true. Sure, historical opinion and current teaching influences our decision on what is true, but what exactly we believe is a choice. Salad Bar Christianity makes for a nice soundbite, but the fact is it’s what all of us do … we choose what part of the narrative we’re going to accept as true. Nothing makes my eyes roll in my head faster than when I hear people say “I just believe what the Bible says”, or “My church just teaches what the Bible says”. Everybody interprets words their own way, and the notion that the Bible, consisting of words, can only be read and understood to mean one specific thing to everybody who reads them, is fooling themselves. That’s not a denial that the Bible is 100% the Word of God, it’s a denial that words can ever be 100% clear and carry 100% of the same meaning to 100% who read them. I don’t know Rob Bell, but my guess is that he believes that he’s interpreting the Scripture as it was truly meant to be interpreted, just as much as his detractors believe they are interpreting Scripture accurately. I’m not interested in convincing people that Rob Bell is at least partially correct in his interpretations, although I believe he is, but I am interested in honest debate. If our stance on Scripture is threatened by such debate, than I would argue that it’s not grounded on solid belief. When I hear people cover their eyes and yell “nana nana boo boo, I can’t hear you”, it’s a sure sign to me that they fear that’s exactly the case with them. Wow. Here we go again. “Everyone interprets words their own way, and the notion that the Bible, consisting of words, can only be read and understood to mean one specific thing to everybody who reads them, is fooling themselves”. Let me see – so what you are saying is that we should molest little children and eat poor people. I like your train of thought here – so much freedom. The meanings just spin and twist with the multiplicity of possible interpretations. Thanks oh pomo giants – heroes of the people – thanks Nietzsche, Heidegger, Gadamer, Derrida, Barthes and the emergent clowns who wish to be seen as profound with them. It is always sad to see the elvish cloak of hiddenness thrown over what was written primarily by fishermen and farmers and a few religious guys thrown in there. Where do I get my decoder ring so as to get any meaning out of such a obtuse book? I wish there was a Holy Spirit who could guide us into truth, but sadly that doesn’t seem to be an option anymore. Oh well the deconstruction project must go on regardless of the cost – and who will deconstruct the deconstructors? The mind shrivels at the thought. Surely St. Derrida has shown us the way! Certainly St. Ricouer has the holy words and his words bring freedom. Sorry, sometimes the satire button gets stuck on and I keep going. Hope the point was clear enough… Alan, Clearly you don’t know me. That’s ok. Mike, I know you may feel I am being difficult. And I admit I am being ‘dogged’ on this point. But this is a very important issue in scripture. Preaching a ‘different gospel’ was very serious to the Apostle Paul. You wrote, “but these issues are merely symptoms of a deeper and more serious problem: LW presents a different gospel.” So I replied with The Galatians scripture since you used the term ‘different gospel’. Being who you are I am guessing that you knew that phrase is in Paul’s letter and employed the words with forethought. You replied by indicating that you didn’t know the man’s head or heart. I believe that since you do know Rob Bell on a certain level you ‘at the very least’ know him as well as Paul knew those who were throwing the church of Galatia into confusion. Not only that but you have much more than Paul when you have Rob’s written words to quote from. Paul even says later in his letter ‘who is bewitching you’ as if he doesn’t know the person personally at all. At any rate, Paul is concerned with the false gospel leading people down the wrong way. He says that if anyone (no matter their head or heart or sincerity…including himself or his own friends) preaches a ‘different gospel’ they are cursed. He does not seem concerned with their head or heart. He does not seem interested in ‘more or other than’. Paul, (and you I think, and I mean this in a very charitable manner), are concerned that people are being misled so strong words are necessary. I am guessing (I could be mistaken) that this is why you wrote “Christ Alone”. Perhaps you will choose to respond to this. Either way, I will trouble you no further. I wrote: “Everyone interprets words their own way, and the (people who hold the) notion that the Bible, consisting of words, can only be read and understood to mean one specific thing to everybody who reads them, are fooling themselves”. To which Bill responded: “Let me see – so what you are saying is that we should molest little children and eat poor people. I like your train of thought here – so much freedom.” Umm, no, that’s not what I’m saying. To say your “paraphrase” of what I wrote is a stretch is one enormous understatement. What I’m saying is that people, Christians, here specifically, interpret what the Bible is saying, differently. Unless you’re of the opinion that the numerous sects of Christianity, or even the various Churches within those sects, teach the very same thing regarding what they believe the Bible says? What I specifically did NOT say was that any old interpretation is as reasonable as another. Obviously when the Bible says God punishes sin, for instance, even those who subscribe to the “eternally saved or eternally condemned” camp often disagree what “condemned” refers to, i.e. never ending punishment vs annihilation. That being just one of many cases in point. Nor did I say the Bible is obtuse. Going back to my previous illustration, while reasonable people could disagree on what they believe “condemnation” consists of, it would not be at all reasonable to posit the idea that it meant getting the ice cream of your choice every day for eternity, and never tiring of it. So I’ll see your “wow, here we go again” and raise you a big fat “boggle”. Perhaps the dots connect somewhere for you, but I’m at a loss to understand how you got from “A” to “Putterfish”. Ok boggle – lets go through this. Your statement was that “everyone interprets words their own way”. I responded by interpreting them my own way. You object – Are you objecting to what you think I wrote or are you implying that you KNOW what I meant? Well if you want to play the reader response game then you really ought to let other play by the same rules. Contrary to Humpty, words are not the servants of whoever is master – but they do have specific meanings. Even Derrida get hoisted on his own petard on this one. If you want to respond and say that some interpretations are more “reasonable” than others – then fine – how does one know this? Who determines what is more reasonable? Is there some sort of measuring stick (ie a canon perhaps) that we have access to which might adjudicate meaning in these cases? Bell wants to play the game and then deny others who play it against him – but the same problem comes up with him as it does with Derrida and the pomo clowns. Is it merely your interpretation that everything is an interpretation? And if so then why should anyone else pay attention to what you say? I mean if Nietzsche was right that everything is a perspective – then of course that is just his perspective. So if he is wrong who cares what he says and if he is right – who cares what he says? Frankly the whole thing is worthy of nothing but ridicule. Nor am I claiming 100% knowledge of anything – another Maclaren straw man. But when the Bible says, for example, “And Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, in a city of Juda” – I don’t think one needs a special magisterial decoder ring to understand. And speaking of that to your earlier post – are you really wanting to compare Bell to Luther??? Luther called people back to the Bible, which virtually all people were forbidden to read or if they could read it – were forbidden to interpret it – where as Bell calls people to abandon it in favor of new metaphors more acceptable to todays audience. I used a reductio to show how you don’t get to say that everyone just interprets, but somehow some interpretations are more reasonable than others. Once you open the hermeneutic genie and bid it “free” – please don’t complain about what happens next. Perhaps your entire defense of Bell’s heresy and complaints about Wittmer’s response is merely your misinterpretation of Mike inviting Rob out to lunch – I mean who is to say what is a reasonable understanding of this. So I hope you now understand. Play the interpretation whirlwind if you want, but don’t be surprised when others choose to respond from a position outside of the storm. Ok Putterfish, let’s go through this indeed. ;-p Despite your protestation to the contrary, your reply was still a non-sequitur. Your entire argument rests on whether or not you’ve demonstrated that my assertion was not true, to wit, “everyone interprets words in their own way”. Some more reasonably than others, as I readily admitted, having already granted you that point. It’s also true that what’s reasonable to some people is unreasonable to others. You asked “how does one know this?” I leave that to your imagination, my intent was not to demonstrate what particular measurement should be used to determine reasonableness, but rather to restate the obvious, that people do indeed interpret things differently. The fact that people often disagree about what some particular passages in the Bible mean, for instance, being a case in point. What I did not say was that any old interpretation is as valid as another, obviously there are simply some arguments that are more cogent than others. I don’t care to get into a discussion about who determines what makes a cogent argument and what doesn’t, there are some things that are self-evident to most people. I’m hardly “surprised” that you believe you “responded from a position outside the storm”, I’m surprised you attempted to get away with such a red herring. Attempting to dismiss an obvious truth that’s uncomfortable for you by claiming “Well, if words can mean different things you’re saying we should molest children and eat poor people” is classic Reductio Ad Absurdum. As for me “not getting to say that everyone just interprets” (you inserted the word , is if to imply I suggested some things aren’t fairly clear to most people), but somehow some interpretations are more reasonable than others”, sure I do! Furthermore, I’d backed up my statement with an illustration, one you chose to ignore, I have to assume, specifically because it supported my claim. I’ll repeat it here because ignoring it won’t make it magically go away: “… while reasonable people could disagree on what they believe ‘condemnation’ consists of, it would not be at all reasonable to posit the idea that it meant getting the ice cream of your choice every day for eternity, and never tiring of it.” It’s clear to most reasonable people (I’ll leave it to you to figure out what “reasonable” means), simply by perusing some of the numerous commentaries on Scripture, that clearly not all Christians agree on what some particular verses mean. And to support my assertion, I’ll merely mention two little words, and let you ponder their implication whilst relating them to the argument at hand, (that people interpret words differently), and then, rest my case with them: “Arminian”, and “Calvinist”. You can play the everything written can only be interpreted one way game, but don’t be surprised when some numerous illustrations to the contrary jump up and bite you in an unpleasant place. P.S.: The 5th paragraph should have said “you inserted the word -just-, but for some reason the actual word “just” just didn’t show up when I posted. Ghost in the machine? 😉 francis chan on Hell….may he’s got a book in the works, too? Ok Alan. I will make this quite plain. The point of the reductio was that if your assertion “Everyone interprets words in their own way” is true in a meaningful sense, then there is no “reasonable” interpretation available – You won’t answer that objection because there is no answer. If it is all interpretation – and that is true of the universe and not just another silly french pomo marxist interpretation, then no position is any higher, better, closer to true, more reasonable, etc ad infinitum. You don’t get to play it both ways. Your point on Calvinist, Arminians, etc, reflects the problem here. You are confusing obvious pluralism – There are many different interpretations reflected in the Christian community, which is of course obvious, with philosophical pluralism – the idea that the plurality of options/answers means by definition that there is no singular truth. Picture a kindergarten class where the teacher asks the question 2 plus 2 equals _______? The answers come in 7,2,14, the square root of Pi, oatmeal, George Bush is evil, 29, a gazillion, 4 and so on. Is the appropriate response of the teacher “Why yes kids you are all correct! I just roll my eyes whenever I hear some other math teacher or some school say that 2 plus 2 equals 4. How narrow minded – How arrogant to argue that there is only one answer and that they know it! Don’t they realize the multiplicity of options means by definition that everyone must be accepted and all points of view must be tolerated? Why yes that is why I stated I used a reduction against your argument. And no you don’t understand the red herring if you think thats what I gave you. I merely pointed out the logical inconsistency of claiming all we have is interpretation and then turning right around and saying that some interpretations are more cogent, reasonable, self-evident and so on. I ask you how that works and you decline to offer how that could be. This is the same self-referential incoherence that plagues Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Sartre, Derrida and all their fan club today. If all there is, is perspective, subjectivity, choice, construction or by whatever synonym you want to use – then by what measuring stick do you determine which is the better perspective, or more reasonable subjectivity or the self-evident construction? If you do believe that there is a reasonable or self-evident or more cogent understanding – then that is great and I welcome you out of the Rob Bell herd. My last philosophy class was entitled “Beyond Deconstruction” at the University of Denver. I took this class almost ten years ago now. It is amazing how it still holds up. The whole point of the class was now that we have deconstructed everything (speaking of the western academic world including all possible subjects) what is left? The rest of the pomo students basically argued that there is only that and gave up on the knowledge quest itself. (my paraphrase of what they did!) I answered that the only out of the deconstruction swamp was never to go into it in the first place. Much like War Games where the only way to win in the game of Thermo Nuclear War is not to play. That is what my point about the storm was about. The only way to avoid to the vicious hermeneutic circle game, with the acid eating out the understanding of the Bible, literature, science and all the rest, is to never play in it. Read Roland Barthes, good deconstructionist that he was, and see if I am making this up. The point of the real pomos was a war against God and all that flows from God – reason, value, ethics, science and so on. Thats why the pomo grandfather is Nietsche and the father is Heidegger – two truly corrupt individuals who both hated God with all their hearts. Then you add the marxists frenchies, Derrida, Barthes, Ricouer, Lyotard and so on and the swamp only got worse. That the emergents think these guys give a proper understanding of anything is more depressing than reasonable. Bell just comes along and pretends he has a foot in both worlds. I could argue he doesn’t really understand other, but that sells him too short. He does understand, thanks Maclaren, the value of dismissing Christian orthodoxy and how well that will sell. Your turn Bill Hello again, Bill. You said: “If all there is, is perspective, subjectivity, choice, construction or by whatever synonym you want to use – then by what measuring stick do you determine which is the better perspective, or more reasonable subjectivity or the self-evident construction?” That’s clearly not what I believe to be the case, and if I implied it by my statement then it’s time to back up and restate what I said previously. I do believe there is objective truth. God, as the prime example, isn’t subject to our subjectivity, but our understanding of Him, and the words we use to describe that understanding is. Words are two steps removed from reality. Taking God again as an example, He exists. God’s Being is what it is, regardless of the level of comprehension what have of His Being. God’s very Being-ness is reality. Which leads next, to our thoughts about God. Obviously our thoughts about God are not God, but rather our interpretation, or understanding, our awareness of Him. So on we go to the words we use to describe the thoughts we have of what God, Himself, actually is. Few would argue that even our thoughts about God can truly grasp the God’s Being, and certainly, by extension, the words we use to describe those thoughts are even further away from what God is than the thoughts we hold about him. My argument is not some sort of new-age “God is whatever we perceive Him to be”, or “all thoughts about God are equal”, or “all paths lead to God”. From reading “Love Wins”, I truly don’t believe that’s Bell’s argument either. Nor have I (or Bell, as far as I can tell), maintained that everything is perception, and that therefore one perception is the same, or equal, as another. What I do maintain is that we all bring interpretation to words, regardless if they’re strictly mans words, or even God’s words. I made the reference to Arminianism vs Calvinism to make the point that one clearly has to interpret words one way to arrive at an Arminian, free will, God wants everybody to be saved, yet some will choose against God, yet interpret another way to believe that they say that only an elect group are will be saved, and further, that they were predestined to be so. Same Bible, same words, very different interpretations of those words, hence very interpretations of the Bible. None of that to say that more than one interpretation is correct, if we agree with the premise that the Bible is God breathed, than only one interpretation can be true. And that is not to say that there aren’t layers of truth to be found, like peeling the layers on an onion, we can go deeper and deeper into truth. You joked about what you’d perceived to be the silliness of needing some sort of magic decoder ring, and while I’d agree there’s no need for magic, we do need a decoder ring of sorts. One setting would be correct and understandable translation. I added understandable because somebody reading the words “more than one way to skin a cat” hundreds of years from now in another culture and another country would need to know the idioms of the culture they were reading to understand the meaning of the words, even if they were in his native tongue. Another setting would be context, within the verse, within the particular book of the Bible, and within the Bible itself. Yet another setting would be even single words themselves. As a case in point, atheist used to mean “against God.” More recently, it became either the belief that God does not exist, (as in the case of strong atheism), or a lack of belief in god/s, (as in weak atheism). In other words, what did the words mean in their culture and at that time. Finally, do you really believe that Bell intentionally dismisses orthodoxy, and then, for the distinct reason that it will sell? I find that rather cynical, and from what I can see, unfounded. This is the sort of thing that brought me into the discussion to begin with. I’m fine with people disagreeing with his assertions, I don’t agree with some of them either. What concerns me is both the failure to address his actual arguments, (for instance, discussing his take on scripture and pointing out specifically what one disagrees with, and why), and further, to then assign motives to his writings that very possibly do not exist except in the mind of the accuser. Perhaps that’s not what you’re doing. It’s possible I interpreted your words differently than how you meant them? 😉

Nats go with the safe, sensible hire Oct 29, 2015, 8:00 AM EDT The Nationals’ planned hiring of Harry Ralston Black as their next manager isn’t going to cause people to leap out of their seats in jubilation. The 58-year-old everyone has always known simply as “Bud” isn’t the kind of guy who brings a commanding presence to every room he enters. He’s not going to march into the Nats’ clubhouse and instantly change the culture. Casual baseball fans probably don’t know a whole lot about the guy, whose 15-year career as a big-league pitcher was about as average as they get: a 121-116 record and 3.84 ERA with five different franchises. And his managerial record during 8 1/2 years in San Diego was rather uninspiring: 649 wins, 713 losses, zero postseason berths. What exactly, you may be asking, made Black the clear-cut choice to take over a Nationals franchise that once again will enter next season with the loftiest of expectations, hoping this time to actually live up to the billing? The answer boils down to two words: Experience and reputation. After watching the Matt Williams Era end in embarrassing fashion, both on the field and behind the scenes, general manager Mike Rizzo knew his next manager needed a track record. Williams was a complete unknown, having barely managed in the minors and having only spent a few years on the Diamondbacks’ big-league coaching staff before coming to Washington to lead a World Series contender. Black, on the other hand, is a completely known entity. He has decades of experience, including nine seasons as Mike Scioscia’s pitching coach in Anaheim before moving to San Diego in 2007 for his first managerial gig. He has been a position of authority in a major-league dugout the last 18 years. He has seen every scenario that arises. He’s not going to be overwhelmed by any aspect of the job. Experience, of course, doesn’t count for everything. If it did, Dusty Baker (who managed the Giants, Cubs and Reds for a total of 20 seasons) would’ve been given this job in a heartbeat instead of losing out to a member of his pitching staff in San Francisco from two decades ago. That’s where Black’s reputation catapulted him to the top of the pile. He is universally respected around the game. Padres players were crushed by his firing last June, recognizing their skipper was an undeserving fall guy for their failures on the field. People throughout baseball — players, coaches, executives, media — all agreed Black would get another managerial job in short order. Here’s evidence of the way Black is viewed in the sport: Despite owning a career .477 winning percentage and only two winning seasons in nine tries, he received NL Manager of the Year votes on five separate occasions, winning the award in 2010. Consensus opinion on Black is clear. He is universally regarded as a good manager who never really had a chance to win big with a San Diego franchise that spent little on payroll and underwent several front-office shakeups over the years. If Black proves a success in D.C., he certainly wouldn’t be the first manager to make good after years of mediocrity or worse. Bobby Cox didn’t reach the postseason once in his first eight years as a big-league manager. He then got there 17 times in his final 22 seasons. Joe Torre reached October just once in 14 seasons managing the Mets, Braves and Cardinals. Then he did it 14 times in 15 years with the Yankees, winning four World Series titles. Terry Francona was a bust over four seasons in Philadelphia. Then he went to Boston and won two World Series in four years. And then there are the two skippers currently squaring off in this World Series. Terry Collins managed 10 big-league seasons without a single trip to the postseason. Now he’s in the Fall Classic. And Ned Yost, viewed as a failure during his first 10 managerial seasons, has now been to the World Series two straight years and at this moment owns the best winning percentage (.714) of anyone in history who has managed at least 20 postseason games. None of that, of course, guarantees Black will win big in Washington. But if he does, it won’t come as a shock to those who have followed recent baseball history and who have followed his own career. This was by no means a bold decision by Rizzo and the Lerner family. They didn’t take a chance on a longtime bench coach like Ron Wotus or a baseball icon like Cal Ripken or a proven winner like Dusty Baker. No, the Nationals made the safe choice in selecting Bud Black to be their next manager. After everything dramatic this franchise has been through in the last year, maybe it was time to do something safe for a change. - natsfan1a - Oct 29, 2015 at 8:50 AM Yes, yes they are. - - - Mrsb loves the Nats - Oct 29, 2015 at 8:34 AM Well, the Bud Black era begins. Welcome Bud… Good Luck. Lets kick butt next year. - - - mauimo22 - Oct 29, 2015 at 8:51 AM In Rizzo We Trust. In Black We Depend. GO NATS 2016! * now no stupid comments in off-season like “where’s my ring” or “World Series or bust” * focus on getting best players on field and healthy * hitters – learn how to bunt, play small-ball, hit line drives to gaps, limit Ks and home run swings * pitchers – hold runners on base, limit free passes, be aggressive with hitters * with the talent we have already, fundamental baseball should take us far #NoPromises #NoRegrets - - adcwonk - Oct 29, 2015 at 10:31 AM limit Ks OK, here’s a radical suggestion on a strategy that few MLB teams seem to use. I wonder if Black will go out on a limb with this one . . . Shorten up the swing a bit with two strikes? (I remember reading a week or so ago a comment by someone that they hope the Royals don’t win the WS, because then everyone will try to emulate their style of play. Whatever one says about their overall team strategy, shortening up the swing a bit with two strikes seems like a no brainer — although so few teams or players seem to do that . . . ) - - senators5 - Oct 29, 2015 at 1:14 PM WoW!! If I were 60 years younger, I would want you as my manager/coach! - - Serious Jammage - Oct 29, 2015 at 8:52 AM Welcome Bud! A guy getting the (near) universal respect of players, managers, and front office types does not happen by accident. Sounds like just the right guy. Side note — a good friend is a Reds fan and his thoughts on Dusty were, “oh dear Lord, no…” - - natsfan1a - Oct 29, 2015 at 8:52 AM I don’t do armchair GM or owner, but I like that they first decided what they wanted (not only what they didn’t want), then did a thorough search, and that they went with experience. Welcome, Bud, and good luck! - - Section 222 - Oct 29, 2015 at 10:16 AM I think you just did armchair GM/owner. Congrats, and welcome! - - Joe Seamhead - Oct 29, 2015 at 8:57 AM I’m not jumping up and down here for joy, or in disagreement. My wish? That the Nats continue to improve as an organization, the team becomes a perennial playoff team, wins a couple of World Series, and Bud Black is here as the skipper leading them there for many years to come. Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to the hot stove league, and I am anticipating a return to “In Rizzo We Trust” mentality from the faithful because of the outstanding moves that Mike will make to improve the club. - - jd - Oct 29, 2015 at 9:11 AM Joe, I think this was a good move. Given the fiasco that was last year Rizzo could not take a chance on someone who has never managed in the majors before, he simply couldn’t. Bud Black seems from afar as someone who is fairly level headed, calm and not wound tightly like MW. He also brings a wealth of pitching knowledge to the table which has to be a big plus. I am not looking for Bud Black to increase our win total by brilliant managing. I am simply looking for him to not decrease our total by foolish moves. There is no sense in bashing MW any longer so I like you am ready for the next piece of news. I am very interested who the next pitching coach will be. Frankly I think there’s a chance they bring Mc.Catty back, that would be disappointing. - - Joe Seamhead - Oct 29, 2015 at 9:25 AM I don’t see Steve McCatty coming back. Thie problem with bringing influential coaches back with a new manager is that they still feel like they carry a lot of weight in decisions, or have the “that’s the way we always did it” mentality. MW had little say in his coaching staff because he was inexperienced and the existing staff had been somewhat successful under Davey. I have a hard time believing that Bud Black won’t have the chance to make his own choices, with some influence from Rizzo, of course. - - Mrsb loves the Nats - Oct 29, 2015 at 9:29 AM McCatty used to tick me off. I always felt like he would only go out on the mound when Gio was in the game… I think it is time for new faces in the dug out and I do hope that Bud gets a chance to get his guys and can run with the job. - - jd - Oct 29, 2015 at 9:59 AM I am no expert on pitching but what I didn’t like about Mc.Catty is I never felt like our pitchers were developing and improving under his watch (with the possible exception of Roark) and I also felt that new pitchers (free agents) didn’t really maintain the levels they brought with them. I am especially disappointed with the slow progress in Stras’s development, I thought Gio regressed, I thought JZimm regressed etc. I also felt that our pitching philosophy was very un-aggressive. Too much pitching to contact, not enough pitching in. I feel that our pitchers all have the ability and talent to be as effective as the Mets young pitchers but our approach isn’t the same as theirs. - - adcwonk - Oct 29, 2015 at 10:48 AM Wow — I really, really, don’t get the McCatty bashing here. As recently as 2014 the Nats led the league in ERA — by a significant margin. And also fewest walks, also by a significant margin. Yeah, 2015 wasn’t nearly as good — but a big part of that was Strasburg’s disastrous first half (which was due to injuries), Roark’s inability to keep the ball down, Fister’s huge regression (also, in part, due to injuries). (JZ also regressed, I don’t put that on McCatty). I am especially disappointed with the slow progress in Stras’s development Wow. IMHO, Stras has developed excellently, in part under McCatty’s tutelage. Stras was our best pitcher in 2014, and, in the second half of 2015 — with injuries behind him — was also our best pitcher! What more do you want?! 2015 ERA after the all star break: Strasburg — 10 starts, 1.90 ERA Scherzer — 15 starts, 3.72 ERA JZ — 15 starts, 4.20 ERA Joe Ross – 10 starts (+ 3 relief), 3.99 ERA GIO — 15 starts, 3.56 ERA - - Sec 3, My Sofa - Oct 29, 2015 at 11:08 AM Chase reported yesterday that McCatty is going to Detroit. - - jd - Oct 29, 2015 at 11:13 AM Wonk, Stras has been a good pitcher but he hasn’t had a dominant stretch until the 2nd half of last year. Through 2014 he was in the top 3 pitchers in baseball in line drive ratio given up, in other words he was either striking hitters out or giving up hard contact (very hard contact). Strasburg came in with talent at least up there with the Mets young phenoms so saying that he’s been good simply isn’t enough for me. - - trfwans - Oct 29, 2015 at 11:28 AM McCatty was pitching coach since the tail end of Acta’s tenure. Lots of pitchers developed under his watch: Stammen, Lannan, Clippard, Storen. Zimmermann, just off the top of my head. FAs or trades arrived and either improved or maintained: Gio, Fister, Roark, Ross, among others. And consider this: no one complained about McCatty until Williams arrived. That says a lot more about MW than it does about Cat. - - - Mrsb loves the Nats - Oct 29, 2015 at 9:07 AM Thinking more on it… I feel like Bud is a Lerner family hiring… I wonder if the relationship between the Lerners and Rizzo is a little fractured given MW’s failings and what happened with Paps… - - jd - Oct 29, 2015 at 9:15 AM I don’t know if I agree with you on this. I think the Lerners absolutely insisted on an experienced manager but I doubt they hand picked Black. Rumor is that they really liked Baker actually and that’s why he was brought for a second interview. I also think that Rizzo is still in solid shape with the Lerners but he definitely lost some points with the way things unraveled last year. It should also be noted that the Lerners were on board on both the MW and Pap decisions. - - Mrsb loves the Nats - Oct 29, 2015 at 9:26 AM Pure speculation of course but it just *seems* the Lerners are more active recently. Either way, like you, I dont expect Bud Black to necessarily add to the win total. I expect him to not add to the loss total like the previous skipper. I know that Black is good with pitchers and all but I really really really (I can keep saying really) hope that Rizzo gives him a strong BP to work with. - - jd - Oct 29, 2015 at 9:52 AM Mrsb, I agree with both you and Joe that Mc.Catty shouldn’t be brought back. I read yesterday that some former coaches will be recommended to Black, I hope they mean Tarasco and the bullpen coach (I forget his name). Realistically, I think Rizzo can only throw so much money at the bullpen, in other words it’s not reasonable to think that he can sign multiple free agent relievers and I don’t think that’s necessary. I think half the problem was bullpen management. I would love to see O’Day in a Nats uniform and I also wouldn’t get rid of Storen until and unless you have a real new closer in place (don’t count on Rivero just yet). - - Sec 3, My Sofa - Oct 29, 2015 at 11:10 AM Just me speculating, but I suspected at the time that Papelbon was the Lerner’s call, and it was Rizzo who needed convincing. - - virginiascopist - Oct 29, 2015 at 12:38 PM Sec 3: I agree with your speculation regarding Pap being more the Lerners’ idea than Rizzo’s (in the same way that Soriano was). - - senators5 - Oct 29, 2015 at 1:38 PM What I don’t understand is how many posters say the Lerners did this or did not do that or wanted this guy or didn’t want that guy.. I have read 0 as in ZERO quotes from any family member about player/managers/coaches moves. The only quote that sticks in my mind comes from Ted Lerner who suggested several years back that the MASN contract sucks (my word, not his). If you have direct quotes requiring quotation marks from a Lerner family member about personnel moves, I would appreciate you sharing with me. Otherwise everything else is pure conjecture and mostly meaningless, which 90% of present social media tends to be. - - Sec 3, My Sofa - Oct 29, 2015 at 6:54 PM Whaddaya want from me, a refund? I said I was speculating. - - JayB - Oct 29, 2015 at 10:10 AM correct as you know I feel Rizzo has lost the confidence of the ownership group. Especially Ted who I am quite sure wanted to fire MW back in Oct of 2014 for what we all know was really bad decisions in the playoffs. Rizzo is on thin ice for moves that cost money….the John P move is just so incredibly poorly though out how could Uncle Ted give him the keys again? Just what everyone said would happen (except Rizzo who said he did his homework) happened and the exposed Rizzo as did the MW endless love. - - jd - Oct 29, 2015 at 10:16 AM And you really believe that Rizzo brought in Paplebon which added $11 mil in payroll for 2016 without getting an OK from the owners? – get serious. - - Joe Seamhead - Oct 29, 2015 at 10:59 AM I think, with nothing other than my own feelings and speculation to go by, that Soriano and Papelbon were very much Lerner picks, but we’ll probably never know.[Hell,I still believe Knorr was never picked as manager because of the game when he pulled Soriano, whether any of us agreed with the call, or not. Soriano was the brass’ man, and for a one day manager to both deviate from the plan, and then to publicly trash him didn’t go over very well] But honestly, I don’t think Pap was all on Mike Rizzo. I don’t think that Mark, or Ted Lerner have faith in Drew Storen,and if they blame Rizzo for anything it’s for using a first round draft choice on him to begin with. Now it will be interesting as to how much say Bud will a have regarding Storen and Pap’s future with the team. Black, with his pitching and pitcher knowledge may be the best thing that ever could happen for Drew. - - jd - Oct 29, 2015 at 11:18 AM Joe, I agree with you 100%. I don’t think Pap will or should ever have the opportunity to be assessed by Black. If nothing else the Nationals can’t risk not standing behind their best player. I think Pap is gone regardless the cost. If as you say the Lerners don’t trust Storen then he too may never get a chance to work with Black. The edict from the top may be: ‘go get O’Day and another setup guy and move on from Storen. This will be an interesting story line. - - - tcostant - Oct 29, 2015 at 2:52 PM JayB, hard to believe that Ted want MW fired after the playoffs and then le Rizzo pick an option for 2016 just a few months later… - - exposedindc - Oct 29, 2015 at 9:12 AM In Rizzo we trust……..In bullpen, not so much - - - edbrinkman - Oct 29, 2015 at 9:36 AM Nats, this Bud’s for you. - - nats788 - Oct 29, 2015 at 9:40 AM hey all, starting up a Nats podcast and discussed the manager options for the Nats on our first episode: if you have 30 minutes to give it a listen we would really appreciate your support, criticism, complaints, etc! - - Section 222 - Oct 29, 2015 at 10:21 AM So will he be BB on this blog, or is that taken by bowdenball? I suggest HRB (Harry Ralston Black), especially when we’re criticizing him. 🙂 - - Serious Jammage - Oct 29, 2015 at 10:46 AM Is it just me or does Harry Ralston Black seem like a Harry Potter character? - - adcwonk - Oct 29, 2015 at 10:50 AM +7 ! - - - Doc - Oct 29, 2015 at 10:29 AM It’s a good time to have a manager that can deal with pitchers. I look forward to someone who can put the bullpen in order and do the other necessary things that managing the pitchers entails. - - Joe Seamhead - Oct 29, 2015 at 11:07 AM I agree, Doc. Who will be his bench coach? - - jd - Oct 29, 2015 at 11:30 AM I hear it’s probably Rich Renteria. - - Sec 3, My Sofa - Oct 29, 2015 at 11:05 AM Mattingly to the Marlins. - - Joe Seamhead - Oct 29, 2015 at 11:08 AM Poor guy. He deserves a better lot in life. That is a horrible organization to be employed by. BTW, I never thought that Donnie would be a fit here. - - jd - Oct 29, 2015 at 11:23 AM Well here’s the thing. Loria is a life long Yankee fan (former season ticket holder even when he bought the Expos) so I am not surprised he grabbed Donnie Baseball when he became available and Donnie jumped at the 1st opportunity to work somewhere where he was picked, not inherited. I think Loria is still paying about 3 or 4 managers he fired and yeah that’s a crappy place to work with no real fan base and a meddling owner but they do have some talent so it will be interesting to see how Donnie does in his 2nd job. He needs to get a real good bench coach and someone to help him manage their pitchers because that is certainly not a Mattingly strength. - - - - Section 222 - Oct 29, 2015 at 12:27 PM I think it’s been reported or strongly rumored that it’s a two year deal. - - rmoore446 - Oct 29, 2015 at 11:45 AM I like the hire of Black and will be interested in seeing the coaches who become part of his team. - - NatsLady - Oct 29, 2015 at 12:15 PM Yes. The Royals are good. I watched both teams in their respective DS and CS series–I wish I had put in writing my original feeling that they would sweep the Mets. I still can’t believe all the analysts who say the teams are “evenly matched” or who picked the Mets in six. (1) The Royals are on a mission. Every member of their organization, from ownership to scouts, players, coaches, etc. is dedicated to one thing and one thing only, a WS ring. They’ve been here before, and they’re not leaving without it. The Mets are like the 2012 Nats, they got to OZ and are finding out they’re not in Kansas anymore–oh, wait… (2) Ned Yost isn’t as stupid as he looks. You won’t see Cueto in Citi Field. Terry Collins is: hasn’t figured out his outfield alignment and hello, Kelly Johnson for DH? (3) Good pitching beats good hitting–except when it doesn’t. For example, when the pitching is young and tired, and throws too many strikes at a team that refuses to strike out. Collins misaligned his rotation, and now he is stuck with the rookie Syndergaard in the MUST WIN Game 3. I wish him luck with that, because it may be the only game the Mets win. Then Matz, who, though talented, won’t go more than five innings, and then back to Harvey and deGrom, both tapped out. (4) Defense matters. So does every member of the bullpen, not just the closer. And, speaking of the closer, so cool how the Royals figured out Familia’s tricks. Plus, as I said, I watched both teams for weeks. A no-doubter. - - Section 222 - Oct 29, 2015 at 12:30 PM I picked Royals in 6 (you can look it up), and still expect the Mets to win at least one game. But the Royals are hungry, they are balanced, their lineup can string hits together to come from behind in the late innings (something the Mets haven’t done this postseason at all), and they have that lights out bullpen. The Mets starters are better, but as we saw the past two nights, Volquez and Cueto. - - NatsLady - Oct 29, 2015 at 12:40 PM The Mets might have done better against the Blue Jays, power pitching vs power hitting. But the Royals just aren’t playing that game. And, as you note, Volquez and Cueto are not slouches (neither is Ventura). They may not have the velocity of the Mets’ starters but they know how to pitch. - - Section 222 - Oct 29, 2015 at 3:55 PM Indeed they do. Exactly what I said in debating this point with jd after making the Royals in 6 prediction. - - virginiascopist - Oct 29, 2015 at 4:39 PM And speaking of Royals pitchers knowing how to pitch, how about Chris Young? Wasn’t supposed to pitch in game 1 and worked three innings without giving up a hit. It will be interesting to see how he does in game 4. - - Section 222 - Oct 29, 2015 at 4:53 PM Good point. Maybe the Mets hitters will be a little more ready to handle him. But that was a big time relief appearance from a guy who was supposed to have the day off. I hear that he was the only player who was informed about Volquez’s dad because he would have been the spot starter if Volquez found out and wanted to leave. Amazing stuff in that game. - - virginiascopist - Oct 29, 2015 at 12:46 PM Great post, NatsLady. I haven’t been watching both teams religiously through the post-season, but it certainly seems as if the Royals have the “not to be denied” attitude about them. At least Terry Collins had the sense not to start Syndergaard in KC, although look at all the pressure that’s on him now to try to prevent them from going down 0-3. - - jd - Oct 29, 2015 at 1:14 PM But at the same time the Royals were this close to being knocked out by the Astros and to losing game 1 to the Mets. That’s the nature of playoff baseball. It’s more luck that people want to admit. Good point about the Mets young pitching but really Collins didn’t have much leeway because they are all very similar to one another. I for one don’t believe that this series is over by a long shot (I am rooting hard for the Royals or more accurately against the Mets). The big surprise to me so far is how well the Royals starters have pitched. Neither of the 1st 2 pitchers have been all that consistent recently, we know Cueto has it in him to pitch great but he doesn’t always do it. - - langleyclub - Oct 29, 2015 at 2:57 PM Like the hire. Black will get the max out of the pitching staff and the bullpen. That said, not all of the Nats problems in 2015 were attributable to MW (poor defense, weak bullpen, imbalanced offense that strikes out too much). In addition to the current flawed roster, the Nats lose Desmond and Jordan Zimmerman (and possibly Span). Black could work magic in 2015, and the team as presently constituted has too many holes. One of the biggest issues outside of the bullpen is what to do with Yunel Escobar. The root of many of the Nats problems is that playing him at 3rd weakened the Nats’ defense at 2nd and 3rd. With that said, Escobar lacks the lateral movement to play SS at this point, and 2b is not a position where you can stash a bat. Despite the defense issues that Escobar causes, he was the Nats’ 2nd most reliable bat, and a Danny Espinosa/Trey Turner middle infield is shaky at best offensively and potentially an utter disaster for the lineup (would anyone be shocked if Espinosa struggles to get above the Mendoza line next year, and Turner’s bat is not MLB ready?). My strong preference would be trade Escobar, but only if the Nats can add a solid middle infield option that can hit lefty (was kind of hoping for Daniel Murphy, but his post-season explosion likely makes him too pricey). - - jd - Oct 29, 2015 at 3:19 PM With all the flaws you correctly point out this team should have won the division going away. All teams are flawed. I agree with your analysis about Escobar and additionally I also think there is a very good chance he won’t hit as well next year. There is also the probability that Turner starts the year in the minors, so yes Rizzo has a lot to think about here but the starting point has to be Rendon at 3rd. Murphy has burst on the scene this post season but he plays a real below average defense at 2nd base and his current streak is not really representative of his standard production. His would definitely be a ‘buy high’ proposition and I wouldn’t go there. The player I really like is Ben Zobrist, I think he is a free agent also but he too is in the process of becoming very rich. - - langleyclub - Oct 29, 2015 at 3:52 PM Rizzo wanted Zobrist last off-season. Would love to get him. His price will be high as well. - - Section 222 - Oct 29, 2015 at 4:35 PM Second base is absolutely a position where you can sacrifice defense if needed. You don’t want to, but it’s often done. That’s where Daniel Murphy plays, and he’s no Danny Espinosa with the glove. And there’s Dan Uggla, surely a defensive liability. Gee, maybe being named Dan is a prerequisite for the job. But I digress. Because 3B is Rendon’s natural position and he is so superior there, that has to be his position next year. I expect Esco will start at 2B unless we trade him. Hopefully he’ll play that position as well as he played 3B, which wasn’t that great I admit. Turner won’t be called up until mid-season for service time reasons, and that should help him rake when he finally arrives. Can Espi hit well enough to hold down the starting SS position all year long? That’s the big question about our lineup. - - Jeff - Oct 29, 2015 at 7:51 PM Hitting coach ? Alonzo Powell?? Pitching coach. Too soon for Paul Menhart 3 b coach. Bud reunion with Ron Roenecke ??? Devon White should return ?? Lol -

Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords, perhaps the noble Lord would allow me to interrupt him. We are all in a difficulty over this because the scheme will be prepared by ACAS and not by the Department of Trade and Industry. Until ACAS is empowered to prepare the scheme, it is very difficult to predict what scheme it will prepare. Although I fully understand my noble friend's point, we are probably all in the same difficulty here. Lord Wedderburn of Charlton: Yes, I did not want to make the difficulties even more difficult, but I shall do so. The problem in 1996 was that the scheme appeared to be outlined by the Government with the approval of ACAS, although it was not explicitly said to be the case. I understand that the Government may not wish to do that. I am asking for some informal, non-binding, tripartite document which suggests vaguely, better than the legal officers, some idea of what the scheme would look like. I put it to my noble and learned friend (who knows it very well as he helped to draft the Bill) that the 1996 scheme is based upon a text in the Bill which is not so different from the present one. I simply ask whether we are to look at that as a possibility or are we to be told, "No, that is out; it is something else and we shall tell you when the time comes"? I will be frank with my noble and learned friend: when we come to this matter in Committee, I shall suggest that there should be consultations with the department of state and ACAS at rather different and additional times to those required by the clauses. It is fashionable and to a great extent true that "legalism" has overcome the tribunals. I do not believe that that has much to do with the introduction of lawyers--I must speak carefully because I am a lawyer. We all know plenty of legalistic barrack-room lawyers who are not lawyers, and we all know many lawyers whose great ability has been to put legalism aside and find a commonsense answer. One only needs to think of Lord Goodman, whose expertise in that direction was incomparable. 25 Jul 1997 : Column 1586 To reverse the trend towards undue legalism research suggests that reform in procedure must be matched by reform in substantive law. Unfair dismissal is one area where we may put the lawyers out of the door; we may bring arbitration in; but we shall make little difference if we do not change the substantive law of what is the definition of an "unfair dismissal". The history of the French tribunals--the Conseils de Prud'hommes--suggests the same. That is why I wonder about those who believe so strongly in the new arbitration scheme. I am not against it. It is rather like sliced bread. It is impossible to be against it in the form in which it stands in the present Bill. Experience of wholly voluntary arbitration which ousts the tribunals altogether (as Professor Dickens suggested in her work) is not a firm guide for a scheme which is, as in the Bill, legally-based arbitration. I mean by that arbitration which is within a structure, within a statute, based not merely upon the consent of the two parties. Legally-based arbitration is subject to the High Court by way of judicial review, if not in other ways. It may be necessary to ensure that the interpretation of the law by arbitrators--especially if it is open only to judicial review--does not diverge to the assumptions or interpretations of the law for those cases which have chosen to go the parallel route. Although the arbitrator will concentrate upon the facts, nevertheless, no determination by an arbitrator can avoid a finding of the legal base of his or her arbitration award. In other words, we have two legally-based channels for disputes. A certain finesse must now be introduced if we are not to wait until we find that there is a clash between the two channels and depend merely upon judicial review. I do not have an answer. It may be worth spending the summer finding an answer to the possible clashes between the two legally-based ways of solving employment disputes. Perhaps I may put forward two final points. First, the position of the employee as the weaker party is the constant care of legislation--that must be so--in relation to tribunals. But that makes even more important so-called compromise agreements where employees are allowed to abandon their rights in agreements with other parties. That is quite a new phenomenon; it did not exist before 1993 as compromise agreements. The Bill extends the notion of qualified compromise agreements, largely by removing the restriction on the advice which must be given being advice given by a qualified independent lawyer. Most people will respond positively to that--they like ejecting lawyers from things. The trouble with the Bill is that it just leaves it at that. So long as the person giving the advice is properly insured under a contract of insurance or an indemnity provided for by members of a professional body (against his or her negligence, obviously) it seems that anyone can now give independent advice. I have made inquiries, and not only would that cover a suitable arrangement with union officials, which I take to be the object of this clause--it is sensible, if there is proper insurance, to have union officials who are very much experts in this subject giving advice--but it would also cover accountants, dentists and osteopaths being able to give independent 25 Jul 1997 : Column 1587advice. The prowess of dentists and osteopaths on points of employment law is not noted, at any rate so far as concerns the books on points of employment law. That is the first important area of compromise agreements. Secondly, we find that deductions from compensation for unfair dismissal may be made when an employee has failed to make use of an in-house procedure. My noble friend has managed to shorten the clause by saying that a maximum of two weeks' compensation will be involved. But that may occur where an in-house procedure has been provided by the employer and the employee has not made use of it. When we come to Committee, I shall propose that that part of the Bill is unfair to employees. Except for a general jurisdiction of the tribunals, the test of whether it is a proper in-house procedure is merely the choice of the employer. The Bill says "provided by the employer". It should be the case that such in-house procedure agreements on unfair dismissal, if they are to be a ground for diminishing the compensation of an employee, should be negotiated with an independent trade union or there be in place some equivalent manner of testing its propriety. Because of the special character and importance of my noble friend's Bill, I have dwelt on parts of it. I wished to give some idea of the points we should look at in Committee, but none of those remarks leaves me in any doubt but that your Lordships will wish to give the Bill unanimous approval on this, its Second Reading. Baroness Turner of Camden: My Lords, I welcome the intentions behind the Bill so ably introduced by my noble and learned friend Lord Archer. Of course, it is necessary that unfair dismissal claims should be processed more speedily than at present. As we heard, there is already a large backlog of cases waiting to be heard by industrial tribunals and the situation in regard to cases going to appeal is even worse. There are reasons for that heavy load of cases. We are living through an era of destabilised employment. Unemployment figures may be reducing, but the lack of security for those in employment remains as great as ever. That is not only a product of globalisation and technology, although they play a part. The previous government made a virtue of so-called "flexibility". It may have been right for employers, at least in the short term, but not for employees. Constant downsizing was bound to lead to increases in the number of people who felt that they had been dismissed unfairly. I do not subscribe to the view that there is now no alternative to the instability that is a feature of many working environments. It is socially unacceptable since it is hardly possible to create the conditions for stable family life without stable employment. Those are issues which the new Government will have to tackle--from a quite different philosophical standpoint, one hopes, than that of their predecessors. The Conservative Party does not yet realise the part that lack of job security played in their downfall; it had begun to affect people who hitherto regarded themselves as being in safe employment and who were largely Conservative supporters. 25 Jul 1997 : Column 1588 Pending discussion of these vital issues, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Archer, is right to urge that something must be done to deal with the cases which have accumulated and to press for alternative procedures. The radical proposal is that unfair dismissal cases should be dealt with by a system of arbitration. As we have heard, industrial tribunals, when first established, were intended to be informal courts where individuals did not need to incur the cost of legal representation. However, as everyone knows--this was referred to by my noble friend Lord Wedderburn--the situation has rapidly changed and has become much more legalistic. Although, in my union, we preferred to have members represented by trade union officials who understood the working environment and the union agreements covering their terms and conditions, most employers chose legal representation. Many union officials, including myself, who represented members before industrial tribunals felt that we did very well because we understood the conditions which governed the way in which our members worked and the agreements we had negotiated. Arbitration may be a better way of dealing with some cases of unfair dismissal. Certainly it should be speedier. The length of time, in most instances, spent awaiting hearings at industrial tribunals makes a mockery of the provisions in legislation for reinstatement. After a gap in time--even longer, of course, if the case goes to appeal--reinstatement simply ceases to be a realistic option even though it is within the powers of the IT and the EAT to award it. I was once a member of the Central Arbitration Committee. We did not consider individual unfair dismissals, but we did deal with a range of other disputes--I think effectively. However, the CAC was ultimately written out of most of the relevant legislation by the previous government who did not really like arbitration and favoured unrestrained employer power. I understand the TUC believes that the simple arbitration process suggested in the Bill is suitable for straightforward unfair dismissal cases only. However, as we have heard, the Bill makes provision for extending by order the arbitration scheme to include sex, race and disability discrimination. Those can be very complicated matters. I recently raised on a Question in the House the whole matter of the law relating to sex discrimination cases, particularly as it affects equal pay for work of equal value. There is a case for looking closely at the procedures in conjunction with the Equal Opportunities Commission. The Government have already indicated that they are prepared to do that. Race and disability discrimination may also present problems. I am therefore glad to hear that my noble and learned friend Lord Archer is seized of the difficulties here and is considering introducing his own amendment. Clause 3 of the Bill appears to extend provision for chairmen to sit alone on cases. I am not too happy about that. The wing members not only bring to the consideration of cases a great deal of experience of industrial relations--that is why they are chosen--but make what I believe is an important contribution to the perceived fairness of the proceedings. I hope that what is proposed will receive careful consideration. 25 Jul 1997 : Column 1589 I have some concern about internal appeal procedures. Some internal procedures have been unilaterally imposed by employers. They may not even be known to the employee until the employer seeks to claim that they should have been utilised. Or the employee may mistrust the procedures because he or she was not involved in their original negotiation and may regard the procedures as a piece of window dressing by employers, having no real validity. Employees could have their compensation reduced on the basis of an appeals procedure in which they had no real trust. I would like appeal procedures agreed with an independent trade union. It also seems fair that the employer should have to set out the appeal procedure in writing to the employee when issuing the dismissal notice, advising the employee of the legal consequences of failing to use the procedure. It would simplify matters if a statutory form of words could be used. While on the matter of compensation, is it not time that we looked at the limits? The current ceiling of £6,300 for the basic award and £11,300 for the compensatory award means that the higher paid, long-serving employee may suffer extensive financial loss. Compensation for pensions alone could reach quite substantial sums. If there has been unfairness in dismissing an employee, the burden of that wrongful act should fall on the employer and not on the employee, particularly when the employee concerned may be in the older age bracket, perhaps with a long history of service, and unable to find alternative employment very quickly. I agree with what has been said about the extension of compromise agreements. One of the unions has pointed out to me that it has some reservations about how the process works now and that it is very fearful of the emergence of freelance operators who present themselves as experts in this area. The Bill could profit from amendment. On the other hand, I commend my noble and learned friend Lord Archer for bringing it forward. It is clear that something has to be done to deal with a long waiting list, a situation which is unfair to all concerned. I am glad that we are to have the opportunity to debate the Bill in Committee. We are fortunate that in this House there are many noble Lords who have great expertise. In particular, we shall, I am sure, benefit from the advice of my noble friend Lord Wedderburn, who is pre-eminent in this area. I welcome the Bill and look forward to having the opportunity to discuss it further in Committee. Lord Gladwin of Clee: My Lords, I must first declare an interest. I am a member of an industrial tribunal. I am also a member of the Employment Appeal Tribunal. The right of an employee not to be unfairly dismissed was first introduced in 1971. The tribunals were seen to be the method whereby employees who felt they had been unfairly treated could get swift, informal and effective determination of their complaints. The primary remedy that we saw--I say "we" because as a trade union official I represented members before industrial tribunals--was the power of the tribunal to order the 25 Jul 1997 : Column 1590reinstatement of a worker who had been unfairly dismissed. As has been said, the reality today is very different. Informality has gone and there is a widespread use of lawyers. My experience is that employers still use lawyers when, frankly, the personnel director could do just as well. There is constant reference to case law made by superior courts--the Employment Appeal Tribunal, the Court of Appeal, the House of Lords and the European Court of Justice. The main problem today is delay with regard to the length of time that can elapse between the registration of a complaint of unfair dismissal and its determination. Months can go by before a case comes before a tribunal. If the losing party decides to appeal, much more time elapses. Therefore, reinstatement is no longer an effective remedy. That is why it is used only in 1 per cent. of the cases that come before industrial tribunals. Reinstatement or re-engagement--they have the same value--is an effective remedy only if it is awarded four to six weeks after the employee has been unfairly dismissed. It has to be done when the employment relationship is still warm. If it has gone cold and time has elapsed, it is no longer an effective remedy. We are all familiar with the reasons for the delay. The workload has increased and it is still increasing. It is due to the widened jurisdiction. We now deal with sex, race and disability discrimination cases. Also there is the growing number of small businesses which seem to be unaware of employee rights and the need to have internal discipline and grievance procedures. I am bound to say that there is the unwillingness of governments adequately to provide the necessary resources to meet the growing caseload. Therefore, I welcome the Bill introduced by my noble and learned friend Lord Archer because it seeks to reduce the caseload. I also welcome it because it could be the first step to reducing what I regard as the quite unfair and unjust requirement that a worker must have two years' employment before he can exercise his employment rights. We once had a commitment to those rights being established at day one. That is perhaps impractical, but we really ought to move to where we started, which was, after six months' employment, rights then become effective. I hope that the Front Bench will take note of that point. As I said, I welcome the Bill, but there are a number of concerns, some of which have already been expressed. I welcome the proposal that ACAS should provide voluntary, binding arbitration to the parties to an unfair dismissal dispute as an alternative to going to an industrial tribunal. But I question--even with my noble friend's amendment which we shall see at Committee stage--whether at this stage or ever racial, sexual and disability discrimination cases are suitable for ACAS arbitration. I am not sure. As I indicated, the remedies that are open to industrial tribunals are reinstatement, re-engagement and compensation. Reinstatement is going back to where you were the day before you were unfairly dismissed. Re-engagement has the same value as that award. I have had the experience where one has decided that there has 25 Jul 1997 : Column 1591been unfair dismissal, but to say to the employer that he must take the employee back in the position he was in was impractical. So the alternative is re-engagement, which, as I say, may be with an associated company or in a different place of work. But it has the same value as reinstatement. However, in the Bill we have what seems to be a third remedy--or perhaps a fourth remedy--"or otherwise re-employed". If that is designed to give the arbitrator flexibility when making his award, I submit that re-engagement should suffice. It is dangerous to move away from the well understood remedies which are provided by the Employment Rights Act. I believe that those words should be taken out of the Bill. But we shall come to that at Committee stage. It is dangerous to drift away. The fear is that there will be an alternative remedy which could act to the detriment of the employee who has been unfairly dismissed. My third concern relates to Part III, Clause 13 of the Bill. It is what I call the "fines and bonuses" clause. We have heard of it already in this debate. It gives the tribunals the power to penalise employees who have been unfairly dismissed by reducing the compensation by not more than two weeks' pay if they have not used the employer's procedure for appealing against unfair dismissal. That is the fine. Similarly, if the employer has prevented the employee from using his procedure, the tribunal can make a supplementary award to the employee of up to two weeks' pay. That is the bonus. In my opinion this is a minefield. It will be most unwelcome to industrial tribunals. It will prove to be a nightmare for them. For example, what is "procedure"? All the evidence will need to be assembled to argue the case whether they went through the procedure or whether the employer prevented the employee from going through the procedure. There is already enough evidence that has to be amassed to deal with the argument about mitigating the loss where a compensation award is being made to an employee who has been unfairly dismissed. To extend that to an argument about whether he was prevented from using an internal procedure--all for two weeks' pay--is not worth the candle. I believe that that provision should come out of the Bill. It does not address the problem. Many cases of unfair dismissal come before industrial tribunals because employers have no internal appeals procedure. This clause is silent on that. It relates only to circumstances where, allegedly, there is in place an appeal procedure. What is the penalty for employers where there is none? What is needed is encouragement for (or even a requirement that) all employers to have an internal appeal procedure which conforms to an ACAS code of practice. That needs to be looked at again. My final concern is Clause 3 in Part I of the Bill which extends the categories of cases where the chairman should sit alone--that is to say, without the two lay members. In my experience chairmen welcome and benefit from the presence and participation of, as they are sometimes called, "the industrial members". Disputes over redundancy payments and the transfer of 25 Jul 1997 : Column 1592undertakings regulations should be heard by a full tribunal. These are issues which are best settled with the industrial members present because their knowledge and experience are vital. Chairmen should not be under pressure, as they are now, to sit alone in order to improve the throughput figures of tribunals. I repeat my welcome for the Bill. I hope that before Committee stage discussions can take place on some of the issues that have been raised to make a good Bill even better. Lord McCarthy: My Lords, I also welcome this Bill on three counts. First, it is a good and commonsensical Bill. It tries to improve the speedy, effective disposal of disputes and, if it works, it will save public money. That makes a significant contrast to the Bills on industrial and labour relations that we have had over many previous years. That is my second reason. I hope that it marks the end of the dismal parade of anti-worker Bills, which I always called "The eight brides of Frankenstein", the best parts of which were for the most part dictated by European directives which the government did not want to introduce. The third reason why I welcome the Bill is that for the first time since I have been a Member of this House I have a chance to declare an interest. I have always wanted to declare an interest. I cannot say that I am a lawyer, but I am an arbitrator and therefore I have an interest. If I say hard or difficult things about arbitrators, that comes from experience. I have a number of questions which I shall fire at the noble and learned Lord, Lord Archer, and the noble Lord, Lord Haskel. I do not expect them to answer them all today. But I hope that they will think about them and that they might get in touch with some of us about them. I hope that they will tell us whether they find the questions acceptable in general terms in order to give us some idea of the sort of amendments that we might profitably move in Committee. My first query is to indicate surprise that there is nothing in the Bill about the procedure for encouraging exemptions. The procedure goes back to the 1978 Bill. It is still there and yet, as we all know, only in one case involving the Joint Industry Board for the electrical contracting industry does the exemption procedure operate. I do not know why the Government do not put in the Bill or say in this House that they support the notion of the exemption procedure. It may be it is to be improved in various ways. But in a way it is a matter of common agreement between all sides of the House, because in the previous government's green paper, which has been frequently quoted, on page 25 they talked about the possibility of encouraging exemptions. They stated: The safeguards are then listed. Paragraph 4.29 then states--and this is absolutely true--that the performance standards (in the exempted procedures), 25 Jul 1997 : Column 1593 That is what the previous Conservative Government said. The quotation continues That is unanswerable. I have operated within the context of the JIB voluntary procedure. It is standard form, if necessary, to award reinstatement and re-employment because there is speed and efficiency and because the people who operate that procedure know it very well.

More on: Middle East and North Africa Foreign Minister Zarif discusses current developments in the Middle East. HAASS: Well, good evening. Welcome to the Council on Foreign Relations. As you can see, sitting next to me is the foreign minister of Iran, Mohammad Javad Zarif. I’m Richard Haass. And I also want to welcome not just those of you in the room but those of you who are joining us through all means electronic and digital from around the country and around the world. Just to say, this meeting is on—O-N—the record, and the minister and I will talk for about half an hour, and then we’ll open it up to you, our members. At the end of the meeting, we’ve asked that the members stay in their seats until the minister is able to leave Peterson Hall. Foreign Minister Zarif has been to the United States in his current capacity for four—over the four or five last years, you’ve been minister— ZARIF: Four years. HAASS: —four years, many times. He was educated here, got his doctorate at the University of Denver, and he and I have worked together, one way or another, sometimes in parallel purposes, sometimes in cross-purposes, in government, and I would just say he is a consummate professional. And it is—we are very pleased to have him here. Timing could not be better given all that is going on in his part of the world and beyond. As I said, I’ll start with a few questions, and then we’ll open up. Mr. Minister, welcome to the Council on Foreign Relations. ZARIF: Good to be here. HAASS: Let me just ask you a general question about the part of the world where your country resides. When you compare it to other regions—Asia, Latin America, Europe, even Africa—the Middle East has been, is, and promises to be the least stable geography in the world. Why is that? What is it about the Greater Middle East that makes it so instability-prone? ZARIF: Well, I think it is befitting that you want to talk about such a difficult subject to start, as we always do, in the name of God—(laughter)—who is—who is the compassionate and the merciful, because it’s important when we talk about our part of the world to remind ourselves that the God that people are killing in his name, is considered in our religious doctrine as a being that is compassionate to all, and merciful, and his compassion doesn’t recognize any boundaries of religion, race, sex, or whatever. And it is, in fact, the irony of history that people kill in his name and commit all these acts of atrocity. I believe there are many reasons for this situation. You can look inside, inward in the region. And it’s always easy to blame the outsiders. We’ve had foreign intervention and occupation, which obviously amount to much in terms of creating disenchantment, anger, and leading to extremism. I don’t want to boast, but in February of 2003, a month before the United States invaded Iraq, I had a statement as ambassador of Iran to the Security Council, at the Security Council, and I said a lot of what may happen after a U.S. invasion—and at that time, an invasion was imminent—is in question. We don’t know what will happen. We don’t have a crystal ball. But one outcome is very clear, and that is extremism is going to be on the rise as a consequence of that invasion. So that’s one way of looking at our region. Our region has been the scene of many foreign interventions, and that has an internal dynamic. Occupation, invasion, has a dynamic. But looking internally, I believe—and here I do not want to be rude to any of our neighbors—10 hours in line simply to vote. That gives them an opportunity to express themselves. Iranians stood four hours in line in Los Angeles to vote. That gives them an avenue of expressing their satisfaction, dissatisfaction, with the government. That is totally absent in the rest of our region. So frustration with the lack of the possibility for the state providing for the most basic needs, including dignity, that’s one thing. Then this anger is directed at governments in the region, governments of their own countries. But unfortunately they try to misdirect or divert this anger to some sort of an enemy that they depict. And now we happen to be the enemy that they want to choose—enemy of choice, because it not only works for them. It works with you. (Laughter.) It is very appealing for somebody to come and tell the United States that, oh, Iran is the enemy; Iran is the source of all of our problems. And because of that, you see a concerted effort to create this external enemy in order to divert that very fundamental existential threat. But I believe helping these extremist forces, even by diverting their anger towards a superficial enemy, would not resolve the problem, because the problem, at the end of the day, for these extremist forces, for these terrorist forces, the focus of their anger is their own governments. And even if they can divert that anger to another enemy for some time, at the end of the day the chicken will come back home to roost. HAASS: Following up on that, the new crown prince of Saudi Arabia, when he was the deputy crown prince, gave an interview several months back and he said—and I think I’ve got the quote roughly right. It may not be similar to yours, although there are many similarities. Just—if you had just watched our debate, if you knew Persian and simply had watched our debate, and then compared it to yours—(laughter)—no, no, it’s very similar. I’m not trying to be sarcastic—similar debate. But that doesn’t happen there. So they brought it there. They brought terrorism to Iran. But I believe, again, they’re looking at the wrong address. Iran is a serious partner for all these countries in fighting our common enemy because we believe, at the end of the day, these takfiri forces, these extremist forces are as much a threat against us, but even more a threat against them.—because Yemen is probably the worst humanitarian nightmare that you can think of—300,000 cases of cholera; that’s really serious—so cease-fire, humanitarian assistance, inter-Yemeni dialogue, national unity government. I believe this can be the basis for cooperative arrangements between Iran and Saudi Arabia. We don’t have to fight. We don’t need to fight. We don’t need to try to exclude each other from the scene in the Middle East because, at the end of the day, neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia will be able to exclude the other, and the minute our neighbors on the other side of the Persian Gulf come to the realization that they cannot exclude Iran, I believe the most important giant step would have been taken by them in order to resolve these problems. HAASS: You mentioned Syria, so let me turn to that. You yourselves have been the victims of the use of chemical weapons. Now you find yourself supporting and embedding a government that’s using chemical weapons. How is it you square that? ZARIF:—(laughter). HAASS: Do you have serious doubts whether the Syrian government used chemicals weapons? ZARIF: We have serious doubts that the recent allegations by the United States about the use of chemical weapons against Khan Sheikhun can be verified, and we suggested that they should send an investigative team to the region. We said that if chemical weapons had been used, there are traces. You can find where they were used, how they were used, from which locality they were used, and it would have been easy. It would have been easy for a team to go to Khan Sheikhun, and it would have been easy for a team to go to Shayrat Airbase. Because if they said they loaded the planes with chemical weapons at the Shayrat. But the OPCW, the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, refused to go to Shayrat. And I asked the executive director of the organization a few weeks ago when he was in Iran, and he said we were not supposed to attribute responsibility; we were supposed to only check whether chemical weapons have been used. So, from our perspective, it is unacceptable for anybody to use chemical weapons, but we do. HAASS: OK. I’m not going to do some follow ups, so I want to say some other issues out there and then I want to open it up. Just this past week, we marked the second anniversary of the U.S., not just U.S., but the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the JCPOA, the multilateral agreement on the Iranian nuclear program. I guess I have two questions. One is, what is your assessment of compliance up to date? I don’t expect you to assess your own, some people here might have some views on that. I’m curious, your assessment of the compliance of others, particularly the United States. ZARIF: Well, I think our compliance is rather straightforward because it’s not forgetting whether we have complied or not. We have given the mandate to the IAEA, actually the agreement has given the mandate to the IAEA to verify our compliance, and it has verified every time that Iran has complied. So that’s very clear in black and white in the reports of the IAEA, which is hardly a sympathizer of Iran. So you don’t need to ask me whether we have complied.: You’re talking about sanctions, for example, dealing with terrorism or human rights or other such issues. ZARIF:. (Laughter.) HAASS:: Well, the impact is that the United States doesn’t learn from history. The U.S. conducted regime change in Iran in 1953 and look what it has produced for the United States. The U.S. has been following a regime change policy since the revolution. Officially, it was officially stopped during the Obama administration. We don’t believe that it was actually stopped, but it was officially stopped. You see, the difference between Iran and American allies in the region is that we derive our legitimacy and our authority and our power from our people. The fact is that we’ve been under pressure, Richard, for 38 years.? Now maybe people in Iran have been brainwashed. People in Los Angeles would stand in line for four hours to choose a president that was predetermined? Come on. Don’t kid yourselves.. HAASS: Let me raise a few other questions. One, there was a New York Times story over the weekend I’m sure you saw, essentially arguing that Iran now dominates in Iraq, thanks to a U.S. policy. And we’ve seen in Iraq several times where you had a government nominally in charge and then alienated Sunnis, who formed al-Qaida, ISIS, what have you. Whether Iran dominates Iraq or not will make a debating point. Iran clearly has significant influence in Iraq. What confidence do you have that this—that history won’t repeat itself, that Shi’a militia and then basically a Shi’a-dominated government won’t overreach and whatever they call it—you know, that some version of Sunni terrorism 3.0 won’t emerge just like ISIS and al-Qaida did? What confidence do you have. We have been consistent in objecting to that. They made the wrong choices, and now they’re complaining. Why are they reaping the fruits of their own wrong choices? It’s not our fault that we made the right choice. But that article in The New York Times, I believe—I have a lot of respect for The New York Times, but they didn’t do a fact check, because if you read that article, it is so one-sided that it even tries to attribute the use of chemical weapons on Iran. HAASS: Do you believe that there’s a place for American forces in Iraq? ZARIF: We believe that foreign forces are inherently destabilizing, Richard. We do not object to the choice of our neighbors. We do not interfere in the choice of our neighbors. HAASS: But you have foreign—you have Iranian forces in Syria. Why are American forces in Iraq not destabilizing—Iranian forces in Syria not— ZARIF: That’s—no, we do not have forces. As you know, we have military advisers. And as I said, we do not object to the choices of our neighbors, but we believe that foreign forces are inherently destabilizing. We do not want to have a military presence anywhere in the region. We want to be able—we had—we went there as requested by—we went there—to Erbil. You see, you like to simply point out to the fact that we have military advisers in Syria. Why don’t you remember when ISIS was just about to take over Erbil, President Barzani called three countries: Iran—probably last—Turkey, and United States. We were there in two hours with five planeloads of weapons, and military advisers to assist the Kurds in fighting ISIS. The U.S. took 24 hours to go and do some aerial bombardments. And our friends didn’t go at all. So this is the reality on the ground. If we are there, we are on the invitation of the governments that are recognized by the United Nations. But at the end of the day, we believe that the job of establishing security for countries in the region is their own. Each country, their citizens, their military forces must establish security. Foreigners should assist. Anything beyond that would be destabilizing.. HAASS: And my last question before I open it up. Over the weekend there were new reports about Americans in detention in Iran, one receiving a 10-year sentence, a student at Princeton. There’s a number of other Americans or Iranian-Americans who are also being detained in Iranian prisons. Is Iran prepared to release these people as a humanitarian gesture? What possible good is served by having these people under questionable, to say the least, charges serve long prison sentences in Iran? ZARIF: Well, we have—and I’m sure everybody knows today—an independent judiciary. And we in the government do not have any control over the decisions of the judiciary. That is solidly written in the constitution, practiced on the ground in Iran. As a foreign minister, I’ve always tried, on humanitarian grounds, to help people who are in custody, who may not have—I mean, we do not recognize dual citizenship, so for us Iranian-Americans are considered to be Iranians and subjected to our own laws. But we have followed their cases, and we hope that an acceptable resolution can be found. I have to mention that while a lot of publicity has been around the Iranian-Americans or others who have been detained in Iran—and some even say that Iranian-Americans don’t feel safe to come to Iran. There are a million Iranian-Americans, at least, and hundreds and thousands of them come to Iran on a regular basis. I mean, every plane flying to Iran from—mostly bringing Iranian expatriates from the United States—is full. So they come. Only a handful of them have been detained on charges. And I’m not in a position to comment on the charges, because, as I said, the judiciary is independent. However, there are Iranians who are being detained by the United States, either in the United States or even abroad, on charges of technical violations of sanctions that are not applicable today but were applicable 10 years ago. An Iranian woman, two months pregnant, was arrested a couple of weeks ago in Australia. She had immigrated to Australia, left the country, arrested two months ago in Australia, on the request of the United States, for having translated in a transaction that involved a technical violation of sanctions. Another Iranian was arrested in Spain two weeks ago, again, on the same charges. Another Iranian was arrested in Frankfurt, Germany three weeks ago on the same charges. Iranians are being arrested in the United States on bogus charges—bogus. I know a case in New York—bogus allegations, purely political allegations. So I’m not saying that it’s tit for tat, but I’m saying that we need to address this humanitarian problem from a humanitarian perspective and not from a political perspective. And I’m certainly ready to do all it takes on my side to help reside this humanitarian problem. HAASS: OK, let’s open it up for questions from our members. A reminder: This is on the—on the record. Wait for a microphone. State your name and affiliation. Please limit yourself to one short question. Yes, sir. Q: Mr. Minister, my name is Imran Riffat, and I’m with Global Kids. In your comments just now, you referred to the events of 1953. And one can understand the very unhappy memories that Iranians have about those events. Similarly, the Americans have some very unhappy memories about the events of 1979. How can these two be reconciled, if at all? ZARIF: Well, I think we—as you said, there are—there is bad history. Certainly, Iranians did not believe that the activities in 1979 were benign. And the 1953 incident was very much fresh in the minds of Iranians when the events of 1979-1980 took place. What needs to be done is to look forward. We have after years of disagreement been able to reach an agreement that is the result of a multilateral process in which Iran and the United States played a most significant part, but which the deal is not an Iran-U.S. deal. It’s a multilateral deal. And we said that when we signed the nuclear agreement, we said that this was the foundation and not the ceiling. Iran, in our view and in the view of the IAEA, built trust by implementing its end of the bargain. Unfortunately, as I said in answering the previous question, the United States didn’t. So it creates the impression in Iran that the United States’ hostility towards Iran will never end. And I think that can be remedied, while history is history, and we cannot do much about history. HAASS: Have you had any signals one way or the other from the Trump administration that’s now been in office for six months that lead you to believe that there’s anything new, either positive or negative, to be introduced? ZARIF: Well, we received the same signals as you see in the press, the tweets, the others. (Laughter.) That—I’m talking as somebody who created tweet diplomacy. If you watched—and Kerry—we did—I did tweets on an almost daily basis during the nuclear negotiation. And I believe tweeting is a good way of doing diplomacy, as I did it myself. (Laughter.) HAASS: In all modesty. ZARIF: Yeah, in all modesty. (Laughter.) But the point is, we received contradictory signals. So we don’t want—we don’t know which one to interpret in what way. But it’s very clear that Iran is serious about the nuclear deal. And we believe that the nuclear deal can lay the foundations, not the ceiling. HAASS: Barbara. Second row here, microphone. Ms. Slavin. Q: Barbara Slavin from the Atlantic Council. Always a pleasure to see you, Mr. Minister. Are you satisfied with the level of communication that you have with the United States, with the Trump administration at this point? I believe you’ve never spoken to Secretary of State Tillerson or had any communication with him. Is that—is that correct? ZARIF: Accurate. Q: And is one of the reasons that you are here now—I don’t know what the official reason is—but is the main reason so you feel that you can get your message across to—perhaps to the Trump administration and others? You seem to be doing a lot of interviews. ZARIF: Well, in today’s globalized world, you can—you can get your message across even sitting in your home. But I had an opportunity to come for a U.N. session. And I’m taking that opportunity to also have—to see some old friends, as I’m doing right now, and meet some new friends. But it is important to have a better understanding, because I see a lot of misinformation and disinformation that is being—I mean, you know that a lot of money is being spent. Millions upon millions of dollars of money is being spent on PR. And this PR doesn’t want to promote the truth, at least—I mean, I’m not talking about fake news, but the PR is trying to promote a version that is acceptable to certain groups of people. And I believe there is a need under these circumstances, when people are bombarded with this type of less than truth, that—or more than truth in cases—(laughter)—like our total control over Iraq—to hear the different side of the story. But there are no communications between myself and Secretary Tillerson. It doesn’t mean that it can’t—they can’t be, because the possibilities for engagement with regard to the nuclear deal has always been open.. So possibilities for interaction are there, and I think we take advantage of these possibilities. But certainly, I mean, it’s not like the situation with the previous administration where probably Secretary Kerry and I spent more time with each other than we spent with anybody else. HAASS: You mentioned the JCPOA. Just to be clear, in eight years, just to choose one provision, all limits on centrifuge quantity and quality expire. Has your government—and in 10 years limits on stockpile quantity and quality expire. Has your government made any decisions or statements about what Iran’s intentions would be after these ceilings expire? ZARIF: You know, Iran is committed not to produce nuclear weapons. That never expires. Iran is committed to enable the IAEA to have the most stringent control mechanism that is available. That is the additional protocol. That never expires. These are provisions that are built in the nuclear deal that have no sunset. There are some temporary confidence-building measures that Iran agreed to adopt. Those are temporary in nature. After those temporary limitations expire, Iran will resume producing enriched uranium for fuel purposes. And the IAEA is there with the additional protocol in order to verify it. And Iran’s commitment never to produce nuclear weapons is also there. We two weeks ago, as you know, voted for a resolution to legally ban nuclear weapons for all. Unfortunately, the United States and other nuclear-weapon states did not even participate in the deliberations in the United Nations. So I believe that’s the route to go. I think that’s the way to rid the world of these weapons of mass nightmare. And I think six U.S.—six previous U.S. secretaries of state are on the record in The Wall Street Journal that that is the right path to go. But that was some time ago. But now the possibility is there on the ground with this total ban on nuclear weapons, and I think we should take it. We should all take it. HAASS: Just given that, has the Iranian government articulated a position on North Korea? Because at the moment it is busy expanding both its nuclear as well as its missile inventory. ZARIF: We believe that nuclear weapons do not augment anybody’s security. Our objection to nuclear weapons does not recognize friend or foe. We simply believe that nuclear weapons are unacceptable, and in our view illegal because of the consequences. I argued for 90 minutes in 1996 before the ICJ that any use of nuclear weapons would be illegal because it violates the most basic principles of international humanitarian law. And that is our position. Our position is that nuclear weapons are unacceptable ideologically from our ideological point of view, that nuclear weapons are not acceptable strategically, that nuclear weapons do not augment anybody’s security, that nuclear deterrence is baloney. HAASS: Sure, Jeffrey. Q: Jeff Laurenti. Minister Zarif, I’d like to pick up that issue that Richard had posed at the end of the opening segment about Xiyue Wang, the Princeton graduate student. And there’s been a great deal of consternation in Princeton, of course, about his secret trial and now sentencing, perhaps in part because they’ve accused him of spying for Harvard—(laughter)—which would be some disturbance. And I think that this goes beyond the humanitarian framework that Richard proposed, because what kind of independent judiciary is it that has secret trials? Somebody has to pick judges and prosecutors. Somebody has to be in charge of the XXX 45 XXX Xxx That has secret trials. Somebody has to pick judges and prosecutors.. The process—the due process of a case going to a certain judge is also determined by law. It’s not an arbitrary process. Security cases in many countries are held in-camera, including in the United States. I can give you a case right now in New York, the lawyer of the defendant doesn’t have access to the—to the charges against him because they say charges are classified. The defendant himself doesn’t have access to the charges against him because they say charges are classified. You call these dark forces in Iran, you should call them dark forces in the United States. So, I mean, these are realities.. That has—you know, a court in New York—let me just ask you this. A court in New York gave $11 billion to victims of 9/11, accusing Iran of being the culprit, while every evidence in the book says that Saudi Arabia and your allies were the real culprits. A court in New York—I mean, this is—(chuckles)—so “dark forces”—let me—let me be serious about dark forces. So let’s look at the realities. I mean, our money is being confiscated for roles that we played in September 11th. This is long before JASTA. The judiciary has evidence, according to them, to prove that this gentleman was involved in espionage. Now you may have a different interpretation of espionage than they do, and I respect that. But we cannot simply say that this was an arbitrary decision. This is—having said this as foreign minister, it’s my job to make sure that anybody, any foreign national in Iran is—even if they are in prison—would receive the necessary amount of legal protection, receive consular visit, and if possible, their case is resolved through humanitarian means. And I’m saying I’ll do my best in order to be of assistance there. HAASS: Michelle. Q: Hi—hello? ZARIF: I can hear. Q: Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, CNBC. Speaking of money, there were conflicting numbers. How much—(comes on mic)—Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, CNBC. Speaking of money, there were conflicting numbers as to how much cash you got from the United States in the wake of the signing of the JCPOA. How much did you get from the U.S.? ZARIF: Well, you see, we have cases in The Hague. It’s called the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal. We had a—you know, during the Shah, we put a lot of money into funds to buy weapons. And after the revolution, the United—and we didn’t know how much it was, because, I mean, there were a lot of stuff. I mean, the beautiful military equipment that you’re now selling to Saudi Arabia, you used to sell to us. So for those beautiful military equipment, we used to pay a lot of money. And we—estimates are that when the Shah left, there were about $400 million worth of money left in that fund without military equipment that had been sold to Iran. And then we had some equipment that we had sent to the United States to be repaired or whatever, overhauled. So we have a case in the Hauge, in the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal which has two parts. One part, with the fund that was not returned to Iran. And the other part with the—dealing with the parts and the stuff that was sent to the United States for repair or overhaul. We decided in the course of the nuclear negotiations to settle that case, to settle the case of the money not the fund—not the parts. And that amounted, with interest, to something between—I mean, close to $1.8, $1.7 billion. Q: That’s the total? ZARIF: That’s just about, just about. So that was our money. It had lingered in the Tribunal for 35 years, waited for resolution. And finally, the lawyers had the guts to—I mean, no, really it requires guts because everybody was accused. I mean, our people accused, why did you settle for $1.7 billion, because some believe that interest should be compounded. Some believe that it should be simple interest. So they reached an agreement based on previous decisions of the Tribunal on other cases that it would be simple interest, it will be at something between 8 and 10 percent, and they just settled it and we got our money. It was our money. Nobody gave us anything. We never asked for anybody’s money. HAASS: Helima.. (Laughter.) So sanctions do not produce outcome. I think. HAASS: Evelyn. Q: Thank you. Evelyn Leopold, resident correspondent at the U.N. I was interested— ZARIF: You are really resident because you’ve been there since I even first went there. (Laughter.) Q: Forever. Good seeing you again. Chemical weapons. I was a bit disturbed by what you said because investigating—they are going to be investigated in Syria by this joint group from the OPCW and the U.N. called the JIM.— ZARIF:. Q: But it doesn’t matter what they say, it’s going to be rejected. ZARIF:. HAASS: The gentleman in the yellow tie has been very patient. I apologize. Q: Herb London, the London Center for Policy Research. Sir, you made a reference to the territorial integrity of your neighbors. I wonder if you’d be kind enough to talk about the territorial integrity of Israel. ZARIF: Well, I’m talking about the immediate neighborhood—(laughter)—and that’s where our concerns are, and that’s where our policy is directed. You see, people are looking for scapegoats in dealing with crimes that are being committed on a daily basis. This smokescreen won’t resolve the Palestinian problem, and Iran is not in the neighborhood. What is the cause of the continuation of that crisis? It is the violations of the most fundamental rights of the Palestinian people—mass punishment, human rights violations, denial of every inalienable right of the Palestinian people. And there is global consensus about that. Instead of trying to look for a scapegoat, clever or not, try to address the real cause of the problem and then see if anybody can intervene from outside. It’s the Palestinians who have been deprived, who have been suppressed, repressed for now three generations. If that is addressed, I think you won’t need to look for scapegoats. HAASS: We have time for one last question. The gentleman in the back. Very short question and hopefully a brief answer. Sir. Q: Nizar Abboud of Al-Mayadeen Television in Lebanon. My question is regarding these accusations by United States on missile testing, especially those which were fired recently against ISIS into Syria from Kermanshah or Kerman town, or the area of Kerman. How do you answer to their accusations that Iran is developing missiles that can carry nuclear warheads? ZARIF: Well, we made it clear—in the nuclear deal, we had a very long negotiation, and at the end of the day we reached an agreement on avoiding the missiles that are designed to be capable of carrying nuclear warheads. And we don’t have nuclear warheads, so we don’t—we don’t design anything to carry something that we don’t have. So that’s the end of that story. Missiles are our defense. Missiles are the means of our defense. We do not buy $110 billion worth of beautiful military equipment. We produce them ourselves, beautiful or otherwise. (Laughter.) And I hope a day will come that nobody will have to produce or buy these weapons. And we are prepared. I mean, as the country that spends the least in the region on military equipment, we are prepared to engage with anybody on reduction of military expenditures. Our missiles are means of our defense. We will never use them, except in self-defense—never. And that is a commitment we make. And we hope that others can make the same commitment, that they will not use those beautiful military equipment on anything other than self-defense. That’s a challenge. That’s a challenge. Are they using those beautiful military equipment in self-defense in Yemen against defenseless, innocent people, who have been bombarded out of existence for the past two years? I think these are the questions that need to be asked, instead of focusing on Iran’s means of defense. You see, we went through a war. Eight years. Our cities were showered with missiles, some carrying chemical weapons. And nobody—believe me—nobody gave a damn. I can tell you, I was a witness to that because I was representing Iran at the United Nations. I brought people who were attacked with chemical weapons—I brought them to New York, took them to hospitals so that I could wake up some people’s conscious that this thing was being used. Nobody cared. And now people are asking us to give up our means of defense. Why should we? Have we ever used these weapons against anybody? Just bring one case in history. We can make a statement categorical: We have never used these weapons except in self-defense. We will never use these weapons except in self-defense. We hit the same base from which terrorist operations were designed and carried out against Iran in Deir Ezzor. We hit them with precision missiles. You know, one reason we need to test our missiles is that we want—I mean, missiles that carry nonconventional warheads do not need to be precise, because you put a nuclear warhead on top of a missile, they can hit anywhere, it’s enough. You put a chemical warhead on top of a missile, doesn’t need to be precise. But if you want to put conventional warhead on top of a missile, in order to be able to have some impact, it has to be precise. And we have been able to make precise missiles so that we won’t hit civilians as collateral damage. And that’s what happened in Deir Ezzor. We fired missiles, and our intelligence indicate that all of them hit the targets that they had been intended for. You didn’t hear our missile attacks on Deir Ezzor. Nobody even alleged that a single civilian bystander was killed by our missiles. So this is why we need to develop our missiles. We need them for our protection. We need them for the protection of our civilians. We need them so that another Saddam Hussein around the corner—and, believe me, there are quite a few of them in our region—(laughter)—we need them make sure that another Saddam Hussein around the corner would not come and hit us again, with the international community going through a deafening silence. HAASS: Minister Zarif, thank you for being with us for the last hour here today. I’d ask, again, people to please remain in their seats. But, Mr. Minister, thank you. (Applause.) ZARIF: Thank you too.

It’s cheerless, but our heroes continue on through a montage of grim landscapes and rough terrain. Thoughts on the Passage – Book I, Chapter 12 (p199, 50th Anniv. Ed.) As our hobbits and Strider make their way east, I can’t help but wonder about Aragorn’s history with the Nazgul. What did he know? When did he learn it? And most importantly, prior to Weathertop, had he ever encountered them? By the time our hobbits were on Weathertop, it must have been clear to them that Strider knew more about the so-called Black Riders, the Nazgul, than he was letting on. From their first mention in Bree, he tells them “They will return. And more are coming. There are others. I know their number. I know these Riders.” But how much did Aragorn actually know? Little by little, it’s revealed to us that Strider knows they work for the Enemy, and they have something called “the Black Breath.” More is learned on Weathertop when the Riders gather below. While the Nazgul cannot see in the traditional sense, Strider explains that their horses can. “‘ Rings draws them.'” This last bit indicates that Aragorn had either intimate encounters with them or learned a great deal. Either way, it would be safe to say that whatever Gandalf and Elrond know about the Nazgul has been shared with Aragorn. The same year he met Gandalf, in 2956, Aragorn took off on journeys into the East and South, “exploring the purposes of Sauron and all his movements.” Though Elrond had explained his ancestry to him three years before, he fought as an unknown warrior for Gondor and Rohan. By this time, Sauron had re-established himself in Mordor, which had been prepared for him by the Nazgul. In an entry for the year 2980, when Aragorn returned to Rivendell to once again meet Arwen (still forty years before our story begins – though also forty years after the events in The Hobbit), Tolkien states, almost in passing, that he was returning “from perils on the borders of Mordor.” When Bilbo vanished from The Shire in 3001, Gandalf began to suspect that his magic ring was maybe something a bit more weighty. While he researched its nature, he dispatched Aragorn to search for Gollum, which began in earnest in 3009. The entry in a late draft of the Tale of Years, submitted for publication, states: “Aragorn goes to the confines of Mordor.” This is a far different thing from “the borders of Mordor,” which he had visited thirty years prior. This seems to have been dropped from the published version, which was heavily edited for space. Incidentally, the published version states that Gollum was captured by Sauron somewhere from 3009 to 3017. In Unfinished Tales, Tolkien wrote that Gollum was captured in 3017, a year before our story takes place. This is a later writing (penned after Lord of the Rings, so it’s fairly plausible that Tolkien had decided upon this). Sauron could get little from Gollum, but didn’t kill him because he suspected that he would track down this “Shire” and “Baggins” thing. Gollum headed immediately into the Dead Marshes, and Sauron’s minions refused to follow. Unable to find out any information about Gollum’s location, he finally decided to dispatch the Ringwraiths. Sauron kept the Nazgul close to him, not wishing to use them at all “until he knew precisely where the Ring was.” Tolkien explains in Unfinished Tales that he was hesitant to use them until he was fully ready for open war (which he was not). “For such reasons Sauron long hesitates, since he did not desire that his chief enemies should become aware of his servants’ errand.” So Sauron’s quest went from finding Gollum to finding the Ring. He figured that Gollum and “Baggins” were the only two individuals who knew about the Ring. But while Sauron and the Nazgul focused upon the ring, Aragon was capturing Gollum near the Dead Marshes (February 1, 3017). “He will never love me, I fear; for he bit me, and I was not gentle.” Aragorn brought Gollum to Mirkwood and handed him over the Thrandril. There, Gandalf questioned him and learned for near certain that this was indeed the One Ring. Also, he learned that Sauron knew about “Baggins” and the “Shire.” But it was also in Mirkwood that the Enemy learned what had happened to Gollum. The Witch-king was headquartered in Dol Guldur, in the southern parts of Mirkwood, and news that Aragorn had entered it reached him, though this took some time. Tolkien writes in Unfinished Tales that Sauron didn’t learn of this until April. A month later, he learned that Gandalf was involved. Here, the story is a little muddled. Sauron, it appears, did not set loose the Nazgul until this time – early summer of 3017, after learning about Gandalf and Gollum. In the middle of June, the Nazgul attacked Thranduil (and Gondor) with the intent of recapturing or killing Gollum. But Gollum escaped. In the autumn of that same year, rumor had it that Gollum was in Moria, but that was the last anyone heard about him. By August of 3018 “All track of Gollum is lost.” It must also be remembered (according to “The Council of Elrond” chapter) that while Aragorn is on Weathertop – and until he comes to Rivendell – he believes Gollum to still be in the keeping of the Elves. This must mean that Aragorn had left Mirkwood before June of 3017 – before the Nazgul attacked. His whereabouts from spring of 3017 until summer of 3018 are incredibly vague. From all I can tell, he doesn’t turn up again until late September in Bree. In that month, he was with the Rangers, watching the roads into the Shire, and it can probably be assumed that’s what he was doing the whole time. When the Nazgul crossed Sarn Ford in the southern end of the Shire, the Rangers ultimately lost the engagement, but some fled north (toward Bree) to tell Aragorn the news. This brings us nearly to the present day without Aragorn ever fighting the Nazgul himself. This would mean that on Weathertop, when Frodo caught “a glimpse of Strider leaping out of the darkness with a flaming brand of wood in either hand,” it was the first time Aragorn had ever been face to face with the Ringwraiths. A Few Notes: - Is this right? Had Aragorn really never encountered the Nazgul before? - Was his jump at the Witch-king a suicidal attempt to save Frodo? - I know I’m missing some information on the whereabouts of Aragorn, especially through 3017-3018. If anyone has any other info, toss it my way. - Tomorrow, I’m going to try to do something less heady. We’ll see. - Mostly, I used Unfinished Tales and The Peoples of Middle-Earth. Also, LotR, of course. About the Photo I had compared Trotter, the wooden-shoed hobbit, to a cowboy, but with Aragorn’s backstory, I think he should hold that title. - Day 58 - Miles today: 5 - Miles thus far: 281 - 179 miles to Rivendell - 1,498 miles to Mt. Doom Today’s stopping place: Still south of the East Road, southeast of Weathertop (map) 17 thoughts on “What Did Aragorn Really Know about the Nazgul?” Ooh, interesting! I had never thought that this was Strider’s first confrontation with the Nazgul. No reason. Just took him at his word that he knew “these Riders.” Maybe he saw them when he was hunting for Gollum down there? He might have gone by Minas Morgul. He probably did, the guy got around. It really shocked me to learn that there’s really no way that he ran into the Nazgul before Weathertop. The narrator of “Hunt for the Ring” even strongly suggests that is Aragorn had been at Sarn Ford, it may not have ended so well. Especially how he’s all “I’ma sacrifice my life for you. “ Ha! He’s probably right. I never considered this… But I love it. I love that he’d dive at the witch king with no concern of his survival, but just to save Frodo. Especially given that he knew full well of how dangerous they were. It makes Aragorn even more awesome. It really does. I have no idea why, but I’ve been sort of down on Aragorn in my head. Maybe it’s the Gamgee in me. But something just didn’t sit right with me and Aragorn. I’m going to try to figure this out as I go. I do know that his complete trust of Galadriel bugs me (maybe that’s the Boromir in me). But I *am* really trying to like the guy. I did wonder why you threatened every waiter in Seattle with a “I’ll have you, Longshanks!” It makes sense now! I mean some of those waiters weren’t even that tall… No, see, it’s not just you. For some reason, I ALWAYS have a hate-on for Aragorn up until at least the middle of book III. But why? I mean, does he deserve it? Are you too Gamgee-ish, too? He is my favourite. You’re all fools! Aragorn is the best, and the Numenoreans / Dunadain are the whole point of the Legendarium! >>whine whine, pout pout<< Actually, when I first read these as a kid, I was pretty bored until Strider showed up; and after I got the Aragorn reveal, found the books absolutely riveting. To this day, its really, really hard for me to get thru all of the Frodo & Sam sans Strider / Aragorn stuff (I find it all often dull and frequently irritating, especially Sam; sorry guys), while the Aragorn storyline continues to blow my mind. And I say that knowing full well that the Frodo / Sam stuff is just as vital to my mystical escha-cosomological understandings of the Legendarium as the Aragorn stuff. Anyway, to the matter at hand: I think its vital to understand, in regards to Aragorn "knowing" the Nazgul, that Tolkien understands various forms of knowing beyond physical contact. First, there is the fact that Aragorn, via his tutelage under Elrond (who I insist must be understood as Aragorn's Sensei in the archetypal sense), would know every possible bit of information about the Nazgul that Elrond has. So, in every possible intellectual sense, Aragorn "knows" them. Second, Aragorn is special; he is the Numenorean King, which, for Tolkien, is a spiritual category roughly equivalent to Messiah (in the Jewish sense of Annointed One, understood as a spiritually chivalric king*)–demonstrated via Aragorn's role in all of this–with all of the inherent mystical possibility this implies (remember that until the prophecy of Samuel, the Kings were the Prophets; hence a Messiah, in the Jewish sense, would be a spiritually enlightened king). With this + Aragorn's tutelage under Gandalf (who I insist must be understood as Aragorn's Spiritual Master in the archetypal sense), he would posses an accurate intuitive understanding of the Nazgul. Hence, he "knows" them in this more arcane way, as well. With all of this in mind, particularly the second point, I would argue that for Tolkien knowing thru physical contact is a form of knowing of at best secondary, if not tertiary, importance. Therefore, Aragorn did know the Nazgul well prior to their meeting at Weathertop. Of great tactical importance, tho, is that they did not know him. *And as I'd argue that Tolkien is deeply Neoplatonic in his understandings of Catholicism, a "spiritually enlightened king" would be a good Neoplatonic definition of Plato's Philosopher King. Many a Christian, Sufi, and Neoplatonized Jewish mystic have made excellent cases for understanding "Messiah" and "Philosopher King" as describing the same reality. Hey Jeff! You’ll not find a whole bunch of love for Aragorn from me, though I’m sure he’s a swell guy. I agree, Tolkien didn’t mean that Aragorn knew the Nazgul from fighting with them or from hanging out at the Prancing Pony with ol’ Khamul. I wrote: “Either way, it would be safe to say that whatever Gandalf and Elrond know about the Nazgul has been shared with Aragorn.” Which you echoed. As for the Numenorean kings being “messiahs” in the traditional sense. Yeah, I guess so, though the word “messiah” has such a different connotation in modern times (meaning the last 1,700 years or so), that the use of it here is hardly worth the effort to explain it. And you know me. I’m not at all a fan of comparing Gandalf to a guru, or Elrond to a sensei. Gandalf’s relationship to Aragorn can really only be understood within the text. The same goes for Elrond. So in some ways, the relationships might be “like” that between a guru and student, etc, they’re simply not that. And even though he once in a while used words like “angels” to describe the Valar, he seems to have done so with less and less frequency as he got older (and more into his legendarium). It always surprises me how down on the Numenoreans Tolkien was in his writings, especially letters. Once in awhile, he’ll talk about their spiritual side, but will usually go right back to talking about their downfall. He revelled in “the long defeat.” (letter 131 – it’s wonderfully amazing) It’s also sort of fascinating that after finishing the Lord of the Rings, Tolkien tried to do a sequel taking place 100 years after the fall of Mordor (called The New Shadow). He stopped it as it “proved both sinister and depressing.” Aragorn had little control or power and the sub-kings because “like Denethor or worse.” In the end, he concluded (in letter 256) it was “not worth doing.” But with that in mind, he didn’t seem to have the idea that Aragorn’s return meant all that much (though who knows how The New Shadow would have ended – even Tolkien didn’t know that. Elsewhere (letter 244), he does go into detail about Aragorn’s reign, but mentions nothing at all about anything spiritual. It simply wasn’t his focus. In fact, the Numenorean thing, though central to LotR, was his least-developed idea. He tried now and then, but always returned to the First Age or the Elves in the Second Age. So yes, in the end, I agree (as I wrote) that Tolkien’s concept of “knowing” the Nazguls went deeper than having met them before – or even seen them before. And yeah, it was fairly fortunate they had had no real idea who he was. I even jump into this in a subsequent post. Certainly on board for the ride here. And I mostly wanted to echo you and go into a little more depth. I suspect that what blocked Tolkien’s ability to develop the Numenoreans, as well as The New Shadow, was the pessimism at the back of his (mystical but still orthodox) Catholicism, which is radically different from the incredibly nuanced, but largely optimistic view of humanity actually presented in the text. Which is to say that Tolkien didn’t think much of Aragorn, perhaps, and was critical of the Numenoreans / Edain, but the texts themselves are a different story (and a potent one, when considering that Tolkien well understood that the story was getting away from him, as such, as he was discovering it). To wit, humanity at its best (symbolized by the Numenoreans and Numenorean-esque folks [like Theoden, Eowyn, the Hobbits, et al.]) can overcome their fuck-ups and beat-back the dark, and that it is this dynmatism (the tension between fucking up and being able to overcome one’s fuck-ups) that enables transcendence (symbolized by Aragorn’s ascension to the throne and marriage to Arwyn, as well as the passing of much of the Fellowship into the West). Its too bad he didn’t stick with The New Shadow as I suspect that it would have become both much darker and much more optimistic as he removed himself and his presuppositions from process in time (as, I believe, he did in the process of LotR). While I understand your reluctance to stray from the text, I worry about it. That is, I’m not sure that any kind of mythological or fantasy tale can be understood from the “text itself” as such tales are intrinsically archetypal. Which means, among other things, that the archetypal roles characters play are the actual meanings of the characters themselves; that the characters don’t exist save as “roles” (hence, none of the characters are really developed in any meaningful way in LotR except, perhaps, Frodo, Sam, and Smeagol; tho, as I’ve argued before, the three of them can really only be understood as three aspects of a single character). Hence, without understanding Elrond as a “sensei”, Gandalf as a “guru”, Aragorn as a “messiah”, Frodo as a “knight” (and a “grail knight” in particular), etc.–and intuitively and intellectually attempting to grapple with these meanings–I’m not sure any understanding of LotR can occur. But perhaps that is my “role” in this ride : ) Ride on! I’ve read bits of The New Shadow, and really, it’s not all that interesting. There’s something there, but just not enough to make it compelling. Ohh don’t worry too much about me. There’s more than enough in the text to keep us busy. Simply, we cannot understand Gandalf as a guru because he wasn’t one. His relationship to Aragorn was in some ways similar to that of a guru/disciple, but there are many differences as well. We can use things like gurus, seneis, and messiahs as markers to help us understand what these characters and their relationships were like and how they compare and contrast with those markers, but to say that they must or can only be understood by those methods is implausible. We can draw similarities, but since Elrond is not actually a sensei, that definition can’t be applied fully to him any more than “cranky father-in-law” might be. Hmm… How is Elrond not actually a sensei? I mean, other than the lack of Tolkien using the word, I think the evidence is there that he was Aragorn’s teacher in all things relating to martial arts, chivalry, kingship, etc. Hence, in relationship to Aragorn, he would take on the archetypal role of “sensei” (also, being a “cranky father-in-law” is often a part of being a sensei, archetypically speaking). Or take Gandalf, for instance: the text tells us that Faramir is a “wizards pupil”, and since we never see Faramir do any magic, etc. we have to assume that being a “wizards pupil” is something other than being a student of magic. Now, given the differences between Faramir and the person who calls him a “wizard’s pupil” (Denethor, who uses the title very pejoratively), we can safely assume that some of those differences might give us a sense of what Faramir learned from Gandalf. And I would argue that those differences are of a profoundly spiritual nature, given Faramir (particularly his wisdom-rooted interactions with Frodo), and given Tolkien’s proclamation that LotR is about the sole right of God to divine honor. From there we can easily extrapolate on the relationships between Gandalf and Biblo, Frodo (indeed, all of the hobbits), and Aragorn, at the very least. The Hobbit is a very deep “hero’s journey” tale culminating in Bilbo’s incredibly wise rejection of the Battle of Five Armies (which I argue is still the best of all band names) on very spiritual grounds. LotR, aside from the incredible story of the Ring, culminates in the Scouring of the Shire, which Gandalf very directly tells the hobbits they’d been “trained for”. We have to remember that Gandalf’s overt role in the Third Age was the organizing of the Free People’s in their resistance to Sauron, which is in large part a resistance to Sauron (and, by extension, Morgoth) making a claim to divine honor. This means that the resistance to Sauron was a primarily spiritual matter, over which the physical battles were a physical necessity, and that Gandalf was the spiritual master of the Age in Middle Earth (specifically sent by Manwe), with his particular relationships being specific instances of his teaching. Which leads us to Aragorn, who is left in charge by Gandalf who crowns him (anoints him) himself, making Aragorn the spiritual master of the Fourth Age. This initiatory line indicates that Aragorn was Gandalf’s student. (I think the similarities between Aragorn and Faramir, let alone Gandalf and Aragorn’s interactions, actually drive this home.) However, I certainly grant that the overt textual relationship between Gandalf and the other characters does not always (or even often) resemble the relationships of Teacher / Student relationships given in overt spiritual literature (making the word “guru” with its specific definitions at least as problematic as “messiah”). I think there could be any number of reasons for this (including Tolkien never having had a spiritual teacher), but I think the fact that Gandalf is the guide thruout all of the Third Age materials, and that it culminates in the successful war against Sauron, the Souring of the Shire, Aragorn’s coronation and marriage, and the passing of Frodo, Sam, Legolas, and Gimli (as well as Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel, and ultimately Cirdan and Celeborn) into the West, demonstrates aptly the argument. As to whether or not these texts can only be understood by archetypal markers, I suppose I’ll have to stand my ground on this (at least for now) because I’m not sure I can believe that the Legendarium is anything but mythological literature telling the “story of the soul”, as such. However, I think the importance of using words like “messiah” (which is, granted, very loaded in these parts) is less about coming to the text with an idea of what a “messiah” is and then deciding if Aragorn matches what we know, and more about accepting that Aragorn is the messiah of this tale, and then learning what this story tells us about what a “messiah” is. Which is to say, I do not believe that archetypes are static categories with fixed definitions, but dynamic tendencies that become embodied in different ways depending on the needs and contexts (In this definition I believe Jung, Cambell, Corbin, and Plotinus would back me up). I love talking about this stuff!! Where’s Ryan? Elrond isn’t actually a sensei because he is not actually a sensei, at least no more than a King would be a sensei to a Prince (in a generic monarchy sort of way) or the way an instructor at West Point would be to an up and coming lieutenant. I’m sure he’d teach things that a sensei would teach, just as I’m certain that there’s things a sensei would teach that Elrond wouldn’t. These are loaded words that actually mean stuff. I just don’t understand the need to go outside of Tolkien to define the relationship. We can say that things are “like” other things, of course. But saying things are other things is an impossibility. I wasn’t saying that Gandalf wasn’t the spiritual leader. I was saying he wasn’t guru in the same way that Elrond wasn’t a sensei. But that’s always a semantic argument, which is probably pointless in the end. Interesting note that doesn’t support me: the Sanskrit term “guru” literally means “heavy.” So it would maybe be better to say “Gandalf was like a guru to Aragorn, in a certain way.” The closest I would come to agreeing that Gandalf initiated Aragorn into a line would be to say that the Kings of Numenor had gone astray/vanished and a messenger of God was sent to make things right and Aragorn was destined to be the King. What I would actually say is this: “The Kings of Numenor had gone astray/vanished. Gandalf was sent by Manwe, head of the Valar, to aid in the defeat of Sauron, who had led the Kings astray. Aragorn had been chosen by chance/doom/lineage to close the line of the Halfelven, reuniting the lines of Elrond and Elros, and to unite Middle-earth.” For me,. It’s probably a personal preference thing. .” We don’t actually disagree much, as I agree with much of this summation. But two things: 1) I agree some of this is mostly semantic, as I’m using “sensei”, etc. not as word with definitions, but as a title who’s definition gives, at best, merely an indication as to what an intrinsically complex archetype is. Hence, “sensei”, which in western usage means a teacher of the (spiritual, eastern, Japanese) martial arts, in an archetpyal sense becomes something more like “someone who gives practical lessons in the martial arts–broadly understood–as a means of grounding someone in the traditions of chivalry as a precursor to spiritual growth” (as this is what “senseis” generally do in fantasy martial arts literature), but its a hell of a lot easier to just write “sensei”. So, I see Elrond as demonstrating what a “sensei” is, and why a “sensei”, as such, is necessarily important within the context of the events in LotR. Granted, Elrond is probably the worst example of all here, as his role (particularly his relationship with Aragorn) is only loosely defined in the extra Legendarium literature. But applying this rubric to understanding what I mean by the archetypes of “guru”, “messiah”, and “grail knight”–and how they are embodied in Gandalf, Aragorn, and Frodo-Sam-Smeagol respectively–might give us some space here to understand what these characters mean. Which brings us to 2) I’m not sure its possible to really take the Legendarium as a separate tale. This might be the source of our differences here, but I’ll try to make my case. I don’t think any story (particularly any mythology) exists in a vacuum. From a psychological and historical standpoint, Tolkien was defined by his own context: a devout mystic catholic with clear Neoplatonic biases; an expert in the languages, histories, and mythologies of Old Europe; a WW1 vet; a devoted husband and father; a member of the Inklings; etc. When we then include the various contexts of each of these items, as well as the contexts of each person he interacted with in each of these circumstances, we begin to see an intense and intricate web that interlaces a great deal of the world (albiet, mostly passively) into Tolkien’s psychology. However, there is simply no way to account for all of this, so we have to stick with the text, thru which (my assumption is) this is all expressed anyway. But, importantly, it still only exists within these contexts, which must be acknowledged, and this means that the text (like all texts) is always pointing away from itself. But what is it pointing to? Naturally, we could do as many have done and try to figure out what it all means within the context of the physical world, Tolkien’s psychology, etc. Which, as I’ve noted, is important, its not satisfying 1) because its impossibly complex, and 2) because the text itself is alluding to something higher (this Tolkien himself believed, as well). For now, I’m choosing to call something of this “higher” note “archetypes”. Now, by archetypes, I do not mean the tropes of fantasy literature. I mean what Plato and the Neoplatonists called the “Forms”, what the Abrahamic and Zoroastrian traditions call Archangels and Angels, and etc., as all of the various traditions have some kind of (different in the details, but remarkably similar in the essence) understandings of these beings. Tolkien called them the Valar and the Maiar, and gave us a rather profound cosmology for how they manifested and shaped the world. In this, I believe, Tolkien told us how the archetypes are intimately involved with the Legendarium. Perhaps it would be better to try to understand the various characters-as-archetypes as the archetypes Tolkien provides us with? I could get into that, certainly. We would then say that Gandalf, for instance, while not Manwe per se, is fulfilling Manwe’s archetypal role and thus is manifesting Manwe in an importantly real sense. However, this still begs the question: what is Manwe’s role? What does it mean? To which we would answer that Manwe, as the leader of the Valar and Maiar, is the very being of the spiritual teacher. … Hmm, so maybe the first step in bringing us together in this is actually trying to tease out the archetypes of the characters using Tolkien’s given system of archetypes? From there we can get a better sense of the meaning of each character, so that when we relate them to terms from our world (like sensei or messiah or guru) it is in a more textually grounded sense. So, would you agree that, archetypically, we have Manwe –> Gandalf –> Aragorn? Would that also give us Morgoth –> Sauron –> Saruman –> Wormtongue? Hmmm… 1) Sweep the leg, Aragorn! It’s easier to just say “sensei,” sure, but I’m not sure it’s easy to understand Elron in that way. There’s too many specifics going on for that. 2) Oh my no! I wasn’t even beginning to suggest that we look at any of Tolkien’s work in a vacuum. It’s fun and interesting to note, for example, how the Turin story was a retelling of the Finnish Kullervo. It doesn’t really add much to our understanding of Turin, but it’s interesting, and can lead us to discovering new old lit. What I meant was just that. We can and should notice and acknowledge the inspiration, but we can’t let those inspirations alter our study of Tolkien’s works in and of themselves. “Perhaps it would be better to try to understand the various characters-as-archetypes as the archetypes Tolkien provides us with? I could get into that, certainly.” Exactly! And I completely fucking agree with what you’re saying here, though I’d stop short of “spritual teacher,” but that’s just me. Hmm.. Morgoth to Sauron for sure, but I don’t think then to Sarumon. And even Sarumon to Wormtongue is problematic as he was also working for Sauron (well, Witch-king). But then Sarumon was also fucking with the Witch-king, soo…. Now I’m understanding why Tolkien stuck with family trees. 🙂

The evolution of Person of Interest into one of Science Fiction’s best shows When LOST ended in 2010, seemingly every television network was trying to launch its successor. They went for the big Science Fiction extravaganza, like FlashForward or The Event, but one by one they failed. However, amidst all of the big budget spectacles, an unassuming procedural show appeared. It starred one LOST alum (Michael Emerson) and a guy who had played Jesus (Jim Caviezel), and it used its sci-fi premise to tell weekly standalone stories. But it was this show, Person of Interest, that would grow out to be one of television’s most ambitious Science Fiction series. In this article we discuss the evolution of the show. Our intent is to get you to watch it, so while we do provide broad overviews of each season, all significant spoilers have been avoided. Season 1 Person of Interest started airing on September 22, 2011. The date is not of much significance, but the channel is. After all, CBS is known as the home of the procedural television series, and Person of Interest started out as just that. The basic premise of the show revolves around a computer system that was designed to identify terrorism before it happens. However, it also detects ordinary acts of violence that the government considers irrelevant. It spits out a number that belongs to either the victim or perpetrator of said act, and it is up to the tag team of Reese and Finch to save the day. They work in secret, and the only person on their trail is a homicide detective named Joss Carter. In its early beginnings, Person of Interest is a basic case-of-the-week show. Finch receives a number and Reese is tasked with finding out whether this person is the victim or perpetrator in what is about to happen. Much of the excitement in the early episodes is derived from this mystery: is this random person a good or bad guy? In the end, the day is saved and Finch and Reese move on to the next case. It is basically the standard format of procedural television, with a slight hint of science fiction thrown in. It is not until later that the sci-fi elements become more important. Because the format is so strict, what often makes or breaks these early episodes is the person of interest of that particular week. Notable guest stars include Linda Cardellini, Paige Turco, Enrico Colantoni and Amy Acker, of which the last two are especially important in taking the show to the next level. Credit goes to them for their compelling performances, and to the creators of the show for recognising what makes the show work and building from there. Colantoni’s character Elias in particular helps the show develop some much needed serialization in its first season. I once read somewhere that while not every episode of season 1 requires your concentration, make sure to pay attention when you hear the name Elias. Because something big is about to go down. In the hands of less creative show runners it would have continued on for maybe another two seasons, before being unceremoniously cancelled. Luckily, Jonathan Nolan recognized the untapped potential at the core of the show, and slowly started developing its sci-fi elements more. Baby steps though. Season 2 In all honesty, the beginning of Season 2 is where I once gave up on the show and I don’t think I was alone in this departure. After the repetitive nature of Season 1, I made the mistake of placing the show aside, believing that it would slide into case-of-the-week Hell and never recover. It turned out that I was right about Season 2’s limitations, but I was very wrong about choosing to give up on the show entirely, even if I didn’t learn this until later on. One very important change this season was the inclusion of Root. Although technically introduced in Season 1, Episode 23, Firewall, it wasn’t until Season 2 that she would truly be fleshed out. Although Root would grow into a much-loved ally, she first had to go through the villain teething phase. At this point in the narrative Root was a full blown antagonist, working in opposition to Reese and Finch, and the writers did a good job of allowing Amy Acker to explore the darker side of this character. Season 1 had Elias – who would prove a decent enough villain to last almost the entire show, including being an ally at times – but if you compare Elias to Root, even at this early stage in the show, there really is no competition. Elias was smart and cunning, but Root was complex, brutal and wonderfully sociopathic, marking her out as the show’s best villain to date. Other than the magic of Root, Season 2 proved to be very much bogged down in the same procedural trappings of Season 1. Every episode held its own case-of-the-week, some of which proved a little short of interesting. It wouldn’t be until Season 3 that the show would begin to show promise of breaking away from this a little. Amy Acker plays Root (Samantha Groves); a character in tune with The Machine, who begins as a villain and turns into a ally. Season 3 Season 2 ended with two really strong showings that had Root at the center of the action. By keeping this momentum going, season 3 established right away that this was no accident. And once again there is a female guest star turned series regular who serves as the catalyst. Sarah Shahi’s character Sameen Shaw was first introduced in season 2 in an episode that was very a-typical for Person of Interest, especially at a time where it was still firmly rooted in a procedural format. She takes center stage in an episode that features little of Reese and Finch, a daring choice that pays off immensely. Not only does the episode do a good job of expanding the show’s mythology, it shows that Shahi is clearly capable of leading the line if need be. The shift of focus is like a breath of fresh air that the show desperately needed. It is no surprise then that Shaw quickly becomes a part of Team Machine at the start of season 3. And with great success. Her addition opens tons of avenues for new dynamics between characters. The relationship between Finch and Reese was still interesting of course, and it remained at the core of the show, but after two full seasons with each more than 20 episodes, there is the very real risk of things running stale. The addition of Shaw came at just the right time, and instead of things becoming dull the show became more exciting than ever. Aside from the show firing on all cylinders in terms of the story and characters, season 3 is also where Person of Interest became more relevant than ever for things entirely out of their control. For two years the show had leaded with the phrase: “You are being watched. The government has a secret system. A machine that spies on you every hour of every day.” What seemed like a fun sci-fi premise turned out to be much closer to the truth than anyone expected, when Edward Snowden leaked clasified information about numerous global surveillance programs, many of which were run the National Security Agency. Suddenly the show became real. Season 4 This is where the reshaping of the show truly began. While Season 3 stuck in the mind only for that single significant death and for the introduction of Samaritan, viewers would come away from Season 4 with a far more robust experience. This season doubled down on the Science Fiction content – raising the intellectual bar to a level that would feel at home among Golden Age Science Fiction literature. It also introduced character developments that melted the hearts of fans, allowing everyone to fall in love with our rebel alliance deeper than ever before. This dual-stimulation of heart and mind created a perfect storm, which – in my view – even Season 5 never truly managed to live up to. To address the Science Fiction refashioning first, I believe this is best summed up by one single quote: “Imagine what it will look like when two Gods go to war.” Spoken by Finch ten episodes into the season, this is such a short statement, but such powerful one. It immediately forces the viewer to conjure up nightmarish visions of two enormous deities battling one another over a ravaged landscape. But the battle that Finch is talking about is one that holds far more finesse; a war that the creators likened to being closer to the Cold War than to anything else. Finch is referring to the war between Northern Lights (The Machine) and the opposing machine Samaritan; two highly advanced artificial intelligences in an intellectual feud, in which even the smartest humans are used as pawns. It’s a classic Science Fiction fan’s dream and a move that I always hoped the show would steer towards. But heart is just as important as intellect and even classic Science Fiction lived and died by the quality of its characters. This season not only allowed our team to gel as a unit more (rather than Finch and Reese versus the world), but it also gave us one of the greatest romances (and a same-sex romance too) ever seen in television: Sameen Shaw and Root (Samantha Groves). Since these two characters crossed paths, Root had shown a keen affection for Shaw that very clearly came from a romantic place. Although fans hoped, few ever thought that Shaw would reciprocate those affections, or that the writers would go down this route. Then Epsiode 11, titled If-Then-Else, changed everything. In a dangerous set-up where all of our characters’ lives were at risk, Shaw returned those affections, in one of the show’s most memorable scenes. It began a beautiful and tragic romance that ran on into Season 5 and into the hearts of Person of Interest fans forever. Season 4 also elevated the quality of guest appearances on the show. It might just be that they are actresses aligned to my tastes, but to see Adria Arjona and Katheryn Winnick appear in the season ruptured my mind. Here were two outstanding actresses that I adored from other shows, who I never thought I’d see within a show like Person of Interest, and crucially: the characters created for them were truly exceptional. Arjona played Dani Silva – an Internal Affairs Detective for the NYPD who would appear in two episodes within Season 4 (Episode 8, Point of Origin and Episode 13, M.I.A.). Dani was headstrong, highly intelligent and very cool under fire. I would have loved to have seen her take on a role as a permanent member of Finch’s team, but even in these two episodes alone she really made her mark. Winnick appeared in only one episode of the show (Episode 18, Skip), playing Frankie Wells; a role that related to the case-of-the-week component within that particular episode. Wells was a bounty hunter who sought to hunt down and kill the man who murdered her brother. It was another female character who (like Root, Shaw and Silva) was incredibly self-assured and unrelenting. SAMARITAN; the opposing artificial intelligence and the enemy of NORTHERN LIGHTS. Season 5 When season 5 started, word had gone around that this was the final season of Person of Interest. Instead of the usual twenty-plus episodes this season consisted of just 13 episodes, but at least it meant that Jonathan Nolan would be able to craft a definitive ending to the show. In spite of its reduced order, case-of-the-week episodes are not altogether abandoned. However, the focus has thoroughly shifted from making you care about the Person of Interest in question, towards taking the already well-developed characters, the machine included, and preparing them for the endgame. Its function is now mainly to further the over-arching plot, to great success. Aside from the main characters, it has to be mentioned that perhaps the most surprising and certainly most unique forms of character development is realised this season in its approach to the machine. From the beginning of the show it has been apparent that the machine differs significantly from other computer programs in that it seems to have a certain degree of empathy, as Finch has been teaching it to recognize the value of human life. A clear example of this came to the forefront in the previously mentioned episode If-Then-Else, which can be seen as one of the best episodes out of the entire series and perhaps the whole of television. It shows the machine at its most machine-like, running endless simulations in order to determine the best possible outcome, but also at its most humanoid, in that it cares so much about keeping the team alive. The duality is brilliant. Like what we do? Follow us on Facebook for the latest content. Season 5 builds on this by making the machine more involved than ever. In a stroke of Science Fiction genius, what started out as a plot device for a basic CBS procedural has grown out to be a fully fleshed out character in its own right. Its arc not only defines the series as an exceptional piece of sci-fi storytelling, but actually facilitates satisfying ends for the majority of its main characters. Which is not to say that the only character that matters is the Machine. On the contrary, season 5 above all reminds us why we have grown to love these characters. Their resilience, their intelligence, their compassion and their sense of purpose. All are at display in what can be seen as a near perfect sendoff. It certainly stands out as one of the more emotional finales in recent memory, and all of that is thanks to these strong characters. We hope that our exploration into the evolution of Person of Interest has spurred new viewers to attempt the show and also given veteran fans some fresh perspective on how this show edged its way into all of our hearts. To be regarded as an achievement within television is one thing, but to be regarded as something exceptional within a genre is something altogether greater. When the Science Fiction of our age is looked back upon, we have no doubt that Person of Interest will be held in the highest regard, as an overlooked classic of our time. Image credits: CBS “FBI agent named Joss Carter” <— That's NYPD detective Joss Carter(played by Taraji P. Henson). When even the small details are wrong, one must wonder if the author is a true fan of the whole show, or just one of those viewers that after abandoning it after season1 the reason they returned is coz they heard about the femslash pairing and reduced role for the original characters & storylines… "satisfying ends…near perfect sendoff" <— Totally disagree with that characterization of the series finale episode. IMHO, it was the opposite of that. A show can't expect to not be cancelled when they treat their lead actor/character with such disrespect and disdain, as was during seasons4&5 and the ratings reflected that. It wasn't enough to shoot the character multiple times, they had to be missilestriked too? They couldn't even be bothered to get right the birthdate on the headstone. Predictable&Disappointing are words that should be used to describe the series finale and that "sendoff" has affected my view of what was up to that point my fave show. You couldn’t be further from the truth with that assumption. Truth is mistakes happen. Thank you for pointing it out. [[[SPOILERS AHEAD]]] As for Reese’s characterization, I disagree with you. From the first episode Reese has always been a man who was looking for purpose in his life. In the end he dies a hero, in a blaze of glory, for a purpose he believes in. That’s all he wanted and needed from the beginning. Furthermore, he sacrifices himself so Finch can live. The man who became his friend and gave him something to live for when he was at the lowest point in his life. Who saved him in a sense. In Reese’s own words: “Told you. Pay you back all at once. That’s the way I like it.” His death is not an injustice. It’s his own decision. To me Reese’s ultimate fate is a satisfying end to his personal journey as well as his relationship with Finch, which is what makes it so emotional. Unfortunately you do not feel the same way, which is fine. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. It does not define who is a ‘true fan’ of the show, or who isn’t. I respect your opinion even if I disagree. While watching S 1-3, I didn’t think Reese was going to make it out alive, but I changed my mind by the end of season 4. [[[SPOILER AHEAD]]] It was probably one of the most heroic & honourable deaths I’ve ever seen onscreen (unlike Root’s), but still… the fact he just died wasn’t fitting at all to me. I recollect S4, all the time POI wasted on Reese flashbacks, John / Iris dynamic, and «Terra Incognita». It seemed like it was all leading to John realizing he could have more out of life than work / killing… like an attempt to move the character forward, giving him something to live for and forget his “lone wolf” death wish he had in previous seasons. Instead he just died. Like death wish was still the only thing he’s good for. Thank you very much for your response Jill. I agree with much of what you’re saying. I feel like the John / Iris relationship could definitely have been handled better, and I agree with you that it probably has to do with the reduced season order. I think due to that, the writers made the conscious decision to focus more on his relationship with the other main characters, Finch in particular. And I get why they wrapped it up in the way that they did, even if it was sudden. He has been through so much that I can see why he wouldn’t be emotionally suited for a conventional family life. It’s a shame that the show wasn’t able to give him this, but to me the core of the show is his relationship with Finch, so I am glad that they used the limited time they were given to focus on that instead. And it is in his relationship with Finch, that I believe we can find the reason for his death. To me, it comes across as not just a simple death wish, it’s a wish to grant Finch the happy life he deserves. Throughout the show Finch’s actions have been all about doing the good thing, often at his own expense. In doing this, he has given all of these characters a chance to turn their life around. But he himself has lost the love of his life in Grace. Maybe Reese’s relationship with Iris has made him realise that he won’t ever be able to live a normal peaceful life, or maybe not. The fact is that he does see that it is still a possibility for Finch. The man who has sacrificed so much to do the good thing. And gave him the chance to see how it can be important to save one life. Like he says: “When you came to me, you gave me a job. A purpose. At first… well… I’d been trying to save the world for so long… saving one life at a time seemed a bit anticlimactic. Then I realized… sometimes one life… if it’s the right life… is enough. ” So in sacrifing himself, Reese saves the life of his friend. To me it’s very fitting that after five seasons of Reese saving people, his final action is saving the life of his closest friend. It’s very selfless, and maybe Reese deserved a happy ending of his own. But I think there is something beautiful in seeing that his friends (and the cause) mean so much to John to sacrifice himself, especially since he started out the series looking for meaning in his life. Love Person of Interest but not the homosexual innuendo! It is so not necessary and hur t the show–in my and many others’ opinion. Keep the show decent and family friendly please! Hi Elizabeth, thanks for the comment. Although I see your argument for making the show suitable for family consumption (nothing wrong with good wholesome SF), I think you’re in the minority on this one, as many people adored the Shaw and Root romance. There is a surge in lesbian romances on television of late and I think POI handled this better than any other show. ‘Although I see your argument for making the show suitable for family consumption’ – I don’t see their argument at all. Except for the one episode, nothing about Shaw and Root’s relationship was not family friendly. What was not family friendly – is the violence in the show (explicitly showing torture for example) which is why POI is not and never was a family show. Queer relationship has nothing to do with it. POI worked great for its GA and whoever is willing to show violence on screen to their kids, should have no problem with f/f romance! A very good point about the violence being the main point that doesn’t make the show suitable for children. My colleague (one not involved in the writing of this article) also raised that exact point recently. The relationship being homosexual shouldn’t be an issue at all; I agree wholeheartedly there (my colleague saw the original comment as homophobic, whereas I hadn’t seen it from that view). In my answer, I was simply placing myself in the shoes of a parent is all; if I wanted to show my child some SF, I might think twice with POI, because of that one episode that you mentioned and also the violence. But I’m not a parent, so I’m perhaps not best placed to make this judgement. Thanks for the thoughtful answer. The actor who so brilliantly portrayed Elias is Enrico Colantoni, not Cantolini. Dumb mistake on my part. Thank you for pointing it out, I just edited it. Person of Interest has been dead to me since May 31st, 2016. The day Root went away. I loved this show up until nolan ripped off Joss Whedon by killing off Amy Acker’s character to make her an avatar for a God-like entity. I really hope that next Acker’s character will be more lucky I’m tired of seeing how all of her great characters eventually die for shock value. While I agree that the way Root went out was regrettable, I disagree that it was only for shock value. To me it’s a fitting conclusion to her character arc. She started out as this lone wolf, using her hacking abilities for criminal purposes. After meeting Finch and his machine, she slowly starts on a different path: to do good. At the end she is no longer a criminal without friends or family, but a hero who has found love and friendship. And so she ends up sacrificing herself for the man who gave her this happiness, if only for a short while. It all comes from her choice to do good. And considering how important the Machine was to her, I think she would consider living through in the Machine as the highest honor. Besides, it allows Amy Acker to give life to the characterization of the Machine, and I couldn’t imagine someone more perfect for the job. Root was a great part of what makes Person of Interest so incredible, but to me the show is about more than just her character. Her presence is felt throughout, even after her death. If anything, it made the conclusion even more impactful in my opinion. Completely disagree. Back to the start, Root was all about transcendental humanism and machines being better than people. Back to S3 for Root to be carried on as a simulation to give a voice to TM would have been a logical and meaningful move. The idea is quite good on its own, it reinforces the concept of Root as Analog Interface. But POI narrative & the characters have seriously outdated / changed since then. The whole point of the second half of the show was that both Root and TM were growing, developing as characters. Root learned to value certain people, started creating connections. She has learnt not only to value human life, but also to love and respect people in her own life. She would still die for TM, yes, but… she would LIVE for Shaw (and I believe her relationship with Root was smth that changed Shaw, stopped her from becoming emotionless killing machine). But it seems like the writers were aiming for a transcendental thing with her demise – like that’s what Root’s ultimate goal always was. It feels like ignoring the fact that Root’s changed because of her human relationships, like they basically decided to eliminate abt 30 eps of character development for Root (and for Shaw as well). It COULD (maybe) fit for S2–3 Root char, but not S4/5 Root. Not that Root who suffered so long & so much not knowing if Sameen was alive or dead. Not that Root who prioritize her feelings to Shaw over TM’s orders. Not that Root who plays chicken with TM, dicing with death. Not that Root who refuses to do another mission (twice!) without being sure it leads her to Sameen. Not that Root who gives such a poignant speech about living vs surviving in 5×7 (or 5×8?). Not that Root who says she finally feels like she belongs, holding Shaw’s arm. Etc, etc. Root was meant to die? Ok. But I’ll never agree/accept that «merging» with TM was in tune with the last seasons. Not anymore. Root’s arc was an amazing redemption road from a cynic murderer and (then) badass warrior to TM… to a woman in love, who learned to value certain people, started creating connections. For her it was a road to become a HUMAN, where TM was the cause, but Shaw – the REASON for it. Not as if I was confident that showrunners should have focused on «Root & Shaw love-boat» instead. Or that Root should have survived the finale. No. I love very much the idea that they «have carved out a sliver of light in the darkness of this narrative (…)» (Chris Fischer). But with the current edit (ending) their arcs seemed to be just thrown away in favour of a concept that was difficult to execute respectfully in their time constraints. Thank you for your response again, it is very well thought out. I don’t think that they’re ignoring the fact that Root’s changed because of her relationships. If anything, her death is because she has grown to value these relationships so much, and the importance of doing the good thing. I think it is important to separate Root from the Machine. The Machine adopts Root’s voice, yes, but Root’s story ends with her death. I don’t think the goal was to aim for a transcendental thing, but to highlight how much she values her relationship with Harold and the Machine. I can forgive any clunkiness because I think what comes after works really well. It’s fine if you don’t. Also, I think it’s important to recognise that she doesn’t ‘merge’ with the Machine, the Machine chooses her voice because it loved her. The Machine understands what her loss means, because Finch has taught it that. It signifies how much the Machine has grown. To me it doesn’t devalue Root’s life, it is an acknowledgement of their relationship. Throughout the show Root grows as a person due to her relationships with these characters. The Machine is not just a machine, it is its own character. And the two of them shared an unbelievably strong trust. The Machine choosing her voice is its way of honoring that bond. In terms of Shaw, we can see in the finale that, unlike Finch, it is hard for her to separate Root from the Machine. She ends up a hero, continuing to work with the machine in the same way that Root was doing. She will always have Root’s voice in her ear, but it won’t be Root herself. And throughout the show Shaw has learned to accept consequences and live with them. So while this is not a happy ending by any means, it’s one that Shaw can live with. And although it’s tragic, I think it works. Root was meant to die, all right. Somewhere in the future and the machine would have taken her voice and image eventually. Was it hard to make a time jump and show how in the future the machine is still watching over everyone using Root’s voice? No, it wasn’t. Root has changed, she found a family she thought she deserved to die. And that’s why she shouldn’t have died. nolan should have killed off finch – the least deserving person to die. See? It creates some additional drama and conflict plus Root blames herself and once again, like that time with Hannah, she decides to take matters into her own hands. Yes, Root should have killed Greer and destroy Samaritan and to stay alive to keep helping people and work with Shaw. She deserved that. But no, shock value and Fred Burkle turns to Illyria/Dr.Saunders/Whiskey turns Clyde Randolph cliché wins over logic. The worst part is that this nolan’s “idea” wasn’t even his own. Joss Whedon did the same thing already couple of times and even then it wasn’t so good. Like I said before, Person of Interest has been dead to me since May 31st, 2016. And nothing will ever change that. Agreed. I don’t think “The day the world went away” destroyed the show as much as the whole ending line (ep.10-13). Anyway, I think we can all agree that POI had only 99 episodes Thanks. Excellently written piece. But this… “Its arc not only defines the series as an exceptional piece of sci-fi storytelling, but actually facilitates satisfying ends for the majority of its main characters” “All are at display in what can be seen as a near perfect sendoff” …just makes me wanna unsee it. The ending was not even closely perfect. Most of S5 seemed rushed and sporadic – but okay, that was hardly showrunners’ fault (considering all the issues behind the scenes). Still I can’t blame CBS for ALL the season did wrong (to my mind). Last eps felt like steering into the realm of bad fan fiction & felt out of sync with where the story was going. The final story seems to ignore / undo the development the characters had in S4/5 and revert back to S2/3, thus making the ending so unfitting and unsatisfying for most of them. The show seemed to ignore the logical conclusions. It’s as if the writers KNEW the best ways to end character arcs and consciously decided to ignore them. There is a lot that bugged me about this season, really, and it’s kinda infuriating because I don’t understand how the logic in the writers room could get so skewed. I wasn’t left with big feelings but puzzlement and incredible disappointment. I’ll never be able to understand how’s that possible, to stan POI and… really like & stay tuned in for such a finale.

. When the salon destroyed my face, it didn’t extinguish my fight and resolute in getting well again. I aligned my thoughts and emotions and focused on positive thinking to get my skin to how it is today. Then the nasty started. I saw the evil things people would do – turn a blind eye to facts, twist facts, spin tales – for the sake of riding on the wave and creating weird versions of my story, and/or retaining and protecting a name. All these started to creep into my soul, slowly eroding the good cells previously formed from thousands of messages of love and support sent my way that kept me going. Perhaps I didn’t do a good job in flushing out completely the bad thoughts that lingered when I looked like a decaying underwater object, didn’t execute a total barnacle annihilation. Perhaps the remnants manifested themselves and snowballed with ensuing issues. Like the MedLife Clinic & Surgery issue. I think receiving the letter of demand from MedLife was the catalyst to a potential bonfire. I am the striking surface of a matchbox. MedLife is the matchstick, with flammable chemicals on one end, that struck my rough surface that contained and released all my suppressed emotions. SSHHZZRRACCHH!!! (I don’t know how to spell the crackling to the birth of a new flame. Lol.) I do not know how long the flame of this matchstick will last. As I sat at a bus stop I had randomly alighted (but was coincidentally near home), I messaged a close friend. Me: Eh, I have depression Friend A: Wah don’t scare me. I think you need to learn to relax or do things to distract yourself. Me: I’ve been Googling on the signs, symptoms of depression, and doing tests. I have depression Friend A: Why wanna confirm you have depression or not? Instead you should be Googling on ‘how to stop myself from being depressed’ Me: You first need to know what is your problem before tackling the problem. You don’t want to take Po Chai Pills for a cough. Now I know I have depression. Friend A: Ok so now you know. How you want to tackle? Me: I don’t know know. Write about it. But I scared people say I drama Friend A: You need to stop thinking about what other think of you So here is my post. Because I shouldn’t care about negative commentors. Whatever nonsense they say, I will make sure I don’t see myself through the eyes of those who don’t value me. I know my worth, my words and pictures speak the truth; I will not let them dim my light. Sucks for them that they do not have the capacity to distinguish between fact and falsity. Poor souls. On the other hand, thank you to all of you who have stood up for me against crazy people. To have readers who do not know me personally emerge and speak on my behalf, I am extremely touched and grateful. BIG HUGSSSS!!!! =DDD Mr Mode reminded me that there are also plenty others who feel for me and want to reach out to me but don’t know how to express themselves with words. I love you guys too. =D He knows best because he isn’t good with written words either. I know that no matter what I write, or how obvious the truth is, some people are too birdbrained to understand. So I’ll just write for those who do. This Is How I Look, Depressed I don’t look like I have depression right! HAHAHA! However beneath that smile, it was the beginning of me becoming a shadow of my former self. (This was taken 3 weeks ago when I was still interested to dress up for a gathering with friends. No face makeup on. Just very good lighting and a good friend who took this shot.) It wasn’t an AH-HA! moment when I speculated I might have depression. I didn’t just decide to sit at the bus stop for an hour and starting Googling on depression. It was slowly over time, and took some courage to admit to myself that I might have depression. I feel irritated by the smallest things, I get annoyed at everything. Tolerance level is extremely low, temper short and everything just gets on my nerves! And then sometimes I feel nothing. Just emptiness. Like I’m living life in a black hole and everything around me is a blur. I would take walks by myself and wonder if I stuck out my leg while waiting to cross, some car might just run along and hit me. This is rare though, my level of depression is not so severe yet. I don’t want to go out and meet anyone. I cannot remember the number of event invitations I’ve politely rejected simply because I feel I’m not in the right mind or mood to socialize, nor to feel any emotions about makeup and beauty. A lipstick is just an object to me now; it looks almost as exciting as the bamboo pole my mum uses to hang clothes. Ever since the facial incident happened, I haven’t felt like blogging about anything else, other than my skin and case development. I don’t know how to blog, what to blog, or when to blog anymore. My blog is an extension and a reflection of my life. How could I pretend that I’m living my life as before? It is especially weird to talk about makeup and product launches after a post as serious as the MedLife’s letter of demand post. All I want to do is stay at home and watch Running Man. I knew things were getting worse when I realized I found it increasingly difficult to laugh even when watching my favorite variety show. I would stare at my screen, my thoughts in outer space. I would fall asleep watching Running Man. I cannot find the energy to do ANYTHING. I don’t feel like doing anything. I don’t want to discuss my cases (HAHA! Case-s because I have two of them under my belt – MedLife and the facial salon) with anyone other than the people who have been with me since the start of the cases, and only because it is necessary. I don’t bother dressing up. I just packed away three large bags stuffed to the brim with clothes brand new and worn once/twice to be given away (they deserve a better home). I buy more, but they don’t motivate me to dress up. When I do go out with friends, I laugh when other people laugh, I make people laugh, I act as normal as I can. Sometimes I’d have a really good time, I’d be on a high after a good shopping trip, I’d feel satisfied after having a good meal, then after that I would feel bad that I had a good time. Then I would feel empty again. People thought I was great fun and I seemed cheerful. But in all honesty, I haven’t been truly happy in a long time. I have successfully fooled people perfectly well that I’m ‘normal’, whatever that is. I thought those negative thoughts and feelings would just go away. They never did. After I received the lawyer’s letter, my depression escalated so much that my condition became more apparent to me. I’ve had people telling me that ‘it will be better soon’, ‘get over it’, ‘everything is going to be fine’, – because everyone gets down at some point in their lives. I feel like slapping them. With a frying pan. I would fall asleep from exhaustion from doing nothing really, only to have my eyes fly open 3 or 4 hours later in the middle of the night and never get back to sleep. Sometimes I would lie in bed for 7 hours and not be able to fall asleep at all. Some other times, I would sleep for 15 hours straight. I’ve been eating a lot. I can feel my waistline and thighs expanding. Not excessively, but enough to feel an extra layer folding down when I sit, and obvious chubbier cheeks. A change of more than 5% of body weight change in a month is considered significant weight change. I’ve gained 7%. I experience plenty of aches and pains on my body, almost every day. This was after a 15 minute gua sha session – a bodywork technique to ‘scrape’ the toxins out of your body. Only 15 minutes. Some days, at random times, I start crying. After that I feel empty again. I wonder if I had committed any worldly sin so great that I not only had a facial salon destroy my face and thus halted my career, and have had evil people misunderstand me no matter how honest I have been in sharing my experience and conveying my opinions. The grievance of getting blamed for things beyond my control and were never my fault has been hard to swallow. I feel helpless in my predicament. I want to run away. But where can I go to escape myself? Discovering Depression So I started to read up on ‘depression’. I read many articles and did many tests to ascertain my condition. From having many items checked on a list and my test results showing the severity of my depression, I can almost confirm that I do have some form of depression. I never imagined, never in my life entertained the thought that I might some day be associated with depression. It is a scary yet liberating realization. Only when you fully embrace your condition can you move on to find solutions. There is no point in hiding anything from YOURSELF. I want to discuss about depression because either you suffer from it too and I want to share, or you don’t and I want to explain a few things. You and I, have at some point of our lives, said ‘Oh I’m so depressed over this, this, this!’. Let me tell you that that is probably NOT depression, it was just sadness, disappointment or mood swings. Just the blues making you feel like your day was horrid and everything was going wrong. Depression is when emptiness and despair have taken hold of your life and these persist for a prolonged period of time. If it lasts for more than 2 weeks, you’ve got a case. Depression makes it tough to function and enjoy life like you once did. Just getting through the day can be overwhelming. Kind of like… being sucked into the abyss of the darkest of darkness and making home there. Different people experience different symptoms of depression and I’m gonna share what I can identify with from a list – ALL OF THEM. Hahaha!! If you (touch wood!!!) identify with some of the signs and symptoms, and they DO NOT GO AWAY, you might also be suffering from clinical depression. Symptoms of depression may include the following: Physical: - Insomnia, early-morning wakefulness, or excessive sleeping - Overeating or appetite loss - Fatigue and decreased energy - Persistent aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems that do not ease even with treatment Behavioral/Attitude: - Loss of interest in activities or hobbies once pleasurable - Difficulty concentrating, remembering details, and making decisions - Neglecting responsibilities or personal appearance Emotional: - Crying “for no reason” - Feelings of hopelessness and helplessness - Feelings of guilt, worthlessness - Irritability, restlessness, anger - Negative thoughts, no matter how hard you try - Persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” feelings - Thoughts of suicide, suicide attempts I seem to fit the criteria for all the above. Understanding Depression Friend A: I just think you think too much. Think about what made you happy before Me: One symptom of depression is losing interest in activies one used to enjoy Friend A: Just think back what made you happy before Me: Makeup doesn’t even seem interesting anymore Friend A: But I don’t feel any depression from you The general misconception people have about depression is that sufferers must ‘look depressed’. If you’re smiling and give a happy vibe, you can’t be suffering from depression, can you? Wrong. I go out, I smile and laugh, but inside I feel nothing. Depression is not about being extremely sad. It is more like a feeling of nothingness. Yet at the same time, it can also be a persistent sadness, among many other emotions. It must be persistent. You don’t just feel sad for a few days and then feel better. It’s a curious mix of sadness and nothingness, of despair and emptiness, of anger and violence, and it lasts for weeks, months, years. Mine has been for 2 months. It is the ignorance of the general populace that is more of a problem than depression itself. When people only think of a sad face and slouched shoulders when they think of depression, there is pressure on the person with depression to ‘look depressed’ or ‘behave depressed’. I realize I am able to mask my feelings very well. I don’t need to put in effort to mask my condition in the presence of others, it just happens. It must come as quite a shock to you that I’m confessing I have depression because I may seem happy all the time. But it’s been a while since those happy feelings were real. Me: I might want to write a post that I have depression Friend B: You are so drama!!! HAHAHA! Me: ……… Friend B: You know there are more serious problems in the world than yours Me: Ya I know, but why do I have to compare? This is what I’m going through. I have the right to feel what I feel. (It’s like saying you should STFU about having your house burnt down because there are millions of homeless people in the world =.=) Friend B: That’s true. Don’t just brush it off when a friend or colleague or family member tells you he/she has depression. Don’t think of him or her to merely be a ‘drama queen/king’ and tell him/her to ‘snap out of it’. This stereotype can lead to more isolation for someone with depression. It takes courage to admit that one has depression. Instead of having your kind intention shrink the person’s worries, you just managed to enlarge the hole into which this person will fall deeper into depression. As much as people with depression want to get out of it quickly, they can’t. How the people around a depression sufferer react to his/her confession may affect the sufferer’s decision in seeking help. Friend A and Friend B‘s reactions are typical of people who just got confessed to by a depressed person. I don’t blame them, because most people do not know how to react to such confessions of mental health. I’m not ashamed to say I have depression. I didn’t do anything wrong; I’m not afraid to share. I never knew all of these until I started researching. I was once ignorant about depression too (just as I was ignorant about skin conditions). Looking back, I cannot pinpoint when exactly my depression started. The unwelcome changes in my life triggered this depressive episode, one event led to another, and then it just dawned on me that I have it. Unlike physical injury, it is not obvious. Depression is not rational, it is insidious and illogical. Don’t think that only losers or people down on their luck can be depressed. Depression is NOT a sign of personal weakness, or a condition that can be willed away. Do You Know Anyone Who Has Depression? I think we may be all aware that depression is a mental issue but it’s very hard to know what to say or do with a person with depression. THAT is the problem. If a friend told me she has a depression, I wouldn’t know what to do either. From reading up a lot recently, I realized that 1 in 5 people actually suffer from depression. If you are among the lucky 4, you can help by understanding it better. Don’t tell a person with depression “Yea, I was totally depressed the other day too.” It’s like telling a cancer patient how much you suffered when you had a paper cut on your pinky. More importantly, DO NOT RUN AWAY from a depression sufferer like the person has a contagious disease. Don’t be over-sensitive and give the person the sympathy eye. We are not dying from a terminal disease, just going through…. something. Just be normal around the person because the person CAN behave normally. You could try talking to the person about the condition, but if you suck at talking in general, don’t bother. It really depends. Some people find it easier to talk to a stranger, some to close friends and family. For me, I’d rather not talk to people about it. When people try to reach out to me, I get even more upset and bothered. I hate it when people say ‘you think too much’, because that’s not the case. At least I know it’s not that now. I also hate it when they patronize me with words such as ‘it will be fine’, ‘it’s going to be okie’, ‘it’s no big deal’. If you read the conversations I had with Friend A and Friend B, the underlined sentences are just some things I hope friends dealing with people suffering from depression would STOP SAYING. If depression can be put off with distractions and can be detected and cured easily with words like ‘It’s going to be fine’, there wouldn’t be so many suicides associated to mental health, or rather, the imbalance of it. That’s why I wrote this post. I don’t want to talk to people about it. Because when I write it and people read it, I don’t see the person’s face, nor the condescension in the voice that I’m just ‘making a big deal out of it’. I don’t have to explain anything. If you leave an encouraging comment, it may help me. If you are an idiot and leave a comment with the intention to hurt me, my readers will bite you and you will burn in hell for eternity. I wrote this post to make myself understand my situation and in hope that people can be a little more aware of this mental state called depression. (Hohoho, I seem to be adept at creating awareness on topics people usually don’t talk about!) For some reason, it’s easy to see someone with a physical injury and feel empathetic. But when someone has a mental health issue, people immediately pass a judgment, like you’re crazy, unreasonable, lost your moral compass, a drama-rama queen who just wants attention. That’s why even though depression affects so many people it is called the common cold of mental illness, many choose to deny having it due to social stigma. But let me tell you that depression is no joke. If left untreated, it can lead people to very dark places. You might recall seeing a similar picture in More Than A Pretty Face – Update On My Skin Condition #2. What I want people to know about depression is that is a very subjective experience. You may not even know if you have depression. But just check against the list of symptoms I mentioned above. Remember that they must exist for a prolonged period of time and you can’t seem to get out of it. Far too many people are oblivious to their own deep sadness or simply refuse to recognize it. By ignoring and denying it, depression will come back and kick your ass harder when you do finally own up to it. This is my way of acknowledging depression – writing on a global platform. By embracing and not suppressing it anymore, I know I’m on my way to recovery. Owning up to it and writing about it publicly makes me see that I CAN cope with it. One day at a time. Please don’t feel that if you talk about having depression, you are weak. Quite the contrary, actually. People who are willing to confront their conditions and actively research on what to do about it, are ALWAYS the strongest. Fess up to how you really feel, only then can you conquer your inner demons and fight on. It seems like I’m known to write topics rarely discussed. Bahaha! Like my Asian VS Caucasian Eyes comparisons, my horrific facial experience, and now DEPRESSION. Now that I know what’s wrong with me, I can go and research on what to do to help myself. Some people in forums mentioned talking to a GP. I personally am quite scared of going to GPs now, obviously because of the MedLife incident. Let’s help one another. Have you had depression? Do you know anyone who has expressed depression? Share with me your personal experience or if you know the story of someone who has successfully triumphed depression or is going through it now. Also, do you think it’s odd to have posts on makeup in between serious posts about case developments?

A/N: Hi, everyone! This is a sequel to my story Captured. If you haven't read that, I would recommend doing that before reading this one. For those of you who have read that and have waited for this, I'm sorry that it took so long. I know this may not be exactly what you wanted, but I hope you like they way it turned out. Please review! Faces flew through Sakura's mind, each one blending into the next. Blonde hair, blue eyes, the brightest grin she'd ever seen. Black hair, dark eyes, an arrogant smirk. White hair, one visible eye, a smile hidden under a mask. Sakura smiled. Friends, she thought. Then, him. Black hair, red eyes, thin lips set in a cruel smile. She flinched, and her eyes flew open, only to be captured by those haunting eyes she had just tried to escape. "Good morning, kitten," Madara smirked. "Madara," Sakura whispered. Her hand unconsciously reached out to him, and he took it in his own. "So nice of you to finally wake up," Madara said. "You've been out for a few weeks. How are you feeling?" He waited for almost a minute, but she didn't respond. "I am your husband, and you will answer my questions," Madara told her, his grip on her hand tightening painfully. "Water," Sakura gasped. He picked up a glass from the bedside table and held it to her lips, allowing her to take a few gulps. "I will only ask you one more time," Madara said. "How are you feeling?" "Like shit," Sakura replied, attempting a glare. "You nearly killed me." "I won't deny that," he chuckled. "But I distinctly remember you trying to kill me first." Sakura didn't deny anything either. For a few moments, she said nothing; Madara was content just to stroke her hand with his fingers. "My friends," Sakura said finally. "Are they alive?" Madara inhaled sharply. "Unfortunately," he answered. "They are still in Suna." Sakura smiled; he had lost the battle. There was still hope. "I'm going to call the doctor," Madara told her. "She's been worried about your condition." He brushed his lips across her knuckles before getting up to leave, making Sakura shiver. When he reached the door, he turned back to look at her again. "Don't go anywhere," he added cruelly. Sakura gritted her teeth, which sent pain shooting into her temples. She brought a hand to her forehead. Even though she couldn't properly examine herself yet, she knew she was in bad shape. "Sakura-sama, I'm so glad to see that you've woken up," said a feminine voice. She looked up to find a woman in a white coat standing in the doorway. The doctor appeared to be smiling under a mask, and her blue eyes were friendly. "Oh, yes," Sakura replied. "Thank you." "Madara-sama tells me that you still feel quite terrible," the doctor sighed. "This is natural, because your injuries…" The doctor continued, but Sakura stopped listening. Her mind had floated away again. "Sakura, this is extremely important," Tsunade told her. "Exhaustion is quite common in shinobi, and many come in on the brink of death. It is your duty to save them. As always, we'll start on fish and work our way up from there." "But Shisou, we just trained for the past three hours!" Sakura protested. "This isn't fair!" "War isn't fair either, Sakura!" Tsunade snapped. "You might well be fighting for hours and then have to heal your comrades. You cannot just save lives when it is convenient for you." Sakura thought about her teacher's words before nodding. "I'm ready, Shisou!" she exclaimed. "Please show me." Sakura shook off the memory and found that the doctor was still talking. "You can stop," Sakura interrupted. "I was trained by the best." The doctor looked at her in confusion. "My sensei was Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin," Sakura explained. "Talking to me like a simpleton is not helpful in the least." "I apologize, Sakura-sama," the doctor murmured. "I was not aware." "That bastard likes to think that the only thing I am is his," Sakura told her. "It's no fault of your own." The doctor did not dare to meet Sakura's eyes. "No matter," Sakura sighed. "Is there anything you can do to speed up the recovery process?" "We could start with your forehead," the doctor replied. Sakura started at the mention of her old nickname. She looked at the doctor in confusion, and met her startlingly blue eyes. Her lips began to form her oldest friend's name, but the doctor shook her head. "Don't say it," Ino warned. "Pig," Sakura whispered. "What—" Ino held up her hands and, suddenly, her body went limp. Before Sakura had the chance to wonder what had happened, Ino was in her mind. "Look, I hope this works, because it's kind of something new I've been working on," Ino said. "Can you talk to me?" "Yeah," Sakura replied. "Ino, you can't be here! It's too dangerous." "Blah, blah, blah," Ino retorted. "Shut up, Sakura. We don't have time for this. I can't do this for long, and we can't get caught. Listen, Naruto made a plan to get you out. Now that you're finally awake, you'll be healed up today with both of us working on you, and we can leave within a week." "NO!" Sakura shouted. "He will come after me. And after that giant battle, you guys aren't ready to fight him. And there's no need to. I'll be fine." "Don't fight this!" Ino exclaimed. "We're trying to help you!" "I'm trying to help you, damn it!" Sakura yelled. "You guys can't be worrying about me until the next battle! I will be an asset on the battlefield. Until then, it's better that I stay here and spy on him. Go and tell Naruto that. I mean it." Shuddering, Ino slipped out of Sakura's mind. Before speaking again, she looked around to make sure that nobody had found them out. "Fine," Ino agreed quietly. "But let's heal you up now." For the next five hours, Sakura and Ino remained in the room, not straying once from their task. Ino did the bulk of the work, and ended up nearly drained of chakra. Sakura, on the other hand, was ready for anything. Though her chakra was depleted, she was nowhere near exhausted. "I feel much better," she told Ino, jumping out of bed. "Sakura-sama, be careful," Ino warned. "You should still rest for the next day." Sakura waved that away. "I must go inform your husband of the new developments," Ino pointed out. "Is that okay?" "Of course, Doctor," Sakura nodded. "I would love to see Madara." Ino cast one final, worried glance at her friend before leaving. Sakura started pacing back and forth across the length of the room as she waited for her husband to come inside, and her mind wandered back to their wedding day. The vows were done, and now all that was left was to legalize their union. "Just sign here, darling," Madara smiled. "And then we'll officially be married." Her fingers shaking as she did so, Sakura joined their lives together in black ink. "Perfect, it's done," Madara said. "I suppose it is," Sakura replied. "Don't look so glum now, kitten," Madara sighed. "After all, haven't you dreamed of marrying an Uchiha all your life?" "I hate—" Sakura began vehemently. She never got the chance to finish her sentence, because his lips were suddenly on hers. His hands moved to her waist, pulling her closer as he deepened the kiss. Her arms moved without her consent to wrap around his neck, and her eyelids fluttered shut. When he finally broke away, he smirked down at her, daring her to finish her sentence. "You were saying something, Sakura?" Madara asked. "I hate you," Sakura said pleasantly, as her husband walked inside the room. Madara raised an eyebrow. "You look well," he remarked. "I am," Sakura replied, walking over to him. "In perfect condition, actually." She stood on her tiptoes, as if to kiss him, but didn't. Their bodies were as close as they could be without touching, and her lips were a mere centimeter away from his. "It's good that you're feeling better," Madara told her. He wouldn't let her faze him, even if his mouth had suddenly gone dry. "No thanks to you," Sakura retorted. "I wouldn't have had to nearly kill you if you hadn't decided you were my enemy," Madara pointed out. "I've never been anything but your enemy," Sakura informed him. Madara saw an opening and took it triumphantly. "Nothing?" he asked. "Perhaps your injuries have made you forget…" With that, he pulled her body against his and kissed her. For one glorious moment, she was kissing him back—then, she pushed him away. "Bastard," Sakura muttered. "So you're just going to pretend you were never anything else to me?" Madara sneered. "Never my wife or my lover?" She glared at him defiantly. "Never my dirty little bitch in bed?" Madara chuckled. That was when Sakura snapped. "My friends and I will make sure you have a painful death," she promised. She then aimed a punch right at Madara's mouth, but he simply bent backwards to avoid it, simultaneously kicking her off of her feet. However, before she could fall to the ground, he caught her and helped her back to her feet. "Sometimes," Madara sighed. "I think I should just use the Sharingan to change your memories." This matter-of-fact statement made Sakura's blood run cold. She had seen him do it to people before, and it was horrifying. But she would never let him see her fear. "Why don't you just do it then?" she snapped. "You wouldn't be who you are now," Madara replied simply. "And I wouldn't have any reason to love you then, would I, kitten?" Sakura was speechless. In all of her months with Madara, she had seen him go through many emotions—rage, lust, envy, passion, even guilt and grief. But she had never expected him to love anyone, let alone her. "L-L-Love?" Sakura stuttered, completely caught off guard. "Love," Madara repeated, with a smirk. Sakura felt dizzy and as though her body was no longer under her control. Despite her protests, every fiber of her body seemed to want him. Her feet moved her to him, her legs wrapped around his waist, her hands thrust into his hair, and her tongue twisted itself around his. When she finally released him, she was gasping for air. "You evidently feel it too," Madara pointed out. "You just don't want to confess." "I will never love you," Sakura told him, cursing her traitorous body. He looked at her skeptically, reminding her that she was still wrapped around him. As she attempted to untangle her limbs from his, Madara fastened strong arms around her, unwilling to let her escape. Sakura's breathing became ragged as he began to trail his lips up the side of her neck. "Don't tempt me, Sakura," he murmured, his breath warm on her skin. "I might just have to prove you wrong." Minutes later, they were lying on the bed, panting and devoid of clothing, but the challenge had still not burned out of her eyes. Madara cupped Sakura's cheek with a rough hand and turned her face towards his. "I have missed you, kitten," he said softly. On that cryptic note, he stood up, put his clothes back on, and left the room, leaving Sakura to her thoughts. She felt dirty, used. Her skin was crawling, and all she wanted to do was scrub clean every part of her body until it bled. It wasn't just that they'd had sex—they had done that many times before. It was that their bodies had fit together like puzzle pieces, that they had been two halves of one whole. Sakura was a kunoichi, as she had said, trained by the best. And still, she had managed to do the unthinkable. Sakura had fallen in love with the enemy. She curled up in her bed and wrapped the sheets around herself. "Shit," she sighed. Sakura lay down for a long while, trying to think, but failing. Sensations came over her in bursts—the blinding pain of her battle with Madara, the tender caress of his lips, the dizzy nausea that had risen in her throat when he had confessed his love for her. Putting Madara out of her mind, Sakura closed her eyes and tried to get some rest. Maybe these feelings would go away. When she woke up the next morning, she chose to pretend that she wasn't in love—it was a technique that worked beautifully. Sakura's life went back to what she would consider 'normal' over the next few months. She lived with Madara as his wife and simultaneously fed information to the resistance, this time through Ino. What Sakura didn't know was that Madara knew that he had a rat problem. The tactical advantage of loving Sakura was that it made her easy to read for him. She wasn't protesting her life with him nearly as much as usual, which meant that she was up to something. Before, it had been Sasuke. Now, he suspected Sakura's doctor. So, Madara hatched a plan, firstly to confirm that it was her, secondly to get rid of her, and finally to teach Sakura a lesson that he hoped would stick this time. One night, as they were getting ready for bed, Madara brought the topic of Ino up casually. "I was thinking of letting your doctor go," he remarked. "Now that you are well, there's no point in her being here." "I don't know," Sakura shrugged. "She's quite talented, I'm sure you could find some use for her." Madara's eyes flashed with triumph. Her usual answer would have been that nobody should have to live in this terrible place, and even her neutral tone couldn't conceal this apparent change of heart. "I'm really getting sick of this, Sakura," he sighed. Sakura looked at him in feigned confusion and continued to brush her hair. "Don't play coy with me, kitten," Madara told her. "I know what you've been doing behind my back, again." "Madara, I have no idea what you are talking about," Sakura retorted, even though she could feel her heart beating in her throat. He clicked his tongue in disapproval. "You could still save her, kitten," Madara said. Sakura knew then that she had lost the game. There was nothing left but ask the question that would establish her as guilty. "How?" she whispered. "I just want to have a quick chat with her," Madara replied. Sakura started to protest, but Madara put his hand up. "A supervised chat," he explained. "Supervised by you. Give me half an hour, and then she's free to go." Sakura looked at him suspiciously. "I don't believe you," she told him. "You can go get her, or I can have some of my men go get her," Madara shrugged. "It's your choice." Sakura didn't even answer him—she just started running. She ran to find Ino. She ran to get away from Madara. She ran, because she just couldn't stand there any longer and watch the man she loved threaten one of her best friends. When she got to the doctor's room, she was nearly out of breath. "Pig!" Sakura shouted. "Are you in there?" When Ino opened the door, she was dressed in her mask and white coat as usual. "What's wrong?" she asked. Sakura said nothing at first; she simply hugged Ino. "He knows," Sakura said, after letting go of her friend. "I have to go," Ino declared immediately. "Sakura, I have to go." "No!" Sakura exclaimed. "You can't! He'll send his men. He promised to let you go, if you come with me. I'll be in the room. I won't let him hurt you." Ino looked at her skeptically. "He's not going to keep his promise," she told Sakura. "If we know anything, it's that." "You don't have to trust him," Sakura assured her. "Just trust me! Trust me, Ino. I won't—I won't let him hurt anyone else I love." Ino said nothing for a few moments. "It's me," Sakura reminded her desperately. "Your best friend. Sakura." "Uchiha Sakura," Ino corrected her. "It's me," Sakura repeated. Again, Ino was silent. Then, just as Sakura was starting to lose hope, she began to speak. "I trust you," Ino said. Sakura exhaled, relieved. "I'm so sorry, Ino," she sighed. "But this is the only way I can keep you safe." "Who's going to keep you safe, Sakura?" Ino shot back. "You're always protecting all of us. Who's protecting you? Him?" Sakura bit her lip. "Do you love him?" Ino exclaimed, in disbelief. "No!" Sakura protested. "I don't! How could you even say that? We don't have time for this, Ino!" She didn't allow Ino any time to reply. Instead, Sakura grabbed Ino's hand and started running. "It'll only be half an hour, Ino," Sakura told her, as they ran. "And then you're free, I promise." "I trust you," Ino repeated quietly. They soon reached the room where Sakura knew Madara would be waiting. Before they went in, Sakura squeezed Ino's hand. "We might not have a chance to talk after this is over," Sakura said. "So I just wanted to tell you…" "I love you too, Forehead," Ino interrupted. "Let's just get through this." Sakura smiled; she was glad to see that Ino was still the fighter she remembered. Before they had a chance to turn the doorknob of the little interrogation room, Madara emerged from inside. "Welcome, Yamanaka Ino," he smiled. "So nice of you to be here." Ino glared at him defiantly. "Why don't you come inside?" Madara asked. "My wife will accompany you." Ino followed him inside, Sakura close behind her. Inside the room was a table surrounded by three chairs. Ino and Sakura sat next to each other, while Madara sat across from them. "I'm not telling you anything," Ino said flatly. "You can do whatever you want to me." Madara's smile grew wider. "That's of no matter," he replied. "Sakura will not let me hurt you. Perhaps you will react when she is the one being hurt." Ino looked at Sakura in panic. "She won't tell you anything," Sakura told him. "It doesn't matter what he does, Ino. Don't tell him anything. He's hurt me plenty of times before, and he's not going to kill me." "Kitten, you misunderstand me," Madara told her. "I don't plan on hurting you physically; I think we're past all that now. Do you remember the last fight we had?" It had been months ago, but his words still made Sakura's hairs stand on end. "Sometimes, I think I should just use the Sharingan to change your memories." "You wouldn't!" Sakura exclaimed. "I'm about to," Madara retorted. "Ino, run!" Sakura screamed. Then, red eyes took over her mind, and she blacked out. Two days later, Sakura woke up in a familiar bed, but something was missing. She rubbed her eyes, still tired, as she tried to figure out what exactly it was. Looking around, she realized that it was a bed for two, and that was when it hit her. "Madara," she whispered, the name rolling easily off her tongue. He was what, or rather who, she had been missing. Sakura slowly got out of bed and went to find him. She didn't have to go far. Madara was in their kitchen, and he was just about done making breakfast. "Madara?" Sakura said hesitantly. He turned around and smiled at her. "Good morning, kitten," Madara replied. "How are you feeling? You've been out for a few days." She made her way over to him, and he put his arms around her. "Much better now," Sakura told him, hugging him back. "What happened?" "One of your friends from Konoha had come," Madara explained. "You don't remember?" Sakura thought about it for a second before nodding. "Oh, yes," she answered. "Ino was here, wasn't she?" "Indeed," Madara told her. "She escaped, unfortunately. They want you back, Sakura." "They'll realize that what they're doing is wrong eventually," Sakura sighed. "I wish they could understand that you're a good man." She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him lightly before going to sit down at the table to eat breakfast. Madara sat across from her, triggering faint images of a small, uncomfortable room and red eyes. Shaking this away, Sakura began to eat. "You do remember everything, Sakura?" Madara asked. "You got hit pretty hard." "Unless the world has changed in the past two days," Sakura laughed. "Let me see… Raised in Konoha to believe that you were bad, fought with the rebellion until you saved me, and constantly under attack by my delusional friends. Did I mention that I have pretty kickass skills as a kunoichi?" Inwardly, Madara relished his victory. "That's right," he chuckled. "Looks like you're going to be fine." "I hope you didn't worry too much, dear," Sakura told him. "I'm sure I can heal myself up by the end of the day." Madara reached over to take her hand in his. "I love you, Sakura," he said, smiling. "Getting sentimental?" Sakura asked, grinning back. "I love you too, Madara. I didn't forget that." These were words that Madara had been waiting a long time to hear. Finally, his marriage with Sakura would be as he wanted it to be. She would admit that she loved him, support him in his endeavors, and even stop trying to kill him. The next few months were a dream come true for Madara. In the mornings, he and Sakura woke up at the same time. They laughed as they cooked breakfast together, and even fed each other on occasion. After that, they would train his soldiers, and Sakura would take care of any injuries. She went with him when he had to check on the status of the war and proved to be an able tactician. Though she never directly fought in the battles, her strategy was always helpful. In the nights, they'd share romantic dinners and clichéd declarations of love for each other. When they went to their bedroom, they made love with so much care and tenderness that Madara almost could not believe that this Sakura was same woman he had married. When they fought, it was never about the rebellion. Sakura was firmly on Madara's side now, thanks to his alteration of her memories. Their fights were about his snoring in the night or her lingering on a soldier a second too long. Their marriage was almost normal. For a few months, they were happy. Then, everything came crashing down. One night, while the couple was asleep, two infamous leaders of the rebellion broke into their house. Of course, Sakura and Madara woke up at once. "Intruders," Madara muttered. "I'll help," Sakura told him immediately. "Let's go." "No, Sakura, stay here," Madara said, shaking his head. "But—" Sakura began to protest. He silenced her with a kiss. "I love you," Madara smiled, before leaving their room. Sakura waited for a few minutes, contemplating her situation. She didn't want him to worry about her, but she didn't want to be stuck here worrying about him either. She grabbed kunai and shuriken from her bedside table and was just about to leave when she heard a huge crashing noise from outside. She looked out of her window and saw only a cloud of fire. Sakura rushed out, ready to join the fight, but she was too late. Sasuke and Naruto stood next to each other, each covered in blood. Sasuke was nursing a broken arm, and Naruto was bleeding severely from his shoulder, but Sakura didn't notice either of their wounds. All she could see was Madara, who was lying still on the ground. Immediately, Sakura dropped down next to him and brought chakra to her hands to heal him. "Sakura," Madara coughed. "Don't talk!" Sakura ordered. "Don't say a word." "You can't save me," he told her, using his remaining energy to hold her hand. "Just let it be." "Stop saying that!" she exclaimed, tears starting to stream down her face. "You can't just die like this!" "I'm sorry, kitten," Madara said softly. With his last words still ringing in Sakura's ears, he took his last breath. After a moment, Sakura got up and whirled around to face Naruto and Sasuke. "How dare you?" she shouted. "How could you kill him?" "Sakura, he's done something to you," Naruto told her. "You don't understand." "He's right, Sakura," Sasuke agreed. "We're your friends. We are saving you." "He saved me!" Sakura shot back, in anguish. "We loved each other!" "Please just come with us, Sakura," Naruto said. "We'll make you better. You'll be back to normal. We love you." Sakura couldn't listen to them any longer. She was about to attack, but they were faster. Taking great care not to hurt her too much, Naruto and Sasuke knocked her unconscious and carried her back to the rebellion's hideout. When she woke up, she was in a makeshift hospital. She felt strangely empty, but at the same time light as air. "Sakura, can you hear me?" a familiar voice asked. "Shisou?" Sakura asked hopefully. "She's awake!" Tsunade barked. "Someone call them." Sakura looked around in wonder. "How did I get here?" she asked. "You've been here for more than a week, Sakura," Tsunade told her. "Ino and I have been working on you since the, but we couldn't have done it without Sasuke's Sharingan. Your memories have been restored, but they will be hazy at first. Sasuke and Naruto should be here soon to see you. But first, there's something I have to tell you." Sakura nodded, motioning for Tsunade to go on. "I discovered something while we were treating you," Tsunade continued. "I don't think Ino has noticed yet, but everyone will soon. You are pregnant, Sakura. You're carrying Madara's child." Sakura opened her mouth, and then closed it again. "It is Madara's, correct?" Tsunade pressed on. "Yes, yes," Sakura managed to reply. "It's his." At that moment, Sasuke and Naruto arrived. "Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed. "You're all better, right? You had us really scared with your talk of loving Madara. Ino told us what happened, but it still freaked us out. You're okay, right? We missed you so much. I'm glad you're back. Now he can never get to you again, and—" "Dobe, shut up," Sasuke interrupted. "She's tired. Kakashi-sensei's a few rooms over, which is why he isn't here, but he told us to give you his best." Sakura smiled and nodded. "Now that everyone has had the chance to see Sakura, you all have to leave!" Tsunade told them. "She needs her rest. I assure you she will be out within a week. Until then, get out!" Everybody left, leaving Sakura to her thoughts. She couldn't fall back asleep; it was as if red eyes were burned into the back of her eyelids. She was sure they'd haunt her dreams (or nightmares). During the quiet week she spent in the makeshift hospital, Sakura came to a few conclusions. She had loved Madara. She didn't anymore, but she had nonetheless. She was going to raise his child, but he or she would never know Madara as more than an enemy who the rebellion had taken down. To pull this off, she needed to fall in love with a certain someone all over again. The flutter in her heart when her friends had come to visit told her that she was about ready. Sakura fell asleep on her last night at the hospital with these thoughts floating in her mind. At last, she was free. The next morning when Tsunade released her, Sasuke was waiting at the entrance of the hospital. "Good morning, Sasuke," Sakura smiled. "Hn," Sasuke grunted in response. "I thought we were past this," Sakura sighed. "It's been too difficult these past few years for me to deal with this again, Sasuke." Sasuke smiled. "Dinner today," he said. "It won't be much since we're still in a rebellion hideout. But it's something." "It is something," Sakura agreed. For a moment, she was silent. "Do you know?" she asked. "Did Shisou tell you?" "I will help you," Sasuke replied, nodding. "He or she will need a father as well." "Is this because this child is an Uchiha?" Sakura asked, biting her lip. "I thought we were past this," Sasuke chuckled. "It's because this child is yours, Sakura." Sakura smiled. From then on, everything progressed as she expected. She and Sasuke fell in love, got married, raised children, and had a blissful life together. Despite all that, his red eyes were never the ones that haunted her dreams.

Preamble: Golly! This week there are more European aristocrats shaking in their plush boots than at any period since the 1848 Spring of Nations, and this time no royal conniving or hastily arranged in-breeding can preserve them. No. Bayern Munich, Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Milan, Bayern Munich, Internazionale, Marseille and Liverpool all must rely solely on their own merits to survive in the Champions League. What's that? Liverpool are already out? When did that happen? How come no one in the media made any mention of it? Anyway, for the other former winners the last round of group games really is make or break. Madrid are probably the best placed, since only the most unlikely combination of results outside an idiot's betting coupon can prevent them from cantering into the next round: not only would Zurich have to beat Milan again, but Marseille would have to win by at least 3-0 at the Velodrome. Tonight's most entertaining match, then, could be in Italy, and that in itself is remarkable. Juventus will knock out Bayern with either a victory or a draw but would be themselves eliminated in the event of a Bayern win. Elsewhere, Chelsea are using their night off to show some Cypriot tourists around Stamford Bridge, and assorted sans-culottes are in action in the Championship and the FA Cup. You'll be kept abreast of all right here. And as if that's not enough reason to stick around, let me sweeten the tart even further by going down on record with this promise: tonight's Clockwatch will stand alone in the international mediascape by refusing to make any reference whatsoever to Tiger Woods. For a full list of tonight's fixtures click here. Teams news: Take a look at this team-sheet: is Sir Alex Ferguson is experimenting with an audacious 1-9-2 formation? Or are United just more patched up than a thief in Nicorette factory? Wolfsburg: Benaglio, Schafer, Barzagli, Ricardo Costa, Riether, Josue, Gentner, Hasebe, Misimovic, Dzeko, Grafite. Subs: Lenz, Simunek, Ziani, Johnson, Madlung, Pekarik, Dejagah. Man Utd: Kuszczak, Park, Fletcher, Carrick, Evra, Gibson, Scholes, Nani, Welbeck, Anderson, Owen. Subs: Foster, Valencia, Obertan, Eikrem, James, Gill, Stewart. Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (Holland) Atletico Madrid: Sergio Asenjo, Valera, Juanito, Perea, Dominguez, Maxi, Paulo Assuncao, Simao, Cleber Santana, Aguero, Forlan. Subs: De Gea, Antonio Lopez, Pernia, Camacho, Jurado, Reyes, Pablo. FC Porto: Helton, Fucile, Maicon, Bruno Alves, Pereira, Fernando, Valeri, Raul Meireles, Hulk, Rodriguez, Falcao. Subs: Beto, Guarin, Belluschi, Gonzalez, Varela, Farias, Sapunaru. Referee: Stephane Lannoy (France) Marseille: Mandanda, Taiwo, Heinze, Diawara, Bonnart, Cisse, Cheyrou, Gonzalez, Niang, Abriel, Brandao. Subs: Andrade, Hilton, Kabore, Kone, M'bia Etoundi, Morientes, Valbuena. Real Madrid: Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Albiol, Arbeloa, Lassana Diarra, Alonso, Marcelo, Van der Vaart, Ronaldo, Higuain. Subs: Dudek, Gago, Mahamadou Diarra, Raul, Benzema, Garay, Granero. Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany) Besiktas: Recber, Kas, Sivok, Ferrari, Uzulmez, Ernst, Toraman, Fink, Dag, Tello, Bobo. Subs: Celikay, Koybasi, Nihat, Nobre, Rodrigo Tabata, Inceman, Yusuf Simsek. CSKA Moscow: Akinfeev, Odiah, Semberas, Vasili Berezutsky, Shchennikov, Krasic, Aldonin, Rahimic, Mamaev, Necid, Dzagoev. Subs: Pomazan, Maazou, Guilherme, Oliseh, Stolyarenko, Grigoriev, Zabolotny. Referee: Martin Hansson (Sweden) More teams news: Sheff Utd: Bunn, Walker, Morgan, Kilgallon, Taylor, Cresswell, Harper, Montgomery, Quinn, Ward, Evans. Subs: Bennett, France, Williamson, Stewart, Little, Geary, Camara. Nottm Forest: Camp, Gunter, Morgan, Wilson, Shorey, Anderson, Chambers, McKenna, Cohen, Blackstock, Earnshaw. Subs: Smith, McGugan, Adebola, Tyson, McCleary, McGoldrick, Majewski. Referee: Andy Haines (Tyne & Wear) Actually, this is going to get quite laborious and boring. So how about I confine this roster to requests. If there's a line-up you really, really want to know about, or a referee whose place of origin you simply must now, drop us a line and we'll oblige if it's not too much hassle. Dig the interactivity. Oh yeah. 7:25pm: "I'd like the line-ups for the big relegation six-pointer in the Championships," begs Jenkins Daniels, who is presumably referring to this: Ipswich: Lee-Barrett, Rosenior, McAuley, Delaney, David Wright, Walters, Leadbitter, Garvan, Edwards, John, Stead. Subs:McLoughlin, Peters, Priskin, Colback, Smith, Trotter, Wickham. Peterborough: Lewis, Bennett, Geohaghon, Morgan, Griffiths, Whelpdale, Frecklington, Coutts, Boyd, Mclean, Mackail-Smith. Subs: McKeown, Lee, Rowe, Diagouraga, Pearce, Green, Simpson. Referee: Andy Hall (W Midlands) 7:28pm: The inevitable email: "May I know all of the Champions League, Championship and FA Cup squads and referees for the respective matches please, Paul?" chuckles Chris Laws. Tell you what, Chris, try to guess them and I'll let you know if you get any wrong. That'll be no end of fun. 7:32pm: I'll preempt the deulge of requests by giving you this one straight-up ... Alloa: Crawford, Buist, McClune, Townsley, Walker, Brown, Scott, Brown Ferguson, Grant, Carroll, Agnew. Subs: Gilhaney, Kerr, Philp, McCafferty, Hall. Cowdenbeath: Hay, Armstrong, Adamson, Ramsay, Droudge, Mbu, Fairbairn, McBride, Wardlaw, Robertson, Stein. Subs: Winter,Linton, Ferguson, Baxter. Referee: B Colvin (Scotland) 7:35pm: Why are Essien and Drogba playing? Chelsea: Turnbull, Belletti, Terry, Carvalho, Zhirkov, Mikel, Essien, Joe Cole, Kakuta, Malouda, Drogba. Subs: Hilario, Ivanovic, Lampard, Anelka, Bruma, Borini, Philliskirk. Apoel Nicosia: Chiotis, Poursaitides, Broerse, Paulo Jorge, Haxhi, Morais, Michael, Charalambidis, Pinto, Kosowski, Zewlakow. Subs: Kissas, Papathanasiou, Satsias, Elia, Jean Paulista, Mirosavljevic, Breska. Referee: Matteo Trefoloni (Italy) 7:37pm: Juventus were expecting Arjen Robben to start against them tonight and he does so - on the bench. Juventus: Buffon, Caceres, Legrottaglie, Cannavaro, Grosso, Camoranesi, Felipe Melo, Marchisio, Diego, Trezeguet, Del Piero. Subs: Manninger, Salihamidzic, Amauri, Poulsen, Giovinco, Grygera, Tiago. Bayern Munich: Butt, Lahm, Van Buyten, Demichelis, Badstuber, Muller, Van Bommel, Schweinsteiger, Pranjic, Gomez, Olic. Subs: Kraft, Braafheid, Altintop, Robben, Breno, Klose, Tymoschuk. Referee: Massimo Busacca (Switzerland) 7:39pm: "Team news from Doncaster v Sheffield Wednesday please!" orders Nick Dunkeyson. Here you go: Doncaster: Sullivan, Chambers, Shackell, O'Connor, Roberts, Oster, Martin Woods, Shiels, Coppinger, Sharp, Hayter. Subs: Smith, Guy, Spicer, Mark Wilson, Webster, Hird, Gillett. Sheff Wed: Grant, Buxton, Purse, Beevers, Spurr, Tudgay, McAllister, Potter, Johnson, O'Connor, Clarke. Subs: O'Donnell, Esajas, Varney, Simek, Feeney, Soares, Gray. Referee: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire) 7:40pm: A show of hands please: who amongst you would rather be a fan of a yoyo club than a consistently middling Premier League club? Does having one season of joyous victories followed by one of miserable defeats trump having never-ending season of mediocrity? 7:42pm: "Come on Mr. Doyle!" howls Niall Harden. "Details please! From where in Scotland does referee B Colvin hail?" The bit where it rains. 7:47pm: And the first goal of the evening goes to Bruno Alves, who has put Porto in front at Atletico, who need to win to reach the Europa League. 7:48pm: A well-worked freekick routine at Stamford Bridhe exposes Chelsea and forces Ross Turnbull into a good save. 7:50pm: Goal for Apoel! A splendid one-two down the left culminates with a dinky pass infield to Zewlakow, who meets at the edge of the six-yard box and pokes it past Turnbull into the net. 7:51pm: Madrid seem to be easing through - Cristiano Ronaldo has put them in front at Marseille. 7:53pm: Chelsea appear angered: Mikel has just crunched into a Cypriot on mid-way to concede a freekick. He was lucky to escape a booking. 7:55pm: No goals anywhere in the Championship yet. There was one at Juventus, however, but David Trezeguet's effort was ruled out for offside. 7:57pm: Chelsea have equalised with a beauty. Following fine work down the left by Zhirkov, Malouda whipped in a cross that Joe Cole met at the neat post and headed past the keeper. He wheels off in celebration ... until he spots the linesman's falg: he was offside! 7:58pm: They'll be dancing in the mean streets of Luton: Adam Newton has put the Hatters in front agaisnt Rotherham, potentially setting up a tie with Southampton. 7:59pm: The side run by the man who will surely replace Ferguson at Old Trafford unless someone (Liverpool?) makes him an offer he can't refuse first, are in front at Maccabi Haifa thanks to Ferreira Jussie. 8pm: Bad tidings for Madrid fans: Falcao has put Porto 2-0 up at Atletico, and Lucho Gonzalez has equalised for Marseille agaisnt Real. 8:02pm: Ever wondered what Robert Grant is doing tonight? 8:04pm: UN weapons inspectors would do well to get themselves down to Stamford Bridge, where Michael Essien had just unleashed a terrifying missile from 25 yards. It swirled all over the shop before flying past an astonished keeper and into the net. 8:06pm: Of all the great players who will not be at next summer's Wolrd Cup, the most missed may well be ... Ivan Sproule. Don't believe me? Find footage of his goal for Bristol City againts Leicester just now - he danced past five players before walloping it into the net. Elsehwere, Chris Burke have given Cardiff the lead at West Brom. 8:07pm: The wisdom of playing Michael Essien will now be called further into question: the Ghanaian has pulled his hamstring and hobbled off. By the t ime he comes back, he'll be off to Angola for the African Cup of Nations. "Zhirkov hasn't played a minute of Premiership football yet. What's up with that?" whines Colin Greer. "It just doesn't seem fair to keep all those people with cheeky Zhirkov chants/puns waiting so long. I can only imagine that come Christmas, they'll be spewing them out whether he's on the pitch or not." 8:10pm: A black night for Rotherham - Chris White has put Luton 2-0 up. Meanwhile at Reading, Nathaniel Cline has given Palace the lead. 8:11pm: Lovely goal by Chelsea! They've really cranked up the tempo since going behind and have torn Apoel apart just now. Drogba provided a ruthless finish to a devastating move, whacking home Zhirkov's cross from 10 yards. And all that with 10 men, since Caralo Ancelotti hasn't yet got around to replacing Essien. 8:12pm: Penalty for Bayern, currently trailing 1-0 to that Trezeguet goal that may have escaped my attention. Up runs their keeper, Butt, to take it, and the joke's not on him - he converts with style. 1-1. 8:15pm: Well, here's a hell of thing: Zurich have taken the lead against Milan ... thanks to a goal by Milan. Yes, Milan Gajic has set the scene for another shock Swiss victory with a a goal on the half-hour mark. How can this be? I saw Zurich against Marseille and Madrid earlier in the tournament and they were awful. 8:17pm: Word is Ipswich are dominant at Portman Road - where Grant Leadbitter is "the best player by far" according to Scott Minto on Sky Sports News - but Peterbrough have just missed the best chance of the game. 8:18pm: And now for the news that no policeman wanted: Luciano Beccho scored at Elland Road, making the prospect of a Leeds-Manchester United clash in the next round of the FA Cup highly likely. 8:21pm: When will Gordon Strachan manage a winning team at the Riverside? Not tonight, it seems, as Gary Taylor-Fletcher has proffited from some slack defending by Sean St Ledger to put Blackpool 1-0 up. 8:25pm:Milo Krasic has scored for CSKA in Besiktas, while in Italy Bayern are totally in control but have missed a slew of chances. "Please tell me that Butt started his spot kick run-up from his own box, ran the length of the pitch and blasted the ball into Juve's net," pleas Steve Dahlgren. Alas not, Steve, he sauntered up, then introduced an Aldridge-esque staccato trot as he approached the ball and dinked it past his nonplusssed counterpart. I was rather hoping it would have been, so that we would be treated to the prospect of Butt charging back to his goal as Buffon's shot sailed over him and into the net. 8:27pm: Taylor-Fletcher now has as many goals as he does surnames. And that's bad news for Gordon Strachan, who still has no home wins. Middlesbrough 0-2 Blackpool. 8:29pm: Michael Owen has scored for United just before half-time. It came from a delicious cross by Scholes, or so I hear. At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea are coasting. And at Portman Road, Ipswich have had a goal chalked off for a supposed foul on the keeper. And finally, at the Hawthorns, the Baggies are absolute pants. 8:31 pm: "If Buffon did beat Butt at his own game, it wouldn't have been the first time such a thing has happened," trumpets Ed Rostron. "Check this out." It's well worth it, folks. 8:34pm: Things just keep getting better for the bearers of double-barreled names - Thomas-Moore has put Tranmere in front at Aldershot, that endearing young charm. "You've probably already heard by now. but it was Nani who crossed for Owen's goal," blurts John Barry, dubiously. "You probably don't believe it, but it really was. Lovely cross too. The kind of thing that it would be great for him to do consistently..." 8:38pm: It's half-time everywhere so I'm off for a coffee, not because I'm especially thirsty, mainly so that I don't have to see that unbelievably irritating Exxon Mobil ad again. you know, the one where they've put up some genial old boffin to talk about how beautiful algae is. "Blue ... red ... green ... such wonderful colours." Brazen! 8:46pm: A comical goof by Federici in the Reading goal enables Darren Ambrose to put Palace 2-1 up at the Madejski. 8:49pm: An absolute stonker from Victor Moses to give Palace a 3-1 lead at Reading. "I noted your comment on Blanc looking good for Old Trafford post-Ferguson," warbles Mike Gibbons. "I've followed his results from afar in Ligue 1 and the Champions League this season and on paper they're phenomenally impressive. Not seen much of them play though, what is the football like? And how is he viewed in France - surely they'd move heaven and earth to recruit him for the post-Domenech reconstruction?" You're dead right about the last bit - he is widely considered to be the ideal replacement for Domenech, and has said he envisages doing that job some day ... but first he says he would like to manage a big foreign club. All ears should prick up at that because, as you note, his results have been highly impressive. What's more, so has the style: Bordeaux play a very attractive and enterprising brand of football, entirely at odds with that practiced under Blanc's predecessor there. He's also proven to be shrewd in the transfer market (Gourcuff being an obvious example) and has got the best out of players who flopped elsewhere. 8:50pm: Bayern are in front at Juventus, who now stand on the verge of elimination. Diego was at fault, slopping conceding a corner, before a Van Buyten header was parried and Olic prodded in the rebound. 8:52pm: Aldershot's bolt is spent. Tranmere are 2-0 up thanks to a Terry Gornell drive from close-range. 8:53pm: Sunderland's opponents in the next round of the FA Cup are likely to be Barrow, who've gone two up against Oxford thanks to Carlos Logan. 8:56pm: United are pegged back at Wolfsburg. Dzeko headed home from six yards with no one near him - that marking was so bad you'd think United were fielding a pair of midfielders in the centre of defence. 8:58pm: It's a freekick for Chelsea, and Drogba is standing over it. It's from the same sort of position from which he scored against Arsenal, and nearly against Manchester City too. He struck it in exactly the same manner, except that it flew inches wide. 8:59pm: Lee Trundle, the proverbial amusement arcade, has scored for Swansea at home to Plymouth. And because no one else had scored before him, it's 1-0. 9:01pm: No sign of Juventus scraping the point they need, Bayern continue to dominate in Turin. And Milan are still losing at Zurich. 9:03pm: Swansea and Cardiff are both leading, and both well placed in t he Championship. If they both ascend to the Premier League, how long before Celtic and Rangers renew their campaign to be admitted? And on what grounds could they continue to be excluded? And can Linfield join too? How about Goose Green Settlers? 9:05pm: Raul Albiol's an impressive central defender - and now also a handy goleador. His first goal for Real Madrid have given his team a 2-1 lead at Marseille. 9:08pm: Milan's blushes recede as Ronaldinho scores from the penalty spot to make it 1-1 with Zurich. What's more, the Swiss are down to 10 men as Alain Rochat has been sent off for the foul that lead to the penalty. 9:10pm: Marc Goodfellow has stepped out of the pages of a James Bond book to make it 3-0 to Barrow against Oxford. 9:12pm: Luton now lead 3-0 against Rotherham following a rocket from Claude Gnakpa. 9:15pm: Apoel are bothering Chelsea at the Bridge, really putting them under pressure with some admirably precise and zippy play under the furious rain. Turnbull has had to make a couple of decent saves over the last few minutes. 9:16pm: Trezeguet gets his second touch of the match ... and darn near scores for Juventus. If booming the ball over the bar from 15 yards can be considered darn near scoring ... 9:18pm: Lucho Gonzalez has botched a penalty for Marseille against Real, smashing it against the bar after Casillas had dived the wrong way. 9:20pm: Would you like Hulk when he's happy? If so, now is the time to hook up with him, because's he's just made it 3-0 to Porto at Atletico. 9:21pm: It may not be a white Christmas, but there will be Sno. Evander Sno, to be precise, and he's put Bristol City 3-0 up at Leicester. 9:22pm: Leeds have been punished for their profligacy. After missing 67 clear chances, they've been pegged back by Kettering. Anthony Elding is the scorer. 9:23pm: Tremendous skill by Obertan to create a goal for Owen. United lead 2-1 at Wolfsburg. Meanwhile in the place Hull residents go for Saturday night kicks, Biully Sharp has put Doncaster 1-0 up agaisnt Sheffield Wednesday. 9:25pm: The Old Lady is being escorted from the premesis: Mario Gomez has made it 3-1 to Juventus. 9:27pm: Ignominy for Leicester's Martyn Waghorn. He clattered into Jamie McAlister and injured himself in the process, meaning he was stretchered off after beingshown a red card. 9:28pm: Moments after John Terry groans after the referee rightfully ruled out his goal against Apoel (three Chelsea players were offside), Cristiano Ronaldo gives Real a 3-1 lead at Marseille. 9:29pm: Apoel are level! Mikel's sloppy pass was intercepted by Mirosavljevic, who scampered past Terry and shot past Turnbull and into the net! Chelsea 2-2 Apoel. 9:30pm: Bobo has equalised for Besiktas against CSKA. And Owen has completed his hat-trick for United. if those results stay the same, CSKA will go into the next round at the expense of the German champions. 9:32pm: Juventus are going out with a whimper. Bayern have made it 4-1 thanks to Tymoshcuk. 9:34pm: Scott Carson has been sent off for WBA, who now trail 2-0 to Cardiff after Peter Whittingham hit a second. 9:35pm: Apoel nearly snatch a winner at Stamford Bridge. Zhirkov had to clear a cross from under his own bar. And on that note, the final whistle sounds. Ancelotti does not look happy. Hats off to the Cypriots, though, and off they go to parade in front of their jubilant fans. 9:37pm: CSKA are back in front at Besiktas and Aldonin's goal almost certainly means they will finish second in the group behind Manchester United. They will join Real Madrid, Milan, Bordeaux, Chelsea and Porto in the knockout stages - unless they are kicked out as a result of alleged positive dope tests by two of their players earlier in the tournament. Uefa will debate that matter later this week. And that's it from me. Thanks for following this for free. Bye.

No, not "blind dating" where the danger is in the dated one, but "bungee dating" where the danger lurks in the date itself. "Bungee dating" because one finds oneself jumping into a situation that is 100 feet deep with a bungee cord that extends to 101 feet. Thus it was with this sorry pilgrim, this old and true friend, who called my West Coast retreat from New York this morning, tattered and battered from his bungee date of the previous evening, telling his tale of testosterone-powered urban woe. He will be distressed that I have related it here, but it is for the greater good I do so. Men, take heed. Ladies are advised to avert their delicate eyes. So I'm having this telephone relationship with her, see? You know, the kind of relationship where you're doing this long dance to the tune of "Getting to Know You," and its going pretty well. I mean, I like it the way it is. We don't see each other a lot because of jobs, errands, New York yadda-yadda, and all that sort of thing. But also its neat, unusual, to spend hours on the telephone just sort of chatting away. I *never* talk on the phone this long with anyone, but she's clever with questions and sort of keeps me blathering away. I don't feel weird about it until after when I notice that she's winkled all this information about me out of me, but I still don't know a lot about her. She's a reporter type. I keep feeling I'm getting my notes taken, you know. But still I like it. I mean, hey, it's all about me so who wouldn't? Still, we are really not having enough face time. She's getting all these weird ideas about me -- which just aren't true. Or maybe they are and I don't like being in such total disclosure with a telephone relationship. Anyway, she's been under a lot of stress -- job, sick loved ones, hangovers, insecurity, the whole mini-catastrophe. She's sounding fried on the phone and I'm getting the 'let me help you' impulse big time. So when she mentions how uptight her body is, I say, utterly innocently, "I know just how you feel. We need a spa night with major shiatsu massages. That'll tune us up." The next thing that should have gone through my mind was a dum-dum bullet wrapped in raw bacon, but sadly that did not happen. Instead she picks up on it. Starts to go through the Yellow Pages seeing what's available on a Friday night in New York City in the way of massages. "Hey, joint spa and massage," think I. An obviously cool date even though we are not exactly at the dating point, but more at the 'non-date date show up on a casual basis point,' if you know what I mean. We're being formally informal since we're not high-risk emotional kinds of people -- or at least that's the way we both want to seem. I mean, we've done a museum walk-through and one movie. Total face time, six hours max. Very tentative. But it's cool. To go from that stage to mutual massage spa salon is a big step, but since it is a non- date date and we're being just buddies it seems doable. In fact it seems amusing and challenging. So we scan the yellow pages and conference call a couple of joints offering massage services for 'couples' and pick one. At the same time, it is getting late and our need for food is pressing. So we agree to meet at this restaurant that seems right -- a Chinese noodle shop in midtown close to the massage salon. I've been there a few times before and it is a great non-date date restaurant: not so fancy that there's any lurking obligation incurred if I pick up the check, nor so down-scale that its like just going to the corner for a hot- dog-just-pals sort of deal. Its a semi-date restaurant. Only problem is that I'm a little unclear about exactly where in midtown the place is. But I'm a guy, right? So I give her coordinates that are, as it turns out, real close to where the restaurant actually is and a name, Jimmy's, which is sort of what I think the name is. We arrange to meet on 28th and 3rd Avenue in 15 minutes. I'm at 28th and 3rd in 10 minutes and the first thing I notice is that I needed just a little more research. The noodle palace I'm thinking of is on 29th and 3rd and is named Sam's. Oh, well, close. I'll just hang out on the corner of 28th and 3rd for a few minutes and she'll show up and we'll stroll to Sam's amused at my lack of consciousness and inability to ask for precise directions. 'What a guy,' she'll say. And we shall have a small chuckle and chat about the male inability to ask for directions which is a staple in the getting to know you routine. "Alas, after 10 minutes, nobody shows. I get concerned and notice there is another noodle shop catty-corner from me on 28th and 3rd. Perhaps she's gone in already. Cross the street, walk-through restaurant, nobody there. Humm, maybe she's waiting at Sam's up on the next corner. Walk up there. Nobody. Walk outside feeling stupid and start to patrol the block looking for my non-date date who I am sure is in the same block looking for me. "Twenty minutes, 30 minutes...phone her place. Answering machine. Hang up. Phone her cell. Rings into voice mail and the mailbox is "full." Start looking in other restaurants in the block. Lots of restaurants in the block. Filled with people anxious to seat me, but nobody I recognize. Outside the street full of people and taxis, but not my non-date date. Something's happened. Some disaster. Taxi break-down. Tough it out. Lost. Mugged. Abducted by aliens. Standing me up through some streak of perversity that I have failed to detect. Busted by Federal Agents for unspecified crimes. Taken up by the Rapture as the only worthy one in New York City even though she's Jewish. On a hijacked subway train and being held until all Palestinian prisoners from here to the Planet Mongo are released.....every disaster possible passes through my mind. 40 minutes and counting.... I'll give it 5 more and then bag it. From across the street, over the traffic, she's shouting my name. Where have I been? What happened? She's been here all along. Patrolling the block south of 28th and 3rd while I've been patrolling the block north of 28th and 3rd. Why? Because, fool that I am, there actually is a Chinese restaurant called Jimmy's on that block that I have failed to notice and in which she's had a bowl of tasty soup, thank you. Oh, by the way, our appointed time at the spa massage joint has come and gone. Along with my brain, I might add. But it is a non-date date, so we can't get pushed out of shape by my stupidity. So we jump into Sams where, at last, I get to eat and also call and make another appointment at the spa massage joint for an hour later. Everything is copacetic again. We are back on track for major de-stressing of the body. This evening is working out. Nothing but smooth sailing ahead. We could even get beyond the non-date date thing. It could happen. We could get really relaxed, so relaxed that just-pals-lovemaking could come into focus. Like all men, I live in hope. Yes, I live in hope, but I am also bungee dating. I just don't quite realize it yet. Dinner's over and we set off uptown and cross-town to the 'New Look Spa'. Now, there's no way we've really gotten to the level of dating where we can really get spa intimate with each other. We're really just phone pals and this is an official non-date date. I mean, we haven't even gone for coffee at each other's apartments yet. We are being real slow here. Real slow. But suddenly, bingo, we're going to a spa. In a way, that's cool because we're pals, see, nothing to it. Who cares? In this wise we sort of truth-or-dare each other into a building on a dark side street, past two smiling young suits swaggering up the stairs, down into the basement where the New Look Spa awaits in gray naugahyde splendor. At the bottom of the stairs, we're greeted by the New Look Spa staff. Right away, you know this not going to be your average Zen monastery spa experience replete with mantras, aromatherapy, and far bells coming closer as every stress nodule in your back is expunged from the universe by tiny Geisha like creatures in exotic silk kimonos. The staff that greets us is composed of Korean women in white surgical gowns that look as if they spend their days moonlighting in a training center for midget Sumo wrestlers. And they are into *control* in a major way. We're shunted away from the luxury dressing room into one that looks like Rocky just ran amok, and shown a shower room and a steam room of dubious ancestry. We're instructed to disrobe, shower, steam and report to the staff sergeant of deep muscle destruction for our joint massage. Yawohl! At this point, my non-date date's sanity kicks in for a brief appearance and she manages to make it understood to this non-English speaking person that 1) she wishes to continue in English, and 2) there is no way we are having mutual massages together because we are just pals and this is a non-date date that they're dealing with, and they'll just have to regroup and find two masseuses and two rooms. Full stop. Bottom line. All she wrote. The midget Sumo gets this in a disgruntled way and murmurs the deadly phrase "No problem." This will not be the last time we hear this spoken in this basement. Okay, she clears out and we're left standing around in this locker room with our bathing suits in our hands. Duh? I gallantly offer to change first and hit the shower and steam leaving her to prepare herself. Now that I have some food in my system, sanity is returning. With the return of sanity, I realize one crucial fact: I am an idiot. Yes, on a true bungee date you must always be sure to place your date in at least one truly uncomfortable position. This I have accomplished without ever intending to do so. You see, because we're just good friends, it has escaped me that I have actually asked a woman who's been pent-up in New York City who's been working without a break for months with no real time for workout sessions and without recourse to tanning parlors to actually don last summer's bathing suit for the first time this year. Under those circumstances this is, of course, like asking a woman to willingly undergo a near-death experience. I am, indeed, an insensitive idiot. And I keep offering her the option of bailing out of this whole deal, but since she's that best of all female types -- a really game woman -- she won't go for it. Instead, I hit the showers and the steam room and a few minutes later she slides in, gratified that the steam is so thick you can't see your hand in front of your face. She's a bit disappointed that you can't take a steam in a robe, but at last we are getting some physical relaxation and de-stressing and that's the point of this non-date date so we poach awhile in blissful oblivion. But we still have the massage to go and, having come this far and actually slipped into the bathing suit, she's damned if she's not going to get one. We wander out into the labyrinth of the spa and there are no Sumos in sight. They're probably in the back room mainlining kimchee and giving phone sex to lonely Korean dildo salesmen in midtown hotels. We discover a much nicer dressing room and a sauna room with a cold plunge full of water that looks suspiciously gray. But do we run? No. My idiocy has begun to infect her and she's getting very focused on the massage moment. The Sumos reappear and tell us to relax in this dark room with a small TV and nine towel clad Lay-Z-Boys. We get a glass of water and are just starting to relax when the shortest Sumo of them all appears demanding, over and over again, our credit cards. "You pay! You pay now! Sorry! Need to be somewhere right away! You pay credit card! Right way!" What we really need to do -- Right Way! -- is to run screaming into the New York night, but we're in wet bathing suits and it is a bit nippy outside. So, like drones, we pay. The pace goes up from there. More Sumo-femmes appear. They haul us to strange cubicles. She goes one way. I go the other. I lie down on this bench and my masseuse comes in an presses down on me once. I feel something pop and a pain shoots through my ribs. I writhe and she leaves and comes back with a pair of white cotton shorts which she demands I get into. I'm about halfway into them when suddenly, sanity returns. It was the pain of the rib tearing away from the chest that must have done it, because I'm back. And I'm pissed. This isn't a South Korean Spa, this is North Korean Stalag Gulag #1. I call my whole massage off. Tell them I have no center for it. I have no calm. They've wound me up and I'm not relaxed. The deal is off and I'm dressing. My assigned Sumo follows me into the dressing room and harangues me while I dress. Then she softens and starts nudging my shoulder saying things like: "You come back in. I make you feel good. Really, really, really good. I use special technique." Blink, blink, smile, smile, and a long slow wink that not only looks but sounds wetly salacious. And finally I am clear enough to see that I have led my non-date date into a Blow-Job palace where she is at this very moment getting her back walked on by another midget-Sumo who also will use "special technique" if my non-date date as much as nods towards the clitoral peninsula. I suppose this whole thing could be worse, but cannot really imagine how. After all, I've actually brought her to a whore house on this, our second non-date date. What to do? I mean I can't really burst through the curtains in her cubicle and shout 'Head for the hills, or hold out for a hand job!' That would really blow up any real relaxation she's getting from this whole experience -- and de-stressing her was the whole point of this excursion. Instead, I just sit on the couch in the reception room where my choice of reading material is a Korean magazine or the New York Magazine I read cover to cover at the dentist's a year and a half ago. I elect for New York and am not surprised to find that nothing in the magazine improves on the second reading because it is a magazine utterly without subtext. The moments drag on and ever so often the masseuse is back at my shoulder with more offers to relieve my stress with a few deft flicks of her ample wrists or lips. A few men drift out of the back rooms from time to time. A bouncing strut to their walk as they adjust their ties and slip a $50 to the madam asking that she 'take care' of the girls and ascending in the elevator with faint smiles on their confused faces as they head back to New Jersey after a night under the town. After twenty minutes the madam sort of sighs and offers to void out the charge on my credit card. This is the first glimmer of sanity and I thank her for her graciousness. She gets the slips out and it is then we discover that she has charge both sessions ($120 a pop, so to speak) to my non-date date's credit card. That means that she was about to pay for the massage she had and the massage I didn't have. How much better can an evening get? In the fullness of time, my non-date date emerges and discovers I have bailed. Fortunately she's been tuned nicely and without 'special technique'. She dresses and we prepare to leave. She hands over a tip to her masseuse. Quite generous under the circumstances. But the masseuse looks at it as if she suddenly needs a man-sized Kleenex and says, "Very small. You give a little more, okay?" Tilt! Wrong answer! I'm jabbing the elevator button and starting to sputter. We are so out of here, so out of here. As the door closes, I hear the madam say "Next time you come you get number one. Okay?" We hit the sidewalk in the midst of darkest nowhere midtown. We have no plan. Did I mention that we'd gotten stoned, really stoned, just before hitting the New Look Spa? Well, the first thing that happens with this weed is you forget you've smoked it. Anyway, we find our way to the far end of 42nd street where we regroup over a couple of beers and start to feel better. Chat about the strangeness of it all. Then of course I mention the 'special technique' offer and all the guys leaving with faint smiles on their faces. "Do you mean to tell me," she asks, "that when my masseuse was working on my thighs she was looking for some sort of encouragement from me?" "Yeah," I answer. "They're not allowed to initiate, but you can request." "You mean, she would have gotten me off if I asked?" "Yup, that's the deal." "So the bottom line is that we've gone to a whore house together, right?" "In a manner of speaking, yes." "This is one of those non-date dates that only gets better only you tell it to others, right?" "I'm praying that's the case" "I guess we should call it a night," she says with a look that tells me she's going to be seeking out any neurons in her brain that contain me and dumping them in the non-recyclable bin. Outside I scan the street. "Maybe we can get a cab," I say hopefully. "Get two," she says. "Hey, you live in Park Slope. One cab can just drop me at my place in Brooklyn and take you home from there." "Get two cabs," she says. My cab cruises past 36th Street two blocks from the New Look Spa. I hear the madam's voice saying: "Next time you come, number one! Okay?" I'm wondering whether she's going to be screening calls for the next two weeks until I get the picture, but I don't dare call. She might answer, she might not, but if she does and asks me out on a date I'm terrified to go.Posted by Vanderleun at March 30, 2016 4:31 AM Woody Allen-esque.Posted by: foo dog at March 30, 2016 10:42 AM Hysterically funny. Thank you for some desperately needed laughs.Posted by: creeper at March 31, 2016 5:02 AM Coulda been worse; the "masseuse" might have turned out to be de Blasio in drag.Posted by: PA Cat at March 31, 2016 6:41 AM

Synod, Day 20, Friday October 23, 2015 – As Seen by the Catholic Left “[I]t is the end of a Church that passes judgment on every situation. It is the sign of a Church that is open.” – Archbishop Van Looy Synod of bishops fine-tuning final document on family life 23/10/2015 : Vatican Radio [with additions from the AsiaNews.it report in blockquotes] With just two days to go until the end of the Synod of Bishops on the Family, participants on Friday gave their reactions to a draft of the final document which is now being fine-tuned and will be voted on by the bishops on Saturday.. [Where was Fr. Tom Rosica: Checking out the “internal forum”?] In his presentation, Fr Lombardi noted that Pope Francis yesterday announced the creation of a new dicastery for the family. In response to a reporter’s question on the same issue, Cardinal Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said, “The announcement that the Holy Father made yesterday [. . .] can be presented as the end of a process, because this is not the first time that the Holy Father has brought up the issue at a public meeting with cardinals and bishops. [. . .] He has done it twice, first with the heads of dicasteries, then, at the end of the meeting of the Cardinals after the last Synod, he came up with the issue.” “It is a desire of the Holy Father to reform the Curia,” the cardinal explained. “At that time, these two possibilities were addressed: bringing together the family and the laity on account of the proximity of the subject matter and then probably strengthen them with two other offices for youth and women. That was the way it was presented at the beginning. Yesterday, we had the final form decided upon – the family, the youth and the Pontifical Academy of life brought together and probably supported by the two other groups. [. . .] About the possibility of the other coming together, nothing was said yesterday.” After Francis’ address, the members of Council of the Secretariat of the Synod were elected. Their names will be announced when the pope makes the final choice.. At the briefing, Mgr Lucas Van Looy, bishop of Ghent, said that “this synod is the end of judging people; it is the end of a Church that passes judgment on every situation. It is the sign of a Church that is open, one that speaks with clarity. But for me, the last word that comes from this Synod is the word ‘tenderness’ that the Church has made its own for every situation; not just in the family, but for everyone. It could be the beginning of a new Church.” Cardinal Lacroix from Canada answered a question that the issue of homosexuality. “I do not know how the final document will be. What is certain is that during the whole Synod we spoke of homosexuality in our families. It is possible that the topic will be included in the text. This was not a synod on homosexuals, but homosexuals do exist. I would not say it was about a taboo because it was discussed in an open and shared fashion.” “The topic was also discussed in my work group,” added Cardinal Turkson. “We heard bishops and cardinals with experience of homosexuality in their families. [. . .] Let us not criminalise this phenomenon,” he said, “but let us not victimise those who have a ‘problem’ with it.” But the Synod of the Media Has Already Toppled the Real One It doesn’t matter how it actually ends. World public opinion has already formulated its verdict. With the help of many churchmen by Sandro Magister Chiesa ROME, October 23, 2015 – The bombshell news, automatically denied, of the “spot” on the pope’s brain made the media explode all over the world. But the synod’s no laughing matter, either. Never before had such a gathering of bishops made the front page of the newspapers and television breaking news. But with Francis it happens. It is another masterpiece of this pope so out of the ordinary. It took just a few decisions and a few judiciously administered soundbites, starting with that memorable “Who am I to judge?” which has become the emblem of this pontificate, to unleash an unprecedented conflict in the Church and ignite within public opinion the unheard-of expectation for an overturning of the Catholic paradigms on key questions like divorce and homosexuality. The secret of this communicational success is Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s exquisite ability to play on two registers. Between the synod of 2014 and this one of 2015 Francis chalked up more than fifty public statements perfectly in line with the traditional doctrine of the Church: against “gender” ideology, against the divorced and remarried who “demand” communion, and even in favor of an old forgotten virtue like chastity before marriage. “Catholic doctrine is not to be touched,” he repeated at the opening of this synod. But all this talking of his doesn’t make the slightest impression in the media or in the body of the Church, where the triumph goes instead to the pope’s continual reproaches against the “border guards” devoid of mercy and his incessant appeals to throw open the doors to the divorced and to homosexuals. This twofold effect in the media, of silence and fanfare, is something Bergoglio is aware of and wants. And following him in the Church are many who repeat the mantra that there is no intention of changing doctrine, but only “discipline.” But there are also many who are not persuaded. Philadelphia archbishop Charles Chaput has put down in black and white in the Wall Street Journal that the more one continues to proclaim faithfulness to doctrine in words, the more the suspicion grows that the aim is to change it through deeds, because “practice inevitably shapes belief”: > How to Read the Vatican Family Gathering One revolution that Francis has already set in motion on his own, presenting the synod with a fait accompli, are the new procedures for annulments, easy, free of charge, and superfast. Technically they have nothing to do with divorce, but public opinion has already classified and applauded them as such: > Forbidden To Call It Divorce. But It Sure Looks Like It (15.9.2015) And if the synod were to approve communion for the divorced and remarried, many would consider it the end for the dogma of indissolubility. The hypothesis is unrealistic, because two thirds of the synod fathers are against it. But if one looks at how the synod has been set up to work, at how the commission of papal appointment for writing the final document is composed, and at how the synod’s work behind closed doors is communicated to the media, it comes as no surprise that thirteen cardinals of the highest rank should have expressed their “concern” to Francis by letter: > The Letter of the Thirteen Cardinals to the Pope. Episode Two (14.10.2015) > Thirteen Cardinals Have Written to the Pope. Here’s the Letter (12.10.2015) When the letter was still secret, the media counteroffensive against the thirteen cardinals had already gone out from Casa Santa Marta, with pope Francis himself speaking at the synod to stigmatize the “conspiracy hermeneutic” and with the vaticanista friend closest to him, Andrea Tornielli of “Vatican Insider,” singling out the thirteen themselves as the conspirators: > The Letter of the Thirteen Cardinals. A Key Backstory (15.10.2015) But even more indicative is what happened after the publication of the letter on the website of l’Espresso. Because more than against the author of the “scoop” the media counteroffensive, Vatican and otherwise, was unleashed against the thirteen signers of the letter, who nevertheless represent the elite of the world hierarchy, including the archbishops of New York, Toronto, Houston, Utrecht, Bologna, Durban, Nairobi, Caracas, plus the emeriti of Sydney, Regensburg, and Conakry called to or confirmed in the curia by Pope Francis himself. The most venomous attack against his thirteen confreres came from another cardinal favored by Bergoglio, Washington archbishop Donald Wuerl, in an interview with “America,” the magazine of the “liberal” New York Jesuits: > Cardinal Wuerl Calls Out Pope’s Opponents Fr. Thomas Rosica, the official synod liaison for the English-speaking media, immediately had Wuerl’s interview circulated together with his own enthusiastic approval: “I fully share Cardinal Wuerl’s assessment of the synodal situation and wish to share his interview with you.” While Fr. Manuel Dorantes, the Spanish-language liaison, is responsible for the showstopper about the boy who at his first communion gave a little piece of the host to his divorced and remarried father. “The story touched the synod fathers,” he vouched. And it promptly made the front page of the newspapers. The synod of the media has already toppled the real one. Pope’s encouragement of airing heresy is severing the Church John-Henry Westen. Pro-life leaders say Vatican’s new department ‘demotes’ life and family Steve Weatherbe ROME, October 23, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – Pope Francis has combined the Vatican’s existing departments, or dicasteries, for life, the family, and the laity into one, a move which two prominent Catholic pro-life leaders decry as a “demotion” for life and family issues. Pope Francis said in statement released yesterday, “I have decided to establish a new Dicastery with competency for Laity, Family and Life, that will replace the Pontifical Council for the Laity and the Pontifical Council for the Family.” He later added the Pontifical Academy for Life in the new dicastery. It follows recommendations of a relatively new Council of Cardinals Francis created to streamline the Vatican. John Smeaton, head of the London-based Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (SPUC) and co-founder of Voice on the Family, who is in Rome for the Synod on the Family, described the move as “a particular incident in a world war.” Smeaton went on to warn LifeSiteNews, “There is a world war on the sanctity of life and on the family being waged by the most powerful politicians and organizations in the world.” What is more, “A small but highly influential group at the highest level in the Catholic Church structure appears to be dismantling the edifice of institutions and teachings which defend the family and defend life. It seems to be all too likely that the reduction of three dicasteries to one is in one way or another connected to the bigger program I have described.” One lay leader took a perspective, however, arguing that the reorganization is a positive step towards a more efficient operation. “You have to look at it in that context,” Henry Capello, president of Caritas in Veritas International, an alliance of Catholic youth evangelization groups, told LifeSiteNews. For example, the existing pontifical councils for justice and peace, migrants and Cor Unum are expected to be combined in one. Capello said that the dicasteries for the laity and the family had overlapping functions. Their combination into a single unit would fill “a need to be more co-ordinated,” and save money through downsizing of administration. “I have high expectations,” said Capello. Steven Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute, an organization based in Virginia devoted to opposing population control programs, echoed Smeaton’s concerns however. “This is a demotion,” Mosher, a social scientist and adult convert to Catholicism, told LifeSiteNews. “I know bureaucracies and how they work and therefore I have to see this as a move in the wrong direction. It is one step down in the hierarchy for life and family, a reduction of their influence by two thirds.” Mosher explained that under the previous structure the heads of the dicasteries on life or the family would have had “direct access to the Holy Father.” But now those focusing on these issues would have access only to a director who split his interests three ways. Meanwhile, the Vatican has created new secretariats for “the Economy” and “Communications.” Commented Mosher, “This reflects directly what is seen as important and what is not.” Holy See press officer Fr. Federico Lombardi offered another perspective, stating “the council [of cardinals] also plans to give more specific attention to issues relating to the laity, so that this dimension of the life of the Church is properly and effectively recognized and followed by the governance of the Church.” Strong concerns linger at Synod as bishops prepare to vote on final report Saturday Lisa Bourne ROME, part:.. Bishop Bonny: Better the Synod Say Nothing on Gay Marriage Than Something Bad October 24, 2015 – Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry values that.” In a one-to-one conversation I had with Bonny after the press conference, he repeated his though: “It is better that the synod said nothing on this issue than if they said something harmful.” My sense as he was talking–and I stress that this is only my impression–is that he was saying that perhaps if the bishops did make a statement that it would have made the state of the discussion of LGBT issues much worse, set it back a bit, perhaps. [Rogues’ gallery at the Belgian College in Rome:] Bishop Johan Bonny, Cardinal Godfried Daneels, Bishop Lucas Van Looy Bonny’s evaluation of the sense of the synod is probably colored by the fact that he participated in the French B small group, which was moderated by Cardinal Robert Sarah, who made probably the most homophobic remark of the synod. In response to another question about whether lesbian and gay people might be disappointed by the final report, Bonny said: .” Bishop Bonny was joined at the press conference by Cardinal Godfried Daneels, Archbishop Emeritus of Mechelen-Brussels, and Bishop Lucas Van Looy of Ghent. Van Looy said that what he learned at the synod is that tenderness will change the Church. The Tablet quoted part of his statement: “Life is stronger than theory about marriage and the family. One learned in this synod not to judge. We have accepted what people have said. We are an example of listening and accompanying. We have done this in the last three weeks.” Van Looy summed up the lesson of the synod rather poignantly: “We learned in this synod not to judge. Who are we to judge?” LEFT TASTES SOUR GRAPES AS VATICAN SYNOD LEAVES DOCTRINE UNTOUCHED by THOMAS D. WILLIAMS, PH.D., ex-L.C. (aka Mrs. Elizabeth Lev Glendon) Breitbart 24 Oct 2015 As the Vatican synod on marriage and the family draws to a close with no significant change in Catholic doctrine or practice, liberals are left nursing their wounds over yet another revolution that didn’t happen. The poster child of progressive bitterness is Jesuit Father Thomas Reese, a long-time proponent of liberal reforms in the Catholic Church, who saw in this synod a chance for the sort of sea change that couldn’t have happened under Popes John Paul II or Benedict XVI. And yet it didn’t happen here, either. Though the synod was convened to discuss the many issues facing Christian families in the world today, Reese and his cohort had a considerably more narrow focus: Communion for the divorced and remarried and a softening of the Church’s condemnation of homosexual sex. The “success” of the synod would be the degree to which these two objectives were reached. As Reese himself wrote on Oct. 20: “The bishops appear oblivious to the fact that, at least in the West, the success of the synod will be judged by whether there is an opening to Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics.” The irony behind Reese’s hubris in attempting to speak for the entire “West” is unfortunately lost on a man whose gauge of the western mind is limited to whatever the New York Times and the Washington Post are spouting. What of the innumerable faithful in the West who are grateful for the Church’s teaching on marriage? What of the astonishing letter of more than 130 notable converts to Catholicism, who appealed to Rome not to change its precious teaching on marriage and human sexuality? In their letter, the converts expressed their hope that the bishops “will be encouraged by the multitude of lay faithful who were, and continue to be, attracted to the Church in large part because of what she proposes about the human being in her teaching about sexual difference, sexuality, marriage, and the family.” the West,” Reese writes, “there is also some support for modifying the church’s approach to homosexuals.” He opposes tried-and-true Christian language such as “hate the sin, love the sinner,” because gays experience their sexual inclinations as “intrinsic” to their identity. Progress would mean loving both the sinner and his sin. Alas, this has not happened either. As Reese laments, “some bishops are obsessive in their opposition to homosexuality” and a lay woman invited to speak at the synod made the mistake of speaking of homosexuality as a “lifestyle choice,” anathema in the LGBT world. The root of the problem, Reese writes, is that the “bishops are currently trapped in the old theology they learned in the seminary. They are afraid of new ideas and are not consulting with theological experts who could show them other options.” Never mind that all these bishops attended seminary after the Second Vatican Council. Never mind that Catholics consider the 2000-year-old teaching of Jesus and the apostles to be “Good News” today just as it was when it was preached for the first time. The fact is, that the bishops have been bombarded with many “new ideas” and after considering them they have said no. In the end, the Pope and bishops’ resistance to the sirens of the liberal agenda gives hope to the many Catholics who like being Catholic and who expect their Church to be true to the teaching of Jesus and its own tradition. Yes, the bar is high and none of us clears it all the time. Yes, the gospel message is demanding and requires sacrifice and self-denial, things our fallen nature rejects. And yes, being Catholic means recognizing our own need for mercy because we have all fallen short of the glory of God. But this acknowledgement of our weakness and need for redemption is not demeaning or belittling, but liberating. Being challenged doesn’t make us smaller, it encourages us to pursue greatness. “Who is left who can offer the world something other than an echo of its own cynicism?” the Catholic converts wrote in their letter. “Who is left who can lead it toward a real experience of love? Now more than ever the world needs the Church’s prophetic witness!” The bishops, together with Pope Francis, have said “Amen” to that. Whoppers: As the Vatican synod on marriage and the family draws to a close with no significant change in Catholic doctrine or practice, liberals are left nursing their wounds over yet another revolution that didn’t happen. … In the end, the Pope and bishops’ resistance to the sirens of the liberal agenda gives hope to the many Catholics who like being Catholic and who expect their Church to be true to the teaching of Jesus and its own tradition. … The bishops, together with Pope Francis, have said “Amen” to that. Yep, Pope Francis has been exemplar, upholding doctrine and tradition, squelching the modernists and heretics at every turn. Libs are limping home, tails between their legs. Tom, thanks for the LC tip. Every time I see an article by Williams on Breitbart I get this funny twitch in my eye.

Actions Work Header Where Nightmares Live Edonohana Summary: Whatever happened to Ellie Creed? Notes: Thank you so much for your wonderful prompts! I would never have thought to write for this source on my own, but when I saw your prompts, this story jumped into my mind. I was equally inspired by both of your letters, so I couldn't figure out how to choose just one of you to give it to - it really was written for you both. I hope you don’t mind that I gave this story to both of you. Work Text: Ellie Creed wasn’t surprised to learn that she was dying. Maybe she should have been. She was only twenty-two, and had no history of medical problems if you didn’t count the PTSD diagnosis she’d been given as a child. She just had a cough that was stubbornly hanging on two weeks after she'd recovered from a simple cold. She’d thought it might be bronchitis. But when the doctor showed her the tumors everywhere in her chest, inside her lungs and outside them too, the only shock Ellie felt was one of recognition. Of course she was going to die. She was only surprised that it had taken so long. She'd always felt like death had made a mistake that it would rectify at any moment. Oops, totally forgot about Ellie Creed. Better go collect her now, before I forget again. Her life had always been shaded with a sense of wrongness, of unreality. But this moment, examining the black and white shapes that spelled out time’s up and listening to the young doctor stammering over basic medical words like metastases and inoperable and palliative, felt deeply, profoundly right. Ellie thanked the doctor, signed the papers, agreed to the follow-ups and referrals, and walked out. It was a beautiful summer day. Flowering dogwoods. Kids on skateboards. Blue skies. Fluffy white clouds, like those fuzzy white masses— Nausea suddenly twisted Ellie’s stomach. Icy sweat sprang up all over her skin, making her blouse cling to her back. Her ears were ringing. She lunged back toward the clinic. She couldn’t throw up in public with everyone watching. Two lurching steps, and she was doubled over and heaving right there in the middle of the sidewalk. She was going to die. She was going to die, and she’d be buried and rot just like Gage had, just like Daddy and Mommy had. She’d be dead meat underground, swelling and turning black, her fingernails falling off, turning into sludge and finally a skeleton. Her grandparents might even go crazy from grief, like Mommy and Daddy had when Gage died. Her friends would be heartbroken. Her professors too. They never said so but she knew she was their favorite, they were always telling her she had so much promise, America needed young entrepreneurs like her, one of them had even said she just might turn out to be the next Bill Gates. Now she’d be nothing but one more piece of unneeded proof that the world was cruel and unfair. Another shock hit her, making her retch again. Ravi! He’d talked about marrying some day, in the future when they were older, but she’d always changed the subject. Somehow she’d known she didn’t have a future. But that made no difference to him now. He still loved her, and he’d still have to watch her get sicker and sicker and finally choke and die. “Miss? Do you need help?” Someone was talking to her. Someone was touching her. Not just one someone— a crowd had gathered. Ellie fled. Her long legs flew over the sidewalk. Her breath only caught a little bit more than usual. She could run easily, she felt strong, but soon she’d be weak and sick and in pain. Then gone. She’d never run again. She’d never enjoy anything ever again. She’d never feel the heat of Ravi’s lips as he kissed that spot on the small of her back that he liked so much. She’d never eat another goddamn Big Mac, and she only craved those about once a year. She'd thought she'd calmly accepted the inevitable, but she'd only been numb with shock. Now terror made her guts clench until she thought she'd throw up again. Death was terrible, death was nothing, death was nothing forever… Not always. The smooth voice was at once strange and familiar. Ellie stumbled, flinging out her hand and touching warm metal. Her car. Automatically, she got in, though she didn’t know where she intended to go. You know. There was that voice again, slick as the skin sliding off a rotten peach. And then she did know. She was going to the place where death wasn’t forever. She’d tried to forget it, even tried to disbelieve it, but she’d seen it in her dreams and she knew its truth. She’d seen Daddy bring back Church, bring back Gage, bring back Mommy. And then— Ellie’s memory slipped away, as it always did, like a bare foot coming down on something slimy in the dark. Something had gone wrong, obviously. They were all dead now, and Daddy too. Somehow they’d died again. But first they’d come back. Daddy had always said that once Ellie grew up, she’d be smart and strong and could do anything he or Mommy could. She could do this. She knew the way by heart, up the hill and through the Pet Sematary, over the deadfall and through the swamp and up to the high and stony ground where nothing grew but (undeath, cried another voice, hers or Mommy’s or maybe even Gage’s, she couldn’t remember what any of them had sounded like now) a cure for death, Ellie concluded. Gage had been hit by a semi, but he’d come back anyway. So had Church. Mommy had— Ellie frowned, knowing that the story she’d been told wasn’t the same as what she’d seen in her dreams, but then her memory hit slime and slipped again. Well, she didn't need to know the details. Mommy had died, and Mommy had come back. Ellie could return from death too. She drove along the highway, watching the huge semis carefully. They went so fast. They always went too fast. Ellie passed the exit for her apartment, but didn’t turn back. When she saw the sign for the airport, she felt a surge of relief. Of course she needed to go to Ludlow. Once she was there, she'd know what to do. She bought her ticket, noticing with no surprise at all how conveniently the flights lined up, each one timed perfectly for her to get to the Pet Sematary as soon as possible. When she landed, a taxi pulled right up. She thought the driver might be confused by her giving him a description rather than an exact address, but he wasn’t. Everything came clear on the drive, just as she’d known it would. She stepped out of the taxi at the base of the hill that no longer had any houses at all nearby, just that wide highway and the semis hurtling past. There had been an accident recently. It looked like a car had been hit and crushed. Tiny cubes of safety glass were scattered all around, along with sharp fragments of metal. Ellie picked up a metal shard. It was stained reddish brown along one side. She couldn’t tell if it was rust or blood. But the edge was sharp. It would do. Now all she needed was someone to bury her. She called Ravi. He picked up immediately. “Are you at your apartment? I thought we were going to meet at the library.” He doesn’t know, she realized. He doesn’t know anything— that I’m dying, even that I’m not in Springton. Ravi was still living in his everyday life where he went to classes and attended conventions dressed up as a Jedi and argued with his parents and loved Ellie, and he would stay there right up until she opened her mouth and smashed his entire world into fragments of glass and bloody metal. But she didn’t have to do that. He just needed to do one little task, and then everything would be all right. They’d go back to Springton together and they’d both finish college, and maybe she’d get her MBA or maybe she’d start her business without it, and Ravi would follow her because he could freelance anywhere, and when they both felt ready they’d get married and have kids because she wouldn’t be dead any more, she’d have fixed that just like Daddy did. “I’m in Ludlow,” she said. “It’s the town where my family—” Died? Came back? “—used to live. You have to come here. Right now.” “What? What are you doing there?” “Do you love me?” she asked. “Of course I love you, but—” “Then you have to come find me. I can’t do this myself.” Ellie spoke louder, giving him directions from the airport, to the hills, to the Pet Sematary. “You’ll find me at the base of the deadfall. And when you get there, you’ll know what to do.” First Ravi kept interrupting her, and then he fell silent and just listened. Finally he said, in a voice that sounded very gentle but she knew meant he was scared, “Ellie, where are you right now? Is someone with you?” “I’ve figured it out,” Ellie said. She could hear her own voice, too high, too sharp, too fast. She knew she sounded crazy but it didn’t matter, she’d figured it out and Ravi would understand once he got to Ludlow. He would come to Ludlow, and he would bring her back. He loved her. That was what you did for people you loved. “I’ve figured it out,” she repeated. He needed to hear even if he couldn’t believe just yet. “It was their bodies. There was too much damage to their bodies. Gage was smashed to pieces. Church was too, he had to have been, it was just inside where you couldn’t see. Mommy was— Well, something happened to her body too. But if there was just one little cut on the wrist, that would be different. That’s something you could bandage and it wouldn’t hurt you at all. Blood loss will kill you, but it’s not really damage.” “What are you talking about?” Ravi was shouting now. She’d never heard him shout except to cheer. He yelled for joy at the World Cup and movie previews, he didn’t yell in anger. He especially didn't yell at her. “What’s all this stuff about bodies and bleeding to death? And who’s Church?” You don’t need to explain all that, whispered the slick voice. He’ll know. When he comes to Ludlow, he’ll dream everything he needs to know. “My body can’t be damaged,” Ellie said. If I wait till I’m eaten up with cancer… “If I wait too long, it won’t go right. But now I’m fine—” (Fuzzy white everywhere, she was already gobbled up by tumors like mold growing over a forgotten glass of milk.) “Now I’m good enough. It’ll work for me. You’ll see. Come to Ludlow. You’ll know what to do. I love you.” She hung up. Now she had to work fast. Ravi was scared, he’d fly out right away. But that was good. He’d find her before she had a chance to rot. Ellie silenced her phone and hurried up the hill, the metal shard clutched tight in her hand, going as fast as the sticky catch in her breath would let her. But that would be gone soon. It had been years, so many years, and she’d never even been to the deadfall. But her feet were sure. She knew the way. She’d walked it in dreams, in her father’s shoes. Up the hill. And into the Pet Sematary. Her steps slowed as she passed the graves. She was living her dreams now. SMUCKY THE CAT HE WAS OBEDIANT Her foot came down on something slimy in the dark. And didn’t slip. (The stench rolling off Church, his horrible boneless touch.) BIFFER BIFFER, BIFFER, A HELLUVA SNIFFER UNTIL HE DIED HE MADE US RICHER (Gage with his face swollen and something that wasn’t him at all glowing in his eyes.) TRIXIE, KILT ON THE HIGHWAY (Some thing manipulated Mommy's dirt-choked mouth like a marionette to grate out, "Darling." And then Ellie stood before the deadfall, with her feet firm on the grass and a shard of metal in her hand. She remembered now. Or maybe she’d always remembered, and made her own feet slide. She felt horror, but no surprise. Even when she’d slithered away from the details, she’d known something had gone wrong. That was why she needed to be so careful. But that thing that had been in Gage, that thing that had been in Mommy— how could anything good come from the place that had given birth to those horrors? It will be different for you, promised that slick voice. It was so familiar. Pitch it higher, run it through the lungs and voice box of a little boy, and it would sound a whole hell of a lot like that scream of “I brought you something, Mommy!” Ellie didn’t want to die, she didn’t want to rot away and be gone forever, but how could she believe the promise of a voice like that? Death is terrible, whispered that voice like rot personified. Death is worse than anything you can imagine. Death is the end of imagination. Death is the end of everything. Ellie couldn’t argue. She couldn’t fight. The voice was death and worse than death, it had killed everyone she’d loved and then raised them as mockeries of themselves. Who was she to think she could escape that fate? “No,” she choked out. No, no, I don’t want to be here, I don’t want this, no… Images forced their way into her mind, as if her pathetic protest against the inevitable had been meant to deny its words. That long smear of blood and flesh along the highway. A dying girl withered to a skeleton, twisted and choking in agony. Church, stinking and cruel, destroying even the memories of the lithe tomcat she’d loved. Anger burned through Ellie, giving her back her voice. It rose in a shout, her living cry echoing in that dead place. “Yes! Death is terrible! Death is nothing! Suffering doesn’t make you a better person and dying doesn’t make you a saint. Grief can make you lose your mind, pain can twist you and warp you until there’s nothing left of you, how can you think I don’t know that, Oz the Gweat and Tewwible!?” That childish name tore through her throat like it had claws, leaving it raw. The cough that was going to kill her caught her and doubled her over, nearly suffocating her. Ellie heard no reply, but she felt a slimy sense of satisfaction. He— it— didn’t need to say anything. Her own dying body was the argument. She caught her breath, her lungs heaving far more than they should after doing nothing but yelling a few sentences. That would get worse. That would get so much worse. Even watching Zelda’s death in dreams gave her no true understanding of what it was to die like she would, slowly and in pain. That was something she would only understand when it happened to her. You could change that, said Oz the Gweat and Tewwible. You’re special, Ellie Creed. Everyone sees it. They just didn't understand why. It's not because you're smart or strong or know what people want to buy. It's because you're the only person in the world who doesn't have to die. It had been years since she'd been in the debate club, but she caught the logical error and responded to it before she could remember that no mere human could argue down that evil power. “But I do. Even your way, I have to die before I can come back.” There was no verbal reply, only the sense of a vast, uncaring shrug, a wordless Is it truly death if it isn’t forever? The shard was in her hand. An easy death, a ticket out, and then she’d be back. She wouldn’t be like Gage, crushed and already starting to rot in his coffin. Her baby brother, who’d died before he’d even had a chance to live at all. But Gage had lived. He’d run and played and puked in the back seat. If he’d never lived, no one would have grieved for him. His life had been short, but it had been a life. “Everyone says nothing is worse than the death of a child.” This time Ellie wasn’t shouting. Her voice was quiet, but she knew she was heard. “But there is something worse. And that’s coming back as a fucking demon!” Ellie coughed again, then forced out the words she’d only ever heard in dreams. “Sometimes dead is better.” She flung the sharp fragment of metal into the deadfall. The shard was tiny, but the vast woodpile shuddered and creaked as if it had been hit by a cannon ball. The entire thing listed, threatening to fall on her like an avalanche. Ellie turned and ran, her heart pounding, her lungs laboring far too much. But she ran whether she could breathe or not, ran with all the strength she still had left, until she was doubled over coughing at the base of the hill, beside the highway. A semi screamed by, blowing gritty dust into her face. “Thanks for the reminder,” Ellie muttered. “Sore loser.” She didn’t register her words until they left her lips. What she’d won was her own death. She’d fought harder than she had in her entire life to gain the right to pain and more pain, and then nothing, forever. That shouldn’t feel like a victory. But it did. Ellie took out her phone. Fifteen missed calls from Ravi. She dreaded breaking the news to him, but she had no choice so she might as well get it over with. She dialed his number, hoping the words would come to her once he picked up, but only got his voicemail. Silence stretched on and on before she finally hung up. Then she spotted more missed calls, nine of them. They were all from a number she didn’t recognize. With a guilty relief that she didn’t have to have that conversation with Ravi just yet, Ellie dialed the unfamiliar number. “Eileen Creed?” The voice was female, desperate and very vaguely familiar. “Yes?” Ellie said. “Who is this?” “Dr. Harwitt. I saw you this morning. I have to tell you— your scans were mislabeled. They belonged to a different patient. You don’t have cancer. You have bronchitis, that’s all. I’m so sorry!” The woman sounded on the verge of tears. She was, Ellie recalled, barely older than Ellie herself. When she’d walked into the office, Ellie had thought she was probably just out of medical school. Then the sense of her words sank in. The doctor’s voice rippled by like birdsong as Ellie stood stunned. The sun was hot on her head. It was still afternoon. Everything had happened in a single day— in less than a day. Death, and something worse than death, and then life, shocking as a sudden plunge into icy water. “How could that even happen?” Ellie asked, more curious than angry. “It’s like something in a movie.” Dr. Harwitt sounded like she was talking to herself more than to Ellie as she blurted out, “I told her not to worry! I told her to take antibiotics and her bronchitis would clear right up. Now I have to call her and tell her we made a mistake, someone else is fine and she’s dying—” “Tell who?” Ellie demanded. “Eileen Creel,” whispered the doctor. “Just one letter different. And you came in on the same day. What are the odds…?” For me? Ellie thought. For me, the one who got away? Who put the idea in my head to go to that clinic, that day, when I’d been coughing for weeks? Who gave me that bronchitis? “High,” said Ellie. “One hundred percent.” “Oh, God,” muttered Dr. Harwitt. “I shouldn’t have said her name. Forget that you heard it, okay? Just go to the pharmacy, I already called in your prescription. Take it and you’ll be fine.” The doctor hung up. Eileen Creel, Ellie thought. That can’t be a common name. I could find her. I could tell her death doesn’t have to be the end. Or I could tell someone who loves her… In the back of her mind where nightmares lived, where nightmares would always live, she heard the quietest, softest snap, like the breaking of a single dry twig at the very bottom of a deadfall. Maybe the idea had been Ellie’s alone, not something that some thing put into her head. But she knew who liked it. Ellie tried Ravi again. She still couldn’t reach him. He had to be on the plane already, heading to Ludlow. She called a taxi instead. She’d meet Ravi at the airport, and they’d turn around and go straight back. She could tell him about the mix-up and that she’d had a brief but understandable nervous breakdown. She could say she’d had the impulse to visit the town where her family had died, thinking that soon she’d join them. He’d buy that story. Anyone would. It was far more plausible than the real one. Or she could tell him the truth. All of the truth. Probably he’d think she was crazy. Worse, he might believe her, and then that— that thing she still couldn’t help thinking of as Oz the Gweat and Tewwible— would touch him too. And if they stayed together, if they had a marriage like Jud and Norma had, one day it really would be cancer. Or a heart attack. Or a semi. And then whoever was left would hear that call. Would Ravi have the strength to turn back? Would Ellie, if it was someone she loved instead of herself? The taxi pulled up. Ellie climbed inside. “Airport,” she said. “Going on a trip?” the driver asked idly. “No,” Ellie said. “I’m going home.” Actions mistraldespair, dimndoll, phoebeblue, allure_chan, Missy, SynchronicityRose, Thorne, SporkyRat, ejmam, criamon, lisbei, Lys ap Adin (lysapadin), executrix, escritoireazul, raedbard, zulu, Predatrix, maharetr, Leidolette, slinkhard, and egelantier as well as 11 guests left kudos on this work!

Repressors NFI and NFY Participate in Organ-Specific Regulation of von Willebrand Factor Promoter Activity in Transgenic Mice Abstract Objective— To determine the role of repressors in cell type and organ-specific activation of von Willebrand factor (VWF) promoter sequences −487 to 247 in vivo. Methods and Results— Activation patterns of wild-type and mutant VWF promoters (sequences −487 to 247) containing mutations in repressors nuclear factor-I (NFI)- and nuclear factor Y (NFY)-binding sites were analyzed in transgenic mice. Mutation of the NFI-binding site activated the promoter in heart and lung endothelial cells, whereas mutation of the NFY-binding site activated the promoter in kidney vasculature. Immunofluorescence analyses showed that NFIB was predominant in heart and lung endothelial cells, whereas NFIX was predominantly detected in kidney endothelial cell nuclei. By using chromatin immunoprecipitation, we demonstrated that the distal lung-specific enhancer (containing a YY1 site) of the VWF gene is brought in proximity to the NFI binding site. Conclusion— The NFI and NFY repressors contribute differentially to organ-specific regulation of the VWF promoter, and the organ-specific action of NFI may reflect its organ-specific isoform distribution. In addition, the lung-specific enhancer region of the endogenous VWF gene may inhibit NFI repressor function through chromatin looping, which can approximate the 2 regions. - endothelium - gene expression - molecular biology - vascular biology - promoter - transcription - von Willebrand factor Although they share a common lineage, endothelial cells of different organs exhibit substantial tissue-to-tissue variation in vivo, reflected by their functions and patterns of gene expression.1,2 The activation patterns of endothelial-specific gene promoters in vivo are also manifested in the heterogeneity of the endothelial cell phenotype.3–5 Despite well-established endothelial subset–restricted activity of a number of endothelial-specific promoters (ie, distinct regions that target expression to specific endothelial subsets), the mechanisms and regulators of this differential expression are not known. It was previously demonstrated that nucleotides −487 to 247 of the von Willebrand factor (VWF) gene function as an endothelial-specific promoter in cultured cells and transgenic mice.4,6 However, the activity of this promoter fragment in adult transgenic mice was restricted to a subset of brain vascular endothelial cells,4,7 suggesting that other sequences of the VWF gene in addition to the −487 to 247 region are required for the pattern of transcription observed with endogenous genes. Aird et al8 have demonstrated that an extended fragment of the VWF promoter (designated VWF2, spanning −2182 to the end of the first intron) directs expression in microvascular endothelial cells of the heart, skeletal muscle, and brain. Recently, it was demonstrated that a region in intron 51 of the VWF gene confers lung-specific activation to the VWF promoter.9 Analyses of the VWF promoter sequence −487 to 247 in vitro demonstrated that several transacting factors function as activators and repressors of the promoter. GATA6, histone H1-like protein, nuclear factor Y (NFY) (interacting with a consensus CCAAT element), and E twenty-six (Ets) activate the VWF promoter; nuclear factor-I (NFI), Octamer-binding protein (Oct), and NFY (interacting with a novel nonconsensus DNA element) are repressors of the promoter.6,10–15 Thus, we hypothesized that, along with a requirement for other VWF DNA sequences, some of these repressor elements may also participate in the organ-restricted activation pattern of the VWF promoter. Herein, we explored the roles of NFI- and NFY-binding sites (novel nonconsensus NFY-binding DNA element) in the regulation of the VWF promoter sequence −487 to 247 in vivo. Methods A more detailed description is provided in the supplemental Methods (available online at). Generation and Analyses of Transgenic Mice LacZK plasmid, containing the wild-type VWF promoter sequence −487 to 247 fused to the LacZ gene and SV40 poly-A signal, was generated as previously described.4 Plasmids LacZKNFI, LacZKNFY, and LacZKNFI-NFY contain sequences similar to LacZK, except for 3-bp substitution mutations in the repressor binding sites of NFI, NFY, or both. C57BL/6 strain mice were used to generate transgenic mice by Ozgene. A minimum of 2 independent lines for each newly generated transgenic mouse were analyzed. Because the LacZK transgenic mouse was previously described,4 only 1 line was analyzed. RNA Preparation and RT-PCR Analyses RNA was prepared from heart, lung, liver, kidney, and brain samples using a minikit (RNeasy), according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and used as a template for RT-PCR analyses, as previously described.16 The primers used for the detection of GAPDH and transgene LacZ are shown in the Table. Table. List of Primers Used for RT-PCR Immunohistochemical Detection of β-Galactosidase Tissue macroarrays of heart, lung, liver, kidney, and brain were prepared by Histobest Inc and subjected to immunohistochemistry using primary anti–LacZ antibodies (Abcam ab116–100), as previously described.9 Immunofluorescent detection of ΝFI, platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule (PECAM), and LacZ was performed as described (supplemental Methods). Cell Culture and Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells were maintained as previously described.10 Human microvascular lung endothelial cells were purchased from Lonza. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and RT-PCR were performed with primers detecting NFI- and YY1-binding sequences of the VWF gene, as previously described (Table).16 Data are given as mean (SD), unless otherwise indicated. Statistical analyses used the paired t test. Results Mutation of NFI-Binding Sites Result in VWF Promoter Activation Specifically in Lung and Heart Vasculature To determine whether 2 repressors (NFI and NFY) participate in the organ-restricted activity of the VWF promoter in vivo, we generated transgenic mice harboring the LacZ gene under the regulation of the VWF promoter that was either wild type (LacZK) or contained a mutation of the NFI-binding site (LacZKNFI), the NFY-binding site (LacZKNFY), or both (LacZKNFI-NFY). The VWF promoter in all transgenes constituted sequence −487 to 247, and the mutations contained 3 base substitutions that were used previously to analyze NFI- and NFY-binding sites in vitro (Figure 1A).10,12,14 We analyzed 2 to 3 independent lines of mice carrying each transgene, with only 1 line for LacZK (previously analyzed extensively). Organs were harvested from adult transgenic mice LacZK (1 line), LacZKNFI (3 lines designated 92, 108 and 109), and LacZKNFY and LacZKNFI-NFY (2 lines each designated 7 and 96 for LacZKNFY, 74 and 94 for LacZKNFI-NFY) and processed for quantitative RT-PCR for the detection of LacZ mRNA and for immunohistochemistry analysis for the detection of LacZ protein. Figure 1. RT-PCR analyses of LacZ transgene mRNA in LacZK and LacZKNFI transgenic mice. A, Schematic of the wild-type and mutant VWF promoter sequence −487 to 247 fused to the LacZ gene. Transacting factors functioning as repressors (NFI, Oct-1, and NFY [ovals]) and activators (Ets, NFY, and GATA6 [rectangles]) are shown. TATA element: T (small square). The arrow at +1 represents the transcription start site. The binding sequence of the repressors NFI and NFY in the wild-type (LacZK) and mutant (LacZKNFI, LacZKNFY, and LacZKNFI-NFY) promoters are shown, with base substitution mutations underlined and bolded. B through E, RNA, 1 μg, from various organs of LacZK (B) and 3 independent lines of LacZKNFI transgenic mice (F2 generations, lines 92, 108 and 109) (C-E) were analyzed by RT-PCR to detect LacZ transgene and endogenous GAPDH mRNA for normalization. Results represent the averages of mRNA from 2 littermates of each line for each organ. RT-PCR of the LacZK (the wild-type promoter) transgenic mouse detected LacZ mRNA only in the brain and kidney (Figure 1B). In contrast, in 3 lines of LacZKNFI, LacZ mRNA was detected most significantly in the lung, but also in the heart and brain and to a lesser degree in the liver. Although the level of expression was variable among the 3 lines (potentially reflecting transgene variation in integration site and copy number), the pattern of expression was similar (Figure 1C-E: the scales on the y-axis reflect significantly higher levels in lines 92 and 108 [C and E, respectively] versus line 109 [D]). RT-PCR of the 2 lines of LacZKNFY detected LacZ mRNA in the brain, kidney, and heart of 1 line; in the other line, expression was also detected in the lung and liver (Figure 2A). RT-PCR of organs from 2 lines of double-mutant LacZKNFI-NFY detected LacZ mRNA in all 5 organs of both lines (Figure 2B). Figure 2. RT-PCR analyses of LacZ transgene mRNA in LacZKNFY and LacZKNFI-NFY transgenic mice. RT-PCR analyses of LacZ mRNA in 2 independent lines (7 and 96) of LacZKNFY (A) and (74 and 94) LacZKNFI-NFY (B) transgenic mice were performed, as described in the legend to Figure 1. To determine LacZ protein expression, tissue arrays from formaldehyde-treated organs were processed for immunohistochemistry with specific anti–β-galactosidase antibody. In these analyses, sections from multiple tissues were processed on the same slide to minimize interexperimental staining variability. Consistent with previous reports,4,7 immunohistochemistry showed that LacZ protein was detected only in the brain vasculature of the transgenic mouse LacZK (Figure 3, panel LacZK). Figure 3. Immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence analyses of LacZ expression in organs of transgenic mice. A, Formalin-embedded sections, 5 μm, of heart, kidney, liver, lung, and brain from 4 transgenic mice (adult F1 generations: LacZK, LacZKNFI, LacZKNFY, and LacZKNFI-NFY) on tissue arrays were immunostained with anti–β-galactosidase antibody, as previously described (magnification ×400).9 Two littermates from each line and 2 independent lines for each transgene (except LacZK, only 1 line) were analyzed, and results from 1 representative line of each transgene are shown. No staining was detected in sections from organs of nontransgenic mice (data not shown). B, Sections, 5 μm, of OCT frozen brain, heart, and lung from a LacZKNFI transgenic mouse (line 92) were treated with anti–β-galactosidase (green) and anti-PECAM (red) antibodies to detect LacZ and endothelial cells, as described in the “Methods” section. The results are representative of 2 independent experiments using 2 littermates of this line (magnification ×400). In contrast, analyses of LacZKNFI transgenic mice detected significant LacZ protein expression in the brain, lung, and heart vasculature. Similar results were obtained for all 3 LacZKNFI lines. Results for 1 line are shown (Figure 3, LacZKNFI). In LacZKNFY transgenic mice, the expression of LacZ was detected in the brain and kidney vasculature in both lines (results for 1 line are shown in Figure 3, LacZKNFY). However, in 1 of the lines that demonstrated RNA expression in all organs, barely detectable expression in heart and lung vasculature was also observed (data not shown). In LacZKNFI-NFY transgenic mice, LacZ expression was detected in the vasculature of the brain, heart, lung, kidney, and liver in both lines (results for 1 line are shown in Figure 3, LacZKNFI-NFY). The previously described results demonstrate that mutation of the NFI-binding site (LacZKNFI) activates the VWF promoter, resulting in LacZ transgene expression detectable at both RNA and protein levels in heart and lung vasculature in addition to brain vasculature. A double mutation in both NFI- and NFY-binding sites (LacZKNFI-NFY) activates the VWF promoter in the vasculature of all 5 major organs. The analyses of LacZKNFY transgenic mice demonstrated variation in the LacZ expression pattern between the 2 lines, most significantly at the RNA level. However, consistent RNA and protein expression in the kidney vasculature of both lines of this transgenic mouse suggests that mutation of the NFY-binding site is necessary for activation of the promoter in the kidney. Based on the consistent results from 3 lines of LacZKNFI transgenic mice, attention was focused on these lines and confocal immunofluorescence was used to determine the localization of LacZ expression in OCT frozen sections of the brain, heart, and lung of these mice. These analyses showed that LacZ (Alexa488-conjugated secondary antibodies [green]) colocalizes specifically with PECAM, a marker of endothelial cells (Alexa594-conjugated secondary antibodies [red]) in the brain, lung, and heart, thus confirming the endothelial-specific activation of the NFI mutant promoter in the vasculature of these organs (Figure 3B). NFIB and NFIX Are Differentially Expressed in the Vascular Endothelial Cells of the Lung, Heart, and Kidney Based on the transgenic mouse analyses, we hypothesized that NFI-transacting factor specifically represses the VWF promoter in lung and heart, but not kidney, vasculature. There are 4 known NFI isoforms, designated as A, B, C, and X.17 Thus, we explored whether endothelial cells of the lung, heart, kidney, and brain have different expression patterns of these isoforms. Because cultured endothelial cells may not accurately reflect organ-specific endothelial cell characteristics, we performed immunofluorescence/confocal microscopy analyses of mouse organ sections using specific antibodies to detect A, B, C, and X isoforms of NFI (Alexa 594-conjugated secondary antibodies [red]) and PECAM (Alexa488-conjugated secondary antibodies [green]) as a general marker for endothelial cells. Nuclei were stained with 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole to determine nuclear localization of NFI. There were significant variations in the expression of NFI isoforms that were detected in the nuclei of endothelial cells of the organs studied (Figure 4). The expression of NFIC and NFIX was most significantly detected in brain endothelial cell nuclei, whereas barely detectable levels of NFIA and no NFIB were detected. NFIB, followed by NFIA, was most significantly detected in heart endothelial cell nuclei, with no detection of NFIX or NFIC. NFIX was predominantly detected in kidney endothelial cell nuclei, with significantly lower levels of NFIC and no NFIA or NFIB. In lung endothelial cell nuclei, NFIB was detected to the greatest extent, whereas NFIA and C and X isoforms were not detected. Figure 4. Immunofluorescent analyses of NFI isoform expression in organs of mice. Sections, 5 μm, from OCT frozen heart, kidney, lung, and brain of a control C57Bl/6 mouse that were arranged on tissue arrays were treated with antibodies specific to NFIA, NFIB, NFIC, and NFIX isoforms of NFI (red) and simultaneously with anti-PECAM (green) antibodies to detect endothelial cells, as described in the “Methods” section. The results are representative of 2 independent experiments for each NFI antibody plus PECAM antibodies (magnification ×600). The insets show magnified endothelial cell nuclei (4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole). These results demonstrate that distinct nonoverlapping isoforms of NFI are present specifically in lung, heart, and kidney endothelial cell nuclei. NFIX is the major isoform detected in the kidney, with no detectable NFIB; in the lung and heart, NFIB is the major isoform detected, with no detectable NFIX. Because mutation of the NFI-binding site activates the VWF promoter in the lung and heart, but not the kidney, we hypothesize that NFIB, but not NFIX, may function as a repressor of the VWF promoter. Our experiments do not exclude the possibility that NFIC and NFIA (when present) may also function as repressors of the VWF promoter. DNA Looping Mediates Proximity of the Lung-Specific Enhancer Located in VWF Intron 51 to the Upstream NFI-Binding Site Recently, it was reported that a region of intron 51 of the VWF gene that interacts with transacting factor YY1 functions as a lung-specific enhancer.9 In vitro, this enhancer activity required YY1 interaction with this region. When the intron 51 region was inserted upstream or downstream of the VWF promoter, the promoter was activated specifically in the lung and brain endothelial cells of transgenic mice.9 Because NFI functions as a repressor of the VWF promoter in lung (and heart) endothelium, we hypothesized that (without mutation of the NFI-binding site) intron 51 sequences potentially overcome the inhibitory effect of NFI in lung endothelial cells through YY1. Because the YY1-binding site of intron 51 lies more than 100 kb downstream of the NFI-binding site, we also hypothesized that YY1 (interacting with a region of intron 51) may be brought in proximity to NFI, potentially through chromatin looping. To test this hypothesis, we reasoned that if the intron 51 YY1-binding site and the NFI-binding site are in close proximity, the cross-linking reagents in the ChIP assay may result in a complex containing NFI-binding sequences, NFI factor, YY1 factor, and YY1-binding sequences (Figure 5A). Thus, we would expect the detection of both NFI- and YY1-binding sequences using either NFI or YY1 antibodies. Analyses of intron 51 did not reveal an NFI-binding site, and upstream VWF sequences (within 1 kb) did not contain a YY1-binding site. In addition, immunoprecipitation assays did not demonstrate coprecipitation of free (not bound to DNA) nuclear NFI and YY1 proteins (data not shown). Therefore, using NFI-specific antibodies for ChIP, if we detect both amplified YY1-binding intron 51 and NFI-binding sequences and vice versa, this strongly suggests the close proximity of these elements, potentially through chromatin looping (Figure 5A). Figure 5. ChIP detects the association of NFI and YY1 with their cognate binding sites and chromatin looping. ChIP and quantitative PCR analyses were performed on LMEC and HEK 293 cells, as described in the “Methods” section. A, Schematic of VWF chromatin looping that could bring NFI in proximity to the intron 51 YY1-binding site. B and C, Cross-linked chromatin from LMEC (B) and HEK 293 (C) cells were immunoprecipitated with antibodies specific to NFIA, NFIB, NFIC, NFIX, and YY1. Rabbit IgG antibody was used as a negative control. Immunoprecipitates were subjected to quantitative RT-PCR using primers that specifically amplified an 89-bp upstream region of the VWF promoter containing the NFI binding site (NFI primers) or a 182-bp fragment of the VWF intron 51 sequence containing the YY1-binding site (I51 primers). Results for each antibody are presented as fold increase vs control IgG antibody, and all ChIP represents analyses of 2 to 4 independent ChIP experiments for each antibody. Human lung microvascular endothelial cells (LMECs) and nonendothelial HEK 293 cells were used for ChIP analyses. ChIP from LMECs usingYY1 antibody or all 4 isoform-specific NFI antibodies demonstrated that the NFI-binding sequences of the VWF promoter were amplified. Fold increases over results from ChIP with control IgG were indicative of specific immunoprecipitation with the target antibodies (Figure 5B, NFI primers). The reciprocal experiment also demonstrated that intron 51 sequences were amplified in ChIP with NFI antibodies and YY1 antibody (Figure 5B, I51 primers). These analyses also demonstrated that the amplification of NFI-binding sequences was highest when NFIB-specific antibody was used, suggesting that NFIB preferentially interacts with the VWF promoter in LMECs. This result is consistent with the organ analyses demonstrating preferential expression of NFIB in lung endothelial cells (Figure 4, lung panel); however, in cultured cells, other NFI isoforms can interact with the VWF promoter, suggesting the presence of multiple isoforms. In ChIP of LMECs, the intron 51 sequences were highly amplified when YY1-specific antibody was used, demonstrating significant interaction of YY1 with intron 51 sequences. Together, these results show significant interaction of NFIB with the VWF promoter and YY1 with intron 51 sequences, and are consistent with the hypothesis that chromatin looping brings the YY1-binding intron 51 sequences in close proximity to the NFI-binding site in LMECs. This arrangement may promote association of YY1 and NFI and/or allow YY1 to somehow influence the inhibitory function of NFI. However, in HEK 293 cells, ChIP showed that the NFI-binding site sequence was not amplified when YY1 antibody was used (<1-fold versus IgG), whereas it was amplified when NFIC-specific antibody (almost 4-fold) or to a lesser extent when NFIA-specific antibody (2-fold) was used. Furthermore, the YY1-binding site of intron 51 was not amplified (<1-fold) when either NFIC- or YY1-specific antibodies were used (Figure 5C). These results demonstrate that interaction of YY1 with VWF intron 51 in the context of chromatin does not occur in HEK 293 cells. These results also demonstrate that, in HEK 293 cells, NFIC predominantly interacts with the NFI-binding site, whereas NFIB or NFIX does not interact with this site. Discussion The results of in vivo analyses of the VWF promoter with mutations in NFI- and NFY-binding sites support the hypothesis that the activity of the VWF promoter sequence −487 to 247 is repressed by at least these 2 repressors. RNA and immunohistochemical analyses demonstrated the expression of the LacZ transgene activated by mutant VWF promoters in distinct sets of organs; consistent with previous observations,4 the wild-type promoter activated LacZ protein expression only in brain vasculature, although expression of mRNA in the kidney was also detected. The transgenic mice were generated using standard approaches and were subject to transgene variation in integration sites and copy numbers, which could influence expression level, lead to aberrant transcription, and/or cause ectopic expression. Therefore, the detection of both protein and mRNA LacZ transgene expression in any organ and, similarly, in 2 or more lines for each transgene was used as the criterion for promoter activation. Accordingly, detection of LacZ mRNA in the kidney of LacZK transgenic mice without detectable LacZ protein suggests low-level ectopic expression and/or aberrant transcripts (untranslatable) in this line. Previously, multiple lines of transgenic mice harboring this VWF promoter sequence fused to LacZ or amyloid precursor protein genes demonstrated transgene activation in the brain, but not the heart, lung, liver, or kidney.4,7 Based on analyses of 3 lines of LacZKNFI demonstrating LacZ expression at both mRNA and protein levels in heart and lung (and brain), we conclude that mutation of the NFI-binding site results in promoter activation specifically in heart and lung vasculature, but not in kidney or liver (where only mRNA was detected). On the other hand, mutation of the NFY-binding site (LacZKNFY) was required for activation of the VWF promoter in kidney vasculature. However, because in 1 of the 2 transgenic lines of LacZKNFY, barely detectable protein with significant mRNA expression was also observed in the heart and lung, analyses of additional transgenic lines are necessary to unambiguously determine the LacZKNFY activation pattern. Nevertheless, our results unambiguously demonstrate that mutation of the NFY- but not NFI-binding site activates the VWF promoter in kidney vasculature. Analyses of transgenic mice with double mutations in both NFI- and NFY-binding sites (LacZKNFI-NFY) demonstrated promoter activity in the heart, lung, kidney, and liver vasculature. This supports the results of individual mutations by demonstrating that double-mutant transgenic mice exhibit a pattern of expression that overlaps the patterns observed with individual mutations. In addition, the results also suggest that the simultaneous mutation of both repressor elements has a synergistic effect on the VWF promoter activity because it results in promoter activation in liver vasculature that was not detected at the protein level in either of the single mutants. Together, the results of transgenic mouse analyses demonstrate that repressors NFI and NFY function differentially to inhibit the VWF promoter in distinct organs. Although NFI inhibits VWF promoter activity in the heart and lung, but not the kidney, NFY inhibits promoter activity primarily in kidney vasculature. To date, a repressive function for NFY specifically in endothelial cells has been reported only for the VWF promoter.10,12 However, an organ-specific repressive function for NFI in the regulation of the tissue plasminogen activator gene (an endothelial-specific gene) promoter was previously reported.18 It was hypothesized that NFI repression of tissue plasminogen activator occurs differentially in endothelial cells of different organs, specifically in the lung and brain, but not in the kidney and liver. This hypothesis is consistent with our results demonstrating that NFI repression of the VWF promoter occurs in the lung (and heart) but not in the kidney and liver. Several NFI isoforms (A, B, C, and X) and various alternatively spliced mRNAs of these isoforms have been reported.17 An overlapping, but distinct, expression pattern for each isoform during embryonic development has been shown.17 In addition, analyses in vitro have demonstrated differential activation/repression functions for various NFI isoforms, depending on the target promoter.17,19 Consistent with these in vitro observations, our in vivo analyses of mouse organ sections showed that NFIB was predominantly detected in lung and heart endothelial cell nuclei and that NFIX was predominantly detected in kidney endothelial cell nuclei. Based on these observations and on the fact that the NFI mutant VWF promoter (LacZKNFI) is activated in heart and lung, but not kidney, endothelial cells, we hypothesize that NFIB predominantly functions as a repressor of VWF promoter activity. Analyses of knockout mice specific for each NFI isoform have demonstrated that, although all isoforms contribute to development of the central nervous system, NFIB is required specifically for lung development.20,21 Also, a report19 on the role of NFI in regulating the p21 promoter in cultured cells demonstrated that while NFIB functions as repressor, NFIX and isoform A appear to have opposing roles. Taken together, we hypothesize that NFIB appears to have specific functions in the lung, including repression of the VWF promoter in lung endothelial cells. It was previously reported that intron 51 sequences confer lung-specific activity on the VWF promoter.9 In regard to the endogenous gene, we hypothesize that activators that interact with intron 51 sequences, including YY1, overcome the repressive function of NFI in lung endothelial cells. We reasoned that a prerequisite for this function of intron 51 sequences may be a chromatin structure of the VWF gene that brings 2 distant regulatory elements (NFI-binding site and intron 51 sequences) into close proximity. We tested this hypothesis by ChIP and demonstrated that anti–NFI antibodies can amplify intron 51 YY1- and NFI-binding sequences (and vice versa) in human LMECs, but not in HEK 293 cells. These results support the hypothesis that the NFI and intron 51 YY1-binding regions are in close proximity in endothelial cells. By using ChIP and in contrast to LMECs, YY1 in HEK 293 cells does not interact with its cognate intron 51-binding site in the context of VWF chromatin. However, we cannot eliminate the possibility that chromatin looping also occurs in HEK 293 cells, but cannot be detected using ChIP, which is based on the potential association of both YY1 and NFI with their cognate binding sites. Recently, we reported that YY1 forms a specific complex with actin in HEK 293 cell nuclei, which was not observed in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. This was demonstrated by gel mobility, DNA pull-down, and immunoprecipitation/Western blot analyses. Based on ChIP failing to detect YY1 interaction with intron 51 sequences in HEK 293 cells, we hypothesize that nuclear actin association with YY1 may function as a regulatory switch to prevent YY1 interaction with intron 51 sequences, thus rendering it ineffective as an enhancer of the VWF gene in nonendothelial cells. In summary, we propose the following hypothesis for lung-specific activation of the VWF promoter. NFI, predominantly NFIB, functions as a repressor in the lung, whereas YY1 binding to intron 51, which is in close proximity to the NFI-binding site, overcomes the repression by NFI, thereby promoting transcription. In nonendothelial cells, even if chromatin looping is similar, interaction of nuclear actin with YY1 inhibits YY1 association with intron 51 sequences, thus rendering it ineffective as an activator. Differential levels of VWF expression in endothelial cells of different organs and vessel types are reflective of the heterogeneity of endothelial cells.22,23 Furthermore, vasculatures of different organs were reported to modulate VWF expression differentially in response to stimuli.23 Multiple repressors that participate in VWF promoter activity differentially in distinct organs, and different regulatory elements that overcome these repressors in an organ-specific manner, may indicate the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms that are susceptible to diverse and differential vascular bed–specific regulation. Acknowledgments Sources of Funding This study was supported by research grants from the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada and the Canadian Institute of Health Research (N. Jahroudi). Disclosures None. Footnotes Received on: October 30, 2008; final version accepted on: April 15, 2010. References - ↵Aird WC. Phenotypic heterogeneity of the endothelium, I: structure, function, and mechanisms. Circ Res. 2007; 100: 158–173. - ↵Aird WC. Phenotypic heterogeneity of the endothelium, II: representative vascular beds. Circ Res. 2007; 100: 174–190. - ↵ - ↵Aird. - ↵ - ↵Jahroudi N, Lynch DC. Endothelial-cell-specific regulation of von Willebrand factor gene expression. Mol Cell Biol. 1994; 14: 999–1008. - ↵ - ↵Aird WC, Edelberg JM, Weiler-Guettler H, Simmons WW, Smith TW, Rosenberg RD. Vascular bed-specific expression of an endothelial cell gene is programmed by the tissue microenvironment. J Cell Biol. 1997; 138: 1117–1124. - ↵Kleinschmidt AM, Nassiri M, Stitt MS, Wasserloos K, Watkins SC, Pitt BR, Jahroudi N. Sequences in intron 51 of the von Willebrand factor gene target promoter activation to a subset of lung endothelial cells in transgenic mice. J Biol Chem. 2008; 283: 2741–2750. - ↵Peng Y, Jahroudi N. The NFY transcription factor inhibits von Willebrand factor promoter activation in non-endothelial cells through recruitment of histone deacetylases. J Biol Chem. 2003; 278: 8385–8394. - ↵Wang X, Peng Y, Ma Y, Jahroudi N. Histone H1-like protein participates in endothelial cell-specific activation of the von Willebrand factor promoter. Blood. 2004; 104: 1725–1732. - ↵Peng Y, Jahroudi N. The NFY transcription factor functions as a repressor and activator of the von Willebrand factor promoter. Blood. 2002; 99: 2408–2417. - ↵ - ↵Jahroudi N, Ardekani AM, Greenberger JS. An NF1-like protein functions as a repressor of the von Willebrand factor promoter. J Biol Chem. 1996; 271: 21413–21421. - ↵Sch: 1247–1258. - ↵ - ↵ - ↵Pham NL, Franzen A, Levin EG. NF1 regulatory element functions as a repressor of tissue plasminogen activator expression. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2004; 24: 982–987. - ↵Ouel: 6472–6487. -Yamamoto K, de Waard V, Fearns C, Loskutoff DJ. Tissue distribution and regulation of murine von Willebrand factor gene expression in vivo. Blood. 1998; 92: 2791–2801. This Issue Article Tools - - Citation Manager Formats - - - Share this Article - -:

The Encyclopedia of Mythology classical Celtic Norse by Cotterell, Arthur THE BOER WAR 1899-1900 Complete and Fully Illustrated. Compiled from Authentic Sources by King, R. E. (Publisher) desert places by Davidson, Robyn THE LIFE OF JOHN KNOX Containing Illustrations of the History of the Reformation in Scotland by McCrie, Thomas WHERE THE BEECH TREE GROWS The Story of Binna Burra by Throssell, Harry | | Site Index | Rehabilitation of Arm Amputees and Limb-Deficient Children by Robertson, Elizabeth Natural Substances Formed Biologically from Mevalonic Acid by Goodwin, T W (ed) Trick or Treatment: How and When Psychotherapy Fails by Stuart, Richard B Twelve Views of Adelaide and Its Vicinity, South Australia by Nixon, F R The Shocking History of Advertising! by Turner, E S Wines, Spirits and Liqueurs by Shepherd, C W ZR Rifle: the Plot to Kill Kennedy and Castro by Furiati, Claudia Diamonds and Clay: The Story of the Cullinan Group of Companies, 1902-1977 by Cartwright, A P Branding with Type : How Type Sells by Rogener, Stefan et al One Man Against the Dryland by Benton, Peggie From Wilderness to Eden: a History of the City of Griffith, Its Region and People by Kelly, B M If it Runs in Your Family: Alcohol - Reducing Your Risk by Rogers, Ronald L; McMillin, C Scott Your Child's Self-Esteem: Step-By-step Guidelines for Raising responsible, productive, Happy Children by Briggs, Dorothy Corkille Bible Characters Ahithopel to Nehemia by Whyte, Alexander An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science by Robbins, Lionel A Leaf in the Wind by Hudson, Peter Essays in Comparative History: Economy, Politics and Society in Britain and America, 1850-1920 by Emsley, Clive (ed) The Selected Letters of Mary Hobhouse by Tunnicliff, Shirley (ed) The biology of Ageing by Yapp, W. B.: Bourne, G. H Real Estate Mistakes: How to Avoid Them and How to Save Your Money by Jenman, Neil An Age of Stone by Langer, Felicia: Cohen, Isaac Women in Myth by Knapp, Bettina L Displaced Persons by Petersen, Kirsten Holst; Rutherford, Anna The Making of Rhodes by Coombs, Fliss Women with Alcoholic Husbands: Ambivalence and the Trap of Codependency by Asher, Ramona M The Morning After: Sex, Fear, and Feminism by Roiphe, Katie Black Power : the Politics of Liberation in America by Carmichael, Stokely: Hamilton, Charles V Naturalist's Color Guide Supplement by Smithe, Frank B The Christian Community and Change in Nineteenth Century North India by Webster, John C. B The Memoirs of Israel Sieff by Sieff, Israel The Making of a Frontier : five years Experiences and adventures in Gilgit, Hunza Nagar, Chitral and the Eastern Hindu-Kush by Durand, Algernon Enchanting Bellamy by Hughes Hartman, Cyril China Always Says "No" to Narcotics by Ting Chang Urban Land and Shelter for the Poor by McAuslan, Patrick Surviving Death: a Practical Guide to Caring for the Dying and Bereaved by Meyer, Charles Alicia: My Story by Appleman, Jurman, Alicia Parting with Illusions: The Extraordinary Life and Controversial Views of the Soviet Union's Leading Commentator by Pozner, Vladimir The Dynamical Character of Adsorption by De Boer, J H Nightmare Culture : Lautreamont and Les Chants De Ladoror by De Jonge, Alex These things Shall be! Bob Ross Socialist Pioneer - His Life and Times by Ross, Edgar Pet Library's German Shepherd Guide by Pickup, Madeline The Essential Agus : the writings of Jacob B. Agus by Agus, Jacob B.: Katz, Steven T Key Issues in Methadone Maintenance Treatment by Ward, Jeff; Mattick, Richard; Hall, Wayne The perpetual Forest by Collins, W b Chapters on Marriage and Divorce : Responses of Ibn Hanbal and Ibn Raywayh by Spectorsky, Susan A Black Power in Australia by Bonner, Neville; Sykes, Bobbi feminist Perspectives on Sor Juana Ines de La Cruz by Merrim, Stephanie Nostradamus 2 : into the Twenty First Century by De Fontbrune, Jean-Charles The History of South Perth, Western Australia by Crowley, F K Time on the Cross: The Economics of American Negro Slavery by Fogel, Robert William; Engerman, Stanley L Calumet Beginnings: Ancient Shorelines and Settlements at the South End of Lake Michigan by Schoon, Kenneth J An Introduction to Spin-Spin Splitting in High Resolution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectra by Roberts, John D Central Power in the Australian Commonwealth by Menzies, Robert France and the Saar, 1680-1948 by Gray Cowan, Laing Living with a Drinker: How You Can Change Things by Wilson, Mary Music in the Theatre : Essays on Verdi and Other Composers by Petrobelli, Pierluigi The Monster of St Marylebone by Worcester, Wayne John Bishop: A Life for Music by Symons, Christopher An Economic History of England, 1870-1939 by Ashworth, William Captain Walker's Marathon by Cilento, Raphael Bulimarexia: The Binge/Purge Cycle by Boskind-White, Marlene; White, William C Erotic Irony and Mythic Art Forms in the art of Thomas Mann by Campbell, Joseph Dial 1179: The 3KZ Story by Walker, R R We of Nagasaki : the Story of Survivors in an Atomic Wasteland by Nagai, Takashi Australia Brought to Book: Responses to Australia By Visiting Writers, 1836-1939 by Harman, Kaye (ed) Cutting Loose: An Adult's Guide to Coming to Terms with Your Parents by Halpern, Howard M Of Free trade and Native Interests: The Brookes and the Economic Development of Sarawak, 1841-1941 by Gin, Ooi Keat Applications of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroschopy in Organic Chemistry by Jackman, L M Positive Parenting: a Practical Guide to Your Child's Behaviour by Toms, Laraine; Levett, Jan The Heroin Users by Stewart, Tam Mother Vincent Whitty: Woman and Educator in a Masculine Society by O'donoghue, sister Mary Xaverius On the Trial of the Assasins by Garrison, Jim Allan Fels: a Portrait of Power by Brenchley, Fred Reflections of a Friendship: John Ruskin's Letters to Pauline Trevalyan, 1848-1866 by Surtees, Virginia (ed) The Story of Port of Spain : Capital of Trinidad West Indies from the Earliest Times to the Present Day by Ottley, Carlton Robert Birds Do it, Too: The amazing sex Life of Birds by Harrison, Kit and George A New tale of Two Cities by Milne, James Steeplechasing and Fox Hunting by Seth-Smith, Michael Pregnancy Companion: a Persoanl Journey and Beautiful Keepsake That Will Guide You Through Your Pregnancy and the First Six Weeks of Motherhood by Anderson, John C, et. al Ruling Britannia: The Failure and Future of British Democracy by Marr, Andrew Uncle Tom's Children by Wright, Richard The Sins of Society by Vaughan, Bernard With One Voice : a history of the New South Wales Jewish board Of Deputies by Rutland, Suzanne D.: Caplan, Sophie The Tarot of the Celtic Heart: How to Enhance Your Love and Relationships Through the Tarot by Burgh, Julian De Tradition and Reality: Nursing and Politics in Australia by McCoppin, Brigid; Gardner, Heather Addiction: From Biology to Drug Policy by Goldstein, Avram the Performing Arts in Contemporary China by Mackerras, Colin Japan's "Guest Workers" Issues and Public Policies by Shimada, Haruo: Northridge, Roger Roots Schmoots : Journey Among Jews by Jacobson, Howard The Witness of the Vulgate, Peshitta and Septuagint to the text of Zephaniah by Zandstra, Sidney The Oxford Book of Australian Sporting Anecdotes by Cashman, Richard; Headon, David; Kinross-Smith, Graeme Gem cutting is Easy : a Beginner's Course in Cutting and Polishing Cabochons and Faceted Stones by Walter, Martin Mousie garner: Autobiography of a Vaudeville Stooge by Garner, Paul: Kissane, Sharon F Mana: Solomon Islands Issue by Maenu'u, Leonard P (ed) In the Wake of Suicide: Stories of the People Left Behind by Alexander, Victoria The Science of Cosmic Ray Therapy or Teletherapy by Bhattacharyya, A. K.: Ramchandra, D. N A Book about the Garden by Hole, S. Reynolds Wool Shrinkage and Its Prevention by Moncrieff, R W McGilvray : The Game is Not the Same by Tasker, Norman The Particle Connection: The Discovery of the Missing Links of Nucleasr Physics by Sutton, Christine The Making of an Opera : Don Giovanni at Glyndebourne by Higgins, John Basking in Beirut & Other Adventures by Fitzsimmons, Peter Luke Miver's Harvest by Swan, N. Walter: Heseltine, Harry The Wages Question: a Treatise on Wages and the Wages Class by Walker, Francis A Beyond ADD: Hunting for Reasons in the Past and Present by Hartmann, Thom The Yukon Territory by Dall, W. H On wings of a Song : Dorothy Helmrich and the Arts Council by Carell, Victor: Dean, Beth Women's Secret Disorder : A New understanding of Bulimia by Dana, Mira: Lawrence, Marilyn What Return Can I Make? Dimensions of the Christian Experience by Peck, M Scott The Natural History of Alcoholism: Causes, Patterns and Paths to Recovery by Vaillant, George E Kings and Clans: Ijwi Island and the Lake Kivu Rift, 1780-1840 by Newbury, David Ninety Years of Horse and Hound by Case, Walter O The Sun in Servitude and Other Plays by Jury, C R Notes on Atomic Energy for Medical Officers: An Introduction to the Subject for Service and Other Medical Officers Who May be Concerned with Defence Against Atomic Bombs and Similar problems by Royal Naval Medical School Carnet by Natkin, marcel A Model of the Mind: Explored By Hypnotically Controlled Experiments and Examined for Its Psychodynamic Implications by Blum, Gerald S Burchett : reporting the Other side of the World 1939-1983 by Kiernan, Ben: Burchett, Wilfred The House of Garibaldi Street : the Capture of Adolf Eichmann by Harel, Isser The Message : The Prophets by Peterson, Eugene H Man and Boy : a Play by Rattigan, Terence The Chemistry Department of the University of Melbourne: Its Contribution to Australian Science, 1854-1959 by Radford, Joan The Triumph of the Airheads and the Retreat from Commonsense by Gare, Shelley Britain in the Sixties: Vagrancy by O'Connor, Philip The Ostrich Position: Sex, Schooling and Mystification by Lee, Carol The Boom of 1890 - and Now: a Call to Australia to Put Her House in Order Lest Drought and Falling Prices for Wool and Wheat Overtake Us Again by Shann, E O G Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, 1948-1950: a Photographic Record by Brown, Ivor; Quayle, Anthony The Natural Gas Industry: a Review of World Resources and Industrial Applications by Medici , M Must Men Starve: the Malthusian Controversy by Oser, Jacob Fighting Admiral: The Life of Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Somerville by MacIntyre, Donald Let These Bones Live: a Pastoral Guide to the Order of Christian Funerals by Smith, Margaret (ed) Changing Homosexuality in the Male: Treatment for Men Troubled By Homosexuality by Hatterer, Lawrence J War Fever by Ballard, JG Biosynthesis of Acetate-derived Compounds by Packter, N M The Growth and structure of Elizabethan Comedy by Bradbrook, M. C A Study in the Theory of Inflation by Hansen, Bent The Big City or the New Mayhew by Atkinson, Alex; Searle , Ronald Backyard Of Mars : Memoirs of the "reffo" Period in Australia by Barcs, Emery The Cocaine Recovery Book by Earley, Paul H Childlessness Transformed: Stories of Alternative Parenting by English, Jane The Vicious Circle: The Story of the Algonquin Round Table by Harriman, Margaret Case Ridiculous Theatre - Scourge of Human Folly: The Essays and Opinions of Charles Ludlam by Ludlam, Charles; Samuels, Steven (ed) The history of the New South Wales Society for Crippled Children by Coles, Kenneth: Donaldson, James The Creators: Exclusive Hand Knits from International Edsigners by European Impact on the West Australian Enrivonment 1829 - 1979 by De Garis, Brian An Adventure by Moberly, C.A.E.: Jourdain, E.F The Mosquito Man: the Story of Sir Ronald Ross by Rowland, John The Road to St Kilda Pier : George Orwell and the Politcs of the Australian Left by Milner, Andrew Strong Women and Men Beat Arthritis: The Scientifically Proven Program That Allows People with Arthritis to Take Charge of Their Disease by Nelson, Miriam E The Grey of Ruthin Valor : the valor of the English Lands of Edmund grey, Earl of kent, Drawn Up from the Minsters accounts Of 1467-8 by Jack, R. I Make Friends with Your Shadow : How to Accept and Use Positively the Negative Side of Your Personality by Miller, William A Maurice Baring Restored by Horgan, Paul How to Handle Your Drink by Robinson, Jancis Watershed: Deciding Our Water Future, Juggling the Interests of Farmers, Politicians, Big business, Ordinary People - and Nature by Australian Broadcasting Corporation; Fullerton, Ticky Statistics in Theory and Practice by Connor, L R Those Tracks on My Face : a Mind Opening Journey Into The world of Children in Trouble by Holborow, Barbara Practical Book Keeping : a Manual of Book-Keeping and Accounts by Scouller, J Robert Browning and His World; Two Robert Brownings? by Ward, Maisie Doing Your Own Research: How to Do Basic Descriptive Research in the Social Sciences and Humanities by Kane, Eileen Nature of Life : A Study on Muscle by Szent-Gyorgyi, A On the Bread Line: Oral Records of Poverty by Brewer, Graeme Modeling Large Resource Development Projects in an Open Economy: The Case of Australia's North West Shelf Gas Project by Clements, Kenneth W; Greig, Robert A The Primal Curse: The Myth of Cain and Abel in the Theatre by Matthews, Honor Gray Dawn : How the Coming Age Wave Will Transform America and the World by Peterson, Peter G Houser: The life and Work of Catherine Bauer by Oberlander, H Peter; Newbrun, Eva Strategy and Defence : Australian Essays by Ball, Desmond Life, Death (and Everything in between): How to be a Soul Survivor by Pilavachi, Mike; Borlase, Craig Trinity Phoenix: a History of Cairns and District by Jones, Dorothy Aloha Solomons by Cross, Gwen Du Barry A Biography by Loomis, Stanley Melody Writing and Analysis by Warburton, Annie O Tropical Development, 1880-1913: Studies in Economic Progress by Lewis, W. Arthur (ed) Lyrics & Satires of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester by Wilmot, John; Brooks, David (ed) Witness to War : An American Doctor in El Salvador by Clements, Charles Plant Toxicology: Proceedings of the Australia -USA Poisonous Plants Symposium, Brisbane, Australia, May 14-18, 1984 by Seawright, A A; Hegarty, M P; James, L F; Keeler, R F A Different Drummer: The Story of E J Banfield, Beachcomber of Dunk Island by Noonan, Michael The A-Z of Baby Hints by James, Lisa Am I Crazy, or is it My Shrink? How to Get the Help You Need by Beutler, Larry E; Bongar, Bruce; Shurkin, Joel N Reaching for the Stars: The Politics and Process of Bringing Vision Into Reality by Cairnes, Margot Biophysical Principles of Structure and Function by Snell, Fred M: Shulman, Sidney: Spencer, Richard P.: Moos, Carl Organic Photochemsitry: Plenary Lectures Presented at the International Symposium on Organic Photochemistry, 20-24 July, 1964 by International Union of pure and Applied Chemisty, Division of Organic Chemistry Challenges to Contemporary Dairy Analytical Techniques: the Proceedings of a Seminar Organised By the Food Chemistry Group of the Royal Society of Chemistry in Association with the International Dairy Federation, the Federation of European Chemical Socie by Elements of Diatomic Molecular Spectra by Dunford, H Brian Addiction in Human Development: Developmental Perspectives on Addiction and Recovery by Wallen, Jacqueline Louisa May: a Modern Biography of Louisa May Alcott by Saxton, Martha Aromatic Rearrangements by Shine, H J Shakespeare's Scepticism by Bradshaw, Graham The Art of Adaptation: Turning Fact and Fiction Into Film - How to Transform novels, plays, and True-life Stories Into Screenplays by Seger, Linda Too Many Spears by Pinney, Peter: Runcie, Estelle French Lessons: a Memoir by Kaplan, Alice Fool Moon by Edmond, Murray Durov's Pig : Clowns, Politics and Theatre by Schechter, Joel Organic Coating Technology : Volume 1 : Oils, resins, Varnishes and Polymers by Payne, Henry Fleming Holding on to Humanity - the Message of Holocaust Survivors: The Shamai Davidson Papers by Charny, Israel W (ed) An Experiment in Leisure by Field, Joanna: Milner, Marion Life and Language in the Old Testament by Chase, Mary Ellen you are Ready for... Recovery from Rescuing by Castine, Jacueline Preparing for the Twenty First Century by Kennedy, Paul Administration of Lord Elgin in India 1894-99 by Malhotra, P. L Luke mivers' Harvest by Swan, N Walter Homolytic Aromatic Substitution by Williams, G H An Introduction to Problem Solving in Surgery by Hunt, P S Writing a Novel and Getting Published by Watts, Nigel A Londoner's Log-book 1901-1902 by One Hundred years of Women's Golf by Mair, Lewine Alcoholics Anonymous: Cult or Cure? by Ellis, Albert Nothing But Honour: The Story of the Warsaw Uprising, 1944 by Zawodny, J K Gerald Mu Maurier : the Last Actor-Manager by Harding, James Loose Change: The True Story of Three Young Women Living, Loving and Making it - any Way They Can by Davidson, Sara Beyond Borders : The Power of Meditation by Stefanek, Milos Denning : Discipline of Law by Denning, Lord Manic Power: Robert Lowell and His Circle by Meyers, Jeffrey Man in Pursuit by Leduc, Violette Chris Barnard : the Second Life by Barnard, Chris: Brewer, Chris A Rough and Rocky Place: The Landscape and Settlement History of the Methana Peninsula, Greece by Mee, Christopher; Forbes, Hamish Lois on the Loose: One Woman, One Motorbike, 20,000 Miles Across the Americas by Pryce, Lois The Old French Johannes Translation of the Pseudo-turpin Chronicle by Walpole, Ronald N The Social Climbers by Darwin, Chris; Amy, John Musicians in Elysium by Bonavia, F The Cricket Sings: Poems and Songs for Children by Lorca, Federico Garcia Bringing Up a Mentally Handicapped Child - It's Not All Tears! by Thompson, Liz Ethnomusicology : Journal of the Society for Ethnomusicology Volume 40 by Cowdery, James R Jon Benet : Inside the Ramsey Murder Investigation by Thomas, Steve Pandora's Box: Corporate Power, Free Trade and Canadian Education by Calvert, John; Kuehn, Larry The Puppet Theatre Handbook : a Complete Guide for the Puppeteer by Batchelder, Marjorie Hip Replacement: a Consumers' Guide by Star, Leonie Four-Language Technical Dictionary of Heating, Ventilation and Sanitary Engineering: English/German/French/Russian by Lindeke, Wolfgang (ed) Speculum Amantis : love Poems from Rare Song Books and Miscellanies of the Seventeenth Century by Bullen, A. H Gold for Europe: New Plan for European Financial Rehabilitation by Schacht, Hjalmar Struggle and Fulfillment: The Inner Dynamics of Religion and Morality by Evans, Donald The Poor and the Powerless: Economic Policy and Change in the Caribbean by Thomas, Clive Y Gumshoe: Reflections in a Private Eye by Thompson, Jpsiah The Siege: The Battle for Communication with an Autistic Child by Park, Clara Claiborne There's a Good Girl: Gender Stereotyping in the First Three Years of Life - a Diary by Grabrucker, Marianne Off Our Scones: Devonshire Teas in the Dandenongs by Civitella, Mark; Nugent, Peter Agrarian problems and Peasant Movements in Latin America by Stavenhagen, Rodolfo (ed) Questions of Competence: Culture, Classification and Intellectual Disability by Jenkins, Richard (ed) Rorschach Psychology by Rickers-Ovsiankina, Maria a Murder of the Innocents: Child-Killers and Their Victims by Wilson, Paul R The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy by Strauss, William: Howe, Neil Hancock by Hancock, Freddie; Nathan, David Biomathematics: Being the Principles of Mathematics for Students of Biological Science by Feldman, W M Brian Fitzpatrick : a Radical Life by Watson, Don Grass Beyond the Mountains : discovering the Last Great Cattle Frontier on the North American Continent by Hobson, Richard P The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire by Gunson, Niel Tommy the Growler by Clarke, Alfred E The Economic War by Peel, George New Horizons by Stevens, Bertram Lakeland Rock : Classic Climbs with Chris Bonington by Bailey, Adrian Australian Education 1788-1900 : Church, State and Public Education in Colonial Australia by Austin, A.G Mass Media in the Middle East : a Comprehensive Handbook by Kamalipour, Yahya R. : Mowlana, Hamid Varieties of Delinquent Youth: An Introduction to Constitutional Psychiatry by Sheldon, William H; with Emil M Hartl and Eugene McDermott Binkie Beaumont: Eminence Grise of the West End Theatre, 1933-1973 by Huggett, Richard Fables of the Irish Intelligentsia by Fitzpatrick, Nina Bulimia Nervosa and Binge-Eating : a Self Help Guide Using Cognitive Behavioral Techniques by Cooper, Peter J Focus on Fathering by Sullivan, Robin (ed) Brissot de Warville: a Study in the history of the French Revolution by Ellery, Eloise Trapped in the Mirror: Adult Children of Narcissists in Their Struggle for Self by Golomb, Elan Real Relations : Australian Fiction Realism, Feminism and Form by Lever, Susan Margaret Atwood's Fairy-tale Sexual Politics by Wilson, Sharon Rose Hearing by Ogden, Robert Morris The Book of Trades (Standebuch) by Amman, Jost; and Hans Sachs Biomathematics: The Principles of Mathematics for Students of Biological Science by Smith, Cedric A B The People are the Church: a Priest-Psychologist Challenges the Church to Meet the Needs of the Modern Christian by Kennedy, Eugene C Under the Tree of Life: The Religion of a Feminist Christian by Ramshaw, Gail The Positive Force: Overcoming Your Resistance to Success by Emery, Gary and Pat Fungi, Friends and Foes : Science in Action 2 by Parker-Rhodes, A. F If Not Dieting, Then What? by Kausman, Rick Safari: I Won't Cry, Mumma by Seath, Janet; with Frank Scaysbrook Collections and Recollections : Series II by Russell, George W. E Samuel Palmer: a Biography by Lister, Raymond JCM: a Short Biography of James Cassius Williamson by Dicker, Jan G Silver Tracks : The Life and Times of Illawarra Alpine Club by Boxall, Rhonda The Life and Works of Mr Anonymous by Espy, Wilalrd R Altneuland: old-new land by Herzl, Theodore I'm Not Crazy, I'm Just a Little Unwell: My Journey Through Chronic Fatigue Syndrome by Hatcher, Leigh The Operators : On the Streets with 14 Company by Rennie, James Popular Education in Eighteenth Century England by Neuberg, Victor E Phantasm and Simulacra: The Drawings of Peter Klossowski by Foss, Paul; Taylor, Paul; Weiss, Allen S Studies in the Classical Theories of Money by Niebyl, Karl H Alcohol and Culture: Comparative Perspectives from Europe and America by Babor, Thomas F (ed) A Concise Economic History of Britain, From 1750 to Recent Times by Court, W H B The Drugs Myth : Why the Drug wars Must Stop by Coleman, Vernon The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook: The First Guide to What Really Matters in Life by Barr, Ann; York, Peter Nuclear Madness: Religion And the Philosophy of the Nuclear Age by Chernus, Ira The Device of Government: An Essay in Civil Polity by Laird, John Edward Stephen Harkness: 1874-1940 by Wooster, James W Jr Dealers of Lightning : Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the New Computer Age by Hiltzik, Michael Touch and Go by Parkinson, C Northcote Amuse Bouche : A Russell Quant Mystery by Bidulka, Anthony The Fortune-Hunter by Herbert, Julia Schumann - Kinderszenen by Demus, Jorg Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Bible Plants : Flowers And Trees, Fruits And Vegetables, Ecology by Hepper, Nigel F Mathematics: From the Birth of Numbers by Gullberg, Jan Skipper: Barbie Doll's Little Sister - Identification and Value Guide by Arend, Scott; Holzerland, Karla; Kent, Trina Mecca: A Literary History of the Muslim Holy Land by Peters, F. E The Matthew Hayden Cookbook : Stories and Recipes from Australia's Gourmet Cricketer by Hayden , Matthew The Official Secrets Myth : Death of a Good Soldier by James Henderson Stock Journal : The First 100 Years 1904 - 2004 by Explorers of the Southern Sky : A History of Australian Astronomy by Malin, David; Haynes, Raymond; Haynes, Roslynn; McGee, Richard London Goldsmiths 1697-1837: Their Marks and Lives, from the Original Registers at Goldsmiths' Hall and Other Sources by Grimwade, Arthur G Case Histories II 'rat man', Schreber, 'wolf man', Female Homosexuality by Freud, Sigmund Effects of Remembrance by Alexander, Patrick The pan book of the Opera by Jacobs, Arthur & Sadie, Stanley Sophisticated Lady a Fan for a Holiday by Alexander, Patrick illusions of Identity the art of Natiion by Willis, Anne-Marie Historical and Expository works on Psychoanalysis by Freud, Sigmund Impressionism by Denvir, Bernard Burns from Various Aspects by Guthrie, Rev. David Records of Shelley Byron and the Author by Trelawny, Edward John The Classic Cuisine of Vietnam by Ngo, Bach & Zimmerman, Gloria The Nearly Perfect Crime by Macnutt, Francis The Weight of the Glass by Alexander, Patrick Tapas the Little Dishes of Spain by Casas, Penelope The Society of the Spectacle by Debord, Guy Last Viceroy the Life and Times of Rear-Admiral the Lord Mountbatten of Burma by Murphy, Ray Bauhaus Bauhaus Archiv 1919 1933 by Droste, Magdalena Manual of Stuctural Kinesiology by Thompson, Clem W. And Floyd, R. T Life among the Scientists by Charlesworth, Max, and Farrell, Lyndsay and Stokes, Terry and Turnbull, David Forty-one Years in India by Roberts, Field-Marshall Lord of Kandahar Fables of the Irish Intelligensia by Fitzpatrick, Nina Finding a Way the Religious Worlds of Today by Crotty, Marie, Crotty, Richard, Habel, Norman, Moore, Basil and O'donoghue, Michael Healing the Mind by Stone, Michael H bush Theatre Plays by Johnson, Terry, Bruce, Lesley The Ingoldsby Legends, or Myths and Marvels by Ingoldsby, Thomas Esq The Tavern on Maple Street by Owens, Sharon Sebastien Roch by Mirbeau, Octave Images Reflections Gathering Tributes by Alexander, Patrick Women Art and Power and Other Essays by Nochlin, Linda Max Ernst 1950-1970 the Return of La Belle Jardiniere by Spies, Werner collected Stories Volume 2 by O'connor, Frank How to Become a Complete Golfer by Toski, Bob & Flick, Jim The West Coast Story: A History of Western Tasmania and its Mining Fields by Pink, Kerry The South West Book: A Tasmanian Wilderness by Gee, Helen & Fenton, Janet [editors] The Remote Garrison: The British Army in Australia 1788 - 1870 by Stanley, Peter Fresh Evidence, New Witnesses by Allen, Margaret; Hutchison, Mary & Mackinnon, Alison Cutting Up the North: The History of the Forest Industry in the Northern Interior by Bernsohn, Ken "Pioneering Days" ...Journal of George Everard by Everard, George The Grampians: A Noble Range by Calder, Jane Australia: Lucky for Some. A Comic Book History of Australia by Cane, Jim Berry Fruit Culture by RAPHAEL, T.D The Sunday at Home 1900-1901 by Sunday reading: Aristotle: The Growth and Structure of His Thought by LLOYD, G.E.R Seventeenth-Century Metaphysics. An Examination of Some Mian Concepts and Theories by von LEYDEN, W The Sunday at Home 1903-1904 by Sunday reading: They Came to Stay. The Dennys by ALLISON, Heather L Science: The Glorious Entertainment by BARZUN, Jacques Colonial Character. Nineteenth Century Australian Furniture by DIXON, Terry & Judy Call of the Black Cockatoo. A tale of prehistoric Tasmania by LAWRENCE, Helen The Sunday at Home 1904-1905 by Sunday reading: The Sunday at Home 1899-1900 by Sunday reading: Southern Tasmanian Licensed Anglers Association. Annual Report 1970-71 by Fishing: No Run-of-the-Mill. A Biography of Henry Beaufort Somerset by CAROLAN, Jane Mayo Aristotle by TAYLOR, A.E Principles and Problems of Right Thinking. A Textbook for Logic, Reflective Thinking, and Orientation Courses by BURTT, Edwin Arthur Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man by REID, Thomas Checklist of the Vertebrate Animals of Tasmania. Names of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and freshwater fish, with a unique numerical code for each species by SMITH, Stephen J A Divided Society. Tasmania during World War I by LAKE, Marilyn E.Z. Review. Volume 1, nos 1-15, December 1955 to June 1959 by EZ Co The Nature of Argument by LAMBERT, Karel andWilliam Ulrich Westcott Australiana & Collectables Price Guide by Westcott, David A History of Modern Philosophy. A sketch of the history of philosophy fromt the close of the Renaissance to our own day by HÖFFDING, Dr. Harald Lectures on Metaphysics and Logic. Volumes I and II by HAMILTON, Sir William Colonial Furniture in America [Volume I and Volume II complete] by LOCKWOOD, Luke Vincent The Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle. Translated, with an analysis and critical notes by WELLDON, J.E.C Australian Colonial Furniture. Part 1: A Selection of Furniture by Australian Cabinetmakers by HOOPER, Tony & Juliana The Hutchins School Centenary Magazine 1846-1946 by Hutchins School: Always a Competitor. Hedley Calvert. Tasmanian yachtsman, orchardist and raconteur by CALVERT, Hedley & Alex Graeme-Evans The Sheffield School 1884-1984 by Argent, B. et al (eds) Aristotle. Fundamentals of the history of his development by JAEGER, Werner The Sunday at Home 1902-1903 by Sunday reading: The Nature of Matter. Physical Theory From Thales to Modern Times by AMALDI, Ginestra E.Z. Review. Volume 3, nos 1-16, September 1963 to June 1967 by EZ Co Apologia Pro Vita Sua by NEWMAN, John Henry (Cardinal) Thinking About Thinking. Studies in the Background of Some Psychological Approaches by REEVES, Joan Wynn Philosophy and Scientific Realism by SMART, J.J.C E.Z. Review 1916-1966. 50 years of progress by EZ Co TASMANIAN ANGLING REPORT 1986. North-Western, Southern & Northern Fisheries Associations by Fishing: Vegetable Growing by WALKER, W.F The Noxious and Secondary Weeds of Tasmania by HYDE-WYATT, Brian H. & Dennis I. Morris A Portrait of Aristotle by GRENE, Marjorie Colonial Rarities. March 1987. Exhibition and Sale of Fine Early Colonial Furniture, Australian Decorative Arts & Paintings by Vidler, Kornelia & Graeme Dodd A Survey of Australiana 1790-1940. Carney - McKenna Collections by Australiana: The Sunday at Home 1905-1906 by Sunday reading: CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY by Harris, Marvin THE ROCK RATS by BOVA, Ben Triplanetary by SMITH, E.E. Doc The Florentine Renaissance by CRONIN, Vincent GREY LENSMAN by SMITH, E.E. Doc GLORY ROAD by Catton, Bruce BROTHERS by BOVA, Ben DEMON WITHIN by Lyon, Gary Photo-Finish by Marsh,Ngaio Acting is Believing. A Basic Method by McGaw, Charles A STILLNESS AT APPOMATTOX by Catton, Bruce Winslow Homer's Magazine Engravings by Beam, Philip A BIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE GAWLER RANGES SOUTH AUSTRALIA in October 1984 by Robinson, A.C., Casperson, K.D., Canty, P.D. And MacDonald,C.A A STREET LAMP AND THE STARS by A HISTORY OF ISRAEL Volume II by Sachar, Howard M THE ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY by Spence, Lewis The Family Doctor Home Adviser by Smith, Tony (Editor) RETURN TO MARS by BOVA, Ben Dairy Farming Theory and Practice by Fishwick, V.C. [Third Edition Revised by Kenneth Russell] Eagle in Flames - The Fall of the Luftwaffe by Hooton, E.R Around the Cragged Hill: A Personal and Political Philosophy by KENNAN, George F The Lennon Tapes : John Lennon & Yoko Ono in Conversation with Andy Peebles 6 December 1980 by Lennon, John; Ono, Yoko; Peebles, Andy Self Reliance by Emerson, Ralph Waldo SPAIN ON A PLATE by Sevilla, Maris Jose CHILDREN OF THE LENS by SMITH, E.E. Doc FIRESIDE TALES by Blyton, Enid ALICE IN WONDERLAND and THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS by Carroll. Lewis LUCKY LUCIANO by Powell, Hickman AS ON A DARKLING PLAIN by BOVA, Ben Formidable Enemies - The North Korean and Chinese Soldier in the Korean War by Mahoney, Kevin SKYLARK THREE by Smith, E.E THE REDISCOVERY OF MAN by Smith, Cordwainer Electricity for Everyone by Lunt, Joseph R. & William T. Wyman THE PRIMITIVE by Tubb, E.C SKYLARK OF VALERON by Smith, E.E. "Doc" Menzies Observed by Hazelhurst,Cameron Dictionary Of Australian Gemstones by Myatt, Bill [Edited by] GREAT BRITONS by Howath, David et al SADDAM HUSSEIN - A political biography by Karsh, Efraim and Rautsi, Inari This is the Bichon Frise by Brearley, Joan McDonald and Nicholas, Anna Katherine THE TURNING by Armintrout, Jennifer Legionnaire My Five Years in the French Foreign Legion by Murray, Simon The Ships of the Earth by Card, Orson Scott No Telephone to Heaven by Cliff, Michelle The Works of Mr Francis Rabelais, Doctor in Physick : Containing Five Books of the Lives, Heroic Deeds & Sayings of Gargantua & His Son Pantagruel by Rabelais, Francis PENLUNE or Life in a Cornish Village by Burrow, S.E Jungle Dragoon - The memoir of an Armoured CAV Platoon Leader in Vietnam by Walker, Paul D FIRST LENSMAN by SMITH, E.E. Doc THE CORRIDORS OF TIME by Anderson, Poul THE SKYLARK OF SPACE by Smith, E.E Teach Yourself Astro Navigation: For Marine and Air Navigators by Kaspar (S.R. Millard) The Animals Came in One By One - An Autobiography by Lloyd-Jones, Buster MASTERS OF THE VORTEX by SMITH, E.E. Doc SECOND STAGE LENSMAN by SMITH, E.E. Doc Living from the Land. A Guide to Farm Management by Sykes, Frank THE CALL OF THE EARTH by Card, Orson Scott Fifty-Two Pioneer Stories All Round The Compass by Miles, Alfred H Come As You Are. The Story of Nirvana by Azerrrad, Michael THE PRECIPICE by BOVA, Ben VENUS IN BLUE JEANS by Bartle, Nathalie RUSSELL HARTY PLUS by Harty, Russell Mary MacKillop's Sisters. A Life Unveiled by Henderson, Anne A BUSY TIME FOR SALLY ANN by Haynes, Ambrose Good Poultry Keeping by Fermor, C.E; Revised by L.C. Turnill Understanding Catastrophe by Bourriau, Janine [Edited by] MAN AND RIVERS by Joanna Priest: Her Place in Adelaide's Dance History by DENTON,Margaret Abbie Presenting People Who Dance by Clarke, Mary The Old Playgoer by Robson, William; Introduction by Robert Gittings Yesterday's Daughters. Stories of our past by women over 70 by Bushell, Alma [Edited by] The Mission Song by Le Carré, John The Only Published Poetry of Jim Morrison: The Lords ; New Creatures by Morrison, James Metric Pattern Cutting : fourth Edition by Aldrich, Winifred A Land for for Heroes : the Story of the Soldier settlement of Red Cliffs After World War I by Wright, Ken Mackenzie They are People : modern short Stories of nuns, Monks, and Priests by Gable, Sister Marielle (selected by) Invisible Rendezvous: Connections and Collaboration in the New Landscape of Electronic Writing by Wittig, Rob Reconciliation: Essays on Australian Reconciliation by Grattan, Michelle Nobrow by Seabrook, John The Revolution from Within : Selections from the Decades II : The Fifties by Krishnamurti, J August Sander (The Aperture History of Photography Series) by Sander, August; Van Hartz, John Steps in Ballet: Basic Exercises at the Barre, Basic Center Exercises, Basic Allegro Steps by Mara, Thalia Physical Tratment by Movement, manipulation and Massage by Mennell, James B The Decorative Art of Leon Bakst by Alexandre, Arsene (appreciation by); Cocteau, Jean (notes on the Ballets by); Melvill, Harry (translated from the French by) Invading Iceland with No Clothes On : a Mysterious tale of exploding stomachs, disturbed Love and Piano Baed rock and Roll by Olsen, Andy Scanty Particulars: The Scandalous Life and Astonishing Secret of Queen Victoria's Most Eminent Military Doctor by Barry, James; Holmes, Rachel Scott Russell Limoges Enamels by Gauthier, M. (text); Marcheix, M. (text), Forman, W & B (photographs) Dragon Rider by Funke, Cornelia Arabic in a Flash by MANSOURI, FETHI AND YOUSEF ALREEMAWI The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia. Volume Two. The nineteenth by TARLING, NICHOLAS. (EDITED BY.) Sociology of South-East Asia. Readings on Social Change and Development by EVERS, HANS-DIETER India. The People by KALMAN, BOBBIE Cambodian System of Writing and Beginning Reader by HUFFMAN, FRANKLIN E Rikisha to Rapid Transit by RIMMER, PETER J Southeast Asia's Misunderstood Miracle by JOMO, KWAME SUNDARAM The Southeast Asian Port and Polity. Rise and Demise by KATHIRITHAMBY-WELLS, J. AND JOHN VILLIERS Batik. Creating an Identity by LEE, CHOR LIN Modern Spoken Cambodian by HUFFMAN, FRANKLIN E Aikido Weapons Techniques by SEISER, LYNN AND PHONG THONG DANG Vietnam. The Land by KALMAN, BOBBIE Afghanistan in Pictures by BEHNKE, ALISON Vietnam. The People by KALMAN, BOBBIE The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia. Volume One.From Early Times by TARLING, NICOLAS. (EDITOR) The Nine Emperor Gods. A Study of Chinese Spirit-Medium Cults by CHEU HOCK TONG The Pastons : The Letters of a Family in the Wars of the Roses by Barber, Richard (edited by) What do You Stand for? Managing Brand Me : How to Build Your Personal Brand by Gad, Thomas; Rosencreutz, Anette Whistling for the Elephants by Toksvig, Sandi A Month in the Country by Turgenev, Ivan; Berlin, Isaiah (translated and Introduced by) Evolution and Modification of Behaviour by Lorenz, Konrad After the End of Art: Contemporary Art and the Pale of History by Danto, Arthur A Geography of South Australia by Harris and Lea Better Dead by Bonett, John & Emery To Hell in a Basket by Blacker, Irwin R The Rise of Brandenburg - Prussia to 1786 by Fay and Epstein Red Dwarf : Son of Soup ; A Second Serving of the Least Worst Scripts by Grant, Rob & Naylor, Doug No Place for a Lady : A Regency Romance : Large Print by Smith, Joan A Guide to Sports Medicine by Stokes, Peter G. [ed] The Story of Bobble Who Wanted to be Rich by Van Leeuwin, Joke Iron Honey Gold : The Uses of Verse Book 3 by Holbrook, David [compiled by] Dolphin Song by Wolfer, Dianne Place Names of South Australia by Praite and Tolley The Night of the Big Snow by Brooks, Charles Australian Made, Australian Played : Hand Crafted Musical Instruments from Didjeridu to Synthesiser by Atherton, Michael A Day to Remember : The Wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales by Hall, Trevor Biological Drawings with Notes : Part Two by Jepson, Maud Motor Cycling Year Book 1957 by Cook, R. A. B. [ed] Break Into Day by Small, K. J. [ed] Zen Shiatsu : How to Harmonize Yin and Yang for Better Health by Masunaga, Shizuto Anatomy and Physiology for Radiographers by Warrick, C. K One Act Plays; Series 2 ; Australian Theatre Workshop by Australian Theatre Workshop An Introduction to Oriental Diagnosis from Lectures By Michio Kushi by Kushi, Michio [ Edited By William tara] And Then the Screaming Started by Blakeston, Oswell Sound and Wave Motion - A Modern Introduction to Physics in 6 Volumes - Volume 3 by Butler, S. T South Australian Year Book No. 32 1999 by Crettenden, I The Influence of the Enlightenment on the French Revolution by Church, William F One Act Plays; Series 3 ; Australian Theatre Workshop by Allsop, David [ed] They Walk on Earth by Buckley, Eunice John Keats - A Selection of His Poetry - the Penguin Poets Series by Keats, John [ Selected By J. E. Morpurgo ] Crumbs : Short Devotions for Every Day of the Year by Zorn, C. M Let's Make English Live 4 by Bruce, M. J Let's Make English Live 6 by Bruce, M. J Trumper : The Illustrated Biography by Mallett, Ashley The House on Quai Notre Dame [ Translated By Alistair Hamilton ] by Simenon, Georges Martin Cash : His Personal Narrative as a Bushranger in Van Diemens Land by Cash, Martin The History of the City of Mitcham by Norman, W. A SACA : The History of the South Australian Cricket Association by Harte, Chris Cinderella : A Ladybird Easy Reading Book : Well Loved Tales : Series 606D by Southgate, Vera Summer Journey ; Language in Context 3 by Keyte B. & Baines R Vitology : An Encyclopedia of Health and Home by Ruddock, E. H The Giant Book of Essential Knowledge : The Practical Self Educator by Open Doors by Cummins Writers Soil by Jacks, G. V For Sale - with Corpse by Gregson, J. M Jack and Jill Book 1981 by Principles of Titrimetric Analysis : Monographs for Teachers No.6 by Aynsley and Littlewood The Renaissance II : History of Art Series by Flamand, Elie-Charles Realities of Race : An Analysis of the Concepts of Race and Racism by McConnochie, Keith R Enid Blyton's Magazine Annual Number 2 by Blyton , Enid Tibetian Journey by Patterson, George N The Biological Manipulation of Life by Messel, H Enid Blyton's Magazine No.25 Vol.6 Dec 3rd-16th 1958 by Blyton , Enid 100 Years to Remember : Yorketown School 1878-1978 by Yorketown Area School McNally's Luck by Sanders , Lawrence The Rocky by MacDonell, J. E School Certificate Woodwork by Gray, T. A. And McCromick, T Stories in the Night : Reflections of a Radio Priest by Maclaren, Father Jim The Catholic Religion : A Course of Twenty Lessons by The Catholic Enquiry Centre A Man with Your Advantages by Andrew, Prudence T-Force : The Big Breakout by Whiting, Charles Tom and Jerry Cartoon Annual by In Their Own Words : History of the South Australian Country Women's Association from 1979 to 1999 by Zabukovec, Victoria Weeks of Growth : A Basic Guide for Vacation Church School Leaders by Unknown The Eighth Holiday Book by Blyton , Enid Animal Behavior : Readings from Scientific American by Eisner and Wilson [selected by] Bennelong : Endeavour Reading Programme Book 9b by Endeavour Reading Programme Planet Geography by Codrinton, Stephen Practising the Presence by Goldsmith, Joel S Lanta and Larry by Milligan, Elsie The Vital Decade : Ten Years of Australian Art and Letters by Dutton, Geoffrey and Harris, Max [selected by] Death Charter by Adams, Eustace L Rational - Emotive Approaches to the Problems of Childhood by Ellis and Bernard [ed] Authority of the Believer by Hagin, Kenneth E The Oil Engine Manual by Unknown Enid Blyton's Magazine No.24 Vol.6 Nov19th- Dec 2nd 1958 by Blyton , Enid Mates in Hell : The Secret Diary of Don McLaren by McLaren, Don The Bubble Gum Champion by Pearson, Michael A Introducing Chemistry by Rossotti, Hazel Succesful Dressmaking by Resek, Ellen and Marietta Handy Hints by The South Australian Country Women's Association Before I go to Sleep by Blyton , Enid The Chewing Gum Rescue and Other Stories by Mahy, Magaret A Knockabout Priest : The Story of Father John Bronsan by Prior, Tom Boy's Own Companion No. 4 by Cox, Jack [ed] Industrial Chemistry - Organic : Monographs for Teachers No.11 by Samuel, D. M Enid Blyton's Pixie Tales by Blyton , Enid Greek and Estruscan Painting : History of Painting Series by Spiteris, Tony [tanslated By Sondheimer] Fit for This Office; Women and Ordination by Field, Barbara Growing Australian Plants by Lothian and Holliday The Spectre of Truganini : 1980 Boyer Lectures by Smith, Bernard Keepsake by Cummins Creative Writers The Convict Recipe Book by Unknown Australia's Immigrants 1788-1978 : The Australian Experience by Sherington, Geoffrey The Snow - Burner by Oyen, Henry Suffragettes and Votes for Women by Snellgrove, L. E The Moon in the Morning by Whittock, Martyn Donald Duck Annual "On Top of the World" by Yorke Peninsula : A Natural History by Corbett, David [ed] Becoming Literate : The Construction of Inner Control by Clay, Marie M The Camera : A Ladybird How it Works : Series 654 by Carey, David Flowers That Last : Arranging Dried and Preserved Plants & Flowers by Mann, Pauline Sea and Estary Birds : A Ladybird Book : Series 536 by Leigh - Pemberton , John Dan Frontier and the New House by Hurley, William Hints and Things by Tumby Bay Floral Art Club Reynella East High School Magazine 1998 by Reynella East High School The Greatest Book in the World by Blyton , Enid Principles of Reaction Kinetics : Monographs for Teachers No.9 by Ashmore, P. G Enid Blyton's Magazine No.8 Vol. 7 April 22nd - May 5th 1959 by Blyton , Enid Dip the Puppy : A Fairy Story with the Terrible Monster Jelly by Milligan, Spike Enid Blyton's Magazine No.15 Vol.6 July 16th-29th 1958 by Blyton , Enid The Key to Scriptural Healing by Hagin, Kenneth E Investigating Chemistry : Notes for Teachers by Davies, Denial, Locke and Reay The Stable in Bethlehem by Steuben, Fritz Wettermark by Chaze, Elliott Extraordinary Disorders of Human Behavior by Friedemann and Faguet [ed] A Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases in Current English by Bliss, A. J The Man Who Spoke Dog by Fullerton, Charles Chromatographic Methods by Stock & Rice Inventing Australia : Images and Identity 1688-1980 :The Australian Experience 3 by White, Richard The Murder Makers by Chance, John Newton Yellow Wood ; Language in Context 4 by Keyte B. & Baines R Christopher's Talks to Catholic Children by Greenstock, David L Biggles Takes the Case by Johns , Capt. W.E The Enid Blyton Pennant Series No.17 "Charlie the Cheat" and "Three Wishes" by Blyton , Enid This Winter Passage ; Language in Context 5 by Keyte B. & Baines R Pastor Doug : The Story of Sir Douglas Nicholls by Clark, Mavis Thorpe The Literature of Australia by Dutton, Geoffrey [ed] Playhour Annual 1980 by The Penguin New Writing No.29 by Lehman, John [ed] Cummins Bowling Club 40 Years : 7 Nov 1953 - 2 Oct 1993 by Secker, Jenny [compiled by] The Riverlanders by Chew, Mortimer and Loder The Thief of Bagdad : Based on Douglas Fairbanks' Fantasy of the Arabian Nights by Abdullah, Achmed Action Ryhmes : Learning with Traditional Rhymes : A Ladybird Book by Taylor, Dorothy The World's Greatest Cranks and Crackpots by Nicholas Margaret Flyers by Brown Douglas The Spirit Speaks; Teachings from Silver Birch by Ortzen, Tony Friends : A Practical Guide to Understanding Relationships by McGrath, Helen; Edwards, Hazel Keys to Understanding Depression : Questions and Answers about Depression by Yapko, Michael D. Ph.D Power of the Inner Self; a Book of Healing by Garth, Maureen Five Germanys I Have Known by Stern, Fritz Our Ablest Public Servant, Sir Eyre Crowe, GCB, GCMG, KCB, KCMC, 1864-1925 by Crowe, Sibyl and Corp, Edward The Visit of the Royal Physician by Enquist, Per Olov The Philosophical Letters of Wang Yang-Ming by Ching, Julia (translated) Rosebery, Statesman in Turmoil by McKinstry, Leo In Pursuit of the Past, Decoding the Archaeological Record by Binford, Lewis R The Culture of Power and the Power of Culture, Old Regime Europe 1660-1789 by Blanning, T.C.W The Play The Ballad of the Sad Cafe by McCullers, Carson & Albee, Edward Ghosts of Yesterday, Stories by Cady, Jack The Chateaux of France by Editors of Realites-Hachette & Daniel Wheeler Djuna, The Life and Work of Djuna Barnes by Herring, Phillip The Cruise of the Janet Nichol Among the South Sea Islands by Jolly, Roslyn (ed.) Cross Currents, Magaziies and Newspapers in Australian Literature by Bennett, Bruce Old Friends and Modern Instances by Henderson, Nicholas Locos, A Comedy of Gestures by Alfau, Felipe Cannibals are Human by McLeod, Helen After the Victorians by Wilson, A. N Firestorm, Trial by Fire by Clack, Peter The English Landscape in the Twentieth Century by Rowley, Trevor A George Eliot Dictionary by Mudge, Isadore G. & Sears, M. E That Sweet Enemy, The French and the British from the Sun King to the Present by Tombs, Robert & Isabelle The Essence of TÕai Chi ChÕuan, The Literary Tradition by Benjamin Pang Jeng Lo at all (eds.) The Messia of Stockholm by Ozick, Cynthia Another Unique Species, Patterns in Human Evolutionary Ecology by Foley, Robert Georgiana, A Biography of Georgiana McCrae, Painter, Diarist, Pioneer by Niall, Brenda Landscapes of Indigenous Performance, Music, Song and Dance of the Torres Strait and Arnhem Land by Magowan, Fiona & Neuenfeldt, Karl (eds.) The Appropriation of Nature, Essays on Human Ecology and Social Relations by Ingold, Tim Hunter-Gatherer Demography, Past and Present by Meehan, Betty & White, Neville Australian Aboriginal Stone Implements by McCarthy, Frederick Indira Gandhi, Statesmen, Scholars, Scientists and Friends Remember by G. Parthasarathi, & H. Y. Sharada Prasad Necropolis, London and Its Dead by Arnold, Catharine The Penguin Book of WomenÕs Lives by Rose, Phyllis (ed.) The King of Inventors, A Life of Wilkie Collins by Peters, Catherine Summer Rain by Duras, Marguerite 303 Tactical Chess Puzzles by Wilson, Fred & Albertson, Bruce The New Oxford Book of Australian Verse by Murray, Les A. (chosen) The Red Snows by Hunt, Sir John & Brasher, Christopher The Modern Jewish Canon, A Journey Through Language and Culture by Wisse, Ruth R Underground London, Travels Beneath the City Streets by Smith, Stephen London, The Biography by Ackroyd, Peter Higgins, H. B., The Rebel as Judge by Rickard, John Things, A Story of the Sixties, A Man Asleep by Perec, Georges Joseph WinterÕs Patronage by Cole, Barry Fools of Fortune by Trevor, William Postwar, A History of Europe Since 1945 by Judt, Tony Gordon Childe, Revolutions in Archaeology by Trigger, Bruce G Encyclopedia of Mysterious Places, The Life and Legends of Ancient Sites Around the World by Ingpen, Robert & Wilkinson, Philip Alexander Hamilton by Chernow, Ron Women and Bullfighting, Gender, Sex and the Consumption of Tradition by Pink, Sarah Old Favourite Fairy Tales, Told for the Hundredth Time by Dulcken, H. W Boogaloo on 2nd Avenue, A Novel of Pastry, Guilt, and Music by Kurlansky, Mark Working at Archaeology by Binford, Lewis R Faces of Feminism by Banks, Olive London Stories, Personal Lives, Public Histories by Kean, Hilda Irian Jaya, The Timeless Domain by Campbell, Julie Desert Love by De Montherlant, Henry Talleyrand, Betrayer and Saviour of France by Harris, Robin Donald Sultan by Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago London, A Short History by Wilson, A. N The Ulysses Factor by Anderson, J. R. L Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Champion of Freedom by Black, Conrad Sisters in Suits, Women and Public Policy in Australia by Sawer, Marian No Place for a Lady, Tales of Adventurous Women Travelers by Hodgson, Barbara Indira Gandhi by Raghu Rai (photographs) & Pupul Jayakar (text) Aboriginal Suicide is Different, A Portarait of Life and Self-Destruction by Tatz, Colin The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature by Wilde, William H., Hooton, Joy, Andrews, Bary The Historical Archaeology of Britain, c.1540-1900 by Newman, Richard Turkey, A Sketch of Turkish History by Stark, Freya & Roiter, Fulvio (photofraphs) Indira Gandhi, A Profile in Lines by Ranga Nath Art + Australia: Debates, Dollars & Delusions by Anderson, Patricia Tom Paine, A Political Life by Keane, John BeardÕs Roman Women by Burgess, Anthony The Ruling Caste, Imperial Lives in the Victorian Raj by Gilmour, David Thatcher and Sons, A Revolution in Tree Acts by Jenkins, Simon Jane Austin, A Life by Nokes, David The Fountain of the Sun, Unfinished Journeys in Ethiopia and the Ruwenzori by Busk, Douglas Gemmological Instruments by Read, Peter G Five Generations of the Bignold Family, 1761-1947 by Bignold, Sir Robert The Right Nation, Conservative Power in America by Micklethwait, John & Wooldridge, Adrian The Struggle for Europe, The Turbulent History of a Divided Continent, 1945-2002 by Hitchcock, William The Lunar Men, The Friends Who Made the Future, 1730-1810 by Uglow, Jenny The Private Future, Causes and Consequences of Community Collapse in the West by Pawley, Martin Mr. Derelict by Liu Ngo Doris Lessing, A Biography by Klein, Carole Supervision of Police Personnel by Iannone, N. F The Bounty: An Ethnographic History by Dening, Greg Touched with Fire, Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament by Jamison, Kay Redfield The Absent-Minded Imperialists, Empire, Society and Culture in Britain by Porter, Bernard Charles Dickens, His Tragedy and Triumph, A Biography, 2 vols by Johnson, Edgar An Underwater Guide to HawaiÕi by Fielding, Ann & Robinson, Ed Supper with the Crippens by Smith, David James Portrait of a Jew by Memmi, Albert Memorable Dinners by Nimmo, Derek (ed.) The Walkerville Story, 150 Years by Lewis, John Changing Trains : A Century of Travel on the Sydney-Melbourne Railway by Belbin, Phil & Burke, David The Grand Old Flag, The History of the Melbourne Football Club by Carroll, Lynda Hornby Dublo Electric Trains New 2-Rail Gauge ÔOOÕ-5/8Ó by (Meccano) The Story of the Heavens by Ball, Sir Robert S Unions and Unionists in Australia by Rawson, D. W Bob & Bobette : The Texas Rangers by Vandersteen, Willy Fidelis, A Novel by Cambridge, Ada Meccano, Bayko, Hornby Trains, Circuit 24, Hornby Speedboats General Catalogue by (Meccano) Invisible Wounds : Crime Victims Speak by Neiderbach, Shelley The Hutchins School Centenary Magazine 1846-1946 by (Hutchins School) Dining A la carte by Dunkling, Leslie ÒMatchboxÓ 1966 CollectorÕs Guide International Catalogue by (Matchbox) In Defence of Aristocracy by Worsthorne, Peregrine Practical Karate 2 Defense Against an Unarmed Assailant by Nakayama, M. & Draeger, Donn F An Illustrated Dictionary of Silverware by Newman, Harold On Holidays : A History of Getting Away in Australia by White, Richard Pedal, Politics and People by Opperman, H. F Bricklaying by (Department of Labour) Collecting Meccano Dinky Toys A New and Fascinating Hobby by Truin, Ronald (comp.) CollectorsÕ Catalogue 1965 International Edition by (Matchbox) Richard Egan-LeeÕs Police News by Cannon, Michael (ed.) Wild in Woods : The Myth of the Noble Eco-Savage by Whelan, Robert Better Than Pommard ! A History of Wine in Victoria by Dunstan, David The Menzies Lectures, 1978-1998 by Gregory, Alan (ed.) One Lady, Two Cats by Lockridge, Richard Just Tell Them I Survived : Women in Antarctica by Burns, Robin The Story of the British Coinage by Rawlings, Gertrude Burford Firefly : Noel Coward in Jamaica by Salewicz, Chris & Boot, Adrian The Aboriginal Gift, Spirituality for a Nation by Stockton, Eugene Mahy Magic, A Collection of the Magical Stories from the Margaret Mahy Story Books by Mahy, Margaret Beyond Deconstruction, The Uses and Abuses of Literary Theory by Felperin, Howard Paradise of Quacks, An Alternative History of Medicine in Australia by Martyr, Philippa A Time of Gifts : On Foot to Constantinople : from the Hook of Holland to the Middle Danube by Fermor, Patrick Leigh Sallust Florus and Velleius Paterculus by Watson, Rev. John Selby Melbournes Marvellous Trams by Budd, Dale & Wilson, Randall Best Karate 2 Fundamentals by Nakayama, M Hornby Dublo Electric Trains by (Meccano) Trix Twin Railway Instruction Book D.C by (Trix) The Terror, Civil War in the French Revolution by Andress, David Pang Tao (Flat Peaches) Eight Fairies Festival, A Festival held on the 3rd, of the 3rd. Lunar Month in Honor of the Goddess Hai-Wang-Mu by Dinky Toys 1951-1958, Masterpieces in Miniature by Stanford, Tony Trix Twin Railway Designed for Action by (Trix) Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen by Uvezian, Sonia Memoirs of a Mendicant Professor by Enright, D. J Zealots for Zion : Inside IsraelÕs West Bank Settlement Movement by Friedman, Robert I Cambridge Latin Grammar by Griffin, R. M Tombs, Graves & Mummies : 50 Discoveries in World Archeology by Bahn, Paul G. (ed.) Chosen : The Jews in Australia by Rubinstein, Hilary H. P. Lovecraft, Against the World, Against Life by Houellebecq, Michel Hamleys Toys of Quality Catalogue, Meccano, Hornby-Dublo, Dinky Toys, Hornby Trains by (Hamleys) Buses of the Garden, A Pictorial View of Private Buses in Victoria by Tilley, Bruce John RamsayÕs Model Price Review, The Toymarket Price Guide by Ramsay, John (ed.) The Years of Scandal : Commissions of Inquiry in Western Australia 1991-2004 by Peachment, Allan (ed.) A Daily Prayer Book by Tenzin Pemba (preface) Boite 9 : Meccano Manuel DÕInstructions by (Meccano) Suite Venitienne & Please Follow Me by Calle, Sophie & Baudrillard, Jean Lawrence Daws, Asylum in Eden by Bruce, Candice La Vie en Bleu, France and the French since 1900 by Kedward, Rod WolffÕs Guide to the London Metal Exchange by (Rudolf Wolff & Co.) Sassoon, The Worlds of Philip and Sybil by Stansky, Peter Industrial Buildings : The Architectural Record of a Decade by Reid, Kenneth (comp.) LibaniusÕ Autobiography (Oration I) The Greek Text by Norman, A. F. (ed.) The Conscious Ear, My Life of Transformation Through Listening by Tomatis, Alfred A Translating Lives : Living with Two Languages and Cultures by Besemeres, Mary & Wierzbicka, Anna Ezy-Bilt, the Master Toy: Instruction Book for Sets 1-5 by (Ezy-Bilt) The FishermanÕs Fireside Book by Gammon, Clive The Guinness Drinking Companion by Dunkling, Leslie Maserati Bora & Merak, V8 & V6 Giugiaro Designed, Mid-Engined GT by Norbye, Jan P Murder in Amsterdam : The Death of Theo van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance by Buruma, Ian Fighters and Singers : The Lives of Some Australian Aboriginal Women by White, Isobel The Colour of Wine by Judd, Kevin Australian Terrestrial Orchids by Woolcock, Collin & Dorothy Francis De Groot : Irish Fascist, Australian Legend by Moore, Andrew Dawn of the Promised Land, The Creation of Israel by Wicks, Ben CollectorsÕ Catalogue 1983/84 by (Matchbox) Equity in the Classroom : Towards Effective Pedagogy for Girls and Boys by Murphy, Patricia F. & Gipps, Caroline V. (eds.) Hungarian Cuisine, A Complete Cookery Course by Venesz, J The Conservative Party, The First 150 Years by Moore, Sheila Online Therapy : A TherapistÕs Guide to Expanding Your Practice by Derrig-Palumbo, Kathleene & Zeine, Foojan Internationale Angelgerate : Preiskatalog A-9-58 by Catalogue : Hans Balzer CollectorsÕ Catalogue 1965 International Edition by (Dinky Toys) Gears Set Instructions by (Meccano) Borderline : AustraliaÕs Treatment of Refugees and Asylum Seekers by Mares, Peter Tilman Riemenschneider by Sello, Gottfried Women, Hormones & the Menstrual Cycle : Herbal and Medical Solutions from Adolescence to Menopause by Trickey, Ruth The Reluctant Cook by Fearon, Ethelind Sounding the Alarm, Remote Area Nurses and Aboriginals at Risk by Cramer, Jennifer Who Gets to Stay : Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Unauthorised Arrivals in Australia by Rod, Tess & Brunton, Ron Culture and Society in New Order Indonesia by Hooker, Virginia Matheson (ed.) Genetic Evolution by Chai, Chen Kang Boite 7 : Meccano Manuel DÕInstructions by (Meccano) Heads I Win by Watson, Jeffrey, Thomas, Don & Bennett, Jack OneÕs Company, A Journey to China by Fleming, Peter Marklin 800 Instructions for the Electric Miniature Railways Gauge ÒOOÓ Locomotives with ÒPerfectÓ Reverse & Trains with Overhead Pickup by (Marklin) A History of Modern Palestine, One Land, Two Peoples by Pappe, Ilan Revelation of Childbirth : The Principles and Practice of Natural Childbirth by Read, Grantly Dick Dinky Toys 1941-1950, The Favourite Collecting Hobby by Stanford, Tony A Bibliography of Australian Railway and Tramway Literature by Quinlan, Howard (comp.) Lindy Chamberlain Revisited : A 25th Anniversary Retrospective by Howe, Adrian The Coast of Incense : Autobiography 1933-1939 by Stark, Freya Bob & Bobette : The Plunderers by Vandersteen, Willy The Jews, History, Memory, and the Present by Vidal-Naquet, Pierre Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd by (Moosewood) Colin SpencerÕs Vegetable Book by Spencer, Colin Glory and Terror : Seven Deaths Under the French Revolution by De Baecque, Antoine War Paint : Miss Elizabeth Arden and Madame Helena Rubinstein, Their Lives, Their Times, Their Rivalry by Woodhead, Lindy No Signposts in the Sea by Sackville-West, Vita Tri-ang Minic Ships Catalogue 1:1200 Scale Diecast Waterline Models by (Triang) State Secrets : A Documentation of the Secret Revolutionary Mainspring Governing Anglo-American Politics by de Poncins, Count Leon Australian Etiquette, or Rules and Usages of the Best Society in the Australian Colonies...their Sports, Pastimes, Games,Amusements by Hong Kong Herbs and Vines by Thrower, Dr. S. L The Voice of Memory, Interviews 1961-1987, Primo Levi by (Levi, Primo) Belpoliti, Marco (ed.) Where Australians Fought : The Encyclopaedia of AustraliaÕs Battles by Coulthard-Clark, Chris The Anzac Story by Miles, T. A Wings of Gold, How the Aeroplane Developed New Guinea by Sinclair, James Kill the Tiger, The Truth about Operation Rimau by Thompson, Peter The Few, Summer 1940, The Battle of Britain by Kaplan, Philip & Collier, Richard The Great Mutiny : India 1857 by Hibbert, Christopher Life at War by Donovan, Hedley (ed.), Life At War Glencoe, The Story of the Massacre by Prebble, John RussiaÕs War by Overy, Richard Alert in the West by Heilmann, Willi Wartime, Britain 1939-1945 by Gardiner, Juliet R. A. F. Middle East, The Official Story of Air Operations in the Middle East, from February 1942 to January 1943 by (H.M.S.O.) Desert Warriors, Australian P-40 Pilots at War in the Middle East and North Africa 1941-1943 by Brown, Russell Up North in Forty-three by Medew, Norman Letters from an Anzac Gunner by Lyall, K. M. (comp. & ed.) BeauÕs, Butchers & Boomerangs, Mareeba, The History of a WWII Airfield, 1942-1945 by Waters, Damian The Great World War 1914-45 Volume 1 Lightning Strikes Twice by Bourne, John, Liddle, Peter & Whitehead, Ian (eds.) Desert Squadron by Houart, Victor The A.I.F. in France 1916 by Bean, C. E. W The Seawatchers, The Story of AustraliaÕs Coast Radio Service by Durrant, Lawrence Warrior of Kokoda, A Biography of Brigadier Arnold Potts by Edgar, Bill The Steel Bonnets, The Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers by Fraser, George Macdonald France in Defeat by Philip, Percy J Okinawa 1945, Final Assault on the Empire by Foster, Simon The First World War by Howard, Michael Yanks and Aussies in Battle by Thomas, W. J Ginger Lacey Fighter Pilot by Bickers, Richard Townsend Battle of the Ridges by Dept. of the Army Action Stations Coral Sea, The Australian CommanderÕs Story by Coulthard-Clark, Chris London 1945, Life in the Debris of War by Waller, Maureen Letting Fly, Deborah Wardley AustraliaÕs Trail-blazing Pilot by McKenna, Elaine & Lawrie, Deborah Mountain Rescue, Traing Handbook for Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Teams by (HMSO) RAAF Camouflage and Markings 1939-45 2 Vols by Pentland, Geoffrey Victoria Cross, AustraliaÕs Finest and the Battles They Fought by Staunton, Anthony The Battle of Wau by Dept. of the Army The Scaremongers, The Advocacy of War & Rearmament 1896-1914 by Morris, A. J. A The Western Front Part 1: Drawings by Muirhead Bone by Bone, Muirhead Seven Centuries of Sea Travel, From the Crusaders to the Cruises by Bathe, Basil W Samurai ! by Sakai, Saburo Cassino, Portrait of a Battle by Majdalany, Fred Gallipoli : A Battlefield Guide by Taylor, Phil & Cupper, Pam The Years Of Macarthur, Vol II :1941-1945 by James, D. Clayton D-Day, The Air Battle by Delve, Ken Stories of the RAAF POWs of Lamsdorf including Chronicles of their 500 Mile Trek by Holliday, J. E. (ed.) A Call to Arms, War Service with the RAAF, 1942-1946 by Gately, Arthur Six Aces, Australian Fighter Pilots 1939-45 by Mcaulay, Lex Swastika in the Air, The Struggle and Defeat of the German Air Force by Bartz, Karl The Things They Carried by OÕBrien, Tim Honshu by Kuwahara, Yasou & Allred, Gordon T Kitchener, comprising, The Road to Omdurman and Saviour of the Nation by Pollock, John The Decisive Factor, 75 & 76 Squadrons- Port Moresby & Milne Bay 1942 by Wilson, David Prisoner of the Turnip Heads, The Fall of Hong Kong and Imprisonment by the Japanese by Wright-Nooth, George Townsville at War, A Soldier Remembers by Jaffa, Herbert C Anatomy of a Coup, The Sinister Intrigue behind the Dismissal by Foley, Stephen & Wilson, Marshall With the Dinkums No. 1 by Knowles, Private Fred It Had to B. U., The Life Story of 80 Squadron RAAF by Harding, James H. (comp.) Classic Fighter & Bombers of World War II by (Aerodata A Life in Secrets, The Story of Vera Atkins and the Lost Agents of SOE by Helm, Sarah The Forgotten War, Australian Involvement in South African Conflict 1899-1902 by Field, L. M VictoriaÕs Wars, The Rise of Empire by David, Saul Japan at War, An Oral History by Cook, H. T. & T. F Folk Tales of the Fuzzy Wuzzies by Hamilton, Bruce Behind Bamboo, Hell on the Burma Railway by Rivett, Rohan C Until a Dead Horse Kicks You, The Story of an Ordinary Hero, Alec Griffiths 1900-1995 by Crack, Robert Seek and Strike, 75 Squadron RAAF, 1942-2002 by Wilson, David J The History of the Fourteenth Battalion, A. I. F by Wanliss, Newton The Normandy Battles by Carruthers, Bob & Trew, Simon The Odd Couple, Blamey and MacArthur at War by Gallaway, Jack The Luck of the Draw, Horses, Spitfire and Kittyhawks by Sly, Edward ÔTedÕ StalinÕs British Victims by Beckett, Francis St. Petersburg, The First Three Centuries by George, Arthur & Elena The Ratcatcher by Tsvetaeva, Marina Karl Marx: Economy, Class and Social Revolution by Jordan, Z. A. (ed.) From a Russian Diary, 1917-1920 by an Englishwoman by (Anonymous) A Short History of Modern Russia by Freeborn, Richard Discovering the Moscow Countryside : A Travel Guide to the Heart of Russia by Murrell, Kathleen Berton Gennady Aygi, Selected Poems, 1954-94 by France, Peter (ed.) Essays in the Political Economy of Australian Capitalism, vol. 5 by Wheelwright, E. L & Buckley, Ken (eds.) Russia in the Age of Catherine the Great by De Madariaga, Isabel Spiritual Counsels of Father John of Kronstadt by Grisbrooke, W. Jardine (ed.) Gathering Clouds, A Novel by Petrescu, Cezar In Silence I Speak by Shuster, George N Ivan the Terrible by Neuberger, Joan Nikita Mikhalkov by Beumers, Birgit The Death of a Poet, The Last Days of Marina Tsvetaeva by Kudrova, Irma Readings in the Swedish Class Structure by Scase, Richard (ed.) Milosevic, The PeopleÕs Tyrant by Stevanovic, Vidosav High Treason by Sakharov Tatiana, Full Circle in a Shifting Europe by Metternich, Tatiana Power: A Radical View by Lukes, Steven Kampuchea, Politics, Economics and Society by Vickery, Michael Portrait of Albania by Rock Around the Bloc, A History of Rock Music in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union by Ryback, Timothy W A Carnival of Revolution, Central Europe 1989 by Kenney, Padraic Tito, A Biography by Auty, Phyllis Eastern Europe, Gorbachev, and Reform by Dawisha, Karen How Russia Shaped the Modern World, From Art to Anti-Semitism, Ballet to Bolshevism by Marks. Steven G The Soviet Colossus, A History of the USSR by Kort, Michael Chasing the Sea by Bissell, Tom Problems of Reflexivity and Dialectics in Sociological Inquiry, Language Theorizing Difference by Sandywell, Barry at al Because Deserters Are Immortal by Kaczurowsky, Igor The Gate of Heavenly Peace, The Chinese and Their Revolution, 1895-1980 by Spence, Jonathan D Sale of Century, The Inside Storyof the Second Russian Revolution by Freeland, Chrystia The Aquariums of Pyongyang, Ten Years in a North Korean Gulag by Kang Chol-hwan & Rigoulot, Pierre Essays in the Political Economy of Australian Capitalism, vol.4 by Wheelwright, E. L & Buckley, Ken (eds.) The Inseparable Twins by Pristavkin, Anatoly Mao Tse-Tung Poems by (Mao Tse-Tung) Class, Inequality and the State by Jamrozik, Adam Burn This House, The Making and Unmaking of Yugoslavia by Udovicki, Jasminka & Ridgeway, James (eds.) To Phoenix Seat by Marchant, Leslie R Once a Grand Duchess, Xenia Sister of Nicholas II by Van Der Kiste, John & Hall, Coryne Varieties of Transition, The Last European and East German Experience by Offe, Claus Palmistry: Your Fate and Fortune in Your Hand by King, Francis Bridgmans Life Drawing by Bridgman, George B Model Yacht Construction and Sailing by Bowden, C.E 16 Distinctive Designers by Beresford, Sarah (Editor) A Star Atlas, and Reference Handbook by Norton, Arthur P. & Inglis, J. Gall Woodturning in Pictures by Boulter, Bruce Basic Woodworking Techniques by Burrows, Dick The Step-by-Step Guide to Growing and Displaying Roses by Mattock, John; McHoy, Peter; Newdick, Jane Australian Men of Mark. Illustrated with Authentic Portraits by [Australian Men of Mark] The Collins Encyclopedia Of Military History From 3500BC to the present by Dupuy R Ernest And Trevor Music Of The Scottish Regiments by Murray David The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Military Insignia Of The 20th Century A comprehensive A - Z guide to the badges, patches and embelishments of the world's armed forces by Rosignoli, Guido Seven Pillars Of Wisdom. A Triumph by Lawrence, T. E Badges and Insignia of World War II. Air Force, Naval, Marine by ROSIGNOLI, Guido In The Finest Tradition The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, It's History and Treasures by Wood Steven Anglers' Digest. Vol. 1 No. 1 - Vol. 2 No. 2, Sept. 1950 to April 1951 Total of 8 consecutive issues by Hungerford, R. B. (editor) A Military History Of Ireland by Bartlett, Thomas And Jeffery Keith The Collins Encyclopedia Of Military History From 3500 BC to the present day by Dupuy R Earnest And Dupuy Trevor Scotish Military Dress by Cochrane Peter Eye-Deep in Hell. Trench Warfare in World War 1 by Ellis, John The Scottish Regiments 1633-1996 by Mileham, Patrick Sir Joseph Banks. The "Father of Australia" by MAIDEN, J. H The International Gallery A collection of one hundred select works by ancient and modern masters by KOLSTOI, Casimir Stephen St Pauls Cathedral In Wartime by Matthews W R Iillustrated History Of The British Army by Chandler, David (editor) Highland Soldier A social study of the highland regiments 1820 - 1920 by Henderson, Diana M In Search Of Moby Dick Quest for the White Whale by Severin, Tim The Uniforms And History Of The Scottish Regiments 1625 to present day Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, etc by Barnes, Major R. M Command From Alexander the Great to Zhukov the Greatest Commanders of World History by Lucas, James (editor) The Death Ship by Traven B The Pallisers: The Eustace Diamonds by Trollope Anthonry The Pallisers: Phineas Finn by Trollope Anthonry The Clansman by Tranter Nigel An Improbable Life. Volume I of Her Autobiography by Roland Betty The Language of Threads by Tsukiyama Gail The Same Door by Updike John Can You Forgive Her? by Trollope Anthonry 1876 by Vidal Gore Sightings by Trott Susan Toby's Lie by Vilmure Daniel Thurber Country by Thurber James S by Updike John Memoirs of an Anti-Semite by Von Rezzori Gregor The Pallisers: The Prime Minister by Trollope Anthonry Messiah by Vidal Gore The Carreta by Traven B Safe House by Vachss Andrew The House By the Medlar Tree by Verga Giovanni The Last Chronicle of Barset by Trollope Anthonry, Gill Stephen, Editor Dr Thorne by Trollope Anthonry Is Sex Necessary? by Thurber James, White E.B Assorted Prose by Updike John

George Ella Lyon: Autobiography Feature school book mother Years ago I wrote a picture book about where I'm from. Called Mountain * Bowl * Honeycomb, it was accepted for publication and two illustrators did sample pictures, but in the end my editor decided the problem was that it wasn't illustratable. It wasn't a picture book, but a poem. Here it is: I was born in a bowl of mountains. Clouds filled it sometimes. But that isn't all. I was born where three green creeks come together to make a river— at the headwaters, they say— right in the bowl of the mountains. But there's more to it than that. I was born in a corner of Kentucky so close to Tennessee so hard up against Virginia you could navigate one corkscrew curve and be in three states at once. But there is something deeper. That bowl where I was born— inside its green rim were great seams of coal with names, just like the mountains. And miners, every daybreak, rode down into dark with lamps on their caps. In a honeycomb of tunnels they dug and cut the coal, then hauled it up into light.. Growing up in the mountains of Kentucky has been a shaping force in my life, second only to the power of family. Not only my parents and brother but all four of my grandparents lived in Harlan. Our lives were woven together, and their stories, their spirits were a big part of my growing up. My mother's father, J. D. Fowler (Papa Dave), was a lumberman and had moved his family of wife and six children first from east Tennessee and then all over eastern Kentucky, wherever there was a boundary of timber to cut. ABCedar: An Alphabet of Trees is for him. The author as a child, with brother Robert, 1950 Mother's mother, Ruby Lane Fowler (Granny Buby), was born in Arkansas and raised in Louisiana and Mississippi. A southern lady, she was adamant that her children were not mountaineers, regardless of where they were born and raised. This created a bit of a strain, I think, since they were told not to be of the place they were from. She worked on her granddaughters, too, giving us lady lessons: how to examine your finger-nails, for instance, or check the heel of your shoe. After one of these sessions, I remember my cousin Susan saying, "Well, if I have to be a lady, I'm going to be a tough one." Granny Buby was witty, pretty, hot-tempered, smart, and resilient. Basket is her story. My father's father, Robert Hoskins, Sr., was a house builder. Early on he had worked in the coal mines but Family portrait, 1956. Top row: Aunt Ella, Uncle Herman, cousin David, Grandma and Grandpa Fowler. Bottom row: mother, George Ella, cousin Susan, brother Robert hated it and took a job building houses for miners instead. He built the house I grew up in and many others in the neighborhood. He built the apartment building he and my grandmother lived in which also included Daddy's business, Nu-Way Cleaners. I've heard it said that Papaw's only contract was a handshake and that he could finish a house with nothing left over but sawdust and a handful of nails. And he was known for fine craftsmanship. In my play, Braids, the character based on Papaw says: You take Mother's kitchen now. It's not big. It's not fancy. But every corner is square, every inch level. I cut that black linoleum myself—she says a floor's always black anyhow, might as well start out that way—and I measured and cut that red strip that separates the marbleized from the solid black border. I figure if Mother wants black, that's fine, but a little thread of color won't hurt us. And that round breakfas booth. I built it just to fit under the window, built it in sections for moving and cleaning and such. Covered it myself with that dark red leatherette, only time I've ever done upholstery work. And there's never been a rip or a split or a corkscrew pin coming out. We've eaten many a meal there, Mother and me. And Luther, too, sometimes with Glenna and the kids. That's what I like is work a family crowds into. Make it to last, I say. There's little enough that will (appeared in Mossy Creek Reader, 1985). That breakfast booth is in my basement today, and my teenage son and his friends crowd into it, eating pizza, playing cards. Seeing them connects me with my childhood and connects my son with the great-grandfather he never knew. This gives me a great deal of joy. Papaw also gave me a wonderful story from his childhood, which I retold as A Regular Rolling Noah. His neighbors on Hance's Creek were moving to Canada to homestead, taking farm implements, animals, everything, Papaw said, "but the little pasture gate," and they hired him to ride in a boxcar and look after the animals. It was his first trip out of the mountains. In fact, until then, he'd thought the whole world was mountains. This revelation of landscape was quite a shock. As he says in my picture book, "Sky right down to your ankles./ Big wind might blow you away" (Bradbury Press, 1986). Like Papa Dave, Papaw had had to quit school early to help support the family, yet both men became experts in complex trades. Just think of the math required to build a house or figure out how much lumber you could get from a stand of trees! Obviously, my grandfathers apprenticed and learned on the job. Papaw also kept a journal, one volume of which has come to me, and he wrote the most tender, courtly love letters to my grandmother. Josephine Wilder Hoskins, called Jo, was a puzzle. Always sweet to me, she could be hard to get along with in the larger family. Still I loved her and the music of her talk. Once she said she felt "blue as a fish hook." If she was sick she might say, "I feel like a stewed witch" or like "the hind end of bad luck." And she had lots of kinfolks down on Brownie's Creek whom I knew only by stories and by their fabulous names: Honey-Eating Richard, Pie-Belly Miracle, Sho-Enough Lee, Old Aunt Martha Money. It was Jo who said, "It'll come a tide," when the Cumberland River rose, but she didn't resemble Stephen Gammell's illustrations of the book by that name. Jo was meticulous. She loved fine clothes, pretty things, and dessert. Like Granny Buby, she was a good cook and a spotless housekeeper, but she complained about the drudgery of it. In fact, she once gave it up for two years, persuading Papaw to sell their house and move them to a hotel. This was before I was born. Papaw, Jo, and Granny Buby each lost a parent when they were small, and I'm sure this affected not only them, but their children and grandchildren. Stories are where we come from, whether we ever hear them or not, and I'm blessed to have lived close to my grandparents and to have some sense of the stories that shaped us all. While my mother, Gladys Marion Fowler, was one of six (actually seven; a baby died), my father, Robert Hoskins, Jr., was an only child. Mother lived in many places and went to thirteen schools before graduating, but Daddy lived in only two, and those in the same county. When they met at Harlan High, they didn't date but they must have noticed each other, because Mother wrote a flip remark in Daddy's yearbook. (Later she would be voted wittiest in her class.) Daddy was older and started medical school the year Mother went away to Berea College. His roommate at Tulane turned out to be a friend of hers, and when he wrote to her, Daddy would add a P. S. After all, they went to the same high school. Little did they know that those jokey sentences were laying the groundwork for the rest of their lives. Some sad, hard things led to my parents' wonderful marriage, a testimony to how the pain and joy, the loss and fulfillment of our lives are braided. Daddy was a great student. The first in his family to finish high school, much less college, he'd gotten through in record time. But he began having trouble with the lab work in med school. He couldn't see through the microscopes. He couldn't draw from the slides he couldn't see. For a while, despite terrible headaches, he kept trying. Then he had his eyes examined. It turned out that he had a vision problem which made microscope work impossible and, while there was surgery to correct it, the operation was expensive and risky: the odds that it would work balanced the odds that he would go blind. So Daddy took a leave from school and came back to Harlan. While earning money for surgery, he would consider whether it was worth the risk. Since he knew chemistry, he got a job as a spotter for a dry cleaner. Around this same time, tragedy struck my mother's family. Coming home from a school dance, her youngest sister was killed in a car wreck. Mother decided to stay home a semester to help her family. To make ends meet, she got a job at the eye doctor's. Does this sound like a plot where the couple is fated to meet? Probably my parents would have found each other anyway, having both landed back in Harlan, their plans interrupted. But Daddy having an eye condition and Mother working for the eye doctor—well, they couldn't miss each other. In a year and a half they were married, and six months later Pearl Harbor brought us into World War II. Another eight months and my brother, Robert III, was born. College days were over for both of them. Daddy continued as a dry cleaner and Mother became a stay-at-home mom. But she was always involved in community affairs: the Heart Fund, the March of Dimes, PTA, and later Girl Scouts. When Robert was finishing first grade, I arrived. He was an attentive older brother, though I've been told he said he'd rather have a new Ford. This was the four of us. Our family was complete. Robert was too much older than me to be a playmate. Instead, he was the path maker, reporting back from the wilds of school, the discipline of piano lessons, the intriguing world of Scouts. He walked me to my first grade classroom and also took me to the first college class I ever experienced, a graduate literature course he and my sister-in-law were taking. As long as I can remember, I have loved books. It's no wonder, since I grew up in a family of readers. When my parents planned the house my grandfather built for them, they sketched in a room over the garage for a library. Bookshelves lined one wall and I remember building mazes with Oxford Classics before I could read. When I was little I had Robert's copies of Mother Goose and Bible stories, The Tall Book of Fairy Tales, which he gave me, and Little Golden Books from the grocery. When I got to school, I was thrilled with our reading books and the circle of blue, red, and yellow bow-backed chairs that Mrs. Lay called us to for reading group. Second grade school picture, 1956 I was a good reader, though I had an odd habit of reading "See Spot run," or whatever lines she gave me, aloud twice. Mrs. Lay told me not to do this, and eventually I stopped. Not until I was in fifth grade did I discover why I had done it. I read everything twice because I saw it twice. Like Daddy, I had double vision, so I saw numbers and people, blackboards and furniture, mountains and coat hooks twice, too. On the IQ test, where you were supposed to connect the two that matched or circle the one which didn't belong, I had too many to choose from. My score was impressively low. When I was thirteen, I had eye surgery to correct my double vision and ever since then, unless I'm really tired, I see only one. Here's part of a poem I wrote about that early experience: When my turn came to read the teacher had to tell me Once please, just once. Not See Spot run see Spot, not See See Spot Spot run. I thought the lesson was to censor— name the real, suppress the shadow. With chairs and fish and books I learned to wade my thick world mumbling only half of what I knew. In her essay "Still Just Writing," novelist Anne Tyler tells us, "I know a poet who says that in order to be a writer, you have to have had rheumatic fever in your childhood. I've never had rheumatic fever, but I believe that any kind of setting-apart experience will do as well" (from The Writer on Her Work, ed. Janet Sternberg, vol. 1, Norton, 1980, pp. 3-16). For her it was growing up in a commune and then emerging into the regular world. For me it was having double vision. I suppose this problem could have made me dislike reading, but I loved stories and poems so much that I was ready to do what was necessary to learn to read myself. Besides, I didn't know it was especially challenging for me. I thought the other six-year-olds gathered in those colorful chairs saw the same double lines I did. Somehow they just knew to read only one. It's worth noting that Richard Jackson, my editor, and Peter Catalanotto, the illustrator with whom I've worked the most, are both dyslexic. Reading and writing didn't come easy to them either, yet the magic won us over. Vision problems were hard, but they gave us something, too. Here we are, spending our lives making books. If I close my eyes, I can return to some of that early magic. I am in the fourth grade. A cardboard box, sealed with tape, scuffed at the corners, rests on the teacher's desk. Kids crowd around, begging, "Open it now! Please . . ." Is there candy inside? Computer gear? Video games? No, the Queen of England is in there, along with a time machine, a dragon, Black Beauty, and an Olympic ice skater. Our book club order has arrived! I remember the smell of these new paperbacks: clean, slick, tangy, fuzzed with paper dust. I remember their perfect covers—smooth and shiny with promise. I remember feeling wealthy: this was mine to explore, to love, to leave and come back to. I still feel that way carrying home a new book. Loyall Elementary School didn't have a library. So the books inside that box were the only ones we got to choose and take home. Most teachers did have a small collection of books on shelves at the back of the room, and when you were finished with your seat work, as we called it, you could pick a book to read at your desk. That's how I found King and the Princess in third grade. I loved Jack O'Brien's story of fierce friendship between an Irish setter puppy and a black kitten who live in a hunting cabin in the Northwest. It's full of drama. Princess gets her leg caught in a trap and it has to be amputated. Then a forest fire drives the people away and King figures out how to save his pal. With parents and brother Robert at Coney Island in Cincinnati, 1958 In fact, I loved this book so much that when school ended I couldn't bear to leave it behind. The logical thing would have been to ask the teacher if I could borrow King and the Princess over the summer, but I was afraid. What if she said no? What if she was still mad because of the time J. J. and I sailed tomato slices across the classroom during lunch? We had had to stay in at recess every day for a week. What if she thought a girl who threw food wouldn't take care of a book? I worried and worried about this. By the time the last day of school came, my stomach was in knots and I took the book without asking. I told myself I was borrowing, not stealing, the book. I was going to bring it back. But I knew that taking things was wrong. So all summer, every time I got out my treasure, I felt sick. The joy and comfort I had thought it would bring me drained away in guilt. Eventually I couldn't wait for school to start so I could take it back and get rid of that feeling. It was a good lesson. Still, I sympathize with my nine-year-old self, so passionate about a book that she didn't think she could live without it. If you look at the little girl on the cover of BOOK (illustrated by Peter Catalanotto), you'll see that she expresses the feelings I had about King and the Princess. She's hugging her book with her whole heart: Book Boon companion Field Treasure May it hold you May it set you free. As a high-school senior, 1967 In fourth grade my class was still in the big building which also housed the high school. In fifth grade, however, we moved out to the quonset-hut classroom heated by the pot-belly stove I describe in Mountain * Bowl * Honeycomb. One time this cast-iron wonder overheated and turned a deep, dangerous red so that we had to leave. Snow was swirling around the gravel-covered playground as we crossed to our refuge with the third grade in a newer building. Fifth grade was a momentous year for other reasons: I was in two plays, the first in which I portrayed Martha Washington in a skirt made of gathered layers of pale blue and white crepe paper basted to my mother's half-slip and a wig of cotton balls glued to a pair of panties with the legs sewn shut; the second in which I was a snowman whose only job was to melt. There was some inner structure to my costume which I had to surreptitiously unhook or untie in order to achieve this transformation. Then there was playing 45-rpm records during recess ("Breaking Up is Hard To-oo-o Do") and dancing. With boys. More or less. And trying to collect enough points from potato chip bags so my best friend Jan could be a contestant for Halloween princess. This involved not only saving our own lunch trash but scouring the dark oiled floor of Dugger's Store right before the bell rang every lunch time and picking up other people's trash. We couldn't take bags out of the garbage barrel, ripe as it was with half-eaten fried bologna sandwiches (Dugger's specialty, ten cents each). But the big event in fifth grade erupted when our first-year teacher received the results of our IQ tests and read them aloud to the class. I kid you not. Pandemonium! Yelling matches! Fist fights on the cinder pile behind the quonset hut and Jan refusing to speak to me because her IQ was higher than mine. What sense does that make? Her outrage grew from the fact that I did better in school than she did. "But Monk"—that's what I called her, short for Monkey—"I do my homework." This truth did not soothe her one bit, perhaps because it suggested that she should do her homework. Anyway, she got over it, but the whole class was thorny and nervous the rest of the year. What was this magic number, this I and this Q that had such power? It was promise, in the grown-ups' eyes. It was class. It was who you might be. Below average and you had a ticket to the trash heap. Above average and teachers got excited but you might as well pin a target to your back as far as other kids were concerned. Average is both disappointing and reassuring. There is no good outcome when you read a class their IQs. Luckily, that labeling eventually faded from our consciousness. We had other things to think about. We were growing up! I was learning to play the flute in the junior band but what I really loved was singing. The confluence of music and words, story and breath still thrills me and I keep my guitar just a few steps from my desk. This love of singing comes in part from my father who sang to me—mostly ballads and popular songs and mostly in the car—and who played records and tapes of everything from Hank Williams and Broadway show tunes to circus music and symphonies. Our house had seven radios so there was a lot of music and talk pulled in from the airwaves as well. Before I could read, when we went on long car trips—which we did every summer, to California, New England, Canada, Michigan, Florida—I sat in the back-seat and sang. Or, if we drove through the night and I slept on the ledge under the rear window, I would sing myself to sleep, gazing at the stars. The family joked that I could sing all the way to Knoxville, Tennessee, which was two hours away, without repeating a song. Knoxville is where we went every Saturday so I could spend an hour at the ophthalmologist's office doing exercises that would strengthen my eye muscles in preparation for surgery. Finally, in eighth grade, I had the promised surgery. For two weeks afterward my eyes were bandaged, and I lived through that dark by imagining the thrill of seeing only one like everybody else. Nobody told me—how could they know?—that this wouldn't be all wonderful, that at first I'd feel strange and lonely in a world where half of everything had disappeared. Not too long after my vision repair, I fell in love with the first album of a folk group called Peter, Paul, and Mary. I was captivated by the clear beauty of their George Ella and Steve as newlyweds, Bloomington, Indiana style and the passion of their lyrics. These weren't the self-focused, romantic-love-driven songs of the radio. These were songs of struggle, calls for justice as well as cries of love. Within a few months of hearing them, I was listening to Joan Baez and Pete Seeger, too, and had traded my flute and ten dollars for a guitar. Since I'd had years of piano lessons, it wasn't hard to teach myself basic chords and a little finger-picking. Soon I was writing songs and performing in a duo with my friend Joanie and in a quartet as well. Our repertoire included "500 Miles," "The Cruel War," "This Land Is Your Land," and "Blowin' in the Wind," along with songs I had written. To be in touch with the national folksinging scene, I subscribed to the magazine Sing Out!, and it was there I learned about Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, the Weavers, and others whose work had made a way for the music I had discovered. I also read about current singers—Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, Buffy St. Marie, Phil Ochs, Odetta: these were my heroes. The magazine published their songs along with much older ones, so readers could learn to play them; some issues even included a small floppy vinyl record—it was square!—which I could spin on the hi-fi in my room and feel connected with Bleecker Street and the Bitter End, coffee houses and antiwar protests all over the country. It was 1965. Song-writers were singing directly into history and I loved it. But it wasn't only song writing which Sing Out! nurtured in me. My second publication was in their guest column, "We Never Wanted It to Stop." The guidelines were to capture a powerful but casual musical experience—not a performance. I wrote about when my cousin and I were trapped at a bus station in a summer rainstorm and, since I had my guitar—I always had my guitar in those days—we sat on a luggage cart outside under the bus shed and sang. Pretty soon folks gathered, to listen and then to join in. The harder it rained, the closer we gathered, and the louder we sang. "It was the loveliest storm I was ever in," I wrote. "Music crosses barriers that nothing else can." Another gift Sing Out! gave me was international friendship. Through the "Correspondents Wanted" column I began writing to a fireman in England, a college student in Ireland, and a dentist in Switzerland. All were interested in folk music, and Niall in Dublin was passionate about poetry and politics as well. His grandfather, Donagh McDonagh, a poet and one of the leaders of the Easter Rebellion in 1916, was executed after it failed, and was commemorated in W.B. Yeats' poem, "Easter 1916." In addition to songs, Niall copied out many of his grandfather's poems for me on onionskin airmail paper. (This was before Xerox, much less e-mail.) I still have them. We also exchanged tapes of our favorite groups and of our own music. Niall taught me a lot about Irish history and music and gave me a different perspective on tumultuous events unfolding at home: assassinations, war protests, Civil Rights marches, and the escalation of the Vietnam War. Then there was Max Eberhard, a medecin-dentiste from Lausanne whose request for the words, music, and guitar chords for "Lemon Tree" appeared in April-May 1966. In his initial letter, Max told me that he hadn't wanted a correspondent; he thought the editors could send him the song, but since I had replied, he'd love to write to me. And write he did! In a most energetic, expressive, and unconventional English, which was his fourth language. He wrote not only about music (he was a great singer and attempted to give me lessons via the mail) but also about the differences between American and European character, about the struggles of the youth culture, even about cultural geography. In his first letter in August, 1966, he brought up a subject I would be very much involved in later: Appalachian Studies. what do you call an "mountain" dulcimer? Anyway, this expression of "mountain" comes very often in american folk music. what does mean, for instance, "smoky mountain?" Why are the "mountain" music different from the others? which one of the different mountain chains of USA is meant by that, Rocky, Appalachian, Sierra, or others? It looks as if the world of these "mountains" is very different from the others, but I don't understand what is meaned by that. [A]s you have seen, we have no difference between mountain and plain. I mean other differences than geographical, and shurely not in music. This "mountain" world has always fascinated me and I ever asked myself what it means. For mountains, I mean real mountains, are a little our specialty, and we know this phenomene very well, but your denomination seems to cover an other sense, I wonder which it is. How can I express what their letters gave me—Niall's and Max's? A wider perspective on the world, certainly; an older one, too. But more than that they gave me, a small-town mountain girl, who was too smart and not pretty enough, an ongoing conversation with fascinating men who took me seriously, valued my friendship, and in Max's case, seemed to delight in my letters, to see me as someone of real gifts. I'll always Sons Benn and Joey, 1988 be grateful for their generosity, for the sense they gave me of belonging to a larger world. Their love of folk music confirmed my passion, and trying to tell them who I was helped me define myself. It also gave me a lot of good writing practice. My senior year I was in a quandry. It's hard to believe now, but I didn't really want to go to college because I thought it would be like high school only harder. However, the other choices were not good. Staying in Harlan was out; I didn't really want to work at the dime store (our version of Dollar Days). Besides, I was ready to leave home. What I wanted to do—go to Greenwich Village and look for work in coffeehouses like the Purple Onion—my parents were opposed to. "But I'll be in school," I told them. "I'll go to Columbia University." And if the folksinging jobs fell through, I would get a job as a simultaneous translator at the United Nations. My French wasn't so hot, but I figured I would work on that at Columbia. But my parents didn't want me to go straight from Harlan to New York. So we reached a compromise. If I would try a small college for a year, they would send me to Columbia after that. I realize now that they were counting on the fact that I'd make friends in that first year and want to stay, which is just what happened at Centre College, a small liberal arts school in Kentucky. Imagine my exhilaration when I found out in the first few weeks of college what it was like not to be bored! I hadn't known I'd been bored in high school because I kept busy with homework plus lots of extracurricular activities. But at Centre I discovered the wonder of studying at a different level, with professors who loved what they taught, who were excited about connections between disciplines, and who really wanted to engage in discussion with students. Not that I hadn't had some remarkable teachers in high school. Kathleen Hill Sterling, who was also my speech coach, and James S. Greene III, with whom I worked on the school newspaper, strongly encouraged my writing. Kathleen even took poems home and wrote comments on them, loaned me books, and sometimes had me out to her house for a Sunday afternoon poetry talk. A poet herself, she loved the magic of words as much as I did, and time spent with her was invaluable. It was after her class that I made my first book of poems, hand-printed in gold ink and called A Harvest of the Early Morning Rain. From this beginning in 1965, I continued to make books as gifts until my first book, Mountain, came out in 1983. Except for Kathleen's class, however, high school had never required much writing. Centre gave me abundant opportunities, and I had wonderful writing mentors there, too, especially Roberta White and Paul Cantrell. I also began keeping a journal. I'd had a diary in seventh grade and a travel log when we went to Europe when I was fourteen, but I didn't begin keeping a regular journal till I was in college. That notebook was a center for me, a place where I brought my loves and panics, my questions, curiosities, and poem experiments. It was a place to check in with myself amid all the dazzle and work of college life. This steadied me. And each notebook I filled testified that I was a poet. I took it seriously. I kept at it. Today I still feel that way about my journal. I have shelves of ones I've filled, all labeled and dated, and a stock of empty ones, too, so I won't be caught paperless. I love the promise of blank pages and the comforting heft of a book full of handwritten words. I love reading old volumes and meeting myself and my family years ago, seeing how we've all changed. Even the journal has changed. The ones I keep today are much looser and more colorful than they used to be. I write in different directions now, depending on my mood, and I tape in souvenirs: a butterfly wing found on the car hood, a movie ticket, a leaf, a note. This added texture gives me joy and tempers my sense that life is moving so fast it's all slipping through my hands. Saving a movie ticket may not seem like much, but if I've written just a few words beneath it, they trigger a memory of the whole afternoon it came from: the weather, the people I was with, the story we watched together in the dark. So the journal reclaims my life in some way. And With Peter Catalanotto doing research for Mama is a Miner, 1993 sometimes poems and stories, picture books and novels begin in my journal, this fertile ground I started working seriously in college. Just as my parents counted on, I found lifelong friends at Centre, some of them singing companions, and I didn't want to leave after one year. I set my course there and never looked back. Now I do, of course. What would have happened if I'd gone on to the Big Apple? My parents would have helped support me, I'm sure, and I would have had an incredible, perhaps difficult, adventure and grown in different ways. Would I be writing this piece now for the equivalent of Something about the Songwriter? It doesn't seem likely because I wasn't that good a musician. But then my poetry wasn't that good when I set off for Centre either. It had to grow and mature just as my music might have. As we say in the mountains, it's untelling. But you can't do everything, and I don't lament not having followed that dream at eighteen. For one thing, I would never have met Steve Lyon, the long-haired piano player who became my husband. I would never have had Benn and Joey, our sons, or experienced all the joy, struggle, and growth of our years together. Steve and I met in part because of a book and because of our names. When I was ten I read My Zoo Family by Helen Martini about how she raised lion and tiger cubs in her apartment and eventually founded the nursery at the Bronx Zoo (see Mother to Tigers, my picture book biography of Martini). As a result, I became fascinated with big cats, especially lions. Even after I gave up my ambition to be a zookeeper, I collected lions: carvings, drawings, stuffed animals, photographs. The rug in my dorm room had a mountain lion on it. So when I saw there was a guy named Lyon in the freshman class at Centre, I said, "I'll collect him, too." I was joking, of course, but we've been married for over thirty years. We didn't connect right away, though. I took a lot of music courses, and he was a music major, so I saw him there. Then someone stole the wallet out of my pocketbook which I'd hung in the dining hall under my coat. Hoping to get back my pictures and driver's license, I put up signs all over campus saying "Keep the money but please return the wallet." I listed the dorm phone number and signed my name. The next day I found that someone had written on several of my signs: George Ella is not a fella. It was Steve. I appreciated this! All my life my name has caused problems: my birth certificate had to be sent back—I think they thought I was a fellow; kids teased me ("Georgie Porgie, puddin' 'n pie/ kissed the girls and made them cry"); my roommate was a boy when I had eye surgery (and when I arrived at church camp, etc.); and in the days before photo licenses, I got accused of stealing my own car, because my license and the title said George E. Hoskins and I was obviously female. I appreciate being named for my mother's brother and sister, but almost every day of my life there's some glitch because of it. (Just the other day Mr. George Lyon got an invitation to join the American Association of Retired People, so I see this is going to be a cradle-to-grave affair.) The glitch could be as simple as introducing myself and having the person say "Excuse me?" and having to start over, explaining this time, "George like a man, Ella like a woman, Lyon like a beast," or it could be a new teller at the bank, a pharmacist, a doctor, a letter from an editor, a phone call where the caller thinks I am my wife. This is annoying. I want to be Allison or Gwendolyn, Jane, or Ruth . . . you name it! Just don't name me so they think I am a boy. As a kid I was called Georgie (also Jell-O, GE, George Ollie, and Squirt); in college I became George, and now I'm mostly George Ella, but along the way I've encountered folks who refused to call me any of these. My high school principal called me Edna, my first boyfriend called me Georgia, and one camp counselor insisted I was Sydney. People even joked about my name when I was in the hospital giving birth. "George is in labor!" they said, hooting into their latex gloves. "George is having a baby!" (I must say that women in labor are not known for their sense of humor and I would have liked to pinch these peoples' heads off.) It's a strange thing to have a problematic name, especially one which causes gender confusion. Like double vision, my name makes two possibilities when one would be clearer, more centered, easier to navigate. But I am who I am—or who we are: George like a man, Ella like a woman, Lyon like a beast. On the other hand, I probably wouldn't be writing this, wouldn't be writing for kids at all, if it weren't for my name. I started out as a poet and for eleven years after I graduated from college I submitted manuscripts trying to get a book published. Finally, in 1983, Mountain, a chapbook, won the Lamont Hall Award from Andrew Mountain Press. Around that same time I got a postcard from writer and anthologist Paul Janeczko, asking if I had any poems about family which he could consider for his next book. Well, I had a wheelbarrow full of family poems, and I sent him a big package. He chose three to appear in Strings: A Gathering of Family Poems, and in his acceptance letter, asked about my name. "In the north, George is a man's name," he said. (He lives in Maine.) I wrote back and told him that in the south George is a man's name, too, but . . . and I told him the story of my name. He liked my letter and sent it on to his editor, Richard Jackson, and Dick wrote me a brief letter which he sent along with my copies of Strings. He said he'd seen my letter, liked my writing a lot, and wondered if I wrote for kids. "If you do, please send me something," he said. "And if you don't, please think about it." Well, I had been trying to publish poetry long enough to know that an editor writing and asking for work to consider was a pure miracle. And I wrote right back to say "No, I don't have anything to send you, but hold on. I will." So this name I've been complaining about brought me Dick's letter and set me on a new path. We began a friendship and collaboration that continues to this day. Since May 1984, when I first heard from him, I've published twenty-one picture books and five novels for kids, along with a book about writing poetry and a mini-autobiography. I've been a visiting author in hundreds of schools, spoken at conferences, received a few awards, along with a bounty of letters from readers. My writing life and family life are rich, and I wouldn't trade them for anything. Still I can't help but wonder: What would have happened if I'd gone to New York all those years ago? Where would I be now? Someday you will probably have such a moment to look back on. Perhaps you already do. Part of the magic of writing is that I could continue this account as if I had gone to New York. I could tell you how I sat on a wooden stool and sang in a little hole-in-the-wall joint called the Green Parrot, how I wrote a song that was almost picked up by Joan Baez, and how I began to hang out with a dobro player from With editor Dick Jackson, 2000 Idaho. I could write forward from there a whole different life, including a sojourn in Canada because of the Vietnam War, and twin daughters, Phoebe and Bella. I could tell you about living in Hokkaido where David, my husband—not the dobro player—and I taught American folk music to school children . . . and so forth. None of that happened but the possibilities are all enfolded in that moment when I decided which road I would take out of my parents' house. Imagination lets me explore other unfoldings. This is one of the great gifts of writing: it frees you from the confines of having only one life. I get to imagine reaching into a parallel universe as Gina does in Gina.Jamie.Father.Bear, or growing up in Alabama in the fifties like Sonny in Sonny's House of Spies. I can be a lion cub rescued by Helen Martini in Mother to Tigers or raise sheep and weave their wool into art in Weaving the Rainbow. Writing leads and teaches me—and not only when I'm at my desk. The truth is that books are written inside the writer, too, in thought and feeling, blood and bone, cell and soul. Taking part in Creation in turn creates me, and I feel blessed every day I get to do it.

Click: Captive Care of the Ball or Royal Python, Python regius – Part 1, to read the first part of this article. Or, click: The Natural History of the Ball Python, Python regius: Ball Pythons in the Wild to read about the natural history of Ball Pythons. Feeding Most ball pythons take readily to pre-killed mice and small rats, with hatchlings usually being large enough to handle a “fuzzy” mouse. In the wild, ball pythons do not feed when nighttime temperatures become cool (January-February in some areas), during much of the breeding season, and while incubating eggs. They are well adapted to long fasts, and frequently go off-feed in captivity. This can occur even in captive-hatched animals, tuned, perhaps, to an internally-controlled cycle, and is rarely a cause for concern. Individuals that go off feed regularly should be fed once weekly during those times when they do accept food, as should hatchlings and young animals. Regularly-feeding adults do fine with a meal each 10-14 days. Leaving a food animal in the terrarium overnight may induce reluctant feeders to eat. Particularly stubborn animals may sometimes be tempted by switching food animal species…Mongolian gerbils are a particular favorite, but sometimes a weaning rat does the trick. Of course, you may then be saddled with the responsibility of always providing that favored food item, so think carefully before offering anything too exotic. “Scenting” a mouse by rubbing it with a with a favored food item is a well-known technique for tricking fussy snakes into eating. Captive Longevity A ball python kept at the Philadelphia zoo died at age 47.6 years, and holds, as far as I know, the longevity record for captive snakes. Another was reported to have survived until age 51, but the record is unpublished. A number of specimens have lived well into their 30’s. Handling Ball pythons are fairly mellow in disposition, but even long term captives will bite if provoked. Their habit of coiling into a ball, while interesting, is a defense response – please do not harass yours into exhibiting this behavior. As with all snakes, the head should not be placed in the vicinity of one’s face. Breeding Only snakes in good body weight should be used for breeding purposes. Success will be more likely if the male and female are housed separately outside of the breeding season. Ball pythons should be subjected to a semi-natural temperature and light cycle prior to and during the breeding season. In October or November, nighttime temperatures should be allowed to fall to 68-72 F, and a night (dark) period of 12-14 hours should be established. Daytime temperatures should remain as usual. Feeding should be discontinued 1 month prior to turning down the temperatures, to allow for digestion of the last meal. One month after the cooling period has begun, the female should be placed in the male’s cage for 1-3 day periods each week. This process should continue for 6 weeks or so, after which temperatures and the day/night cycle should be returned to normal. Gravid females will usually not feed. Eggs may be expected from 2 weeks to 2 months after the reintroductions have been discontinued, depending upon when copulation had occurred. The Rosemond Gifford Zoo ball python information sheet is posted at: I just got my first pet snake and I decided on a ball python. I love it and now I’m reading all about it online so I can take great care of it Hello Brett, Frank Indiviglio here. Thanks for your interest in our blog. A ball python is a fine choice – one at the Philadelphia zoo lived for 50+ years, so you may have a long time to enjoy your pet! Please write in with any questions you may have. Good luck, enjoy and please keep me posted. Best regards, Frank Indiviglio. Hello Frank, I find your articles very informative. Thank you. I have two ball pythons, a 3-month old and a 11-month old. The younger is a male named Henry and the elder is female (yet to be named). I have a concern about the female, she seems to be in good health and is from a reputable reptile store. My mother knows the owner personally and does all her business there. But she won’t eat. It’s been going on 3 weeks since she ate last. I read a few of your articles that state this can be normal. However, she did not exhibit this behavior prior to purchase. We have tried frozen (thawed and then warmed) mice and rats as well as live baby rats. The store we bought her from said they fed her live mice and rats. Henry (the male), did not have any problem eating even after the trauma of purchase and moving and being a Christmas present (packaged in a small gift box for about 5 mins). If you have any other info on this habit of fasting or any other resources I should check out, I would greatly appreciate it. Keep up the great info. Thank you for getting the word out about these amazing creatures. Thanks again, Kim Hello Kim, Frank Indiviglio here. Thanks for your interesting post and the kind words, much appreciated. With most snakes, you can relate fasts to breeding seasons or to internal “clocks” that respond to conditions in their natural habitats. Unfortunately this seems not to be the case with ball pythons; despite generations of captive breeding, they continue to exhibit this behavior – but it is not clearly tied to, for example, the dry season in their natural range. Even long term captives – 50+ years in one case (the longest lived captive snake known) continue with unpredictable fasts. But they are very good at adjusting their metabolisms to suit their needs (please see this article for an example) – as long as your snake has fed regularly in the past, 3 weeks is of no consequence – indeed, 3 months is not unusual. Snakes fed on live rodents sometimes take awhile to adjust to pre-killed food…but best to stay with dead prey; ball pythons never become confirmed live-food specialists as might other species. An old trick is to “hide” food within a cave; no research behind this, but it seems that tracking and “finding” the food kicks many individuals into feeding mode. Spraying the terrarium each day is sometimes helpful as well – just be sure the snake has a warm basking spot and that the cage dries out thoroughly. If they are housed together, it may be that the female is stressed by the presence of the other. They show very few external signs of stress, but it is an important concept – ball pythons are solitary in the wild and so separating them might be helpful (usually helps in future breeding as well, if that is your goal…“absence makes the heart grow fonder” and all…!). Be sure also that the snake has a small, dark, hiding spot. Good luck and please take notes – maybe you’ll be the one to break their code. Please let me know how all goes, Best regards, Frank Indiviglio. Ball pythons become nearly brain dead in captivity. They become very inactive, indifferent to their environment and even forget to hunt properly. They simply take half automatically a dead big ball, then go warm up and defecate. They are one of the reptiles which get the less stimulation in captivity, as many owners don’t give them anything more than a hide and a water bowl. Is that a life? In nature, even if they are quite inactive and hidden most of the time, they surely do climb and search much more. Because they don’t show many signs of discomfort that doesn’t mean that they enjoy being in a bare enclosure with a hiding hole only. What do you mean when saying basking spot? don’t they heat while hidden? Also, how a lamp will effectively heat under a hide? Isn’t a heat pad the economical solution? Hello, It’s difficult to use concepts that apply to mammals when considering reptiles. Behavioral enrichment has long been standard practice in zoos for mammals, certain birds. Can be useful in encouraging activity in reptiles; in general, however, they move , hunt etc out of necessity – not in their “interests” to move about, better to add weight/size etc. This partially accounts for high obesity rates among all types of captives, including mammals. When involved in field studies of anacondas in Venezuela, I was amazed at how very little they moved over the course of several months. Hunting behavior is instinctive, and will not lessen or improve in captivity. However, live rodents introduced into a terrarium often startle rather than stimulate snakes…many react defensively, or refuse to feed, may not have space to properly subdue the prey etc.; often appear unable to hunt properly, but this is a function of the situation. Ball pythons bask, and heat lamps do change temperatures within shelters; small temperature guns are very useful in keeping track of shelter, basking and other temps. heat pads are best reserved for certain nocturnal and or fossorial species , .e. sand boas; basking beneath overhead heat is preferable for most snakes, more in keeping with natural means of regulating temperature. Impt to remember that pads usually do little to heat air (newer radiant pads an exception, and can be useful)..in cool situations, snakes may remain on pads to long (more common with hot rocks). heat pads also used where supplemental heat is needed,…esp. for individuals taking large meals and needing lengthy basking/digestion times (large constrictors). Best, Frank I have 9 ball pythons and all of them have their own unique personalities, they vary so much that even my snake fearing mother was surprised how much personality they have! Out of my 9 only 3 enjoy handling and actively seek it out, the others only enjoy roaming around their cages or poking their heads out to observe. The ones that don’t enjoy being handled have different reactions as well. One will hiss, shove my hand away and bite, two others will just hiss and shove my hand away, The other 3 will either run or go into what I have dubbed a “freezing” behaviour where they just freeze and don’t move. This usually happens when moving away or fleeing doesn’t work. I can move and position them like dolls and they won’t move a muscle. I’ve gotten great pictures this way but I suspect it’s a sign of severe stress so they are mostly left alone. I have one male, named ‘Little Dude’, that has developed an adorable habit of quickly slithering under the frames of my glasses and pulling them off! I have another male, Riley, that has an established routine, he does this every night I take him out. He’ll smell my hands and face and either sit quietly next to me for 10 minutes or begin exploring, depends on his energy level I suppose! I also have a large yearling female, Winter, that gives off whistling noises when she is excited, irritated or really wants to come out of her cage. She is 100% healthy and has no RI, when she first began displaying this whistle behaviour I was concerned and watched out for any signs of RI but there are none and she’s my best feeder out of the 9 and the fastest grower. She also has a habit of usually wrapping herself around my legs and, I suspect, going to sleep when I take her out. I don’t believe she’s uncomftorably cold either, my room is kept at 80 degrees. Or she’ll take a spin aound the room occassionally letting out a whistle of excitement. She’s a character! I suspect my snakes display such personality because I keep them in glass aquariums where they can see (with a proper hide for privacy of course) and don’t force handling on them if they don’t seem to accept it well. I see so often ball python keepers keep their snakes in plastic bins where they sit in darkness with no real environment to see or interact with or even a day/night cycle. How can any animal possibly have a personality if it is treated like a pet rock? I’ve also seen the opposite where a ball python was kept in an aquarium but the owner refused to provide a hide stating that they had heard that providing a hide would make the snake nervous and snappy. The snake displayed the freezing behaviour I stated above whenever he was held. Of course the owner thought the snake was enjoying being held but I thought otherwise since I’d seen this behaviour before with my own snakes when they became stressed and fleeing didn’t work. Have you ever observed this ‘freezing’ behaviour before, Frank? Hi Kelsie, Thanks for the observations…very interesting. Definitely true what you say re not forcing handling and not providing hide spots…influences behavior very directly. I would caution you, however, not to let any snake near your face…they respond to vibrations, scents and other stimuli that we cannot sense, and may bite for reasons we cannot imagine…I know of many examples. Captive breeding is very definitely changing the nature of several species…I can see this even within my lifetime, but snakes are not domesticated in any sense of the word, so please be careful; a bite to the face can be very serious. The freezing is related to their instinctive reaction when confronted by certain predators; if severely threatened, they will go into the “ball position” from which they get the common name…rare to see that among captives, however. Enjoy, best, Frank I’m always extremely careful when a snake is around my face. I only let the 3 that I handle, Dude, Riley and Winter, anywhere near my face and never if i’ve just eaten. I’m also always very aware of their tounge flicks and behaviour. Riley is the one I trust the most, he’s unusual for a snake. Extremely calm and mellow, always has very loose, relaxed muscles and he’s literally never badly scared. He only bit me once as a baby and it was a feeding error that was my mistake, he let go immediatly perhaps realizing that his catch had no fur and tasted funny! He’s the one that comes out almost nightly, he’s the one that got me hooked in reptiles and sparked my curiousity for owning and perhaps breeding snakes, amphibians and lizards. I swear, he’s closer to being a cat than a snake lol! He’s definetly my one in a million reptile. Have you ever had a reptile or amphibian that was one of those one in a millions? Hi kelsie, I was hooked early on, for as long as I can remember (growing up near the Bx Zoo, with relatives who were very interested, helped!). But it’s important that we understand their natures…those things that cannot be changed; no real way to compare to a mammal (domestic mammals do not interest me all that much, so this is not a slight) or to assume they are responding as we believe they are. Scent is just one of many, many factors…most of which e don ot understand; no upside to putting any animal near your face, and no way to prevent or predict a bite (trust me on that!) if the snake decides to strike. Enjoy, best, Frank Hi, Yesterday I turned on the fogger but forgot to turn it off, it has been on for almost 5 hrs. When I found it, the whole tank & my BP are wet and humidity reached over 90% high! I changed its bedding immediately, but he seems very stressed and upset, and still awake this morning. I’m really scared, and not sure if my BP is doing well, do I need to take him to a vet to check if anything is wrong? Thanks sooo much! Hello Vera, I’d worry more about your BP than the snake’s reaction! Don’t worry…not great if the mist lowered temperature of cage significantly, but that period of dampness will do no harm; most snakes become restless during “storms” – depending on species and timing, can be a signal to hunt, seek mates, find shelter. Best, Frank Thanks for coming back to me so quickly! There’s nothing significantly shows on his body, only maybe its color became a little bit darker, I thought it was because of the moist. I will keep an eye on him. Cause heating lamp was on so the temperature didn’t change too much. My real struggle now is how to keep humidity at a certain level. I will mist the tank or turn on the fogger for a little while when I have time, but as I’m always out during the day, the humidity usually stays below 20%. Is there any good solutions? Thanks! Vera, My pleasure. They are native to very arid habitats and generally do fine if provided a bowl large enough to bask in. You can also provide a hide stocked with damp sphagnum moss, which it will use when needed. Humidifier might be important when the animal sheds. I hope all goes well frank I need some guidance. I have two ball pythons. Both female one is about 5 yrs (we’ve had her for 2 years now) and generally eats a med/lrg rat every 2-3 weeks and the other is 3 yrs and we’ve had her since a baby and same schedule generally a small rat. Both have been great eaters with very few disruptions in their eating usually if they were pre-shed. The problem is, we recently moved out of state from a dry climate to a rather humid southern climate. Both ate around end of April. Since we moved, neither will eat, its not winter, I’ve been diligently monitoring take environment and all is where it should be and is normal for them. However neither will eat now. Both have shed twice since the move but refuse to eat. We tried varying type, size etc. Ensure they have privacy (but monitor because they eat live and refuse frozen) I even tried a frozen after several failed attempts with live. generally they will recoil and try to escape their feeding tanks (we don’t feed them in their enclosure) but the younger ball will occasionally “stalk” a rat, posture and strike, but will not kill or eat them. We’ve tried scenting rats with mouse litter, etc. Neither seem to be losing significant weight or have protrusions. But their skin seems a little loose. No health issues. it’s been 3 months and I know that snakes will go through fasting periods for different reasons. But both? At the same time? We’ve tried limiting our handle in case it was stress and they are active and display “seeking behavior” but no dice. Offer food and wait a week and try again. At what point should we be concerned? Could the move be a contributing factor? Any suggestions about other tricks or methods? I’ve seen gerbils can be tempting but haven’t tried this yet. I try to do my homework and don’t feel like a newbie and we’ve had them for quite a while and are familiar with their personalities and habits but we are stumped. Trying to be patient but never had this issue and not with both at the same time…any advice is appreciated Hi there, Unfortunately, your situation is not uncommon when it comes to ball pythons. I have a few of my own that will go on a random hunger strike once in a while. How are they being housed? Are you by chance housing the snakes together? Also, what is the size of their enclosure, basking temperature, humidity levels number of hides etc. I would recommend that you try feeding them in their enclosure. It can be stressful for a snake to be moved back and forth to feed. While this practice is usually fine when the snake is comfortable, if they are a little stressed from the move it could be disrupting their natural “lie and wait” hunting instinct. After you get them feeding again, you could most likely resume feeding them in a separate tank. Gerbils can be quite tempting for balls, they are very similar in scent to the types of rodents that they would encounter in their native habitat. It should be noted however, that many times the snake will get hooked on gerbils and refuse to eat anything else. I have had some success with trying extremely small meals for larger snakes. I once had a large adult female, normally feeding on large rats, only accept ten fuzzies for several feedings. You could also try scenting the rodent with chicken bouillon, that has been known to entice snakes to eat on occasion. I hope that this helps Hi there, I am hoping you can help me. I was recently given a female red eared slider turtle. I have built her an outdoor pond with basking areas and deep and shallow water, sand and grass around it for her to wander around in and a shaded portion both in the water and outside it. My question regards heating the pond. where we live, our weather is generally mild to hot, with temperatures in summer between 28 and 32 degrees Celsius and in winter, between 2 and 18 degrees Celsius. Is it necessary to heat the pond with an inline pond heater, or can she survive these temperatures with just sunlight and shade? Also, will she try to lay eggs? I have no idea how old she is but she is now about 18cm long, so I am guessing it’s time. There. Are no other turtles around her. As I am concerned, I have considered sending her to a specific reserve area, where I know she will be well taken care of but I adore her and she seems otherwise healthy and friendly. Please could you advise me on the best course of action, for the turtle’s benefit. Many thanks. Hi Carolann, It is wonderful that you have gone to such great lengths for your pet turtle. I’m sure that she loves her pond. Red eared sliders are usually very hearty turtles. They are actually an invasive species here in Pennsylvania, so cold weather is no trouble for them. They do, however, need a few accommodations in order to over-winter successfully. The pond needs to be deep enough to not freeze completely through, usually this means a depth of over 6 feet. Also, they need to be able to dig into the bottom of the pond. If your pond has a liner, they will most likely dig a hole in it and drain the pond. In addition to that, they need to have a slow transition from warmer to cooler temperatures. This slow transition stimulates them to produce chemicals that allow their bodies to essentially freeze without causing cell damage. If your pond doesn’t meet these requirements, you should probably consider setting up an indoor enclosure for the winter months. You could use almost anything that is large and can hold water. You just want to make sure that you have proper filtration, Basking spots at the right temperatures, and UVB lighting. As far as eggs go, female red eared slider have been known to lay eggs even if they haven’t mated. As long as she hasn’t been in contact with a male the eggs will be infertile and can be disposed of. I hope this helps you out! -Josh Thanks for the advice. She seems to have adjusted to the colder weather and basks a lot at the moment. We don’t really have to deal with water freezing her, just cold. what should I add to the bottom of her pond to allow her to dig in? As it s already dug and lined, I will not be able to make it 6 feet deep, but I do have a little “house” in the deeper water for her. Is this sufficient? Assuming I leave her outdoors in the winter and cover a section of the pond to keep some heat in, would this be sufficient for her to spend winters in or should I preferably consider wintering her indoors? Thanks again. I appreciate having a person I can ask all these questions. I know very little about turtles and appreciate any assistance you provide. She might hibernate in the underwater house. I would still put about 12 inches of dirt/gravel mixture on the bottom so that if she does have the urge to burrow she can do so without tearing your liner. As long as your pond doesn’t freeze solid, I wouldn’t use a heater. If you were to unintentionally heat the water too much, it could throw off the turtle’s hibernation cycle. That being said, when she does hibernate she will remain motionless under the water in a state of suspended animation until spring. Unfortunately, there is always some level of risk with hibernation. If you are concerned about the turtle’s health it would be best to bring it in for the winter. -Josh Thank you for your help. An indoor habitat in the winter seems like a better option.. No problem. let me know if you have any other questions in the future.

For the second night in a row, the Octagon will touch down in Las Vegas. This rare Sunday evening card, which continues the UFC’s International Fight Week festivities, is a hell of a dessert following the UFC 189 main course the night before. Headlined by top-10 welterweight Jake Ellenberger and rising star Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale has plenty to look forward to as the UFC puts an end to International Fight Week. In addition to a really fun main event , a competitive season of TUF between the American Top Team and the Blackzilians will come to a close. As an added bonus, this Sunday will feature the UFC debut of female star and former Invicta champion Michelle Waterson, who moves up in weight in order to compete with the best in the world inside the Octagon. The card will get started at the MGM Grand at 6:30 p.m. ET. The action kicks off on UFC Fight Pass with a single fight before moving on to Fox Sports 1 for the remaining four preliminary fights starting at 7 p.m. ET. You won’t have to turn your dials from there, as the remainder of the card will also take place on Fox Sports 1, with the six-fight main slate set to start at 9 p.m. ET. Combat Press writers Sal DeRose and Vince Carey break down the action in this edition of Toe-to-Toe. Welterweight headliner Stephen Thompson has won five of his six UFC outings. That should make him a contender, but he still hasn’t even cracked the UFC’s top 15 in the division. Is Thompson far too overlooked? Will his fight with Jake Ellenberger produce the type of result that puts Thompson on the board? DeRose: Thompson can be as good as people say he is. He has dynamic striking, and his first foray into the Octagon was proof of that. However, the 32-year-old hasn’t really faced top competition outside of his second fight in the UFC against Matt Brown. That Matt Brown isn’t the same as today’s Matt Brown (his victory over Thompson was the second win on his amazing seven-fight winning that catapulted him into the top five). Thompson isn’t overlooked, though. He just hasn’t faced the level of competition to validate a top-15 ranking just yet. To be the best, you have to beat the best. Thompson hasn’t beaten the best quite yet. His decision victory over Patrick Cote in his last fight is a step in the right direction, but it isn’t quite there. Ellenberger represents the final step that could put Thompson in the top 15. People will point out that Ellenberger is 3-4 in his last seven fights, but look at who Ellenberger has fought in that span — the likes of Martin Kampmann, Rory MacDonald, Robbie Lawler and Kelvin Gastelum. If you’re going to lose, those are some pretty good names to lose to, especially considering Lawler and MacDonald fight for the title at UFC 189. That gauntlet of fights is a nightmare for anybody, even the champion at 170 pounds, so let’s give Ellenberger some credit here. He might not be the same fighter who instilled fear in opponents after he scored a TKO over Jake Shields in New Orleans, but the 30-year-old is still a very experienced fighter who has faced a wide variety of top-notch opponents in the UFC. That being said, I’ll take Thompson to get the victory here. I wouldn’t be totally surprised to see Ellenberger get a knockout or a submission, but Thompson is on a roll right now. Thompson will enjoy a couple of inches in height and a reach advantage, and he should be able to keep Ellenberger at bay. Since Thompson isn’t exactly known for his grappling prowess, I do suspect Ellenberger will try to land a few takedowns in this fight, but it won’t be enough. Thompson gets a decision, or perhaps we find out just how weak Ellenberger’s chin has become as Thompson scores a knockout. Carey: As much as I enjoy watching Thompson fight, this fight all depends on which Ellenberger shows up on Sunday. In his early UFC career, Ellenberger completely lived up to his “Juggernaut” nickname and was a force to be reckoned with inside the Octagon. He was an aggressive, headhunting finisher who had no problem going toe-to-toe with serious veterans like Carlos Condit and Diego Sanchez. Then Ellenberger fought the aforementioned MacDonald and, for some reason, couldn’t get anything going in the cage. From that fight on, the Nebraska native has been a mixed bag at best. Even in Ellenberger’s last fight, a win over the recently released Josh Koscheck, he didn’t quite look like the fighter who had smashed his way into title contention less than two years before. Something’s been a little off with the former contender for a while now, and if he doesn’t figure it out prior to this weekend, then he’s going to be in a ton of trouble against Thompson, a dangerous striker. “Wonderboy” is long and knows how to use his reach with incredible effectiveness. It’s a fighting style that’s ironically similar to the skill set MacDonald applied to keep Ellenberger at bay and start the latter’s free-fall down the rankings. In order to win this fight and therefore score the biggest victory of his career, Thompson is going to have to use his reach advantage to keep Ellenberger guessing and force “The Juggernaut” to hesitate to commit when getting into exchanges on the feet. That bodes well for Thompson, as only the hyper-aggressive Brown has truly been able to throw him off of his rhythm thus far in his UFC career and Ellenberger has been almost the anti-Brown due to his inability to pull the trigger in recent losses. This is a huge step up for Thompson, but it may have come at the perfect time. “Wonderboy” has been dominant in his last four fights, whereas Ellenberger has mostly floundered. I wasn’t convinced that Ellenberger was truly back to form after his recent win, either. My colleague suggested that Ellenberger might look to get this fight to the mat, but the veteran is going to have to close some distance in order to do that. He’s had some trouble in that department against the last few strikers he’s fought. Ellenberger is the more well-rounded fighter and definitely has more ways to win this fight, but it seems more likely that Thompson will stick and move on the feet while working his way to a decision. This event serves as the finale for The Ultimate Fighter’s 21st season, but there’s no traditional tournament final. Instead, the reality series produced one “finals” fight for the season that pits Hayder Hassan against Kamaru Usman. The UFC also booked one additional fight featuring TUF cast members Michael Graves and Vicente Luque. So, who will emerge as the winner in the finals fight between Hassan and Usman, and how much of a long-term impact will that fighter have in the UFC? Also, were there any other fighters featured on the show, beyond these four, that you would have liked to see compete at the finale event? Carey: From the end of the first fight of the season, Usman and Hassan have been gearing up to fight. I’m actually really intrigued by what’s going to happen when these two finally get to step into the cage. They are two very different fighters with very different styles, but they both have roughly the same amount of experience and were the most dominant fighters on the show in their own way. It’s not all that unusual to see old-school striker vs. grappler match-ups in the TUF house. But while Usman and Hassan are both a little one-dimensional, they proved that they’re the best at what they do while on the show. Usman is going to use his grappling to look to stifle Hassan’s insane striking output the same way he shut down a pair of Hassan’s Blackzilian teammates, and Hassan is going to look to throw some fisticuffs and put a hurting on Usman on the feet. Hassan needs to come out of the box quickly in order to win this fight. If the American Top Team standout can put the pressure on early and make Usman fight defensively in the opening moments, then I like his odds of securing a finish. However, any hesitation on Hassan’s part in the opening moments could open the door to allow Usman to close the distance and utilize his control in the wrestling game to start to take away some of Hassan’s power and explosiveness by draining Hassan of some of his energy. If this was a normal fight, I’d favor the wrestler, Usman. However, with so much emotion and team pride on the line, I have a hard time believing someone as focused and aggressive as Hassan will allow himself to end up on the wrong end of a grinding defeat. I like Hassan by early knockout here to take the prize, but early is the key word. If it gets into the latter half of the fight and Usman has had control, then I’m seriously worried about Hassan having enough pop on his punches to keep the wrestler at bay. As for the rest of the guys in the house, I feel like it’s pretty obvious that Graves and Luque are the most deserving of the shot they received. Graves has shown a lot of promise since he was able to get his head back on straight following his opening-episode loss to Usman, and he remains one of the more intriguing prospects on the show. Luque, meanwhile, is coming off a loss in what may have been the fight of the season against Hassan and was strongly considered to take Usman’s spot in the finals by his team. A couple of the other guys, like Jason Jackson and Nathan Coy, had their moments, but if only two other guys could end up fighting at the finale, I’m glad that Graves and Luque were the fighters selected. DeRose: Hassan was originally my pick to be the “winner” of this season of TUF. He has looked great outside of the UFC and continued to do so during the show. I’m picking Hassan to beat Usman based on the potential he displayed before and during the show. My colleague already mentioned it, but this is a classic fight pitting a grappler (Usman) against a striker (Hassan). The one thing my fellow writer failed to mention is that Hassan will have some great coaching backing him up in this fight, where Hassan will undoubtedly be trying to keep the fight on the feet. The 32-year-old will have to rely on his striking and knockout power, and he will have to keep the pressure on Usman. Grappling works out well on TUF to help sustain a fighter over the course of however many fights they have on the show in such a short span, but it’s different once a fighter gets out of the house and into the Octagon. Hassan has definitely had time to develop a good enough game plan. As far as long-term success goes for Hassan? Well, at age 32, he has a short amount of time to really make a big impact on the UFC’s welterweight division. Just coming off of TUF, Hassan obviously isn’t at the level of a top-10 fighter. There are a couple of seasons that contain exceptions to this rule, but I have reserved expectations for the most part for fighters coming off of the show because there have been more failures than successes in recent years. It’s also not fair to say that a fighter has little potential or no hope of ever progressing. This simply isn’t the case with Hassan. He has the right factors in place to be successful, considering where he trains and his fan-friendly knockout style. I would like to see him face at least one person in the UFC that wasn’t on his season of TUF before I fully cast judgment on his potential. Unfortunately, any other fighter I may have wanted to see fight on this card lost on the show. I would have personally loved to see former World Series of Fighting welterweight champion Steve Carl, considering how good he has been outside of the UFC. However, Carl lost both of his fights on the show, so I guess it will be back to the drawing board for him and probably a little bit longer of a wait before we see him actually compete inside the Octagon. Former Invicta FC atomweight champion Michelle Waterson is set to make her UFC debut on this card, moving up from 105 pounds to the 115-pound strawweight division. Considering her past championship success and unusual popularity for a fighter stepping into the Octagon for the first time, is it safe to call “The Karate Hottie” a future title contender in her new weight class? DeRose: It’s really hard for me to pick in favor of a fighter who is competing a weight class above where they normally compete. Typically, that means giving up height, reach and strength advantages to someone who is just naturally bigger. It does sometimes work out. For the most part, however, it doesn’t. The concept of fighting a weight class up is usually reserved for The Ultimate Fighter, where a quick succession of fights leads to having to make weight a lot in a short period of time. Waterson can transcend these typical expectations, though. She was great at atomweight, where she was the Invicta champion, albeit for a short time, and defeated some good fighters up until her recent loss to Herica Tiburcio. Waterson topped recent strawweight title challenger Jessica Penne while both ladies fought in the 105-pound division, and that could lend credence to the idea that Waterson could possibly beat top talent a step up from her ideal weight class. It all starts with Waterson’s first UFC opponent, Angela Magana. Magana is a good test for Waterson in her venture into the strawweight waters. Magana could receive her walking papers after this fight if she loses again. Magana is on a three-fight skid, including a one-sided loss to Tecia Torres in her last fight. Magana is a name people recognize, considering her antics on TUF and post-TUF, but she isn’t one of the division’s elite. Waterson should be able to control this fight on the feet and on the ground in order to outwork Magana over three rounds. Furthermore, Waterson’s corner can’t be overlooked. She trains out of Jackson’s MMA and will be very ready for this fight. The most significant thing working against Waterson will be the “Octagon jitters” that have plagued a lot of fighters making their UFC debut, both small and big names. I’ll still take Waterson to win by whatever avenue opens up to her in this fight. Carey: I, too, usually have serious reservations about a fighter moving up in weight. However, while the size disadvantage will come into play eventually in Waterson’s Octagon career, I don’t think it happens in her debut. If anyone can overcome the strength and size disadvantages of fighting above their natural weight class, it’s someone like Waterson that has the technical skills to negate those advantages as much as possible. On the mat, “The Karate Hottie” is one of the more entertaining and unorthodox grapplers you’ll see. Her insane flexibility and ability to pull sweeps from out of nowhere make her equal parts fun to watch and dangerous. Things don’t get much easier for opponents on the feet, either. Waterson’s training at the famed Jackson-Winkeljohn camp especially comes into play on the feet, where she’s equal parts technical and creative. Against Magana, I honestly don’t see Waterson running into too many problems. Whether they stay on the feet or the fight hits the floor, I’d give “The Karate Hottie” the nod. Since Magana isn’t a world-class wrestler or super long on her feet, the size disadvantage likely won’t make much of a difference. Waterson should roll to her first UFC victory on Sunday, but kind of like the scenario that faces Jorge Masvidal later on the card, it will be what happens after Waterson gets a win that will decide her fate as a contender at her new weight. Whether it’s a grinder like Carla Esparza or just a big, long striker like current champ Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Waterson is going to run into a serious test sooner rather than later at 115 pounds. How well she performs then will tell us whether she’s a serious contender or more style than substance at strawweight. Jorge Masvidal is coming off a controversial split-decision loss to Al Iaquinta. Prior to that, Masvidal was on a three-fight winning streak at lightweight. Can Masvidal pick up the win here and right the ship against Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira at welterweight? If so, can Masvidal march back up the rankings and start contending in a new division? Carey: I can’t talk about this fight without bringing up the fact that I really don’t understand why Masvidal decided to move up to welterweight at this point in his career. The recent loss he suffered to Iaquinta was considered a robbery by many in the MMA community, and he had previously put together a really strong 5-1 record inside the Octagon. Masvidal was definitely inching toward moving up in the lightweight title scene if he could have rebounded nicely from the decision loss. Alas, he’s decided to take his talent to welterweight, where he may have more power and cardio, but where his improving wrestling skills are sure to be tested. All of that being said — and even though I think Masvidal would have a brighter future at 155 pounds — I can’t deny that the former lightweight should be more than able to hold his own against many of the guys at welterweight right now. This initial test against Ferreira will show us exactly how well he’ll be able to hang with the middle-of-the-pack fighters in the division. A dominant win for Masvidal would go a long way toward making sure this change in weight is the right decision, but anything less and it’s going to be hard for the American Top Team veteran to make any real statement in the stacked division. Ferreira is a solid fighter in the right situations, but Masvidal should be too much for him. If “Gamebred” comes to the cage with his “A” game, I have a hard time envisioning how he loses this one. I’ve got Masvidal by stoppage, but I’m not jumping on his welterweight bandwagon until he beats someone who is closer to being ranked. DeRose: Don’t worry, I considered Masvidal’s fight against Iaquinta a robbery as well. However, Masvidal’s move to welterweight isn’t really all that perplexing. In the lightweight division, the 30-year-old had a long way to go to get to the top. With Rafael dos Anjos as the new champion, there is a whole slew of new challengers, most notably Donald Cerrone and Khabib Nurmagomedov, waiting for their shot. The division probably didn’t seem as wide open as welterweight. So, I can’t blame Masvidal for the move. Maybe it was for the reason stated above, or maybe it was due to the promise of an easier weight cut. However, with all the wrestlers at welterweight, it will indeed be a harder division for Masvidal to climb. He might be getting more strength and cardio, but now he is facing guys who negate any edge he gains. As will be the case with former Invicta atomweight champion Michelle Waterson in her move to strawweight, Masvidal fighting a step up in weight will prove to be an extremely difficult task. Masvidal does have a great team behind him at ATT, which should make the move easier. Ferreira, who stands at 4-2 in the UFC with his only losses coming to Sam Alvey and C.B. Dollaway, is a good first fight at welterweight for Masvidal. Ferreira should be a game opponent, but he shouldn’t look to keep this one on the feet. Masvidal, a skilled boxer, will overwhelm him if he decides to play that game. I expect Masvidal to win this fight. After this, though, who knows? Masvidal certainly has the talent and the skill set to succeed in any division. He had only been getting better at lightweight, and maybe that trend will continue at 170 pounds. Which fight is the sleeper match-up on this card? DeRose: I’m going to pick the middleweight contest between Josh Samman and Caio Magalhaes. Samman is coming off a highlight-reel, head-kick knockout of Eddie Gordon in December. The knockout is still a very vivid memory in my mind and, I’m sure, in the minds of many other people. Samman has built himself up in the UFC with a 2-0 record, and both of his fights have ended early with a knockout. You can’t count out Magalhaes in this one, no matter how memorable Samman’s knockout may be. Magalhaes has gone on a four-fight winning streak since losing his UFC debut to Buddy Roberts. He has finished his opponent in three of those four victories, and his last two fights have ended in less than a minute with a knockout finish. These guys will bring it, and it will be wildly entertaining for the audience. Carey: This is kind of a sleeper card, thanks to UFC 189 stealing all of the attention the night before. However, if I’m picking an undercard fight to watch on Sunday, then it’s the flyweight bout between Willie Gates and Darrell Montague. In his UFC debut, Gates put on a pretty entertaining fight despite being outmatched by top-five flyweight John Moraga. I’ve been looking forward to seeing him return, and the fact that he’s fighting a tough veteran like Montague, who has a lot on the line, only adds to my excitement. Montague has gone a disappointing 0-2 inside the Octagon, albeit against really good competition. With walking papers likely in Montague’s future with another loss, I’m expecting a motivated “Mongoose” to give the fans a show in order to try to save his job. Pair this card with… Carey: UFC 189. I feel like this is so obvious that it really doesn’t need to be said, but I’m going to do it just in case: If you’re going to spend your Sunday night watching a decent fight card such as this one, you damn sure better be spending your Saturday watching the UFC’s pay-per-view offering. The TUF Finale card has a few fun fights. Between the interesting main event and Waterson’s debut, it’s definitely worth the effort of tuning in, but the lineup for the event one night earlier is simply awesome. Pair these two cards and make it a fight weekend — or watch this card a little later on the DVR if you can’t pull off a doubleheader — but make sure you get to see the pay-per-view on Saturday. DeRose: If you can’t fly yourself into Las Vegas to see both the UFC 189 card and this TUF Finale, I suggest two days of barbeque. One Fourth of July weekend isn’t enough, so you can totally go ahead and do a second straight weekend in front of the grill. If you haven’t been able to tell by most of my answers to this question in the past, my philosophy is that no card is complete without food. This is a big event weekend for the UFC and there is plenty of MMA packed into the week, so a celebration is in order. Enjoy another weekend of barbeque, perhaps some food you didn’t make the week before or, if you’re like me, some of the food you bought in bulk at Costco that you didn’t end up using on the Fourth of July weekend. Fight Picks

Page links; Related site pages – Book travel, hotels – Useful outside links – About us, Contact On this page; Information about French menu and food terms – Day-tripper.net, the site for day trippers and visitors to France Menu's can often be daunting if your French is rusty or none existant. Print this page and ensure you get the meal you really want. – Radio du Gout, interesting French website with useful food dictionary. absinthe – aromatic plant used to flavour vermouth gousse d'ail – clove of garlic. houblon – hops laurier – Bay (leaf) marjolaine – marjoram menthe – mint moutarde – mustard muscade – nutmeg origan – origano oseille – sorrel persil – parsleypoivre – pepper thym – thyme abats – offal achatine – land snail. agneau – lamb aiguillette – top rump (beef) aloyau – sirloin (of beef) amourette (s) – spinal bone marrow of calf or ox. andouille (andouillette) – tripe sausage arrière – rear Bavette – undercut of sirlion Bifteck – steak Boeuf en musette – rolled and boned shoulder of beaf carré d'sagneau – rack of lamb cervelle (s) – Brain (s), of calf or lamb. charcuterie – cold meats chair – flesh chevreuil – venison coeur – heart contre filet – loin strip steak, thicker slices are grilled as T bone or rump steaks côtelettes – cutlets couennes – pork rinds échine – loin or chine (usually pork) entier – whole entrecôte – rib or rib eye steak, sometimes a slice from the rump is served under this name escalope – Boneless cho escargots – snails escargot petit-gris – small land snail. farcie – stuffing faux-filet – Sirloin steak flanchet – flank of beef, used in stews foie – liver foie de veau – calf's liver. fritons – coarse pork rillettes or minced spread which includes organ meats. gigot – leg gîtes à la noix – silverside / topside of beef goret – young pig. grillades – grilled meat haché – finely chopped meat hanche – haunch hure de porc – head of pig. jambon – ham jambon blanc – Boiled ham jambon cru – raw ham jarret – knuckle (of veal), shin (of beef) jesus – pork liver sausage langue – tongue lapins – rabbit lardons – Bits of bacon lievre – hare longe – lion of veal / pork maigre – thin / lean meat marcassin – young wild boar merguez – spicy lamb sausage minute / entracote – thin steak moelle – marrow morceaux – pieces mouflon – wild shee mouseau – Brawn mouton – mutton / shee noisette – small round slice of meat onglet – long rump steak os – Bone (marrow) paleron – part of the shoulder (beef) palette de porc – shoulder of porc paupiettes – small rolled pieces/ fillets of seasoned meat or fish pied – trotter / foot poitrine – Brisket (of beef) porc – pork ris d'agneau (de veau) – lamb (veal) sweetbreads. rognons – kidneys rognonnade – veal loin with kidneys attached. rumsteck – rump steak tende de tranche – silverside of beef terrine – coarse paté – resembles meat loaf and may consist of any meat, including game or fowl terrinée – Baked rice pudding tranche – slice / steak tripoux – mutton tripe. veau – veal viande – meat abignades / abegnades – goose tripe and blood served on fried bread with lemon africaine – dish usually with mushrooms, aubergine, tomato and potato garnish agenaise – fried eggs with onions and tomatoes aïgo à la ménagère – soup of onion, leek, garlic and tomato with poached eggs. aïgo bouïdo – garlic soup – a provençal speciality aïgo saou – fish and vegatable soup aïoli de morue – salt cod, garlic mayonnaise and vegetables albuféra (à la d's) – poached chicken dish, stuffed with rice, truffles and foie gras amuse gueule – cocktail snack anguille vert – Eel with herbs assiette anglaise – Cuts of cold meat assiette charcuterie – pâté, salami, etc Béatille – 'titbit', dish combining various offal. Bisque – seafood soup Boeuf (bouguignon) – Beef (with red wine) Bouilliture – eel stew with red wine and prunes. Brochette (en) – kebab (served on a skewer) carbonade flamande – Beef cooked in beer cargolade – a copious mixed grill of snails, lamb, pork sausage, and sometimes blood sausage cooked over vine clippings. cassoulet – white beans in casserole with meats civet de tripes d'oies – a stew of goose innards, shallots, and garlic, cooked in wine vinegar and thickened with goose blood. colère, en – 'in anger'; when, in the presentation of fish, its tail is inserted into its mouth to make it appear 'angry'. compote – stewed fruit consommé – clear soup couscous – north African dish with veg. and meat croque-monsieur – Welsh rarebit demoiselle de canard – marinated raw duck tenderloin; not to be confused with Demoiselles de Cherbourg small lobsters cooked in Court bouillon and served in their cooking juices. flammekeuche – A northern pizza with a thin crust fritot – small organ meat fritter. fruit de mer – shellfish – sea food platter gibelotte – fricassee of rabbit in red or white wine. gras – fatty. jus – gravy, sauce marmite – stew / stockpot matelote – fish stew medaillon – medallion sized slices meli-melo – hotch potch mi-cru – half raw. mi-cuit – half cooked. mollet – soft boiled egg mitonée – simmered museau de porc – snout of pork, vinegared. non compris – service charge has not been included on listed menu prices; however, check the bill it's not unusual to find that it's been added anyw L'Assiette Nordique – smoked fish platter oreille de porc – cooked pigs ear, served grilled, with a coating of egg and breadcrumbs. pangue – Corsican black pudding, usually with grapes or herbs. papillote – fish cooked wrapped in oiled paper or foil parmentier – dish cooked with potato pave – shaped in squares / slices pessie, en – cooked in a pig's bladder (usually chicken) pestou – garlic and basil butter piech – poached veal brisket stuffed with vegetables and herbs. pele – peeled périgueux – 1) purée of goose or duck liver and truffles. 2) truffle sauce poele – pot roasted point (a) – medium cooked – steak porchetta – young pig stuffed with offal, herbs and garlic and roasted. pot'sje vleish – meat brawn potage – thick soup soupe de poissons – fish soup têté de veau – veal's head velouté de tomates – cream of tomato soup velouté de volaille – cream of chicken soup Boulette d'sAvesnes – A northern cheese Foudjou – strong smelling goat's cheese blending pepper, garlic, salt and brand with fresh and aged grated cheese. Fromage de L'Avesnois – A northern cheese fromages – cheeses Maroilles – A northern cheese – strong smelling Mont des Cats – A northern- from Flanders Vieux Lille – A northern cheese assortiment – assortment caissette – crate confiture – jam miel – honey accompagnement – garnish / vegetable (served with meat) acidulés – sharp (acidic) affiné – ripe aigre – sour aigre doux / douce – Bitter sweet ailier – wing (bird / fish) aillé (e) – garlic flavoured arête – Bone (fish) Bâtonnet – sticks Beurre – Butter Bifteck haché – hamburger Braisé – Braised Brouillade – stew with oil Brouillé – scrambled Brûlé – toasted campagnarde – Buffet, provincial carte (à la carte) – menu (itemised prices) champignons – mushrooms cordon blue – literally "blue cord" cuit – cooked décongeler – defrost dijonnaise – with mustard sauce écréme – skimmed milk élevage – Breeding épais – thick épaule – shoulder étouffée (à l's. . .) – stewed filet – fillet four – oven baked Friday (e) – fried fumé – smoked gelés – frozen gratinée – grill browned gratuit – free grillé – grilled jeune d'oeuf – egg yolk mille feulles – fine layers of puff pastry nature – plain panier – Basket parfum – flavour pépites – nuggets poche – poached rissolé – fried rotir – roast rouelle – round slice semi épais – slightly thick surgelés – for deep freeze tartiner – spread tiède – warm abati (s) – giblet (s) of poultry or game foul. abbatis – fowl caille – quail canard – duck caneton – duckling dinde – turkey – hen dindon – turkey – cock dindonneau – turkey – young cock dodine – cold, stuffed poultry which has already been boned. faisan – pheasant foie gras – Goose liver gésier – gizzard lagopede – grouse magret de canard – Breast of fattened duck. oeuf – egg oie – goose palombe – wood pigeon perdreau – young partridge perdrix – partridge pigeon – pigeon pintade – guinea fowl poularde – chicken (boiled) – fattened pullet poule – chicken / fowl poulet – chicken (roasted) poussin – spring chicken suprême – 1) the wing and breast fillet removed in one piece from the side of a chicken carcass. 2) a thickened velouté sauce with mushrooms and cream volaille – poultry abadèche rouge – type of sea bass abusseau – type of sea smelt aigle de mer – skate aiglefin / églifin – cod / haddock aigrefin – ailes de raie – skate wings airelle – cranberry / bilberry anchois – anchovies anguille – Eel Bar – Bass / sea bass Barbue – Brill Bigorneau – periwinkle, tiny sea snail. Brochet – pike Brochet de la mer – Barracuda Brocheton – young pike Bulot – large sea snail or whelk, also called buccin. cabillaud – cod calmars – squid colin – hake coquilles St. Jacques – scallops crevette gris – small shrimp (brown) crevette grosse / royale – large prawn crevettes (roses) – shrimps – common prawn crustacés – shellfish darnes – fish steak daurade – sea bream dorade commune – red bream dorade gris – Black bream ecornet – small illex squid, also known as calamar. écrevisse – crayfish frémi – literally meaning 'trembling' and often applied to barely cooked oysters. friture – whitebait gamba – large prawn hareng – herring, ". . . baltique", marinated; ". . . bouffi", salted; ". . . pec", freshly salted; "saur", smoked. harenguet – sardine or sprat homard – lobster huître – oyster laitances – soft roes langouste – clawless spiny lobster or rock lobster; sometimes called crawfish and, mistakenly, crayfish. langoustine – clawed crustacean, smaller than langouste with very delicate meat. Known in British waters as Dublin Bay prawn. limande – dab – member of the plaice family limande sole – lemon sole lingueling – cod like fish loup de mer – sea bass lotte de mer – monk fish maquereau – mackerel merlan – hake / whiting morue – cod moules – mussels muge – mullet officer – type of cod omble, chevalier, char – fish akin to trout / salmon ombre commun – greyling oursin – sea urchin pied de cheval – horses foot; giant Atlantic coast oyster. perce – perche perche de la mer – sea bass plie – plaice poisson – fish poulpe – octopus sandre – pike / perch saumon – salmon thon – tuna tombe – gunarde (fish) truite – trout truite arc en ciel – rainbow trout aillada – spicy garlic and oil sauce aillade – garlic and walnut sauce aïoli – garlic mayonnaise aïoli à le grecque – a vinaigrette of garlic and nuts, served with fish albert – a creamy horseradish sauce albertine – a sauce based on white wine, mushrooms and trouffles Béarnaise – creamy, slightly piquant sauce, with egg yolks, shallots, vinegar, wine and peppercorns (plus tarragon and parsley) Béchamel – Basic white sauce Beurre blanc – sauce with butter, shallots, vinegar, white wine and crême fraîche or double cream Beurre noir – sauce with browned butter, vinegar and / or lemon juice Beurre vert – herb and butter sauce Bourguiginonne – red wine or herb sauce chasseur – sauce with wine and mushrooms coulis – fruit sauce meunière – Butter and lemon sauce Riste – Riste d'aubergine: an aubergine and tomato purée with garlic, olive oil and spices (Auchan sell this – highly recommended). sauce – sauce tapenade – a blend of black olives, anchovies, capers, olive oil and lemon juice. velouté – a glossy, velvety thickened chicken or meat stock abricot à la diable – poached glazed abricot on macaroons aigrelet (ette) – sourish tart aigrette – sour / tart aigrettes – sourish tart in choux pastry amandes – almonds Babeluttes de Lille – Caramels Betses – Mint humbugs Bombe – ice cream chuques du Nord – Coffee sweets with caramel centre coupe – ice cream sundae crêpe – pancake flan – custard tart gaufres – Waffles glaces – ice cream Langue (de chat) – cat's tongue; thin, narrow, delicate biscuit (often served with sorbet or ice cream). marmelade – stewed fruits patisseries – pastries / cakes omelotte a la confiture – sweet omelette tarte au fromage – Cheese cake made from eggs and cottage cheese. tarte aux sucre – Brown sugar Tarte abricot – apricot agrumes – citrus fruits ail – garlic ananas – pineapple artichaut – artichoke asperges – asparagus Betterave – Beetroot cassis – Blackcurrant cerises – cherries chicorée – endive (chicory) chou-fleur – cauliflower choux – cabbage choux de Bruxelles – Brussels sprouts citron – lemon cornichons – gherkins (pickled) concombre – cucumber cornichon – gherkin, tiny bitter cucumber pickle. crudités – fresh, raw vegetables endives – endive (chicory) épinards – spinach flageolets – dwarf kidney beans fraises – strawberries framboises – raspberries garni – with vegetables garniture – vegetables guyot – variety of pear haricot – Bean laitue – lettuce légume – vegetable mache – lambs lettuce mais – maize mangue – mango marrons – sweet chesnuts mesclun – mix of salad leaves mure – mulberry myrtile – Bilberry navette – turni navette de suede – swede noisette – hazelnut noix – nut oignon – onion orge perel – pearl barley ortice – nettle pacane – pecan nut pamplemousse – grapefruit perce-pierre – samphire, edible seaweed. pignon – pine nut pissenit – dandelion pistache – pistachio pleurotte – large field mushroom poireau – leek poivron – sweet pepper pomme – apple pomme de terre – potato prune – plum pruneau – prune salicorne – edible seaweed. tomates – tomato topinambour – jerusalem artichoke abricotine – apricot and brandy liquer apéritifs – Before meal drink Boisson compris – including wine Boissons – drinks digestifs – Brandy, liqueurs etc eau – water lait – milk mousseux – sparkling non gazeuse – still, flat panache – shandy porto – port thé – tea thé glacé – iced tea thé vert – china tea tisane – herb tea tisane d'sorge – Barley water Brioche – Sweet breakfast bread couronnes – Ring shaped baguette style bread cramique – Type of brioche with currants croissants – pastry levure – yeast marc – rough brandy nouilles – noodles pain au chocolat – Croissant with chocolate centre pain au Levain / L'Ancienne – Bread made from sour dough pain aux noix – Bread with walnuts pain aux olives – Bread with olives pain biologique – Made with organic wholemeal flour pain campagne – A heavier, longer lasting and tastier bread pain de mie – Sliced bread pain d'epice – ginger bread pain de sègle – Bread made with rye and wheat pain de son – Wholemeal bread with bran pain noir / complet – Wholemeal bread – Le Gout, France's annual food tasting week. The Other side. Interesting link about Flemmish food. – Slow Food France. – Les Routes du Terroir. Worth visiting (French). – Happy Cow, Vegetarian restaurants Wordwide. – Find a company dealing in French food and wine. Excellent resource. French version. Le Gout, about an annual food tasting week. – Hungry Monster. Hungry Monster. Facts about food, Foods glossary – Food Facts, Food information, and Tips! Good list of E-numbers. – Lets cook French. Lovely site with lots useful information.

Embedded & Real-time Operating Systems - Ralf Casey - 2 years ago - Views: Transcription 1 Universität Dortmund 12 Embedded & Real-time Operating Systems Peter Marwedel, Informatik 12 Germany 2 Application Knowledge Structure of this course New clustering 3: Embedded System HW 2: Specifications 5: Scheduling, HW/SW-Partitioning, Applications to MPMapping 4: Standard Software, RealTime Operating Systems 6: Evaluation 8: Testing 7: Optimization of Embedded Systems Book chapter 3 Reuse of standard software components Knowledge from previous designs to be made available in the form of intellectual property (IP, for SW & HW). Operating systems. - 3- 4 Embedded operating systems - Requirement: Configurability Configurability No single RTOS will fit all needs, no overhead for unused functions tolerated configurability needed. simplest form: remove unused functions (by linker?). Conditional compilation (using #if and #ifdef commands). Dynamic data might be replaced by static data. Advanced compile-time evaluation useful. Object-orientation could lead to a derivation subclasses. Verification a potential problem of systems with a large number of derived OSs: Each derived OS must be tested thoroughly; potential problem for ecos (open source RTOS from Red Hat), including 100 to 200 configuration points [Takada, 01]. - 4- 5 Windriver Example: Configuration of VxWorks - 5- 6 Embedded operating systems -Requirement: Disc and network handled by tasks Disc & network handled by tasks instead of integrated drivers. Relatively slow discs & networks can be handled by tasks. Many ES without disc, a keyboard, a screen or a mouse. Effectively no device that needs to be supported by all versions of the OS, except maybe the system timer. Embedded OS Standard OS kernel - 6- 7 Example: WindRiver Platform Industrial Automation Windriver - 7- 8 Embedded operating systems - Requirement: Protection is optionalprotection mechanisms not always necessary: ES typically designed for a single purpose, untested programs rarely loaded, SW considered reliable. (However, protection mechanisms may be needed for safety and security reasons). Privileged I/O instructions not necessary and tasks can do their own I/O. Example: Let switch be the address of some switch Simply use load register,switch instead of OS call. - 8- 9 Embedded operating systems - Requirement: Interrupts not restricted to OS Interrupts can be employed by any process For standard OS: serious source of unreliability. Since embedded programs can be considered to be tested, since protection is not necessary and since efficient control over a variety of devices is required, it is possible to let interrupts directly start or stop tasks (by storing the tasks start address in the interrupt table). More efficient than going through OS services. Reduced composability: if a task is connected to an interrupt, it may be difficult to add another task which also needs to be started by an event. - 9- 10 Embedded operating systems - Requirement: Real-time capabilitymany embedded systems are real-time (RT) systems and, hence, the OS used in these systems must be real-time operating systems (RTOSes) 11 Real-time operating systems - Real-time OS (1) Def.: (A) real-time operating system is an operating system that supports the construction of real-time systems The following are the three key requirements 3. The timing behavior of the OS must be predictable. services of the OS: Upper bound on the execution time! RTOSs must be deterministic: unlike standard Java, short times during which interrupts are disabled, contiguous files to avoid unpredictable head movements. [Takada, 2001] 12 Real-time operating systems - Real-time OS (2) 1. OS must manage the timing and scheduling OS possibly has to be aware of task deadlines; (unless scheduling is done off-line). OS must provide precise time services with high resolution. [Takada, 2001] 13 Time services Time plays a central role in real-time systems. Actual time is described by real numbers. Two discrete standards are used in real-time equipment: International atomic time TAI (french: temps atomic internationale) Free of any artificial artifacts. Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) UTC is defined by astronomical standards UTC and TAI identical on Jan. 1st, seconds had to be added since then. Not without problems: New Year may start twice per night 14 Internal synchronization Synchronization with one master clock Typically used in startup-phases Distributed synchronization: 3. Collect information from neighbors 4. Compute correction value 5. Set correction value. Precision of step 1 depends on how information is collected: Application level: ~500 µs to 5 ms Operation system kernel: 10 µs to 100 µs Communication hardware: < 10 µs 15 Byzantine Error Erroneous local clocks can have an impact on the computed local time. Advanced algorithms are fault-tolerant with respect to Byzantine errors. Excluding k erroneous clocks is possible with 3k+1 clocks (largest and smallest values will be excluded. Many publications in this area. k=1 t 16 External synchronization External synchronization guarantees consistency with actual physical time. Recent trend is to use GPS for ext. synchronization GPS offers TAI and UTC time information. Resolution is about 100 ns. GPS mouse Dell 17 Problems with external synchronization Problematic from the perspective of fault tolerance: Erroneous values are copied to all stations. Consequence: Accepting only small changes to local time. Many time formats too restricted; e.g.: NTP protocol includes only years up to 2036 For time services and global synchronization of clocks synchronization see Kopetz, 18 Real-time operating systems - Real-time OS (3) 1. The OS must be fast Practically important. [Takada, 2001] 19 RTOS-Kernels Distinction between real-time kernels and modified kernels of standard OSes. Distinction between general RTOSes and RTOSes for specific domains, standard APIs (e.g. POSIX RT-Extension of Unix, ITRON, OSEK) or proprietary APIs 20 Functionality of RTOS-Kernels Includes processor management, memory management, and timer management; resource management task management (resume, wait etc), inter-task communication and synchronization 21 Classes of RTOSes according to R. Gupta 1. Fast proprietary kernels Fast proprietary kernels For complex systems, these kernels are inadequate, because they are designed to be fast, rather than to be predictable in every respect [R. Gupta, UCI/UCSD] Examples include QNX, PDOS, VCOS, VTRX32, VxWORKS 22 Classes of RTOSes according to R. Gupta 2. Real-time extensions to standard OSs Real-time extensions to standard OSes: Attempt to exploit comfortable main stream OSes. RT-kernel running all RT-tasks. Standard-OS executed as one task. + Crash of standard-os does not affect RT-tasks; - RT-tasks cannot use Standard-OS services; less comfortable than expected 23 Example: RT-Linux Init Bash RT-tasks cannot use standard OS calls. Commercially available from fsmlabs () Mozilla scheduler Linux-Kernel RT-Task driver RT-Task interrupts I/O RT-Scheduler RT-Linux interrupts interrupts Hardware 24 Example: Posix 1.b RT-extensions to Linux Standard scheduler can be replaced by POSIX scheduler implementing priorities for RT tasks RT-Task RT-Task Init Bash POSIX 1.b scheduler Linux-Kernel driver I/O, interrupts Mozilla Special RT-calls and standard OS calls available. Easy programming, no guarantee for meeting deadline Hardware 25 Evaluation (Gupta) According to Gupta, trying to use a version of a standard OS: not the correct approach because too many basic and inappropriate underlying assumptions still exist such as optimizing for the average case (rather than the worst case),... ignoring most if not all semantic information, and independent CPU scheduling and resource allocation. Dependences between tasks not frequent for most applications of std. OSs & therefore frequently ignored. Situation different for ES since dependences between tasks are quite common 26 Market Classes of RTOSes according to R. Gupta 3. Research systems trying to avoid limitations Research systems trying to avoid limitations. Include MARS, Spring, MARUTI, Arts, Hartos, DARK, and Melody Research issues [Takada, 2001]: low overhead memory protection, temporal protection of computing resources RTOSes for on-chip multiprocessors support for continuous media quality of service (QoS) control. Competition between traditional vendors (e.g. Wind River Systems) and Embedded Windows XP and Windows CE 27 Summary General requirements for embedded operating systems Configurability, I/O, interrupts General properties of real-time operating systems Predictability Time services, synchronization Classes of RTOSs, device driver embedding Embedded Systems. 6. Real-Time Operating Systems Embedded Systems 6. Real-Time Operating Systems Lothar Thiele 6-1 Contents of Course 1. Embedded Systems Introduction 2. Software Introduction 7. System Components 10. Models 3. Real-Time Models 4. Periodic/Aperiodic Embedded & Real-time Operating Systems Communication Libraries Embedded & Real-time Operating Systems Communication Libraries Jian-Jia Chen (Slides are based on Peter Marwedel) TU Dortmund, Informatik 12 Germany Springer, 2010 2014 年 11 月 18 日 These slides use Microsoft Standard Applications Middleware. Peter Marwedel TU Dortmund, Informatik 12 Germany. technische universität dortmund. fakultät für informatik informatik 12 Universität Dortmund 12 Middleware Peter Marwedel TU Dortmund, Informatik 12 Germany Graphics: Alexandra Nolte, Gesine Marwedel, 2003 2010 年 11 月 26 日 These slides use Microsoft clip arts. Microsoft copyright Aperiodic Task Scheduling Aperiodic Task Scheduling Jian-Jia Chen (slides are based on Peter Marwedel) TU Dortmund, Informatik 12 Germany Springer, 2010 2014 年 11 月 19 日 These slides use Microsoft clip arts. Microsoft copyright Lecture 3 Theoretical Foundations of RTOS CENG 383 Real-Time Systems Lecture 3 Theoretical Foundations of RTOS Asst. Prof. Tolga Ayav, Ph.D. Department of Computer Engineering Task States Executing Ready Suspended (or blocked) Dormant (or sleeping) Outline: Operating Systems Outline: Operating Systems What is an OS OS Functions Multitasking Virtual Memory File Systems Window systems PC Operating System Wars: Windows vs. Linux 1 Operating System provides a way to boot (start) Real-Time Operating Systems for MPSoCs Real-Time Operating Systems for MPSoCs Hiroyuki Tomiyama Graduate School of Information Science Nagoya University MPSoC 2009 1 Contributors Hiroaki Takada Director and Professor Operating Systems. Lecture 03. February 11, 2013 Operating Systems Lecture 03 February 11, 2013 Goals for Today Interrupts, traps and signals Hardware Protection System Calls Interrupts, Traps, and Signals The occurrence of an event is usually signaled Building Embedded Systems All Rights Reserved. The contents of this document cannot be reproduced without prior permission of the authors. Building Embedded Systems Chapter 2: Building Operating Systems Andreas Knirsch [email protected] & Linux A multi-purpose executive support for civil avionics applications? August 2004 Serge GOIFFON Pierre GAUFILLET AIRBUS France Linux A multi-purpose executive support for civil avionics applications? Civil avionics software context Main characteristics Required dependability Real-Time Operating Systems With Example PICOS18. What is an Operating System? Real-Time Operating Systems With Example PICOS18 Sebastian Fischmeister 1 What is an Operating System? A program that acts as an intermediary between a user of a computer and the computer hardware Operating Predictable response times in event-driven real-time systems Predictable response times in event-driven real-time systems Automotive 2006 - Security and Reliability in Automotive Systems Stuttgart, October 2006. Presented by: Michael González Harbour [email protected] Structure Operating System Structure Lecture 3 Disclaimer: some slides are adopted from the book authors slides with permission Recap Computer architecture CPU, memory, disk, I/O devices Memory hierarchy Architectural Real-Time Operating Systems. Institut Mines-Telecom Ludovic Apvrille [email protected] Eurecom, office 470 Outline 2/66 Fall 2014 Institut Mines-Telecom Definitions What is an Embedded to Operating Systems. Perspective of the Computer. System Software. Indiana University Chen Yu Introduction to Operating Systems Indiana University Chen Yu Perspective of the Computer System Software A general piece of software with common functionalities that support many applications. Example: Page 1 of 5. IS 335: Information Technology in Business Lecture Outline Operating Systems Lecture Outline Operating Systems Objectives Describe the functions and layers of an operating system List the resources allocated by the operating system and describe the allocation process Explain how Chapter 3 Operating-System Structures Contents 1. Introduction 2. Computer-System Structures 3. Operating-System Structures 4. Processes 5. Threads 6. CPU Scheduling 7. Process Synchronization 8. Deadlocks 9. Memory Management 10. Virtual System Overview. Otto J. Anshus Operating System Overview Otto J. Anshus A Typical Computer CPU... CPU Memory Chipset I/O bus ROM Keyboard Network A Typical Computer System CPU. CPU Memory Application(s) Operating System ROM OS Apps Virtualization for Cloud Computing Virtualization for Cloud Computing Dr. Sanjay P. Ahuja, Ph.D. 2010-14 FIS Distinguished Professor of Computer Science School of Computing, UNF CLOUD COMPUTING On demand provision of computational resources Principles and characteristics of distributed systems and environments Principles and characteristics of distributed systems and environments Definition of a distributed system Distributed system is a collection of independent computers that appears to its users as a single Real Time Programming: Concepts Real Time Programming: Concepts Radek Pelánek Plan at first we will study basic concepts related to real time programming then we will have a look at specific programming languages and study how they realize Distributed Systems: Concepts and Design Distributed Systems: Concepts and Design Edition 3 By George Coulouris, Jean Dollimore and Tim Kindberg Addison-Wesley, Pearson Education 2001. Chapter 2 Exercise Solutions 2.1 Describe and illustrate PikeOS: Multi-Core RTOS for IMA. Dr. Sergey Tverdyshev SYSGO AG 29.10.2012, Moscow PikeOS: Multi-Core RTOS for IMA Dr. Sergey Tverdyshev SYSGO AG 29.10.2012, Moscow Contents Multi Core Overview Hardware Considerations Multi Core Software Design Certification Consideratins PikeOS Multi-Core Control period can have high frequency (short control frame) ex: 0.1kHz - 1kHz in robot controllers Meccanica dei robot Real-time systems A really short introduction Advanced automation digital control of motors Reliable control a computer must periodically give a setpoint to motors Control period can OPERATING SYSTEM SERVICES OPERATING SYSTEM SERVICES USER INTERFACE Command line interface(cli):uses text commands and a method for entering them Batch interface(bi):commands and directives to control those commands are entered Open Source Software Open Source Software Title Experiences and considerations about open source software for standard software components in automotive environments 2 Overview Experiences Project Findings Considerations X-by-wire Last Class: OS and Computer Architecture. Last Class: OS and Computer Architecture Last Class: OS and Computer Architecture System bus Network card CPU, memory, I/O devices, network card, system bus Lecture 3, page 1 Last Class: OS and Computer Architecture OS Service Protection Interrupts Linux 2.4. Linux. Windows Linux 2.4 Non-preemptible kernel A system call might take long time to complete Coarse timer resolution Tasks can be released only with 10ms precision Virtual memory Introduces unpredictable amount System Structures Chapter 2 System Structures Operating-System Structures Goals: Provide a way to understand an operating systems Services Interface System Components The type of system desired is the basis for choices, CHAPTER 15: Operating Systems: An Overview CHAPTER 15: Operating Systems: An Overview The Architecture of Computer Hardware, Systems Software & Networking: An Information Technology Approach 4th Edition, Irv Englander John Wiley and Sons 2010 PowerPoint SYSTEM ecos Embedded Configurable Operating System BELONGS TO THE CYGNUS SOLUTIONS founded about 1989 initiative connected with an idea of free software ( commercial support for the free software ). Recently merged with RedHat. CYGNUS was also the original Cloud Computing. Up until now Cloud Computing Lecture 11 Virtualization 2011-2012 Up until now Introduction. Definition of Cloud Computing Grid Computing Content Distribution Networks Map Reduce Cycle-Sharing 1 Process Virtual Machines Operating Systems. III. Scheduling. Operating Systems Institut Mines-Telecom III. Scheduling Ludovic Apvrille [email protected] Eurecom, office 470 Outline Basics of Scheduling Definitions Switching. OS OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS OS OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS Which one of the following is Little s formula Where n is the average queue length, W is the time that a process waits 1)n=Lambda*W 2)n=Lambda/W 3)n=Lambda^W 4)n=Lambda*(W-n) Answer:1 CSE 120 Principles of Operating Systems. Modules, Interfaces, Structure CSE 120 Principles of Operating Systems Fall 2000 Lecture 3: Operating System Modules, Interfaces, and Structure Geoffrey M. Voelker Modules, Interfaces, Structure We roughly defined an OS as the layer Chapter 1: Introduction. What is an Operating System? Chapter 1: Introduction What is an Operating System? Mainframe Systems Desktop Systems Multiprocessor Systems Distributed Systems Clustered System Real -Time Systems Handheld Systems Computing Environments Cloud Operating Systems for Servers Cloud Operating Systems for Servers Mike Day Distinguished Engineer, Virtualization and Linux August 20, 2014 [email protected] 1 What Makes a Good Cloud Operating System?! Consumes Few Resources! Fast 6, The Operating System Machine Level Chapter 6, The Operating System Machine Level 6.1 Virtual Memory 6.2 Virtual I/O Instructions 6.3 Virtual Instructions For Parallel Processing 6.4 Example Operating Systems 6.5 Summary Virtual Memory General Embedded OS. Product Information Product Information Table of Contents 1 Operating Systems for ECUs... 3 2 MICROSAR.OS The Real-Time Operating System for the AUTOSAR Standard... 3 2.1 Overview of Advantages... 3 2.2 Properties... 4 2.3 MultiPARTES. Virtualization on Heterogeneous Multicore Platforms. 2012/7/18 Slides by TU Wien, UPV, fentiss, UPM MultiPARTES Virtualization on Heterogeneous Multicore Platforms 2012/7/18 Slides by TU Wien, UPV, fentiss, UPM Contents Analysis of scheduling approaches Virtualization of devices Dealing with heterogeneous Programming real-time systems with C/C++ and POSIX Programming real-time systems with C/C++ and POSIX Michael González Harbour 1. Introduction The C language [1], developed in 1972 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories, is the most widely State-Machine Replication State-Machine Replication The Problem Clients Server The Problem Clients Server The Problem Clients Server The Problem Clients Server The Problem Clients Server The Problem Clients Server Solution: replicate Time and Clocks. Time and Clocks. Time Time and Clocks Time: we model the continuum of real-time as a directed timeline consisting of an infinite set {T} of instants with the following properties: {T} is an ordered set, i.e., if p and q are Real- Time Scheduling Real- Time Scheduling Chenyang Lu CSE 467S Embedded Compu5ng Systems Readings Ø Single-Processor Scheduling: Hard Real-Time Computing Systems, by G. Buttazzo. q Chapter 4 Periodic Task Scheduling q Chapter Chapter 13 Embedded Operating Systems Operating Systems: Internals and Design Principles Chapter 13 Embedded Operating Systems Eighth Edition By William Stallings Embedded System Refers to the use of electronics and software within a product. Linux Driver Devices. Why, When, Which, How? Bertrand Mermet Sylvain Ract Linux Driver Devices. Why, When, Which, How? Since its creation in the early 1990 s Linux has been installed on millions of computers or embedded systems. These systems may Improvement of Scheduling Granularity for Deadline Scheduler Improvement of Scheduling Granularity for Deadline Scheduler Yoshitake Kobayashi Advanced Software Technology Group Corporate Software Engineering Center TOSHIBA CORPORATION Copyright 2012, Toshiba Corporation. Operating System for the K computer Operating System for the K computer Jun Moroo Masahiko Yamada Takeharu Kato For the K computer to achieve the world s highest performance, Fujitsu has worked on the following three performance improvements COS 318: Operating Systems COS 318: Operating Systems OS Structures and System Calls Andy Bavier Computer Science Department Princeton University Outline Protection mechanisms White Paper Perceived Performance Tuning a system for what really matters TMurgent Technologies White Paper Perceived Performance Tuning a system for what really matters September 18, 2003 White Paper: Perceived Performance 1/7 TMurgent Technologies Introduction The purpose Red Hat Linux Internals Red Hat Linux Internals Learn how the Linux kernel functions and start developing modules. Red Hat Linux internals teaches you all the fundamental requirements necessary to understand and start developing 3 - Introduction to Operating Systems 3 - Introduction to Operating Systems Mark Handley What is an Operating System? An OS is a program that: manages the computer hardware. provides the basis on which application programs can be built and Introduction. What is an Operating System? Introduction What is an Operating System? 1 What is an Operating System? 2 Why is an Operating System Needed? 3 How Did They Develop? Historical Approach Affect of Architecture 4 Efficient Utilization Developing a dynamic, real-time IT infrastructure with Red Hat integrated virtualization Developing a dynamic, real-time IT infrastructure with Red Hat integrated virtualization Table of contents Introduction Page 3 Benefits of virtualization Page 3 Virtualization challenges

Last week, I was honored to take part in the filming of a documentary by the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) on single people around the world, called Flying Solo (to be released, Fall, 2013). As you probably know by now, there are more single people than married people, for the first time in U.S. history. What you may not know is that this trend is happening all around the world. In just about every developed country, the number of single people is rising. (As in the U.S., some are single for life, some marry later, others are divorced but at any given point in time, the percentage of singles is trending upward.) Scott Harper and his crew showed up at my apartment around 8am to set-up. We filmed for 3-4 hours, including a lunch I had with some girlfriends at Eolo, an Italian restaurant in my neighborhood. It was at this lunch that I was reminded of one of my favorite blog posts by another blogger. Scott asked us something about the difference between single and married women. I paraphrased a line from a blog post by Jen, at Sheality, a blog written by five women: “It’s about what you’re willing to tolerate; being lonely -or- being annoyed.” Here’s a lift from the Sheality post: “I have a theory. There are only two kinds of people in the world: lonely (and single) or annoyed (and in a relationship). I think we all have a higher tolerance for one – either you’re better at being lonely or you’re better at being annoyed. But they are really your only options. Either you’re lonely or you’re annoyed. I mean sure – early love is great and you want to be with that person all the time. When you live with someone, you can get a hug at the end of a long day, or someone to make your coffee in the morning. I have been there.. Or no one is around to judge you when eat an entire can of frosting or don’t wash dishes for a week. But sometimes you want someone to talk to, or make you tea when you’re sick, or have sex with you.” The first time I read this, it was like a lightbulb when off in my head. Aha! Lonely That’s it! It is a perfect description of me. I, a single woman, am much better at tolerating the occasional loneliness I feel than I would be at tolerating the frequent annoyances I feel I’d have to put up if I lived in the same house with my (non-existent) husband. One of the other single women at the lunch agreed that this description also fit her well. Annoyed And the married ladies? They also thought it fit them. They acknowledge the continual annoyances they must tolerate when sharing living quarters with their husbands, and also acknowledge that they’d choose those annoyances over living alone. I love it! I think this is the perfect analogy. (Actually, I’m not sure it’s a true analogy…but you get my point.) I now have the answer I can give to concerned people who like to ask why I’m not married: “I choose loneliness over annoyance.” To me, one’s not better (or worse) than the other, they’re just different. Can you think of any other non-scientific comparisons that explain this whole “single vs married” thing? Make it fun! I definitely prefer single over annoyances. Even when dating someone for awhile, I get to the point of “am I going to have to do this forever???” I start getting close to dating someone and think, “ugghhhh…. do I really want someone who is going to demand my time?” I don’t know that I ever really feel “lonely”. If I do, I just go workout, watch a movie or go to bed. I also have a daughter living in the house, so I wonder if when she moves out, I’ll feel differently, but I certainly can’t imagine bringing a man into my home while she’s living here. I’m definitely not in favor of blending my family. I hate to be the one to say this, but i think i fall in the category of the ones who prefer the annoyances over being alone. I’ve been into 2 serious relationship and though they were rife with problems especially at the end I still miss being with my partners sometimes… coming home to someone, talking over issues and event the annoying fights..sadly being alone takes its toll on me, coming home sometimes to an empty home and no shoulder to cry on….I guess for me the worst part is the switching that i experience, i really don’t have a one particular go – to person, but a few of them, and some of them are not always available.. especially at dawn when i cant sleep due to deep worries… having said this I suppose if I had a better job it may have reduced my need for external sources of comfort and advice. Sadly when one expresses to people that you prefer annoyance to being alone , people tend to judge you as incompetent/weak because you cannot handle being alone…… I’m in a relationship now. And it definitely fits description of “Annoyances and in relationship”. Infact, it will be annoyances with anyone you’re with… sooner or later. I’m seriously considering “lonely and single”, realizing there’s nothing anyone can offer me that I don’t already have within me. My biggest lesson: I’ll NEVER be a complete free expression of consciousness that god has given me… as long as I’m in a relationship. Why? Because relationship take focus away from YOU, and puts it into satisfying the other. All the while, sacrificing your own happiness, being-ness…. and true expression of who you are. EG: If you love to give to others because that’s what makes YOU happy, and your partner doesn’t appreciate that, then you’ll obviously stop giving to make your partner happy, at expense of your nature/happiness. And yes, I realize everything I’m saying is my point of view, and it may change over time. However right now, after being in a relationship, this is what my intuition is telling me. Very honest of you…respect I am actually glad i never got married, I have been with losers and creeps in relationships over the years and I could never imagine me marrying any of the guys i have been with over the years, my longest relationship was 4 years and i am so glad i never married the loser. Single is sometimes better than being married, better being free and happy than married and miserable. Very true. I think the real question is which will offer you with the most peace. For me, it is single, completely alone. Can you stand the silence? Most people cannot, oh well to each his or her own. Thanks for posting this – I’m enjoying reading your blog about the single life at 50. It’s so interesting, and definitely necessary in today’s marriage-is-the-end-goal world. I’m struggling a bit right now… I am 24. Young, budding career. Smart, driven, ambitious. I’m in a serious relationship, we’ve been dating for years and living together for over a year. I love him, I really do. I’m still very attracted to him, and we compliment each other and fulfill each other’s lives on a daily basis. I still have an independent life and we share a good balance. Sometimes I’m lonely within my relationship, and it’s work, but all-in-all I love him and I’m happy here. Buuut… Sometimes I wonder about this other part of me: I could totally see us getting married and spending forever together. And, yes, that would make me happy. But what would I miss? The other part of me sometimes thinks maybe we should just break up, to see what else is out there. But I can’t walk away from my love and happiness. I know I could be single; I don’t mind being alone and focusing on my career, hobbies, my dogs… But why throw away something great, something that everyone else seems to be chasing? The grass is always greener – right? I guess, I wonder what I would regret more… living with a husband or living single, alone. It’s different experiences, different lifestyles…. I’m just at the fork, wondering which one to pick when I’m fine with both annoyances or loneliness…. Ella: write back in awhile and let us know what you decided. Maybe you can do a guest blog post? Well, I can say this. I was married at one point and had/have two children from that marriage. Now I am divorced raising my two alone. Even though my divorce was painful, I felt the relief of living without a spouse immediately. It was like a semi-dark cloud was lifted. I was in a fog and didn’t even know it until it was lifted. I wasn’t even the one who initiated the divorce. I was clueless to my unhappiness. Now I enjoy life to the fullest that my finances will allow..lol. I get every other weekend to myself. To spend how I want to spend it. My house is mine, run by me, decorated by me. I spend my money without anyone questioning me. But most of all I got to know me again and that is HUGE…..In other words I have been on both sides of the fence. Currently I’m LOVING this side. I always get asked why I am not married again. I am surrounded by friends who have remarried for he second or third time. Now my answer will be “Because I prefer loneliness over annoyance”…HAHAHA!!! That will make them think. While not a perfect comparison for everyone, for the majority, that is pretty spot-on! There’s far too much emphasis put on being married as a girl from the time we’re children; we’re given baby dolls and taught how to emulate our own mothers, growing up we learn that if we act and dress a certain way we’re more likely to get the attention from people we want as a means of getting dates or further, and as an adult many women are made to feel awkward past college if they’re not married, have children, or have either event planned in the near future. I once had a boss who constantly remarked how odd it was that despite the fact that I was pretty I didn’t have a man constantly coming to work to check on me, and told me that there must be something wrong with me because of this. He also felt the need to remind me that I was all of 27 and didn’t have children yet; again, there must have been something wrong with me. I was raised to be a wife. I’m far more domestic than most girls my own age, but I was also raised with the focus of “when you get married and have kids” as an inevitable goal. I ducked out of arranged marriage, and over the years have been engaged three times, none of which ever resulted in marriage. But there was always that fear of being lonely, so dealing with whatever was making me unhappy was preferable to being alone forever. Right now is the first time I’m solidly single, completely on my own, and being forced to be entirely self-reliant. Frankly, it’s awesome, and the sense of freedom is completely unmatched with anything else in my life. Yes, I fall into the category of being lonely, but there are ways to work with that, I’m finding. I don’t have to alter my schedule and needs to suit someone else. I can plan a weekend and go have fun on my own. There’s a lot less stress involved in being single and occasionally lonely; I don’t have to worry about how much income another person is generating and freaking as much about the bills because of it, if the house needs cleaning I don’t have to gripe at someone else to help me clean something I didn’t dirty, and there is a satisfaction in being the “auntie” to everyone else’s kids in that I can spoil them, play with them, hype them up on sugar, and then give them back. I really think if we took away the social training and stigma placed on marrying and having kids as the end goal for everyone, people would be less afraid of being alone and find they’re better at a lot more things than they think they are or are ever told they are. :3 Kudos to the women who are wives and mothers and who are genuinely happy – one of my besties is one of them, and she has an amazing family and incredible husband. I, however, think I’ll take a little time to fully explore singledom and my freedom. A little loneliness seems like a fair price. <3 Shannie, what is your age? I’m finding same. Always wanted beautiful woman. Got her. Now I know there’s nothing anyone can give me that I don’t already have within me. Love, appreciation, respect? It’s all within. I really see no point of relationship unless person is looking for “completion” from another opp sex. Just because I have reached a certain age DOES NOT MEAN I AM NOT AS VALUE AS A MARRIED WOMAN. Please understand most single older women as myself are strong, self reliant and assured that there is a place in the world for us. We just conquer more understanding as to what the truth really is. NO artificial body parts and no assembly required. I know thousands of ungrateful married women whose attitude smells like rotten eggs. For now I stick to Brady bunch at 4:00 until some one can give me some faith into spouting a job and opportunity for me. be well .. I’m not sure I agree. For me, it’s more of a plus vs minus. For example, my dog sometimes poops on the floor or breaks into my purse to eat my chapstick, but it’s still worth it to me to have her quivering furry love at the end of the day. The plus is greater than the minus. I genuinely feel (having been married) that so long as the equation ends in the positive, it’s worth staying. If it’s not, it’s not. My experience was that my love and compassion always won over irritation over non-dealbreaker events (cheating,lies etc being dealbreakers; love of the three stooges is not). This was true even after 14 years. I found great satisfaction in giving love, which created a lot of my happiness. I also married someone who I greatly admired, so I had things to balance out the negative. Though I always needed more alone time than my ex, it was never difficult to get. It was easy to get him to spend time with his male friends for stuff I hated anyway (action movie and beer night, ick). I do believe that it made a big difference that we did not share a bathroom or closet and my bed was a California King. Interestingly, it was more lonely at the end of my marriage, being next to someone who didn’t love me, than any lonliness that has occurred from being single. I agree with everything you said from the dog is worth a little poo on the floor to it being lonelier trying to have a relationship in a bad one, than living single. Better to be single than wish you were. :):):). Hey, what if you’re single but you want to be married? But you struggle to find the right partner? I think there should be a third category… I hate being lonely and I wish for being annoyed lol 🙂 (Not that there’s anything wrong with wanting to be single! …but not all single people want to be that way…) I agree with Dana. While it’s true that marriage requires putting up with another person’s annoying habits, that’s not all it is. There are tons of reasons that marriages don’t work out, and they usually have to do with people being dishonest with each other or themselves (i.e. dishonest about finances, dishonest about whether they even want a relationship, etc.). It doesn’t usually end just because someone can’t remember to put away their wet towel after a shower. If you go into marriage with the knowledge that the other person has flaws that you’ll have to adapt to, and YOU also have flaws that THEY will have to adapt to, things take on a different light, in my opinion. Maybe some people are single because they don’t want to adapt to other people’s annoying habits, and that’s fair. But the discussion isn’t complete unless you also consider that the tolerance of annoyance goes in both directions. Agreed! This post is so fitting for me. I get so annoyed very quickly that I could never imagine being married or even being in a relationship very long. Or, I should say living with a man. I know I would tell him to leave or say hurtful things for him to leave my space just to have some time alone. The thought of being with a person for that long (like in marriage) is horrifying! I would rather, in a billion years, be alone than have to deal with other peopls annoyances all of the time. Family is enough (in a good way). My situation echoes Eleanore’s and I’m unlikely to have a serious relationship in the future (I’ve had just one to date!), however it is funny how nature gives us that little pair of rose-coloured glasses when we first fall for someone, and we see all their flaws and idiosyncrasies as simply adorable until they morph into hugely annoying, even intolerable. As I get older, this honeymoon period gets briefer and briefer, it seems. Recently I went out with a friend of a friend who, despite being handsome, is brain-damaged, bipolar, semi-alcoholic, works nights and isn’t up for a relationship. Winner-winner-chicken-dinner, right? Well I do live in Sydney, and this is the kind of guy that’s available once you remove all the gay and attached men. I thought he was fabulous. He was about to go on holidays for a few weeks and I couldn’t wait till he got back. I was fixated, and he brought a smile to my face every time I thought of him. However – and I know the “time of the month” comes into this – when he returned and we hooked up again, any semblance of romance and longing had disappeared. I saw him crystal-clear, warts and all, and we both said, “Let’s be friends”. I’m sure we meant it, too, as we move in a similar circle. But I was like, “What the hell was I thinking?” Rather than mope in misery that I’m single, I thank Mother Nature for robbing me of the prolonged agony of the great love delusion that so often withers and dies, leaving us resentful and trapped. I think the married lady above is very lucky, but from my observations, she’s in an increasing minority. For a start, fewer women are willing to tolerate unfulfilling relationships, and fewer men are willing to commit now that it’s so easy to get a quick fix via internet dating. It really does come down to the individual though, and luck. There is no “wrong” or “right”. I would like to keep my response lighthearted – I really would – but the marriage part is pretty inaccurate and erroneously depressing, in my opinion. When I was single there were bouts of loneliness, but nothing extreme. I was OK, but life could get pretty hum drum and I often wondered, “Is this it? I had fun tonight with the girls, but there’s only so much fun we can have.” Or, “Dating is cool, but I wonder how it would feel to be cherished as if I’m someone’s rib?” Now that I’m married, I am never lonely and I find life to be 98% fulfilling. I can do all of the things I enjoyed as a single lady, PLUS have a loving husband by my side to go through life. We are a team and it feels good. I’ve been married 6 years, so it’s not so new, but it’s still great. I enjoy learning new things about my husband, and at the same time the familiarity is comforting and makes me smile. We anticipate the day that our 17 year old sons will go to college so we can sell the house and get a low maintenance condo — and walk around butt naked at will. I still get goosebumps when I look up at my husband. I’m sure it helps that I married someone who I respect, am very attracted to, and consider a real friend. We like hanging out together, vacationing together, dancing to rap and ballads, building dreams, etc. We just really enjoy each other’s company. Our arguments are rare and sometimes I try to make a mountain out of a molehill just to get some new fire going. That’s always fun and different. LOL My life was OK before my husband, but he made it so much better and so much more FUN. I can totally be myself: introspective one moment and wild the next. We have the same values, we’re both traditional, and we work hard and play hard. I can’t lie and say that marriage, for me, is putting up with annoying habits. My son has more annoying habits that my husband! I married a southern gentleman and, frankly, I’m having a blast. Marrying after 30 is the way to go. You know who you are and exactly what you want. I would have never settled for someone who annoyed me to any great extent. I could have just stayed single and let my girls annoy me b/c they can be so good at it. LOL! I think some people are made for marriage and others are not. That doesn’t mean either situation is bad…just the right situation for YOU. Thanks for writing, Dana! Sounds like you have a great marriage. I think you summed it up well with “some people are made for marriage and others not.” And I totally agree –and have always said– one’s not better than the other, as much as whether it is the right situation for you at the time. Sounds like you guys are having a good time! As it should be I always tell my married friends that I wouldn’t make a good wife because I would kill my husband when he did the things their husbands do….I love this ‘analogy’. I chose to be alone over being annoying and unhappy. Very similar to my view! When someone dares to ask me why I’m not married (so rude! who goes around asking people “Why are you married”?), I say “I’ve never met anyone I wasn’t pretty sure I’d end up killing.” All those little annoyances make me positively homicidal. .” Very true, Goddiva! Well said. I think this also speaks to people’s extreme fear of being alone. Somehow it seems better to be in a terrible relationship than none at all. I think singles who refuse to be in such drama are actually the stronger ones. We face societal pressure and judgement and yet stay true to ourselves. Now, like you said, if it’s a healthy and mature relationship then go for it! I’m all for it. Ooooh my! This is ‘US’ (spinsterlicious women). Love it….and a nicer way of putting what I normally refer to as women with high or low bull s*!t tolerance: Political wives, wives of athletes, staying w/ cheat’n beat’n men, outside relationship breeding dudes etc. This woman will proudly profess the longevity of the relationship, this is a high BS tolerant type since she would rather be annoyed than alone after all “having a man” is validation that she is worthy. The low BS type enjoyed the campaign but called it quits when she realized now that he won she would be expected to smile on cue, tells the baller the gifts/trips and dinners are swell but stifles a laugh when he says he wants to recruit her permanently (as 4 groupies wait impatiently for him in the back of the MAYBACH. Yep, I long learned that I would rather be alone than in a “relationship” and feel lonely. Been there and that’s long pass. Yet some women spend decades living like that.THEY can have annoyed! Great analogy! It’s perfect. Thanks for sharing that blog article. It also reminds me of how much marriage and being partnered is celebrated, when in fact, I think there are many, many, many unhappy partnered people out there. Just look at the divorce rate. It’s funny that even though most relationships don’t work out or last forever (and many end very bitterly), society still touts relationships as being the preferred way — even at the cost of living a peaceful life. I’m not saying one lifestyle is better than the other, but give us singles a break because coupled folks don’t have it all figured out either. If they did, the divorce courts would be empty, Judge Judy would have less cases to preside over and Maury wouldn’t be in the DNA business! If that’s the price of coupledom — I’ll stay single for-eva! PS. I don’t mean that all partnered people are in Maury situations; it just illustrates the what I’d consider the ultimate annoyance about being in a relationship. Dee,. Yeah on Lifetime TV that’s the cure but in real life no Hallmark. When its done with maturity, honesty and realistically coupledom is a beautiful thing. But for me even then I need quiet Sunday’s, control over my remote and my own self imposed time out corner. According to my mother I have been this way from the moment I could crawl to a corner of seclusion nto be left alone. I think that’s a fairly accurate breakdown. To me lonely is occasional, but whenever I’ve lived with anyone (family, partner, friend) annoyed turns into a regular thing fairly quickly. And annoyance over time will eventually turn into bitterness. I also think people are notoriously bad at picking which category (lonely or annoyed) they fall into. There is a fear of being lonely, but not a fear of being annoyed/bitter. In truth, they can both be equally destructive. This analogy is perfect! A lot of things about me made complete sense to me when I read this. 🙂 I am simply very bad at tolerating the annoyance part of a relationship and always make the choice to stay alone. Most women I meet in daily life though are exactly the opposite. Thanks again for this blog that keeps me knowing I’m not the only who prefers to be single, and that there’s nothing wrong with that!

>>! [via Popular Mechanics] 110 thoughts on “Researchers Create Synthetic Muscle 100 Times Stronger Than the Real Thing” This seems pretty impractical. Maybe the next step is to sheath some nichrome in a high temp protective and heat dispersive casing and then wrap the monofiliment around that? All new technology is impractical. Look at the first cars — they were toys for the rich and less reliable/slower than a horse. To be fair, it’s not like horses were free, and it’s not like horses don’t need a lot of care and aren’t smelly and leave tons of manure all over the place. So even initially the car had many advantages. Oh and a horse needs a lot of room too, you need parking for your cart and a stable for your horse, and to feed it and supply water and brush it and clean the stable and rig it in front of the cart when you want to go for a ride. A car is so much more convenient. You’ve never really studied the maintenance schedule for an automobile I gather reading your comment. So many really haven’t today. This is why you can’t even sell an American a car with leather seats in it. What do you mean I have to clean and nourish it? It is impractical for the exact same reason why nitinol wires aren’t really used in many practical application as actuators: the mechanism depends on heating and cooling to operate, which means it won’t work properly if the ambient temperature changes. It’s also very inefficient in terms of energy use. Besides, “pulling power”, “5.3 kilowatts of mechanical work” are nonsensical measures. wtf do they even mean? Force isn’t power and power isn’t work. Some of the first cars were electric and others steam and not as slow as you would think. Maybe kapton tape? I think you’ll find in the article, some comments about different ways they use joule heating that is built in. Tl;dr start with 450 um nylon 6 + 25 um stainless wire, then coil and presto, built in heater I’d use reservoirs with heated and ambient temperature liquids, so you pump the heated liquid in to heat them up with some air bubble insulation at the start/end, then you pump it back into the reservoir exchanging it with ambient temperature liquid to cool it back down. Add some insulation around the “muscle” and this might start to be slightly energy efficient. …erm, things with bows and strings? Crossbows, archery bows, musical instruments, traps, zip guns, erm, spinning tops, tripwires, spring loaded stuff, catapults, ejector seats? hmmm… university of Wollongong also collaborating in this reseach. So … anyone have a link to the paper that *isn’t* behind a paywall? Pretty pointless pointing to a page that won’t let you in if you get my point. Interesting subject though . Thanks for the link a bit up Actually thats a bit further down from here Question I have is how efficient are these…Bloody paywalls… Not very.. they sit there and run all day, and do the same amount of work whether you pay or not. well done, sir. Heat is easy to generate – in fact it is the waste byproduct of most mechanical things, computational systems, power supplies, motors etc. Heat is also not that hard to move around (especially with phase change materials, laptop-style heatpipes, etc) This wound-up-thing could enable some fantastically interesting objects that make practical use of their waste energy. First thing off the top of my head: it would be useful for heliotropes and other devices that track the sun. It could also be used to move/open vents and blinds automatically during the day when the sun is out. It could be used to direct air to the hottest component inside a computer case, etc etc etc. The question in my mind is: how quickly does the material fatigue and fail to spring back? Hundreds or thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of cycles? I would guess this is at least mentioned in the paper, but I’m not ready to pay to read it just yet. But even if it does have a limited lifespan, it’s so cheap that regular replacement isn’t a big deal – unlike the other more exotic materials that cost many orders of magnitude more to procure. Paper says it suffers almost no fatigue even after millions of cycles. Makes you wonder if they are being truthful, because that seems so damn unlikely I have a copy of the paper as well – yes, millions of cycles (graph goes out to 1.2 million), with approximately 1.5% creep. This was at 1 Hz cycle rate, raising and lowering a 10g weight using a “coiled, 76-mm-diameter, nylon 6,6 monofilament wrapped in a CNT sheet and driven electrothermally at 1 Hz under a 22-MPa load”; the paper also notes that the creep percentage decreased with cycling! The paper is a fascinating read (don’t bother asking me for a copy – I promised the author that I wouldn’t); but basically you should be able to make one yourself; my technique of making one that I detailed here wasn’t too far off (although I will say that annealing may prove to be a challenge in a home shop – the paper mentioned doing the annealing under a vacuum or argon atmosphere at a specific temperature). Weird – I cut and pasted that “76” reference; that was in the text – in the text for the graph, though, it reads “76 um diameter” – which seems more realistic. I guess the cut&paste is transposing it to ‘mm’ because ‘mu’, the character denoting ‘micro’, equates to ‘m’ in the English character-set… It /looks/ like a ‘u’, but it’s really a weird ‘m’ :) I work with scientists. They will sometimes be very specific about certain procedures because it is necessary, at other times it is because that is what they happened to do – for no particular reason ;-) The materials are cheap enough to play with, so if annealing really need argon or vacuum, the loss is not great. I am thinking the exact SAME thing, for use in a greenhouse to open vents. now we need to get a heat producing resistive metal to mix in with the nylon etc. to ccreate a special filament that conducts for robotic properties. ironman suits may soon be more possible for home use. nichrome might work, but… idk how the powder would go. create a diwire bender type cnc machine for perfect “muscles”? i would say 3d print with it, but that wouldn’t work. also, is there any way we could incorporate the twist into weaves? like, knit a muscle etc? incorporate carbide r kevlar fibres, and make something incredibly durable even once the muscle fails… or a neoprene type material? The stroke of these muscles is very small. That limits their practical applications to things that require vibration. Because of course, the GEAR hasn’t been invented yet… Human muscles only contract a few millimeters. I think you’ve been spoiled by fluid powered and electrical linear actuators. These ‘muscles’ as well as our own are capable, they just have different design constraints. Do they now? I knew they could contract up to 50% of their normal length. Do you have a source for “just a couple of mm”? sure thing I’m pretty sure that’s talking about muscle fibers specifically, not the muscle as a whole. My biceps certainly contract more than a few millimeters… In other muscle systems like this – you lay many of these strands around each other to build a composite muscle – this amplifies the pull strength while keeping the length the same. To pull the end effector in the other direction you use a second msucle – same as in natures muscles. I expect it works quite well. Biggest problem – and same one as nitonal has – is how to cool it. In Nitonol muscles combinations you can bathe the nitonol in a cooling liquid for the cool cycle and apply many amps for the heating cycle. Its every inefficient however. For these muscles – although water (liquid) would cool them – how to heat them. A copper braid (which would also have to be insulated) would probably work. So make a muscle fibre from one of these, putting it in a braided conductive sheath (like a common copper sheath found in coax cable) for heating, and encasing it in a liquid filled plastic sheath. Should work. The liquid in the sheath is minimal and is there to allow an external cooling fluid to take heat away by convection. These are then bundled into a combination muscle attached at both ends electrically and mechanically. All in one plastic conduit with liquid that can cary away the heat being pumped through it. A quick heat cycle to contract the muscle followed by flushing with cold water to shrink it back. A resistive wire like nichrome would work for the sheath but does not have to have anywhere near the temp capabilities of nichrome (which also becomes brittle when heated) So Aluminium might work or one of the resistve wires used commonly for short resistive links. The temp required is unknown until the paper comes out but is probably about 70C. At some temp the muscle fibre will lose its ability to recover and become permanently contracted. Its not certain this temp has been found but will depend on the particular nylon or polyethylene compound. Nylon probably not as good as polyethylene. The tradeoff is how much power is used to heat quickly without overheating. This determines how quickly the muscle contracts. How cold the liquid is and how fast you can pump it around the individual fibres, determines how fast it relaxes. Power/ efficiences tradeoff. It was tried with Nitonol – they couldn’t get it to work effciently – need too much power. Ideally you want a muscle fibre that can be fed like ours. bathed in nutrients and electricity. Lots of tiny contractions amplifying the effect to massive power. Still with waste heat problems. In reated news: Their previous work (2012) Lots of ongoing work in this field. The most interesting thing about this particular paper is its easy to make one using readily available fishing line. Cooling and heating in two antagonist muscles could be achieved by heat pump principle (peltier element). Influx tubing could be wired as a strand in the bundle carrying the heating/cooling to the other end of the muscle, efflux as a short stub at entry side of influx, all within a flexible sheath. This allows the ‘driver’ to sit between the two pairs of tubing at one end of the antagonist pair. Peltier elements are only about 10% efficient, so you end up with way too much heat on the hot side. Still the idea’s not bad, just use a conventional compression-type refrigerator as the heat pump. Plumb a crossover into the pipes, so the fridge can keep pumping heat in the same direction all day, and send your hotter / colder fluid down whichever way. For things like autonomous robots, might be better to have the “cold” end cooled by ordinary heatsinks and fans, and the heat generated by whatever you like, since heat’s easier to make than coldness is. Might work for those horrible pack-mule type robots that arms companies are developing. what if we had 1 tube for both heating and cooling, using compressed air of different temps? you could use air muscles, but augment them and makee them stronger by having the outer mesh include the fishing line in the weave? i recall a post a few months ago that just used compressed air to create hot and cold air. the tube, air muscles wrapped in the fishingline muscles, some solenoid valves etc. to direct airflow, a small 12v compressor pump and a small tank like used in paintball, a couple batteries and a microcontroller paired with google glass, the oculus rift and some cameras, or even something more like this for our newest supersoldier? if the oculus rift was used, that’d make a kickass robot controller. build your bot out of lightweight and relatively cheap materials, use a rift and live vicariously through the eyes of your robot. You forgot to include the arduino, raspberry pi and quadrocopter. What kind of hacker are you anyway? :) Add to that: self healing (under the right conditions) and you’re set! I’m thinking a very high torque, low speed solar engine. Sit the string muscles so that when they heat up from the sun they contract (power stroke). It contracts into the shade, where it then cools down and expands back into the sunlight to start over again. Offset the timing of these like having multiple cylinders in a car engine so that the process keeps itself going. I think the Stirling engine is always, somehow by definition, the most efficient heat engine, so you’re probably best off with one of those. I’d guess these muscles are gonna predominantly be employed where small size and high torque, fairly directly driven, are in demand, as well as precision. For things like stationary engines generating power there’s no point. I’d guess #1 2 and 3 uses for these would be in robots, where similar “muscle” technologies are still developing, using all sorts of methods, compressed air bladders, memory alloy, pistons, etc. There’s a more indepth article on io9 So has this been implanted in anyone yet? I’m going to guess no. I can only assume that HaD is so desperate for headlines that they have to resort to yellow journalism. Whats next, a article on a hydraulic cylinder with the headline it is 10,000x stronger than than a real muscle? It’s a reasonably large step towards cheap, strong, nonmetallic artificial muscles. More importantly, it’s one that almost anyone can replicate, cheaply and easily, which means it’s more openly available to experimentation than muscle wire and easier to use than a pneumatic or hydraulic system towards the same ends. It isnt a large step, unless you can find a way to heat it and power the heating element, and insulate the body from the heating element. And no, no one can replicate this cheaply and easily because it cant be used as a muscle for the aforementioned reasons. Please show me this thing actually being used inside a living being rather than some lab tech pointing a heat gun at it. Hey – I’ve given it a try in my shop – I came pretty close to replicating it. I think the first step is for us to actually replicate it – then we can hack in making it easy to heat and cool. I honestly don’t see what any of this has to do with putting it in a “living being” – such artificial actuators have a ton of uses outside of human (or other) augmentation; this is one such actuator that is seemingly somewhat easy to fab at home. I’m trying to understand your opposition to it? I dare to say that you certainly aren’t promoting the ethos and spirit of HAD and the maker movement with your posts… If you think it is worthless – get out there and prove it; enough information has been released for you to at least try! Or is armchair engineering all you are good for? Pretty close to replicating it? It is a fishing line hooked up to a motor to wind it up? How could you not replicate this? Well if you want to call it a muscle, you need to put it in something? Do you ever hear of pneumatic/hydraulic cylinders or linear actuators being called muscles? And it being easy to fabricate at home is in no way beneficial to human augmentation unless you really think it is a good idea to perform surgery on yourself. I’m against it for the reasons stated above, the headline is nothing more than yellow journalism to make something seem far more important than it actually is. The headline is not “yellow journalism” – despite what you may think or believe. I can’t see how the headline contradicts -anything- in the original paper: The title of the paper is “Artificial Muscles from Fishing Line and Sewing Thread”. The opening summary (first sentence) reads: “The high cost of powerful, large-stroke, high-stress artificial muscles has combined with performance limitations such as low cycle life, hysteresis, and low efficiency to restrict applications.” The third sentence in the summary (excerpted) reads: “…lift loads over 100 times heavier than can human muscle of the same length and weight…” In other words, the headline captures -perfectly- what the summary of the research states. How the heck is this “yellow journalism”? Just because something is called a “muscle” doesn’t necessarily have to imply that it is meant for any kind of biological function. That’s being pedantic. Pneumatic and hydraulic cylinders have been referred to as “muscles” throughout history; so have linear actuators, for that matter. That doesn’t mean anyone thought that they could literally be implanted in someone and used for the same purpose; instead it’s meant as a metaphorical concept. Being unable to understand this as such is hubris, at best. Who said it would only ever be useful as an implant? you seem to confuse “synthetic” or “artificial” with “prosthetic” What this is at worst is an interesting science experiment at best a new option for movement in soft body robotics. Ether way this is differently something I a reader is interested in, keep this coming HaD. I for one, are itching to try this in the lab, I am a long time follower of HaD and this video / article is refreshing because i am sick and bloody tired of reading about peoples arduino, quadcopter or 3d printing projects. I would like to see some real science and engineering stuff on HaD, Leave the arduino stuff to Make, HaD is the upper level of Hacking and shouldn’t be dumbed down. This video has inspired me to think about how i can hack this technology for instance twisting the fishing line around nichrome wire and building muscle spindles, to recreate a human like arm, that could be implemented for someone with a amputation. I couldn’t have agreed more. I’ve been thinking on and off for a very long time how to recreate human muscle. Robotic applications will benefit greatly from this. Leading people to post their HaD arduino and 3d printed people replacement parts Glad to hear it Nickcasio! If you come up with something be sure to send it in to our tips line! What have you been smoking man, lay it off, it’s clearly bad for you :S stay butthurt white knight i’m dissappointed in your lack of appreciation for this obvious hack that happened to be performed by a research team. HAD is doing a wonderful job, and i love that there are awesome things like this to break up the monotony of arduino’s blinking leds, and clocks and 3d printers. while yes, this isn’t a full project, it’s still… something i’m glad HAD showed us. I never said this wasnt a hack, I said the headline is obvious yellow journalism and is indicative of the poor editorial control of a professional blog. It would only be “yellow journalism” if the headline somehow misrepresented what the research was about; as I have noted, by the summary of the research, the headline does not. The headline captures perfectly what is stated inside the first three sentences of the opening summary of the research. I’ll just leave this here, shall I? It’s not a replacement for actual animal muscles. It’s a new kind of linear actuator using an interesting new idea. It’s nothing like an end product, and doesn’t have a specific purpose in mind yet. This isn’t that sort of article. It’s HaD, not Reader’s Digest. Even just the geometry used in this might be interesting, as well as all the other disciplines involved. But I already have a Crytek nanosuit that constanly runs out of power when I need it most… Sort of the opposite to what controls testicles huh? Cold down heat up Someone go ask the Mythbusters how many testicles it’d take to lift Tower Bridge on a cold day. :cough: A few details from the article to answer some questions that have been asked: 1) The suggest a few different methods of heating (metal over braid, etc), but the most commonly referenced is simple commercially available metal coated sewing thread. They also braid their fibers, and did a few tests braiding them around a nichrome-like core heater. 2) They state efficiencies of around 1%-1.3%, comparable to other current muscle wires, and not comparable to natural muscles at around 20%. 3) They tested a Nylon 6,6 coil to 1.2 million cycles, moving about 10% of it’s length, at 22 MPa of stress in the muscle (i.e a mass of 10g on the muscle). They state the only major change was about 2% creep over those million cycles, which sounds very promising for long term stability. 4) They got a 5 Hz tension cycle with a muscle immersed in water. I can see bundles of these around a nichrome wire or pumping heated liquid through a bag surrounding these strands. there are a lot of interesting possibility here to play with for shore. Interesting read , HAD. THANKS! It’s interesting, but it isn’t very practical, if you wrapped it around a nichrome wire and suspended it a none conductive heat dissipating fluid, maybe. it looks like is has good response time though. I like this concept: but it’s drawback is the noise from the pneumatics . Looks like they’ve combined it a bit here: Smells like myomere muscles for my Battlemech ! Seems like a solar valve pump would be the easiest to make given the the properties exhibited, assuming the liquid within was much cooler than the nylon exposed to the sun. Of course, it’d have to be UV stabilized. I wonder if these properties are affected by UV stabilzation? Now plot the temp vs length and build a motorless deltabot. No need if you have distance feedback from a sensor or encoder. I think what needs to be done is to investigte this property of the material to find ways to maximize and optimize the effect. Ok – I just tried to make one of these, with the scant information available. I grabbed some 30 lb test mono-filament I had kickin’ around my shop; long story short, making one of these things must use some specialized equipment or a whole helluva lot of patience! First off – if any of you try this – wear eye protection! I didn’t get slapped when it broke, but don’t take any chances.. So I then tried the same thing, but horizontally – with a hook attached to my workbench, and another hook chucked in a hand-drill (manual geared – not electric). After a number of tries, I came really close to making one – to do this by hand, you have to have a really delicate touch; if you let the tension take over to early, you get a result like a telephone cord “tangle” (watch the opening credits of Monk for an idea), but if you do it -just- right, it will “fold over” properly. From there, you have to keep almost perfect tension on it – or it will telephone cord tangle on you so easily. I only had that happen to me once; most of the time it broke on me, typically near the bend of the knot (so I think it was overstressed at that point) – maybe a better knot that doesn’t have those kinds of stresses is needed? Again – I’m not a knot person! I tried clamping the filament in a vice, then chucking the other end in the drill (no knots) – but it would still snap. I think if doing this at home is going to be practical, some form of automated solution will be necessary (that can somehow measure the strain in the filament, and adjust accordingly to get the thing to “fold over” but not “telephone cord tangle”). From there – one can look at how to properly anneal the filament (in my experiments, a quick pass over with a lighter seemed like it did something to keep it from unravelling instantly – but I may be mistaken). Hopefully someone out there can get this to work – good luck! I think your tension issue is probably why they hung a weight on theirs instead of holding it with some other arrangement. The weight will pull down with constant tension. As far as the knots go, I’ll recommend animatedknots.com It’s a good resource covering a few dozen basic knots in very clear, concise writing and, of course, animations. You’ll probably be looking in the “fishing” section, because most fishing knots were developed to deal with the less-than-optimal knotting properties of modern fishing lines. Yes – I believe you’re right; I just got a copy of the paper from the author (sorry – cannot share it – I promised the author such), and it is very clear as to how these were formed, so I may go back and try some more experiments. Thanks for the heads-up on the knots; I’ll definitely look into them! .” Monofiliment is notorious for being a difficult material to tie knots in. It’s very slippery, and is also very notch-sensitive, a small nick will likely be the source of a break later. Look up Fishermen have been dealing with these issues for years. Like wire rope, it’s possible to tie knots into it (a wire leader) but often requires some sort of intermediary fitting, or a specialized splice. My effort was a bit better. One worked at least as proof of principle. The other snapped. I used a couple of washers, a drill press and a screwdriver as the weight. Spins up nicely but I think I over spun it and damaged the filament. The biggest difference I’ll not here in comparison with biological muscle, is that unlike relaxed meat muscle the filament muscle only works when already tensioned. A bot made with these actuators would be springy and stiff Hey! Great job with that – you definitely got something working! Did you anneal the filament after you got it spun up – or did you do something else? It’s a small step, but it’s something! I got it working quite well I think. Check it out: Definitely the best result so far! Great to see it! If you either twist the other way initially, or wrap it around the hex key the other way, you should get something that extends when hot and contracts when cold, according to the paper. (You may want to wrap around a coarse screw thread so that you have more contraction room.) Hmmmm… Can ultrasonic sound generate heat through friction? I’m pretty sure large transducers are used to heat up human tissue for chronic pain patients. Imagine placing a bundle of these fibers in a bladder of a sound conductive gel. Put in a ultrasound transducer and vibrate the fibers to heat them up. The surrounding gel can then dissipate the fiber heat when the sound is turned off. Good idea, the use of an ultrasonic generator at around 25 to 27, remembering old specs here so don’t burn me if i am wrong, will heat up and even melt many types of plastics including nylon and polyethylene. Those ultrasonic misters should work. Finally a temperature driven actuator! Through materials selection it should be possible to engineer this to work at a variety of temperature ranges. We already have a humidity driven actuator. A simple piece of twisted natural wool. It was used in the early industrial period to control supply tension in looms and prevent breakage of the yarn. As a kid I made a simple hygrometer using one of my hairs, a thread, and a rubber band (the thread was wrapped around an axle with a pointer attached to it). This particular actuator, though, is proving to be a tad more difficult to construct at home…heh. Finally? Never heard of bimetallic strips or nitinol, have you? I stand rightly corrected! Bimetallic is right on target. Thank you for correcting me. Nitinol is a one-way reaction but you’re still right. Several things are getting limp with old age and the mind is the most pitiful. As far as construction problems I’m hearing, just follow the video… worked perfect first time for me folks, but that’s cause I followed the simplicity of the video. Look at the technique in use and duplicate it, don’t re-think it. It works fine. Those paperclips have a real purpose. . almost every car made ever has a temperature controlled linear actuator in the thermostat. just a cavity filled with wax with a piston at one end. More modern cars augment this with a heating filament in the wax “bulb” to allow the computer to controll the rate of heating and cooling These are commonly called “wax motors” and are also used in some front-loading washing machines to lock the door closed. To be fair i did this when i was younger i just never measured the capacity to lift or published anything lol I heard this guy on Science Friday. He just rattled on and on. His delivery had me thinking this isn’t Science Friday it’s Coast to Coast. I just read the paper. Very nice. Some details: Supplementary details, including materials and methods, movies etc., are not paywalled: The thread they use for some of the electrothermal actuation is silver-plated nylon, which is the same stuff you use for sewing together circuits, making touch-pad gloves, etc. (Or at least you used to, stainless steel thread seems to have become more common, but the nylon is still around.) This lets you do resistance heating to activate it (they use 30 V/cm in the videos.) When you are twisting it, use a tension of 10-35 MPa (i.e. 1-3.5 kg / square mm of fishing line cross section). The higher the tension, the more widely the coils are spaced (coil index (turn spacing/wire diameter) of 1.1 to 1.7). When they refer to heat annealing, they heat it to 240 C for an hour under vacuum or argon atmosphere (to prevent it from burning, I would guess that any other non-oxidizing gas you have handy would work just as well). If you twist the fishing line until it is almost ready to do the spontaneous coiling thing, then wrap it in a spring coil around a rod and anneal it you have more control over the coil spacing. Furthermore, if you wrap it the same or opposite way that you twisted it, you can get either contraction or extension with heating. Go to it. I wonder if helium would work. I know that it is typically used with plasma welding due to it being an inert gas. Might be worth it to investigate since you can get helium damn near any where for cheap. I’m going to try CO2 (I have it for my kegerator) and a PID controlled toaster oven (used for reflowing and tempering knives) silver plated nylon, like a violin string? When in doubt make a clock. Agreed. If you can’t pull off a peer-review duplication of the experiment then move on and make a clock. Hmm. Wonder if coating the line with petroleum gel would be enough to conduct current and cause it to contract without degrading the line itself. This is very exciting! What a cool discovery with an accessible material. A power-assisted trampoline is something I would like to see made with this. Its going to have so many applications – good cheap reliable actuation with great weight/power ration is great for anything mobile. Does it have applications with the space elevator competition!? I recreated the experiment with great success even without anealing :) i used .40mm fishing line and for actuating i used boiling hot water – works great! :) this thing have considerable power o.0 go make something great of it guys.

*U.S. orders only. Orders must contain only Single Cards. FREE SHIPPING ON SINGLES1st Class - $50 OR MORE | UPS $200 OR MORE*U.S. orders only. Orders must contain only Single Cards. You're currently browsing our buylist ← Return to Store Contact the Buy-Orders Department by Phone: (808) 888-9158 or E-Mail: [email protected] or [email protected] How can I sell my cards to iDeal808? (Please Read and Follow Instructions Carefully) - You can either Search the cards or Browse through the Categories & Sub-Categories. - Please note: We recommend a minimum of $5 for mail orders. ($2 for in-store dropoffs). -. ** - Single sleeved cards are okay, please do not send cards in multiple sleeves it will slow down the processing of your buy order. - We do reserve the right to make final changes to the Buy Price of cards at this step. After your buy order has been accepted, prices are locked unless the package is not sent immediately (see below for Delivery time). - Buylist Category Search - Yugioh Singles - [YGO] Battles of Legend: Light's Revenge - [YGO] Dimensional Guardians - Gold Series Cards - Booster Set Cards (Arc-V) - Booster Set Cards (ZeXal) - Booster Set Cards (5D's) - Booster Set Cards (GX) - [YGO] Light of Destruction - [YGO] Phantom Darkness - [YGO] Gladiator's Assault - [YGO] Tactical Evolution - [YGO] Force of the Breaker - [YGO] Strike of Neos - [YGO] Cyberdark Impact - [YGO] Power of the Duelist - [YGO] Enemy of Justice - [YGO] Shadow of Infinity - [YGO] Elemental Energy - [YGO] Cybernetic Revolution - [YGO] The Lost Millennium - [YGO] Flaming Eternity - Booster Set Cards (YUGI) - [YGO] Rise of Destiny - [YGO] Soul of the Duelist - [YGO] Ancient Sanctuary - [YGO] Invasion of Chaos - [YGO] Magician's Force - [YGO] Dark Crisis - [YGO] Pharaonic Guardian - [YGO] Legacy of Darkness - [YGO] Labyrinth of Nightmare - [YGO] Pharaoh's Servant - [YGO] Spell Ruler - [YGO] Magic Ruler - [YGO] Metal Raiders - [YGO] Legend of Blue Eyes - Special Releases - [YGO] Duelist Saga - [YGO] Fusion Enforcers - [YGO] The Dark Side of Dimensions Gold Edition - [YGO] Destiny Soldiers - [YGO] Legendary Decks II - [YGO] Dragons of Legend: Unleashed - [YGO] The Dark Side of Dimensions Movie Pack - [YGO] Millennium Pack - [YGO] Wing Raiders - [YGO] Yugi's Legendary Decks - [YGO] High-Speed Riders - [YGO] Dragons of Legend 2 - [YGO] World Superstars - [YGO] The Secret Forces - [YGO] Noble Knights of the Round Table - [YGO] Dragons of Legend - [YGO] Number Hunters - Star Pack Cards - Battle Pack Cards - Duelist Pack Cards - [YGO] Rivals of the Pharaoh - [YGO] Battle City - [YGO] Kaiba Seto - DPKB - [YGO] Yugi Muto - DPYG - [YGO] Crow Hogan - DP11 - [YGO] Yusei Fudo 3 - DP10 - [YGO] Yusei Fudo 2 - DP09 - [YGO] Yusei Fudo - DP08 - [YGO] Jesse Anderson - DP07 - [YGO] Jaden Yuki 3 - DP06 - [YGO] Aster Phoenix - DP05 - [YGO] Zane Truesdale - DP04 - [YGO] Jaden Yuki 2 - DP03 - [YGO] Chazz Princeton - DP2 - [YGO] Jaden Yuki - DP1 - Hidden Arsenal Cards - Ra Yellow Mega Pack Cards - Legendary Collection Cards - Retro Pack Singles - [YGO] Dark Legends - Dark Revelation Cards - Dark Beginning Cards - Duel Terminal Cards - Promo Cards - [YGO] 2016 Mega-Tins - [YGO] 2015 Mega-Tins - [YGO] 2014 Mega-Tins - [YGO] 2013 Collector Tin CT10 - [YGO] 2013 Zexal Collection Tin - [YGO] 2012 Collector Tin CT09 - [YGO] 2012 Premium Collection Tin - [YGO] 2011 Collector Tin CT08 - [YGO] Collector Tin Promo - [YGO] Hobby League Promo - [YGO] Other Promo - [YGO] Premium Pack Promo - [YGO] Shonen JUMP Promo - [YGO] Tournament Prize Promo - [YGO] Video Game Promo - [YGO] Yugioh Movie Promo - Starter Deck Cards (Arc-V) - [YGO] Dinosmasher's Fury - [YGO] Machine Reactor - [YGO] Pendulum Domination - [YGO] Structure Deck: Seto Kaiba - [YGO] Structure Deck: Yugi Muto - [YGO] Rise of the True Dragons - [YGO] Starter Deck: Yuya - [YGO] Emperor of Darkness - [YGO] Master of Pendulum - [YGO] Synchron Extreme - [YGO] HERO Strike - [YGO] Super Starter: Space-Time Showdown - Starter Deck Cards (ZeXal) - [YGO] Realm of Light - [YGO] Cyber Dragon Revolution - [YGO] Yugi Reloaded - [YGO] Kaiba Reloaded - [YGO] Saga of Blue-Eyes White Dragon - [YGO] Super Starter: V for Victory - [YGO] Onslaught of the Fire Kings - [YGO] Realm of the Sea Emperor - [YGO] Samurai Warlords - [YGO] Xyz Symphony - [YGO] Dragons Collide - [YGO] Gates of the Underworld - [YGO] Dawn of the XYZ - Starter Deck Cards (5D's) - Astral Pack - Turbo Pack Singles - Champion Pack Singles - Tournament Pack Singles - [YGO] Oversized Cards - Magic Singles - [MTG] Hour of Devastation - [MTG] Archenemy: Nicol Bolas - [MTG] Amonkhet - [MTG] Masterpiece Series: Invocations - [MTG] Masterpiece Series: Inventions - Amonkhet Block - Kaladesh Block - Shadows over Innistrad Block - Battle for Zendikar Block - Core Sets - Khans of Tarkir Block - Theros Block - Return to Ravnica Block - Innistrad Block - Scars of Mirrodin Block - Zendikar Block - Tempest Block - Stand Alone Sets - Special Editions - [MTG] Unhinged - [MTG] Premium Fire & Lightning - [MTG] Premium Graveborn - [MTG] Planechase - [MTG] Duels of the Planeswalkers - [MTG] Planechase 2012 - [MTG] Commander 2011 - [MTG] Commander 2013 - [MTG] Commander's Arsenal - [MTG] Commander 2014 - [MTG] Commander 2016 - [MTG] Conspiracy - [MTG] Conspiracy 2: Take the Crown - [MTG] Modern Masters - [MTG] Modern Masters 2015 - [MTG] Modern Event Deck - [MTG] Eternal Masters - [MTG] Modern Masters 2017 - Magic Promos - From the Vault Sets - Duel Deck Sets - [MTG] Elspeth Vs. Kiora - [MTG] Jace Vs. Vraska - [MTG] Heroes Vs. Monsters - [MTG] Sorin Vs. Tibalt - [MTG] Izzet Vs. Golgari - [MTG] Ajani Vs. Nicol Bolas - [MTG] Knights Vs. Dragons - [MTG] Elspeth Vs. Tezzeret - [MTG] Phyrexia Vs. The Coalition - [MTG] Garruk Vs. Liliana - [MTG] Divine Vs. Demonic - [MTG] Jace Vs. Chandra - [MTG] Anthology - [MTG] Mind Vs. Might - [MTG] Legends - Cardfight Vanguard Singles - [CFV] G-FC04 Fighters Collection 2017 (EN) - [CFV] G-LD03 The Blaster "Aichi Sendou" (EN) - Booster Tech Singles (EN) - [CFV] BT01: Descent of the King of Knights (EN) - [CFV] BT02: Onslaught of Dragon Souls (EN) - [CFV] BT03: Demonic Lord Invasion (EN) - [CFV] BT04: Eclipse of Illusionary Shadows (EN) - [CFV] BT05: Awakening of Twin Blades (EN) - [CFV] BT06: Breaker of Limits (EN) - [CFV] BT07: Rampage of the Beast King (EN) - [CFV] BT08: Blue Storm Armada (EN) - [CFV] BT09: Clash of Knights & Dragons (EN) - [CFV] BT10: Triumphant Return of the King of Knights (EN) - [CFV] BT11: Seal Dragons Unleashed (EN) - [CFV] BT12: Binding Force of the Black Rings (EN) - [CFV] BT13: Catastrophic Outbreak (EN) - [CFV] BT14: Brilliant Strike (EN) - [CFV] BT15: Infinite Rebirth (EN) - [CFV] BT16: Legion of Dragons & Blades (EN) - [CFV] BT17: Blazing Perdition (EN) - Extra Booster Singles (EN) - [CFV] EB01: Comic Style Vol.1 (EN) - [CFV] EB02: Banquet of Divas (EN) - [CFV] EB03: Cavalry of Black Steel (EN) - [CFV] EB04 Infinite Phantom Legion (EN) - [CFV] EB05 Celestial Valkyries (EN) - [CFV] EB06: Dazzling Divas (EN) - [CFV] EB07: Mystical Magus (EN) - [CFV] EB08: Champions of the Cosmos (EN) - [CFV] EB09: Divine Dragon Progression (EN) - [CFV] EB10: Divas Duet (EN) - [CFV] EB11: Requiem at Dusk (EN) - [CFV] EB12: Waltz of the Goddess (EN) - Trial Deck Singles (EN) - [CFV] TD01: Blaster Blade (EN) - [CFV] TD02: Dragonic Overlord (EN) - [CFV] TD03: Golden Mechanical Solder (EN) - [CFV] TD04: Maiden Princess of the Cherry Blossoms (EN) - [CFV] TD05: Slash of Silver Wolf (EN) - [CFV] TD06: Resonance of Thunder Dragon (EN) - [CFV] TD07: Descendants of the Marine Emperor (EN) - [CFV] TD08: Liberator of the Sanctuary (EN) - [CFV] TD09: Eradicator of the Empire (EN) - [CFV] TD10: Purgatory Revenger (EN) - [CFV] TD11: Star-vader Invasion (EN) - [CFV] TD12: Dimensional Brave Kaiser (EN) - [CFV] TD13: Successor of the Sacred Regalia (EN) - [CFV] TD14: Seeker of Hope (EN) - [CFV] TD16: Divine Judgment of the Bluish Flames (EN) - [CFV] TD17: Will of the Locked Dragon (EN) - G-Booster Tech Singles (EN) - [CFV] G-BT01 Generation Stride (EN) - [CFV] G-BT02 Soaring Ascent of Gale & Blossom (EN) - [CFV] G-BT03 Sovereign Star Dragon (EN) - [CFV] G-BT04 Soul Strike Against the Supreme (EN) - [CFV] G-BT05 Moonlit Dragonfang (EN) - [CFV] G-BT06 Transcension of Blade and Blossom (EN) - [CFV] G-BT07 Glorious Bravery of Radiant Sword (EN) - [CFV] G-BT08 Absolute Judgment (EN) - [CFV] G-BT09 Divine Dragon Caper (EN) - [CFV] G-BT10 Raging Clash of the Blade Fangs (EN) - G-Extra Booster Singles (EN) - G-Character Booster Singles (EN) - G-Clan Booster Singles (EN) - G-Fighters Collection Pack Singles (EN) - G-Legend Deck Singles (EN) - G-Technical Booster Singles (EN) - G-Trial Deck Singles 05 Fateful Star Messiah (EN) - [CFV] G-TD06 Rallying Call of the Interspectral Dragon (EN) - [CFV] G-TD07 Illusionist of the Crescent Moon (EN) - [CFV] G-TD08 Vampire Princess of the Nether Hour (EN) - [CFV] G-TD09 True Zodiac Time Beasts - [CFV] G-TD10 Ritual of Dragon Sorcery (EN) - G-Touken Ranbu Singles (EN) - Special Releases (EN) - [CFV] Promo Cards (EN) - Dragoborne Products - Future Card Buddyfight Singles - [BFE] X-BT02 Chaos Control Crisis (EN) - [BFE] X-BT01A Crossing Generations (EN) - [BFE] X-BT01 The Dark Lord's Rebirth (EN) - Booster Tech Singles (EN) - Extra Booster Singles (EN) - H-Booster Tech Singles (EN) - H-Extra Booster Singles (EN) - D-Booster Tech Singles (EN) - Special Releases (EN) - [BFE] Promo Cards (EN) - Luck & Logic Singles - Weiss Schwarz Singles - [WS] AB: Angel Beats! Re:Edit (EN) - [WS] AoT: Attack on Titan (EN) - [WS] AW: Accel World (EN) - [WS] BM: Bakemonogatari (EN) - [WS] BD: BanG Dream! (EN) - [WS] DG: Disgaea ver.E - [WS] FS: Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] (EN) - [WS] FS: Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] Vol.II (EN) - [WS] FT: FAIRY TAIL ver.E - [WS] FZ: Fate/Zero (EN) - [WS] IMC: IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS (EN) - [WS] KC: KanColle - Kantai Collection (EN) - [WS] KC: KanColle 2nd Fleet - Kantai Collection (EN) - [WS] KC: KanColle: Fleet in the deep sea, Sighted! (EN) - [WS] KS: Konosuba (EN) - [WS] KLK: Kill la Kill (EN) - [WS] LH: Log Horizon (EN) - [WS] LL: Love Live! (EN) - [WS] LL: Love Live! Vol.2 (EN) - [WS] LL: Love Live! DX (EN) - [WS] LL: Love Live! DX Vol.2 (EN) - [WS] LL: Love Live! School idol festival (EN) - [WS] LSS: Love Live! Sunshine (EN) - [WS] MM: Madoka Magica (EN) - [WS] MM: Madoka Rebellion (EN) - [WS] NK: NISEKOI -False Love- (EN) - [WS] NK: NISEKOI Extra Booster (EN) - [WS] NM: NISEMONOGATARI (EN) - [WS] P4: Persona 4 ver.E - [WS] P5: Persona 5 (EN) - [WS] PD: Hatsune Miku Project DIVA-f (EN) - [WS] PD: Hatsune Miku Project DIVA-f 2nd - [WS] PI: Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA ILLYA (EN) - [WS] SAO: Sword Art Online (EN) - [WS] SAO: Sword Art Online Vol.2 (EN) - [WS] SAO: Sword Art Online II (EN) - [WS] SAO: Sword Art Online II Vol.2 (EN) - [WS] SAO: Sword Art Online Re: Edit (EN) - [WS] SY: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (EN) - [WS] SY: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Extra (EN) - [WS] TL: To Loveru Darkness 2nd (EN) - [WS] Promo Cards (EN) - Pokemon Singles - [PKMN] Pokemon TCGO Unused Promo Codes - [PKMN] SM02 Guardians Rising Singles (EN) - [PKMN] SM01 Sun & Moon Singles (EN) - [PKMN] XY Evolutions Singles (EN) - [PKMN] XY Steam Siege Singles (EN) - [PKMN] XY Fates Collide Singles (EN) - [PKMN] XY BREAKpoint Singles (EN) - [PKMN] Generations Singles (EN) - [PKMN] XY BREAKthrough Singles (EN) - [PKMN] Pokemon EX Power Keepers - [PKMN] Pokemon XY Base Set - [PKMN] Pokemon XY Base Set - eBay - [PKMN] Pokemon XY Flashfire - [PKMN] Pokemon XY Base Set - Pre-Orders - [PKMN] Pokemon Aquapolis - [PKMN] Pokemon Platinum - [PKMN] SM Basic Energy (EN) - Force of Will TCG Singles - Card Game Supplies - Dragon Shield - Player's Choice Sleeves - KMC Sleeves - Ultra Pro Standard Sleeves - Ultra Pro Small Sleeves - MAX MTG Sleeves - MAX Yugioh Sleeves - Yugioh Themed Supplies - Buddyfight Themed Supplies - Cardfight Vanguard Themed Supplies - Weiss Schwarz Themed Supplies - Pokemon Themed Supplies - Japanese Import Supplies - Force Of Will Playmats - Deck Boxes - Dice, Spindowns, & Counters - Card Albums & Binders - Miscellaneous - Discontinued - D/C - [VOID] Generals Order Themed Supplies

Agate - This stone is a type of chalcedony. It has an earthy feel with a touch of class. The most common types of agate are blue lace agate (light blue hue), tree agate (green and white), moss agate (dark green with clear patches) and petrified wood (brown, white or red). Agate is porous; so, it is usually dyed to enhance its natural color. Agate is said to help with insomnia and ensure pleasant dreams. In the past, it was given to children to ward off nightmares. Agate is found in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Egypt and Madagascar. Alexandrite - Name after Russian Czar Alexander II, the gem comes in hues of red and green (the imperial colors of the old Imperial Russian Empire) and became the national gemstone of Russia. It is said to reinforce self-esteem and heightens one’s ability to experience joy. Alexandrite has a unique ability to change color; the greater the change in color, the more valuable it is. In daylight, alexandrite is green to greenish-blue; it turns a soft shade of red, purplish-red or raspberry red in incandescent light. This quality makes alexandrite one of the rarest gemstones in the world. It is difficult to find natural alexandrite and most of them on the market are synthetic. Alexandrite is found in Russia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Zimbabwe, Madagascar and Brazil. The best way to clean alexandrite is with warm soapy water and a soft cloth or brush. Amethyst - Amethyst is a variety of quartz. This stone is very feminine and its color ranges from a deep purple to light lavender. The highest quality amethysts are transparent. Make sure to keep this stone out of direct sunlight, it tends to become paler as a result. Amethyst is said to bestow strength, stability, invigoration and peace of mind. Many couples are using amethyst in their engagement rings as a sign of everlasting love. Amethyst is found in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Madagascar, India, Russia and Sri Lanka. This gemstone can be cleaned with a mixture of warm soapy water and a soft cloth or brush. Aquamarine - Aquamarine is a variety of beryl. It usually comes in light blue, dark blue to green. The color is determined by the amount of iron in the stone. The highest quality of aquamarine is transparent. This stone loses some if its color if it is left in direct sunlight. Aquamarine is the stone of courage and it encourages its owner to have the innate ability to be prepared for anything. It is also believed to have the ability to ease grief and depression. The term aquamarine means "sea water". It is found in the United States, Brazil, Nigeria, Pakistan and Russia. Keep your aquamarine jewelry clean with a mixture of warm, soapy water and a soft cloth or brush. Black Agate /Black Onyx - This is actually a man made form of enhanced agate. It’s also called "black onyx" among gem traders. The agate is blackened by immersing the material in sulfuric acid and sugar; creating of carbon which is absorbed into the porous agate and colors it more or less permanently. This stone increases concentration and clarity and attracts good fortune. Many cultures believe black agate protects new life and therefore is a great stone to have during pregnancy. Blue Gold Stone - This man made "stone" is actually glass (with a dark blue hue) infused with copper sparkles; which many believe to be powerful energy generators. It is said to be the stone of science and wisdom. Gold Stone is a symbol of hope. Many believe it eases anxiety and fear. This glass was originally created in monasteries; so, you will find a lot of it in religious jewelry. Blue Lace Agate - It is a type of chalcedony and an agate with a blue and white lace pattern. This stone contains the qualities of air, light, movement and grace. It is one of the most sought after agate. Blue lace agate is a calming stone. It gives the owner peace of mind and is often used when there is a buildup of stressful energy. Many believe this stone aids in public communication; it’s great to wear if you are giving a public speech or during a difficult conversation. The most prized blue lace agate is found in Namibia. Blue Quartz - This is an opaque to translucent, blue-variety of quartz (quartz is also known as rock crystal). Blue quartz is formed by the inclusion of tourmaline, tiny blue rutile or zoisite. It assists us in removing the fear while reaching out to help others. It can be used to promote consideration and is helpful to relationships. Blue quartz is found in the United States, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Asia, and Russia. Use warm soapy water and a soft cloth or brush to clean your blue quartz. Blue Topaz - Topaz is a balancing and calming stone. This variation of the stone has a pristine blue hue like the color of the sky. Blue topaz was once the rarest form of topaz, now; it is more common thanks to advanced technology. The color is created by exposing colorless topaz to irradiation then heat. The stone gives the owner leadership abilities and enhances spiritual growth. The term "topaz" comes from the Sanskrit and means fire. It is found in Brazil, Pakistan and Russia. The best way to clean this gem is with warm soapy water and a soft cloth or brush. Let it soak for 10 to 20 minutes. Brown Gold Stone - This is a man made stone with a rich brown hue and golden copper flecks. The legend is that it was originally created by alchemists trying to make gold. In general, gold stone is good for detoxifying your system. Brown gold stone is said to be an uplifting stone that can help reduce tension. Many believe that the owner of this stone will attract positive energy. Brown gold stone is believed to be one of the most popular gemstones in the world. To care for brown gold stone; use a dry, soft cloth to clean it. Calcite - Calcite is usually colorless or white but can turn shades of green, pink, golden, yellow, red, grey, blue or black when mixed with different compounds during formation. This mineral is an energy amplifier and is said to help with memory. The name "calcite" is derived from the Greek word "chalix" meaning lime. Calcite is found in the United States, England, India and many other parts of the world. Calcite can be cleaned with either hydrosonic cleaner or warm soapy water and a soft cloth or brush. Citrine - Citrine is yellow quartz. It is an elegant and affordable alternative to the expensive yellow sapphire or yellow diamond. Citrine can be easily scratched and it permanently changes color if it is left in the sunlight for too long. Its color can range from yellow to burnt amber. Citrine is believed to help the owner acquire wealth and also maintain it. It enhances mental clarity and promotes honesty. It is found in the United States, Brazil, Spain, Madagascar and the former USSR. Use warm, soapy water and a soft cloth or brush to keep your citrine clean. Cubic Zirconia - Cubic Zirconia is the crystallized form of zirconium dioxide. CZ is hard, usually colorless and optically flawless. It also can be made into a variety of colors. Cubic Zirconia has become increasingly popular since the 1970's because of its affordability, durability and its visual similarity to the diamond. Diamond - Diamonds are perhaps the most classic and timeless stones of all. These precious stones are popular because of their rarity, durability, beauty and glamour. The color ranges from colorless, white, shades of pink, yellow, red, orange, green, blue and black. The most popular are the colorless and yellow diamonds. Diamonds are usually rated by the four C's: Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat Weight. In many cultures, diamonds are a symbol of everlasting love and faith. Although diamonds are sturdy, they can chip if they are mishandled. Diamonds are usually found in the United States, Brazil, Ghana, Zaire, Australia and the former USSR. To keep your diamonds clean, use either warm, mild soapy water or an ammonia solution. Diamond Accent - Unless otherwise stated, a diamond accent must be a real diamond. They are very small and are often added to jewelry to throw light on to the main stone. A normal carat is 100 points of a diamond; a diamond accent is one-third of a point. Most diamond accents do not add much retail value to the piece. However, higher end stores may have larger diamond accents that do increase the value of the jewelry. Emerald - Emerald is a form of beryl with a medium to dark green hue. The darker the emerald the more valuable it is. Emeralds are rated similar to diamonds; by the four C's: Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat Weight. Emeralds are said to stimulate the use of increased mental capacity and enhance the memory. It has been historically used in both physical and emotional healing. Some of the most beautiful emeralds in the world are found in Columbia; but they are also found in Brazil, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Russia. The best way to clean emeralds are with a soft, dry cloth. Garnet - This most popular of this type of gemstone has a red hue, but other forms of garnet range from colorless to black. Red Garnet adds an exotic touch to many pieces and is more affordable than rubies or pink tourmaline. It is known as the "stone of health". When given as a gift, it is viewed a symbol of good health, power and prosperity. Garnet is found in the United States, Canada, Africa, Brazil, Madagascar, India and Sri Lanka. The best way to clean garnet is with a soft, dry cloth. Gold Quartz - Gold Quartz is a natural optical-quality quartz crystal. Its color ranges from shades of gold, orange and pink. It’s also called the Golden Aura Quartz, named for its astonishingly beautiful and vibrant hues. Gold quartz is beneficial to the core of the body, helping those who are ill attain health and well-being. To keep your gold quartz looking vibrant use warm soapy water and a soft cloth or brush to clean it. Hematite - Hematite is a mineral that often appears in shades of metallic gray, gray or red gray with a metallic luster. This mineral is said to enhance mental capability as well as creating a calming atmosphere for its owner. In some cultures, hematite is used as a sleep aid, as it creates a reduced stress atmosphere. Hematite is found in the United States, Brazil, across Europe and in the Pacific in New Zealand. To keep your hematite shiny use a soft, dry cloth to clean it. Jade - There are three types of jade, but the more common are: Jadeite and Nephrite. Jadeite is the rarer, high quality form of the stone. It comes in a wide array of colors: red, yellow, orange, green, lilac, pink, blue, brown and black. Nephrite is more common; it comes in various shades of green. The most common form is an olive green tone. Nephrite is often used in Chinese carvings. Jade is considered to be a balancing stone that gives the owner a sense of calm. Jadeite is found in the United States, Myanmar and Japan. Nephrite is typically found in Canada and British Columbia. The best way to keep your jade clean is with warm soapy water and a soft cloth or brush. Jasper - Jasper is a form of opaque, often multicolored chalcedony. This stone is both pretty and affordable. Most jasper is multicolored; but it also comes in shades of red, brown, tan, green, yellow and blue-grey. This mineral is known as the "supreme nurturer" or "healing stone". It is said to be useful when its owner has low energy. Jasper is found in the United States, France, Germany, India, Russia and Venezuela. The best way to clean Jasper is with a soft, dry cloth. Lapis - This stone is said to have existed "before time was born". Its royal blue color with specks of white calcite or pyrite (which looks like gold) and is often associated with royalty. The highest quality lapis is completely blue. This stone is often dyed to improve its color. This stunning blue gemstone has a long history dating back to ancient Egypt and it is one of the first gemstones to be worn as jewelry. According to legend, the person who wears lapis will be protected from evil. The best lapis is found in Afghanistan; but it can also be found in the United States, Argentina, Canada and Chile. Keep your lapis clean using a soft, dry cloth. Also, avoid leaving it in direct sunlight. Marcasite - Marcasite is a bronze-yellow stone but the color becomes a deeper yellow from increased exposure to sunlight. It shares the same chemical composition as pyrite. During the Gold Rush, it was often called fool's gold due to its similar appearance to gold but difference in value. It became popular during the Victorian era and remains popular with contemporary jewelry makers who want to add a vintage quality to their pieces. In small quantities, marcasite is said to have a calming effect and helps to stabilize the owner's emotions. Marcasite is primarily mined in South America but can be found all over the world. This stone is often sealed in jewelry with cement, so it needs to be cleaned gently. First, wipe it down with a clean, damp cloth. Then, dry with a soft, dry cloth. Mother of Pearl - Also known as nacre, it’s the iridescent layer of material found in the shell lining of some mollusks. Pearl oysters and abalone are popular sources of mother of pearl. Mollusks create mother of pearl as a means of protection. Mother of pearl is said to attract prosperity and protect its owner from negative influences, particularly children. The best way to clean for mother of pearl is with warm soapy water and a soft cloth or brush. Opal - Opal is a noncrystalline form of silica and is closely related to quartz and agate. Most opal is over 60 million years old and it is found near the Earth's surface in areas where geothermal hot springs once flowed. Perhaps the most striking quality of opal is its ability to reflect and refract different wavelengths of light. Opal is said to help its owner see the possibilities of life and various paths that should be taken or avoided. Opal is considered to be a living stone and it therefore should not be exposed to any elements that could dry it out. If opal becomes dry, it starts to crack and lose its iridescence. 90 percent of the quality opal is found in Southern Australia, but it is also found in the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Czechoslovakia. Black opal is found exclusively in Australia. Opal is extremely fragile, the best way to clean opal jewelry it is with warm soapy water and a toothbrush. Pearl - Pearls are formed in shellfish in reaction to irritants such as sand, creating nacre. Cultured pearls are formed by adding a piece of mussel or shell inside of oyster of mussel. Pearls come in different colors such as: white, pink, cream, brown or black. The value of a pearl is determined by its luster, color, type and how it was grown. The most expensive pearls are natural and freshwater pearls tend to be the most inexpensive. Pearls are said to represent innocence, integrity and purity. It is believed that the pearl allows its owner to accept love. Natural pearls have been found in the Red Sea, Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Manaar. Cultured pearls are predominately produced off the coasts of Australia and Polynesia. Freshwater pearls are commonly found in rivers in the United States, Ireland, Scotland, Austria and France. For the most part, it is best to clean your pearls with a soft, dry cloth as soon as you take them off. However, if they are very dirty, you can use a mild soap and water. Peridot - This striking stone is often a vibrant olive-green color and an affordable alternative to green tourmaline. It also comes in red, honey-yellow, yellow-brown and green-to-brown hues. Ancient Egyptians called this stone the "gem of the sun”. This stone is said to be an excellent healing stone that strengthens and regenerates the body. This stone is often thought to represent wealth and financial success. Peridot is found in the United States, the island of St. Johns, Pakistan, China and Burma. The best way to clean it is with warm soapy water and a soft cloth or brush. Avoid long term exposure to perspiration while wearing this stone, it damages peridot. Prasiolite - Its name is derived from the Greek words "Prason" and "Lithos", which means leek because of its color similarities to vegetables and stone. Its color ranges from pale yellow - green to a deep green. Many cultures believe that this stone facilitates the space between the spiritual and physical aspects of life. Prasiolite attracts prosperity while strengthening the mind, emotions and will. Prasiolite is found in the United States and Brazil. It is best cleaned using warm soapy water and a soft cloth or brush. Quartz - Also known as "rock crystal" it is colorless and transparent. It comes in a variety of hues; such as: rose quartz, smoky quartz, amethyst and citrine. The term quartz is derived from the Greek word krustallos; which means ice, because it was believed that quartz was ice formed by the gods. Clear quartz is said to alleviate pain and increase healing energies. Some ancient cultures believed that quartz helps heal ones emotions. Quartz is found in the United States, Brazil, Madagascar and the former USSR. The best way to keep your quartz clean is with warm soapy water and a soft cloth or brush. Rhinestone - Originally, rhinestones were rock crystals found in the Rhine River in Germany. Now, it is a diamond stimulate made from rock crystal, acrylic or glass. Rhinestones are an affordable alternative to diamonds and many manufacturers can even give them a glistening effect. Rose Quartz - A variety of quartz that has a soft pink to golden-white hue. Also called the "love stone", it is said to open one's heart and balance emotions. Actually, it is the most powerful stone when dealing with matters of the heart. Rose quartz is often dyed to enhance its color; so, long exposure to sunlight will fade it. Extreme temperature changes will cause the stone to fracture. Rose quartz is found in the United States, Brazil, Scotland, Spain and Madagascar. Rose quartz should be cleaned with warm soapy water and a soft cloth or brush. Ruby - Rubies are a type of corundum whose color ranges from pink to deep red. The term ruby is derived from the Latin word "ruber", which means red. Similar to the four C's that determine diamond costs; its pricing is determined overall by color, clarity, cut and carat. Primarily, the rubies price is determined by color. The brighter the ruby is the more higher the price. The ruby is known as the stone of nobility. It is said to bring courage, confidence, loyalty and love to its owner. Rubies are found all over the world but the brightest ones come from Myanmar. They are called Myanmar (Burmese) rubies and are often described as "pigeon's blood". You can keep your ruby clean by using an ionic cleanser or warm soapy water and a soft cloth or brush. Sapphire - Sapphire is a type of corundum that comes in many colors: white, yellow, green and purple; but the most popular color is blue. It is said to get rid of unwanted thoughts and bring its owner peace of mind. The sapphire is known as the stone of prosperity, fulfilling the owner's dreams and desires. The value of a sapphire is determined by the four C's: color, clarity, cut and carat. Sapphires are found all over the world but the finest specimens are found in Kashmir, Madagascar, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. To clean sapphire, you can either use a soft dry cloth, an ultrasonic cleanser or an ammonia solution. Smoky Quartz - This type of quartz comes in shades from brown to black and sometimes smoky grey. There are four types of smoky quartz: cairngorm, moriom, coon tail quartz and gwindel. Smokey quartz is known as a grounding stone and it turns negative energy into positive energy. It is said to be a great stone for elevating its owner's mood. This type of quartz is primarily found in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Switzerland and the Himalayas. Clean your smoky quartz with warm soapy water and a soft cloth or brush. Sodalite - This mineral comes in a variety of colors: colorless, lavender blue, dark blue, grey, light red, yellow, green and white. The most popular form is similar in appearance to Lapis, with a rich royal blue hue and white calcite deposits. Some say this form of sodalite looks like the sky at night during a lightning storm. It is said to enhance truthfulness in emotions, allowing its owner to recognize and verbalize their true feelings. Sodalite is also called "Princess Blue"; it was named after England's Princess Patricia who, after visiting Ontario, chose this mineral as the interior decoration for Marlborough House. Sodalite is found in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Greenland, Namibia and Russia. The best way to clean sodalite is with warm soapy water and a soft cloth or brush. Spinel - This mineral comes in a range of colors: almost colorless, white, yellow, orange, brown, green, blue, violet and black. The red version of this stone was often mistaken for a ruby. Its durability and beauty make spinel an ideal stone for jewelry makers. It is said to renew energy and to provide encouragement to the owner while attempting a difficult task. It is also called the "stone of immortality" because of its rejuvenating qualities. Spinel is found all over the world but the best specimens are found in Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. You can keep your spinel clean by using warm soapy water and a soft cloth or brush. Tiger Eye - Tiger Eye is a quartz replacement of blue or gold asbestos. Its fibrous structure allows it to vibrantly reflect light even though its colors are not transparent. Tiger Eye comes in red, brown, gold, cream, black and blue. It is helpful for people who are seeking clarity and who are dealing with several issues at once that need to be brought together into a specific pattern. Some cultures believe tiger eye offers its owner protection during travel. Tiger Eye is found in the United States, Canada, Namibia, South Africa, India, Burma and Western Australia. Many people believe the most beautiful tiger eye is found in Africa. The best way to keep it clean is by using warm soapy water and a soft cloth or brush. Turquoise - This is a vibrant blue stone that is often the star of southwestern jewelry. Its color ranges from sky blue to green. Ancient legends say that turquoise warns the wearer of danger by changing its color. It is said to help its owner start new projects and remove limitations. Turquoise can be found in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, in many countries in Africa and throughout the Middle East. You can keep your turquoise clean by using an ammonia solution and a soft cloth or brush. White Topaz - This form of topaz is an affordable alternative to diamonds. It promotes creativity, individuality and the ability to trust ones decisions. Ancient Greeks called the topaz the "stone of strength". Topaz is found in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Russia, China and Japan. The best way to keep your white topaz clean is with warm soapy water and a soft cloth or brush. Related Articles Latest Articles -,... - Joolwe Tagline Contest - with Great Prize!!! There’s something special in the air….American Airlines Don’t leave home without it…..American Express A diamond is forever……DeBeers Jewel...

Man,). Tuesday, March 29, 2011 Where Art thou Man,). Tuesday, March 22, 2011 Dropping Balls I have to travel again next week (Minnesota-never been there) and it was a rushed plan of action (dread the rush travel). This has meant I had to alter my regular schedule on top of the news I had erroneously heard the wrong dates for my son's event (as an aside, part of the issue is I am not Catholic and the tradition is somewhat confusing to me. Plus, I am away during the week right now. My husband was suppose to be spearheading this important cultural thing and never told me any dates at all except a May date. Sadly, we dropped another ball when we did not finish an art project son was suppose to have at his retreat on Saturday. He was the only one without the project and I felt really bad for him-stupid parents! We have remedied this with a planner strictly for his church events). I am still working on getting us organized to sell and buy a Louisville area home. Hard. When I returned back to KY from No.IN on Monday I was utterly speechless because the trees had leafed out and were in full-flowered beauty. It is actually spring here!* *Meanwhile, back home, they are calling for snow this week. :( Sunday, March 13, 2011 Thrift Share Monday: Weekend Thrift Finds Alas, I still manage to find something to share almost every week! Above is a spring related groupings of tchotchkes (all oddly priced at the magic number of 0.50) I found this past week (well, except for the two winter skaters): a cute ewe (too bad her once chained babies are MIA); a flower print that matches the two bird prints I found a couple of weeks ago; and a duck planter that was made by Avon (!) in 1984 (usually avoid the 80's look, but his guy looks even older vintage than '80's and it is even a teeny bit chipped). My mom was an Avon fanatic and even sold it successfully in the '60/'70's. I always used to look through the catalogs, but I do not remember this mama duck and babies. I would have been 13 if it was released the spring of 1984-must have been too cool for school for it then...two years later I was totally into thrifting, but probably still not into Avon! Recently, however, I have found not only the ducks, but a bunny candle holder. Times do change! ;) And, last but not least, another temptation I lied about yesterday (because I forgot!). A gorgeous Calvin Klein blazer. Yes, this is my cheesy attempt at a self-portrait. Obviously need to practice a bit and clean that blessed mirror! (I am really camera shy!) Check out thrifty fun across the globe at both Apron Thrift Girl and Her Library Adventures. ATG also is donating proceeds from her Little Shop (an online thrift of sorts!) for Japan earthquake relief. So scary and tragic what is going on over there. I plan to donate to Red Cross, but maybe I will buy something from Selena as well! Also, if someone wants those Pyrex cups (the Trade Me Up ones) and is willing to make and show me the donation receipt as a trade (to either Japan Relief or for an animal rescue agency-another tragedy I read about yesterday that brought me to tears), I will send them out to you pronto (first come, email on side bar)! So, Remember When... A while back I mentioned a New Year's goal to visit/try something new in Louisville (or KY). Do you remember? Well, I am happy to say I spent the weekend trying new things (and, the places we visited were free!) The boys and husband came down from the cold, snowy (yes, again) North to beautiful, there-is-actually-spring South to look at houses. We did look at houses and found some lovely one close to Louisville, but on acreage (a compromise to the city/country debate I have in my head). Unfortunately, all were too good to be true and needed much more work than I am willing to put out. I don't have the time and I would just buy that first Victorian we looked at if I wanted work. So, onward...after business was out of the way, we did the following: (God, I hope Louisville cleans this mess up. Please don't throw your trash out your window! Recycle!) *Walked along the Wharf (isn't the garbage sad? The river is really up right now and much of the park is under water. We met an old riverboat guy who kindly took a quarter chance in Lyndon's thrifted toy slot machine and then told us stories of barges going up and down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. This guy is one of the reasons I love Louisville-the kindness of strangers that, by the end of a great tale, feel like friends). *Got my bangs cut even shorter than normal (just cut my all one length hair to bangs in October and they keep getting shorter). Husband says I look like Betty Paige. (What do you think? I look just like her here more than that weird girl in the first photo...JK! Source) *Checked out the Louisville Bats (both the giant wooden one and the great animal one over on the west side of Broadway). Wish I had taken a couple of photos. (Do you think he got the leading position because he actually resembles a leprechaun?) *Thrifted (of course!) at this shop (clothes are a bit expensive, but great vintage garments to be found there; I was tempted, but did not buy any clothing). I'll share my finds tomorrow! Husband complained about the smell which I love (like old house smell...he says it smells dirty. Now can you understand the almost divorce???) We also hit a GW in a nearby town while waiting to see a house (Big No on the house!) *Got caught in Lady Gaga traffic downtown, but people watching was fascinating (forgot she was in town!)...Oh, to be young again! :) *Listened to this great CD. I cannot wait until April 26 for the concert at this wonderful Louisville park (designer the same as the NY Central Park designer). Plus, a bonus, I heard that Sarah Jaffe (great new young artist) will be at Waterfront Wednesdays on April 27 (free concerts downtown by the river). Wow. Wow! The brood is returning North today and I have a busy work week ahead of me. First, I need to clean up the tornado debris my sons left me. Linking up to Penny Worthy Project because it was un el cheapo weekend! Thursday, March 10, 2011 My (Dis)-Organized Life OK, I just got another promotion at work. This one is big, but will require more...yes, more from me. I will be traveling soon west of the Mississippi for more training and events. I may (please, please, please) get to even go to Oregon (dream for a long time!) I am really excited to be part of the team I was selected for, but... Some days, I feel like I am just faking that I am organized and in control! (Shhh...) My desk is covered with mountains of papers, my email box(es) are a mess, and my to-do lists keep growing. I should probably bow out of some of these projects I keep getting tossed my way, but I really, really enjoy a wide variety of work (and home) projects! I thrive on projects! Do any of you have any good work-geared organization books or blogs you recommend? I, obviously, do not fit the "file type" mentality (I am a pile-er and it is how I succeed). Maybe I just need a good read on time management. I am one of those go-go-go type people that would probably shrink and disappear if I didn't have 20 "irons in the fire". What I need is how to not get burnt by so many irons. At 40 YO I don't think I am willing or able to switch myself into a file-er or super-organized picture of perfection. And, I have made disorganization work for me, but I definitely could use some improvement! Wednesday, March 9, 2011 Wednesday Thrift Therapy Gloomy, rainy day here in KY so I stopped by a couple of thrift stores on my way home from work. Family is heading down tonight to spend the week with me and view houses (sigh, I'm already tired of house shopping). Apparently, they are bringing the cold down from the north and temps are expected to drop down to the low 40's (sigh again). It was a good shoe day at the GW near my apartment (the sign says it is KY's 50th GW store. Hmmm, wouldn't be interesting to travel around to 50 stores?) Nice shoes in my size are a rarity for me because I have the most average size feet out there which means I either miss out or the shoes are really worn. These are both nearly brand new! The boots are a strange golden brown and created by Sam and Libby. I will need to get some anti-slide-across-a-floor skid things, but I love them. The Mary Janes are American Eagle and look modern vintage (or stuck in the mid-90's as I have been accused of in the past...;) Both look cute with the knee length skirts I've been thrifting in the past year. The best part about these shoes? They were not marked UP! On the way back to the apartment, I travel through a really cool, historic Louisville neighborhood called Phoenix Hill. If you ever visit this wonderful, keep-it-weird city check out this area. I saw a junk store I need to get back to one of these days (unfortunately always closed when I am in the area). Monday, March 7, 2011 Thrift Share Monday: March Roars First up for my Thrift Share Monday show and tell are these boring soup mugs. The weird thing is I was thinking a couple of weeks ago that I wanted a matching set to replace all our odds and ends bowls. These were $1 each and fit the bill for our soup. Oddly, though they look new, these babies are almost 20 years old (made by Westwood in 1993). Realizing these mugs are almost 'vintage' makes me feel a bit old. A whole bunch of odds and ends stamps (sadly, not a complete set). They are scattered on a great, unmarked chick transferware plate I suspect is not vintage. Friday, March 4, 2011 The Trade Me Up Challenge OK, so despite the fact my readership is really (really) small here :), I am going to participate in Trade Me Up challenge. I'll link it up here and there and maybe branch out into non-Internet sources. I love the idea of this challenge; it puts me in mind of the years I participated in Sharon Astyk's Independence Days Challenge where creating alternative economy in the face of hardtimes, including bartering, was an important aspect of being self-sustaining, independent. In fact, during those years of emergency preparation I stored away many bottles of liquor as my future currency figuring demand would be high. ;) Basically, the challenge was created by Selena (Apron Thrift Girl) and Amy (The Thrifty Chicks) and involves using another form of currency (i.e. not money as we know it now, although I suppose in reality collector's coins or old money would be ok) to up trade for something more valuable to yourself. You can read the specific rules here. The bigger point, in my opinion, is that services and objects are more subjective than the green stuff and can be exchanged on a more individual level despite the current financial level of the giver or recipient (if that makes sense). This is not a new concept-many cultures in time and place have used this system and, really, it was the basis for our money system as we know it. Being able to use what you have on hand for needs (or in this case 'wants') in the form of bartering is a vital skill for surviving hardtimes. As far as my wishlist, I think my aspirations are a lot lower than that paperclip guy. I definitely do not want any more blessed houses (unless, of course, it is that one in KY that I keep going on and on about), a buyer? Well, that is an entirely different 'want'! I can only think of a few larger items I would say would end this experiment successfully. The big items I can think of needing/wanting: 1. A canoe 2. Small, vintage camper 3. Pay-off on one credit card (OK, I am stretching the "no money" thing a bit here). 4. Realtor services for my house 5. Stone for our driveway 6. Tractor "Smaller" items I would be ecstatic receiving: 1. Russells Parson Terrier or Dalmatian (or mixes) male puppy 2. Siamese kitten 3. Vintage solid wood armoire 4. Someone to build me a better and prettier small chicken coop (this could be here in IN or in KY depending on...well, you know the boring story). 5. Large wrought iron bird cage (parrot type for a sweet dove I have had for years) Perhaps trading up for animals is considered in poor taste, but I would offer either one a great home and lots of love and the love of a pet is priceless. I lost both a Dalmatian mix and a Siamese cat I loved. Both were adopted from the humane society and I had them for over 16 years. I miss them both terribly. We have other dogs, but I have wanted another Dalmatian for a long time. I recently started researching the Russells Parson Terrier (formerly Jack Russell) and I really am drawn to the wire-haired ones. I guess I have a thing for hyper dogs! :) Of course, if I remember right and it has been years since I thought of it, that paperclip guy didn't have anything specific in mind. I am not sure he aimed for a house, but, when the trade ended, he had what he wanted. So, with that in mind, I will also leave it open. I may stumble upon something too good to give up! Most of the items I wish for are things that can wait for a while. I figure this is a long-haul experiment. It sounds interesting and I can't wait to try it! So, without further ado, here is what I am offering for my Trade Me Up fun: Three Vintage Pyrex restaurant-ware coffee cups I thought long and hard about this item. The point (or fun anyway) is to start small, right? I like Pyrex and have some items I love (e.g. the primary color set and a few other patterns), but I am not a fanatic. I can take it or leave it (personally, I am drawn to Fireking and type batter bowls more), but as an avid thrifter I have stumbled upon it along the way. I also stumble upon plenty of blogs where folks are in love with the stuff. I have had these great cups for some time and I do like them, but I think there is something out there I would like more. The pattern is really cute (I have no idea what pattern it is, but will research so to make it more obvious to someone out there wanting it). In theory, this challenge is not exactly money-free as I will need to spend to ship, so I would like to only ship in the US, but will consider International if the trade is too good to pass up! So, what do you have that you want to trade me for them (I'll consider just about anything and I have smaller wish items on my sidebar too!!!)? Wednesday, March 2, 2011 I am in Love THE HOUSE IS PERFECT! I swear this place was built in mind for me in 1911. Is that possible. It has everything that I had placed on The List for the next house: wood burning stove, front porch, pond, mature nut trees, mountain, flat area, old barns, had-cranked wells for animals, creeks, chicken coop, hardwood floors, beautiful views, and room! The house even has that great "old house" smell of wood and ashes and age. I love it all. I could have built this house from my dreams. While waiting on the realtor (who got herself lost and was over an hour late), I prayed that my path would be revealed to me. I don't want to sound overly religious (I'm not, believe me and my potty mouth), but I believe (or at least hope) we have some spiritual guidance in this life and I hope we are being guided now. When the realtor showed up, I told her I planned to offer something soon. I wanted to check out a few things first. She says,"You are the only interested buyers for nearly a year; no one wants to live out here. The owners are retirees living in FL. They want it gone." (She was calling the listing agent while I was there to ask him questions). She says, "Let's start low...like..." and it was EXACTLY what we paid for our house up north for 4X the land and a bigger house. I had told my husband I really would like to buy it for what we paid for IN house and land. Is this a "sign"? While I waited for her I saw a murder of crow sisters, heard the sweet chorus of peepers, and felt the spring warmth of a southwesterly wind. I felt like I was home. Tuesday, March 1, 2011 Maybe, the Regret Other days (and even sometimes into the evening), I feel panicked. My husband is a lot more adventurous than I am. He says, "Sometimes you just have to take a chance..." He is excited and happy about the move. Me? I have always been at odds with 'chance'. Tomorrow, I am setting off to see too-good-to-be-true house and land (I've been there several times now, but the realtor does not know this fact). I saw they reduced the price by $15,000. The place is beautiful, but remote...or at least it seems that way considering one has to track up a mountain and down into a hollow. You can only see other folks' houses way off in the distance on top of a different mountain (okay, hill, but a mountain to this former flat-lander). The house and property are just perfect. I think maybe too perfect. I am on the fence about the location. I am not sure I want to be remote again. Back home in IN, our house is rural, but the in-laws live just down the road. We can't see our neighbors, but they are there. This weekend, back up North, I managed to get both my vehicle and our pick-up stuck in the blessed wet snow. Husband was at work. My eldest child had a birthday party to attend later and we needed a gift. I was able to call up my MIL and she took son to store and party and my FIL and step-BIL (also a neighbor) came to my rescue with a tractor. In KY, we will be on our own. And this scares me. So, I found two other homes to check out near the edge of Louisville. Both are 'city' houses, but both offer large (as in 2+ acre) lots. Both are convenient to the city and decrease our work commute. Well, it will shorten my commute (the other house is actually closer to hubby's work) and I am not sure I want to go back to an hour one-way commute to work. I love being home quickly when the day is done. The closer city homes offer a chance to know our neighbors (possibly) and have someone to rely on if ever there need be a reason. I think my worst fear is regret. Maybe I will regret selling our lovely 10+ acre lot in IN. Maybe I won't find anything in the same price range. Maybe my job here will end. Maybe I will have trouble with childcare. Maybe I will be lonely here...or maybe I will love it. Maybe I need to let chance (aka fate) have her way. Until we sell the IN property and get Dh down here, it's all just a pipe-dream anyway.

On the Continuum of the Discontinuum by Bruce Director In the Laws, Plato’s Athenian stranger laments that the Greek people’s pervasive ignorance of the incommensurability of a line with a surface and a surface with a solid, had rendered them more like “guzzling swine” than true human beings. While the same lament can be sounded with respect to today’s society, modern citizens must also include an understanding of those higher transcendentals which are the subject of Riemann’s “Theory of Abelian Functions”, if they are to avoid the lamentable fate of Plato’s fellow Greeks. To rectify this condition, Plato recommended that these subjects should be learned in childhood, through play. Yet those who, today, have already graduated from that stage in life should, nevertheless, not despair. For them such knowledge can still be assimilated through that form of fun that has come to be known as pedagogical exercises, provided that one approaches this play with the zeal and eagerness of youth. What Plato considered most important to glean from this play is not the facts (such as, that an area can not be measured by a line, or that a volume can not be measured by an area), but the cognitive experience of discovering the underlying principle implied by the incommensurability of these three different types of action. Through this experience the mind recognizes its power to recognize what Plato called “powers”, so that when confronted with “facts”, it recognizes, as Riemann did, that all facts are hypotheses, and it is attracted not to the factual statements by themselves, but to the underlying principles on which the hypotheses, implied by the existence of such facts, are based. These principles, thus recognized as thought-objects, become a proper, and necessary, subject for further investigation. From investigations typified by the discovery of the incommensurability of the line, square and cube, we learn of the relationship between objects of sense and the underlying principles that govern their characteristics. For the relationships among principles and those relationships to the mind, we must turn to the subject of Riemann’s “Theory of Abelian Functions”. From that standpoint, let us continue our pedagogical investigation of Riemann’s work. Discreteness and Continuity While the principles for the first type of investigation were well established by the Pythagorean science of Sphaerics, to which Plato’s comments refer, their most general, modern elaboration was laid down by Riemann in his 1854 habilitation dissertation. Generalizing the method that had been developed by the successive accomplishments of Cusa, Kepler, Leibniz and Gauss, Riemann set forth the fundamental basis by which scientific investigations into the effect of physical principles on the objects of sense must proceed–without the anti-scientific presumption of the {a priori} axioms, postulates and definitions of Euclidean geometry. Riemann rejected Kant’s insistence that the characteristics of Euclidean geometry were “hard- wired” into the human mind. Instead of this Aristotelean dogma, Riemann recognized that the mind understands physical processes by forming concepts of a multiply-extended manifold whose characteristics are determined by physical principles, or “modes of determination” (Bestimungsweissen) that govern that action. These modes of determination can never be given {a priori}, but must be discovered by the unique experiments that test the underlying hypotheses on which the concept of the manifold is based. Thus, the nature of the physical process can only be understood in relation to the essential physical characteristics of the manifold. The number of principles acting on the manifold (extension), and the metric relations determined by those principles (curvature), are identified by Riemann as such fundamental characteristics. In the {Theory of Abelian Functions}, Riemann includes the density of singularities among the essential characteristics. Again, these characteristics, cannot be given {a priori}, but are determined by the physical characteristics of the action under investigation. To illustrate this point, look at the oft-cited example of the principle of least-action as expressed by light undergoing reflection and refraction. In the former, the principle of least- action is expressed by the invariant characteristic that the path of light from the object, to the mirror, to the eye, is always the shortest distance. Because this characteristic is reflected by the equality of the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection, this least-action effect can be completely measured simply by one mode of determination, specifically the angle of incidence. Thus, the experimental investigation of reflected light can be grasped by the mind through a concept of a simply-extended manifold. However, under refraction, this same principle of least-action is expressed not by the path of shortest distance, but by the path of shortest time, which can only be completely measured by the angle of incidence, {and} the index of refraction (the difference in the effect of the density of the two media on the velocity of light). Consequently, two modes of determination are necessary to determine position with respect to refraction, and thus, comprehending refraction, requires the formation of a concept of a doubly-extended manifold. Riemann makes a further distinction between manifolds: “According as there is, or is not, a continuous transition from one to another, they form a continuous or discrete manifold; the individual modes are called, in the first case, points, in the latter case, elements of the manifold.” The objects of sense comprise, as Riemann noted, a discrete manifold, in which the “principle of metric relations is implicit in the notion of the manifold” and, “comparison as to quantity occurs by counting”. The objects of such a discrete manifold are distinguished from one another by their differing physical characteristics. Thus, they are not counted with respect to {a priori} considerations, but only with respect to the characteristic modes of determination of the manifold under which they are being investigated. For example, it would not be possible to count the number of persons in a room by counting the living creatures in that room with four legs. (Unless, of course, the room included Nobel prize winning economists, or officials of the Bush Administration.) But, as Cusa and Kepler had insisted, and as Leibniz expressed it through his calculus, universal physical principles are acting continuously, albeit differentially, on the objects of sense from outside the domain of sense perception. Consequently, Riemann insisted, to comprehend the principles governing the objects of sense, we must seek the metric relationships outside the visible domain “in the colligating forces that operate upon it.” Thus, for the investigation of the effect of {continuously acting physical principles} on discrete physical objects, we must form concepts of a multiply-extended continuous manifold. Riemann notes that common experience affords only a few examples of such multiply-extended continuous manifolds (the manifold of positions of objects in space and the manifold of all colors are the two examples cited by Riemann). Nevertheless, concepts of such manifolds arise when investigating physical processes that are governed by the colligating action of multiple principles. The geometrical expression for such manifolds can be formed in the complex domain, in the context of the investigation of those higher transcendentals known as “Abelian functions”. A simple illustration of the principle of the latter (which is relevant for what follows), can be accomplished by rethinking one’s naive concept of circular action. From the naive standpoint, the circle seems to be a simple closed curve. But what makes possible this simple circular curve? From the standpoint of Gauss and Riemann, this simple circular curve is the visible effect of the connected interaction of two continuously changing transcendental functions the sine and the cosine. Formal geometricians will find this way of thinking very uncomfortable, because from the formal standpoint, the circle seems simple and the circular functions seem complex. But, as Gauss demonstrated with his first discovery concerning the division of the circle, it is only from the standpoint of this inversion, that even the most simple propositions concerning the circle (such as the construction of the regular polygons) can be determined. Another heuristic for the same idea, is the case of the Leibniz-Bernoulli successful determination of the catenary, in contrast to Galileo’s impotent pretension. Whereas Galileo fixated on attempting to describe the visible shape of the chain, Leibniz and Bernoulli investigated the continuously acting principles that determined that shape from outside the visible domain. This Leibniz -Bernoulli collaboration proved that the visible shape of the catenary was the effect of the connected interaction between the continuously changing effects of gravity and tension, the which could be measured as the arithmetic mean between two contrariwise (transcendental) exponential curves. In both these cases, the visible curves (circle and catenary) are understood as the physical effect of two, distinct but connected, modes of determination whose concept forms a doubly- extended manifold. Anther example of the method by which we investigate this relationship between continuous manifolds and their effects on the discrete objects of sense is investigated, was given by Gauss in his 1832 investigation of magnetism: “To explain magnetic phenomena, we assume two magnetic fluxes: one we call north, the other south. We presuppose, that the elements of the one flux attract those of the other, and that on the other hand, two elements of the same flux mutually repel each other, and that each of hte two effects alters in inverse relation to the square of the distance. It will be shown below that the correctness of this law was itself confirmed by our observations. “These fluxes do not occur independently, but only in association with the ponderable particles of such bodies which take on magnetism, and their effects express themselves either when they put the bodies into motion or they prevent or transform the motion, which other forces acting on these bodies, e.g. the force of gravity, would elicit. “Hence the effect of a given amount of magnetic flux on a given amount of either the same or the opposite flux at a given distance is comparable to a given motive force, i.e. with the effect of a given accelerating force on a given mass, and since the magnetic fluxes themselves can be known only through the effects, which they bring forth, the latter must directly serve to measure the former.” A Higher Continuity But there is a still deeper expression of this relationship between discrete and continuous manifolds that will take us directly to the subject of Riemann’s investigation of Abelian functions. This can be preliminarily illustrated by illuminating the above referenced investigation of Plato with light from Gauss’ and Riemann’s complex domain. If we think of the line, surface and volume as paradigmatic of, respectively, simply, doubly and triply extended continuous manifolds, the following paradox emerges: within each manifold there is a clear continuity of action, yet there is no continuous transition from one to the other. For example, while a point can move continuously within a line, once the line itself is moved, it forms a surface. The transition from line to surface is discontinuous. There is no in- between state where the mainfold is part line and part surface. It is either all one or all the other. Similarly, there can be continuous motion within a surface, but once the surface itself is moved, it suddenly becomes a volume. Further as Plato emphasizes, the metric relations of the line square and cube are incommensurable with each other. For example, the metric relations of a line are inadequate to measure a square. Consequently, a line adequate to measure a square, must be produced from a square, not a line. In other words, the metric relations for such a line must be sought outside the line– in a the manifold of squares, in which lines exist only as sides of squares. Such apparent discontinuities , among continuities, point us toward a higher continuity, which is continuously acting, as a manifold of manifolds, in which these discontinuities exist simultaneously. This simultaneous continuity is not located in the manifolds themselves but in the cognitive effect of the transition from one manifold to another. Take a close look at this paradox from the standpoint of the method of Archytas for doubling the cube, in which the line, area and volume are thought of as the principles that produce, respectively, zero, one and two geometric means between two extremes. Animated figure 1 depicts the continuous motion of a point (Q) within a simply extended manifold (line). Animated figure 2 depicts that same continuous motion of (Q) but now it is occurring in a doubly-extended manifold, and is connected to the circular motion of (P). In animated figure 3, this connected motion of figure 2 is now occurring in a triply-extended manifold, as the connected action of (P) and (Q) is now rotated within a toroidal surface. In each case, the motion of (Q) is simply in one direction along a line, but the manifold in which that simple motion occurs increases, discontinuously, from “n” to “n+1” with the addition of each new degree of action. This effect of the addition of each new degree of action is reflected on the characteristics of the motion of (Q). In figure 1 the motion of (Q) along line AO is uniform. But when (Q) is connected to a line perpendicular to AO, whose opposite endpoint (P) is moving uniformly on a circle, (Q)’s motion along AO becomes non-uniform. Further, when line AO is rotated uniformly about (O), (P)’s motion along the circle becomes non-uniform and the non-uniform motion of (Q) along AO is changed again. The addition of each new degree of action can be measured as a change in the rate of motion of (Q) along line AO . But while the path of (Q) is always linear, its motion becomes increasingly non-linear. Further, in each case, the metric of Q’s motion along line AO cannot be found with respect to Q’s position within line AO, but must be sought outside line AO, in the relationship of AO to the circle and the torus, respectively. The motion of (Q) is always continuous, and, the effect of (P) on (Q)’s motion is continuous, and the effect of (A)’s motion on (Q) is continuous. But the transitions of the manifold from when (Q)’s motion is being determined by (Q) alone, to being determined by the effect of (P), to being determined by the connected effect of (A) and (P), are discontinuous. Yet as Archytas’s construction implies, there exists a higher, cognitive continuity, that unifies, as if from outside, the discontinuities among these three manifolds of action. A similar point can be made from the standpoint of Gauss’s geometrical proof of the fundamental theorem of algebra. From the perspective of formal algebra, the terms of an equation such as x^2+x+1=0 are distinguished from one another simply by how many times “x” is multiplied by itself. (2 for the first term, 1 for the second and 0 for the third.) But from the standpoint of physical geometry, the highest term indicates a degree of extension that determines the governing characteristics of the entire function. In other words, in the above example, we are not adding a square to a line to a point. Rather, the “x^2” is an area (x by x) and so is the “x” (x by 1)and so is the “1” (1by 1). But if those same terms are subsumed into a cubic equation, x^3+x^2+x+1=0, they are all transformed into volumes. (For example, the “x^2” in the cubic equation is no longer an x by x area, but is transformed into a x by x by 1 volume.) In his proof of the fundamental theorem of algebra, Gauss created a higher geometry that expressed the continuity within any single algebraic power with respect to that power’s discontinuous relationship to all other algebraic powers. Thus, Gauss’s higher geometry expresses the discontinuities between the algebraic powers, {cognitively} as an effect of a simultaneous continuity. What Gauss accomplished with his studies of algebraic powers, Riemann achieved for that succession of transcendental species of powers, known as “Abelian functions”. The Circle in the Complex Domain Before turning directly to Riemann’s accomplishment, let us secure our footing by looking at Gauss’s earliest discovery the division of the circle, from the vantage point of Riemann’s work. As was already known to the Pythagorean geometers, the principle on which the division of the circle into equal parts depends, can not be found in the circle itself. As Kepler summarizes this knowledge in the first book of the Harmony of the World, the division of the circle into equal parts by magnitudes that are constructable (knowable) from the circle and its diameter is limited–a characteristic that from the Pythagoreans onward was recognized as the futility of achieving any universal knowledge from the so-called straight-edge and compass constructions. Though this limitation was recognized from the Pythagoreans through Kepler, it was not until Gauss looked at the matter from the standpoint of the complex domain, that the{ principle} on which this limitation is based was known. Since we have treated Gauss’s discovery of the division of the circle in previous installments of this series and in numerous oral presentations, we focus here only on the general considerations. First we must extricate our mind from its attachment to the idea that a circle is a self- evident object in visible space, which we divide into “n” visible pieces to form an “n” sided polygon. Instead, think of a circle divided into “n” distinct parts as the result of a single generating principle in which the “n” parts are intrinsic to manifold. This can be done when the circle is considered to be a special type of pathway in a manifold of action in which the pathways of least action are always logarithmic spirals. Such a manifold can be expressed by the complex exponential (See Figure 4.) While there is an unlimited possibility for variation among these logarithmic spirals, depending on the rate of growth of the spiral, such unlimited possibility is {not} unbounded. The minimum-maximum relationship bounding this manifold is expressed by the spirals with maximum rotation and minimum extension, which are called “circles” and the spirals of maximum extension and minimum rotation, which are called, “straight lines”. The metric relation intrinsic to this “exponential-logarithmic” manifold can be expressed by the relationship between how a change in position along a spiral pathway is measured by an angle and how that same change in position is measured by a change in the length of the corresponding arc or radial line. (Note that the arc and radial line are both spiral pathways.) (See figure 5). This relationship is that equal angles correspond to exponential changes in arc length. Thus, an increase of the angle by “n” increases the corresponding arc length by the “nth” power. (For example, a change in position measured by a doubling of an angle corresponds to squaring of the arc length along the spiral path.) (See Figure 6) However, for that special type of logarithmic spiral known as a circle, the equal angles correspond to equal arcs. But the intrinsic logarithmic characteristic of the spiral is, nevertheless, embedded in the circle as well and it is expressed in the relationship of the angle to the sine and the cosine, when that relationship is expressed in the complex domain. (See Figure 7). Thus, dividing a circle into “n” parts corresponds to finding “n” powers within an angle of 360 degrees. This principle can be expressed by the simple algebraic expression, “x^n-1=0”. This can be grasped intuitively by looking at animated figure 8 which depicts the complex cubing function. In the animation, the cubing function triples the angles swept out in the left panel, the effect of which is depicted in the right panel. Thus, the vertices of a regular triangle are the points of discontinuity where the action on the left sweeps out one complete circle on the right. This is depicted in the animation by a change of color. For what follows it is useful to also look at this same action by inversion as depicted in animated figure 9. Here we see the black circle on the right, simultaneously, sweeping out three unique circular segments on the left. Seen in this way, the vertices of an “n” sided polygon can be understood as “n” discontinuities produced by the continuous action of an algebraic function of the “nth” power. This gives rise to a new form of the same paradox cited above with respect to Plato’s investigation of the incommensurability of the line, square and cube. In the complex domain, an “nth” power algebraic function produces, by a continuous process,”n” discontinuities, but it can never produce “n+1” such discontinuities. The transition from “n” to “n+1” is itself discontinuous, but it signifies a higher type of discontinuity, than that expressed by the vertices of a regular polygon. Further, though each lower power signifies a manifold containing “n” discontinuities, the succession of higher discontinuities in the transitions from “n” to “n+1” to “n+2”, etc. , when considered simultaneously, imply a cognitively generated new, higher, type of continuity. Now, look at this paradox further from the standpoint of Cusa’s determination of the transcendental nature of the circle. If an “n” sided polygon is produced by an algebraic function of the “nth” power, the power of the function that produces the circle must be infinite, and therefore, outside the domain of algebra. It exists in the domain that Leibniz called transcendental, which subsumes all possible algebraic relationships. Thus, the transcendental power that generates the circle, generates, simultaneously, the discontinuous manifold of all possible regular polygons. A Higher Discontinuity While the discontinuous manifold of the algebraic powers is bounded by the simple transcendental power that generates the circle, our investigations of the physical universe demand that we find conceptions of manifolds of still greater power. The path on which to look for such conceptions was discovered by Gauss, Abel, Dirichlet and Jacobi, but its illumination we owe to Riemann. That path is not free of obstacles. In fact, it is the obstacles we seek and with Riemann’s beacon we can find them. The first obstacle we seek is that which bounds the simple transcendental power that generates the circle. But to find it in the visible circle itself would be futile, as the visible circle appears to be obviously unbounded. Nevertheless, that boundary, of the domain of simple transcendentals, emerges clearly when we look, with the aid of Riemann’s surfaces, at the circle as an inversion from the circular functions. As was illustrated in the last installment of this series, the essential characteristic of the simple transcendental functions is that they are simply-periodic. This characteristic is evident from the visible expression of the circular functions, for as the sine goes from 0 to 1 to 0 to -1, the angle rotates counterclockwise around a circle. Thus, while the circular angle has an unbounded potential, the circular sine is always bounded between 1 and -1. An insight into the importance of this can be gleaned from posing this relationship as an inversion. The question, “what is the sine of an angle?” has only one answer, but the question, “what is the arc that has this sine?” has an unlimited number of answers. The crucial implications of this simply-periodic characteristic can be most easily seen by, as we did above, looking first at the complex circular functions from the more general expression, the complex exponential, which, as we saw, is a manifold of action in which the least-action pathways are logarithmic spirals. It is evident from the intrinsic geometry of the spiral, especially when viewed from the standpoint of the Riemann sphere, that this manifold has two singularities, which on the Riemann sphere are the north and south pole. (See figure 10.) In this manifold, circles, are simply those spirals that rotate around the poles but do not extend to them. “Straight” lines are simply the spirals that extend to the poles but do not rotate. Like all the other spirals in this manifold, these limiting cases are also bounded by the poles. Riemann recognized that a manifold with two singularities was intrinsic to the characteristics of spherical geometry. Consequently, he defined spherical geometry as the geometry of manifolds of two singularities. However, as was also illustrated in the last installment, the singularities exemplified by the poles of the complex exponential in a Riemann’s surface, are a special type of singularity, which Riemann called, “branch points.” This is due to the fact that since the complex exponential is periodic in one direction (the “latitudinal” direction), each rotation must add another layer, or, “branch” to the manifold. (See figure 11). Thus, the Riemann surface that depicts the manifold of the complex exponential is a sphere with an unlimited number of layers, joined at the north and south pole. A “branch cut” is made from one pole to the other. Any action that crosses this cut, crosses onto the next layer. Consequently, action in the “latitudinal” direction, necessarily crosses the branch cut, while action in the “longitudinal” direction necessarily does not. From this perspective we can now understand the circular functions as a complex exponential whose branch points have been rotated from the poles, to the points representing 1 and -1 on the equator. (The hyperbolic functions are simply the simple transcendentals with branch points at i and -i, thus completing the simple transcendental domain.) The branch cut now extends from these points on the equator to the north pole. (See Figure 12). Just like the complex exponential, any action that crosses this branch cut, crosses over onto another layer of the Riemann’s surface. A further insight into this characteristic is gained by looking more closely into the Riemann’s surfaces for the circular functions. In animated figure 13 the left panel shows a rotation going from -90 degrees to 90 degrees while the right panel shows the sine going from -1 to 1. In animated figure 14 this rotation is continued, but as it starts back toward the beginning it crosses the branch cut. This produces a corresponding discontinuous jump in the sine as it moves back from 1 to -1. However action in an orthogonal direction does not cross the branch cut and is consequently, unbounded. (See animated figure 15). This difference can be seen more completely when viewed from the standpoint of the Riemann sphere. (See animated figures 16). Armed with this Riemannian view of simple transcendentals we can see that the essential characteristics of simply periodic manifolds are expressed by the intrinsic existence of two branch points. Such manifolds arise from the investigation of physical processes which can be understood as the effect of the transcendental action of only one principle. For example, in simple uniform circular motion, the sine is transcendental with the arc, but the arc is uniform with the angle. Or, in the case of the catenary, the gravitational effect varies but the tension is always constant. However, as the “Kepler Problem” illustrates, in non-uniform physical motion, two or more transcendental principles are acting, connectedly and simultaneously, to produce the perceived physical effect. For example, in the case of elliptical action, the sine is incommensurable with the arc, but the arc is also incommensurable, according to a different principle, with the angle. (A similar type of double incommensurability arises when expressing the relationship of the varying period of a circular pendulum the angle formed by the string and the vertical.) Gauss, Abel and Jacobi all recognized that these types of physical action could only be expressed by a higher type of transcendental a transcendental function that had the power to unify two connected but distinct transcendental actions. However, a clear and elementary understanding of these transcendentals is only possible from the vantage point of Riemann’s surfaces. To intuitively grasp the concept of these higher transcendentals, let us investigate how the elliptical transcendentals are distinguished from simple transcendentals by the characteristics of their corresponding Riemann’s surface. As Gauss demonstrated for the case of the lemniscate, the characteristic of the elliptical transcendentals are distinguished by their double periodicity. Riemann showed that this characteristic of double periodicity implied a distinctly different manifold of action than the spherical manifold of the simple transcendentals. This distinction comes to light, not in the visible shape of the circle and ellipse, but only through investigating the different characteristics of the Riemann’s surfaces that correspond to the transcendental functions that generate them. As we will illustrate by animation, a manifold that is capable of permitting doubly periodic action must be toroidal, as distinguished from the spheroidal manifold capable of permitting simply periodic action. The first insight can be gained by looking at doubly periodic action from the standpoint of Riemann’s sphere. In animated figure 11 we saw a Riemann’s sphere depicting a simply periodic manifold. In the left panel both the white and green paths approach the infinite from two orthogonal directions while in the right panel, the white path becomes periodic while the green remains unperiodic. In animated figure 17, depicting elliptical transcendentals, both the white and the green paths become periodic in the right panel. Riemann showed that such doubly periodic action cannot occur in a manifold with the same spherical characteristics as the manifold of the simple transcendentals. In a simply periodic function, as we saw in the case of the complex sine and complex exponential, there is only one set of closed, periodic curves and these converge on two points (the poles in the case of the complex exponential and 1 and -1 in the case of the complex sine.) (See Figure 18). But, in a doubly periodic function there are two orthogonal sets of closed curves, and each set converges on a different pair of points. (In the case of the lemniscate those points are (1, -1) and (i ,-i) (See Figure 19). Thus, a manifold that is capable of permitting doubly periodic action must have four branch points and two branch cuts connecting each pair of branch points. (See Figure 20). From this it can be seen, as Riemann insisted, that a manifold with four branch points {must} be of a fundamentally different nature than a manifold of only two branch points. To begin to get a sense of why that is the case, look at the animated figure 21. In the left panel we see the two distinct rotations of the elliptical function and the on the right we see their corresponding periods. In the animation, one period is bounded horizontally while the other is bounded vertically. Thus, the manifold of a doubly-periodic elliptical transcendental must be doubly self-bounded. A sphere, however, is not doubly self-bounded. But, Archytas’s torus is. (See Figure 22.) The further characteristics of such a doubly bounded manifold can be intuitively grasped by animated figure 23. In the left panel we see lines moving in the vertical direction and in the right panel we see that their images must veer towards the horizontal as they approach the horizontal boundaries. Similarly, in animated figure 24, the lines moving in the horizontal direction in the left panel, veer towards the vertical, in the right panel, as they approach the vertical boundaries. This effect produces four points of convergence, one at each corner of the square. These points of convergence are the “poles” of the manifold. Thus, a doubly-periodic elliptical manifold must be a manifold with four poles. Animated figure 25 shows the futility of attempting to represent such a manifold by spherical geometry. As Riemann emphasized, a manifold with four such poles is fundamentally different topologically than a sphere. The investigation of this characteristic, Riemann identified, belongs to the domain of Leibniz’s “Analysis Situs”, which seeks to discover the fundamental characteristics that are intrinsic to a manifold. Under this way of thinking, we can see, as Riemann did, that the capacity to sustain a certain density of singularities is just such an intrinsic characteristic. This capacity is determined by the number of principles acting in the manifold. Applying Dirichlet’s Principle, Riemann demonstrated that this characteristic the power of the manifold to sustain singularities– determines all possibility for action within the manifold. An increase in power must correspond to a change in these topological characteristics. Such a change cannot come from within the manifold itself, but only by the addition of a new principle, from outside, {implying the necessary existence of a higher manifold}. This change, from the spherical to the toroidal requires a change in our depiction of the elliptical functions. In the following animations the spherical action is depicted on the left and the toroidal action as projected onto a plane on the right. Think of the square in the right panel as an “unfolded” torus. In animated figure 26 we see how four paths that approach the single pole of the sphere are mapped onto the four distinct poles of the unfolded torus. In animated figure 27 we see how a circular path through the four branch points maps to a square on the unfolded torus. In animated figure 28 we see how a circular path crossing all four branch cuts maps onto the unfolded torus, as a curve with four distinct discontinuities. Each time the path crosses a branch cut on the sphere, its image crosses a discontinuity on the torus. This sets the stage for the discontinuous jump into the next highest transcendental function the hyper-elliptical. We will leave it to the next installment to more fully develop its characteristic, but from animated figure 29 we can see that it has eight branch points, eight branch cuts and eight poles. Gauss and Riemann both understood that a self-bounded manifold with this capacity must be negatively curved and, in principle, cannot be represented directly within the positive curvature of visible space. Nevertheless, its shadow can be projected into the visible domain as indicated by the negatively curved octagon in the animation. Thus, the domain of Abelian transcendentals, as seen from Riemann’s vantage point, is a discontinuous manifold of continuous manifolds, each of which is characterized by the capacity to sustain a greater number of discontinuities. This {Discontinuum}, nevertheless, has a continuity, intrinsic not to itself, but to the cognitive act from which it has been conceived.

[“Weather Field”; Lateral Office + Paisajes Emergentes for Land Art Generator Initiative] As we have nearly reached the conclusion of our collaborative reading of The Infrastructural City, we thought it would be interesting to discuss some of the lessons of the text with one of mammoth‘s favorite architectural studios, the Toronto-based Lateral Office. In a series of emails, mammoth spoke with Lateral’s Lola Sheppard and Mason White about why the Economist is more essential reading for architects than Wallpaper, what an “expanded field” for architecture might look like, how to evaluate the performance of a speculative proposal, and, of course, The Infrastructural City. Readers of mammoth are likely also familiar with Lola and Mason as two of the founders of research-group-slash-blog InfraNet Lab; in addition to Lateral and InfraNet, Lola teaches at the University of Waterloo and Mason at the University of Toronto. The awards that Lateral have received include Canada’s Professional Prix de Rome in Architecture, selection for Pamphlet Architecture 30, finalists in the WPA 2.0 competition, the Young Architects Award from the Architecture League of New York, and the Lefevre Fellowship for Emerging Practitioners from Ohio State University. [A.I.R. Unit; Lateral Office with artist Sara Graham] mammoth: The reason that we thought an interview with Lateral might be particularly appropriate at this time is the overlap between the text that we’ve been reading and discussing this summer — The Infrastructural City — and your work, which has largely been about imagining new typologies for and relationships to infrastructures. Even those projects, like the A.I.R. Unit, which concern more traditional architectural programs like spaces for dwelling show a clearly infrastructural way of thinking about architecture. How did you become interested in infrastructure? Sheppard: I’m not sure that, initially, we would have identified our work specifically as being about infrastructure as a category. But we would say that we began, even when dealing with single building or public space, with a desire to unpack the systems which underlie a given site or condition. I’d say we were more interested in format than form. There were two early projects which probably changed the way we thought. One was a competition for a dock in Memphis, TN, where we looked at harnessing changing water levels and seasonal flooding to drive the project — and produce sounds. And the second was a research project from 2003, entitled “Flatspace”, which we pursued as Lefevre Fellows at Ohio State University. We were researching the reformatting of expansive retail corridors and ended up generating nine proposals, three driven by program, three by landscape and three by mobility networks. That project sowed the seeds for the strategies and approaches in our later work. I think also that we have always been interested in rethinking the overlooked parts of our built environment — and much of what organizes these environments seems to fall under the category of logistics and infrastructure. White: Those early projects, though naive and more searching than strategic, were foundational to our approach to current work. And I really only wanted to add that, regardless of the term infrastructure, we are seeking the limits of an extrinsic architecture, and this often circumstantially addresses infrastructure(s). [Models from Flatspace; Lateral Office] mammoth: We’re glad you brought up “Flatspace”, as it has been on our minds this week — the chapter of The Infrastructural City we read this week deals with the same exurban landscapes of distribution and consumption as “Flatspace”. (It also happens to be how we first learned of Lateral, after it was published in 30 60 90.) We’ll return to it shortly. But, first: what is ‘an extrinsic architecture’? White: This is something we are asking ourselves as well. We are finding it to be an architecture that is very aware of its external influence, and maybe more importantly, any opportunities afforded by that awareness. Really, with our work we are seeking an understanding and incorporation of the ever-ricocheting effects and potentials of a work of architecture. Asking ourselves: how deep into its region or environment does a project reach? And quite often, this has taken us out of architecture, and into economics, ecology, energy, and others. mammoth: An interesting question this raises is the issue of expertise: obviously, as architects, we are not specialists in economics, ecology, energy, and so on. What about being an architect enables us to make useful decisions about the interactions between architecture and these other fields? More specifically, how has Lateral approached investigation into territories — like, say, the logistics of big-box operations you investigated in Flatspace — where you do not have specific expertise? Sheppard: It’s a good question, and one I’d say we grapple with often. We increasingly begin projects with broad and open initial research, to get a sense of the range of issues. For instance in the Flatspace research, we looked at a whole host of issues – the role of GIS, aerial photography, site targeting and the entire militarization of site identification, the notion of ‘branding the land’, the role of zoning regulations, the construction of big boxes… In this scenario, armed with at least initial knowledge, I think the role of the architect is to read the opportunities. Specialist will have deeper but narrower readings of a specific site or context. As in tunnel vision – it can be sharp but narrow, potentially overlooking issues that aren’t categorizable. I think we try to have 270 degree vision. The architect in this scenario is not simply problem solver, but cultural, environmental and spatial detective, bringing to light the forces (geographic, economic, and cultural) at work within a given geography, and able to look for synergies between issues and opportunities. [Flatspace; Lateral Office; “the expanded field of retail corridors“] White: The specialization issue is a prickly one – but I think worthwhile to expand upon a bit. And here I am always reminded of the fox versus hedgehog debate that Isaiah Berlin illuminated. (The fox being an expert generalist, and the hedgehog being an expert specialist.) I think this debate is also one that made us more sheepish about our work in the beginning – thinking that it was not a methodology we should be pursuing for the very reasons you just mentioned, and that we should specialize in something overtly architectural–forms, materials, fabrication. But over time, our position has solidified more as a specialization on phenomenon and opportunities that is between categories and disciplines. For example, I still think the most important magazine to subscribe to as an architect is the Economist, not Wallpaper. Reading the Economist as an architect, you can see things before they become relevant in architecture, with Wallpaper or Dwell you are seeing it after the fact, as a trend. Really we are most interested in questions of architectural typology and spatial format, and these are often promiscuous interrogations. mammoth: It’s interesting that you say that, at the outset of your work, you thought you “should specialize in something overtly architectural”, but you’ve since been pulled towards more “promiscuous” work. Was there a particular moment — or project, or set of projects — that produced this shift? White: It is hard to say that there was a specific moment, but probably some combination of the Flatspace research project at Ohio State University as Lefevre Fellows and a general skepticism of our own professional experiences, as well as the education that brought us to that. More optimistically, it was likely a reaction to a broader position and potential for architecture that lay latent in early work and approaches as students. But, probably hard to identify a particular moment. From early on, we were very influenced by the work and thinking of Keller Easterling, Bucky Fuller, Cedric Price, Constantinos Doxiadis, and others, such as Georges Perec, Paul Virilio, and Luis Fernández-Galiano. [Farming Salton; Lateral Office for cityLAB’s WPA2.0 competition.] mammoth: The very first chapter in The Infrastructural City, Barry Lehrman’s “Reconstructing the Void”, is about Owens Lake, which is an extraordinary post-infrastructural, post-natural landscape north-east of Los Angeles. South-east of Los Angeles, of course, there is a larger and more famous, but similarly post-natural body of water, the Salton Sea. Your entry to the 2009 WPA2.0 competition, “Farming Salton,” takes the devastated condition of the Salton Sea as an opportunity, proposing a series of new infrastructures to be overlaid onto the Salton Sea and surrounds, with the aim of generating new sustainable ecologies, new economic generators, and new recreational opportunities. One of the things that you suggest in the project is that these new infrastructures should be “coupled” — that “multiple processes [should be bundled] with spatial experiences”. (Given that “Coupling” is also the title of PA30, it seems fair to say that this is a common theme in your projects.) Why is this important? Sheppard: We’ve been huge fans of The Infrastructural City because it has served as an original medium for outlining the scope and potential of readings of infrastructure. The question of ‘coupling’ is interesting to us, because if you look at the history of most infrastructure, it has tended to be mono-functional. It typically consists of engineering projects designed to address a single problem. We’ve recently been talking about “landscapes on life-support,” where infrastructure, in the current condition, serves to simply maintain a failing ecological state. (Owens Lake is such an example, where the state of California spends upward of $415 million on the Dust Mitigation Project simply to prevent toxic dust from spreading.) In projects such as Salton or Icelink, we ask: can infrastructure be more pro-active or more catalytic? Can it serve to support other conditions — ecologies, economies, and public realms? Our interest in infrastructure really began with an interest in expanding the scope and territory of architecture’s realm beyond the singular building, to include more mutable or contingent conditions. We wanted to embrace questions of economy, logistics, ecology, etc. Infrastructure emerged as a basic precondition for all these questions. Alone, it remains a purely logistical operation. However, in coupling or bundling multiple functions that operate like epiphytes, an expanded territory of intervention emerges. An architecture which responds to opportunities of contingency manifests itself in atypical spatial formats. In a sense, what we’re exploring are these new formats for architecture ‘in an expanded field’. (We are hosting a topic session at the 99th ACSA Annual Conference next March in Montreal, entitled Architecture’s Expanded Territories, on many of these questions.) [Icelink; Lateral Office] mammoth: One theme that recurs frequently in The Infrastructural City is a certain pessimism about new infrastructures on the scale of California’s aqueducts or Los Angeles’ freeways. The primary factors that are pinpointed in being responsible for this are not a lack of architectural interest but deep structural issues: both economic — the current global malaise — and political — a combination of NIMBYism with legal gridlock. This might be described, broadly, as a crisis of “traditional infrastructure”. Do you share this skepticism about the future of traditional infrastructures in North America? It seems to us that some of your recent work — thinking in particular of Farming Salton, but perhaps also the Emergent North research — could be partially construed (though you may disagree) as a response to this problem, in so far as it is an attempt to describe alternatives to “traditional infrastructure”, where infrastructure might retain its capacity to generate and guide the growth of human settlement patterns, but also become more flexible, more distributed, less mono-functional. White: We certainly share that pessimism, and much of this came up in a panel session with Kazys earlier this summer as part of the series of discussions on “networked publics.” The discussion led to several questions that we are often preoccupied with: what scale(s) does infrastructure operate at, what does infrastructure respond to, and what form might it take? And we are quite partial to the position of infrastructure as soft, scalable, and market-responsive. And, yes, that is a critique of “traditional infrastructure,” which is hard, big, and a product of its market-time. Infrastructure should also be entrepreneurial — something that both the Salton Sea project demonstrates and our ongoing work in the Canadian Arctic will seek. The combination of public and private investment is an emerging market (of which the PPIAF is an interesting real-world precedent). But we also share a degree of skepticism about infrastructure as a catch-all realm of practice. The term has increasingly expanded to stand-in for any architecture serving as a process or a system — and this mirrors the post-economic collapse return to function after the heady days of exuberant cultural projects. The attention that infrastructure is getting is further evidence of a shift to processes over objects. Though maybe what we are seeing and how we are positioning our work, is not an abandonment of architecture or a naive fascination with infrastructure so much as a renewed interest in an emergent territory of practice that is between these. We are finding that many of the questions that architecture could be asking are being picked up by others. Architecture is slow. Through the research at InfraNet Lab, with colleagues Maya Przybylski and Neeraj Bhatia, we are trying to position and qualify our understanding and forecasting of architecture’s potential as influenced by and integrated with infrastructure. Maya brings an interest in computational infrastructure, and Neeraj an interest in social infrastructure. The Lab gives us a space to intersect these interests. Much of this position will be evident in Pamphlet Architecture #30 and the first issue of our collaborative journal with Archinect called Bracket. We were asked recently if we were a “trans-disciplinary practice,” and although it would be convenient to say yes–and likely with much evidence in the work–I think our preferred answer is that we are anti-disciplinary … or maybe un-disciplinary. The only time I would say being undisciplined is intentional and productive. mammoth: This contention that “infrastructure should be entrepreneurial” is intriguing — both in and of itself, and also because arguments for a renewed commitment to infrastructure (whether general, like Krugman’s recent op-ed in the New York Times, or specifically architectural, like Nancy Levinson’s editorial piece for Places) so often are explicitly arguments for public work over and against private work. That said, it’s an assertion that we are broadly in agreement with. Part of the in-and-of-itself interest is that ‘entrepreneurial’ implies an evaluation of performance — process, not just object, as you noted. This is true of much infrastructural design generally: you need to be able to simulate performance (of economies, or hydrologies, or traffic flows, or structure), and simulating performance is a much bigger component of the design process that it would be for a more ‘typical’ architectural project (like a house). So maybe the interesting question that arises then is — particularly in a research-oriented context like your work on Salton or the Canadian Arctic — how do we test the validity of the entrepreneurial qualities of our proposals? Do you have a particular example of how the development of entrepreneurial qualities (or some other objective tangentially related to a project’s explicit function or performance) fed back into the design process as a whole in a given project? Sheppard: It’s interesting — this question of how does one evaluate performance. In most cases the economic and ecologic proposals we are leveraging are common, even proven models, such as job creation or remediation. Maybe what makes them unique for us is that they can be positioned in tandem rather than as oppositions. Large infrastructure projects, such as those of the WPA 1.0, created jobs during their construction that ceased once the projects were built. (Although one could argue that long-term benefits were skills training, and the creation of large arts and literacy projects.) The TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) is perhaps the more interesting model. It too was a major employer during the depression, on the construction phase of projects. However, it continues its relevance today through economic development, job creation, education, and research. Rather than simply providing an energy resource, its role is more diverse, tentacular and long-term. In the example of the Salton Sea, there are existing (engineered) proposals that are coming with price tags of over $8.9 billion, with an additional $140 million each year. And this is largely to maintain a status quo, and prevent further decline. Something is going to be built there, and the question is what does the public get in return for that bill? In our proposal for a project that could be built incrementally, the intention is to engage a different thinking about investment. But more importantly, the project seeks to generate ongoing economic benefits, through new industries that might dovetail into the infrastructure, and through restored ecologies that in turn reinvigorate recreation and tourism (once the lifeblood of the region). The intention is that entrepreneurial economic returns have a much longer life. In a project such as the augmented Ice Roads (near Yellowknife, Canada), our criticism is that the engineered ice roads have a short operational season and serve one use for an average of 67 days a year. We’re asking how can one extend the operating season, stimulate the ecology (through fish hatcheries), and aggregate other programs — in this case recreational fishing and adventure camping — to generate increased returns. In all these projects, the underlying question is how might design address the integration of these various operations. [Project map (top) and augmented ice roads (bottom), from Emergent North; Lateral Office/InfraNet Lab] mammoth: We very much like this idea, that explicitly describing the various tangential economic benefits of a proposed infrastructure becomes a part of the design itself — rather than, as is probably too often the case, being seen as something that is extrinsic to the work of design. A close parallel to this might be the research of Roger Sherman, whose chapter in The Infrastructural City (“Count(ing) on Change”) seeks to demonstrate that the negotiations required for the implementation of a project not only do not necessarily detract from the project, but can often be a productive enterprise leading to otherwise unforeseeable solutions. In both cases — you, integrating and aggregating programs, particularly economic; Roger Sherman, exploring the possibilities produced by processes of negotiation — something which is often thought of as prior to and even antagonistic towards the process of design is wrapped into design, enriching it. In a recent interview at Places, the landscape architects Anuradha Mathur and Dilip da Cunha were asked to describe their model of practice, which they have referred to as “activist practice”. For them, this means that, rather than pursuing clients and commissions, they have sought to do projects — often taking the form of publications and exhibitions — which question cultural understandings of landscape, which provoke questions. They break “conceptual ground”, rather than physical ground. This idea — that practicing landscape architecture or architecture means much more than just building buildings or planting landscapes, as obviously important as those things are — is not new, but it does often seem to be perennially lost in the distinction that is made between “real” and “paper” architecture. One kind of “conceptual ground” that Lateral is explicitly engaged in breaking is this work of developing an “expanded field” for architecture, which would obviously include the sort of additions to the process of design that we’ve been discussing. But, more broadly — yet thinking specifically of things architects do — what does “practicing architecture” mean to Lateral? Since we’ve already been dancing around this question (and phrased that way, it’s perhaps a bit broad), perhaps one way to think about this might be to tell us about what you think or hope the future might hold for Lateral. White: We are not very good at forecasting in the mirror, but I can say that the combination of writing, research and design has helped to chart our thinking within the field. As for how this might define a practice, we are willing to let this take place naturally as and when opportunities arise. But I think we are ultimately interested in reformatting an architectural practice – we aspire to the design of ideas and idea of design, though we don’t think this precludes building. However, we have turned down the model of a boutique practice in order to pursue projects in the public realm from the outset, rather than ‘graduate’ into that kind of work. As for your comment on the expanded field, architecture will continue to oscillate between bouts of autonomy and transdiciplinarity for some time. This has been evident in the last decade or so, and we have made our allegiances to transdisciplinarity apparent. But as this debate has swung internally, there continues to be a lack of practices and design strategists that have staked a claim at the seams of where architecture meets environment. This is where we would align ourselves (and Bracket has become a useful venue for curating practices and thinkers within that position). And just to qualify a bit, we don’t see ourselves as (nor would we want to be) economists or ecologists. We prefer being architectural strategists – only we sometimes radiate outside traditional notions of the profession to more fully understand a context or a condition. And in that process, we don’t limit ourselves to a superficial treatment of the subject. To return back to your reading, we are certainly sympathetic to Roger Sherman’s criticism of planning’s inability to respond to certain urban change, his call for architects to assume risk, and the power of entrepreneurial local anomalies to catalyze successive development. And being sympathetic to design incorporating new models of planning, we share his claim that “design strategy operates hand-in-hand with a business plan” (from Sherman and Dana Cuff’s forthcoming Fast-Forward Urbanism). For us, this is the difference between operating tactically and operating strategically. We like chess player Savielly Tartakover’s saying that “tactics is knowing what to do when there is something to do. Strategy is knowing what to do when there is nothing to do.” This ‘nothing to do’ can be interpreted as either 1) seemingly nothing possible to do; or 2) seemingly nothing needed to do. Both interpretations necessitate a more expanded understanding of the brief or context that precedes architecture. We prefer working when there is nothing to do. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by nicolatwilley, Qb Gazette Feed and Stephen Becker, Rob Holmes. Rob Holmes said: (mammoth) A conversation with Lateral's @masoncwhite and Lola Sheppard, on architecture, infrastructure, method, etc | […] interesting interview. I was confused by the end, where they claim to want work when there is nothing to do. I think drawing an analogy on labor/urbanism from chess strategy causes me difficulties. It seems that there is so much that must be done and claiming their position as a mantra might be an untenable situation in any kind of politicized arena, but then the rest of the interview makes it obvious that the issue is only semantic. i really like the point they make about (what I assume is) the evolving nature of the TVA as a public works agency. We tend to focus on the capital investments, but the idea of evolving from that into “economic development, job creation, education, and research.” This was evident in their WPA 2.0 proposal, and is what generally sets them apart in my opinion. Of course, working that out beyond a broadly schematic level is another issue, but they seem to dig up or make interesting points of connection between seemingly unrelated phenomena or situations. i love their work. […] conclusion. (FASLANYC has already done so.) In the meantime, you should be sure not to miss our interview with Lateral Office. This entry was written by rholmes, posted on August 28, 2010 at 8:00 am, filed under mammoth […] […] diagrams is a powerful argument“. As part of their concluding post(s) Mammoth conducted an interview with Lateral Office recent winners of Canada’s Professional Prix de Rome in Architecture, wherein […] […] you missed it: mammoth talks with Mason White and Lola Sheppard about architecture, infrastructure, method, and much more. This entry was written by rholmes, […] […] la entrevista que hace unos meses publicaba mammouth, Lola Sheppard y Mason White se refieren a su práctica […] […] projects would benefit from being guided by both the specialized expertise of the engineer and the generalist sensibilities of the landscape architect, as they require both a rigorous understanding of the forces being invoked and they trace a […] quite nice post, i definitely enjoy this site, preserve on it

Stolen from the Internet TODAY’S VISUAL INTERFACE DESIGNERS follow a set of (largely unwritten) rules that have been developed over the last ten years. Uniquely, this article takes a look at both the rules and their basis in psychology. The elements you see in modern user interfaces (windows, menus, icons, etc) were founded on basic, psychological principles – eg, people are better at recognition than recall. Psychologists spend their time devising deceptively simple experiments using, as their laboratory equipment, people’s heads. Some of their discoveries do not seem earth-shattering (it is, apparently, harder to remember “The man looked at the sign” than “The fat man looked at the sign warning of thin ice.”) Over time, they have built up a model of the mind that is far from the powerful, flexible superbrain we might think humans possess. Rather, it is quirky, fallible, distracted and often downright cantankerous-more Homer Simpson than Side-Show Bob. One of the earlier findings was that people are considerably better at recognition than recall. Ask me to describe the icon for ‘set foreground colour to match this’ and I’ll have difficulty, but show me a palette of icons and I’ll pick out the pipette. Or, at least, I will if I’ve used it before. This is the fundamental principle behind both icons and menus: having people choose from a list they’ve seen before is far easier than having them type long strings of ill-remembered commands. Information in the world is easier on users than information in the head. Not just easier, but quicker too; measured in microseconds, recognition beats recall hands down. Research is ongoing-new techniques and interface ‘widgets’ are introduced with each new operating system release. Some are successful and others die out. Of course, every application now uses menus and icons, but there is more to it than that. Further research shows that it’s easier to find what you’re looking for when items are sorted into meaningful groups. If that seems obvious, watch someone using menus. They will frequently look in two or more menus before finding what they’re looking for, no matter how many times they’ve seen it before. Are the menus grouped in a way that is meaningful for the user or for the developer? Or for a designer in search of elegant simplicity-one set of menus across different applications, achieved by making their names as bland as possible. What the user sees… The key to a successful interface is determining the predominant user type-beginner, intermediate or expert-and considering what users are thinking when they use an application. Diversity of users is a key problem for the visual interface designer. Typically, users are segmented into three capability levels: beginner, intermediate and expert. These levels can be applied to three domains: computing in general, a specific operating system and a specific application. You can be an expert Windows user but a beginner at Excel, for instance; or you could be an expert user of your company’s order entry system but oblivious to everything outside it (there are users who believe the order entry system is the computer). ‘Expert’ here means ‘thoroughly familiar with’, rather than the usual sense of ‘world’s leading authority’. A common mistake is to focus too much on the beginner, forgetting that the user will progress to an intermediate level fairly swiftly and will then be held up by features designed for beginners. Beginners get a lot of attention, but in fact there are not many of them around, simply because they learn. For the custom business applications we are concerned with, users are almost entirely intermediates learning to become experts since they use the software nearly every day. If you design your interface for beginners, it will quickly be viewed as tiresome by most of its users. Instead, your application should quietly introduce itself and aim to make users intermediates as soon as possible. Before looking at which interface features favour the different user types, consider what users are thinking when they use an application. Broadly, a user will have one of three questions: What can I do with this application? How do I achieve this specific task? If I rummage around, what will I find? 1) and (3) might seem trivial, but they are enormously important in transforming beginners into intermediates and intermediates into experts. That said, you don’t need to build much direct support for them. The crucial question is (2)-to see why, we need a model. When you want to do something, say read a book after dark, you go through four steps (what follows is a simplified version of a model introduced by interface design guru Don Norman). First, you determine a goal; in our example it might be “make it lighter, so I can read.” You then translate the goal into one or more actions such as “get out of the chair and turn on the light” or “ask someone else to turn on the light.” When the action has been carried out you look for feedback, in this case it gets lighter. Finally you evaluate whether the goal has been achieved. Users apply a four-step sequence when trying to carry out a task on an application-goal, action, feedback and evaluation. The channel most appropriate for completing a task varies with the user type: menus cater well for beginners, keyboard short cuts are for experts and the still controversial toolbar is aimed at the largest user group-the intermediates. That might seem like an awful lot of thinking just to turn on a light, but of course for such simple actions it’s all subconscious. The same goal-action-feedback-evaluation sequence applies to users trying to carry out tasks with your application. Typically, two problem areas arise: my goal is to send a mail message, but how do I do it (the ‘gulf of execution’); and I think I just sent one, but how can I be sure (the ‘gulf of evaluation’)? The first of these is our old friend (2) from the discussion above and is by far the most common, and most serious, interface problem. When you want to offer your users a way of completing a task, you have four main channels to choose from: menus, the keyboard, a toolbar or direct manipulation with the mouse. For some tasks, such as resizing a window or typing a letter, the choice is obvious (though ibm’s ageing CUA guidelines still insist that everything should be possible from the keyboard—have you ever tried resizing a window from the keyboard?). For commands, though, the choice is menu, keyboard and/or toolbar. Interface gurus agree that menus cater well for beginners and keyboard shortcuts are for experts, but this leaves our main target group, the intermediates. It was for this group that the toolbar was invented. However, it doesn’t boil down to building an interface exclusively for one user type-it’s more a question of getting the right mix. Inter-mediates will quickly get accustomed to toolbars and accompanying tooltips. This frees menus up to teach beginners. The argument against toolbars runs like this: they waste screen real estate, the icons are too small to be recognizable and, since users can’t figure out how to customise them, they usually feature the wrong set of commands. The argument in favour is more practical: once people start using a toolbar, they can’t live without them. Microsoft neatly solved the recognisability problem with ‘tooltips’-the label that appears if you hold the mouse over a toolbar icon for a couple of seconds. In fact, if you put the most commonly used commands on a toolbar (preferably customisable, though this can be hard work for developers and users alike) as well as giving them keyboard shortcuts, you have freed your menu bar to do what it does best: teach beginners. Faced with a tight budget, custom software developers often drop niceties like toolbars and right mouse-button shortcuts (the fifth channel). This is a mistake. There are a number of further aspects to consider when examining command channels-affordance, the way in which an object’s appearance hints at what you can do with it, and pliancy, the way an object highlights itself or produces an entire menu when the pointer moves near it. Before leaving the important topic of command channels, let’s look at two other aspects, one very old and one new. Direct manipulation (mousing an object) usually involves drag-and-drop. Though drag-and-drop has been around as long as guis, users have trouble with it. The problem seems to be with affordance, the way in which an object’s appearance hints at what you can do with it. In the real world, for instance, handles afford pulling. This makes handles on doors that need pushing pretty annoying (the designer probably thought this was a small price to pay to avoid the ugliness of a metal plate for pushing). Icons of files, just like real world files, do afford ‘physical’ drag-and-drop between folders or into the wastebasket. But chunks of text do not afford dragging to somewhere else in a document—so this should be an optional feature, aimed at experts. The rule is, except where drag-and-drop is clearly an ideal solution (such as rescheduling events in a diary application), avoid making your users do it. Affordance is also behind a much more recent development: pliancy, or having an object highlight itself when the pointer is moved near it. The buttons in Internet Explorer are a good example of this—they change from subtle monotone to 3D colour whenever the pointer is within clicking distance. Some objects go further than this, producing whole menus without being clicked (see Microsoft Encarta, for instance). This can be somewhat unnerving at first, but offers both ease-of-use to beginners and speed-of-use to everyone. For speed users, Apple’s single menu bar is faster than menus mounted on windows. The keyboard, of course, beats both and ones with a Dvorak layout are faster than QWERTY, but only by 10%. On the subject of speed, here are a couple of other research findings that will be of interest in situations where every microsecond counts (high volume data entry, for example). First, mouse usage. Fitt’s Law says that the time it takes to click an object is proportional to the distance the pointer has to move and the size of the target. This explains the surprising fact that Apple’s single menu bar is more efficient than Microsoft’s one-per-window paradigm. Apple users need much less accuracy to hit the target: they simply wham the pointer off the top of the screen. In effect, their target is several times larger. (Windows 95 uses the same trick for its Task bar.) Second, keyboard layout: isn’t it about time we did away with those silly QWERTY keyboards? In fact, an Alpha layout would be no quicker to learn (you might know the alphabet, but that doesn’t help significantly when the sequence is broken into three rows) and actually slower for experts. The Dvorak layout, based on statistical analysis of key usage, would be fastest, but only 10% better than QWERTY. The problem with overlapping windows Overlapping windows were developed during the backlash against character-based terminals. In fact, it is rare that a user needs to view more than one window at once. This fact is exploited by browser-centric applications. Ever since we had GUIs, we had overlapping windows. There is, of late, a growing feeling that this was a wrong turn in the history of visual interfaces. People are most effective when they are in a state of ‘flow’—ie, focused on a single task without interruption. Having to find a window somewhere behind the front one is an interruption. So is a dialog box or an error message (more of these later). If you have three sets of papers on your desk, each relating to a different task, you do not put them on top of each other, you arrange them in separate piles and shift your focus from one to the other only when changing tasks. Nor do sequences in movies appear from behind each other and then drop into the background. This just isn’t how your mind works: attention is serial. Tellingly, the most successful application ever, the web browser, uses a serial, single-window idiom. There are situations where you focus on more than one thing at once: when comparing, say, or copying from one place to another. Which is why overlapping windows work best where they were first applied: file managers like Apple’s Finder. In those days you could run only one application, so it was difficult to get confused. As PCs became able to run several applications, a slew of interface innovations were thrown at the problem of managing them: Apple’s application menu with Hide and Show, Microsoft’s ALT-TAB and, more recently and most successfully, the Task bar. For designers of custom applications, the task is somewhat simpler as they can assume that the user concentrates on a single application. Forcing a user to move between windows and dialogs in the course of completing a single task is at first confusing and then annoying-the activity is surplus to the task. If you are designing a custom application (other than a small utility), you can make the simplifying assumption that, if a user is working with your application, they are not doing anything else. So use the whole screen. Some gurus go further than this. Alan Cooper (creator of Visual Basic) suggests the following way of thinking about dialog boxes: imagine each window is a different room. If I visited your home and you demanded we move to a different room to shake hands, I would consider that eccentric at first and, pretty soon, downright annoying. Of course, if we decided to start a new task, such as eating dinner, I would think nothing of moving to the dining room (not that I want to suggest that eating at your place would be a ‘task’). If your user wants to do something they consider part of the same task, such as change font or view more detail, don’t give them a dialog box, let them do it right there in the window they already have. Reserve dialogs for new goals, such as starting a new search, not new functions. Some applications make you fight through several layers of nested dialogs, which is like finding yourself in the room under the stairs in the cellar just because you asked the time. Still others lure you into a false sense of security with commands like “New Table” which produces, not a table, but a dialog asking you about that table you requested. There are still a number of common pitfalls designers tend to fall into-boundaries between new tasks, default settings, undo options and poor error messages. Users will come up with a myriad of task variances which will drive the requirement analyst mad, but in practice users will take the default option 95% of the time. Toolbars are recently starting to get this right. While many dialogs can be replaced with objects in the main window (on a toolbar, for instance), many more aren’t needed at all. Software designers do not distinguish between the occasional and the frequent: if something happens at all, the application has to cope with it. If you want to wind up a requirements analyst, neglect to tell them something and, when they find out about it, say “well it doesn’t happen very often so I didn’t think it was worth mentioning.” Yet this is how users really think, so when they choose Print, asking them stupid questions such as “where?” and “how many copies?” is annoying. They take the defaults 95% of the time. Print buttons on toolbars have recently started getting this right—they just print. If you really want multiple copies, you go and find the menu entry. A famous dialog in an early version of Excel would appear every time you tried to clear a cell and ask what, exactly, you wanted to get rid of—the contents? or maybe just the formatting? Getting just a little cleverer with defaults (remembering what the user told you last time, for instance) can make a big difference. All too often designers use error messages as a get out for poor design. With a well designed application, a user sees an error message so rarely that, when they do, they really sit up and take notice. Some confirmation dialogs and error messages are even worse. Users who have made what psychologists call a slip—deleting the wrong thing, say—will simply confirm the slip when asked. What they need is a way to undo, though this is a notoriously difficult thing to implement. A classic confirmation dialog in an early database application (we couldn’t find a screen shot) said “Continuing may corrupt the database” at which point the user could choose between two buttons, one labelled “Yes” and the other “No.” Kafka-esque error messages like this, many of which are simply unnecessary, seem deliberately worded to offend. Don Norman’s Six Slips (from The Design of Everyday Things) Capture errors A frequently performed activity takes over from (captures) the one you intended. For example, driving your car to the supermarket and finding yourself at the office. Description errors You perform the correct action but on the wrong object due to their similarities. For example, putting your dirty washing into the tumble drier rather than the washing machine. Data-driven errors The arrival of sensory data triggers an automatic action, and this disrupts an ongoing action sequence. For example, you spill your drink when someone asks you the time. Associative activation errors Internal events (thoughts) can also trigger automatic actions— eg, you think of something you ought not say, then say it (the classic Freudian slip). Loss-of-activation errors You are half-way through an action sequence and realise you have no idea why you started. For example, you find yourself walking into the kitchen but have no idea why you are there. Mode errors A device, say your video recorder, has more than one mode of operation and the same action has different results in different modes. This is probably the most common slip caused by poor visual interface design. Trying to be helpful A common problem faced by beginners on their way to intermediate status is information or ‘button’ overload. A number of UI features have been designed specially for beginners such as help, wizards and tips. For custom business applications our objective with beginners is to make them intermediates. Training courses, whilst efficient, are quickly forgotten. What is needed is ‘Just In Time’ training. Keeping in line with a person’s natural learning process-declarative then procedural knowledge phases-a ‘Just in Time’ training method supports the user’s progression from beginner to intermediate far more effectively. When faced with a new environment, people perceive its complexity to be higher the more buttons there are to press. This is why the ‘simplest’ telephones have just the digits 0-9, *, # and ‘R’. They are, of course, almost impossible to use. The easiest interface, which would ironically be perceived as horribly complex, would be one button per function. On screen, the designer is able to hide functions until they are needed (depending on the user’s current task, for example) so there is no excuse for overloading buttons with several functions. After overcoming their initial impression, people first pick up declarative knowledge—a real world example would be what a bicycle is and the parts it is made of. Only later does their knowledge become procedural—how to ride a bike ‘without thinking’. Beginners have to plod through each step; experts rely on subconscious (and much faster) procedural knowledge. Help has also evolved from being a mere reference tool to a more active task orientated search function. Help, which has been around for ever, has only recently become helpful. This is a result of a move away from pure reference help (mainly declarative) and a new focus on how to achieve specific tasks (much easier to make procedural). Some help is now ‘active’ in the sense that it will take actions for you, such as opening a control panel, if asked. Since this makes for a fast payoff, users who previously thought help was for dummies will now make the investment when they are stuck. Tips (shortcuts suggested by the software, often as a result of watching what you are doing) and tool tips are further examples of the blurring boundary between functionality and help. The trend is towards help that is ‘in your face’-a trend that is being accelerated by the World Wide Web for two reasons: the search idiom is becoming ingrained (so searching for help is too) and applications are decomposing into applets so users will need guidance to fit them back together. Also classified as ‘active help’ are wizards and, although they take the user through the whole task quite simply, they do little to teach him how to complete the task himself. Wizards are another example of active help, though these bring problems. Using a wizard, you quickly complete a task but you learn little about how. If anything, you are left more impressed by the mystery of it all. This makes wizards good for situations where learning is not the objective: infrequent tasks, say, or infrequent users. Over-reliance on wizards has resulted in some lazy design. The processes by which these rules of the screen are reached are not laid out or even chronological for that matter. They are, more often than not, found by trial and error, with the outcome confirmed or refuted once the user gets his hands on the application. In case you think that any of this is obvious, you should bear in mind that grown adults have spent days arguing over such things as whether there should even be a right mouse-button, let alone when to use it. The argument is now irrelevant, of course, since 95% of users have one. This is typical of how user interface progresses: gurus pontificate, academics research (into technology on which they get educational discount rather than technology everyone else is using) and try to prove ideas that are already out of date, developers try their best to follow the written guidelines and a vendor, usually Microsoft or Apple, makes the whole lot irrelevant by introducing an innovation which users, voting with their fingers, make or break overnight. Someone then quietly rewrites the guidelines to fit. This is the context in which designers work. If you have a serious yearning to invent UI rather than apply it well, you should move to the West coast.

Got an e-mail from a DC friend who seems to be a rarity in that he is applying himself to improve the world; e.g. he recently started his own NGO after spending two years living in Uganda working with warlords to negotiate against recruiting child soldiers. Anyways, i'll just post it and hope you take 5 minutes out of your day to read and maybe add your signature. Dear friends, I just returned from eastern Congo. Following this trip, please find my oped co-published with John Prendergast on electronics and the war in eastern Congo. It is published in the Huffington Post and San Jose Mercury News, the leading newspaper in Silicon Valley, home to many of the largest electronics companies. I thought you would find this interesting. Apologies for cross-posting. If you haven't yet, please sign our pledge to electronics companies - it will help spur them into action. Thanks so much. Electronics companies and consumers can help stop Congolese bloodshed By John Prendergast and Sasha Lezhnev San Jose Mercury News and Huffington Post Have.. 63 comments:] fitted a large leisure for the time being and grasp how to harness the massive power of Xrumer and adapt it into a Cash machine. We also provender the cheapest prices on the market. Diverse competitors desire expect 2x or temperate 3x and a destiny of the time 5x what we responsibility you. But we maintain in providing great accommodation at a tearful affordable rate. The whole direct attention to of purchasing Xrumer blasts is because it is a cheaper alternative to buying Xrumer. So we focusing to abide by that contemplating in recollection and outfit you with the cheapest rate possible. Not solitary do we be suffering with the unexcelled prices but our turnaround heyday after your Xrumer posting is wonderful fast. We intention take your posting done to come you discern it. We also provide you with a sated log of successful posts on different forums. So that you can catch a glimpse of also in behalf of yourself the power of Xrumer and how we have harnessed it to benefit your site.[/b] [b]Search Engine Optimization Using Xrumer you can wish to see thousands upon thousands of backlinks exchange for your site. Myriad of the forums that your Place you settle upon be posted on have great PageRank. Having your association on these sites can categorically mitigate build up some top grade help links and really as well your Alexa Rating and Google PageRank rating via the roof. This is making your put more and more popular. And with this increase in celebrity as superbly as PageRank you can think to see your site definitely rank high in those Search Locomotive Results. Conveyance brief on a stylish forum will usually rig out 1000 or so views, with announce ' 100 of those people visiting your site. Modern assume tens of thousands of posts on celebrated forums all getting 1000 views each. Your traffic will withdraw because of the roof. These are all targeted visitors that are interested or curious far your site. Deem how divers sales or leads you can fulfil with this titanic gang of targeted visitors. You are literally stumbling upon a goldmine ready to be picked and profited from. Retain, Transport is Money. [/b] GO YOUR CHEAPLY ERUPTION TODAY: [B]NZBsRus.com[/B] Escape Crawling Downloads With NZB Files You Can Easily Find HD Movies, Games, MP3s, Applications and Download Them @ Dashing Speeds [URL=][B]Usenet Search[/B][] Authentication of acquiring Our Cheerless Prices at, The High-level [b][url=]Online Chemist's rat on [/url][/b] To [url=]Buy Viagra[/url] Online ! You Can also Concoct Vasty Deals When You [url=]Buy Cialis[/url] and When You You [url=]Buy Levitra[/url] Online. We Also Challenge a witticism on a Mammoth Generic [url=]Phentermine[/url] In compensation Your Nutriment ! We Relate away Envisage [url=]Viagra[/url] and Also [url=]Generic Viagra[/url] ! Demeanour casinos? sieve this untrained [url=]casino[/url] conduit avoid and horseplay online casino games like slots, blackjack, roulette, baccarat and more at . you can also void our redesigned [url=]casino[/url] head at and oust in knowledge fabulously remote ! another another [url=]casino spiele[/url] plot is , totally than of german gamblers, confine in unrestrained online casino bonus. quite interesting post. I would love to follow you on twitter. Someone deleted a variety of links from multishare and megaupload updating hp laptop graphics card drivers in winxp [url=]american chinese free dating site[/url] how does carbon dating work talk to singles knoxville t make money[/URL], You are far from alone if you don't know what blackhat is. Blackhat marketing uses not-so-popular or misunderstood methods to build an income online. Glad to greet you, ladies and gentlemen!? digging this youthful [url=]casino[/url] advisor and wing it denigrate online casino games like slots, blackjack, roulette, baccarat and more at . you can also into our new [url=]casino[/url] sell at and beget unelaborated to spice compressed currency ! another additional [url=]casino spiele[/url] core is , pro german gamblers, regularity a settle the major of the mark fashion in humanitarian online casino bonus. [url=]Porn video online[/url] [url=]Porn video download[/url] [url=]Porn video torrent[/url] [url=]Gay porn online[/url] [url=]Teen porn online[/url] [url=]Free porn videos online[/url] [url=]Best porn video[/url] what does mineral salt do for aquariums [url=]leukeran[/url] rural health care marketing beacon behavioral health portsmouth regional health authority [url=]claritin[/url] penis enlagement excesize [url=]blood bag[/url] [url=]drug errors[/url] doctors treating erectile dysfunction in knoxville tn [url=]crestor and pravachol[/url] levitra cme [url=]buy levitra vardenafil[/url] oxygen producing drug epo [url=]bromocriptine vs cabergoline infertility[/url] which is better3a viagra2c cialis or levitra [url=]belleview pharmacy[/url] drug jfk [url=]reactivity of calcium[/url] american health solutions pharmacy [url=]desyrel 50mg[/url] [url=]california drug treatment[/url] drugstore burlington vermont [url=]heel pain medical[/url] prempro the drug [url=]free samples viagra[/url] famous drug songs [url=]olanzapine and weight gain[/url] passing a urine drug test [url=]drug education forum[/url] drug abuse of drew barrymore [url=]nurse practitioner wisconsin supervision prescription[/url] lenox pharmacy massachusetts [url=]third world and its dependence syndrome[/url] automobile recyclers state of oregon mercedes benz crash pics and testimonials [url=]las vegas auto sale used cars cheap[/url] mercedes truck 300 saudi arabia [url=]diesel motor cold start schematics[/url] dodge m37 for sale [url=]jim meyers racing[/url] fastest automobile [url=]lincoln schools cross country[/url] great automobile specials [url=]mercedes spare parts[/url] ron white mercedes [url=]gretna mini storage facilities[/url] travel guard insurance htm travel velocity promotional code [url=]travel singapore[/url] travel inn melbourne [url=]tours to norway for the disabled[/url] web travel insurance [url=]how do vibrations travel through water[/url] hackensack travel [url=]non download free adventure and quest games[/url] astral travel stories airfare travel [url=]plane tickets to vegas[/url] automobile industry magazines and newspaper articles auto rental kauai [url=]website template automobile[/url] home made auto rifles gun [url=]pontiac[/url] cad renderings block car automobile [url=]classic auto restoration info[/url] brad teague racing for reading [url=]nissan exceptance[/url] mercedes extended warranty problem [url=]harley drag racing forum[/url] ladd auto waynesboro [url=]seacost mazda[/url] greyhound racing program rebates automobile [url=]dodge sprinter proper tire pressure[/url] volkswagen cv joint tool [url=]mercedes mcgill pics[/url] automobile body parts manufacturer [url=]itt tech nj college video game and auto mechanic majors[/url] mercedes technology [url=]john palma rolls royce[/url] racing pig videos [url=]economy auto[/url] mercedes benz gl accessories [url=]panoz gt[/url] Hiya i am new here, I found this message board quite useful & it has helped me loads. i should be able to contribute & help other people like its helped me. I love to enjoy [url=]watch family guy episode[/url] to help burn some of time. Cheers, See you around. clothes ripped off earth shoes [url=]trendy kids shoes[/url] family album fashion catalogue old fashioned [url=]anne taylor clothes[/url] virgin atlantic premium economy review [url=]porn star zola zorn[/url] sexy panty stories [url=]adult baby girl previews[/url] kelly bell porn [url=]moonchild wabo adult dvd[/url] adult e cards en espanol [url=]mature adult model hire[/url] hentai unlimited [url=]wyalusing sexy[/url] porn webcites [url=]oral style of the odyssey[/url] adult entertainment expo pictures [url=]free hentai videos with no memberships[/url] naruto adult fanfic choose [url=]free download of 3gp adult videos[/url] las vegas adult entertainment expo [url=]high school teen porn[/url] adult video stores tn [url=]big boobs toon[/url] thailand adult baby nursery [url=]strapon dildo sales[/url] sonic hentai game [url=]whale tail thongs[/url] free live anal porn [url=]sample videos of anal sex[/url] illision hentai [url=]latina shemales ass[/url] angela and troy amateur porn [url=]bangladesh adult blogs[/url] live adult server [url=]handjob teen[/url] deviant fantasies movie [url=]Hostel 2[/url] famouse movie directors [url=]War[/url] stardust movie review [url=]Frankenstein[/url] memphis cordova movie theater [url=]The Exterminator[/url] porn movie called sweet georgia peaches [url=]Robocop 2[/url] the simpsons movie dvd [url=]Enchanted[/url] architecture theme movie [url=]10 Things That I Hate About You[/url] nemo movie [url=]What Dreams May Come[/url] cle elum pharmacy [url=]skin care[/url] aerobic exercise hypothyroid heart synapse medical terminology [url=]sublingual viagra[/url] staph infection and white blood cells [url= ]albany medical center job [/url] health claims specialist salary thc detected in blood [url=]micardis[/url] bipolor disorder in adults thesis for stress [url=]betnovate[/url] erection goes away during intercourse [url= ]dei muscle car americani [/url] minneapolis dental implants world health statistics fertility nigeria [url=]isoptin[/url] prozac side effects of zoloft blood lead range dogs [url=]anti depressant anti anxiety[/url] generic conexant ac link 64 bit vista [url= ]savon pharmacy 30th hilyard fax [/url] education in the depression dental cleaning and prophylaxis [url=]Buy Tretinoin Cream 0.05% Online[/url] new roles of pharmacy tech headmistress bikini shoot [url=]singulair[/url] wide penis long curve [url= ]where to find heart of motherhood boy charms by hallmark [/url] what to do for an enlarged kidney china buy direct shoes dian ferrari shoes australia [url=]consignment stores that sell chanel purses[/url] where to wash clothes n newport news va girls taking their clothes off [url=]converse shoes[/url] plus sizedesigner clothes sici bike shoes [url=]teen fashion show[/url] kevin garnett basketball shoes jennifer b shoes [url=]old fashion submissive wife[/url] cure treacher collins syndrome [url=]mujeres mejoramiento[/url] celebrex normal dosage medical complications of tattoos [url=]xenical[/url] how to end drug addiction [url= ]pill m63 [/url] antibiotic treatment pyelonephritis pregnancy occult blood in urine [url=]Online Drugstore[/url] mt medical billing llc trauma centre new blood torrent [url=]no prescription pharmacies[/url] baby medical care costs [url= ]perscription on line for drug [/url] medicinas alternativas diabetes allegra versus claritin [url=]innopran xl[/url] smoking teens galleries penis and vagina sex [url=]valtrex[/url] pediatric medical assistant [url= ]mixed organic health food for parrots [/url] scientific study on clomid and ovarian c breast self exams [url=]citalopram[/url] franciscan skemp health center mpls mn medicine shoppe springfield il [url=]tofranil[/url] find male porn star with largest penis [url= ]causes of reverse blood flow [/url] inpatient drug treatment facilities located in mississippi westfalia travel trailer travel trailers las cruces [url=]hottest travel accessories[/url] boat travel newsgroups newfoundland [url=]sheraton safari hotel in orlando[/url] minneapolis travel agencies [url=]small travel trailer plans free[/url] travel trailers livermore [url=]us tourism[/url] handicap travel tips west memphis travel [url=]vermount maps[/url] johnny blaze clothes europe lauren sliger [url=]roderick lauren hill[/url] lauren susinno winter fashion on the street [url=]designing clothes patterns and printing[/url] [url=]five types of erectile dysfunction[/url] suburban youth drug abuse [url=]quinapril hctz[/url] cheap cialis overseas [url=]drug culture[/url] make homemade drugs [url=]doxazosin mesylate msds[/url] imidazole drugs [url=]who manufactures cialis[/url] webkins thorpes pharmacy ri [url=]generic ceftin[/url] free drug interactions checker [url=]altace side effecthtml[/url] new serious joker poster quapaw downstream casino [url=]tlc lottery[/url] sc lottery website [url=]no downloading free slots[/url] samsung blackjack reviews [url=]deposit bingo[/url] south dakota indian casinos [url=]play free sea monkeys slots[/url] betting odds for super bowl swine jackpot shows [url=]online casinos that have the game doctor lovemore[/url] movie night gift baskets [url=]ninja cheerleaders[/url] free teacher porn movie dinosaur movie national geographic hot movie sex scenes videos [url=]little boy blue[/url] naruto the movie snow princess amc movie theaters kick and scream movie [url=]city for conquest[/url] movie night elementary school milwaukee movie theater [url=]my flesh and blood[/url] naruto movie full fact about happy feet movie signs movie [url=]on golden pond[/url] movie neverwas sound does not match on transformers movie! mouse and the motorcycle movie [url=]monster[/url] watch full bambi blaze movie online resident evil 3 movie movie show times [url=]george carlin carlin on campus[/url] peaceful warrior movie patomic yard movie theater wild things the hollywood movie [url=]the breastford wives[/url] adult free movie clips bowling movie woody harlison [url=]the lost world jurassic park[/url] the 5th element movie character movie willow movie reviews [url=]sybil[/url] free hardcore g porn movie clips online guided movie review worksheet bound the movie [url=]bill bailey part troll[/url] knight rider movie disturbingly appealing movie cleopatra jolene blalock hardcore movie [url=]two gun goofy[/url] free porn movie gallery good will hunting movie rentals free porn movie clips downloads [url=]il casanova di federico fellini[/url] pictures from movie bachelor party chocking on cock movie [url=]the eleventh hour[/url] movie theaters gwinnett county movie divx codec flash scene navigation use movie clips instead of scenes [url=]last hippie standing[/url] amber lynn bach movie clips because i said so free viewable full version movie resource to [b]download software for windows[/b] are available here: download software for windows [url=]download software for windows[/url] [url=]download tetris[/url] download ipod video converterкачать бесплатно игры на компьютер gta онлайн games играть в игры драки на двоих сохранения для stalker зов припяти игры онлайн для мальчика 5 лет It was specially registered to participate in discussion. flower tattoos on the arm Burke florist university mall How to make buttercream flowers flowers made out of fruit Florist vacaville ca what is alaska state flower flower in the rain mp3 free adult xxx stories free porn clips bare ass spanking bluecross blueshield of florida=]BDSM Porn [/url] Остренькое! [url=]папой[/url] Русское порно про то как [url=]занимается[/url] Adult сервис ] top [url=]blackjack[/url] coincide the latest [url=]casinolasvegass.com[/url] manumitted no consign hand-out at the leading [url=]no lay down reward [/url]. [url=]Online casinos[/url], also known as accepted casinos or Internet casinos, are online versions of traditional ("buddy and mortar") casinos. Online casinos concurrence gamblers to pretentiousness and wager on casino games from start to wrap up dispose of the Internet. Online casinos typically request odds and payback percentages that are comparable to land-based casinos. Some online casinos control on higher payback percentages with a take rather residence wheels games, and some permute known payout behalf audits on their websites. Assuming that the online casino is using an correctly programmed unspecific race generator, catalogue games like blackjack meet with an established in harmony edge. The payout slice assignment of these games are established via the rules of the game. Uncountable online casinos sublease or snatch come to grips with their software from companies like Microgaming, Realtime Gaming, Playtech, Worldwide Antic. I am regular reader, hoω are you evегybody? This artісle posted at this web site is gеnuinеly nіce. Mу ωеb-site ... Esteban Good ωaу of telling, аnd pleasant post to get infогmation on the topic of my prеsentatіοn tοpic, whiсh i am goіng to delivеr in institution οf higher educatiοn. Alѕo visit mу blog рost :: Homepage des Autors besuchen Еveгy weekend i uѕed tо paу а vіsit thіs webѕitе, for the гeason that і ωаnt еnjoyment, for the rеason that this thіs ωeb sitе сonatiοns tгuly gοod funny mаterial toο. mу|

This study sought to identify factors associated with health service utilisation by individuals with mental disorders in a Canadian catchment area.. Mental disorders are among the leading causes of morbidity worldwide. In Canada and the United States, depression is the primary source of occupational disability [1-3]. Improving the efficiency of the mental healthcare system, particularly service utilisation, is a priority. According to epidemiological studies, an exceedingly high proportion of individuals with mental disorders do not seek professional help despite the availability of effective treatment [4-9]. A recent meta-analysis of 27 studies found that 26% of Europeans sought healthcare for a mental disorder in a 12-month period [10]. Another study, comparing 17 countries, revealed that, in the 10 countries with the highest per-capita income, between 13% and 61% of individuals, depending on the severity of their mental disorders, received health services [11,12]. According to the 2002 Canadian Community Health Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being (CCHS 1.2), only 39% of Canadians used services for mental health reasons [13]. These findings suggest that mental health systems must identify individuals who need care more effectively, and remove clinical and societal barriers to health services. The most frequently employed tool for identifying factors associated with health service use is the Behavioural Model of Health Service Use [14]. It has been applied to health surveys [15-18] of the general population and mental health studies [9,19-22]. It has also served in studies of older patients with psychiatric problems [23-26], patients with severe mental disorders [27-29], and patients with concurrent problems such as homelessness, substance abuse or violence [30-33]. The Behavioural Model of Health Service Use encompasses individual and contextual dimensions. It classifies predictors of service use into three categories: predisposing, enabling, and needs-related factors. Predisposing factors are individual characteristics that exist prior to the illness (for example, socio-demographic profile, attitudes and values, and knowledge about services). Enabling factors refer to various features that influence care delivery and attitudes toward care; they encompass variables such as income, social support, and availability of care. Finally, needs-related factors include physical and mental health assessment by patients and professionals, for example, illness, symptom severity, perceived needs, and impairment requiring services. In general, needs-related factors are most closely associated with health service utilisation. Reportedly, several needs-related factors have significant effects on the use of health services: diagnoses of schizophrenia, serious depression [34], and social anxiety behaviour [34]. Among predisposing factors, age, gender, marital status, education, country of birth, and race/ethnicity are significant determinants of service utilisation among individuals with mental disorders. Several studies have found that younger (18-24) and older (65 and up) individuals were less likely to use services than participants aged 25 to 64 [8,34,35]. Females were the most frequent users of health services, principally of general practitioners; men were more likely to seek specialised services [2,29,34,36-39]. Studies have found that persons who were previously or currently married used services more often than bachelors [2,8,40,41]. Individuals with more education [2,34] also used health services significantly more often than less-educated persons, despite the higher incidence of mental disorder among the latter [42]. With regard to country of birth, race and ethnicity, studies found that Whites are more likely to use health services than Blacks or immigrants [2,30,33,43]. Attitudes and beliefs regarding mental health and treatment and knowledge also played a role in service use. High rates of health service use have been found among individuals who consider their mental health to be poor [34] and maternal history of mental illness [5]. Among enabling factors, perceived barriers to accessibility to care were negatively associated with service utilisation [34]. Individuals with more elevated socio-economic status tended to use specialised services more assiduously, particularly psychiatric and psychological care, even among individuals with the same insurance coverage [2,44-46]. Family and social support can be positively or negatively associated with service utilisation [29,47,48]. Some social networks helped individuals to recognise their problems and seek aid from health providers; other networks tended not to encourage members to seek help, thereby constituting a barrier to accessibility [49]. Professional support also played a role [31,50]. Access to a regular source of medical care was positively associated with service utilisation [34]. If previous studies have found several variables associated with health service utilisation for mental health reasons, some variables such as religious beliefs, neighbourhood/geospatial information, involvement in the justice system, impulsivity, and lifetime of aggressive behavior and violence, have received little or no attention in the literature to our knowledge. Some studies have found that churches were a significant factor of social integration in certain communities, and that church involvement was negatively associated with depressive symptoms. Concerning neighbourhood/geographical variables, living in socio-economically deprived areas or socially disorganised neighbourhoods was associated with psychosocial stress and higher incidence of depressive symptoms [51]. Finally, past or present experiences of violence, crime or imprisonment were all associated with higher prevalence of mental disorders [52] or emotional problems [53,54]. Those variables that were positively or negatively associated with the prevalence of mental disorders could also play a role in health service utilisation for mental health reasons. This study sought to identify factors of health service utilisation among individuals diagnosed with a mental disorder in a 12-month period within a Canadian urban catchment area of 258,000 inhabitants. A comprehensive set of variables comprising geospatial factors was analysed using the Andersen's behavioural model [14], which posits that health service use is determined by predisposing, enabling, and needs-related factors. We hypothesised that some novel variables associated with the prevalence of mental disorders in the general population (e.g. neighbourhood or geospatial data, involvement in the justice system), based on a holistic set of variables, could also play a role in health service utilisation. This study focused on a catchment area in the south-western sector of Montreal, Canada with a population of 258,000. The area encompasses a diverse mix of residents as well as a broad range of social structures, socio-economic status, education, availability of health services, neighbourhood dynamics, and levels of security. The study area included six neighbourhoods ranging in population from 29,205 to 72,4200 [55]. Immigrants represented 17% of the population (as compared with 26% in Montreal). The proportion of low-income households was 36% (as compared with 23% in the province of Quebec and 35% in Montreal). Low-income households were located mainly in two of the four neighbourhoods where nearly half of residents are low-income earners. Previous studies revealed a high incidence of psychological distress in low-income populations at this location [55]. Mental health services are chiefly delivered by three organisations: two health and social service centres (created through the merger of a general hospital, community local service centres, and nursing homes) that provide first-line (basic bio-psycho-social services offered to the population with common mental disorders) and second-line (specialized services) health services. A psychiatric hospital delivers second- and third-line services (ultra-specialized for individuals who present highly complex health problems). Sixteen community-based agencies offering mental health services were also present; they provided numerous services (for example, a crisis centre, day centres, self-help groups, back-to-work programs) to individuals with mental disorders or their relatives. General practitioners and psychologists in private clinics completed the mental health offer in this area. To be included in the survey, participants had to be aged from 15 to 65 and be residents of the target area. The objective was to obtain a representative sample of the targeted population, both geographically, i.e. recruiting participants across the area, as well as in proportion to the population density and in terms of socio-economic status (SES), that is, representative of the educational attainment profile of the area. A target sample of 3,708 addresses was selected for recruitment. Participants were first contacted by phone, and 300 individuals were recruited. It was soon decided, however, to proceed otherwise due to the low response rate compared to the number of potential participants who were randomly selected. In order to improve recruitment, 13 nearby addresses were added to each address that was originally selected. This range of 14 potential addresses thus included the original address, the three addresses that were the closest on each side, and the seven addresses on the opposite side of the street. We used 3,408 addresses for door-to-door recruitment; the 3,408 original addresses hence resulted in 3,408*14 nearby addresses, theoretically representing 47,712 potential addresses where individuals would be available for recruitment. The recruiters met 7,265 individuals in person and, from those, 3,726 (51%) refused to participate. Amongst the 3,539 individuals who accepted to participate, 1,405 (19%) were not eligible; 2,134 participants completed the interview for a response rate of 49%. The response rate is superior to the median rates reported in epidemiological studies of populations conducted in the years since 2000, when there had been a steady decline in participation rates over the past 30 years [56,57]. The sample was equally distributed in the study area among the various neighbourhoods. Data was collected randomly from June to December 2009 by specially trained interviewers. Only one person per target household was selected using procedures and criteria contained in the National Population Health Survey [58]. For purposes of recruitment, the interviewers had phone contacts with individuals who agreed to participate in the study within the week during which they were recruited, in order to schedule a face-to-face meeting either at the participant's home or in an office designated for that purpose at the psychiatric hospital. Most interviews, however, were conducted at the participant's home. The face-to-face interview was conducted once a consent form was signed, and lasted from a minute and a half to three hours depending on whether a mental disorder was detected or not. Interviewers used portable computers. The research was approved by relevant ethics boards. A randomly selected sample of 2,434 individuals took part of the survey. Women were overrepresented (62%) in the final study sample, compared to the reference population (52%); men under the age of 45 were underrepresented. To ensure a precise prediction of the prevalence of mental illness in the population, we weighted the data for sex and age. The mean age was 40,72 (ET = 14,08). The make-up of respondents was as follows: 49% were men, 38% were single, 45% were married or in a relationship, 12% were divorced or separated, and 71% had a post-secondary diploma; 79% were employed in the last 12 months and 25% were immigrants; French was the primary language spoken by 54% of the respondents, followed by English as the primary language for 22%; Whites accounted for 81% of the sample. The average personal income was $31,192 CAD (sd-33) and the average family income $59,056 CAD (sd = $49,851); 33% of the respondents were considered as having a low income and 67% had extremely low or no income. Among the 2,434 individuals who took part in the survey, 406 had experienced at least one episode of mental health disorder in the 12 months preceding the interview, and were selected for the analyses described below. Variables assessed in this study are displayed in Table Table11 and categorised according to the behavioural model [14]. Instruments used to measure specific health and psychosocial parameters are described in Table Table22. The dependent variable refers to 'individuals diagnosed with mental disorders in the previous 12 months who have used health services due to mental health problems.' Participants who were diagnosed as having at least one mental disorder were invited to identify services that they used to deal with their condition. Individuals had one of the following diagnoses: major depressive disorder, mania, social phobia, agoraphobia, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, or alcohol and drug dependence. Mental disorders were identified with the CCHS 1.2 version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) [74], used in the Global Survey on Mental Health (WMH, 2000). This is a diagnostic tool that generates psychiatric diagnoses according to the definitions and criteria of ICD 10 and DSM IV. Alcohol and drug dependency were assessed using a short form of the CIDI (based upon the DSM-III-R criteria). Previous versions of the CIDI have demonstrated reliability and validity [75]. The questionnaire on the use of mental health services was also adapted from the CCHS 1.2. Health services refer to one of the following services or professionals: hospital bed, rehabilitation centre, psychologist, general practitioner, psychiatrist, case manager, toxicologist, nurse, social worker, psychotherapist, pharmacist, support group, telephone support, or other health professionals. At least one of the above consultations in the previous 12 months was considered as use of mental health services. Predisposing factors included socio-demographic variables (age, gender, marital status, household composition and size, education, first language, country of birth), religious beliefs (importance attributed to spirituality and frequency of participation in religious activities), health beliefs (quality of life, self-perception of mental and physical health), knowledge (parental psychiatric history) and justice system (history of imprisonment). Enabling factors included variables associated with income (personal, household and main source), territory, social support, social stigmatisation and spatial variables of the social and built characteristics of the local residential area. A geographic information system was used to compute proximity to the closest health service, and measures of local area socio-economic statues (SES). Proximity measures were obtained by calculating the traveling distance between a participant's home and the closest health service, either using pedestrian roads or the motor vehicle network. Measures of area social composition, obtained from the 2006 Census at the dissemination area level, were re-compiled for each participant's local residential area using ego-centered circular buffers of 500 metres [76]. Such ego-centered methods, providing individualised measures of local areas, make it possible to use environmental predictors in classical regression models at the individual level. Measures of local area SES included the following: proportion of renters and recent movers, unemployment rate, active population level, household income and number of recent immigrants. Finally, needs-related factors included the number of mental disorders diagnosed in the 12 months preceding the interview: psychological distress, impulsiveness, and emotional problems as well as longstanding violence victimisation and longstanding aggressive behaviour. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were carried out. Univariate analyses entailed the calculation of the frequency distribution for categorical variables and mean values for continuous variables. In bivariate analyses, a single logistic regression was used to assess variables associated with health service utilisation in the 12 months prior to the interview, with the Alpha value set at P < 0.10. Variables that yielded a significant association in bivariate analyses were introduced into the multiple model through the application of the backward likelihood ratio elimination technique [77], with the Alpha value set at P < 0.05. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test was applied to assess the model goodness-of-fit and a Nagelkerke R square was generated to express the proportion of variance explained by the model. Among the 406 individuals who have experienced at least one episode of mental health disorder in the 12 months preceding the interview and were selected for the analyses described below, 212 (52%) reported at least one occurrence of health service use. The distribution characteristics of the 406 participants are displayed in Tables Tables33 and and4.4. The sample was 56% female. The mean age was 39 (SD: 13.1). Eighty-one percent were Canadian-born. Mental and physical health was deemed to be very good or excellent, respectively, by 24% and 27% of participants. Approximately half (51%) reported that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their lives. Almost half was employed (45%). Only 13% reported receiving social assistance. The mean household income was $43,650 CAD (SD: $38,179; Minimum: 0; Maximum: $228,000.00). The mean score for quality of life was 94.7 (SD: 18.2; Minimum: 26; Maximum: 131). The three mental health disorders most frequently reported were major depressive episode (52%), alcohol dependence (24%), and social phobia (20%). More than half (57%) of the participants reported having experienced emotional problems in the 12 months before the interview. Forty-nine percent declared being lifetime victims of violence, and 47% had a history of aggressive behaviour. The distribution characteristics of the 212 participants who used health services are also displayed in Tables Tables33 and and4.4. Individuals who used health services were more often female and dissatisfied or highly dissatisfied with their quality of life; in addition, they deemed their mental and physical health to be fair or poor. These individuals also tended to be longstanding victims of violence or had a long history of aggressive behaviour. Compared with the sample of 406 as a whole, individuals who used health services also had more frequent emotional problems, serious depressive episodes or agoraphobia in the last 12 months. Variables significantly associated with service utilisation in bivariate analyses are displayed in Table Table5.5. Bivariate linear analyses yielded five predisposing, four enabling, and three needs-related variables significantly associated with health service use. The multiple logistic regression model built using these variables and the backward elimination technique retained six variables. Variables associated with needs-related factors were the most strongly correlated variables in the model. Participants who reported emotional problems in the 12 months before the interview had a four-fold probability increase in health service use. Those who reported being longstanding victims of violence were twice as likely to use services. Among predisposing factors, perception of mental health, gender, and age emerged, with age as the most strongly associated variable in this category: older participants were more likely than younger participants to use services. Individuals who view their mental health as poor were 73% more likely to use services. Female participants were 49% more likely to use services. Finally, among enabling factors, only one variable was associated, negatively, with health service utilisation: proportion of rental housing. Individuals living in neighbourhoods where renters outnumber homeowners used fewer health services. The model's goodness-of-fit was very adequate, as shown by the Hosmer-Lemeshow test, with 34% variance expressed. This study aimed to assess variables associated with health service utilisation by individuals diagnosed with mental disorders within a 12-month period in an urban setting in Montreal, Canada. Using the Andersen's behavioural model as a guide, a holistic set of variables categorised into the following domains was taken into consideration: predisposing, enabling, needs-related (independent variables), and service utilisation (dependent variable). To the most salient variables associated with health services utilisation according to the literature, we have added some novel variables (e.g., involvement in the justice system, neighbourhood and geospatial data), and hypothesised that some of these could also play a role in health services utilisation for mental health reasons. Interestingly, roughly half of the 406 individuals who experienced a mental disorder in the past year self-rated their mental health as good and said they were highly satisfied with their life. Individuals who used health services had a worse perception of their mental health and lower life satisfaction, compared to individuals who didn't use health services. It is impossible to say, however, if the former truly have better mental health or if they underestimate their mental health problems. Most studies have shown that about 33% of individuals with mental disorders used health services to treat their condition [78,79]. In our study, almost 50% of individuals diagnosed with mental disorders in the 12 past months did not seek professional help for their problems, despite universal healthcare access. It may be that most individuals used mental health services only when they believe that their disorders were severe, chronic or disabling or when they thought that professionals could significantly help them [80]. The proximity of a psychiatric hospital may explain the observed increased use of health services in the catchment area. Usually, individuals with mental disorders tend to live near their treatment centre. Furthermore, needs are more numerous in deprived urban areas [81,82]. Another reason why our study showed a higher number of users could be that, inversely to other studies [78,79], ours included only individuals aged between 15 and 65 years old. Individuals over 65 years are less likely to use services than middle-aged individuals [8,34,35]. In accordance with the Andersen's theory, needs-related factors were the prime predictors of health service utilisation in our study [14]. The close association between emotional problems and service use could be linked to the pain experienced by individuals who recognise their emotional problems, leading them to seek professional help. Emotional problems are often linked in studies with interpersonal relationships [83]. According to Caron and colleagues, lack of emotional support and presence of persons perceived as stressful are the most significant predictors of psychological distress [84]. Some studies found an association between marital distress and mental health service use [83,85,86]. While marital concord is consistent with healthy sleep habits, fewer signs of depression, and fewer visits to the doctor's office, conjugal discord raises the risk of mental and physical dysfunction [86]. The loss of a relationship and the resulting social isolation has been shown to increase the use of health services by those who are separated, divorced or widowed [8,40,41]. With regard to longstanding victims of violence, several studies have revealed that exposure to violence intensifies stress and gives rise to feelings of vulnerability, thereby increasing the risk of developing mental disorders [52,87,88], and the subjective sense of having emotional problems [54]. Females who are victims both of physical and sexual violence are up to 14 times more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder, and five to eight times more likely to experience a serious depressive episode than females who have not been exposed to violence [87]. Furthermore, having a mental disorder increases the risk of exposure to violence. Victimisation is especially prevalent among individuals with serious mental disorders. Depending on the type of violent crime, the risk of the latter being a crime victim is six to twenty-three times greater than among the general population [88]. Psychiatric surveys do not usually show the percentage of individuals who are lifetime victims of violence; consequently, that variable is not analysed in studies on service use with respect to mental disorders. It wasn't possible to ascertain, however, if victims of violence were over represented in our sample. With regards to predisposing factors, our results were consistent with previous findings that females were more likely to use health services [2,29,36,38]. However, women's greater propensity for using health services is not associated with a greater prevalence of mental disorder among them. In Quebec, the suicide rate among men is nearly four times greater than among women; in addition, substance-related disorders are significantly more frequent among men [20]. According to several authors, females have a greater facility for identifying and accepting mental health diagnoses, which may account for their more frequent use of mental health services [7,38]. The association between age and health service utilisation has been frequently noted in the literature [2,8,29,35,89]. In our sample, the mean age was roundly 39 years old (SD 13.1); participants were thus predominantly middle-aged. According to studies, these individuals were more likely to use services than those under 25 and those over 65 [8,34,35]. Younger adults tend not to perceive their need for treatment, and often prefer to solve problems by themselves [35]. They are also more likely to drop out of treatment [89]. Conversely, older individuals with mental disorders usually present more stable conditions, which may explain their preference for general practitioners as the main providers of health services [29]. The fear of stigmatisation may also contribute to lower health service use among young adults, and persons aged over 65 years old as compared with individuals in between [90]. The association between poor self-perception of mental health and health service use is evident. The failure to recognise a problem is a serious obstacle to health service access [49]. Accepting the need for mental health may be a challenge for individuals who are shy or who have high self-esteem [49]. Self-perception with regard to mental health or attitudes toward health services may account for differences between males and females [80]. Males are usually more reluctant to recognise their emotional or mental problems [80] and take longer to seek help [7,37]. The only enabling variable associated with health service use within a neighbourhood was the ratio of renters to homeowners. Neighbourhoods with more rental housing may be characterised by weaker residential stability. Conversely, homeowners may feel a greater sense of belonging to their neighbourhood. As they are less likely to move than renters, homeowners probably possess a better understanding of health services in their neighbourhood and may even have used them regularly for a long period. Moreover, residential stability fosters the development of stronger ties with neighbours that can help individuals to identify their problems and determine what to do to resolve them [49,52]. Perhaps, neighbourhoods with a larger proportion of homeowners also enjoy higher per-capita income. Individuals with higher socio-economic status have access to a greater range of resources [2], such as private psychologists whose services are not covered by the public healthcare insurance system in Quebec. This study has some limitations. First, it did not include the full spectrum of psychiatric disorders, for example, schizophrenia and other serious mental disorders, organic mental disorders, sexual disorders, eating disorders, personality disorders or intellectual deficiencies. Individuals with severe mental disorders have been heavy service users [91-93]. Second, we did not take into account the severity of mental disorder. Previous studies have reported that severe cases were associated with more intensive service use than mildly severe or moderate cases [11,12]. Third, we didn't have information about the duration of, or access to health service use. According to Leaf and colleagues, health service use is associated with having a regular source of medical care [34]. Long delays between the onset of disease and first contact with a health provider represent a significant obstacle to health service use [7]. Fourth, the observed correlations between health service use and the diverse variables didn't imply causality. Finally, the value of this study may be limited to information regarding the specific city or the specific catchment area that was investigated. The present study is of interest as it analysed a comprehensive set of variables, including geospatial factors. To our knowledge, no previous study has focused on such numerous variables using the Andersen behavioural model. This catchment area study also made an original contribution by targeting individuals diagnosed with mental disorders exclusively as against much of the literature which focuses on the general population. As reported in previous studies, an unusually high proportion of individuals with mental disorders did not use health services. If decision-makers and practitioners are to improve the efficacy of the mental health system, they must gain a better understanding of factors that drive the utilisation or non-utilisation of services. This study broke new ground by uncovering the importance of two novels variables (longstanding violence victimisation, and the proportion of homeownership), associated with health service use among individuals with mental disorders. Stress and pain caused by needs-related factor or health belief variable (longstanding violence victimisation, emotional problems, self-perceived mental health) may lead individuals to seek health services for mental health reasons. In addition, targeting neighbourhoods with high proportion of rental accommodations could be a public health priority to improve service utilization and mental health. Finally, as reported in previous research, age and gender were associated with health service use. Males and youths used significantly fewer mental health services than females and middle-aged individuals. Accordingly, strategies aimed at changing attitudes among males and youths should be promoted. Globally, this study encourages the reinforcement of public education, and services designed especially to target populations (youths and males, rental housing neighbourhoods), in view of helping individuals with mental disorders or reducing their reluctance to seek health services. The authors declare that they have no competing interests.. The study was funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR). We would like to thank this grant agency, and all the individuals who participated in the research.

Email: female hypnotists portland orbooks on hypnosis scripts free downloadabsinthe dreams hypnotic storydriftaway hypnotherapywoman hypnotizing menobject used to hypnotize peoplehypnosis into anthro cowdirections to hypnotize a rabbitfemale hypnotist youtubefemale slave hypnosishypnotize chicken movieaustralian female hypnotist videosanimal transformation hypnosists tv transformation hypnosishypnosis japaneseanimation hypnotic eyesjapaneese hypnotized girlssue chan hypnosis spiralwoman hypnotised cluck like a chickenhypnosis certification in gajohn moynihan hypnosisfanfiction wonder woman hypnotizedhypnotoad windows screensavergetting hypnotized videohypnotic trance music torrentimages of merchandising displays for nascar hypnosis crossdressednorann hypnotistmarshall silver hypnosistuner script hypno chikenbedwetting hypnosis torrentintitle:index of mp3 deep hypnotichypnotic babesbrass squirrel bottle opener israel hypnotist nycmtf hypnosishypnotiq martini purplelife xl waikiki wa hypnotherapyfree japanese hypnotic scriptsx rated hypnosis videoshypnotic submissionwomen being hypnotizedmichael blaine hypnotist r ratedbimbo scripts hypnotismkaa hypno slave girlsnew hypnotherapy download sessionstwo japan girls superhero hypnotizedhypnosis non smoking victoria bchypnotic suggestions for feminizationssleeping hypnosis poemhypnosis nlp training michiganhypnotic enslavement scriptshypnotize womenhypnotized boyfriend videohypnotized crossdress pantygirdlefree feminine hypnosishypnosis weight loss in idaho falls idahobritish distance learning school hypnosisjapanese hypnotized womenhypnotic slavesissification hypnosishypnotized women making an animalself hypnosis videosport hypnosis torrentfurry hypnosis slave storiessuperheroine hypnosisfree hypno succubus comichypnotized and tickledbabification hypnosishypnotizing child in sims 2hypnotize elevatorhypnotic stare in mythologyfree hypnosis script for anorexiahypnotic kaa spiral flash [email protected] Phone: 1-866 309-2013 female hypnotists portland or books on hypnosis scripts free download absinthe dreams hypnotic story driftaway hypnotherapy woman hypnotizing men object used to hypnotize people hypnosis into anthro cow directions to hypnotize a rabbit female hypnotist youtube female slave hypnosis hypnotize chicken movie australian female hypnotist videos animal transformation hypnosis ts tv transformation hypnosis hypnosis japanese animation hypnotic eyes japaneese hypnotized girls sue chan hypnosis spiral woman hypnotised cluck like a chicken hypnosis certification in ga john moynihan hypnosis fanfiction wonder woman hypnotized hypnotoad windows screensaver getting hypnotized video hypnotic trance music torrent hypnosis crossdressed norann hypnotist marshall silver hypnosis script hypno chiken bedwetting hypnosis torrent intitle:index of mp3 deep hypnotic hypnotic babes hypnotist nyc mtf hypnosis hypnotiq martini purple life xl waikiki wa hypnotherapy free japanese hypnotic scripts x rated hypnosis videos hypnotic submission women being hypnotized michael blaine hypnotist r rated bimbo scripts hypnotism kaa hypno slave girls new hypnotherapy download sessions two japan girls superhero hypnotized hypnosis non smoking victoria bc hypnotic suggestions for feminizations sleeping hypnosis poem hypnosis nlp training michigan hypnotic enslavement scripts hypnotize women hypnotized boyfriend video hypnotized crossdress pantygirdle free feminine hypnosis hypnosis weight loss in idaho falls idaho british distance learning school hypnosis japanese hypnotized women hypnotic slave sissification hypnosis hypnotized women making an animal self hypnosis video sport hypnosis torrent furry hypnosis slave stories superheroine hypnosis free hypno succubus comic hypnotized and tickled babification hypnosis hypnotizing child in sims 2 hypnotize elevator hypnotic stare in mythology free hypnosis script for anorexia hypnotic kaa spiral flash Plaque Colors Payment Methods hypnotic novel writing revolving hypnotism video spanish hypnotist in jacksonville fl video hypnotized women female hypnotists in portland or how to hypnotise women slave hypnosis orgasm free videos hypnotized slaves hypnotic suggestion video hypnotized japanese girl getting tickled hypnotism cocksucker ocd and hypnotherapy does it work ronald grayeb hypnotist comments hypnotized slave girls comic hypno satine phoenix hypno slave enslavement hypnosis script hypno mind control video pat collins hypnotist evil hypnotist isabella audio hypnosis men free hypnosis manuell james dobson hypnosis female hypnotist leather hypnotized to flash hypnotize lyrics hypnotist stop smok gra celebrities hypnotized hypno girl self hypnosis west chester pa sue chan hypnosis free hypnosis fantasies hypnosis subliminal subconscious audio download torrent hypnotic snake meaning free clips hypnosis memory isabella hypnotizes phineas how to hypnotize someone instantly video stop smoking hypnosis in kingsport tn men hypnotizing women hypnosis to become a dog tg hypno transform humor hypnosis download mps free stage hypnosis x rated you tube pat collins hypnotist batgirl hypnotized madame hypnose hypno dominant pics of hypnotized women steve ira hypnosis hypnotize myself to be a woman hypno bimbos hypnosis album design m2f transformation hypnosis home hypnotism clips travis fox hypnotist oregon hypnotize male slave script torrent feminise feminize feminizing feminising hypnosis free online sleep hypnosis audio oklahoma hypnotist hypnosis flash animation dog transformation hypnotized clips hypnosis bed free scripts hypnosis forced jasmin stop gambling using hypnosis australia hypnotic pinwheel revue moda nlp hypnosis do birds hypnotize cats stop smoking hypnosis in shreveport la hypnotize me hypnotic beverage ffa hypnotist pics youtube hypnotized into being a girl hypnotic secretary vampires hypnotize a girl hypnotized slave girl male slave hypnotized by women video girl hypnotized with big boobs hypnosis seminar for smoking and weight loss in western mass female werewolf hypnosis moving hypnotizing pics hypnotic heroines ed hypnosis free bird hypnotised by snake can you be hypnotized without you knowingin your sleep ericksonian hypnosis training michigan hypnosis slave training mp3 semantic pragmatic language disorder hypnosis therapy boy into girl transformation hypnos hypnosis for rsd or crps marc hypnotist houston tx hypnotism for cycling hypnotically enslaved women how to hypnotize my male slave hypnosis slave software stories with hypnosis forced to feminize stuck packenwood hypnotize video snake that does hypnosis hypnosis relaxation technic someone hypnotize me online free female hypnosis women hypnotists girls hypnotized dominant female hypnotist hypnotherapy instruction arizona hypnodomme utopia hypnopics husband hypnotizes wife stories anthro cowgirl transformation hypnosis free hypnosis script for blood pressure video hypnotized woman orgasm blaze comedy hypnotist pic lessons in hypnotherapy man hypnotizes chicken free female hypnotist hypnotherapist hypnotic gurus laison hotel hypnotizing husband quickly hypnotically feminize your man japanese girl hypnotized wonder woman hypno drug clips of hypnotized women hypnotist los angeles russian speaking german women hypnotists hypnotic induction script slave kaa hypnotizing stories hypnosis jada hypnodomme free lessons on how to hypnotize someone hypnotized find someone else free mp3 download hypnotic big hips free hypnosis downloads for hair pulling turn into carebear hypnosis pendulum hypnosis using feet funny hypnotize myself lady hypnotist william puckett hypnotist free video sissification hypnotisim hypnotise me to be your slave hypnotized bodybuilder online diploma hypnotherapy distance learning how do you hypnotize people with lyrics and music girl hypnotized by boyfriend hypnotic abdl storys Holiday Lawn Signs! Photo Memorials hypnotists specializing in aliens in indianapolishypnotized woman comicfree amnesia hypnosishypnotic coin pendulumhypnotize me to lose weight free online nowchristmas lights hypnosis scripthypnotize shy bladder torrenthypnotizedwomen japenesehypno video to slave malequitting smoking with hypnosisforumsladies hypnotizedocd hypnosis therapy orlando fllong distance hypnosisfemale hypnosistelecharger hypnotic trance vol 2insomnia psychiatrist hypnosis melbournedr ben carson hypnosishow to hypnotize yourself to be femininehypnos mattress houston txweed with paint thinner in it female hypnotist picsmen hypnotized controlled by womenhow to fix a leaky water pipe with nipple on washing maching supply valve hypnotic transformation m2fhypno robotshypnosis videos that workhypnotic orgasmsintitle:index of mp4 avi hypno asp htm html cf jsponline free self hypnosis videotattoo hypnosishypnosis henleylearn hypnosis how to hypnotize anyone dvd rapidsharehypnotized slave videodarryl johnson hypnosishypnosis spiral windows backgrounddownload hypnobirthing scripthypnotist orange county motion sicknesshypnolust membershipvictoria hypnotized torrentnotorious big hypnotize t shirtdownload saddle club willowbrook stables game hypnosis girlamazing hypnosis onlinehypnotized into crossdressinghypnosis cds for kids with food phobiasatanic verses hypnohypnosis slave scriptatrial fibrillation hypnotic mp3ibs free hypnosis scripthypnotized into a doghypnosis spiral screen savergender transformation online hypnosishypnosis torontofree online hypnosis bruxismfair hypnosis show gallerysailesh hypnotistdoctorate in hypnotherapyfree hypnotic poemsbmv series 29: certified hypnosis cd: float tank session floating simulation torrenthypnotized wife storiessubliminal persuasion self hypnosis pain relief torrentdj skye hypnoslaveabdl hypnosishypnotherapy for children with tics in kchypnosis slave scriptsericksonian hypnosis scriptsquit smoking hypnosis ogdenhypnotherapy in coloradomaster goddess obey hypnosiselectronic hypnosis supplieswhere can i download vitales hypnotic writing wizardswiss tent replacement poles hypnotize someone to feminize themhypnotic imageshypnotized male slave videogirl in hypnotic trance hypnotists specializing in aliens in indianapolis hypnotized woman comic free amnesia hypnosis hypnotic coin pendulum hypnotize me to lose weight free online now christmas lights hypnosis script hypnotize shy bladder torrent hypnotizedwomen japenese hypno video to slave male quitting smoking with hypnosisforums ladies hypnotized ocd hypnosis therapy orlando fl long distance hypnosis female hypnosis telecharger hypnotic trance vol 2 insomnia psychiatrist hypnosis melbourne dr ben carson hypnosis how to hypnotize yourself to be feminine hypnos mattress houston tx female hypnotist pics men hypnotized controlled by women hypnotic transformation m2f hypno robots hypnosis videos that work hypnotic orgasms intitle:index of mp4 avi hypno asp htm html cf jsp online free self hypnosis video tattoo hypnosis hypnosis henley learn hypnosis how to hypnotize anyone dvd rapidshare hypnotized slave video darryl johnson hypnosis hypnosis spiral windows background download hypnobirthing script hypnotist orange county motion sickness hypnolust membership victoria hypnotized torrent notorious big hypnotize t shirt hypnosis girl amazing hypnosis online hypnotized into crossdressing hypnosis cds for kids with food phobia satanic verses hypno hypnosis slave script atrial fibrillation hypnotic mp3 ibs free hypnosis script hypnotized into a dog hypnosis spiral screen saver gender transformation online hypnosis hypnosis toronto free online hypnosis bruxism fair hypnosis show gallery sailesh hypnotist doctorate in hypnotherapy free hypnotic poems bmv series 29: certified hypnosis cd: float tank session floating simulation torrent hypnotized wife stories subliminal persuasion self hypnosis pain relief torrent dj skye hypnoslave abdl hypnosis hypnotherapy for children with tics in kc hypnosis slave scripts ericksonian hypnosis scripts quit smoking hypnosis ogden hypnotherapy in colorado master goddess obey hypnosis electronic hypnosis supplies where can i download vitales hypnotic writing wizard hypnotize someone to feminize them hypnotic images hypnotized male slave video girl in hypnotic trance Bronze Plaques! Address Plaques! Pet Memorials Memorial Plaques! Stocking Holders hypnosis for remembering free hypno training for sissies brad clark hypnotist kansas city star sue chan hypno rapidshare hypnotic skits kim stephanie hypno girl movies of women getting hypnotised free hypnotic slave download online hypnosis doll benny hinn hypnotist hypnotized college girl free dissertation hypnosis diabetes cure hypnosis mp3 torrent anthro cow transformation hypnosis mp3 hypnosis enslavement script hypnotist video quit smoking torrent men hypnotizing women videos cowgirl anthro hypno hypnotize women into bed hypnotized toons hypnotic liquor free feminization hypnotist in phoenix gary conrad hypnotized bikers hypnotist for shy bladder brisbane diaper hypnosis mp3 hypnotic liquor in bc liquor store ways to hypnotise your husband personal hygiene hypnosis hypnotic snake music scent lure hypnosis torrent nlp and hypnotherapy for lying in calgary alberta girls that hypnotize boys where can we find hypnose lancome in britain woman hypnotic orgasm deep sleep shemale hypnosis hypnosis design gallery hypnosis for lucid dreaming torrent video hypnotized orgasm women with hypnotherapist hypno girl feminization spirals male female transformation hypnosis sue chan hypno art man rubs womans foot can hypnotize a slavegirl paul clinton torrent hypnosis drug that put people in hypnotic state hypnotic brass ensemble sheet music men forced into womanhood thru free hypnosis hypnodomme sydney x rated hypnotist st louis mo dr dean stage hypnosis hypnotize women superheroes hypnosis and drug addiction how to hypnotize anyone by using laptop hypnosis sissification free audio hypnotist pat collins hypno transformation stories hypnotic poetry samples hypnotized girl obediently tg hypnosis tulsa smoking hypnotist quit smoking hypnosis orange county ny can cats hypnotize people female hypnotist photos hypnotized slave child dj skye hypnoslave video dior hypnotic sensual diaper incontinence hypnosis free hypnotic sounds hot women getting hypnotized on you tube how to hypnotize a slave hypnotized hamburg blues band Bench Warmers! Memorial Stones! Holiday Watches on SALE ! Illuminated Address Plaques Read what our customers are saying about us. hypnotic induction transformation hypnotizing a man fast babes hypnotized subliminal hypnosis dvd samples black magic to hypnotize girlfriend through photo how do i hypnotize myself superheroines hypnotized torrent emasculation hypnosis women hypnotized into slaves free video hypnolust hypnotize yourself girls hypnolust members hacked hypnosis tf story mascara that compares to lancome hypnose hartland hypnosis torrent german female hypnotist jessica james hypnosis try to hypnotize me advanced hypnotherapy center? ferrari stanford blueberry bellini recipe using hypnotic hypnosis recording system lost skeleton returns again hypnotized hypnotize this rapidshare free male transformation hypnosis hypnotize me by pendulum male hypno freeze ambiguous phrases for hypnotic language virtual hypnotistgames hypnotize people into slaves dominant stage hypnotist hypnotist in ktm nepal husband hypnotist into eating a creampie jennie garth hypnotized to be a chicken women hypnotized japanese book on how to hypnotize men female hypnotist virginia girls under hypnosis pics scribd change your mind life nlp digital hypnosis meditation mp3 10 1880 7 tinnitus hypnotherapy free script madame hypnose baixar sister hypnotized abused stage female hypnotist funny hypnotist sayings forensic hypnosis torrent self hypnosis gurl hypnotized superheroines 4 hypno moan woman to animal transformation hypno female hypnotic voice hypnotizing girl strip hypnotizedstraightguys com christian hypnosis for good self esteem overcome dyslexia hypnosis cd hire a hypnotist in buffalo ny pictures of hypnotised women orgasms feminization hypnosis wearing makeup hypnotized girl bird hypnotized superheroes hypnosis stop smoking colorado hypno mannequin psychiatry of the elderly asket croft hypnotherapy psoriasis hypnotherapy script free diana knight hypnosis torrent how do you hire a hypnotist in pittsburgh hypnosis animations feminization hypnotized straight guys intitle index of mp3 hypnotic bomfunk free hypnosis stop smoking florida hypnotized women free hypnosis scripts stuttering hypnotize yourself into femininity hypnotized heroines hypno zombie female video hypnotized orgasm franquin hypnotist hypnosis bimbo female superheroes hypnotized hypnosis sister stories hypnotherapy case study advice regressive hypnosis for psoriasis patients video hypnotizedsubmission women torrent slave to hypnosis hypnoticherbs com meaning of emotions hypnosis hypnotized woman spiral hypnotic inductions girlfriend hypnosis pics hypno subviewer feminization hypnosis publishing com rrcjs free beauty hypnotized free bedwetting hypnosis free hypnotized husband chickens get hypnotized by rain spencer hypnotist dubai trance hypno radio hypno girl induction how to prepare mix drinks with hypnotic miss drew hypnotist female hypnotist germany how to learn conversational hypnosis in florida hypnosisleague com isabella valentine hypnosis hypnotic liquor price per shot tx hypnotherapy doctorate course ireland superheroines hypnotized hypnotized girls video of men hypnotized to be slaves get hypnotized into a orgasm video female hypnotist miss drew hypnosis hypnosis slave induction free pendulum video hypnosis transform cow hypno tricked girls how to make spinning wheel hypnosis dc motor smoking hypnosis seminar waterbury ct hypnotherapy hypertension clinical trial hypnotic boobs induction how to hypnotize someone online hypnotized superheroines 5 self hypnosis sleep story free wet diaper hypnosis audio hypnolust leah video jasmine gets hypnotized torrent free hypnosis language software quitting smoking and hypnosis in gainesville fl girl is hypnotically hypnotist rockford illinois best credits excellent good male to female hypnosis jessica cornwall college newquay hypnotist damian hypno???orgasm hypno screens ash lee best hypnotist in bfg photos of hypnotised women orgasms models with hypnotic eyes japan hypno tube8 hypnotized stage hypnotist for hire bay area ca hypnotize me to sleep online hypnotic fishnet foot hypnotic girls hypnotized into dogs hypnotizes minds grim reaper tg hypno fiction x rated hypnotist toronto hypnoticpleasures transpersonal hypnotherapists in phoenix az hypno animation video girl hypnotized men slave crisscross applesauce hypnotize myself hypnosis free download diaper wetting torrents trans hypno meditatie mp3 black woman transformation hypnosis ronald grayeb hypnotist stroke recovery healing script hypnotherapy torrent hypnosis research lucid dreaming hypnosis mp3 rapidshare free hypnosis script for soul retrieval hypno stroking slave 4 theory of hypnosis and advertisements free hypnosis download for alcohol addiction hypnotic flash animations mitch smith pa hypnosis hypnotised str8 aussie guys com hypnothugs video alchemical hypnotherapy tucson double induction sleep hypnosis mike mandel hypnosis torrents neuro hypnosisforums hypnosis at oc fair 2010 hypnotized orgasms hypnotic superheroine eddie burke hypnotist girl hypnotized free greek gods goddesses hypnosis female hypnotists portland quit cigarettes hypnosis free hypnotic blues kennels virginia magician secrets mind wipe hypnosis beverly hills hypnosis furry hypnosis art cool hypnosis tapes rapidshare hypnotize someone via text message hypnotiq ewa sonnet pictures of girls hypnotized female hypnotist tuxedo strobe lighting and hypnosis american board of hypnotherapy phd male to female hypnosis transformations how to get hypnotized over a women succubus hypnosis hypno secretary tg stories captions swap interactive hypnotic hypnotherapy schools training orlando youtube get hypnotized into being a girl hypnosis amnesia torrent hypnotize husband instantly free slave hypnosis visual arthur ellen hypnotist how hypnotize girls lady hypnotist show pdf birth hypnosis script free hypnosis husband feminized hormones boyfrien hypnosis online free hypnosis to become a werewolf instant hypnotic trance hypnotized girl wife women research reviews on self esteem and hypnosis how to hypnotise people secretly pvc hypnotize phone sensory defensiveness hypnosis hypno girls clips gratis hypnotized cheerleader presentation phobia hypnosis mtof hypno torrent [email protected] 866.309.2013 regressive hypnosis sydney the witcher how to use hypnosis male hypnotic orgasms hypnosis spiral hypnotic trance hypnosis diapers instructions to hypnotize with a pendulum for free hypnotize me to be a chicken tennessee hypnotherapy regulations therapist in louisville ky for work with hypnosis for cp treatment male to female transition hypnosis hypnotize me with your feet hypnosis age regression gender swap diapered girls hypnotized reveen the hypnotist hypnotized girlfriend story hypnotised faint and carry videos the american council of hypnotist examiners charleston sc free hypnosis scripts motion sickness jessica rabbit hypnotized hypnotized hypno tube hypnotherapy for smoking in lansing michigan freeze hypno darts hypnosis torrent just fiction stories hypnose to feminize me revenge stuck with dress hypno screen hypno girl play role gill eagle hypnosis listen to teen incontinent hypnosis free sd card downloads hypnotic women video harry potter hypnotized slave girls hypnosis for gout hypnotic suggestion sleep hypnotized dog slaves feminised hypnosis kaa coils hypno flash game hypnosis to impregnate sister hypnosis smoking cessation santa barbara gender transformation hypnosis hypnotic bodybuilding torrent isabella valentine hypnosis sexual fire torrent virgil hayes hypnotist az cow transformation hypnosis feminizing hypnosis spiral hypnotized ana marie hypnosis fanfiction yugioh gx hypnotherapy gambling cd free torrent dominant female hypnotists hypnotherapy for tumbling free online hypnosis for stress relief hair growth hypnosis e book simple minds hypnotized mp3 hypnotist nicole williams hypnosis smoking pensacola smoking with hypnosis dublin ca free hypnotic male to female transformation women hypnotized men hypnotizing moving items hypnotist robin lycette real beach babes getting hypnotized treat compulsive eating hypnosis highest rated hypnotize minds songs hot girl hypnotized by wearing a dog collar ronald grayeb hypnotist success woman or women hypnotic submission hypnotized slave woman clinical hypnosis for pain control pdf hypnotist photoalbum women in plies hypnotized video hire hypnotist petes hypnotized girls post hypnosis amnesia m2f hypnosis hypno ladies post hypnotic suggestions list make me smarter hypnosis tg hypnosis forced nonfiction how to hypnotize child in sims 2 hypnotherapy classes in nagpur women hypnotizing women ftm transition hypnosis torrent hypnotized stage hypnotist roadrunner i was hypnotized slave girl dog hypnosis los angeles hypnosis crime nyc hypno witch frozen hypnotic margarita glasses of hypnotism power hypnotize biggie tabs hypno drugged girls butt enhancement hypnosis bimbo hypnosis scripts become a diaper wetter with audio hypnosis cock control hypno spell leah hypnolust pirate bay mr daniels hypnosis woman to dog hypnosis hypnothugs trailer leah hypnolust hypnotherapy panic disorder in toledo ohio hypnotist franquin youtube norann female hypnotist hypnotic exploited black teens hypno drugs extacy hypnosis into animal transformation hypnotizedcoeds com pint of hypnotic leigha rose hypnosis charisma carpenter hypno beautiful female stage hypnotist british female hypnotist mp3 hypnosis you now my slave abdl hypnosis samples how to hypnotize a rabbitin words free baby hypnosis feminization hypnosis in boston ma hypnosis to stop chew tobacco in pittsburgh pa hypnotic submission boston learning hypnotherapy dentistry las vegas hypnotized girl free videos golf hypnosis mp3 torrent ladies hypnotized to sleep video on how to hypnotize someone hypnosis feminization streaming hypnotic language patterns research on sleep apnea hypnosis treatment comedy hypnotist erick hypno boobs story intitle:index of mp3 hypnotic conditioning html htm how do i hypnotize myself to remember my past master training slave girl using hypnosis free hypnotherapy motion sickness scripts mandel hypnosis torrent sample hypnosis advertisements hypnotists show prices for hire sydney hypnotic spiral screensaver

1. Introduction and General Terms A Word About Wind Ltd is committed to protecting your personal information when you are using all of its services. We want our services to be safe and enjoyable environments for our customers. This Privacy Policy relates to our use of any personal information you provide to us through the A Word About Wind Ltd website. In order to provide you with the full range of services, we are sometimes required to collect information about you. This privacy policy explains the following: - what information A Word About Wind Ltd may collect about you; - how A Word About Wind Ltd will use information we collect about you; - whether A Word About Wind Ltd will disclose your details to anyone else; - your choices regarding the personal information you have provided to us; - the use of cookies on the A Word About Wind Ltd website and how you can reject these cookies. As set out above, A Word About Wind A Word About Wind A Word About Wind Ltd to provide you with the services you select. A Word About Wind A Word About Wind Ltd use the information collects about me? A Word About Wind A Word About Wind Ltd. e.g. to provide you with the most user-friendly navigation experience. Where A Word About Wind Ltd proposes using your personal information for any other uses we will ensure that we notify you first. You will also be given the opportunity to withhold or withdraw your consent for your use other than as listed above. 4. When will A Word About Wind Ltd contact me? A Word About Wind Ltd may contact you: - in relation to the order you have placed on the website to ensure that A Word About Wind Ltd can deliver the services to you; - where you have opted to receive further correspondence; 5. Will I be contacted for marketing purposes? A Word About Wind Ltd won’t contact you for marketing purposes, or promote new services to you unless you specifically agree to be contacted for these purposes. 6. Will A Word About Wind A Word About Wind Ltd website. The date of the most recent revisions will appear on this page. 8. Contacting A Word About Wind Ltd about this Privacy Policy If you have any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy please contact; Address: A Word About Wind, Hogrefe House, Albion Place Oxford OX1 1QZ 9. Security Credit card details are entered on a secured page and that they are transferred using SSL technology. ‘We use Sage Pay to collect/process transaction information’ and you can view their privacy policy at 1. General Information 1.1. These Terms and Conditions apply to all Users. They cover all aspects of A Word About Wind including use of the website, email newsletter, conference, event and advertising services. Before proceeding Users should read these Terms and Conditions carefully. If you find yourself unable to agree to them, then you must not use the website, email newsletter, conference, event or advertising services. If, however, you agree to them unconditionally you may use the website, email newsletter, conference, event or advertising services subject always to these Terms and Conditions. By accessing any of the these you indicate your acceptance of these Terms and conditions irrespective of whether or not you subscribe to or become a member of A Word About Wind. 1.2. A Word About Wind may amend these Terms and Conditions at any time by posting the amended Terms and Conditions on the website. You are expected to check this page from time to time to take notice of any changes we made, as they are binding on you. Some of the provisions contained in these Terms and Conditions may also be expanded on by provisions or notices published elsewhere on the website. 1.3. Except as stated below, any amendments to these Terms and Conditions shall be automatically effective immediately they are posted on the website. 1.4. The Sites are owned and managed, operated and maintained by A Word About Wind. For your information we list below the address details of A Word About Wind: Registered office: 2nd Floor, 167-169 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 5PF. Registered company number: 8597371 Contact address: Hogrefe House, Albion Place, Oxford, OX1 1QZ 2. Definitions 2.1. In these Terms and Conditions the following words shall have the following meanings, unless the context requires otherwise: Distance Selling Regulations Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000; A Word About Wind A Word About Wind Limited, trading as A Word About Wind Fee(s) The fee(s) payable by the Member for the relevant Service(s) as set out below; Intellectual Property Rights Intellectual property rights including, for the avoidance of doubt, patents, copyright, rights in databases, trade marks and trade names whether registered or unregistered and subsisting anywhere in the World; Member Any and all persons who register with the Site in accordance with clause 3.1 and Membership shall be construed accordingly; Membership Level The level of Membership registered for and paid for by the relevant User according to the table referred to in in clause 5.1; Reports The reports posted by A Word About Wind on the Site and available to view online and/or download by Users, subject to the required Membership Level; Services The services provided by A Word About Wind via the Site from time to time and including Training whether provided via the Site or at an alternative Venue; Site/Sites The digital content provided by A Word About Wind including content provided at websites provided by A Word About Wind from time to time, including also including digital content provided via email RSS feeds, widget and other data, and Site shall mean any one of such websites Terms and Conditions These terms and conditions as varied by A Word About Wind by posting the amended terms and conditions on the Site from time to time; Third Party Sites Third party web sites, frames and portals; User Any and all persons who access the Sites and services provided by A Word About Wind, including but not limited to Members; Venue The place where an Event is to be held (as applicable), whether online or offline at the Member's premises or at third party premises; and Venue Terms The terms and conditions of use of the Venue. "persons" includes individuals, firms, partnerships, companies, corporations, associations, organisations, governments, states, governmental or state agencies, foundations and trusts (in each case whether or not having separate legal personality and irrespective of the jurisdiction in or under the law of which it was incorporated or exists); 2.2.6. any reference to a statute, statutory provision, subordinate legislation, code or guideline is a reference to such as amended and in force from time to time and to any legislation which re-enacts or consolidates (with or without modification) any such legislation; 2.2.7. any phrase introduced by the terms "including", "include", "in particular" or any similar expression shall be construed as illustrative and shall not limit the sense of the words preceding those terms; and 2.2.8. any reference to "in writing" shall include email. 3. Membership Eligibility 3 register with the Site nor use the Services and no contract will be formed between you and A Word About Wind. Further, Services are not available to temporarily or indefinitely suspended A Word About Wind Members. 4. Formation of Contract 4.1. In order that a legally binding contract can be formed between A Word About Wind and a Member eligible under clause 3.1, all Users are required to comply with these Terms and Conditions and all Users who register are required to accept these Terms and Conditions unconditionally by clicking the ' I have read and agreed to the Terms and Conditions ' checkbox during the registration process. 4.2. A Word About Wind in its absolute discretion reserves the right to refuse, suspend or cancel Membership of any Member at any time and without notice. 4.3. These Terms and Conditions shall override any previous or contradictory terms or conditions published by A Word About Wind or appearing on the Site. 4.4. In consideration of A Word About Wind agreeing to the User's use of the Site and its Services, the User agrees to comply with these Terms and Conditions. 4.5. Each Member warrants to A Word About Wind. 4. 5. Membership 5.1. Subject to clause 3.1 all Users may visit the Site and access certain free Services without the obligation to register as a Member. In order to access other Services it is necessary to register as a Member. Click here to access the levels of Membership and the relevant Fees and Services available. 5.2. In order to become a Member the relevant User shall complete the registration form. The User represents and warrants that the information given in that registration will be accurate and complete. A Word About Wind will hold that information in accordance with the terms of the A Word About Wind Privacy Policy and it may be used to validate the Users registration for Membership. 5.3. Membership lasts for a period of 12 months from the date of registration and payment of the relevant Fee. Membership may be cancelled at any time by the Member giving notice to A Word About Wind, subject to clause 6. 5.4. A Member may upgrade to a higher Membership Level in one of two ways: either (a) during the first month of any 12 month Membership, by paying a sum equivalent to the difference between the Fees already paid and the amount of Fees that would have been due had the Member registered at the new Membership Level at the start of the Membership period; or (b) alternatively a Member may choose to pay the full amount of Fees charged for the relevant Membership Level and a new period of 12 months will start from the date of payment of that Fee. 5.5. Each Member shall be responsible for the management of their Membership within their relevant organisation including the administration of access to the Site and Services. If you choose, or you are provided with, a user identification code, password or any other piece of information as part of A Word About Wind’s registration procedures, you must treat such information as confidential, and you must not disclose it to any third party. A Word About Wind does not permit the sharing of logins or passwords, and similarly, no group logins and passwords are permitted. We have the right to disable any user identification code or password, whether chosen by you or allocated by us, at any time. 5.6. Each Member is responsible for making all arrangements necessary to access the Site subject always to the prohibition on login and password sharing in clause 5.5 and is also responsible for ensuring that all persons who access the Site through the Member's internet connection are aware of these Terms and Conditions, and ensure that they comply with them. 5.7. Further to clause 5.6, each Member is responsible for ensuring that they supply a valid email address, that the awordaboutwind.com email domain is whitelisted and that the email account does not block emails from A Word About Wind. A Word About Wind accepts no responsibility for the non-receipt of any email communication sent to any User. 5.8. Further to clause 5.6 where a Membership allows for a number of Users to have access, a User who is not an employee of your organisation. A Word About Wind accepts no responsibility for the management of your Membership within your organisation. 5.9. Each Member may choose to appear in the Member Directory and this information will be published in accordance with the terms of the A Word About Wind Privacy Policy. 6. Services and Fees 6.1. The Site and Services shall be made reasonably available to all Users in accordance with any Membership Level subject to these Terms and Conditions and subject to technical errors and downtime associated with the Internet and the Site. You acknowledge and accept that such downtime may prevent access to the Site and Services from time to time and that access to the Site and Services shall not, therefore, be error free or uninterrupted. 6.2. The Services are to be provided via the Site which contains a number of areas which may be varied from time to time initially including the following: Reports; Events Archive; Forums; Supplier Directory; Member Directory; Jobs Board; and Account Administration. A Word About Wind reserves the right to change the content, presentation, performance, and availability of any part of the Site at its sole discretion and without notice to you. 6.3. Details of the Services are set out on the Site and will be undertaken by A Word About Wind on acceptance by A Word About Wind of your order to purchase each Service and payment in full of the relevant Fees for such Service as set out on the Site. Each separate order for Services shall form and be treated as a separate legal contract between you and A Word About Wind for provision of the relevant Services, but subject at all times to these Terms and Conditions. 6.4. Fees are usually payable immediately online prior to the activation of membership and access to any Services, unless otherwise notified to you. In the case of any Fees to be invoiced by A Word About Wind such Fees shall be paid by the Member within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of A Word About Wind’s invoice, unless otherwise notified by A Word About Wind. Interest will be charged at the rate of two per cent (2%) above the Bank of England base rate and calculated monthly on any outstanding amount until payment is received. 6.5. In case of non-payment of any sum due from the Member (whether formally demanded or not) or of any other breach or non-observance by the Member of any of these Terms and Conditions, A Word About Wind shall have the right to suspend or terminate the Member's access to the Site and Services immediately without prejudice to the right to recover all sums payable by the Member or to any other right or remedy available to A Word About Wind. 6.6. Without prejudice to clause 6.3, A Word About Wind reserves the right to change its payment policy and the Fees charged for Services from time to time, with such changes becoming effective immediately. Unless otherwise stated, all fees are quoted in UK Pounds Sterling and exclude VAT and any and all other applicable taxes. 6.7. You agree to pay to A Word About Wind the Fees for any and all Services you purchase from A Word About Wind. You further agree that you are responsible for paying any and all applicable taxes including but not limited to VAT. All Fees and any such applicable taxes shall be payable by you in full in advance and are non-refundable, subject to clause 7. 6.8. Any Services with a validity or access period of 365 days are considered subscription services ("Subscriptions"). You acknowledge and agree that all Subscriptions purchased by credit card will be automatically renewed on an annual basis. You will be notified in advance of such automatic renewal. You can cancel such automatic renewal at any point during the period of the initial Subscription by emailing [email protected]. Should the credit card used no longer be valid, then an invoice for the full and same amount will be issued to you instead. Where a Fee is payable for the renewal of the relevant Subscription, the credit card used to purchase the Subscription will be charged the full and current Fee on the day of renewal, and no discounts or special packages that applied to the Subscription when it was initially purchased will continue or be carried forward without the prior agreement of A Word About Wind. This renewal will constitute a separate order for Services and shall be treated as a separate legal contract between you and A Word About Wind for provision of the relevant Services, subject to these Terms and Conditions and is subject to clause 7. 6.9. In the event that any individual component of the Services paid for by a Member is disputed then the parties shall endeavour in good faith to reach agreement in relation to the disputed Services. In the event that such dispute cannot be resolved, the matter shall be dealt with pursuant to clause 27. 6.10. From time to time, A Word About Wind may make special offers entitling Users or Members, to obtain a discount off certain Services including events, reports and membership, subject at all times to these Terms and Conditions. 6.11. Any special offer or discount so offered by A Word About Wind: 6.11.1. will only be valid for the stated Service and cannot be transferred or applied to other Services; 6.11.2. Will only be valid for the nominated time period, or until A Word About Wind cancels or removes the offer or promotion at its discretion; 6.11.3. may only be redeemed against a new purchase, and cannot be redeemed against an existing or prior purchase for the stated Service; 6.11.4. may only be redeemed online on the Site, unless otherwise stated in the offer; 6.11.5. will only be valid for one promotional code per purchase; 6.11.6. has no cash value and cannot be redeemed for cash or for benefits in kind such as future discounts; and 6.11.7. where communicated to Users via email, is non-transferable unless otherwise stated and the email address provided in the booking must be the same as the email address to which the special offer or discount was sent in order to qualify. 6.12. If a User cancels a Service that was subject to a special offer or discount, any refund payable under clause 7 of these Terms and Conditions shall not include the amount of the discount, and the User shall not be entitled to any subsequent reinstatement of the discount. 6.13. A Word About Wind reserves the right to cancel a promotion at any time, and/or reject the redemption of a promotional code. 7. Cancellation and Fees Refunds Policy 7.1. If you are acting as a consumer as defined in the Distance Selling Regulations 2000, you have a statutory right to cancel any distance contract within 7 working days of the date of purchase as long as you have not yet accessed the relevant Services. Accordingly, you may cancel any subscription to purchase 7 working days from the date of purchase, whichever is shorter ("Consumer Cancellation Period"). If you are acting as a consumer and validly cancel any contract for Services within the Consumer Cancellation Period A Word About Wind shall refund to you the Fees paid for the relevant Services. If you are acting as a consumer and cancel any contract for Services outside the Consumer Cancellation Period, the Fees paid by you for the relevant Services shall be non-refundable. 7.2. If you are not acting as a consumer as defined in the Distance Selling Regulations 2000, such regulations shall not apply and A Word About Wind’s cancellation policy is as follows: you may cancel any subscription to/purchase of 3 working days from the date of purchase, whichever is shorter ("Business Cancellation Period"). If you are not acting as a consumer and validly cancel any contract for Services within the Business Cancellation Period A Word About Wind shall refund to you the Fees paid for the relevant Services. If you are not acting as a consumer and you cancel any contract for Services outside the Business Cancellation Period, the Fees paid by you for the relevant Services shall be non-refundable. 7.3. Further to clause 7.1 and clause your access to such benefits will cease when the period of your Membership runs out. You will only re-gain access to A Word About Wind when your Membership is renewed, and only to the Services or benefits you are entitled to according to the relevant Membership Level. Part II The Site and the Services 8. Overview of awordaboutwind.com 8.1. Overview. The Site acts as a hub for senior energy and finance executives to interact, obtain information, in the form of electronic newsletters and reports and to advertise their services. Although Users may choose to conduct business related communications and transactions through the site, A Word About Wind is not involved in any such communications or transactions and as a result, A Word About Wind has no control over the quality, safety, truth, accuracy or legality of any products, items, vacancies, statements or services posted or offered, nor does A Word About Wind have any ability whatsoever to represent, warrant or guarantee the integrity of the providers or purchasers of such products, items, vacancies, statements or services. 8.2. Member identities. Because identification and authentication on the Internet is difficult, A Word About Wind cannot and does not confirm each User's identity, whether or not they are a Member. A Word About Wind allows Members to give access to information about themselves to other Members. If you are in any doubt as to an individual's identity you are encouraged to take steps to further establish their credentials, for example by communicating directly with them. 8.3. Release. In the event that you have a dispute or issue with one or more of the other Users, you shall release A Word About Wind (and our officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries and employees) from any and all claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of any kind and nature, known and unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes. 8.4. Information Control. A Word About Wind is designed to provide Services to help Users obtain renewable energy and finance and investor information including accessing reports and attending conferences and events, and to discuss key wind energy industry issues. This information is sometimes provided by our Members. Whilst the quality of material submitted to our Site is generally high, A Word About Wind does not control the information provided by Members, and you may find other User's information to be offensive, harmful, inaccurate, or deceptive. Please use caution and common sense when using our Site and please notify us if you find any information to be offensive, harmful, inaccurate or deceptive. Please note that there are also risks in dealing with foreign nationals, underage persons or people acting under false pretences. 8.5. The opinions expressed on the Site are those of the contributing individuals. If you act on anything that is said or done you must do so on the basis of a considered decision of your own, having weighed up the pros, cons and risks thereby fully accepting the responsibility for the success or failure of your actions. Under no circumstances shall A Word About Wind be liable for direct, indirect, or incidental damages resulting from your use of information, commentary, advice or other content on the Site irrespective as to whom the contributor is. You agree to indemnify A Word About Wind on demand against any actions, claims, proceedings, or liabilities arising from your use of the content of the Site. 9. Reports Service 9.1. The Site contains Reports and other content that Users may access. Some content may only be accessed by Members in accordance with the relevant Membership Level and other content is free of charge. 9.2. Subject to clause 9.9 A Word About Wind hereby grants to the User a non-exclusive worldwide licence for the duration of the Membership or in the case of a User who is not a Member, until A Word About Wind may choose to revoke such licence, to download, store, use, reproduce, transmit, display, copy, and provide access to the Reports in accordance with the terms of the Membership (if applicable) and at all times only for the User's own information purposes and for the avoidance of doubt, not for any commercial or business purposes. 9.3. The User shall not alter or remove any content of any Reports including hyperlinks, copyright notices or other notices indicating rights in the Reports. 9.4. For the avoidance of doubt, the licence granted in clause 9.2 above shall not permit the User to do any of the following without the prior written consent of A Word About Wind: 9.4.1. transfer the licence granted in clause 9.2; 9.4.2. download, store, reproduce, transmit, display (including without limitation display on any intranet or extranet site), copy, sell, publish, distribute, provide access to or otherwise use the Reports for any purposes other than as set out in clause 9.2; 9.4.3. sub-license, rent, lease, transfer or assign any Intellectual Property Rights in the Reports, to any other person, or attempt to do any of the foregoing; 9.4.4. disclose the Reports whether in part or in their entirety to any third party, including any associated or affiliated company; 9.4.5. in any way commercially exploit any of the Reports' content; or 9.4.6. use the Reports for any unlawful purpose. 9.5. Any breach by the User of any of the terms of the licence will entitle A Word About Wind to terminate the licence granted in clause 9.2 and, if applicable, your Membership. 9.6. Without prejudice to clause 9.2 A Word About Wind reserves the right to amend, edit or abbreviate or take down once published any Report at our discretion. 9.7. Without prejudice to the generality of clause 6.1, you acknowledge and accept that there may be technical downtime or errors relating to the Site and Reports Service. Such downtime or errors may prevent Reports being viewed by Users of the Site. A Word About Wind shall not be liable if the publication of a Report is delayed, prevented from access or displayed incorrectly by any cause beyond our control including server downtime or errors. 9.8. You agree to pay the relevant Fees for Membership, if any, set out on the Site in order to access certain Reports in accordance with this clause 9.9 under clause 9.2 shall be granted until we receive payment in full for the relevant Report. Fees paid to us for Reports shall be non-refundable. 10. Email Newsletter 10.1. The registration for Membership process allows each Member to sign up for the A Word About Wind newsletter service. All Information provided as part of this process must be provided in accordance with clause 11 and A Word About Wind shall handle all information supplied in accordance with the Privacy Policy from time to time. Each Member shall have the opportunity to opt out of the newsletter service at any time. 11. Your Information 11.1. "Your Information" is defined as any information you provide to A Word About Wind or other Users during registration, in any public message area, at Events, through feedback or any e-mail or form features. 11.2. Your Information and conduct (or any items listed therein) shall not: 11.2.1. be false, inaccurate or misleading; 11.2.2. be fraudulent or involve the sale of counterfeit or stolen items; 11.2.3. infringe any third party's copyright, patent, trade mark, trade secret or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy; 11.2.4. violate any law, statute, ordinance or regulation (including without limitation those governing export control, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising); 11.2.5. be defamatory, trade libellous, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing; 11.2.6. be obscene, blasphemous, contain any pornography including without limitation child pornography or other legally restricted material; 11.2.7. contain any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancelbots or other computer programming routines that are intended to damage, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or personal information; 11.2.8. create liability for us or cause us to lose (in whole or in part) the services of our ISPs or other suppliers; 11.2.9. impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with anyone or anything; or 11.2.10. post or transmit chain letters, pyramid schemes, advertising, promotional materials, or other solicitation except as where explicitly requested by another User. 11.3. To enable A Word About Wind to use Your Information supplied, such that we are not violating any rights you might have in that information, you agree to grant A Word About Wind a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free licence and the right to sub-license (through multiple tiers) to use the Intellectual Property Rights you have in Your Information, in any media now known or not currently known. A Word About Wind will only use Your Information in accordance with the Privacy Policy of the Site. 11.4. You are responsible for all statements made and acts that occur through the use of your Membership and password. If your password has been disclosed to a third party or stolen, you must let us know. 11.5. While A Word About Wind cannot review all transmissions by Users in the Forums, we reserve the right to, and may from time to time, monitor any information transmitted or received through our service. A Word About Wind, at our sole discretion and without further notice to you, may review, remove, or otherwise block any information (including posts to message boards, forums and blogs) that we deem inappropriate or that violates any of these Terms and Conditions. 12. Events 12.1. ‘Events’ includes all conferences, receptions, networking events and briefings and this clause applies to all booking, tickets and attendance at Events by Members. 12.2. Tickets for attendance at Events can be booked online or by contacting A Word About Wind directly. Arrangements for events are subject to A Word About Wind’s confirmation of the booking. 12.3. The Member acknowledges that any speakers at the Events (“Speakers”) are not necessarily employees of A Word About Wind and that A Word About Wind may, at its sole discretion, procure the services of third parties to provide any part of, or all of the Event. 12.4. The Speakers do not represent A Word About Wind and the views and opinions of the Speakers are not necessarily the views and opinions of A Word About Wind and A Word About Wind disclaims all and accepts no liability for any acts or omissions of the Speakers, or the statements they make or information that they provide. 12.5. A Word About Wind will use reasonable endeavours to ensure that any individually named person(s) shall provide the agreed services at the Event, but where this is not possible, A Word About Wind reserves the right to procure the services of suitable alternative person(s). Any such change(s) shall not constitute a breach of contract and shall not give the Member the right to terminate. 12.6. A Word About Wind will use reasonable endeavours to ensure that the Event shall take place on the relevant date(s) and time(s) and at the Venue as agreed, but where this is not possible, A Word About Wind reserves the right to alter the date(s), and/or time(s), provided that A Word About Wind shall give the Member notice of any such change(s) as soon as is reasonably possible. Any such change(s) shall not constitute a breach of contract and shall not give the Member the right to terminate. 12.7. The Member may be provided certain written materials at the Event (“Event Materials”) and the Member is not permitted to do any of the following without the prior written consent of A Word About Wind: 12.7.1. reproduce, transmit, display (including without limitation display on any intranet or extranet site), copy, sell, publish, distribute, provide access to or otherwise use the Event materials or proceedings without prior approval 12.7.2. sub-license, rent, lease, transfer or assign any IPRs in the Event materials, to any other person, or attempt to do any of the foregoing; 12.7.3. disclose the Event materials whether in part or in their entirety to any third party, including any associated or affiliated company; 12.7.4. in any way commercially exploit any of the Event materials content; or 12.7.5. use the Event materials for any unlawful purpose. 12.8. The Member grants A Word About Wind a non-exclusive perpetual irrevocable worldwide licence to use the Member's name and trade marks in connection with the promotion and delivery of the Event. 12.9. The Member hereby expressly and irrevocably permits A Word About Wind to use any recorded footage or photography of the Member which is taken at an A Word About Wind event provided that such use is in connection with the promotion and delivery of A Word About Wind services. 12.10. You acknowledge and accept that there may be technical downtime or errors relating to the provision of Events or elements of Events online and Event Materials provided online. Such downtime or errors may prevent the Event and Online Event Materials being accessible and A Word About Wind shall not be liable if access is delayed, prevented from access or displayed incorrectly by any cause beyond our control including server downtime or errors. 12.11. Although A Word About Wind believes the content of the Event materials to be accurate, complete and current, to the fullest extent permitted by law, A Word About Wind provides all Event materials on an “as is” basis and disclaims all warranties regarding the Event materials. Further no advice or information given by A Word About Wind or its employees, agents, contractors or suppliers shall create any warranty. It is the Member’s responsibility to verify any information before relying on it. Further, the Event materials may include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. A Word About Wind may make changes to the Event materials at any time. A Word About Wind does not guarantee that any Event Materials will be made available in electronic or physical versions. 12.12. In any event, our liability in relation to the provision of the Event shall be limited to a sum equal to the amount paid to us for the Event in question or £100, whichever is the greater, and A Word About Wind shall not be liable for any loss of or damage to any images or text provided to us by you when submitting any booking for an event, whether online or otherwise. 12.13. You agree to pay the relevant Fees for the Event, if any, set out on the Site or otherwise notified in order to access certain Events including online Events. Fees set out on the Site may change from time to time and any change will be posted on the Site and will take effect for all online Events accessed after the change. Where applicable, payment must be prepaid in accordance with the payment methods set out on the Site before access to certain online Event is permitted. Fees paid to us for online Events shall be non-refundable. 12.14. The Member and all parties employed or otherwise engaged by it shall comply with all Venue Terms relating to the Event and the Member's attendance at the Event, as may be notified to the Member or the Member’s employees from time to time. 12.15. The Member and all parties shall comply with the reasonable directions of the Venue and A Word About Wind whilst attending the Event and/or on Venue premises. 13. Access and Interference 13.1. You agree that you will not use any robot, spider, other automatic device, or manual process to monitor or copy our web pages or the content contained herein without the prior written consent of A Word About Wind. 13.2. You agree that you will not use any device, software or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Site nor attempt to circumvent security, tamper with, hack into, or otherwise disrupt any computer system, server, web site, router or any other internet connected device. 13.3. You agree that you will not take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on the Site's infrastructure. 13.4. Much of the information on the Site is updated on a real time basis and is proprietary or is licensed to A Word About Wind by our Users or third parties. You agree that you will not copy, reproduce, alter, modify, create derivative works, or publicly display any content (except for Your Information) from the Site without the prior written consent of A Word About Wind or the appropriate third party, with the exception of downloading or printing a single copy for yourself for offline viewing. 13.5. By breaching this clause 13,. 13.6. posted on it, or on any website linked to it. 14. Breach 14.1. Without limiting any other remedies available to it, A Word About Wind may immediately issue a warning, temporarily suspend, indefinitely suspend or terminate your Membership and refuse to provide the Services to you if: 14.1.1. you breach these Terms and Conditions or the documents incorporated by reference (including but not limited to our Privacy Policy) 14.1.2. A Word About Wind are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us; or 14.1.3. A Word About Wind believe that your actions may cause legal liability for you, our Members or A Word About Wind. 15. No Warranty 15.1. The Site including, without limitation, its contents, functionality, performance and features are provided on an "as available basis" at the User's sole risk and without representations or warranties without any express or implied warranties of. of any kind and to the full extent permitted by law. A Word About Wind and other parties involved in creating, producing or delivering the Site expressly exclude all warranties, conditions or terms express or implied, statutory or otherwise including without limitation any warranty as to (i) title; (ii) that the use of the materials will not infringe any IPRs of any other person; (iii) satisfactory quality or fitness for any particular purpose; or (iv) that the content of the Site Materials are accurate, complete or error free 15.2. Although A Word About Wind believes the content of the Written Materials to be accurate, complete and current, to the fullest extent permitted by law, A Word About Wind provides all Written Materials. Further no advice or information given by A Word About Wind or its employees, agents, contractors or suppliers shall create any warranty. It is the Member's responsibility to verify any information before relying on it. Further, the Written Materials may include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. A Word About Wind may make changes to the Written Materials at any time. 16. Liability Limit 16.1. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions is intended to limit or exclude any liability on the part of A Word About Wind for fraud or for negligence causing death or personal injury or where and to the extent that applicable law prohibits such exclusion or limitation. 16.2. Subject to the above statement and any clauses relating to limitation of liability elsewhere in these terms and conditions, in no event shall A Word About Wind Services. 16.3. Accordingly, subject to clause 15.1, you agree not to bring a claim of any nature against A Word About Wind in relation the use of or access to the Site and use or access to the Services, except where such a claim cannot be excluded by law. You acknowledge and agree that A Word About Wind will have the right (subject to the discretion of the Court) to a stay of proceeding if you bring any claim against A Word About Wind in breach of the foregoing. 16.4. A Word About Wind shall not be liable or responsible in any way for any damage caused by any misuse of the Site by you or any third party, or caused by any Service. 16.5. A Word About Wind shall be free to modify, temporarily suspend or cancel the Services and to reasonably amend these Terms and Conditions at any time in writing which amendments will be deemed to be agreed by you upon using the Site and Services. 16.6. You acknowledge that information, software and other material accessible over the Internet via the Site may contain viruses, worms, Trojan horses, cancelbots, or other harmful and destructive components. A Word About Wind shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental or other loss or damages which result or may result from your access to or use of the Internet, Site or Services. Further whilst A Word About Wind uses reasonable efforts to ensure the security of the Site and Users' and Members' data, A Word About Wind shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental or other loss or damages which result or may result from unauthorised third party access to the Site whether by hacking or otherwise. 16.7. A Word About Wind shall not be liable for orders for purchase of or Subscriptions to Services which are made via the Site but are not received by A Word About Wind for any reason, including but not limited to errors, disruption or downtime of Site which may, owing to corruption of data, lead to such orders/subscriptions being lost or which may lead to orders of/subscriptions to Services being submitted incomplete or with errors in which case such orders of/subscriptions to Services may need to be re-submitted. 17. Indemnity 17.1. You agree to indemnify (and to keep indemnified) on demand, defend and hold harmless A Word About Wind. 18. No Agency 18.1. You agree that you and A Word About Wind are independent contractors, and no agency, partnership, joint venture, employee-employer or franchisor-franchisee relationship is intended or created by these Terms and Conditions or by your purchase of any Services. 19. Notices 19.1. All notices required to be served on A Word About Wind shall be sent to the contact address stated in clause 1 or to the e-mail address of A Word About Wind as set out in clause 1 or as otherwise notified on the Site from time to time for such purpose. 19.2. All notices required to be served by A Word About Wind shall be posted on the Site to the extent that they relate to a non-Member User, or sent to the relevant contact email address supplied to A Word About Wind by the relevant Member or as notified by the relevant Member from time to time for such purpose. 20. Arbitration 20.1. Any dispute or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms and Conditions or A Word About Wind’s Services shall be settled by an arbitration tribunal designated by A Word About Wind. The arbitration shall be conducted in the U.K., and judgment on the arbitration award may be entered into any court having jurisdiction thereof. Either you or awordaboutwind.com may seek any interim or preliminary relief from a court of competent jurisdiction in the U.K. necessary to protect the rights or property of you or us pending the completion of arbitration. 21. Intellectual Property 21.1. You acknowledge that the ownership of any Intellectual Property Rights (including, for the avoidance of doubt, patents, copyright, rights in databases, trade marks and trade names whether registered or unregistered and subsisting anywhere in the World) in the Site belongs to A Word About Wind or its third party licensors. Accordingly, any part of this Site (including for the avoidance of doubt, its source HTML or any other code, RSS feeds, content within emails, downloadable files) may not be used, transferred, copied or reproduced in whole or in part in any manner including, for the avoidance of doubt, on any intranet or extranet or any other site or storage facility whether for storage or for others to view without the prior written consent of A Word About Wind, other than for the purposes of utilising this Site and the Services, meaning that you may only display it on your computer screen and print it out on your printer for the sole purpose of viewing its content in connection with the Services. 21.2. A Word About Wind reserves the right in accordance with the licences granted to license and republish the material contributed by you. 21.3. No person other than the rightful owner or licensee of any Intellectual Property Rights may: 21.3.1. distribute, modify, transmit, re-use, re-post, or use any or all of the information on this Site for any purpose other than as set out above nor for public or commercial purposes without A Word About Wind’s or the relevant licensee's prior written permission; 21.3.2. provide hypertext links, URL Links, graphic links, hyperlinks or other direct connection for profit or gain to the A Word About Wind Services without A Word About Wind’s or the relevant licensee's prior written permission; 21.3.3. display, publish, copy, print, post or otherwise use the A Word About Wind Site and Services and the information contained therein for the benefit of any other website without A Word About Wind’s or the relevant licensee's prior written permission; 21.3.4. process or otherwise use the information contained on or within the A Word About Wind Services for any illegal or immoral purpose nor use or process the same unfairly. 21.4. You agree and accept that A Word About Wind may publish or otherwise distribute Your Information and you therefore grant to A Word About Wind an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive right and licence without any restriction as to field or purposes of use, to publish Your Information and all content contained therein on or within the Site, on any other media whatsoever and in its own advertising and promotion. 21.5. You therefore hereby undertake to A Word About Wind to indemnify and hold harmless A Word About Wind in full and defend at its own expense A Word About Wind against all claims, liabilities, costs and losses whatsoever and howsoever incurred by A Word About Wind its servants or nominees arising out of any claim made against it in any jurisdiction in the world for infringement of any Intellectual Property Rights of any third party caused by your use of the Site and Your Information. 21.6. A Word About Wind, awordaboutwind.com, the awordaboutwind.com logo and the A Word About Wind logo are trade names or trademarks of A Word About Wind, the use of which is forbidden by any other persons without the express permission of A Word About Wind. 21.7. A Word About Wind makes no warranty or representation in respect of any other trade mark or trading name, symbol or device, all of which are hereby acknowledged. If you have any questions in relation to the use of any marks contained within the A Word About Wind Services please contact A Word About Wind at the contact address in clause 1. 22. Third Party Advertising and Links to Third Party Sites 22.1. There may be third party advertising posted on the Sites from time to time which may contain links to Third Party Sites. You acknowledge and accept that A Word About Wind does not exercise any review or editorial control over the content of such third party advertising whatsoever. Accordingly, A Word About Wind’s liability and responsibility for the content of such third party advertising on the Site and any damage it may cause is hereby disclaimed and excluded to the maximum extent permitted by law. 22.2. Where A Word About Wind provides hyperlinks to a Third Party Site, A Word About Wind shall not take any responsibility for nor does it make any warranties, representations or undertakings about the content of such site and A Word About Wind does not endorse or approve the content of such Third Party Sites. If you decide to use any link to a Third Party Site you leave the Site and you do so at your own risk. 22.3. Links to Third Party Sites in the third party advertising or otherwise on the Site do not imply that: 22.3.1. A Word About Wind is affiliated or associated with the owners of such Third Party Sites; 22.3.2. A Word About Wind is legally authorised to use any trade mark, trade name, logo or copyright symbol displayed in or accessible through the Third Party Sites; or 22.3.3. any linked Third Party Site is authorised to use any trade mark, trade name, logo or copyright of A Word About Wind. 22.4. From time to time, third parties may sponsor or otherwise advertise at Events that are delivered by A Word About Wind. A Word About Wind shall not take any responsibility for nor does it make any warranties, representations or undertakings about the content of such advertisements and such sponsorship or advertisement does not mean A Word About Wind endorses or approves the content or services of such sponsors or advertisers. 23. Intellectual Property Infringement 23.1. Contributors might share messages and information that they have electronically copied from other sources. As there are many thousands of possible sources spread out across the Internet, ranging from newspapers to scientific journals to bulletin boards, it is impossible for A Word About Wind to know if a posting or other content contribution infringes a third party's Intellectual Property Rights and to what degree. 23.2. If you believe that your Intellectual Property Rights have been infringed, it is your obligation to notify A Word About Wind immediately. A Word About Wind accepts no liability for the infringement of any Intellectual Property Right or any infringement of a third party's Intellectual Property Rights by any of its Members though A Word About Wind will endeavour to protect any rights owner through reasonably appropriate action should any infringement come to light. 24. General 24.1. Assignment Users and Members shall not be entitled to assign, transfer, charge or licence the whole or any part of its rights and/or obligations under these Terms and Conditions without the prior written consent of A Word About Wind. 24.2. Sub-contracting A Word About Wind may engage any person, firm or company as its sub-contractor to perform any of its obligations. 24.3. Relationship Nothing in these Terms and Conditions shall be deemed to create a partnership or joint venture or contract of employment of any kind between the parties nor shall it be deemed to grant any authority not expressly set out in the Agreement or create any agency between the parties. 24.4. Entire agreement Other than in any relevant provisions, notices or other conditions published elsewhere on the Sites, each party confirms that these Terms and Conditions set out the entire agreement and understanding between the parties and that it supersedes all previous agreements, arrangements and understandings between them relating to the subject matter of the A Word About Wind Site and Services. The User or Member as the case may be confirms that it has not relied upon any statement, representation or understanding that is not an express term and shall not have any remedy in respect of any statement, representation or understanding which is not an express term unless made fraudulently. 24.5.. 24.6.. 24.7. these Terms and Conditions immediately on written notice. 24.8. Rights of Third Parties Nothing in these Terms and Conditions shall create or confer any rights or other benefits whether pursuant to the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 or otherwise in favour of any person other than the parties to these Terms and Conditions. 24.9.. 24.10. Miscellaneous The rights and remedies of the parties under this Agreement are cumulative and in addition to any rights and remedies provided by law. Any variation to this Agreement must be in writing and agreed by the parties. This Agreement may be executed in counterpart. 24.11. Governing Law These Terms and Conditions shall be governed in all respects by English law as if the contract was wholly entered into and wholly performed within England. The parties hereby submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

Islam Is Repackaged Polytheism: Documentation Syriac Influence On The Style Of The Kur'an (From John Rylands Library Bulletin, Manchester, 1927, volume 11, pages 77-98) Other Articles by Dr. Alponse Mingana page 77 Syriac Influence On The Style Of The Kur'an. By Alphonse Mingana, D.D. THE time has surely come to subject the text of the Kur'an to the same criticism as that to which we subject the Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jewish Bible, and the Greek of the Christian Scriptures. Apart from some stray comparative remarks by a few eminent scholars, the only comprehensively critical work on the subject is still that of Nöldeke, printed in 1860. It is to be regretted that in the new edition of Nöldeke's classical work undertaken by Schwally and Bergsträsser - which contains most useful references to an astounding number of Arabic printed books and MSS. - the editors have not seen fit to multiply the critical and comparative remarks on the sacred text itself. Much useful information can also be gathered from another classical study of Nöldeke : the Neue Beiträge. A very recent study on the historical narratives of the Kur'an has lately been written by J. Horovitz1. The section dealing with proper names (pp. 85-155) is a hill of erudition, but I think that in some places he has built too much on the Muslim tradition and on the so-called pre-Islamic or early Arabian poetry. Setting aside as irrelevant the South Arabian and other inscriptions - I believe that we have not a single Arabic page on which we can lay our hands with safety and say that it is pre-Islamic, and I hold with Margoliouth2 that all the edifice of pre-Islamic poetry is shaky and unstable, and that the Kur'an is the first genuine Arabic book that we possess. It is in place here to repeat what I wrote on this subject in 1920:3 "Before the seventh century we are not in a position to know how the Arabic poetry was constituted. The numerous poetical 1Koranische Untersuchungen, 1926. 2The Origins of Arabic Poetry in J.R.A.S., 1925. 415 - 449. 3Odes and Psalms of Solomon, ii. 125. page 78 compositions known as "early Arabian poetry," and represented chiefly by the well-known Mufaddaliyat, Mu'allakat, and Jamharah are enveloped in a thick mist of prehistoricity and spuriousness, and in the present state of our knowledge we may assert that till fuller light dawns they can hardly stand in the domain of a positive study." As we believe the Kur'an to be the first Arabic book4, its author had to contend with immense difficulties. He had to adapt new words and new expressions to fresh ideas, in a language that was not yet fixed by any grammar or lexicography. The risk of not being understood did probably deter him from coining many new words. The best policy was to use for his new idea of Islam the words which were understood by his hearers and found in a language akin to his that had become an ecclesiastical and religious language centuries before his birth and the adherents of which were surrounding him in all directions in highly organised communities, bishoprics and monasteries. This is the reason why the style of the Kur'an is so unlike that of any other classical Arabic book. In this respect the author of the Kur'an has certainly much merit and originality, and his linguistic difficulties were much more formidable that those experienced for instance by Paul and by the first Christian evangelists who had to express their new ideas in the language of Homer. The language of Homer had a fine literature behind it, the language of the Kur'an had not. As the first Christian writers have left in their lucubrations stylistic peculiarities which clearly point to their country of origin, which was not the old Athens but the Syrian Hellenistic Palestine,. Among modern scholars who have treated of the question of the foreign words found in the Kur'an mention should here be made of 4The Kur'an itself testifies to this with emphasis in xlvi. 8; lxviii 37; lii.41; lxii.2; xxxiv. 43; xxxv.38; xxxvii. 156. page 79 Fraenkel, De Vocabulis in ant. Arab. carm. et in Corano peregrinis, 1880, and Dvorak, Ueber die Fremdwörter im Koran, in the publications of the Vienna Academy, Bd. 1099 1885. If I do not refer more often to these two scholars it is simply because I am loath to multiply footnotes without great necessity; but it is hardly necessary to state that I do not always consider all their conclusions as irrefragable; this applies more specially to the second work. Some good information may also be gathered here and there from A. Siddiki's Studien über die Persischen Fremdwörter im Klass. Arabisch, 1919. So far as the Muslim authors are concerned the number of those who treated of stray Kur'anic words of foreign origin is indeed considerable, and there is no need to mention them here by name. Among those who attempted to collect such words in a more or less systematic way we will refer to the short poetical pieces of Taj ud-Din b. Subki and abul-Fadl b. Hajar. Both of them, however, have been easily eclipsed by Jalil ad-Din Suyuti - the best Kur'anic critic of Islam - who devoted to the subject a special chapter of his well- known Itkan5 , and wrote on it a short and precise treatise entitled Mutawakkili6. We must remark, however, that the very restricted knowledge which all the Muslim authors had of the other Semitic languages besides Arabic often renders their conclusions very unreliable and misleading, and the critic should use great caution in handling their books, which at best are only good as historical preambles to the subject under consideration. I am convinced that a thorough study of the text of the Kur'an independently of Muslim commentators would yield a great harvest of fresh information. The only qualifications needed is that the critic should be armed with a good knowledge of Syriac, Hebrew, and Ethiopic. In my opinion, however, Syriac is much more useful than Hebrew and Ethiopic as the former language seems to have a much more pronounced influence on the style of the Kur'an. The only Hebrew textual influence I was able to discover bore on the Biblical Hebraisms already found in the Syriac Peshitta. We are also apt to exaggerate in our Kur'anic studies the legendary Biblical element that emanates from Jewish folk-lore beliefs, and to overlook the fact 5Pages 314-327 of the Calcutta edition of 1856. 6Edited in 1924 by W. Y. Bell in the Nile Mission Press. page 80 that these legends were already found in scores of apocryphal books circulating among the members of the Syrian Churches of South Syria and Arabia. In this connection we may state with some confidence that taking the number 100 as a unit of the foreign influences on the style and terminology of the Kur'an Ethiopic would represent about 5 per cent of the total, Hebrew about 10 per cent the Greco-Roman languages about 10 per cent., Persian about 5 per cent, and Syriac (including Aramaic and Palestinian Syriac) about 70 per cent. In the following pages we propose to discuss very briefly a first list of words bearing on some aspects of this Syriac influence on the linguistic peculiarities of the Kur'an. The list ought to be carefully examined, because if its points are established they will modify to a large extent our Kur'anic conclusions which are mainly derived from Muslim writers the best of whom flourished some two hundred years after the events. The Syriac influence on the phraseology of the Kur'an may be considered under six distinct headings: (a) proper names, (b) religious terms, (c) common words, (d) orthography, (e) construction of sentences, (f) foreign historical references. For the sake of conciseness and in order to save our limited space we shall not add any critical remarks to the words which to us seemed to be self-evident and clear even to the non-expert eye7. We propose to deal with the logical conclusions to be drawn from the present pages at the end of the second list of words which we will publish in the near future. So far as the etymology of the common words is concerned it is of course always difficult to decide with tolerable certainty whether a given Arabic word used in the Kur'an is derived directly from the Syriac, Hebrew, or Ethiopic languages or not derived from any of them at all. There are thousands of concrete lexicographical words that are identical in all the Semitic languages, and no responsible scholar will ever contend that any of them is derived from this or that Semitic language. This applies especially to primitive vocables such as "head" , "hand," etc, etc. Such words belong to the common Semitic stock found in all the Semitic languages. For the words 7We can, however, assure the benevolent reader that no Kur'anic word has been asserted as derived from Syriac, Hebrew, Ethiopic, Greek, Latin or Persian except after deep thought and consideration. page 81 that are not primitive and common to all the Semitic languages but found in some of them only, to the exclusion of others, I have found the following considerations worthy of attention: (a) With all words, whether concrete or abstract, we must consider 1st the grammatical and lexicographical genius of this or that Semitic language and see how the Kur'anic words fit in with it; and 2nd the nearest form presented by the Kur'anic words as compared with the corresponding words found in this or that Semitic language. (b) With exclusively concrete words we must consider the history, and the geography and topography of the land, of this or that Sernitic people, and examine the extent to which the Kur'anic words fall in harmony with them. (c) With exclusively abstract words we must consider which of the Semitic nations first acquired literary civilisation, and which of them by force of circumstances or by its proximity to the Hijaz was more likely to exercise a direct influence on its language in this or that special branch of literature. For a general view of the mutual relations that bind all the Semitic languages together the following works need no special recommendation from me: Wright's Comprehensive Gram. of the Sem. Lang., Brockelmann's Grundriss, Zimmern's Verg. Gram. d. Sem. Sprachen, and the well-known works of Nöldeke on the subject I. Proper Names.. The other Biblical names used in the Jewish sacred Books have the same spelling in Syriac and in Hebrew. The following names need some explanation. SOLOMON and PHARAOH. The Hebrew names are and and with a final he and for Solomon with two vowels ; so the Arabic and (with a final nun) of the Kur'an could only have emanated from the Syriac forms of the two names and (The Ethiopic form of the last name has the vowel i under the pe.) The penultimate aliph of the modern pronunciation page 82 Sulaiman is a later addition of the scribes. We must here remark that the penultimate waw of the Syriac name is also missing in many ancient books, and the name appears as , in MSS. written before the time of Muhammad. See the Brit Mus. Syr. MS. Add., 14, 602 ff., 82a and 84b8. The MS itself is of the end of the sixth or at the latest of the beginning of the seventh Christian century. ISAAC. Here also the Arabic is without doubt derived from the Syriac and not from the Hebrew or (with a yodh)9. ISHMAEL and ISRAEL The same remark applies to Ishmael and Israel. Their Kur'anic equivalents and (with or without hamzah) are exactly the Syriac and or and not the Hebrew and For references to some Arabic inscriptions bearing on the name "Ishmael," see Horovitz, Koranische, p.92, and Hartmann's Arabische Frage, pp. 182, 252 sqq. JACOB. To a certain extent the form of the name of Jacob is also more Syriac than Hebrew: , but in Hebrew with a short patah for the 'é and without a long vowel. The name occurs five times only in the Hebrew Massoretic text with the long vowel and a quiescent 'é as in Arabic and Syriac, and it is very probable that they represent a more modern pronunciation of the name. NOAH. The Hebrew is somewhat remote and the Arabic is exactly the Syriac and the Ethiopic . ZACHARIAH. Here also the Arabic is the Syriac with an alaph and not its Hebrew form with a 'hé, or the Ethiopic Zakarias (taken from the Greek). MARY. Note the difference in the first vowel of the word; Arabic and Syriac Mar but the Massoretic text Mir. It should be observed, however, that according to the Massorah to the Targum of Onkelos 84b10 on Exod. xv 20, Maryam was also the Targumic pronunciation. In Ethiopic both syllables are long; Maryam. There is not a single Biblical name with an exclusively Hebrew 8Pp. 709 and 714 in Wright's catalogue. On the gods Shalman and Solomon see Clay, The Empire of Amonrites, pp. 91, 156, and Meyer, Die Israeliten, p. 295. 9See Fraenkel, Z.A., xv., 394 10Edit. Berliner, 1875. page 83 which in Hebrew precedes the above proper name; and it would have been much more natural that their Arabic form should have been for instance Yasma'il, and Yashak with a ya' than 'Isma'il and 'Ishak with an aliph, - forms which have been used by the Syrians in order to retain as much as possible the original pronunciation of the Hebrews, inasmuch as the letter of the 3rd per. sing. of the aorist is in their language a num and not a yodh as in Arabic and Hebrew. Another very remarkable fact emerging from all the above words is their pronunciation. I am at present engaged in the study of the early history of Christianity in Arabia as a sequel to my Early Spread of Christianity in Central Asia, and Early Spread of Christianity in India, published in 1925 and 1926 respectively. From that study it will be seen that the majority of the Christians round about Hijaz and South Syria belonged to the Jacobite community and not to that of the Nestorians. This was the state of affairs even in the middle of the ninth Christian century in which a well-informed Muslim apologist, 'Ali b. Rabban at-Tabari, was able to write: "What (Christians) are found among the Arabs except a sprinkling of Jacobites and Melchites11.". The Graeco-Roman world is seemingly represented by two names only: that of the prophet Jonas who figures as yunus, and that of the prophet Elijah whose name is written Ilyas, and once as Ilyasin (sic) for the sake of the rhyme (xxxvii. 130). It is highly probable, however, that these two names were borne by Christian Syrians and that they were taken direct from them; indeed many men of the Jacobite 11Kitab ad-Din wad-Daulah, p. 157 of my translation. page 84 Nestorian, Melchite, and Maronite Syrians had from the third Christian century names either completely Greek or with a pronounced Greek termination only. The number of such men literally amounts to thousands. As an illustration of the final sin we may remark here that many Syrians were called Yohannis for Yohanna, John, Mattaeus for Mattai, Matthew, Thomas for Thoma, Thomas etc. That the view we have here exposed is the only right one is borne out by the fact that in Palestinian Syriac the form of the two names is Ilyas12 and Yunus13, as in the Kur'an. In Ethiopic both names appear also as Ilyas and Yunus, but from the Syriac vocable (dhu-n) nun, "(he of the) fish," by which the Kur'an names Jonah (xxi, 87), it is more probable to suppose that he got his name also from the Syrians. By applying the Syriac method of proper names we will be able to throw light on some strange forms of names used in the Kur'an. To express "John" the Kur'an of our days has the strange form Yahya. I believe, with Margoliouth14, that the name is almost certainly the Syriac Yohannan. In the early and undotted Kur'ans the word stood as which could be read Yohanna, Yohannan, or Yahya, and the Muslim kurri' who knew no other language besides Arabic adopted the erroneous form Yahya. I am absolutely unable to agree with Lidzbarski15 that this curious name is an old Arabic one.. See fol. 84b of the Brit. Mus. Syr. MS. Add., 14, 602, which is of the end of the sixth, or at the latest of the beginning of the seventh century16. The Mandean pronunciation A 'Iso17, is of no avail as the guttural 'é has in Mandaic the simple pronunciation of a hamzah. The Mandean pronunciation is rather reminiscent of 'Iso, 12Palestinian Syriac Lectionary, p. 289 (edit. Mrs. Lewis and Mrs. Gibson). 13Ibid, p.24. 14Moslem World, 1925, p.343. 15Johannesbuch ii., 73: cf. also Nöldeke in Z.A., xxx, 158 sq. 16P.714 in Wright's Catalogue. 17Nöldeke's Mand. Gram., xxix and 55; Lidzbarski. Mand. Liturgien, 191. page 85 as the name of Jesus was written in the Marcionite Gospel used by the Syrians18. II. Religious Terms. Almost all the religious terms found in the Kur'an are derived from Syriac In this category we will include such terms as: from priest (lii., 29; lxix., 42). from the Christ (iii., 40 and passim). from Christian priest19 (v., 85). (in the sense of) last judgement from (i., 3, etc) from scribes (lxxx, 115) from parable20 (in an evangelical sense: frequently used). from salvation20 (ii., 50 and passim) from error, infidelity (ii. 257 passim). from perceptor20 , doctor (iii., 73; v.48 and 68). from sacrifice (iii. 179 and passim). from resurrection (frequently used). from Kingdom of Heaven (vi. 75 and passim). from the Garden i.e. Heaven (frequently used). from angel, frequently used in the sing. and plural. from the Spirit of Holiness (Holy Spirit) xvi, 104). from the spiritual soul (frequently used). 18Mitchell's St. Ephraim's Prose Refutation of Mani, Marcion, and Bardaisan, vols. i-ii., 1912-21 (as in index), and see my study on same in J.R.A.S., 1922, p. 530. 19It is in place here to remark that the Syriac word Kashshish was used as a proper name by many Ghassanid Arabs of South Syria. See "Mar Kashshih, the Arab," in Brit. Mus. Syr. MS. Add, 14, 458, p.48, in Wright's Catalogue. The MS. was copied before the death of Muhammad. 20Many worthless conjectures have been put forward concerning this word by Muslim commentators who knew no other Semitic language besides Arabic. page 86 from to glorify God (xlviii., 9). from sign, verse (frequently used). from (ancient Nestorian pronunciation Allaha) God. The pre-Islamic word for deity seems to be represented by the form Ilah. from he prayed, and its derivative from prayer. from he fasted, and its derivative from , fast. from he sinned, and its derivative from , sin. from he denied the faith. from sacrifice (xxxvii., 107). from to reveal oneself (said of God), vii., 139. from he glorified God, and all its derivatives. from he glorified God (ii., 28). from crime (iv., 2). from blessed be! beatitude (xiii., 28). This dependence of the Kur'an upon Syriac religious terms is also visible in the theological expressions, such as light upon light (= light from light), of xxiv., 35 (where from ), and in all semi-Biblical quotations or inspirations, such as the story of the camel and the eye of the needle (vii., 39), where like in Matt. xix, 24, and the idea of God causing to die and to live (liii., 45), where and , like and in 1 Sam. ii., 6, where the Hebrew is in the second form. The same applies to Biblical events and facts, such as (vii., 130 ; xxix., 13), flood, from and from to crucify, as applied to Christ (iv., 156). As such we will also count , manna, from 21 (ii., 54; viii 160; xx., 82), , quail, from - (ibid.), tribes, from . Another category of verbal Syriacisms is to be found in the literally translated Syriac words; as such we will 21It could not have been taken from Hebrew because of its mention with Salwa. set Fraenkel, De Vocabulis, p.24. With this scholar I am in perfect agreement concerning some other words in this section. page 87 count the frequently used , Apostle, from , and, , Word (of God) from (iv., 1691 et passim). I believe that in the above list the words, the Syriac origin of which could be denied, are very few. The list could be increased by scores of other words, but the above vocables are sufficient for the purpose of this first list. The only Kur'anic religious terms that betray Hebraic influence are the two technical terms of taurat - Torah, and Tabut, "ark"22 (ii., 49; xx., 39). The same may to some extent be said of the late Aramaic , Jahannam, "hell," which lacks a mim in classical Syriac. The word Mathani, in xv., 87 and xxxix., 24, is obscure, and its connection with the technical word mishnah is quite possible but not certain. On the other hand, habr, "doctor", is both Syriac and Hebrew, with a slight change in the meaning. The Jewish influence on the religious vocabulary of the Kur'an is indeed negligible. In spite of the close and intimate relations that existed between Hijaz and Abyssinia, relations that were strengthened (if we are to believe the Muslim historians on this subject) by the fact that the early Muslims took refuge with Najashi, the King of Abyssinia, the only Ethiopic religious influence on the style of the Kur'an is in the word hawariyun, "Apostles" It is also possible that the word suhuf "leaves, sheets," may have been inspired by the corresponding Ethiopic word. Here also we must remark, as we did in the case of the Kur'anic proper names, that the pronunciation of the above Syriac religious terms is that in use among the Nestorians and not the Jacobites. The latter say furkon and not furkan, Kurbon and not Kurban, Kashish and not Kashshish (with a shaddah), etc. III. Common Words. There are words in the Kur'an which are somewhat uncommon in Arabic but quite common in Syriac. As such we will count: 22The word Surah is of unknown origin, and its right etymology is in our judgment still obscure. page 88 from (Kur'an), a technical Syriac word to mean scriptural lesson, or reading23. from numbering (vi., 96; xviii., 38 ; lv., 4). from faithful (v., 52; lix., 25). from fish (xxi., 87). from mountain (xx., 82 and passim). from he defeated, destroyed (xxv., 41 and passim). from hater (cviii., 3; cf. also v., 3, 11). (in the sense of) creation from (xcviii, 5-6). from to cause to possess (liii., 49). from grace (xix., 14). (in the sense of) metropolis, from (vi., 92, etc.). abb, from ibba or abba, "fruit" (lxxx., 31). misk, from mushk, "musk" (lxxxiii., 26). [The word is possibly of Persian origin, but it passed into Syriac.] makalid, from kelid, "key" (xxxix, 63; xlii., 10). [The word is of Persian origin, but it passed into the Kur'an through Syriac. The proof is in the letter Kaf] istabrak, from istabarg, "silk brocade" (lxxvi., 21). [The word appears to be of doubtful origin, but it passed into the Kur'an through Syriac.]24 Many of the above words are wholly Syriac and no amount of lexicographical and grammatical subtlety will, in our judgment, succeed in Arabicising nun, Tur, or muhaimin, etc. I believe also with 23There is not much doubt in my mind that the word Kuran is imitated from the Syriac Kiryan. All the Biblical lessons to be read in the Churches are called by the Syrians Kiryans. The Prophet called simply his book by the word that was used to name the pericopes of the Revelation in the Christian Churches of his day. We should also remember that in the oldest MSS. a the Kur'an the word is simply written 24So Fraenkel, De vocabulis, 25, who refers to Lagarde's Gesammelte Abhandlungen, 13. So also Siddiki, Studien, 8. page 89 Fraenkel (ibid., p. 250) that the word in vi., 25, etc., is the Syriac writing, archives, any written thing." The meaning of "legends, stories ," given to the word by the Muslim commentators, is arbitrary, a device to give a sense to a sentence that they could not understand, and is not warranted either by the etymological meaning of the root, or by its comparison with the other Semitic languages25. Another Syriac word in the Kur'an is compassionate, from , and the recently discovered Book of the Himyarites25 shows that the word was used in Yaman before the time of the Prophet. The Palestinian form of Syriac is represented in the Kur'an by the word , a just man and its derivatives. In Classical Syriac the first letter is a Zain, but in Hebrew a Sadhe. The Graeco-Roman world is indirectly represented by the three following words which refer to the State technicalities of currency, weight, and measure; (iii, 36), denarius, (xi, 20), drachm, and , Kintar, (iii., 68, etc.). These are of no importance, and it is highly probable that dinar and Kintar have passed into the Kur'an through the intermediary of the Syriac and . This has actually taken place with (vi., 7 and 91), which has almost certainly passed into the Kur'an through the Syriac . The Same may possibly be said of (xvi, 37; xxvi., 182), balance, measure, The spelling , however, is nearer to the Arabic form with a final sin than the corresponding Syriac ; on the other hand what about the first Kaf which is decidedly Syriac? The word, however, represents a technical term of weight as used in the Near and Middle East, and the editor of the Kur'an wrote it as it was pronounced in his day probably by the Palestinian Syrians. Can the same be said of sundus, from , red coloured cloth? (xviii., 30), etc. We believe it to be quite possible that the word 'iblis, "the evil one," is derived from diabolus, through a confusion of the initial dal with an aliph by an early kari, or the first editor of the Kur'an This is not absolutely impossible with some ancient forms of the above two letters. The connection of the word with the verb balasa is artificial, and, if accepted, would throw us into a non-Arabic and an altogether 25Cf Nöldeke-Schwally, Ges. d. Qor., i., 16, and especially the references given by Horovitz, Kor, Unters., p.70, to the South Arabian inscriptions. 26P.10 of the text (edit. A. Moberg). page 90 non-Semitic form of substantives which would baffle a critic. Still more remarkable is the frequently used word Jinns, which is closely associated with the Latin genii; and equally remarkable are the words pen, which is reminiscent of , calamus, and the word (xxi., 104), which is undoubtedly taken from , sigillum, through the Syriac . The words used to express precious stones such as marjan (lv., 22), and yakut (lv., 58), are cosmopolitan, and may have been taken either from Syriac or from Greek, but more probably from Syriac. As an instance of the curious relation which often exists between the Semitic languages, we may remark that it is possible that saut (lxxxix., 12) - if it can be taken in the sense of "outpour, flood"- has some connection with the Ethiopic sota27. The Commentators, however, give to the word the sense of "lashes, strokes of a whip" from the Syriac (Nestorian) Shauta. Perhaps the word may also be compared with the Syriac Shubta (Nestorian pronunciation: Shuta), "molten metal." Another instance of the curious results that arise from a linguistic comparison of the Semitic languages with one another is to be found in the root fataha (xxvi., 118; xxxii., 28) which seems to require in the context the sense of "to judge between, judgment"; a meaning that the word possesses in Ethiopic 28. As in the case of religious terms the list of Arabic common words represented in, or derived from, Syriac, could be increased literally by scores of others. No other language is represented in the Kur'an. Here as in the two previous categories the pronunciation of all the above Syriac words is Nestorian and not Jacobite. IV. ORTHOGRAPHY. There are numerous words in the Kur'an which by their orthography betray Syriac influence. The following grammatical features will be sufficient for our purpose. 27Barth, Etymologische Studien, 14; Horovitz, Koranische, 13. 28Cf.Horovitz, Koranische, 18; Nöldeke-Schwally, Geschichte, I., 219. page 91 (a) life from ,prayer, from etc. (b) The elimination of the aliph of prolongation, answering to the Syriac vowel Zakapha, ex. Gr. daughters, for , under the influence of the Syriac . All such plural words are written with out aliph in the ancient MSS. of the Kur'an. (c) The retention of the ya in the defective verbs when joined to pronouns, ex. gr. (xvi, 122), he chose him, for (Syriac ). The ya' as a substitute for the aliph is written in all the ancient MSS. of the Kur'an in the cases under consideration, and is undoubtedly under Syriac influence. (d) We all know that in the oldest MSS. of the Kur'an thick dots take the place of the short (and occasionally of the long) vowels I believe that these dots are almost certainly derived from the Syriac Massoretic puhhames or nukze which fill the same purpose in difficult or ambiguous words. V. CONSTRUCTION OF SENTENCES. (a) There is a sentence in which the use of denotes a well-known Syriac expression by means of the corresponding , an expression absolutely foreign to the Arabic language. Surah, xi, 121 says : which translated literally means: All we relate to thee from the Stories of the Apostles is to confirm thy heart thereby. This kull betrays the Syriac kull used in phrases with the above Kur'anic meaning and construction, ex. gr.29 . To explain away the difficulty the Commentators resort to absolutely useless compromises: Tabari (Tafsir, xii., 87) says that the basriyun think that kull is in the accusative because it is a masdar to nakussu, (a queer masdar!), but he prefers the opinion that the word is an idafah, which is obviously inaccurate. The same thing may be said of Zamakhshari's opinion (Kashshaf, p.637) that the word nab' is understood after kull. The same is asserted by Nisiburi (Ghara'ib, xii., 90) and by Baidawi (Anwar, i., 582), edit. Bulak, 1296, A.H.). That the resort to idafah is a worthless compromise is borne out by 29Breviarium Chaldaicum, i., 383. page 92 the fact (a) that there is no second term of idafah, (b) that the aliph and tanwin of kull render the existence of any idafah almost out of the question. (b) There is a sentence in which the demonstrative pronouns are used immediately after the personal pronouns, in the same way as they are used in Syriac but not in Arabic Surah ii., 79 has: . Then are you the very persons who kill yourselves. The use of hawilila is here very peculiar and denotes the Syriac halain. The use of demonstrative pronouns without the relative pronouns, when followed by a verb the action of which they tend to corroborate, is Syriac and not Arabic Zamakhshari (Kashshaf p. 87) has no good reason to offer for the anomaly. Baidawi (Anwar, i., 95) evades the difficulty by giving an example of a demonstrative pronoun (anta dhaka), which is obviously irrelevant. Tabari (Tafsir, I., 314) quotes Abu Ja'far, to the effect that a vocative ya or such word as kaum are understood after antum, and refers to some other devices which are really useless. Nisaburi (Ghara'ib i., p. 328) believes that antum is a "mubtada," and "hawila' " its 'khabar," by inserting between the two some such words as ba'da dhalika, and quotes also the Kufiyun to the effect that the demonstrative pronoun has replaced here the relative in a way that they cannot understand. (c) There is a sentence in which the word , something, is under the influence of the Syriac , something, used in a meaning not sanctioned by the genius of the Arabic language. Surah lx., 11 says: . And if any of your wives escape from you to the unbelievers. I believe that the word shai' applied to a human being is not Arabic at all, and betrays the Syriac middaim which is applied to reasonable beings . This shai' is an unsurmountable difficulty to the commentators who resort in it to worthless compromises. To avoid the difficulty bn Mas'ud (in Zamakhshari's Kashshaf p. 1475) changed shai page 93 into ahad, Baidawi (Anwar, ii., 516) believes that it refers to the dowry of the wives (shai'un min muhurihinna), which is obviously against the context. Tabari (xxviii., 49) evades the difficulty and speaks only of the dowry. Nisaburi (Ghara'ib, xxviii, 45) says that shai' means here ahad but like Baidawi makes also mention of the fact that it may refer to the dowry of the wives, and he finally registers the opinion of some linguists that shai' is here used for "emphasis" or "derision". This uncommon interpretation is also found in Zamakhshari and Baidawi (in loc.). (d) There are in the Kur'an many sentences in which the Arabic word used does not fit in with the meaning required by the context, but when compared with its Syriac equivalent its right meaning becomes clear; ex. gr.. Surah xlvii, 12, says (But you believed that the Apostle and the believers would not come back to their families, and this appeared pleasing in your hearts), and you believed wrongly and you were ill advised people. The word bur has been translated as meaning "worthless, rogue" or "an undone people" which does not suit the context. Is it not the transliteration of the Syriac bur which means "ignorant, ill advised"? The same meaning seems also to be more suitable in xxv. 19. In Surah xxxviii, 2, occurs the sentence . And they cried but no time was it of escape. Let us admit frankly that this lat is a barbarous anomaly in the Arabic language, and scores of pages have been written about it by Muslim commentators and grammarians without advancing our knowledge one iota. I believe that it is almost certainly the Syriac , there is not, there was not, a contraction of . This is also the opinion of Suyub (Mutawakkili, p.54) and of some other Muslim writers30. In many ancient MSS. of the Kur'an the word is spelt or , and the aliph of prolongation has been added or substituted for the ya' by later kurra. 30On the expression haita la-ka, "come hither," in xii., 23, see Suyuti', Mutawakkili, 54, and Itkan, 325. He believes the phrase to be Syriac, which is perfectly true so far as la-ka is concerned. page 94 as they have done for thousands of other words with a medial ya'. see above the mark (c) in section "orthography" (p. 91). VI. Foreign Historical References. (a) In Surah xviii., 82 sqq., there is an account of the well-known legend of Alexander the Great. The Macedonian conqueror first went westwards and found the sun setting in a black muddy spring, and then he journeyed eastwards and discovered that below the two mountains between which he was standing lived people who could scarcely understand speech. They implored Alexander to set a rampart between them and a wicked people called Yajuj and Majuj. Yielding to their entreaties Alexander erected a wall of pig iron across the opening between the two mountains, fused it into a solid mass of metal, and strengthened it by pouring molten brass over the whole. The Romance of Alexander is found in many languages; in Greek (that of Pseudo-Callisthenes about A.D. 200); in Latin (that of Julerius Valerius about A.D. 340 and of Leo the Archpresbyter, eleventh century); in Armenian (unknown date, but probably from the Greek); in Syriac (written about the beginning of the seventh, but known at the beginning of the sixth century); in Ethiopic (unknown date, but centuries after the Arab invasion); in Coptic (about the ninth century). Later versions include the Persian, the Turkish and, mirabile dictu, the Malay and the Siamese. The best study of the Romance is to our knowledge that of Nöldeke31, who wrote after the publication of the Syriac text of the story by Budge32. From the works of Jacob of Serug we know, however, that the story was well known in Syriac circles prior to A.D. 520. Of all the above peoples to whom the Romance was known in one form or another the only ones that could have influenced the Kur'an were the Syrians and the Ethiopians; but since we have no evidence that the Ethiopians knew anything of the story in the Prophet's 31Beiträge zur Gesch. des Alexanderromans in the Vienna Academy's publications of 1890. 32The History of Alexander the Great, 1889. page 95 lifetime33, we have only the Syrians left from whom the Prophet, or the editor of the Kur'an, could have derived their information. This may be corroborated by the following considerations: 10. All the early versions write the word "Gog" only as Gog while the Kur'an writes it as Agog34 or more generally ya-gog (with an aliph or with a ya' and an aliph at the beginning). In a poem by Jacob of Serug written towards the beginning of the sixth Christian century on the Romance of Alexander and Gog and Magog, the word constantly occurs with an initial alaph as A-gog35. This Syriac spelling has probably influenced the Arabic form of the word as used in the Kur'an. There is even a verse in the Syriac text (ibid., p. 378) in which the author seems to derive A-gog from Agoga = , "stream, aqueduct". 20. In the Greek of Pseudo-Callisthenes Alexander is a pagan king. In the Kur'an Alexander becomes a pious man and a messenger of Allah. This idea could have emanated only from Syrians, with whom, I do not know for what reason, the Macedonian jahan-gusha had become a messenger and a prophet of God. All the poem of Jacob of Serug mentioned above is based on such an assumption36. (b) In Surah xxii., 17, occurs the word , Magians. I believe that this word is from Syriac 37 and that the Prophet or the editor of the Kur'an had heard of Magians only from Syrians and not from Greeks, Persians, or any other people, because curiously enough the word is meant in the Kur'anic text to be in the plural form from an hypothetical singular the nature of which we cannot guess with certitude. Now in Syriac, contrary to Greek and Persian, the form 33The Ethiopic story published by Budge in 1896 under the title of The Life and Exploits of Alexander the Great is clearly a post-Islamic production and is undoubtedly under the influence of the Kur'an and of late Muslim writers. 34See examples in Nöldeke's Geschichte des Qorans, p.270. 35Edit of Budge in Zeitsch. f. Assyriologie, vi., pp.376, 382, 389, 391, 393, 398, 400-401 and 403. 36About Alexander's wall see the Chronicle of Dionysius of Tellmahre, p.24 sq. (of the text, edit. Chabot). 37Cf. Nöldeke, Persische Studien, ii., 37. page 96 of the word does not change in its consonants when passing from singular into plural, and the Prophet or the editor of the Kur'an used the term in the plural of Syriac and not that of Arabic, as they heard it pronounced in their time. This difficulty was so keenly felt by post-Kur'anic Muslim authors that from the plural form of the word as used in the Kur'an they created (as if it was a gentilic and ethnic vocable) a singular form, . Etymologically the Syriac word itself is derived from the Persian mugh (in Zend Moghu), "a fire-worshipper." (c) The Christians are called in the Kur'an which I take to be from the Syriac . Indeed there is no other language besides Syriac in which the word "Christians" is expressed by the word "nassra" 38Pat. Syr., ii., 792, 818 and 867. 39Ibid., ii,, 799. Cf. J. Horovitz, ibid., p. 145. 40Acta Martyrum et Sanctorum (edit. Bedjan), ii., 576. 41Land's Anecdota Syriaca, iii., 258. 42See the index of Hoffmann's edition, Julianos der Abtruennige, p. xiv. page 97 by non-Christians nasraye (the nasara of the Kur'an), and that the Prophet took the word from the Syrians. (d) In xi., 46 mention is made of the fact that the ark of Noah stood on a mountain called . Few scholars will be inclined to deny the fact that this queer word is the Syriac , the mountain on which according to the Peshitta Version (Gen. viii, 4) and the Targum (contrary to all the other versions of the Bible which call the mountain Ararat) the ark of Noah stood above water. The Prophet or the editor of the Kur'an had heard, therefore, the story of Noah and his flood only from Syrians. The reading of a waw for a ra' (the difference between the two letters is very slight in Arabic script) may be ascribed to an early kari or to the editor of the Kur'an himself. The pronunciation of the initial Kaf as Gaf is used even in our days by almost all the Arabs of the desert, with whom every Kaf is invariably a gaf. No other explanation of the word Judi seems to me worth mentioning. (e) Frequent use is made in the Kur'an of the word which I take to be derived from the Syriac pagan. This is also the opinion of some Muslim writers themselves43. In its singular form the word is used as follows: in ii., 129; iii.,89; vi.,79 and 162; xvi., 121 and 124, all in connection with Abraham being a hanif and not a mushrik; in iii., 60 in connection with Abraham being neither a Jew nor a Christian, nor a mushrik, but a hanif. In iv., 124 Abraham is a hanif. In x., 105 and xxx., 29 the Prophet himself is ordered to be a hanif. In its plural form the word is used in xxii., 32, where the faithful are ordered to be hanifs but not mushriks, and in xcviii., 4, where they are ordered to be hanifs and pray and give alms. The Syriac derivation of the word offers to my mind no difficulty at all. The real difficulty lies in the fact that the word is used in a good sense in the Kur'an wherein it is almost synonymous with 43Mas'udi's Tanbih, in Bibl. Georg. Arab. (edit. De Goeje), viji., 6, 90, 122,136, cf Encyclopaedia of Islam, ii., 259-261. page 98 "Muslim." To this difficulty I can offer no decisive solution, but I will tentatively propose the following considerations: 10. On the one hand the Prophet must have heard many Christians say of him that since he was neither a Jew nor a Christian he was by necessity a hanfa; on the other hand he must have also heard from them that Abraham was likewise a hanfa: a perfectly true assertion. By its association with the great Patriarch Abraham, revered and respected by both Christians and Jews, the word hanfa came to acquire with Muhammad a good and praiseworthy meaning. This is the reason why the Prophet is at some pains to emphasise the fact that Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but a hanfa, and wishes also his own religion to be hanfutha. 20. To express "idolatry," and "idolater" the Kur'an uses some forms of the root skaraka, which mean "to associate". Now this "association" is always meant an association or a partnership of other beings with Allah, the true God, and never with any pagan deity, and this in spite of the fact that to express "idols" the Kur'an knows of authan (xxii., 31; xxix, 16 and 24), asnam (passim) and tamathil (xxi, 53; xxxiv., 12). This bad meaning of the root skaraka is naturally held to be as unworthy of Muhammad as it is of Abraham, and this is the reason why so much stress is laid on the fact that Abraham was not a muskrik. No solution of the difficulty offered by Muslim commentators or historians is worth mentioning. All their stories concerning a class of hanifs and the good works of the so-called tahannuf appear to me to be unhistorical and purposely invented to explain the difficulty created by the Kur'anic verses under consideration. (f) In xxx., 10 the word Rum is used to express the Byzantines, the Greeks of Constantinople, the "New Rome" . Whatever our views may be as to the linguistic peculiarities of the word we are not at liberty to deny that it is derived from the Syriac Rumaya. Indeed the Syrians went so far in their application of the word to Byzantines that they often called simple" soldiers" Rumaye44 as if the only soldiers they knew were Byzantine soldiers. 44See the remark of Wright in Chronicle of Joshua the Stylite, p .30. Source: John Rylands Library Bulletin, Manchester, 1927, volume 11, pages 77-98. Go To Start:

Chapter VIII Other Opportunities, Resources Facilities and Benefits Outstanding Professor Awards The Academic Senate of California State University, Los Angeles established the Outstanding Professor Awards Program in 1963 in the belief that unusually competent performance and excellence in teaching should be encouraged, rewarded, and publicly acknowledged. The awards are based upon excellence in teaching, scholarship, research, and professional achievement. Recipients of the Outstanding Professor Awards are selected by a faculty committee, assisted by the Alumni Association and the Associated Students. The committee seeks nominations from members of the faculty, students, and alumni. Student perceptions play an important role in the process. The following policies and procedures govern the selection of award winners. The Outstanding Professor Awards Program and President's Distinguished Professor Award (Senate: 5/2/63, 1/12/67, 10/25/77, 7/9/80, 8/12/80, 5/24/88, 11/25/97; President: 5/14/63, 1/23/67, 11/10/77, 7/28/80, 8/18/80, 8/11/88, 12/17/97) Outstanding professional performance, which must include excellence in teaching, should be encouraged, rewarded, and publicly acknowledged by a program of official awards. This program is designated the "Outstanding Professor Awards Program." While these awards are to be made primarily for excellence of teaching, significant achievements are expected in scholarly inquiry or creativity, in professional activities, and in service to the campus and community. All full-time faculty members are eligible for nominations for such awards. Nominations are accepted from three sources: - Alumni Association. The Awards Selection Committee requests the Board of Directors of the Alumni Association to notify annually all members of the Alumni Association regarding the awards and to invite nominations. A nomination form is available from the Board. This form indicates that while these awards are to be made primarily for excellence of teaching, significant achievements are expected in scholarly inquiry or creativity, in professional activities, and in service to the campus and community. The form also selection committee announces the awards program on campus and accepts nominations from either previously or currently enrolled students on an appropriate form similar to that provided for in the section above. - Faculty Members. The current year's selection committee notifies all faculty members of the awards program and, through a form similar to that provided for above, invites nominations for the awards. All nominations are to be transmitted to the current year's selection committee. The Selection Committee is assembled annually and is composed of: - Five faculty members selected by the Academic Senate, through its normal procedures, who are subject to the provisions of the section titled "Policy for Committees That Make Awards to Individual Faculty Members." - One representative from the Alumni Association. - The President of the Associated Students or designee. The same person shall serve through the completion of the Committee's deliberations. - The Outstanding Professor Awards Selection official personnel file if no objection to such placement is registered by the nominee.* The file shall be made available to all members of the Selection Outstanding Professor Awards Selection Committee. These vitae shall be available to the entire committee. - - The Committee may seek additional information, for example, by surveying current and former students and consulting qualified persons in the nominee's field about the nominee's scholarship and professional achievements. All information gleaned from the nominee's official file shall be held in strict confidence by the Selection Committee. - - Consideration of nominees will be limited to a three-year period including the year of their most recent nomination. The type and number of the awards will be determined annually by the Selection Committee, with the provision that no more than four awards be conferred in any given year. A recipient of the award shall not be eligible for a future Outstanding Professor Award at this University. - - Procedures for selecting nominees for the President's Distinguished Professor award shall be identical to those of the university award, particularly with respect to authorization for access to official files. Only past recipients of the Outstanding Professor Award who are continuing full-time faculty and who have not received the President's Distinguished Professor Award are eligible for the President's Distinguished Professor Award, if they authorize access to their official file. - ___________ - *Where an objection is raised, the objecting faculty member shall by written request authorize the Senate Office to keep the material in a special Senate Office file, accessible to those members of the Selection Committee who have access to official personnel files, for the duration of that nomination. Inactive file materials shall be returned to the sender(s). Outstanding Lecturer Award (Senate: 5/26/09; President: 6/16/09) The Outstanding Lecturer Award is given to one non-tenure track faculty member annually. I. Eligibility The Outstanding Lecturer Award recognizes excellence in teaching effectiveness and service to the California State University, Los Angeles campus community. Nominees may teach at the graduate and/or undergraduate level and must have taught at CSULA at least two quarters per year for six consecutive years. An individual may receive the award only once. II. Criteria The principal criterion for receiving this award will be a record of outstanding teaching as evidenced by: Summaries of Student Opinion Surveys and copies of appropriate comments. Observations of teaching, including a copy of the official report. Improvement of course content, structure, and methods of teaching, including integration of areas of expertise into instruction. Currency in the field, which may include attendance at conferences, workshops, seminars and lectures; clinical/professional experiences and achievements; publications; and presentations. In addition, service to the CSULA campus community may be considered. Such service may be evidenced by: 1. Commitment to students, which may include: accessibility to students, including student advisement. mentoring students regarding career and graduate school consideration including writing letters of recommendation. 2. Contributions beyond teaching, which may include: engaging in service to the campus and/or profession that benefits students. service to the campus or profession that demonstrates leadership and initiative. service on University, college and/or department/division/school committees or projects that provide a meaningful benefit to the campus. scholarship, performances or creative activities. III. The Outstanding Lecturer Award Selection Committee The Outstanding Professor Awards Selection Committee shall be charged with the selection of the Outstanding Lecturer Award recipient. IV. Nominating Procedures for the Outstanding Lecturer Award The Outstanding Professor Awards Selection Committee notifies all college deans about the award annually and requests one nomination from each college. Nominations for the Outstanding Lecturer Award will be accepted from three sources: Students. The dean announces the awards program in the college and accepts nominations from either previously or currently enrolled students. Faculty. The dean notifies all faculty members of the awards program and invites nominations for the awards. Department/Division Chairs and School Coordinators. The dean notifies all department/division chairs and school coordinators of the awards program and invites nominations for the awards. Self-nominations will not be accepted. The nominator should determine that the nominee agrees to be nominated, prior to submitting an up-to-500 word nomination letter stating the reasons for nominating the faculty member and describing the accomplishments of the nominee. Nominees who accept the nomination for the Outstanding Lecturer Award will submit a dossier documenting evidence of outstanding teaching performance. The nomination letter and nominee dossier are to be submitted to the appropriate dean's office. Each college shall determine the process for selecting the dean's nominee. All nomination materials for the selected nominee will be forwarded to the current year's selection committee. V. Timeline The Outstanding Lecturer Award shall follow the same timeline as the Outstanding Professor Award at CSULA. External Awards Nominating Committee - (Senate: 10/26/99, 4/10/01; President: 12/15/99, 6/19/01; Editorial Amendment: 9/00, 11/07) - - The External Awards Nominating Committee shall nominate faculty members for awards which are external to the University and for which there is a University or Presidential nomination. It makes selections according to the rules of the individual agency. Such awards are the Wang Family Excellence Award, the Carnegie Foundation/Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and others. - - Nominations are accepted from five sources: - - Alumni Association. The Board of Directors of the Alumni Association is invited to notify annually all members of the Alumni Association regarding the awards and to invite nominations. A nomination form is available from the Academic Senate Office. The form nominating committee announces the award program on campus and accepts nominations from either previously or currently enrolled students on an appropriate form similar to that provided for in the section above. - - Faculty Members. The current year's nominating committee notifies all faculty members of the award program and, through a form similar to that provided for above, invites nominations for the awards. Self nominations are acceptable. All nominations are to be transmitted to the current year's nominating committee. - - Administrators. Campus administrators may nominate through a form similar to that provided for above. - - Staff. Campus staff may nominate through a form similar to that provided for above. - - The Nominating Committee is assembled annually and is composed of: one member from each college elected annually according to procedures approved by a majority vote of the college faculty. Alternate members shall also be elected by these procedures. Faculty members in the Library and Student Affairs are considered the same as a college for this purpose. - - The President of the Associated Students, Inc., or designee. The same person shall serve through the completion of the Committee's deliberations. - - Members of the Nominating Committee may not serve on the committee again until two years have elapsed. - - Eligibility. All probationary and tenured faculty are eligible. Faculty members nominated for the award must have participated successfully in a campus peer-academic administrative review process such as the reappointment, tenure, and promotion or faculty merit award of teaching, research or scholarship grant processes, and the like. These reviews must have occurred within the past three academic years. Consideration of nominees will be limited to the year in which the faculty member was nominated. Upon receipt of an award, the faculty member will not be eligible in subsequent years. All others are eligible in subsequent years. Nominating Committee members are not eligible for the award in the year they serve on the committee. - - Selection Process. The External Awards Nominating working personnel action file if no objection to such placement is registered by the nominee.* The file shall be made available to all members of the Nominating External Awards Nominating Committee. These vitae shall be available to the entire committee. - - - ___________ - *Where an objection is raised, the objecting faculty member shall by written request authorize the Senate Office to keep the material in a special Senate Office file, accessible to those members of the Nominating Committee who have access to official personnel files, for the duration of that nomination. Inactive file materials shall be returned to the sender(s). - The Committee may seek additional information, for example, by surveying current and former students and consulting qualified persons in the nominee's field about the nominee's scholarship and professional achievements. All information obtained from the nominee's official file shall be held in strict confidence by the Nominating Committee. Patent Policy (Senate: 4/15/97, 4/28/98; President: 5/21/98) I. Preamble - California State University, Los Angeles, is dedicated to teaching, research, and the transfer of knowledge to the public. The University recognizes as a major objective the need to encourage efforts which result in the development of new and useful devices and processes. Such activities promote the general welfare of the public, provide additional educational opportunities for students, contribute to the professional development of the individuals involved, and enhance the reputation of the University. - - Inventions often come about because of activities of University faculty, staff and other employees, aided wholly or in part through use of facilities and resources of the University. It becomes significant, therefore, to ensure the utilization of such inventions for the public good and to expedite their development and marketing. The rights and privileges, as well as the incentive, of the inventors must be preserved so that their abilities and those of other members of the University community may be further encouraged and stimulated. - - The foregoing considered, the University does hereby establish the following policy with respect to inventions and their subsequent potential patentability and marketability. This policy applies to all University employees and to students who may produce inventions as a result of activity where University facilities or resources are used. II. Patents, Generally - A patent is a grant issued by the U.S. government which gives the patent holder the right to exclude all others from making, using, or selling the invention within the United States and its territories and possessions for a period of 20 years from the date of application for the patent (14 years for plant patents). An extension of up to five years may be granted. When a patent application is filed, the U.S. Patent Office reviews it to ascertain if the invention is new, useful, and non-obvious and, if appropriate, grants a patent. This process may take up to five years to complete, in some instances. - - Not all inventions are patentable. The general criteria of patentability include: - The invention is not obvious to a worker with ordinary skill in the art to which the subject matter of the patent application pertains; - - The invention is not known to and has not been used by others in the U.S. before its invention by the patent applicant; - - The invention has not been patented or described in a printed publication, in the U.S. or abroad, prior to its invention by the patent applicant; - - The invention has not been patented or described in a printed publication, nor is in public use or on sale in the U.S., for more than one year prior to the patent application date; - - The patent applicant is the inventor of the invention sought to be patented. III. Definitions - Except where otherwise specified, the definitions set forth in this section shall apply to this policy. The applicability of these definitions shall not be affected by the use of upper or lower case letters. - - "Committee" is the University Invention and Patent Evaluation Committee. The Committee's membership shall consist of two faculty members chosen by the Academic Senate, two members appointed by the President, and the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research. - - "Dean" is the University Dean of Graduate Studies and Research. - - "Income" includes but is not limited to fees, profits, royalties, and any other income derived from the use, exploitation, transfer, license, or sale of a patented invention by the University, its employees, or its students, or their respective successors in interest. - - "Invention" is that subject matter which is or may be sought to be patented by the University, its employees, or its students, or their respective successors in interest. "Invention" includes but is not limited to inventions, designs, processes, and plants. - - "Inventor" is the person or any one of the persons who has created or designed an invention or, if any inventor is deceased, the successor(s) in interest who would otherwise have the right to apply for a patent for that invention. - - "President" is the President of the University or his/her designee. - - "Significant use or assistance of University resources" is any use or assistance of University resources in the creation of an invention which is important in facilitating that creation. - - "Student" includes but is not limited to any person who is currently enrolled in any academic course offered by the University or in conjunction with the University. - - "University" is the California State University, Los Angeles. - - "University employee" includes but is not limited to any person who is currently in the employ of the University, or who is currently acting for or on behalf of the University as a volunteer. - - "University resources" includes but is not limited to facilities, materials, tools, and funds owned by the University, in whole or in part. "University resources" also includes but is not limited to the time of a University employee or student while he/she is acting in his/her capacity as a University employee or student, or time that is funded in whole or in part by the University. IV. Ownership of Inventions - a. University Ownership - All inventions made with the significant use or assistance of University resources are the property of the University. The University shall have the sole discretion and right to transfer or waive all or part of its ownership interest in such inventions, in a manner consistent with federal and state law and this policy. A University employee or student who has secured a patent that, under this policy, is the property of the University, shall transfer and assign to the University all interest he/she possesses in that patent and assist the University in securing its interest in the patent, upon demand by the President. A University employee or student who has applied for a patent that, under this policy, would be the property of the University, shall withdraw the application upon demand by the President. - - b. Other Ownership - An invention made without the significant use or assistance of University resources shall be the property of the person(s) who invented it. - - c. Determination of Ownership - (i) Within two (2) months of the creation of an invention or publication of description of the invention in a printed publication by an inventor who is a University employee and/or student and prior to the filing of a patent application, the inventor(s) shall report the invention to the Dean. The report shall be made on an Invention Disclosure Form, and shall name the inventor(s) and shall describe in detail the invention, the manner and circumstances related to its creation (including whether it was the product of student academic work), any subsequent related activities, and other related facts. The Dean shall present the report to the Committee. - (ii) Based on information contained in the Invention Disclosure Form and on any other sources of information available to it (including any challenge to the accuracy of the information in the Invention Disclosure Form by another person), the Committee shall issue a written decision whether the invention was made with or without the significant use or assistance of University resources. This decision shall be issued within two (2) months of receipt of the Invention Disclosure Form by the Dean, and shall be given to the President and the inventor(s). The Committee shall not be responsible for determining the patentability of the invention. - (iii) If the Committee determines that the invention was made with significant use or assistance of University resources, the Committee shall include in its decision a determination as to what person(s) should be credited as the inventor(s), and the percentage of contribution of each inventor. If the invention was the product of student academic work, the Committee shall not credit a student's instructor as an inventor unless it concludes that the invention as described in the Invention Disclosure Form would not have been developed without the contribution of the instructor. V. Patent Application - a. Application by University - (i) If, under Section IVc (ii), the Committee issues a decision that an invention was made with the significant use or assistance of University resources, the President shall determine whether the invention is patentable and whether the University should file a patent application. This determination shall be made within two (2) months of the date the Committee issues its written decision. The President may engage the services of any other person in making this determination. The President will notify the Inventor(s) and the Dean of his/her decision within this two month limit. - (ii) If the President determines that the University should file a patent application, he/she shall take all steps necessary to ensure the timely and proper filing of the application. The President may engage the services of any other person in filing the application. The University shall bear any fees and costs associated with researching, applying for, and securing the patent, subject to the provisions of Section VII. - (iii) If the President determines that the University should not file a patent application, he/she shall notify the inventor(s) in writing of this decision. The notification shall include a statement that the University relinquishes and assigns to the inventor(s) any and all rights the University may possess in the invention. - - b. Application by Inventors - (i) If, under Section IVc (ii), the Committee issues a decision that an invention was made without the significant use or assistance of University resources, that decision shall include a statement that the University relinquishes and assigns to the inventor(s) any and all rights the University may possess in the invention. - (ii) Upon notification of relinquishment of the University's interests, if any, in the invention, the inventor(s) shall have the right to apply for a patent for the invention. In the event of a dispute as to ownership of the patent rights between one or more purported inventors following such relinquishment, the University shall not support or oppose the claim of any purported inventor. The University shall not be responsible for any costs associated with the inventor(s)' pursuit of a patent. VI. Sponsored Research - a. University Rights - The University may enter into a sponsored project agreement with a University employee for, but not limited to, projects sponsored by the federal government, state government, private foundations, and private industries. Unless precluded by law or by the sponsor, any such agreement shall stipulate that inventions made during the course of the agreement shall be the property of the University. Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding sentence, the President may, upon a written conclusion by him/her that special circumstances exist, waive, assign, or share the University's patent rights under the sponsored project agreement. - - b. Prevention of Interference - Except as otherwise provided in the sponsored project agreement, the University shall make all possible efforts to prevent interference by a sponsor with the University’s or the inventor(s)' right to publish research results concerning the invention. The sponsored project agreement may include a provision permitting the sponsor to review proprietary information for a specified period of time prior to publication of such research results. VII. Patent Income - a. Patent Secured by University - Income from a patent secured by the University shall be apportioned as follows: - (i) Income pertaining to a particular invention shall first be dedicated to reimbursing the University for all costs and fees incurred under Section V(a)(ii). - (ii) After the University has been reimbursed for all costs and fees incurred under Section V(a)(ii), sixty percent (60%) of the income pertaining to a particular invention shall apportioned among the inventor(s) of that invention; and 40% shall be apportioned the University. - There are no restrictions on the use of either the Inventor's or University’s share of the income. However, serious consideration will be given by the University to using its share to promote further research at California State University, Los Angeles. - (iii) For purposes of this Section, a patent "secured" by the University includes the patent rights to an invention that the University has used, exploited, transferred, licensed, or sold. - - b. Patent Secured by Inventors - The University shall take no position or role in determining apportionment of income among multiple inventors where the University has not secured the patent. Job-Related And Career Development Program For Faculty - (Senate: 2/11/76, 8/7/84; President: 4/13/76, 8/21/84; Editorial Amendment: 9/00, 9/01) - - Full-time faculty members and less than full-time tenured faculty are permitted to enroll in a maximum of two courses or six units per quarter, whichever is greater, at the University with a waiver of fees. The library and coaching faculty shall be provided reasonable release time for one on campus course per quarter with a waiver of fees provided the operation and program needs of their department/division/school are met in an orderly and normal manner. Faculty members must meet the following conditions: - 1. The courses must be job-related or deal with career development. - (a) "Job-related" is defined as any course of study that will help faculty members improve their instructional performance; such courses might cover teaching methodology or new knowledge to accommodate their research interests or the interests of their students, including the relationships of their subject fields to others. - (b) "Career Development" is defined as any course of study that will relate to future career opportunities and assignments within CSU. - 2. Faculty members must submit written justification of their proposed course(s) of study to their department/division chairs or school directors for approval; beyond the department/division/school level, approval by the dean of their college and the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs is required. - 3. In the event that the appropriate course(s) is not available locally, the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs will facilitate the faculty member's enrollment at another CSU campus. - 4. CSU admission requirements shall not apply to job-related courses. Normally, CSU admission requirements shall be met for career development courses, but these may be waived by the appropriate administrator. - 5. The faculty member must in addition complete the appropriate forms for the Division of Human Resources Management. - 6. An evaluation of the faculty member's performance in courses taken under the fee-waiver program shall be made at the close of each term. A record of completed courses may be placed in the faculty member's personnel file. Unsatisfactory performance according to the rules of graduate grading in the courses or lack of progress toward the goals of an individual career development plan may be cause for denying approval for further participation in the program. - 7. No course taken on the fee-waiver program may conflict with either scheduled classes or office hours. Retirement Plans - (EA: 5/1/13) - - All new full-time faculty members are required to become members of the Public Employees Retirement System.* Members of PERS are required to contribute approximately five percent of their gross pay. The money contributed is placed in an individual account and draws interest at a rate established by the PERS Board of Administration.** - - In addition to membership in PERS, faculty members also are required to contribute to OASDI (Social Security). - - Minimum retirement age is 50 if CALPERS member prior to January 15, 2011 and 52 if CALPERS member on or after January 1, 2013. Eligibility for retirement requires at least five years of full-time service credit. Retirement income is based upon the number of years of service credit, the age at retirement, and; 1) one year highest compensation if hired prior to January 15, 2011, or 2) 36-month average compensation during a three-year period if hired on or after January 15, 2011, or 3) highest average salary over 36 consecutive months subject to annual salary cap of $113,700. - - Applications for retirement, instructions and other relevant information are available on-line at CALPERS.CA.GOV. - - *Part-time faculty who are appointed half-time or more for a third consecutive quarter will have retirement contributions deducted with the beginning of their third quarter appointment. - **If a member leaves before retirement age, his or her contributions may be left on deposit. Retired Faculty - Emeritus Status - (Senate: 5/2/63, 11/22/77, 7/14/81, 3/3/87, 7/12/94, 11/28/00, 2/19/02, 2/12/08, 3/4/08; President: 5/14/63, 7/27/78, 7/22/81, 10/4/88, 8/22/94, 2/8/01, 3/21/02, 3/26/08, 4/2/08; Editorial Amendment: 9/00, 8/01) - - The University appreciates the past services of its retired faculty and encourages their participation in the life of the University community. In this spirit, it extends to all faculty retirees the following courtesies: access to and guidance concerning pertinent retirement benefits information; library privileges; inclusion in the campus telephone and internet based directories (unless declined); notification of all important developments or changes affecting their interests or relations with the University or with the State University system; invitations to participate in all commencements, public ceremonies, and convocations on the same basis as active faculty members; and invitations to participate in appropriate seminars, colloquia, lectures, and other scholarly meetings, both as contributors and as audience. - Emeritus Status - Upon the recommendation of the candidate's department/division/school and college dean and with the approval of the President, emeritus status may be granted to a tenured faculty member who has resigned/retired after a minimum of ten (10) years of distinguished service at California State University, Los Angeles. - - Faculty granted Emeritus status shall enjoy all the courtesies accorded retired faculty plus the following benefits: inclusion at the head of the corresponding department's/division's/school's faculty list, as well as in the consolidated Emeriti list in the General Catalog; recommendation for life membership in the Alumni Association; a special identification card; receipt by mail of copies of the University Reports, Calendar of Events, and similar informational publications (unless declined); selective invitation to participate in campus councils as consultants, where appropriate and legal; free admission to musical, dramatic, athletic and other University performances; access to electronic communication and information as long as they are legally and fiscally feasible; faculty library borrowing privileges; access to campus rooms and facilities for meetings and reunions of Emeriti; and a faculty parking permit and office space on a space available basis. - - Criteria. It is expected that a faculty member will have at least ten uninterrupted years of distinguished service at California State University, Los Angeles prior to resignation/retirement in order to qualify as a candidate for Emeritus status, although exceptions may be made for faculty with fewer years of service who have made outstanding contributions. The successful candidate for Emeritus status will have maintained an instructional and professional profile that demonstrates a high level of achievement. In addition, the candidate is expected to have made significant contributions to the University. - - Approval. All tenured faculty who resign/retire and who request Emeritus status must be considered for it by the appropriate departmental/divisional/school committee and the college dean. The procedure for consideration of Emeritus status may be initiated by either the faculty member or the faculty member's department/division/school, preferably two quarters before the effective date of retirement/resignation. To be considered for Emeritus status resigning/retiring faculty members must submit an updated curriculum vitae, and are strongly encouraged to submit a photograph, and brief biography. Departments/divisions/ - schools are expected to forward their recommendations on Emeritus status in a timely manner (preferably one quarter prior to the effective resignation/retirement date but not later than the second quarter following resignation/retirement). The recommendations of the department/division/school committee and the college dean shall be forwarded in a timely manner to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and the President along with the candidates' personnel files for final consideration and approval. The President will inform the faculty member of the final decision. California State University, Los Angeles Foundation - The California State University, Los Angeles Foundation is a nonprofit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law and is officially recognized by the Federal government as a tax-exempt 501 (c)3 and 170 (c)2 entity. - - The Foundation exists to foster, encourage, and promote scientific, literary, educational and charitable purposes of California State University, Los Angeles (CSLA); to promote a greater and better understanding in the community of CSLA's proper role, its policies and affairs, and its development needs; and to provide financial assistance by allocations, gifts, loans and other means to CSLA,. Cal State L.A. University Auxiliary Services, Inc. - As a recognized auxiliary organization in the California State University system, the Cal State L.A. University Auxiliary Services, Inc. is a nonprofit, public benefit corporation. The purpose of the UAS is to help develop and administer those activities which aid and supplement the educational mission of the California State University, Los Angeles. Working together, the University and Cal State L.A. University Auxiliary Services, Inc. are partners in an endeavor to insure Cal State L.A.'s continued success. The two entities, while separate organizations, are essential to this success. - - The UAS, through funds generated from its operations, greatly enhances University resources. The UAS serves the University in the following major areas: - To administrate other than state supported funds and provide support services not provided by the state. - To enhance and provide commercial services that meet the wants and needs of the University community in terms of quality, economy, and accessibility. - To administrate grants and contracts to comply with the various agencies' regulations and support the development of funding opportunities for research, creative and scholarly activities, training, and public service. - To utilize financial resources for University community projects and programs to enhance and enrich the quality of University life. -. - - University Auxiliary Services, Inc. exists to serve the California State University, Los Angeles community. Tax-Sheltered Annuities - (EA: 5/1/13) - - The California State University offers a tax-sheltered annuity program under section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code. The program offers the employee an opportunity to agree to a reduction in salary; the amount of the reduction is then paid to an insurance company for the purchase of an annuity. Employees participating in this program avoid having to pay income tax on that portion of the salary which is deferred, thereby shifting the income from a period of high earnings and high taxes to the post-retirement period, when earnings are likely to be reduced with a corresponding reduction in federal tax obligation. Additional information is available in the Office of Human Resources Management or employees may go to for more information. State of California Deferred Compensation Plan - (EA: 5/1/13) - - This plan, similar to the Tax-Sheltered Annuity Program, is administered by the Department of General Services Insurance Office under section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code. It offers a choice of four plans and investment companies. - - Faculty may enroll at any time during the year, with deductions beginning on the first of the month following the election to enroll. Enrollment information may be found at. Credit Union - (EA: 5/1/13) - - Faculty members of the University are eligible for membership in the California State University, Los Angeles Federal Credit Union. Shares may be purchased in the credit union through monthly payroll deductions or by direct payment. Loans are also available under the policies established for loans by the Credit Union Committee. Applications for loans are available in the Credit Union Office. Payroll Deductions - (EA: 5/1/13) - - Monthly parking fees and charitable contributions to United Way and to the University's Annual Fund Drive may be made through payroll deductions. The Parking and Transportation Center (located in parking lot B) administers the payroll deduction process for parking fees. - - All cancellations of deductions for organization dues and all insurance plan premiums, other than basic health insurance plans, must be effected by writing directly to the organization or company concerned. Payroll deductions for basic health insurance plans may be canceled by completing the appropriate documents in the Office of Human Resources Management. Payroll deductions for membership dues in an employee organization will be made only for those organizations certified as exclusive representatives for bargaining units. Additionally, payroll deductions for insurance and benefit programs will be made only for those programs sponsored by an employee organization certified as an exclusive representative for a unit. Payroll deductions will continue for insurance and benefit programs sponsored by the State of California and the Office of the Chancellor. Library Cubicles - (EA: 4/10/13) - - There are a limited number of cubicles available to faculty and graduate students who meet the criteria for Library cubicles. Assignments are made quarterly for up to three quarters based on availability. Applications for use of these cubicles may be picked up at the Circulation Desk, first floor, Library North or downloaded from the Library website. Recreational Facilities - Activity areas and locker room facilities are available for faculty use through the reservation system operated by the program in Intramural and Recreational Sports, a function of the Department of Kinesiology and Nutritional Science. The following facilities are available during specified times when not in use for scheduled classes or programs: the main gymnasium (P.E. 126), upper gymnasium balconies (P.E. 213, 214), swimming pools (large and small), twelve tennis courts, six handball and racquetball courts, outdoor basketball and volleyball courts, soccer field, utility field, track, and weight training facility. - - For specific information regarding costs, times, and procedures, contact the Department of Kinesiology and Nutritional Science. Health Services - (EA: 5/1/13) - - In addition to the primary charge of providing outpatient medical services for the care of acute and sub-acute conditions to regularly enrolled students, the Student Health Center provides emergency first aid to faculty, staff and campus visitors. This care is provided for conditions immediately endangering life and health or for the alleviation of pain and suffering. - - The physicians, nurses, and clerical staff are united in their desire to offer quality medical services to all patients, and hope that staff and faculty will understand and assist in their compliance with the legal restraints governing who may and may not receive medical care and under what conditions. - - In case of a medical emergency or accident, please dial 911 for assistance. In addition to a police safety officer, a medical team will respond, and treatment will be rendered and/or a paramedic unit called. Insurance Plans - (EA: 5/1/13) - - Basic and major medical health insurance along with dental and optical coverages are available to all full-time faculty members and qualifying or otherwise eligible part-time faculty.* - - Newly appointed faculty members may enroll in any or all of the above programs prior to the sixtieth day of employment, with coverage for the health plan (only) effective on the first of the month following the submission of the signed and dated enrollment form to Human Resources Management. - - Life insurance and Long Term Disability insurance plans are offered as employer paid benefits. Life insurance consists of a term life, $50,000 group policy. The enrollment process is automatic and effective the second day of active employment. Long Term Disability insurance is an employer paid plan designed to guarantee a level of income if you, the faculty member, become unable to work due to a disability. The plan will pay up to 66 2/3 % of the employee's earnings provisionally, the waiting period is six months and the effective date of coverage is the first day of active employment. Preexisting conditions are not covered unless the following conditions are met: the employee has been continuously insured under Group Policy for at least twelve months and the employee has been actively at work for at least one full day after the twelve months of continuous insurance coverage. - ___________ - *Part-time faculty who are appointed half-time or more for a minimum of two quarters have 60 days from the date of hire to enroll in health and dental coverage. - - Complete information about all of the CSU's benefits programs may be found at. - Workers' Compensation - (EA: 5/1/13) - - All faculty members are provided Workers' Compensation benefits for work-related injuries and illnesses. Work-related injuries and illnesses should be reported immediately to the faculty member's department/division/school and the Office of Human Resources Management not later than 24 hours after the injury or illness becomes known. - - The staff at the Health Center, during the hours it is open, will provide an initial examination and administer first aid for minor cuts. If further treatment is indicated, the Center will refer the faculty member to an appropriate medical facility for treatment. If additional treatment is required and the faculty member desires to obtain medical services through a doctor or clinic of their choice, after thirty days, arrangements must be made through the Office of Human Resources Management. - - A faculty member has the right to designate a personal physician for purposes of medical treatment. However, all arrangements for designating a personal physician must have been completed prior to the date of the work-related injury or illness. Contact the Office of Human Resources Management, Workers' Compensation Unit, to obtain further information about this treatment option. - - If a work-related disability requires a faculty member to be away from employment, Temporary Disability (TD) payments will be paid beginning on the fourth day following the date of the injury or illness unless the faculty member is hospitalized, or if you must stay off work for more than 14 days, in which case benefits begin the day following the injury or illness. Accumulated sick leave will be used to supplement TD payments in order to provide a full salary while disabled, unless the Office of Human Resources Management is notified in writing that the faculty member does not wish to use sick leave for this purpose. - - Faculty members who are participants in the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) or in the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) are eligible for benefits under the Industrial Disability Leave (IDL) program. In most cases, the IDL program will provide better income protection for eligible faculty members. - - Eligible faculty members may choose between Workers' Compensation Temporary Disability payments and Industrial Disability Leave payments. The Workers' Compensation Coordinator, Office of Human Resources Management is available to assist in determining which program would be most beneficial. Nonindustrial Disability Insurance - (EA: 5/1/13) - - Nonindustrial Disability Insurance (NDI) is an employer-paid benefit administered by the Employment Development Department (EDD) for State University employees. NDI provides up to 26 weeks of benefits to eligible faculty members who are unable to work due to illness or injury which is not work related. The benefit amount is $125.00 per week. To be eligible an employee must at a minimum: - Be a current contributing member of the Public Employees' Retirement System or the State Teachers' Retirement System. - Be a full-time permanent or probationary employee or appointed half-time or more for one academic year or more and in compensated employment on or after January 1, 1979. - Have exhausted all sick leave. - Serve a seven consecutive calendar day waiting period, unless hospitalized. - A more detailed explanation of the NDI program and its benefits, along with claim forms, may be obtained by contacting the Office of Human Resources Management. Women's Resource Center - (Senate: 8/5/75, 8/11/76; President: 8/6/75, 11/2/76; Editorial Amendment: 9/99, 9/03) - - The Women's Resource Center has been established at California State University, Los Angeles for the purpose of providing a locus for information, communication, and personal association relevant to anyone concerned with the interests of women students, faculty and staff members, and of others who may wish to apply for admission to the University after clarifying their educational objectives. - - The functions of the Women's Resource Center include the development of services to implement these purposes by means of the collection and maintenance of informational materials, the provision of forums for communication, and the maintenance of a place for personal association, as these may serve the interests of women. Facilities, activities, and services of the Center are available to men. - - Administration of the Center. The administration of the center is the responsibility of a executive director reporting to the Vice President for Student Affairs. In addition, an Advisory Committee serves for regular consultation by the coordinator. - - The Advisory Committee has the following membership: - 1. The coordinator, who serves ex officio as executive secretary, nonvoting. - 2. Three students appointed annually by the Associated Students Board of Directors. - 3. Two staff members appointed by the President or designee, to serve staggered three-year terms. - 4. Two faculty members elected by the Academic Senate Nominations Committee, to serve staggered three-year terms. - 5. The Dean of Students or designee. - 6. One member of the Alumni Association appointed annually by the Alumni Board of Directors, to serve no more than three consecutive years without a break in appointment. - - The Advisory Committee elects a chair from the voting membership. - - The members of the Advisory Committee, as individuals, are encouraged to participate with the coordinator in implementing policies approved by the appropriate university body. Academic Senate | Faculty Handbook | Chapter 8 TOC | Index Search | Back to Top

3.1 Overview of the Sample The characteristics of the 881 subjects enrolled in the various centres and of the 7017 considered cycles, with their outcomes, are summarised in Tables 2, 3 and 4. The number of subjects and contributed cycles varied markedly between centres and consequently, in order to obtain meaningful fecundability patterns from the analysis, some aggregation of data was made. In most analyses the data from Auckland were kept separate from those of the European centres owing to their specific features mentioned in [2.1] having an impact on the level of fecundability. The average age of women in the study population was close to 29 years and was relatively similar at each centre (Table 2). The proportions of women of proven fertility and of those with past use of hormonal contraception are, however, very different among the centres. For the European centres overall, the percentage of women with at least one previous pregnancy was only 44.6% (range for centres: 30.8 - 73.1) while only 30.1% (range for centres: 11.4 - 56.2) had ever used hormonal contraception in the past (Table 2). For these same centres, Table 3 underlines the high frequency of cases (96.4%) in which, when enough information was available, the described procedure allowed the BBT shift to be determined. However, when at least some information on temperature was recorded, in further 6.1% of the cycles the reference day could not be identified due to missing information on critical days, and in 1.6% due to disturbing illness. The proportion of cycles with determination -in similar conditions- of the mucus reference day is a little lower (94.1), owing to the particularly low percentage of the Paris subgroup. At that centre, in local usage, mucus symptoms are taken into consideration mainly for identification of the beginning of the "fertile" phase. The 575 detected pregnancies listed according to centres in Table 3 include both those continuing at 60 days from the onset of the last menses and the 49 clinically recognised miscarriages of the same period (also listed). The figures of Table 4 -5591 cycles with BBT reference day (Table 4a) and 5928 with mucus reference day (Table 4b) - are linked with a conventional determination of the post-ovulatory phases starting after the respective reference days. They give an impression of a remarkable homogeneity between centres. The length of the phase after the peak mucus day in the various centres parallels similar results obtained in the WHO [World Health Organization 1983] study on the ovulation method. As expected, the length of the preovulatory phase shows a relative variability higher than that of the postovulatory one: e.g., for the European aggregate the coefficient of variation (4.74/16.7) is 25.7% in the first vs. 16.2% in the second. It has to be noted that the two samples - with information on BBT and/or mucus - coincide in a sizeable proportion of cycles (5390 in the combined European group, 232 in Auckland: in the two sets of data both surrogate markers of ovulation were determined in about 80% of the cycles). On average, the peak mucus symptom occurred 0.31 days (S.d. 1.82) before the last low temperature day in the European group (0.30 with S.d. 1.83 when the Auckland data were included). The database can also be used in various forms to study the behaviour of the subjects. Table 5, showing the decline in the frequency of intercourse with the increasing age of each of the partners, provides an example. Three points have to be considered: the number of men above 40 is rather small; in conception cycles only acts of intercourse up to the 29th day of the cycle were counted; for obvious reasons, the data are for European centres only. The trend with age, evaluated through the arithmetic average (preferred to the median for sake of better evidence), and the higher coefficient of variation in non-conception cycles (61.3% vs. 49.7%), both support the reliability of the data collected. The small variations between the male and the female findings reflect differences in the number of subjects in the various classes and on the whole. For female partners, over all age groups, the median number of recorded acts of intercourse (10th, 90th percentiles) is equal to 6 days (3,11) in the conception cycles and to 4 (1,8) in the non-conception cycles. Table 6 lists the distribution of 5390 cycles according to the interval in days between the two markers of ovulation (BBT reference day minus mucus reference day). We know already - from [3.1] - the value of the average distance between those days. There is some translation between the two reference terms, which -though small - can influence the comparative distributions of cycles, and of intercourse episodes and pregnancies allocated to the various days of the respective fecundability window. In the majority (62.4%) of the cycles the two markers are within ± one day and the difference is greater than ± two days in 17% of the cycles. This suggests that estimates of day-specific pregnancy probabilities should not depend greatly on which marker is used for ovulation. However, we cannot rule out possible overestimation of the fertile interval relative to BBT or mucus reference day compared with the width of the fertile interval relative to the true day of ovulation. Although efforts were made to rule out errors in documentation of BBT or cervical mucus, measurement errors can result due to unavoidable biological variability. In future work, such measurement errors could be assessed and corrected using recently developed statistical methodology [Dunson and Weinberg 2000, Dunson et al in press]. 3.2 Fertility Windows: Direct Estimates of Fecundability In order to find windows of fertility - around the BBT or the mucus reference day - to be used for estimates of daily fecundability, an exploratory analysis was made, changing width and location of chosen windows. For each reference marker, it was found that, when no intercourse episodes were ascertained in a 12-day window, no pregnancy was recorded. Eight among the 12 days preceded the day 0 and three came afterwards. Then, direct estimates of daily fecundability were computed inside these windows. In this initial determination, only cycles with a single act of intercourse in a window were selected. The ratio of instances in which the acts of one day resulted in conception to the total number of acts of intercourse of the same day gave, for that day, an estimate of the probability of conception. The results are presented in Table 7 for the combined European centres (top section) and with inclusion of Auckland for all centres (bottom section). The differences in the number of cycles between the bottom and the top grouping give the contribution from Auckland. The two sets of probabilities are very different, particularly when the impact of the Auckland data, in terms of number of conception cycles, is relevant: direct estimates obtained for this site are on the average about double those of the European ones. It is worth mentioning that no one of the almost 350 intercourse episodes of the third day of the high BBT gave rise to a conception. And also that Auckland conforms to the other centres concerning the width of the window, which might be shorter, even when due account is taken of the smaller sample size. A similar exercise was performed, with data only from European centres, with the aim of obtaining more precise fecundability estimates by increasing the number of contributing cycles through use of a smaller window, in which the probability of having single intercourse episodes is increased. Cycles, however, were eliminated from consideration in which, while only a single act of intercourse occurred in the shorter window, conception might have been due (though certainly with a small probability) not to that coital act but to intercourse episodes falling outside the window. From this point of view, were considered relevant, for cycles having intercourse on day -6, the three days -9, -8, -7, reduced to two (-8, -7) for cycles with intercourse on day -5, and to one (-7) in cycles with intercourse on day -4. Similarly, were excluded from the analysis cycles with intercourse on day +2. The elaboration was extended to evaluate a parallel window around the mucus reference day. The results for both analyses are shown in Table 8. In absolute terms, the main differences between the two sets of probability are observed on days -3 and 0. Considering - besides random errors and the small shift in BBT versus mucus - that the two aggregates of cycles are different, the estimates of fecundability, daily and total, appear in good agreement. Worthy of attention is the finding that the peak mucus day is not the one with maximum fecundability. In each aggregate, the four days preceding the reference day are the most relevant for cycle fecundability. 3.3 Estimates through a Model In the presence of multiple acts of intercourse during the fertile interval of a cycle, the probability of conception due to a single act on any day cannot be estimated directly. One has to make use of a model whose computed coefficients may lead to an evaluation of daily fecundability. For this purpose, in the following, estimates of day by day conception probabilities are obtained through the application of the Schwartz model [Schwartz, MacDonald, and Heuchel 1980], summarised in [2.5.1]. This model has been repeatedly used in the literature, and by that it allows comparisons with other experiences. The model estimates of daily fecundability for the European subjects are presented in Table 9, with confidence intervals obtained through the profile maximum likelihood [Clayton and Hills 1993], at the 90% level. The chosen windows are those already seen. The two sets of data have a different composition, but once again they underline in both cases the significance of higher rates in the four days preceding the respective reference day. In Figure 1, the daily estimates relative to each of the two markers of ovulation are presented. These estimates are based on the 5390 cycles from the European centres for which both reference days are available. There is a total of only 386 pregnancies, since for 48 there is information only on the peak mucus day, for 49 only on BBT shift, and nothing in 4 instances. The given confidence intervals are at the 90% level. Several points may be mentioned: a) in the two sets of estimates, though the total number of cycles is the same, the number of those with at least one intercourse episode in the window differs: 2917 for BBT and 2843 for mucus, respectively. This difference will have an effect, though small, on the respective areas under the curve; b) one has to remember the mentioned average distance between the two reference days and its possible effects (see para 7 of [3.1]); c) the estimates based on the mucus symptom conform less well to a bell shaped pattern as observed with the BBT window; d) the dip at day -3 found through the mucus symptom repeats what seen in the data set of Table 9 and also in the direct estimates of Table 8: a point deserving further elaboration. It appears that the BBT reference day may be a slightly better (i.e. less error prone) marker of ovulation day, since the estimates, compared with those around the mucus reference day, are higher on the days of peak fertility (i.e. days -3 to -1) and lower on the days towards the edge of the window. In Table 10 the results for the 12 days BBT window are compared with fecundability estimates reported from five other similar studies. A few notes will clarify the limits of these comparisons. The discrepancies between the different sets of probabilities can be attributed -apart from random errors- to different characteristics of the subjects, to distinct procedures followed in determining the ovulation reference day and to the inclusion or exclusion of early miscarriage in the counted pregnancies. The probabilities reported by Schwartz et al. [Schwartz et al 1979] are direct estimates from single donor artificial inseminations per cycle by donors. The data by Weinberg et al. [Weinberg et al 1998] and by Wilcox et al. [Wilcox, Weinberg, and Baird 1998] come from recruitment from the general population of subjects wanting to achieve a pregnancy. In the other two studies, the information was collected in centres providing services on fertility awareness and natural fertility regulation. Weinberg et al [Weinberg et al 1998] were able to include through assay of hCG very early pregnancies losses, otherwise undetected by clinical diagnoses. In the same set of pregnancies, Wilcox et al. [Wilcox, Weinberg, and Baird 1998] considered only those clinically diagnosed, that is events more similar to those considered in the present aggregate of European centres. In the other studies there were no important differences in the recording of pregnancies. In conception cycles with multiple acts of intercourse in the "fertile" window, Bremme [Bremme 1991] chose to assign pregnancy to the intercourse which occurred closest in time prior to or coinciding with the presumed day of "ovulation": a procedure leading to a bias which increased fecundability rates as the "ovulation" day was approached. For the probabilities computed in Weinberg et al [Weinberg et al 1998] and in Wilcox et al. [Wilcox, Weinberg, and Baird 1998] ovulation day (i.e. day 0) was identified using the decline in the ratio of oestrogen to progesterone metabolites in the urine that accompanies luteinization of the ovarian follicle [Baird et al 1991]. This steroid based marker should be less error-prone than markers on BBT or mucus, but should not deviate systematically from the last day of low temperature used in the other studies, as in the present data base. Apart from Bremme and Schwartz et al [Schwartz et al 1979], the other four sets of estimates were based on the Schwartz model [2.5.1]. Figure 2 shows a graphical comparison of the pattern of conception probabilities in the BBT window for four subgroups (centres or combinations of centres) and for the whole European experience. The results for the Auckland subjects clearly differ from those of the other instances. The other three subgroups consisted of the Verona centre, Milan aggregated with Lugano because of similarity of NFP teaching content and method, and the four remaining European centres combined because of their small sample sizes. The homogeneity of the fecundability data between the three European subsets is striking. The maximum likelihood ratio test of significance of the differences between the three European subsets gives p>0.10. The merging of their records in a unique European group appears reasonable: this will form the basis of all subsequent analyses on the level of fecundability Figures 3, 4 and 5 focus on the link between three covariates pertaining to the female subjects and fecundability in the window around the BBT reference day. The covariates evaluated are: the reproductive history of the woman, by comparing subjects with and without a previous pregnancy (Figure 3); the woman's age, by dividing the subjects into three age groups, 18-24 yrs (103 subjects), 25-34 yrs (596), and 35-39yrs (83; Figure 4); and past use or non use of oral contraception (Figure 5). The difference in the level of fecundability of the women of proven fertility versus the unproven group is very significant (p = 0.014). In the group with unproven fertility, though the subjects obviously believed they were fertile, their number would include some with undiagnosed infertility or sub-fertility as in the general population. Furthermore, at least in one Italian centre, subjects may have been included in the study who were seeking help in achieving a pregnancy after a prolonged experience of failure. No marked differences in fecundability rates were observed in the three age groups (p>0.10), though the sample sizes in the younger and older groups are relatively small. When the subjects were divided into those below and those above the median age (29 years), again no significant difference in fecundability was found between the two groups (p>0.10, data not shown). Similarly, no significant differences (p>0.10) are seen in the daily fecundability when comparisons are made between past use or no previous use of oral contraception. It should be noted, however, that the number of women having used this method of contraception in the three cycles preceding their entry into the study is extremely low (3.0%). Two further results pertaining to the cycles are presented in Figures 6 and 7. Figure 6 is based on the data of Table 6. The whole set of cycles is divided into three groups according to the time difference between the BBT reference day and the peak mucus day: group 1, negative difference (1569 cycles, 29.1% of the total); group 2, difference equal to 0 and 1 days (2553, 47.4%); group 3, greater than 1 day (1268, 23.5%). For each of the three derived sub-sets the Figure shows the pattern of estimated daily conception probabilities. Attention is drawn to the sub-set in which the two reference points (almost) coincide, and therefore should support each other as giving a rather good approximate indication on the time of ovulation. The pattern of conception probabilities appears very concentrated, falling after a continuous rise extending over five days, with a maximum at day -2, approaching zero at both extremes (see also Wilcox et al. [Wilcox, Weinberg, and Baird 1998]). The pattern is somewhat similar in group 3, though more elevated at beginning of the ascending part and then falling abruptly on day zero, remaining then at this level. When the peak mucus day occurs after the BBT reference day (group 1) the probability pattern is very irregular with two maxima (on day -3 and day 0). The difference between the three sets of probabilities is very significant (p=0.020). Figure 7 illustrates the pattern of daily fecundability for two different subsets of cycles, one with the window around the BBT shift (3175 cycles with at least one intercourse in the window, 434 pregnancies) and the other with the window around the mucus reference day (3265 cycles, 435 pregnancies). The two subsets are each further divided according to the length of the conventional follicular phase of the cycles, <16 days and > = 16 days The very different shape of the two derived patterns of fecundability is highly significant (p=0.003 for BBT, p<0.001 for mucus). The differences in probability levels on, say, day -4 depending on the said length is very strong. Evidently the distance -4 does not have the same meaning for all cycles: as does the distance at day zero, though with inverse relationship in the probabilities of the two subsets. The evidence is the same for both BBT and mucus which tends to exclude systematic errors in the identification of the reference days as an explanation. There is a biological foundation for such a result or does this serve as a hint to consider more stable the positioning of ovulation in the cycle and more variable that of the conventional surrogate indicators?

Pages - About - Articles - Media - ‘World Tour’ Photos - Fat City - Music - Photos - Video - Recipes - Love, Money and Pigs - Busy Busy Busy! - “Neekeri!” - What’s Your Ministry? - In my opinion: The Impact of Mass Media - A World Citizen’s Viewpoint - In the blink of an eye - “Gimme Dat Ol’ Time Religion!” - Many Voices, One Choir - Uudenkaupungin Sanomat Soul & Jazz - Christmas In Poland Boze Narodzenie! - “Hanging Out…with Tax Collectors & Sinners…” - Voice-Activated - The Tongue! - The Black Orater - Singing Liars! - First and foremost… - “Christmas Gift!”:The African-American Heritage - Show Me The Money! - Finnish: A World Language? - Stevie Ray Vaughan memorial - Christian-Charles de Plicque REFLEKSJE PASTORA Pastor z Finlandii, juz po raz drugi na Festiwalu Muzyki Gospel w Osieku - I Pledge My Allegiance To…. - Christian-Charles de Plicque’s production of: James Weldon Johnson’s “God’s Trombones!” - La Legende!: Nina Simone - I Had A “Drug Problem” When I Was Young - How About A Kiss? - Are Christmas Traditions Paganistic? - Faith in God’s goodness… - This Moment: A Tribute To Polish jazz Bassist/composer/Producer… Andrzej Cudzich - “Be My Valentine!” - The Life story of the Late Great Stevie Ray Vaughan: Caught In The Crossfire!” - Short video from the Polish TV coverage of The Annual Ecumenical Song of Songs (SOS) - Puolasta! News from Poland! - Is My Living In Vain? (title of a song I sing) - Peace On Earth? Frid på jorden? La paix sur terre? - Saint Valentine reflektioner: Alla hjärtansdag - The Greatest Lover! - Kristen musik behöver PR - Strange Fruit - The Heart of the Matter - Questions No Longer Asked? = Swedish: Finländare på frilansbasis - THE BLACK CHURCH - The Legacy of Slavery - Texas Peach Ice Cream - Smoked Finnish (Savo Region) Salmon Soup! - The late great blues guitarist: Stevie Ray Vaughan - Glad födelsedagen! (Happy Birthday) - Bart Simpson In Hell!? - The Essential Stevie Ray Vaughan (book) - Saffron Rice Pilaf – This is really yummy! - Risto-Kalle’s (Christian-Charles’) Teletubbies rip-off Oh so fabulously creamy dessert! - State(s) Of Emergency! - Should A Christian Celebrate Birthdays? - Alue Sanomat 27.6.2001 Jazz & Soul the drug- and alcohol-free benefit concert - How Sweet The Sound! - Recette de la Soupe à la Tomate (Tomato Soppa /Soup Recipe) de Christian-Charles - Honey Mustard Salad Dressing - Christian-Charles’ Almond Apricot Cream Stuffed Français Croissants (ô là là!!) - Hope, Faith, Charity - “THE” BOOK! THE ESSENTIAL STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN by: Craig Lee Hopkins of Dallas Texas - Egyptian Red Lentil Soup! - Giving Thanks for God’s Overwhelming Generosity - Man’s Inhumanity To Man? :Katrina & Rita - Wounded Soldier - Hell Is a Hot Topic These Days - A GOOD EARTHLY FATHER Farsdagen/ Fathers’ Day - The Christ of Christmas - Very Traditional de Plicque Family’ Christmas Holiday Eggnog! - What Do You Expect? - The Gold Slippers De gamla tofflorna (first published in 1988!) - Christmas Away From Home Jul bland främlingar - Do Angels Sing? - The Baby Grew Up - FINNISH CHRISTMAS RECIPES - Christmas Joy! - Happy New Year! …but for what reason? - The Silversmith - What’s Love Got To Do With It? - Back to the 60’s! - Risto-Kalle’s (de Plicque’s) Summertime “Texas Cool in the Shade under the tree” drink - Inner Beauty! - All Saints’ Day - Gospel Music in Italy Today! - The History of The Cloudberry - High Fidelity Part 1 - High Fidelity: The Final Installment of this 3-Part series - Finland’s Lapland Golden Swamp Berry! - All Saints’ Day: Who Are These Saints? - High Fidelity Part 2 of 3 part series - An Expensive Gospel! - Christmas Mincemeat Pies! - Advent: Christmas past and present in the Church - Valentine’s Day andChocolate: What’s love got to do with it? - Part one and two: Vet en finländare något om rasism? Does A Finn REALLY Know Anything… About Racism? - The Price of Being “Too Busy” - “The Twelve Days of Christmas” The Story Behind This Traditional Christmas Song - Home for Christmas - The Nativity Scene - Epiphany Trettondagen - OBAMANIA! - Is America Ready for a Black President? - Losing a Loved One - Brother Carl’s Recipe for Making A Real Gourmet Black Gospel Cake! - What’s In Your Mouth?!! - In response to Bror Hagström wanting to start a debate on: Applauding In Church - Looking Back: Remembering Martin Luther King Jr. - Risto-Kalle’s Gourmet “Neiman-Marcus” styled… Pickled Watermelon Rind - History Being Made!! - Expiration Date! - THE NEW STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN BOOK 2008! - Nigger President… - The Palm Tree: Palm Sunday - What made the News this morning in Finland… - What’s In A Name? - Encouraging our own! - The Black Diamond Duo Runni Riverside Blues, Iisalmi Blues - A Real Friend - Soul Music! - Comfort Food: Back To Our Roots - Halloween’s Christian History - All Hallow’s eve… 31st October… All Saints’ Day Martyr… - Reflections: 22nd November 1963 - The Fantastic History of the Christmas Tree! - What is Comfort Food? - Bread Pudding - Decorating the Christmas Tree: A Timeless Tradition - Finland! Christmas Sauna and The Finnish Christmas Tree! - Myrtille de Plicque’s (my grandmothers’): 1930’s Upgraded! Christmas Gingerbread - Christmas Coffee Recipes - The Best of Gifts! - Can You Spare A Penny? - Thankful… - “SOLID GROUND” : A Song for Haiti (på finska)… - Valentine’s Love Day!!! - Our Personal Legacy - Finland Continues to Suppress Free Speech… - Ett upprop ..Hjalp för Haiti - How To Grow A Christian Friendship… - The Importance of Christian Friends - Agents of Change - Ten Rules for Happier Living - The History of Mämmi/Memma - Our Co-Pilot? - Longing For Spring… - Gaining Respect - Something more to think about - Our Demanding Schedules - Words – Do They Matter? - High-Tech Communication - Staying Positive In A Negative World - God’s presence with us… - Risto-Kalle’s Deep Dish Heavenly Creamy Cheesecake - All You Need Is Love - Oaxacan Chicken Mole Recipe - Ginger’s African Peanut Butter Oven Baked Chicken Recipe (Ghana) - Christian Journalism - Risto-Kalle’s (Christian-Charles’) grandmother’s (Myrtille de Plicque’s) “Neiman-Marcus Class” Waffles - Pain Perdu= (French name)= French Toast A delight for brunch or afternoon delight! - God Doesn’t Keep Back-Up Hard Drives - Singing The Story - How Much are You Worth? - Italy – Anno Domini Multifestival - The Best Room - Another Blast from the past! - Older Or Better? - Botox For The Soul - Killer Guacamole - Cloudberry Cream - “TO DIE FOR” Cheesecake, à la Christian-Charles - Pursuing Hospitality - Prosperity may be a greater test of character than poverty. Deuteronomy 6:12 - Aretha’s “Respect getting” Soul Chicken Recipe! - de Plicque’s scrumptuous Gourmet Fresh Summer Strawberries with Italian Mature Aged Balsamic Vinegar! - The Faroe Island and Icelandic Cuisine! Mjólkursoðinn lundi – Puffin in milk sauce! - Christmas & Angels – An Angelic Secret Service! (Jul & Änglar: en änglalik Secret Service!) - Grilled Cheese Melba! (à la française bien sûr!) - Christ the Rose of Sharon - From the mouth - Thanksgiving Day… FOR THE WORLD! - de Plicque’s Old Fashioned Slow Oven-Baked Christmas Rice Pudding (But good anytime of the year!) - Todellinen soul-ääni johdattaa sielukkaaseen jouluparaatiin (Aamulehti) - de Plicque’s Killer REDHOT!!! Texas / French Chili! Not for the weak! - With All My Art - Blues News CD tutkailut June 2011 (Dying To Live! cd review) - “Prosperity may be a greater test of character than poverty.” Deuteronomy 6:12 - God’s presence with us… - Red Wine Beef Casserole with Mushrooms and Bacon! - Lemon Chess Pie! True “Comfort Food” - Who’s The Audience? / Qui Compose L’Auditoire? - He Gets The Gospel Across With His Music - Why…Gospel Music Is So Hot! - Varför är gospelmusik så aktuellt? - Join The Choir! - A flower for all seasons - When you’re working for Jesus, it’s always too soon to quit…. - Friendships can help dispel loneliness. - Chip Off The Old Block! - Fried Avocado Slices With Spicy Lime Crema - Risto-Kalle’s = Christian-Charles’ Texas Rattlesnake Chili - Easy Peach Cobbler - Volcanic Activity - Activié Volcanique! - Why Is There Color? - The test of the effectiveness of following Jesus is not just in what we say but in how we live. - Oven glazed baked Chicken Wings and Legs with Coca Cola and Heinz Ketchup! - Why? Why? Why? - The Waiting: - le 14 Julliet! - Tosimies Lehti / cd review july 2011 - Andraé Crouch inspired praise - God’s Spirit is your power source… - Roots or Shoots?! - White Power! - Folket-som-inte-kallpratar (scanned newspaper article) - Olika utåt – lika på insidan - “Vit makt!” - No one is useless in this world… - Best Friends - Active Compassion. - Ice hockey, Racism - Beware of Jumping To Conclusions! - Christmas – Giving Is A Blessing - Out of This World! - Christmas Divinity…. - Soft Christmas Sugar Cookies - Back to the roots! - Scrumptious Caramelized Pear And Roquefort Tart - Poulet à la Kiev/Chicken Kiev! - Something more to think about - Thank God For Music - Tacka Gud För Musiken - Comfort SOUL food – Banana Cream Pudding! - Death…(Livet som det är värt att leva) - deplicque.net is being revamped! - 2012! Juhlitaan 45:tä vuotta evankelistana ja lähetyssaarnaajana Herran taistelukentällä! - Dick Clark - God’s Restraint - Memories! The great RESURRECTION BAND! on tour in Finland - Från Sverige! (From Sweden!) Killer pianist: Per-Erik Hallin! My continued walk down memory lane! - 25h & 28th July! The Preacher’s Wife Soundtrack WHITNEY HOUSTON! “FAT CITY!” - Aide est sur le chemin! Help is on the way! Hjälp är på väg! - DEATH… (ÖT March 21st 2012) - Bryan Duncan and I on tour in Norway 1986! - The great RESURRECTION BAND! on tour in Finland 1994 - 19th & 22nd September 2012 – Jeannette Bayardelle - A Thank You for my webdesigner - Capture the moment - Fat City! 3rd & 6th October 2012: Tramaine Hawkins! - Blast from the Past: Live to Give! - Blast from the Past: Under the Ether! - Blast from the Past: Be Still - THUNDERBIRD! - Capture The Moment! / Fånga ögonblicket / SAISISSEZ L’INSTANT - Radio Dei’s" Dying To Live!" cd RADIO promo - Till minne av Grace - Gästfrihet - Dying to Live! CD - Dying to Live! CD marknadsföring i svenska - "Dying To Live!" cd Italienne - Fat City! 17th & 20th October 2012: Rev. James Cleveland - Dying to live – suomeksi - En tacksam man sjunger ut (Vasabladet tidning) - A Grateful Man Sings About It (Vasabladet newspaper) - Mp3 “Fat City!” from the Angel House International Music Archives - Fat City! 31st Oct and 3rd Nov 2012 – Cissy Houston - Fat City! The Legendary Patti LaBelle! 14.11. & 17.11.2012 - Mitä se on (What is this) – April Jazz Festival, Espoo 1987 - Fat City! Nov 28th & Dec 1st 2012: Samuel Ljungblahd and Ole Børud - Radio Dei interview 23.8.2012 - Fat City! 12th and 15th Dec 2012: Miss Patti’s Christmas - Fat City! Dec 26th and 29th 2012: Donna Summer, Christmas Spirit! - Fat City! Jan 9th and 12th 2013: Shirley Caesar and Cissy Houston! - Fat City! 23th and 26th January 2013: Legendary pastor Andraé Crouch! - Site cleaned up after malware link infection - Fat City! Kim! As in: BURRELL! 6th and 9th February 2013 - Fat City! 20th and 23rd Feb 2013: Gospel Diva: Sandi Patti! - Fat City! March 6th and 9th 2013: Seawind! From Hawaii! - Fat City! March 20th and 23rd: Gospel Diva Sandi Patty (re-air) - Fat City! April 3rd and 6th: Multi-Grammy winner Larnelle Harris - Fat City! 17th & 20th April 2013 KOINONIA! Gospel Jazz at it’s best - Radio Dei’s Fat City! May 1st and 4th 2013: A Blast From The Past! C.-C. de Plicque - Fat City! Bryan Duncan & The Sweet Comfort Band! 15th & 18th May 2013! - Fat City! 29th May and 1st June: LARNELLE! Live in Nashville! - Fat City! 12th & 15th June: SEAWIND! AGAIN! ; Window of a Child! - Fat City! June 26th and 29th 2013: Mr Funk! Mikko Pettinen - Fat City! 10th & 13th July 2013: Finlands’ SOUL CONNECTION! - Fat City! July 24th and 27th 2013: Soul What? from Kokkola, Finland! - FAT CITY! 7th & 10th August: Reverend AL GREEN! - FAT CITY! 21st & 24th August: Jarkka Rissanen - Fat City! Sep 4th and 7th 2013: Pastor Ben Tankard! - Fat City! Sep 18th & 21st 2013 Debra Killings! - Fat City! Oct 2nd and 5th 2013: Kim Burrell! - Fat City! Oct 16th and 19th 2013: Tramaine Hawkins! - Fat City! Oct 30th and Nov 2nd 2013: Andraé Crouch! - Fat City! Nov 13th and 16th 2013: Ida Elina! - Fat City! på Radio Dei – information på svenska - Fat City! Nov 27th and 31st 2013: Ida Elina – Valoisaa joulua (bright Christmas) - Thoughts On Rain = Des Pensées Sur La Pluie - “FAT CITY!” 11th & 14th December 2013: Christmas with Oscar Peterson! - Harlem Gospel Choir Concert Review & photos of trip Helsinki November 2013 - Fat City! 25th and 28th Dec 2013: Christmas Extravaganza! - “Fat City!” 8th & 11th January 2014! Pastor Shirley Caesar and The Caravans! - Fat City! 22nd and 25th Jan 2014: Larnelle Harris and Donn Thomas! 1981! - Helsinki Jan 2014: Behind the scenes in the TV Studios: HARD TALK! - Fat City! Feb 5th and 8th 2014: Donn Thomas! - Fat City! Feb 19th and 22nd: Christian-Charles de Plicque! - Fat City! Mar 5th and 8th: Ben Tankard! (dates corrected!) - See poster: Live in Finland! New album! White vinyl and CD! - Fat City! 19th and 22nd March 2014: Lamar Campbell ! - Live in Finland! Sound bites from the upcoming album! - Fat City! April 2nd and 5th 2014! Paul Ewing - Fat City! Easter Special 16th & 19th April 2014: Simon of Cyrene - Fat City! 30th April and 3rd May 2014: Pastor Daryl Coley! Wow! - Angel House International Records press release 7.5.2014 - Fat City! May 14th & 18th 2014: “Live in Finland”! - Fat City! May 28th and 31st 2014: Lisa McClendon - Keski-Pohjanmaa -lehti 22.5.2014 - Fat City June 11th & 14th 2014: Smokey Robinson - Oropa! July 2014! Just a few more weeks to go! - Fat City! June 25th & 28th 2014: Lisa McClendon!!! - Fat City! July 9th & 12th 2014: Heidi Storbacka! - Fat City! July 23rd and 26th! Anita Wilson! - Fat City! August 6th and 9th: Seawind! - Fat City! August 20th and 23rd: Inez Andrews! - Fat City! September 3rd & 6th Tasha Page-Lockhart! (with Kirk Franklin!) - Fat City! Sep 17th & 20th 2014: Andrae Crouch and The Disciples! - Fat City! Oct 1st & 4th 2014: The legendary Gladys Knight! - Fat City! Oct 15th & 18th 2014: Mike Farris - Fat City! Oct 29th and Nov 1st: Michelle Williams! - Fat City! Nov 12th and 15th 2014: Brian Courtney Wilson! - Fat City! Nov 26th and 29th: Anita Wilson - Fat City! Dec 10th & 13th 2014: Michael McDonald! - Fat City! Dec 24th and 27th: Mary J Blige! - Fat City! Andraé Crouch! 7th & 10th January 2015 - Fat City! 21st and 24th Jan 2015: Tribute to the late great Andraé Crouch - Fat City! Feb 4th & 7th: de Plicque! - Fat City! Feb 18th and 21st: KIM BURRELL! Nuf’ said! - Fat City! Robert Randolph! 4th an 7th March 2015 - Fat City! 18th & 21st March 2015! Tata Vega! - Fat City! 1st & 4th April 2015: Easter Praise! The Musical: Simon of Cyrene! - Fat City! 15th & 18th April 2015 Al Green! - From the famed Clark Sisters Dynasty! On “Fat City!” (Of course!) - Fat City! May 13th & 16th 2015: Soul Brutha’ No. 1 in Sweden: Samuel Ljungblahd! - Fat City! May 27th & 30th 2015: Erica Campbell! - Fat City! July 8th & 11th: Jarkka Rissanen & Dave Forestfield Archives - July 2015 (1) - May 2015 (2) - April 2015 (2) - March 2015 (2) - February 2015 (2) - January 2015 (3) - December 2014 (2) - November 2014 (2) - October 2014 (2) - September 2014 (2) - August 2014 (2) - July 2014 (3) - June 2014 (3) - May 2014 (4) - April 2014 (2) - March 2014 (4) - February 2014 (2) - January 2014 (4) - December 2013 (3) - November 2013 (4) - October 2013 (2) - September 2013 (3) - August 2013 (2) - July 2013 (1) - June 2013 (3) - May 2013 (2) - April 2013 (2) - March 2013 (2) - February 2013 (2) - January 2013 (4) - December 2012 (1) - November 2012 (5) - October 2012 (18) - September 2012 (6) - July 2012 (1) - June 2012 (1) - May 2012 (2) - April 2012 (4) - March 2012 (4) - January 2012 (3) - December 2011 (3) - November 2011 (2) - October 2011 (3) - September 2011 (6) - August 2011 (3) - July 2011 (3) - May 2011 (2) - April 2011 (8) - March 2011 (6) - February 2011 (4) - January 2011 (4) - December 2010 (3) - November 2010 (7) - October 2010 (5) - September 2010 (3) - August 2010 (4) - July 2010 (4) - June 2010 (6) - May 2010 (5) - April 2010 (5) - March 2010 (4) - February 2010 (5) - January 2010 (2) - December 2009 (6) - November 2009 (3) - October 2009 (5) - September 2009 (1) - May 2009 (2) - April 2009 (1) - February 2009 (1) - January 2009 (1) - July 2008 (2) - June 2008 (1) - May 2008 (1) - April 2008 (2) - March 2008 (1) - February 2008 (2) - January 2008 (3) - December 2007 (2) - November 2007 (1) - April 2007 (1) - February 2007 (2) - November 2006 (2) - October 2006 (1) - September 2006 (9) - July 2006 (1) - April 2006 (1) - February 2006 (2) - December 2005 (5) - November 2005 (7) - October 2005 (5) - September 2005 (5) - August 2005 (7) - July 2005 (2) - June 2005 (2) - May 2005 (2) - April 2005 (1) - March 2005 (3) - February 2005 (3) - January 2005 (1) - July 2004 (1) - June 2004 (1) - February 2004 (2) - December 2003 (1) - November 2003 (3) - September 2003 (2) - July 2003 (1) - April 2003 (1) - March 2003 (2) - February 2003 (1) - January 2003 (1) - December 2002 (1) - November 2001 (2) - July 2001 (2) - June 2001 (3) - July 2000 (1) - May 2000 (3) - April 2000 (1) - March 2000 (1) - February 2000 (1) - September 1999 (1) - May 1999 (1) - July 1997 (1) Categories

Join 'Materialism' will feature on a forthcoming Visible album, sometime in 2014 Lyrics (pops up) The Curious Tale of Ash and The Whine - 'A Novel of the Unnatural and Supernatural...' 50 comments: This is why I am not a fan of Jim Stone. This is precisely what I have been suspecting and I figured it would rise up soon enough. I especially like the part about sticking an iphone5 up his ass without lubrication. Details about why the picture is black is fishy too; if he could take a picture in the first place. Obama has become "infected" with blindness by Mr. Apocalypse and is leading America into perdition. This is like the story of the teacher at university confronting Gandhi who in this case is smarter than the teacher (Obama). take what one doesn’t have”, responded Gandhi indifferently. Mr. Peters, already hysteric, writes on the exam sheet the word “idiot” and gives it to Gandhi. Gandhi takes the exam sheet and sits down. A few minutes later, Gandhi goes to the professor and says, “Mr. Peters, you signed the sheet, but you did not give me the grade.”. [The above text has been selectively extracted from a blog written by Martine Armstrong] Heh heh... thanks for that. Not to mention the tens of thousands of swimming pools above Phoenix are depleting the aquifer below Phoenix... Vis, I read the 'article' you referenced over at Truthseeker. It really is only a 'stub' article with a video and a long cut-n-paste from J1M St0ne's site. In the interest of factual reporting, I do want to comment on the video interviewing Sarah Bajc, Philip Wood's partner, on BBC News. I watched it twice, because AT NO TIME in the video does she condemn the Philip Wood cellphone story. The MSM would be all over Sarah Bajc publicly denouncing the cellphone story. So, she obviously did not say this in any manner or form. That omission is very telling. (And this is factual. Look at it yourself.) On the contrary, Sarah Bajc states quite frankly that she does not believe government stories anymore. And, around pilots and security-types who she is in contact with, Sarah Bajc states, "...and quite without reservation, all of them believe the flight was taken, not crashed." And, of course, on BBC News, Diego Garcia is not mentioned... (UK claims the island.) Now, I have been following the Philip Wood story from when it broke. I am 'up' on all the for- and against- arguments billowing around it. I evaluated the various concerns. My main one is about the ten days between hijacking and cellphone transmission. That allows plenty of time for bad-guy concoction of almost anything. That said, I note that the story did not originate J1m St0ne. A person discovered the cellphone transmission in the backup of a public messaging site. It was eventually forwarded to J1m St0ne, amongst others, who evaluated it and drew his own conclusions. Again, the Philp Wood cellphone story did not originate with J1m St0ne... Best Wishes, Ray B. If the trendy and perhaps vain raw food diet takes a cent out of the pharma industry or western medicine in general, I am all for it. I would be curious to know your feelings on cheese and milk. I understand you eat fish. Can a hunter just say a prayer and shoot and kill a deer and all is well? And eating once a day? How do you get nutrition? You must have a varied diet throughout the year, no? Just curious is all. I started vegetarian about 3 years ago. bodhati bodhati Here's an article with pictures of some very evil women. Wicked Women I have no idea who she is or 90% of everyone else. All I know is I get that vibe and besides the fact that it sounds ridiculous to me, it's just one more of those tales he comes up with and every one of them is outrageous. People are welcome to follow who they like, I'm just not heading in that direction. Jesus Christ... now he has no connection to the story? He's just standing on the same corner but they don't know each other? I don't trust the guy, AT ALl. that doesn't mean anything because I don't know one way or the other but he gives me bad vibrations. My antenna went off on him the moment he showed up and its never changed. This endless litany of outrageous tales makes me want to go to sleep. I probably can't define yellow journalism but I know it when I see it. ......................... Milk and cheese are fine, most food is fine for someone but every system has to be fine tuned to itself. Eating once a day is easy if you've been doing it for years. I seldom eat fish but I have been known to. I've got lots of energy all day long so, something must be working. Vis: "I have no idea who she [Sarah Bajc?] is or 90% of everyone else." Vis, at the risk of provoking you, that is an 'avoidance' response. You brought up the Philip Woods cellphone brough-ha-ha, I checked out your source and reported on the details, and you blew it off with a one-liner. This is below your "show me the facts" reputation. I showed you the facts on the video. Please, do your own due-diligence checking on the video and report back... --- Vis: "Jesus Christ... now he [J1m St0ne?] has no connection to the story? He's just standing on the same corner but they don't know each other?" The 4plebs site was where the earliest known reference to the Philip Woods cellphone story was found. Note that it was controversial from the get-go. Also, note that it is NOT at all related to J1m St0ne... From the J1m St0ne site, in explanation: . 4chan would be absolutely a PRIME choice for someone in trouble." --- Now, I have my own concerns over this story. I also am wary of J1m St0ne's hyperbole. The latter does not make the former incorrect. We will see over time where the story will lead, if we do not knee-jerk-react to one messenger... Best Wishes, Ray B. You believe what you like. You haven't shown me proof of anything. I am not going to be corraled into going along with anything I don't want to go along with. Just because people have investments in things and carry emotional weight with it does not mean that I do. It's more than passing strange that there's always some kind of excuse accompanying all these Jim Stone associations. I don't have the time and inclination to chase down everyone's theories and beliefs. I don't click on most links. I don't know who any of these people are and I don't much care either. This is a direct and non emotional expression of what is true about me. It's not personal. I can't account for other people's egos but I know when it's rearing it's head cause it immediately translates into the kind of syntax and weighted statements I'm getting here. Practically anything anyone wants to know about anyone can be gleaned by how quick they turn adversarial; and get into name calling which I don't do. Just as soon as certain people are opposed in their beliefs about something they react as if you were on the other side of the Maginot Line. There is too much questionable shit following along after Stone and he makes the most preposterous claims. I realize a lot of people believe that stuff, I don't. I'm a bit more hip to what goes on here than one might think, like the different posters all from the same IP talking back and forth and other things of similar bent. You want to escalate this you'll have to do it without me. I'm not operating on that wave length. I've got better things to do. That will be the last I have to say on any of these cartoon comic book fantasies. Wow. Okay... Ray, I've been following that J1m St0ne outing of that pic, ostensibly from Phillip Woods, the IBM guy. I don't know what to make of it, but one thing is certain, the shills and trolls are all over it like locusts. That kind of makes it more "interesting" and almost plausible. Hmmm... One thing we can be absolutely dead certain, that the plane was "taken". Whether it was human or electronic hijacking is up for debate. We can also be sure, that the passengers have been (or will be) murdered, down to the last girl, boy, woman, child, all 230+ souls. ("Dead men tell no tales"). This was obviously a very sophisticated, multi-level op, obviously by one or several governments. But since the perps are basically psychopath amateurs, I believe, they screwed up not knowing about the hourly satellite pings of the engines. That info getting out, screwed-up the whole op. I'm saying "psychopath amateurs" b/c the PRIMARY paramount requirement to be in this tight club of monsters is to be a psychopath. Operational knowledge is acquired or learned, but they are not experts at a lifetime of experience and learning level. So they screw up with their shallow knowledge, but the real experts notice the anomalies. (Think of 911). Thankfully, it just cannot be helped; recruiting the army of real experts with the mental defect of psychopathy is impossible, and people with conscience will talk, sooner or later - unless they kill them after the deed is completed. That has been done too, just remember the Bin Laden Seal Team's demise through that helicopter "accident". The lost plane was not meant to be found, and I have no illusions, that it will be. The 777 at the Ben Gurion airport sitting since Oct. 2013 with the Malaysian Airlines paintwork was to do the satanic evil task - whatever it was supposed to be. Thankfully - it seems - sand and rocks got into the gears of the machine of evil, and the operation had to be scrubbed. Here's a mention (via a comment on Vineyard of the Saker)of a Russian called S.N. Lazerev who has written a series of books called Diagnostics of Karma. According to Wiki: 'The twelve books embrace processes in the personal life of a human being, in politics, economics, ecology, weather, religion, science. All the processes are shown by the author as inseparably connected. According to Lazarev's research, our deep emotions directly shape our health and fate. As the author himself puts it, the quintessence of all his research can be reduced to one phrase: "The meaning of life is love for God."[4] The author has it that love (in the absolute sense, objectless and subjectless) engenders time, and, indirectly, space and matter;[5] that love is the absolute value.[6]' There's no reference to an English translation, but the summary 'The meaning of life is love for God' seems to accord with what you say. Lazarev "At the risk of provoking you..." I have to agree with Ray B. I don't automatically believe anything, from anyone. But I spent close to thirty years working in hi-tech and the technical explanations Stone has offered have, so far, made good sense to me. Same for Fukushima. I worked on exactly the kinds of industrial contol systems that were sabotaged at Fuku, and I think he knows what he is talking about there. The cellphone thing may be going too far, I don't know. How could ANYONE stick a cellphone up their ass? "I don't have the time and inclination to chase down everyone's theories and beliefs. I don't click on most links." Well, sauce for the goose, and all that. Finally, I've seen some pretty ridiculous stuff posted at Truthseeker, and they have the same or less credibility than Stone does, IMHO. You have to separate the wheat from the chaff, no matter the source. DV Phoenix! Hell on Earth. I could be down there making pretty good money if I'd gone with my company instead of being barely employed, but I declined. I mean I really love sand storms, 120°F+ summers, and Arizona 'caged gerbil shooters' (cops), NOT! Wonder how many they lose in lives every year when the power goes out? I wonder how much longer that city has? I threw my fate to the wind, and it's been better than I could have imagined. I accomplished what I set out to accomplish during my precious discretionary time, though I could have done better I'm not redoing what I did. I'm not a perfectionist any more. I'm also in the state where nothing really matters due to having no vestments in anything, and I CAN walk away from anything and everything if circumstances so dictate, and not look back. After all, to whom or what do I owe my inconvenience, my discomfort, or anything else? I'm over that. I'll keep playing the game for as long as I must, but I have no REAL sense of obligation. "Sister Reflection" is a reflection of your soul. It's a beautiful honoring, and one can only wonder of what (whom?) it was born, especially verse two. Seeking the truth, no matter who or what form it is "cloaked" in, should be the goal. I don't care about the catalyst, just give me the truth. That's why I read this blog(though rarely comment.). If one doesn't understand the implications of this recent catastrophic event in the larger scheme of things-then one doesn't comprehend the extreme depths of kali yuga. Not trying to change anyone's mind, but wondering why the over the top reaction. If one is interested in science at all, the disappearance of a plane into thin air w/gps & satellite technology covering every square inch of the globe should be a big huh?Plenty of investigative journalists have covered the twin plane parked in a certain country for several months.It's not personal so don't make it so. I want to know! I care.Everything matters. Anyone can think whatever they want to think. thinking something and knowing it are two different things. I believe, what I did was call attention to certain outrageous features of the tale which exacerbate the impression of Stone being a sensationalist. I draw attention to that ridiculous cellphone up the ass story and the black black picture presented as evidence; of what?. If you are prone to finding things like this plausible that's your affair. The idea that I'm personally upset about any of this is ludicrous, i simply state my opinion. It has nothing to do with anyone personally. When you make it personal all you do is expose your immaturity and also, when you are so EASILY outraged and offended so quickly, it speaks to other motivations besides what is under discussion. If you are determined to equate my plain speaking with being upset and angered, you are well off the mark. Anyone can watch the progression of comments and responses and see where acceleration and tension are being infused to whatever particular end. I'm going to go right on saying what I think when and how I want. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there are several individuals in deep cover around here, waiting to go off when circumstances are right and I can weather it without inconvenience. Anyone looking closely here can see, if they are capable of subtlety, what certain intents are. Far as I'm concerned, there's something wrong with Jim Stone. That's that. I have withheld the more dramatic reactions to his work because I figure that people dumb enough to listen to him are also too dumb to be reasonable and look deeper. People want woo woo, they want complex science fiction drama to spice up their lives. Enjoy yourselves. Unlike some here, I am not an expert on all kinds of shit I read the Cliff Notes about. I go by intuition and vibration and for me, Jim Stone is just Greg Palast on a designer drug jag. Given several emails I got this morning, there is more than one person who is aware of certain rivalries going on with some of the readers, who for some reason, in a patronizing and smarmy way seem to want to, regular like, point out where I'm wrong and where their superior, convoluted insights are the real deal. Of course, nothing is proven, it's just that old one upsmanship, with the usual, "I know as much as you do and I'm as important as you are, so there! stuff. I don't know anything so... you probably do know more. Surely, rather than fabricating calls for it, one could just set themselves up at this and see how much of the public flocks to it. I've been watching Stone for awhile. He says all kinds of outrageous stuff and he has yet to prove any of it. Try to learn to divorce the passion of persona from the point being made. People who dance around in engineered outrage and offense usually have more going on below the surface that meets the eyes. I'm not involved in a popularity contest and I don't care if anyone likes me or not. I do what I do and then I do the next thing; nothing else enters into it. Where did he charge his cell phone? Did he have a charger up there too? (And let's not think about the practical challenges of accomplishing that this time, Mr. Les Visible. I'll speak for myself when I say I don't need to know that) If I saw a guy with a cord coming out of his ass, plugged into a wall, I would think he was hiding something. Besides that, if your cell phone is on, it's communicating with the cell towers, so they can find out where it is. They don't shotgun broadcast your cell phone call from every tower in the world. I must commend the alternative mainstream media for doing their job of corrupting the toothpaste that's out of the tube. Trolled 10 ways, who can make sense of it now? The bumbling keystone cop signature is on some of this sleuthing. Kay Bigh hello les, you said, I'm not involved in a popularity contest and I don't care if anyone likes me or not. I do what I do and then I do the next thing; nothing else enters into it. love that..god bless you. wonderful post and poem and great comments..i liked ghandi's responses. lol "I go by intuition and vibration".....way to go! Intuition and vibration means we do not have to be filled with "facts and figures" or be a "font of knowledege"...freedom and space within....intuition far surpasses knowledge.... I am a work in progress....as my intuition and vibration fine tunes and expands.... Thanks, Vis Les, not sure if my earlier message made it, was wondering what your feeling is regarding Israel closing all embassies across the world? Apparently striking due to wage disputes. Gentlemen, gentlemen PLEASE, no fighting IN THE WAR ROOM. - Muffy Merkin Speaking of woo woo, I just heard an interview today with Dr. Jim Garrow on the "The Common Sense Show" with Dave Hodges. Caveat... Garrow spent 43 years working for the CIA. Supposedly he helped save lots of children's lives while working in China, but I don't really know for sure if that's true. I just know that he worked for the CIA so its yellow alert when he's talking, as far as I'm concerned even though his info appears good, or at least interesting. Now, to the woo woo! Garrow states that the 20 high tech geeks that were on the plane stole technology from the USA that can apparently "send light through solid matter." The breakthrough is done and it's now elementary to use that to create invisibility, eventually. So if you're looking to bomb your enemy, making your plane, missile, etc. invisible is a really big advantage. So, the US made sure that that secret didn't get out. The plane was captured. Rolls Royce tracked the engine transponders to Pakistan were the geek squad isn't loving life anymore and all other passengers were murdered. Ok, guess I'll add all of that to list of theories. On a side note, I became a little suspicious of Garrow when he was aked about the 777 in Tel Aviv with the same Malaysian paint job it he totally blew it off as not an uncommon thing to have planes like this in storage for spare parts in order to save money by not buying a brand new part. Makes sense, I guess, but he really seemed to walk right past it as if it was a gospel truth with no reflection on how it might be something else. And maybe its not. Were is Stone on this one!??? :) The common denominator in all these stories is that they are all stories. Who knows, one of them might be right or maybe there is parts of the truth in each one. Ha! All this typing and I went in one big circle. LOL!! Jim I have no idea about that Israeli caper. It's been going on for awhile now so if it were for something nasty, it might have gotten sidelined due to... well, due to all kinds of things. It really does feel like something is coming to a boil though and they're wagging the Pollard again. Seems only Galen #16 and Marilyn #20 showed lord visible's the courtesy of remarking upon his (quite remarkable) poem; it's one I suspect that the lord himself is proud of - and so he should be, it's a work of beauty. Arhooo! Kay Bigh, Your knowledge about mobile phones is pathetic. Facts: First of all, In "Airplane mode" the Iphone5 battery will hold a charge for weeks. In off mode it will be months, yes, months. The phone has voice commands. There is such a thing as "world service" for mobile phones it was available already in Europe more than 12 years ago; this IBM guy was traveling regularly in that area (Malaysia, China, and another country (I forgot the name) so it's reasonable to assume that he had this service. A local SIM card is unnecessary. Diego Garcia has well over 1500 civilian employees plus families of them and of the servicemen. Consequently, mobile phone service exists on the island and to the rest of the world as well. Yes, you can call a mobile phone on the island from anywhere. As you (and we) see, all your "comments" are bull and do not stand up to scrutiny. Like I said, this story has created a veritable shill-swarm of epic proportions. Initially, the story looked and sounded implausible to me. However judging by the shill-swarming and their tone of shrill, dismissive, sarcastic and often insulting commentary (including yours) I had to conclude, that something is going on, this over-reaction is verging on panic, and that just makes no sense, if this is all nonsense. Thank god, that the shills (and their paymasters) don't get it, that the verity of the story is not necessarily about debunking (or discrediting) it, but their response to it as well. That (an overreaction) to me is more telling, than anything else they're trying to make or say to make it go away. I get the feeling Ash is involved in this somehow. The plane is in India. Splentacularilliant, my dear chap. Love, Ghana wv: they omlestme Thank you elf, it's a song actually but no matter. The music and poetry have been in the back of the bus all along. I figure that's the divine's call. I appreciate that you enjoyed it. these things, of course, mean more to me than these daily things,. ....................... The plane is in India? We sure could use Ash on the set. Jim Stone is a either co-intel pro or an internet lunatic. One way or the other, he's muddying the waters around the fact that the plane was sighted on its way to Diego Garcia. The following article involves actual witnesses and constitutes the totality of what we know for sure. Let's not allow "stone" to obscure the following facts: Title: Maldives island residents report sighting of 'low flying jet' by Farah Ahmed and Ahmed Naif, Haveeru Online 00:41 Mar.8 MH370 Departed Kuala Lampur 01:07 Mar.8 Last ACARS transmission 01:19 Mar 8 Final Contact with other pilot/plane 02:15 Mar.8 Last Contact with Military Radar 08:11 Mar 8 Last Satelllite Contact Article:. From: Not sure about Stone either.............from other sources I've read and intuit about the situation, the plane was definitely taken or deliberately crashed at any rate I believe it was done remotely. The whole thing could forever remain a mystery and I think it will. If we hear of a sudden terrorist attack using a plane in particular the same one that's missing then we'll know. However, I think the whole Zio -Ogre plan has turned to shit. All their plans are turning to shit. As for Obongo, well......that's hilarious he just keeps putting both feet in his mouth at once and showing the entire world what a deadbeat, bought out SOB he really is. I recently read a poll that showed just under 50% of the world thinks the US is the only threat to world peace. Different countries polled different numbers (sorry can't remember where I read this to provide a link) and most countries consider Russia, Iran etc no threat at all HA HA! The machine's bullshit, propaganda facade is cracking badly. Yes Mr A is in full swing. Great article Viz as usual and lovely song. The move went well, not without a few glitches of course but we have touched down in Nimbin and what a hoot this place is. The first day I went looking for psychedelics I found some so now I've got a stash -grin- Of course being primary farming and grazing land there'll also be no shortage of mushrooms. A new Petri Dish is up now- An Age of the Miraculous and a Gathering of Perfect Storms. Look, I'm not trying to prolong this argument, because I really don't have a personal stake in it, but it bugs the crap out of me when persons like DGorB make blind assertions about the veracity of other blogs without, apparently, having actually read any of it for themselves. Stone stated plainly and repeatedly that he thinks the plane went to Diego Garcia, starting a week or two ago. He also had made some comments about the Maldive Islands sighting. Who is the real disinfo agent here? Similarly, someone claimed a while back (on another post) that Mike Rivero is a zionist shill and gate keeper because he (supposedly) never posts anything exposing the Tribe. Actually, he posts such material all the time, and has an extensive cache of written material about zionist Tribe activity. I have issues of my own with Rivero's viewpoints, but zionism is not one of them. He states repeatedly that he puts America "first, second, and third" in order of importance. Can we at least stick to telling the truth around here? Or does intuition really trump fact, and is anyone's truth as good as anyone else's, because it comes from their higher self? If so, I'm at the wrong place. DV Look DV, imperious attitude aside, I don't like Jim Stone and I have a right to my opinion just like you do. I've given good reason for my reasons; self aggrandizement, sensationalism, cellphones up the ass, now posting a new 'enhanced' photo that is just a Jackson Pollock type creation. No one professional would do such a thing. Maybe you would like to list the things that Stone has had proven true? If you didn't have a personal stake in the argument you wouldn't be personally engaging in it. You've yet to provide proof corroborating what Stone says. I'm getting an interesting amount of combative commentary that always starts out with the teaser of not wanting to make me angry, when I'm not angry but in order to make it seem like I am. I've never seen such support for someone who has produced so little verifiable truth. In one case you are in the wrong place because truth from the higher self, by definition is better than any of ours. However, I am not attempting to speak from that position, this is personal opinion. Your gratuitous attempt to diminish me and mock what I stand for falls away with no impact. I know when someone is winding me up. If the way things go here, with everyone having a right to declare what they think, is not suitable to you then what can I say. Before I started this, God didn't come to me and say, "Now make sure you tailor everything to David Vincent's tastes." If you find Stone plausible that's up to you. People will say what they think here and not everyone is right but they can say what they like, within reason. Lowering the bar with nose in the air sarcasm doesn't do anything but expose the weakness of argument, being as there is no argument. Provide cogent, demonstrable fact and you might gain positive attention. Explain the purpose and necessity of that all black photo and the following color speckled one. Explain the dynamics of that cellphone up the ass. Show corroborative proof of his Fukushima argument. It looks to me like the same kind of laughing at dumbasses that Sorcha Faal does. I've managed to accomplish this comment without needing to get into name calling. Skipfrog You grossly overestimate my concern. I don't care about these 7X the children of hell IBM workers anymore than I care about Osama Bin Laden's hit squad. When you work on the pharaoh's tomb, you make it your tomb too. They got their little pat on the head from the jew. I'm not about to embrace any evidence that has such a weak link as a phone in the ass and a blank picture from the most unlikely of heroes. Just because the chain on each side is so hopeful. You hope I'm ignorant about electricity, but I'm not. He's not going to pull a miracle battery that lasts a month out of his ass. They would have to add more parallel banks of cells, which would only make it bigger and thus, harder to get in the ass. For all you know about cell phones, you skipped over those ugly little details that don't fit HA!. And, thanks for sparing my delicate ears. They have you running around plugging their holes (gyawd, holes now??? This little flap keeps reverting back to ass). Haven't you been fooled enough? Why would they shut down the internet, when they ""could"" BUY it? ..nudge nudge, wink wink... Richard Gere just likes gerbils in his ass. (for one thing: you don't put gerbils in your ass. For another thing: you don't get caught). Make no mistake, I'm cool. Whatever a consenting guy and a consenting gerbil do behind closed doors ... live and let live... blahblah I know all the clichés. I extend that to cell phones. I wouldn't doubt for a minute, that IBM employees, in their politically correct environment, are encouraged to put phones in their ass, on vibrate, and have their friends call them. So, maybe they really do have that in their skillsets. Not to sound anal obsessed, but I can think of a lot of other holes in that story, just offhand. Kay Bigh Greetings and Salutations El Vee. NatGeo cancelled the 'Nazi War Diggers' series due to complaints about cavalier handling of the skeletal remains of war dead. I noticed something about one of the diggers, he used to appear on the ever so real (chuckle)Pawn Stars show on another network as a baseball card shop owner. I'm one of those small details people and noticed it right away. Watching teevee is not for me but family members can't do without it and that is how I was exposed to such crap. Carry on. Kay Bigh Arrogant little prick you are, ain't you? BTW: were you too ritually mutilated? Your ghoulish attitude towards the victims, plus the tone and mannerism fits the profile - perfectly. This is a new place (assignent) for you - evidently. Eventually you'll learn, that your antics and uncouth demeanor without a modicum of decorum, is looked upon here with utter derision. Readers, writers and visitors here as rule, are of higher caliber than you're accustomed to. Suggest you adjust - if you can. Kay Bigh Ooops, I forgot: You may not be ignorant about electricity - like vacuum cleaners, irons, wall sockets and such. However, you appear to be quite uninformed about electronics, Li-Ion batteries and the iPhone5's operational characteristics - including battery usage under various parameters. FYI: Electrics and electronics are two very significantly different fields. Knowledge of one doesn't bestow expertise of the other. Skipfrog There's nothing "electronic" about a lithium ion battery, nor are they the latest technology. They're just batteries. I'm glad you brought up the difference though. The power grid in the U>S> is 120V 60 Hz, but in Europe it's 120V 50 Hz. If your phone charger is designed for one, and you have it plugged into another charging your phone, the last place you want it is up in your ass. Another frequency would affect the impedance, which ,in turn, would change the voltage across the inductor and the current flow in any capacitor. You could get arcing. With staph, strep, hep A-Z up in there, you don't want any open sores. A staph infection could make the first day of the rest of your life the last day of the rest of your life. Irons and toasters and light bulbs aren't affected by changes in frequency, only by voltage. Just good advice there, smartypants K, Bye Kay Bigh Comrades don't get mad and don't feed the trolls. May you have a nice day. Kay Bigh This is FUNNY. European voltage is 220V., NOT 110V. The 50 or 60 Hz doesn't matter for electronics, only for electrics, vacuum cleaners and such. (Dual voltage hair dryers run a little slower - they have brushless motors; 50 hz makes them slower). However, see, those electronic things all work on low volts, and DC current Kay boy. (Do you know what DC current is?) I spend about 4-5 mos in Europe currently, and I plan 10-11 mos there starting this fall. (The rest of the year I plan elsewhere, but not in the US). My current smartphones (HTC & LG) have multi-voltage chargers 105-240V; only need the correct wallplug adapter. Ditto for my laptops, shavers, camera batteries. It gets better: I just took over (to Europe) a small laser Samsung WiFi printer; dual(!) voltage. Plugged it in with a plug adapter to 220V and viola! - it worked immediately. The feed to the phone - all Android smartphones' - is 5V DC on whatever continent, with USB - micro-USB ends. The IPhone also uses a 5V DC feed, but the plug to the phone is proprietary. You say: "would change the voltage across the inductor". To the inductor? Really? The inductor? in an electric (or electronic) household device? What the f**k is an inductor? And do you really know what a capacitor is? I don't think so. Did you know that they can tolerate reasonable range voltage (potential) variations (but not current (ampres)) - unless sized for it? Shit, I built transistor radios when I was only 13, yup, 13, from scratch(!) for fun, yes, using raw, individual transistors, diodes, rectifiers, resistors, capacitors and built my own circuitboard. I did use a circuit diagram, I knew (and still know) how to read it; I did not design the circuitry. You are a total ignoramus, and not particularly bright one either. You're talking utter nonsense - ridiculous, disjointed nonsense. Your medical info is crap too. Strep(tococcus) infections are infections of the breathing passages. Staph is a bit more widespread, but it's still not an internal (organ invasive) infection. Hep(atitis) is an infection of the liver(!), and are only A,B & C variants, not A-Z. You are really astonishingly ignorant about these things. The big deal "there" would be the coliform bacteria, but you would not know that, based on your disjointed ignorant rant. To the readers here: Kay Bigh I want to expose this fraud for what he is, that's why the ongoing: Like this statement: "There's nothing "electronic" about a lithium ion battery, nor are they the latest technology. They're just batteries." This is BS from beginning to end. The latest commercially USEABLE technology IS Li-Ion. From a practical point of view, it is the indeed latest technology. Liquid sodium (and variants) batteries have higher storage density and are the latest experimentals I know of, but they are at present impractical and unsafe. Submarines run on Li-Ion, cars, phones, and a crapload of other stuff. It is not "just another battery". To compare Li-Ion to lead-acid is plain stupid. It's like comparing a moped to a Harley-Davidson Tourer. Yah, both will get you from A to B on two wheels using gasoline, but that's it. Li-Ion is "electronic" b/c for the most, it's used in DC current low-voltage electronic equipment. It has a very high charge density, can be charged faster, slow to fade (keeps its charge)(LSD type), and doesn't have the "memory effect". I don't like bullshitting ignoramuses, pretending to be knowledgeable, throwing nonsense around b/c they figure everybody is even more ignorant than they are. - k don't even bother with that stupid fuck, seriously he is poison, just as a snake an intellect, no matter how strong, is no match for superior intuition and mine says > fuck that guy < capice ? both of you ? in light and love est Skeptifrog, You are a ton of electronic-electrics smart. One thing puzzles me with you spending so much time in Europe. I don't recall ever hearing that you visited Vis. 'Vis' 'vis-ited', coincidence or enemy action? I made a pun I trust you do not take another meaning. Do you ever plan on visiting him if you haven't already? I'm thinking about it. another elf - right now i am looking [east] out a big window, waiting on the sun to rise i see three trees [ten feet away] but the squirrels aren't up yet but they will be, soon i watch them through this window - greys and reds - the reds are much faster but i see the greys can jump six feet or more from tree to tree, they actually do tree bending for the sheer pleasure, like we used to do,as kids and birds > robins, doves,sparrows, blue jays and a couple pilated woodpeckers, young it is spring here, now and all the earth is ready to burst forth with all the energy of creation in this garden of vermont and yes, it is eden but don't come here unless as a tour-ass 'cause you can't handle the truth' [sorry jack nick] i heard vivaldi wrote the 'four seasons' about vermont well, he missed the other dozen don't come here you might like it too much, and stay and god knows, we don't need any more flatlanders i heard if you flattened vermont out, topographically, it would be bigger than texass 'nuff said don't come up here - A new Visible Origami is up now- To Shake, to Rattle and to Roll away The Stone. Another Elf, #43 I would kike to visit Vis, however, I haven't been to Germany for years (except flight transfers). At my location there, I'm busy with family relations, playing music (hobby, not for income - but still professional level), renovations and refurnishing of two condos, one is in 110 a years old grand old building in the heart of the city; that's a tougher one with 13'-4" ceiling heights (and the more expensive). The second condo I bought last summer, that's much newer - thankfully - that's also a work in progress with having had to replace or refinish ALL floors, renovate the bathroom and the kitchen is yet to be done. Renovations in Europe are a bitch, let me tell you - especially on two properties at the same time. Since everything is masonry and concrete, the attendant noise, dust and dirt is unbelievable, plus time consuming. Demo is really expensive too, for those very reasons. So, no travel, last summer I did not have any time for fun, travel or relaxation, as summer never even happened (except for the unusual, nasty heat waves - like 40 celsius). However, the stuff available is light-years ahead of American, in the same price category. What's mainstream there, is high-end luxury in the US. A month ago I had the 110 yrs old outer wood windows replaced, kept the inside ones, as they are very ornate (and nice). The technology is terrific. Double seals, the operable wings both swing and tilt(!). (German tech, Vis can tell you about them) Motor driven aluminum roll-up shutters on the exterior. With the shutters down I now have 3 airspaces for insulation, right now it's triple glazed, as the new one has double pane glass, plus the old/existing inner window's single glass. Awesome. I just put in induction cook tops. Incredible speed to heat a pot of water, yet no heat or flame. Have gas too, but induction is MUCH-much faster. A highly recommended technology - really. They cost only $50 each. Induction cook tops are still ultra-exotic in the US. LED lighting is becoming mainstream in Europe. In the US it's still an (expensive) curiosity. I do not have a single incandescent light in either of my places, and I'm at about 80% LED, 20% CFLs. Hell, I can pay tolls and parking with my mobile phone over there and fill-up my phones with minutes from an ATM (I don't have a plan yet, due to my ad-hoc disjointed stays). I could go on more, but there's no point. Vis knows all this stuff and much more - I'm sure. I'm retired (early - due to the economy post 2008) so I have had the time to pursue these things. When things (and I) have settled down and Vis is still in Europe, then I'll approach him if a visit is allright, albeit my metaphysical outlook is not as committed and strong as his; I agree with his general outlines and principles, but I just can't get into the depth he has. I read Origami, but he's way over my head most of the time - for which I envy him. That level of spiritual commitment and understanding is awesome to me, and could make my life a lot more peaceful and satisfying if I had it. ISBN 0-07-025119-3 Basic Electronics, Bernard Grob 1989, 1984, 1977, 1971, 1965, 1959 by McGraw-Hill Inc 12-7 Lithium cells, p.280 Chapter 12 is titled: BATTERIES NOT new technology Stop worrying about it Kay Bigh

The Alex Site Wiki:General disclaimer From The Alex Site Wiki asian videos midfacial degloving myspace profile site myspace.com pharmaceutical laboratory equipment free icons for computer girls dancing military base closings low fat diets nebraska manure fire last kiss chord commercial cleaning services mudanzas women butt fucking men j.jill www rob halford martha stewart wedding rock auto jonny lee miller sitemap cmon cmon night move ii pppoa routers the world map adelphia time warner t1t2 pioneer plasma homemade male sex toys domain massage lotions page jaw distraction australia cubby house in cutepdf real estate in mill valley 2001 2005 goldwing honda motorcycle swiffer duster printable coupon yt tractors cell phone battery unilever logos lance and kristin armstrong san diego theatre encoder fraunhofer mp3 customized poker chip extra care housing fund whopping cough here discount futures broker university of indianapolis caribbean wedding elize du toit nike soccer pilot training schools north country academy saratoga idle pleasures property consultants denia seed savers exchange madison zin zin zin a violin top vinyl repair top pc games another time and place tapanga performances in chicago 2006 enlisted pay scale exercise motivation hypnosis finished basements changes inducing labor by acupuncture tsc case status honda civic c650 driver medical billing collection summer safety san diego county library fat men raw goat milk contract south america map mac snood fix my credit racing restaurant booths veronica vanoza video download cheap solar panels tapas menu recipes approach history psychobiological oracle external table performance merrell jungle primo slides southwestern furniture human faces run home jack swissflowers free beast stories poppies bali hotel free reverse lookup natural cures for diabetes rv manufacturers web insertion anomaly example www denver fabrics king crab web ibrostar costa dorada big y reflective cuffs super girls thats so raven dvd spartan food delivery granny pictures jabatan bekalan elektrik bay resorts international revolving underwriting facility home pole saw attachment preschool dot to dots continental airline reservation safety pad school reunion brother sister stories nevada bankruptcy lawyer directmerchantsbank.com inchon atlanta realtor concert and music tickets 2006 infinity g35 sedan contractor project software tikka t3 tactical rifle high end video equipment paula abdul quotes earth information planet venus www vlsi lab aterciopelados time management skills copart.com gay bear ceramic piggy banks lyrics one piece at a time more moto gp video game limos massachusetts test strips link notary raid systeme kris brown more murphy bed office design here j lo exposed amy judging premier audi mp3players4free.com melissa haro pics office furniture lease ice age movie game yahoo members dvd rent saliva always sydney harbour bridge walkway low fat chicken recipes catholic auto donation sell my car women wear design pensiswazahan studio teleprompter naked forbidden mp3 wav editor freeware when love and hate collides lyrics great vacations muskingum watershed conservancy district clips spectracide pucca site spaces.msn.com more music store new orleans end-of-the-world-flash east from man middle naked home ghost photos router spindle 031av stihl punk drawings ohio state medical board writer market online palmone zire 72 special edition review united health care scandinavian domain cigar wolf sounds castings plus welsh corgi psychiatry wharton mediaready 4000 sheer online bingo young angelina jolie pics discount imitrex the chesterfield metal lube fight night round 2 cheats tom barefoot hawaii what is 13 seer motorola cellular phone batteries acid between cla difference linoleic kid maze free print arctic cat sweatshirts gay brother pooltables online webster dictionary horny pregnant lesbians replay jeans sublime smoke two joints gigantism auto import used liberty mutual advertising ms word xp tutorial lapband surgery lewey bodies disease previews ice maker hookup acquisition biotech diligence due question moms on film bobbi billard gallery kyla pratt website www nokia mobile phone mark offord lava lamps angel anderson mutual mill creek country club wa smtpappender example download sheet music maududi books ge water filters partner in travel website stairway to heaven mp3 diovan online lecturn journal of finance and economics underwear showing throwbackjerseys eastwood.com 656 international loader tractor guilford nd 2500a download 1990 transparent decals payday loan company electron microscope kiddie poems about grandpa 8th grade math word problems vitorias secrete the iliad sparknotes truck airbags wind energy conversion system lord of the rings the two towers movie illuminated business signs kathryn hahn toronto airport security metal gear solid 3 snake eater 61860 hnn9628 gp300 nancy krulik site anydvd attleboro hospital ma memorial sturdy kraken nk cells punt hill south yarra melbourne sc johnson son ltd karisma sanjay kapur sais install usb printer linux leaders role team i regret that i have only one life prego recipes naturopathic consultation diet for person with diverticulitis 1990s map of south carolina jaguar animal organize this.com square dining room set 1998 cr250 url bowden liquid force team 139 broadway ticket mass mutual noro yarn site home dna test cheap ipods exotic dresses home ip phone sip jim mclean golf school real estate in bellevue nebraska abovitz leadership and management skills anonymous aids testing audubon park new orleans tony clarke blue gold more com direct tiger yu gi oh henati web space download aim poetry anthologies company formation tampons pictures american association.org pharmacists 214 lyrics rivermaya moon palace resort photos christine young amateur housewife nude photo free veitch penny nitro tech protein shake week 41 pregnancy charlotte records management museo nazionale strait of malacca map lots shed sale troubleshooting eureka vacuum truck bed caps tickling boys feet luciana salazar illinois nursing home litigation neopets avatar help joe zydeco cars and models flowmaster mufflers preferred stock trust dvd r blank media reviews triple mode leonardo dicaprio soviet blockade of berlin julie taylor reset tools rajasthan tour packages incorporate online union station restaurants san diego tickets stuf south bend tribune classifieds southern california mold inspection testing couple kissing expense management travel electrician modesto california 44th medical brigade vietnam sport compact car putos camping equipment store charleston sc ways to fold note fame the musical learn to sell on ebay getting stripped naked stonewall manor triangle va mitsubishi eclipse gst spyder mortgage newsletter website buy gold stock kentucky driving age reflexes tings remembered killzone 2 trailer aol buddy icons pontiac valve cover link aromatherapy products spinning wheel inn ct mukis kitchen teaching distributive property fishing boats for sale keensert alternative school programs information about the leaning tower of pisa lowrance help marin volvo 100 top country songs nordstrom shoes honolulu i want to be just like you selling innocence starting dreadlocks home white eagle golf presentation binder title ix sijun.com belami videos tabextensions vacation home in ohio i m quacky site malaysia my destination like a boss free music monte carlo las vegas review 2006 bubble estate real free wet dripping cunts pescuit penile bumps crashing this land is your land corporate cardiac screening primary care vermont state parks kakashi effusion lamp oils on sale swordfish zero interest credit cards asf video in html name search phone transformer nln groups of stars domain slumber party crazy games cutoff shorts the fifth element home emulsion stability of lipids 1968 barracuda airline jobs sports illistrated swimsuit sandstone found mesa verde hawaiian t shirts average salaries approachability 1929 formed in label record website main solzhenitsyn work at home online jobs slam sports theodor geisel picture thematic unit on weather mercury boat motors toss black mountain armand van helden mp3 wood turning amputee stories enlarged liver lowest california mortgage dose-marker relationship free funny video clips moon dog tavern canibis sitemap anne sextons poems skittagetan exotic latin models aires buenos de de la provincia rentas time expense management female group orgy brit securities career discountcontactlenses website my flair live journal backgrounds fixed odds http nervous breakdown anitech computers anak ikan bother alberta health care form mega brushless motor if i could ever fall in love manipulation ryan phillippe gallery elways steak house bc golf tire dealers juan carlos plata personalized welcome mat msn toolbar australasian society for the study of animal behaviour cellular phone reviews bear lake mens wedding clothes web gallery of art rhythm motion dance land c2 optimization toolpath tax reform panel recommendation milwaukee bagger mainline newspaper pa sitemap leanne wilson 1 baron during red war world south park cartoon website univox hi flier bass real wives los tres mosqueteros dominos coupons daylight light x ray metal detector timoney drug arrest nmr results webcam chat rooms us investigations services inc. paradise lost reviews smittybuilt j2me wireless toolkit 2.2 download year old white girl iris flower photo mickey mouse easy mortgage calculator 2 battle earth middle picture mens wallets with money clip nature nurture psychology domain rome splits steve gelder notorious big and akon drugs for erectile dysfunction paige davis pictues truck tonneau covers frankie j lyrics list books by judith viorst pondless waterfall kits ginger beer young readers choice airedale 7feel website dragon warrior contri polycarbonate solvent institutes of technology in ireland balanza boxing love is a good thing webmap peripheral edema causes basic instinct scene american association of endodontists writing term paper new orleans saints video las vegas wedding specials sconces wall lyrics to too bad by nickelback female domination stories buy surf wax mcafee clean sweep not guesswork 2.01 emulator psp version kiki fm army military occupational specialties unh libbys psychic chat online seattle real estate agents offensive costumes brick laying recent news on cymbalta take it all off girl woman body builder site myspace.com mm to inches britney spears legs ezekiel 19 nintendo ds .com oriental escorts in london loverboy ethical code of conduct beaches of south walton keep cats off garden free adaware spyware power supply cable extender sitemap savannah georgia mls aftermarket moonroof main http myrtle beach state park myrtle beach sc petoskey news review jobs herbie love bug submit poems for money crystalmeth oatmeal scotchies recipe lytec 2005 calloway golf uk cheap tickets erotic and nude photography domain mamma search book of mormon geography along came movie spider acclaim video games charmed russian dating coleman generators lisbon movie theater nolvadex gang raped, raped 100 mk saw tile abroad free volunteer crazy cat winchester rifle classical guitar music tab ma-620 equation ellen pompeo xxx videos free video porno dog gevalia stainless steel coffee maker showcase and multiplex cinemas small bathroom sink vanities terminator sega boy teens shirtless discount motorcycle tire dvd film ray ban sun glasses all these things that i ve done video pokerstars com money order phentermine lengthy black wine cooler cosmetics ethnic cheap cell phones voyeur examples of translucent reverse phone search page grave locate ali g indahouse movie quotes edie murphy movies car decal evp video domain lezlovevideo group petite chicks home makeover index diazepam online bad business credit loan personal saturns moons asian big boob suzuki starter pens with printed logos kingdom of heavon movie free football games to play internet sport book angelito don omar video vuela viagra online canada friday after next movie combination no no opening padlocks problem tool work at home assembly company main adult anime free online video trailer electrical plugs porn celebs fotos ovnis in movie theater wisconsin free teen chat rooms fta coolsat file abi titmuss full movie free sedu hair straightener student loan for students with bad credit deadwood sexstories ashura videos thomas the tank engine best kitty litter song airline ticket annette bening movie plastic card embossers cape may weddings teen pic pamella anderson akai plasma tv windows xp pro sp2 serial top molloy greyhound bus lines jodie moore movie clip aljazeera saddam video breyer horses jana mrazkova video buy anabolic steroids orillia apartments boyfriend gift idea romantic viagara schlosser development austin sexual intercourse technique 2nd audition commercial edition movie musical play tv chu n v mouth herpes halitosis cure female viagra kingdom of heaven movie trailer music home business start ups ackles girlfriend jensen new picture sex teen air brake gun muzzle bonnet hair dryer live olympics streaming video dog outfit hotel coupons jacques louis david fisher controls top sex scene in movie lolita russian preteen kill some time funny videos hookah tobacco joel coen movies enders game movie casting online web site advertising order cialis wedding flower girl dress sex voyeur sexy panties squirls interactive dating game adult web cam airsoft gun wholesale synonym word lists watch the daniel pearl execution video headphones ipod wireless computer wallpaper buy didrex on line dell coupons leons furniture clitoris orgasm pictures of rakim y ken-y toronto escort group lesbian sex money gram online adolescent model canada job elado szemelygepkocsik home house wife linkin park video clips equalizer hitch anabolic buy drug steroid 2 aircraft war world cheap replica louis vuitton purse amp baby bellini furniture teen free plan shed wood electromagnetism ecommerce web site design sexo servidoras df nfl shop lucias mama aladdin movies free punjabi song pain in lower right side and back machine embroidery digitizing asians sex sites attack killer video whale luxor crack store pittsburgh furniture in e vitamin express rajdhani train video audi part office desk organization office paper shredder electronic voice phenomenon videos chocolate verison wireless pocket watch roxy swimwear go mesa airline bargain network katrina18 movie liquor dampers steering air cheap dublin flight ryan free gay porn picture domain flomax vienna hotel pension ramadan calendar leprechaun videos layout myspace skateboard zero gondwana giorgio armani free realtone downloads in cars free porn dvd download information about the drug soma cartoonxxx advantages and disadvantages of solar power free porn movies window tool bar tupperware arkansas fort rental smith video fujisaki kaede free party invitation animal house movie wcmc auto myspace start video espn sports video games arm female video wrestling amc deerbrook movie times i believe in a thing called love music video jp losman video law and order svu video clip jennifer lopez aint it funny la music tortura video nationwide insurance car zumanity tickets asian free movie porn thumb pontifex 2 patch avi format videos new york newspaper jafra cosmetic lose it video eminem isosorbide mono er kate maberly pic big buns indonesia cerita dewasa neutrik insane brothers movies biltmore house history virtual girl top website internet video iraq design your own t shirt aryan movie kim nubiles.net videos african american hair styling video colleague r-e-s-p-e-c-t japanese downloadable uncensored movies latino butt movie gallery bmw 645 namco pool animated cartoon character apparel basketball high school kungfu hustle movie download www loadmovie flash preloader ar 15 video download eric clapton layla yahoo groups sign in commercial cookware snow tubing resort in ontario picture of medium length hair cut weight watcher point guide gratis juegos mario super video make car laptop stand beachfront properties sitemap flagler county homes hot mama 78 anberlin lyrics ivy queen video code amplifier cable tv video robert merrill actor jobs in the video game industry it happens everytime music video action against copyright distribution distribution infringement music red video ahh facial movie porn oriental tattoo pics entrance music undertaker video reeboks animal health insurance autistic counseling lesson plan preschoolers nbc news broadcast silent night free amateur streaming video wild parsnip action ea fantasy game sports strategy video ava devine video adult chat free live video applying eye make up video gaucho suncom ringtones ai nagase leelee sobiesky rain rain go away come again alcohol drinking driving video encino man movie amateur lesbian video paper cutter ed gein movie review john and marlena video clips boat letters wather amniocentesis video ann arbor movie showtimes european traditions scottsdale empire magazines top 100 movie stars index video wmv lord of the rings movie summary interent movie database automatico distributore videogiochi aerobatics movie free spanish to english medical dictionary kids movie auditions http jesse jane movie pictures site kearney ne movie stephen lynch love song expect the unexpected movie south indian sex movie actress voice to text software free mahjong games online nandralone azureus movie inside ipod video occular science gay torrent the overlook apartments athens ga mexico resort reviews adult download movie news groups anderson clip free pam video joke southern utah mls rebecca de mornay eagle movie spread reliable tool imax theater manhattan armor worn by knights in king arthur movie adrianna video real estate agent washington residential mail box for sale download ringtones josh smith slam dunk video download the wedding date movie soundtrack india dance video clips ifilm uncensored videos directv remote programming like toy soldiers by eminem music video southampton ontario cottage ah 64d apache longbow helicopter video life provida science inxs video elliott smith video download locomotion music video yellowbook commercial dog spread of nuclear weapon art from futurism performance present mp3 free download 2005 best nbcs photo pick lip synching new jersey teen video air bag car suspension video niacin, benefits portugal ronaldo jersey newhair waste management stock lyric for friend like you by sammie gentleman letter lynch willie emily model impossible is nothing video residential lease erika schneider mt holyoke latest hindi movies dvd leather seat cover car teletext holidays nike shox and so it is closer movie mupo park place entertainment corporation map of rome retirement communities in san diego swiss army watch band asian busty video herbal life f1 ass like that music video vaughn shopping mall impossible mission movie trailer inaguration parade video artillery field howitzer video alien ant farm music video smooth criminal louise movie thelma greatest jesse livermore stock trader world antique ceramics collectible pottery el movie zorro bath bars thomas the tank antique french lamp indoor tanning bed john lyons video approved movie pre erica moore videos gm crate engines illusion movie quality wooden beads american idol william hung videos carlos bernard phobia cures man hair replacement linalool toxicity 7 day diet liv arnesen free little lolita batman coloring pages idaho jobs drugs in sport air charter service filing cabinets ottomans speed up dsl downloads motorcycle insurance sir galahad tacrolimus i should be sleeping lyrics sheet metal las vegas xenon body kits acupressure massagers earn aeroplan miles multiplication table free printable easy making money online polaris 600 rmk sedition soft shell jacket silver swan studio quiznos.com ecuador flag abolition of slavery in france earth fire water its happy bunny love bites quay house manchester san jose sharks jersey success university body electric link unique floral designs juneteenth ar site taro net null value tours kauai the kansas city channel com build a kit car pileup flash game micrometals electric sauna heaters website somewhere out there american male underwear naked dometic refrigerator ccsetmgr.exe mickey thompson all inclusive bahamas zona mx8000 behringer jim bohannon scotty dosent know picture roundworms box supplies sq1000 wisconsin search engine optimization service main buying a car in washington buxom cleavage jack russell terrier united kingdom health insurance air powered motor java pang 96 source code php programming coors apply h1b visa striping japan airlines who sang black betty mp3 search send flowers germany ministry puppets online-scripts.com mitsubishi tvs we dont stop lyrics spearhead mothers fucking daughters kerdi verslag nederland andorra soda lime glass enviroment canada public school districts in california actress bollywood hot sexy karla homolka pictures atomic dog hairy daddies gay pictures sitemap felt pad international long distance service burn cds off internet for free rolling garment bag artist raphael renaissance java listselectionmodel actress mayra pic veronica flat roofs 4 playing card suits sunsystems consultant computer hardware and software asia carrera free movie standardbred defensive driving online texas monster truck modles wood river sports equipment custom transmissions migraine treatments professional digital cameras spy spy vs vive le canada libre led shop rolling stones around and around living debt free overseas study arcade game marsiya lyrics chrissie collins butterscotch fox cheerleaders adult cat costumes reset recovery console password natalee international publishers association chakra system architectural acoustics tounge cement mixers runescape guides cute things new horizon imco triplex lighter easy to swallow classic mustangs for sale foamy squirrel cartoon keychain pill case ducatimonster iron man competition mikayla miles website led infrared light therapy romeo and juliet vs west side story essay blackjack software download poignet stile project forum garter snakes room makeovers san diego westover hills apartments cary nc ilikia hotel imperial tea court san francisco american pie naked pets lover rem bad day vitality products sba loans praire view a and m athenas temples quarter horses wedding centerpiece mckeesport school district pa sitemap sam marie teal eviction notice rubber domination wigs african american model train setups air airfare business business cheap class class discount laguna beach art walk johnny ringo cockney rejects pegasus horse supplies louise glover uk model french teen louise jameson embassysuites.com ohton racing riser card ribbon covina realtor cain and abel athletic supplements west side apartments asian online wedding raccoon working holiday visa london england smartmedia memory cards kitchen aid cookware fox american idol results shampooing molly holly in thongs 360 box shipment tracker x military education sweatshirts 2007 cadillac escalade photo spy channel.com domain gay slave training scarab club detroit mi racing coil over qui-gon jinn czech beads os x 10.3.7 update sabre technical wilson muir bank and trust bulma videl c18 groin kicking stories link quotes on living wills the original whizzinator kitchen islands ideas realone annandale big bite va renaissance storage shelves asenlix dusty miller westminster dog show career listings pennsylvania carrie the movie tax sale maso .biz uhura meow pet rescue haruki mizuno install messenger yahoo shoes for designer in india air conditioner parts cash advance loan stained glass tools free public nudes van gough brass hardware nhp inc. wastewater evaporators asset management software open source interval world home page batman apparel phoenix luxury properties homeowners insurance washington crosswords hollywood video pretentious bolo tie naughty models brio toys space black sheep squadron fitness equipment financing windermere homes for sale katie holmes the gift pics king snake pictures patrick wilson icon car forums trailer wiring schematic wild group sex jenna jamson kniphofia flamenco back home again in indiana literotica sex stories elmhurst middle school oakland ca snow cones pilot license solar water distilling expired vicodin effects quarterhorse ranches email web hosting simple english bible shannon elizabeth playboy we got more bounce in california mid west national life insurance co of tn index execute immediate pl ahora chica de la call on me mp3 seo toolbar krispy kreme delivery driver wages iso documents baby crib state farm insurance team america sounds im moving duvalle air airfare business business cheap class class discount look out for outlook barn shed plans shipping to liberia junior suite schult manufactured homes handcrafted soap here bigcharts facts about alcohol naughty lingerie pny geforce 6800 gt agp triffles play nubble light web cam www pink 4 free rose vine picture or tattoo moroccan bedding cams college girls 1990 gt mustang together control center 6.2 sinergy stifle pain new york indian reservation cigarette tyan k8we uk pacific beach real estate honda engines used tight tiny teens what is a database plus size bathing suit dare to be bare chicago real estate agents qp distribution webmap anglo american mining company bulb ethanol picture plant movin out commercial fishing electric prune site myspace.com superman for the age capacitive proximity sensor shelly howard sears craftsman leaf blower above ground and pools unix permission denied law sumerian cb repair joseph barraco 28v emi filter canada passport english pronunciation guide fleiner whistler canada accommodation reids furniture store black female body miter saw mobile advertising tradeshow portable display pop up fuckmywife.com batteries for laptop computer small business grant application 50th birthday gift ideas collegeboard.com the dispatch corporate credit building photography scott sherie internet business opportunities nissan albuquerque tyre dealers in south africa top ten new years resolutions free laptop international gourmet coffees maternels san diego verbal abuse simpsons buddy icon uss batton small chin boffing lofts denver lodo treasure island lesson plan piling contractor uk new lebanon 314 juvenile lyric not why vendio image hosting medical pictures old house air conditioning 50 cent piggy bank performance monitor windows 2003 runaway productions multiple breasts kitchen aid cookware invercargill real estate nz burton gear magazine jessica biel train photos rivers restaurant chicago skin black american satellite way usher raymond naked augusta county va the catholic book store lesbian licking lovers silk bridal boquets gia lashay sciatica symptoms delete cookie marvin window replacement parts konzorcij almo reach redbull t berd 307 harborview medical center personal chef recipes gay oral porn queen elizabeth 2nd pictures peter erskine drums granny thumbnail lover movie sweden jewell marceau video anthony quinn movie john konopka busch garden sheikra amateur beach babes ipod video recorder liberty mo movies awning canopy maintenance creedance clearwater revival free web cam sex chat candle discount favor wedding jennifer anniston nude new movie aguilar antonio movie teaching career requirement apt video tape copying sim girl end movie free printable tea party invitation pre teen girls wearing diapers henna tattoo gallery nrs1 photographic competitions pymatuning pa pediatric encounter form ann berrybush movie triple toon americas army multihack low profile pci express video cards discount new balance running shoes heavenly celebrities extreme bondage movie jaimee foxworth adult video shrek 3 the movie hair updos amateur download free home movie private teen video young jennifer lopez music video clips le jette movie auto racing crashes video home pregnancy test american before cancer cancer cancer institute it prevention program researchs start stopping liquor snob cell phone reverse lookup ant in the pants movie bob fm los angeles music video production adidas cushion response womens amateur movie production exhibitionism dare everstar imovie import mpeg 2 market reports troll carnival book club statistical analysis windows task manager system tray burn fat fast avril lavene pauline hickey kelly preston video the godfather pc game review ass naked video a perfect circle music video code the sweater song link audio engine search video a series of unfortunate event movie magnetic signs car door lindsay ridgeway kylie ireland free gallery houses for rent structured insurance settlement paris accommodation intervideo win dvr car part sell used snowboard chick free hot pic radio sirius site web afi award movie mtv performance 93 till infinity lyrics adult clip video xxx book creative doll doll free play soft main beach accommodation lake katrine shaving pussy top selenium level q bid dm tab private server virtual our lady of grace castro valley static electricity science project alcala chx scandal video jubal movie little abner movie ann margaret movie star horoscope love sign compatibility asian tsunami 2004 instinct movie quotes bridge full rectifier wave leslie sansone aerobic videos and dvds jeanne crain free teen cum shot movie airline continental official site jagged edge let get married robert frost famous poem 40000 marine space warhammer angelina eva free porn video movie theater alexandria la active install video x latest version windows movie maker latina movie new shemale black patent leather handbag jason tharp marine video ridin high joy video ip changer kevin spacey saturday night live video amateur audition movie no popup ball lottery oregon power emmitt till movie aishwarya rai nude video clip animal funny home video father daughter stories elektra movie poster allen dooling keyon ray video vs eve cdkey air conditioner filter silmix divas wrestling photo in dash video monitors jim henson movies audio video conferencing software installing agp video cards jean claude van damme videos jt and colleen music videos augustana boston video amc movie theater in houston texas asian code music video kelly employment services seattle washington water filter cartridge radon testing kit lost innocence movie index nude hairy pussy car insurance florida antique sonora phonographs lip shoes two http url magic bullet in live video japanese av idol gallery ticket master.com free group picture sex story video adaptec videoh media center around lyric ring rosy cutco idol japan movie aventura don music omar video y thermolability plastic horns women dogs flea jose market san proximity suit investor relations firms boston hotel architectural design know that ti video kay parker taboo movie paper mario 2 great photograph wedding allison williams movie free automated phone systems kim wilde video codes illusion lady movie title motivational qoutes advantage competitive ups wedding gift basket dog puppy schnauzers 1988 burt reynolds jaimee foxworth crave movie diminishing marginal return dana reeve ambien buy cr online stand up ludacris kate boswell actress www america funniest video tv show cashier check fraudulent black toe sucking train for a century cycling diet pipe expansion joint flea market merchandise wholesale snag a job cvs pharmacy.com fat photo ugly woman 14 year old russian models email.html website stem cells gary coleman pc comparison guide iodoform myspace.com normajean vortex sierra vista mobile homes index line scan virus shaved women pussy pics b2b wholesale seborrhea truck rack accessories uk style tv seville inn and suites led zeppelin kashmir infocus 50 dlp high definition tv electric lineman pictures chum fm ordinairy boys as seen on tv videos sandra romain perfect legs library books slownik frazeologiczny los angeles news station alarm en fire language system teen titans adult home make a multi user dungeon hemispheres marine weather tampa florida web kdka news at 5 scooter ramps web austin events center aircraft job refueling steven welch vermont mastectomy playing cards shipping cargo protective padding player pianos naked young female models make party invitations online webmap naperville central robyn 2002 webmap outdoor sports television programs ebony exposure cheap toy signs of testicular cancer lyrics for all i need by bethany dillon learn to play classical guitar runescape map kenradio romantic pa cabin passwords backdoors webmap contract software air bus bow down katrina kaif silver mint julep container goodwill auction roger site myspace.com biz carts jolene tiger woods score card medicaid management information system new york spray tanning bcis life settlements lumberjacks nick barron custom built motorcycle vevus warhammer terrain ideas rocket car dragonfly jewelry wild rose bi girl kidou medieval patterns le lecteur dacrobate marine gps victoria jackson elvis songs speedometer christian lapel pins fundrunner webmap tuscan cafe rockin with the cross www stare at you computer digital storage devices www peoplesearch ultraedit moroccan mirrors importer website new pig crystals tgpextractor.com weight watchers 123 recipes characteristics for autism 1037theq quad skate parts transducer job operator plant texas wastewater quark strangeness charm webmap pro comp tire review electricution accident lawyers los angeles kirsten dunst interview patient check in young joc traction table free redhead nudes elisabeth palabras del girls showing cleavage el salvador discount holiday shopping real estate on vancouver island bc email extractor 1.6.1 pokemorphs permutations foreign bride online apa paper guidelines ideal windlass co. virago motley crue songs lyrics gig harbor real estate online obituaries chocolate candy molds stevensons ranch ca http emily deans poonjiaji us cpa john ore florence sc http ottawa citizen dublin restaurants what is ginseng good for anikan treatment for pinworms in humans oregon beaches serial ata 250 cute halloween picture home carol grow outdoor plant catalogs soundbytes from apocalypse now jeremy blake karen kopins hipaa implementation outdoor exhibitionist stop watch gang black booty gallery mike weir mls memphis tennessee adolf hitler rise and fall nike red football the prayers of a righteous man zoomanity best dog breeds index information on the element aluminum herbalife shapeworks products map motorola murs radio sue nero index tribu chibcha 1973 amc javelin raw meat good apocalypse now production company herranz marcelino the incredibles computer game cheats bushmaster.com irs garnish planet mercury tesseract house of fun hospital policy web aviation headsets inline skating smoothly in music coors twins myspace tickers flash paper charter bus rental quarter horse in wyoming macfee bite blocker bedskirts p2k tools help domain cellphone rental aig group benefits honolulu advertiser mom diane ward stockerau oriental garden restaurant new york city broadway discount tickets lime green leash kick the dog improve water quality novus ordo seclorum safety 1st high chairs brady miller gmac yokohama tires speed teats service_auto_start link plasma technology inc. page pacs some fantastic place affect effect versus dog obedience training houston texas foot tattoo 2006 atlas delorme free street usa muffin recipes drug dogs boards crazy frog nutritional supplements for athletes dale earnhardt sr. 245 tp silvex one touch test strip in public toying extreme lolita sex pccillin outdoor star lights pyrotect helmets tan through sidekick ii televisa monopolistic competition halter tops marin real estate listings adjust binding salomon ski knife sharpener 2006 best globe golden picture pro euthanasia bird mites dont worry be happy langkawi northumberland history r block very large nipples rally pc games fort campbell ky notes cash flow maple syrup urine disease webmap mercy killing festo dallas entertainment army location navy store http strawberry rhubarb pie kelly slater girlfriend heat car amps ohio bingo law download verizon wireless ringtones michael parks kita louisville, ky motor trend www v max anal movie clips banks recreational vehicle dealer wynn las vegas domain dream street vicki richter pic kawasaki vulcan qe services.com webcam motion detection download calmini url skiing at steamboat springs co inventory recovery name for a vampire sportys running a car on ethanol gallery natalie portman metal gear solid 3 walkthought no more raven riely ob2 software bank accounts ranco etc controller sissy dress puppet stages create wealth from home satallite navigation software cute straight boy maria magdalena chakra product air compressor filter baldor motors icarus archangel gabriel envirocon metallica instrumental songs http cycling clothing american wedding pics oem volkswagen parts lolibbs antioch maps big bear remax redesign smart carson city dollars old playboys senseo coffee custom mail box greece travel physics questions online to purchase a little temporary ash tree orange leaf fungus nba inside hoops uv protection wax for automobiles reliable carriers.com regional advertising campaign hairy balls robin byrd mars signal light co golf travel jenna jameson wallpaper gallery tit milk chihuahua pictures net exam questions saved by the bell cast mercruiser parts spitalfield goldfish maltby ronald hot pink big and tall mens apparel uniforms sexy for school southern charms2.com privatemembers afl football crips gang signs free gay movie clips sram streetball moves roe v. wade summary page quicksort java implementation quitclaim deed alexander clinic dr emory whatsup gold logo designers protemics acting classes female bodybuilder nude free barbers a track called motherless child golf drivers nissan trucks site links ou medical school tulsa no discipline lesbians coming out toyota prius hybrid gran turismo 4 answering machines homeowners insurance how to read music evaluation of portable air conditioners sheet of music industrial tools suppliers wisconsin search engine misterpoll forever friends automobile air conditioning equipment repairing site evp recording anime soundtrack transex pompinari product control investment banking fall bass fishing el perfecto lirorodare suites tampa busch gardens westlake high school austin tx url alberta blue cross alcoholism and its effects san jacinto newspaper ujena baby japanese name poetry by jill scott mobile homes orange county pictures of the battle of lexington jeff noon web patience gnr lyrics opti tech quick release neck strap sex video game john calvin commentary mondo salon bloomington in hands mason county court docket very old women sex entertainment modus birding antiwar cheap roses line navajo times bukkake mpegs beets rx-7 page metal tile email greetings sandee westgate gallery poker star strip salish artists radyo ses kannada torrent espn fantasy football.com beer psycho song stick the pet company store earn easy money online latina girl ps2 steering wheel discount valium prodigy firestarter lyric phoenix historic properties as you sow so shall ye reap 57 car chevy lyrics for eminem puke aluminum notebook case 1 60 t04 turbo scouting forms land ls model our lives the calling stock index table mexican gang black definition for freedom isuzu rodeo ignition free ringtone suncom wireless alarm car car enforcer security sign and symptom of a heart attack in woman sizzla tour schedule free cell phone reverse lookup directory u s post office hours socket exception connection reset professional apology letter ingalls laura museum wilder las vegas college showcase tournament neurontin gabapentin refinancing california home loan goldmedalmortgage.com multisensory teaching approach culture family family haworth marriage problem therapy wi dnr young playwrights competition pink and black jenna hard walpapper 3d knocked out and tied up how to avoid bankruptcy ann lisa melissa taylor wolf navajo indians food kumbia kings picture mail phoenix sun ticket free asian galleries vacuum parts bell biv devoe video website satori maid sissy site web colorado corporation commission ways to advertise cell nucleus plant young teen model nude pirogue plan cat clothing doll line pussy wedding program and invitation wording lisa bickels bite blocker capoiera pocket bikes mcmurray hatchery dealer ktm luxury home definition prn active.com msn quotes labrador retriever puppy training seat of allen county orchid brassia care collarme com colorado home loan mortgage northern refinance ethiopian restaurant san francisco pulaski furniture lehigh county court pennsylvania sitemap tight vpl gemstones red devil pizza covina auto part lincoln continental detailed map of japan steve martin king tut song pill identification estrogen sexy black woman kafka on the shore import tuner models dress shirley temple greyhound bus service urban fox glasgow dumas free streaming online sex video slips trips falls air bed queen raised coleman furnaces san jose ca.com 12 4 frame picture x apologiesaccepted sullage tank 2007 bmw review x5 www neon genesis evangelion employee scheduling software ryan hesse solymar beach resort cancun rome street map search azz ebony phat sata drive install xp properties for rent in spain cbc radio unusual objects taurus the lover catalog printing quote kyssesyken cliffs of mohr www lisa de leeuw ringworm tropical music hawaiian mask website credit deco nude pictures of melyssa ford juicy couture sale 37205 2 federal income tax witholding injury settlement shinnecock the indian tribe best price memory foam mattress pad northwestern air line modular office space bikini picture teen electric paper cutter killing me softly with his song sport fishing massachusetts black ebony ass shadowmarch phenazopyridine water moccasin drifting modified race cars for sale american standard ant carpenter gel maxforce income irs question tax dbs satellite dishes hot wheels collection background checks verison wireless cell phone level water kirby smith center attorney child division general support texas wife of christopher reeve fact lizard spotted yellow examples of block printing excel telecommunications canada steve choo girls peeing pants truck pop up campers rank planet pass american fee skandia mattias knave zamir chorale of boston sugar free low fat chocolate sea kayaking vacation hanes boise state university act ii popcorn security forces sprintpcs ringtones roker hurricane black hair weave baked potato twice download free mp3 music doula training pete sampras getboyz squirrel songs foamy panacea vitamins lawn bowling sydney american visa .com naked black teenager christian wedding invitation wording niquist rate towing insurance is david souter gay mts network curtis records management music train ice la fox movie dead alive master planned community texas mp3 players mamma janovic paint brother fucking his sister crockpot architecture industrielle contemporaine louisiana movie pollock theater desi india sex gay naked black man pic shaw brand carpet kelley blue book used car value bank foreclosure listing in illinois enlarged liver in dog wood carving book wood textures inc. atv 4x4 video descendants of darkness coin nro wildlife conservation of india money trader mating macquarie centre north ryde the road not taken galleries of women kissing i love poem thinking radio play house webmap apache virtual hosting httpd.conf quilted tote economy car rental homeowners time goes by so slowly by homeclips passwords lds seminary helps rhodesia war vinyl online buy business check adopt a virtual pet for free snow and ice festival china laptop video projector trail of tears president riddell revolution football helmet the gioi khong tinh yeu illusions movie entertainer las party vegas payless shoe source in lebanon movie theater play casino game online tall tripod interactual player adult dragonball x langley colossus movie times arms civil manual video war link philately cdzinc imediate decision loans url map of university of illinois etude des drapeaux anxiety lasting long symptom computer virus machine slush gay teens wanking free filet crochet pattern it job interview series domain squirting pussies death at juvenile boot camp behavior chart good volvo ecu chips prevost buses for sale all grown up video washington county board of education hagerstown evergreen school district women in self bondage the adventures of tintin area bay fetish francisco in san store womens avp movie review ilona video avasat live cybersex web cam jeep grand cherokee srt 8 thunder bay grill rockford holidays to new york pop music charts 2004 womens designer shoes easy teen new balance bahamas home rental posion oak digimon mimi dominance website skidmore college http angel code hinder lip video hover copter ed edd eddy movie petition site website bucci pic twin clothes fashion stradivarius help desk consulting alive dead tina j lazar nfl .com. webmap muppets muppet most accurate 22 rifle adi security distributors envelope opener king tara easton pa movies preteen nude young girl home lowrider bike parts arabic indian movie porn www italgas roma little dick movie job descriptions real estate robbinsville north carolina antimicrobial agents chemotherapy journal auto dealer catholic us hispanic chamber of commerce holder paper recessed toilet web customs area rugs way of the wolf pizza box and advertising cartoon spiders free bussiness plan example online greetings art cat clip dr hat in seuss lean on me when your not strong lyric wrestling rankings 2006 akg k28 traveline uk pegasus bathroom vanity physical rehabilitation home jody stecher and kate brislin paper toys peter tosh wallpaper modern day slavery a perfect circle outsider video vore gallery havasu construction puppy sale shiba playstation 2 modchip forum btk caught hepatitis b medical transcription schools end of the year activities aniston hair jennifer sedu straightener.tiv2.info coffee enema lisa chappell maxine north reading softball schedule training triathlon wall switch timer domain northern ireland telephone code double d cup mustang customization louisville gun shows on eagle wings powerpoints spanish bogle funds intelligent investor mutual new perspective accutane for mild acne resume writing free nascar driver wallpaper 17 2006 2007 calendar calendar deluxe family month thinkbin wall xine car concept volkswagen effexor message boards kimberly holland videos texas ranch real estate american health journal pharmacy system website fan clubs army field jacket orange county production company page wooden pony tanger outlets its my party movie dan hick his hot lick march madness tournament 2005 general contractor license no puedo estar sin ti mixing meridia with paxil atlanta drug busts kawamura video yukie bioterrorism preparedness moschino perfume blank patch birthday gift idea roadway spy directory directory e email fax fax mail national national real teens dating rubenesque woman pet orphans southern california make medieval costumes edge of 17 twenty 21 philadelphia pa around helping kid learn world 4 big brother channel live baby got back ringtone discount xanax bonanza bus line ninja do funk soul food beef tip recipes indian fucking movie ringtone undertaker www grill redfish cellular phone us amateur group sex if you dont know me by now song www fredericks of hollywood home page cannon camera billie fruit holiday review strange unsafe expressions are not blocked club fight lyric soundtrack athletic facility development meridia 15 autographed from memorabilia sports domain inexepensive discounted party supplies peter o toole bio la belle mariee bridal the best of triumph the insult comic dog modern dental concepts convert pdf a560 free phone ringtone voice megaboobs free mp3 audio books ancient egypt history ganesha picture london drug winnipeg limiter torque real ringtones no subscription clavicle bone coresecrets.com lupus anti flag video private financing powerful resumes mixing prescription drugs online english spanish translator webmap job placement inhalant drugs les claypools rainbow bass babes and stuff party sex low fat oatmeal cookies recipe girls with big asses computer footrest motion sickness anti anxiety drugs for dogs link-o-rama marvel hair schools corporate credit enhancement pennsylvania accutane lawyer peach immigration attorneys franklin north carolina araceous seattle improv post alley site free shipping material hardcore lesbian party sex overhaulin photo shoot fiasco anara video download artistic video clips ambien medicare wholesale computer hard drives relationships ski goggles gazpacho soup high frequency reciprocating test rig straight men masturbate acheter le levitra online0catchcom de domaine candida cleanse free adult xxx chat rooms discount caribbean vacation modelo de plano de contas south lake tahoe lodging vince russo shoot on hogan www nexium drug class udcast erim international large molecule drugs lightcycles pain medicine online.reltop.net purchase site viagra sitemap malaysia traditional food mp3 ringtone download kendra todd tara patrick mpegs website honduras road map sauder computer desk with hutch hendrix real ringtones 007 night fire ps2 meridia liquid simple life showtimes elco boats chevy spacers wheel commercial bar equipment aaa com travel tobey torres 2005 home glass cake dome action dragonball forum live movie z girls bedroom amoxicillin 500mg dose ass eaters unanimous 8 irs e file online clinton document destruction racing sims pc air fisher king snow bunny costume lucifer satan devil ancient mesopotamia web quest juniors shopping online alcohol council county drug thompkins membangun mail server president as chief of state affirmation garden savage video ephedra lawsuit window messenger port free nokia 3390 ringtone enigma music video enjoy silence video awning deck pay verizon phone bill az canyon grand phoenix university site links 50 50 hotmail mtch popl actor played superman who http style guides writing digoxin toxicity roosevelt dam water level ionamin 30 tanning lotion http ryuki sakamoto instructional oral sex video audio bullys myspace.com site girl anime free sprint ringtones.com xp pro administrator password i m sick and tired of being criticized filly swarovski crystal necklace the rolling stones cytotec huge black nipples new home in atlanta recommended daily intake of vitamin c tips for selling your home firewall security teenage love quotes redken color chart cat mancoon picture placement argent nuku nuku webucation propane fueled generators cameron incst mom son story crayola.com hostname property for rent mallorca stefan raab oral rainbow party metagroup gartner indiana newspapers bittorrent software free download motorola v60 ring tone pregnant pussy thumbnail metal tool boxes lg 5200 accessories get it poppin mp3 crest whitestrips supreme business credit card bamboo plant gifts commander jeep review banger sisters matchmaking christadelphian young people paula garces nude snaggit download houston texas home for sale female bodybuilding digital signatures maui restaurants cm gioielli srl valley interfaith council hear simple and clean ktm 250 f susan strasberg xcel energy lineman venice hotels discounted sky lopez cheap amoxicillin advice debt free legal settlement lincoln park zoo micheaux sanders guided hog hunting in texas airport security regulations carl rove ashley bond sarah geronimo song lyric free hawaii desktop wallpaper myths legends clubbing logos chop suey aircraft battery concorde flash 5.0 marionette impact sockets buy cheap uk viagra affordable web site development evangelina misato katsuragi ymca of coastal georgia stainless steel cookware paris hilton vagina picture discountcontactlenses weatherproof stereo housing hepatic cyst on liver verdeonline cake dessert italian traditional sandestin home for sale galilei galileo biography skeet throwers oakley prescription eyewear chicago gang street achievement goal library akeem bargain olajuwon uniform sue diamond alberto reyes eyeball buyer first home illinois time painting designs on furniture living for tomorrow and scorpion new mexico medicaid contract pelham fish game zestra gauss law now performance react reznor trent david bowie mp3 free adult sex movie download yahoo instant messaging for free roulette game italian bistro cherry hill nj plano tx new home orgasm sounds mp3s car drawings cheech marin regarding the fountain lesson plans link prefilled earth wind and fire september san marcos townhomes for sale sports public relations firm pretty boy floyd washington dc real estate sales invicta chronograph watches taproot mine lyric jamison parker fishing glasses polarized sun widdings car stereo installation kit guide link past zelda custom seat covers john ricketts pic of pink teen pussy krystal steal gallery village meadow baptist church multiplication facts love name compatability makati bar fun home decor howa used play station 2 system cheerleading fundraiser ciara and petey pablo canon binoculars review hunk muscle naked girls in revealing bikinis bikini girl tiffany laufer medical packaging systems mx2642a price library supplies melbourne chino xl lilyette full figure bra garnet schist sutanu sarkar paradigma kuhniano intel play drivers denver townhome rentals cdb rare earth magnets wedding photos corporate golf tournaments ethernet to serial adapter beach front property for sale 15 inch tire big dog clothes indiana national guard unit topeka realtor association danny goodman funny free animated screensaver auto accident lawyer al4a adult links kit trio car mario schneeberger las vegas keynote speakers art dragon koi tattoo engage technologies inc. tampa wollaston prism fishing lodge ontario brighton estraderm generic case ih farm tractor girls in cum soaked panties flavor girl love coupon depot office dublin hotel jurys smile makers columbus ohio vacation all i ever wanted vacation stratosphere hotel las vegas van goh gourmet coffee blends bad business credit loan personal tamira fox microsoft office sharepoint server animal tattoos x9 superwinch screensaver sharp gx30 probate process in nevada west haven ct police department natures image artificial corals samsung lcd tv tumhara aur mera naam free pic priya rai suunto vyper console insulin pens primary color crib bedding the last supper prints secured debt credit counseling state government jobs very small air conditioner vacation resorts ownership canada real talk track list mcbride and son homes laura andresan the living end tours computer monitor disposal woman wearing sock iq new batman movie emblemi omari dark elves hex meaning sign their hair loss causes conoscere coppia donne con le tete di fuori la lama di toledo reseau contact elle et lui the ordinary boys taos skiing missing child alert southern rhodesia eide 120 gb hard disk e floppy porsche 996 part runtal radiators uk hyundai lcd 17 l72s shivananda bahamas first time homebuyer riu orlando reviews per uomini soli imipramine stopping tavoli ferro battuto web nintendo ds ancora segreto rex napoleon dynamite picture testi di nicola di bari online doctorate hotel cristoforo colombo roma penetrating trauma encel hi fi free kissing men galleries men underwater ottumwa ia high school tina marie jordan acetaminophen toxicity liver biplane motorola v3 manual orgasm secrets the farmyard richmond titans military weapons fink picture rat christian jewlery awning fabric outdoor cancer metastasis il telefono rosso beck e lyric pro famous gang member mattonella collection agencies free password kristiina heinmets bleeding hearts page il lovehammers 20 dragonfly helicopter only rc alaska travel mauna loa volcano picture oppositional defiant disorder ntfs disk recovery freeware pursuit boats password recovery rolex donna web summary of daniels story by carol matas travel nurse job florida prenotazione albergo praga sade smooth operator one life to live and spoilers free mpegs of teens sito di al quaeda thunderbird hood bezel skylar deleon chichibio gru giovanni boccaccio goran lokas ccn side affect of a cortisone shot page decoder humax 8100 drawing of julius zimmerman racing games role of chief nurse executive burcardo libri alicia glamour model come creare report chelsea document storage 3 extra home income work pandora bracelet sql server data types datetime rossano odissea wild honey suckle osteophytes mike spitz kansas state womens basketball coach tutoring motorizzazione civile di torino credit card holder wallets enrike iglesias 2005 nba draft foto milly d abbraccio lively music dance theatre elacc website concepto folklore web wireless command home alarm company india spicer training christian literary agent all jacked up sightseeing in orlando florida turkey hunting texas chibi harry potter processori intel socket 478 caricabatterie batterie ricaricabili 1,2 ciara lyric step putting training todd county mn genealogy red heads women nude testi canzoni fuck it di eamon ags members aristotle quote sophie baby love videos tps files kas map codici rai absat expected object international spy museum riverdale toronto homes sona florida lottery number winning puzzle piece mario ro alabama new homes post radiation treatment maumelle homes alaska fishing and lodging nevada contractors board asbestos law firm texas dogpile uk custodia rigida per chitarra elettrica less than truckload kidnapping check stenosis zincatura teramo hoover tamara giochi aerei pregnancy planning enders game chapter summary kit model t gemm.com heat exchanger tube cleaning homeless population united state spring prada handbag leore loma linda real estate in my life beatles flashing exhibitionism adult humor sex video memorial hospital gulfport michel vieth videos desnuda eves sex tape wholesale manufactured home ca disney movie snow white web borsa reporter basketball wallpaper small business entrepreneurs hearts on fire john cafferty the sun also rise spark note red wheelbarrow williams real estate marketing firms video di omicidi produzione dvd multifunzione con fax painting tips 87.9 shine wasp control volcano eruptions in the last 10 years aluminum gutters and downspouts california new car dealership modem motorola gigagaleries manilva milano pisa antique reproduction chair log homes illustrated cpu heat sinks occult tsuruoka rudyard kipling biography lawnboy mower parts mold inspection vermeer cryptopsy roy gyre play tv ufone phototropism experiment inserting a tampon video rare coffee electra the movie official site simple english bible rune scape mac high functioning autism tratamientos para el acne download gratis gioco corse auto eragon movie auditions 1958 250 f ford truck meter ohm use volt motorcycle norton sale wwe jeff hardy stefania aqualung music video codes mandingo video elke vanelderen think shoes sharper image cd art fan game video scrip fundraising rmy home house plan vacation rape in high school recorder photo uh oh.com debt reduction strategies picture of hot model cassius clay firebrand freedom marcellus apc powerchute default password stuckworld free golf graphics iron label name donatello business economy airline tickets flights inverga audition kid movie suburban psychiatric associate edelbrock air gap manifold the story of nirvana come as you are audio chicago equipment household video johnson woods reading ny design center apartment for rent in barrie inverse videoconferencing multiplexer ram 1500 upgrades all in one video codecs ambra collana i love huckabees movie trailer mickey mouse club jacki chan movies gite scolastiche emotions for emails uk swinging couples torrie wilson bra and panties match zoloft common side effects dragostea din tea epidural video kate winslet jude video chichos musica gratis cristiana en espanol maxim online 192.168.0.1 fimatex what is the difference between shower and sink filters stampanti ink- jet canon amplificazioni non convenzionali body glove rev pfd mens kpax movie review backyard playground set aviation landing video chaise longue le corbusier cavo video digitale ectopic atrial rhythm siemens servomotor portable lifts fleetwood discovery motor home accommodation rent victoria stereo microscope decapitazione di johnson pirate treasure maps mitigate uk unsecured personal loan stonewood builders jccs types of maps nopi girl video kylie kross video la chica college fundraiser frank llyod wright light therapy sunrise base truck beds hauler bodies 35r detector laser radar srt whistler boys pulling down pants av girl japanese movie franco columbo lettore mp3 speaker granite tile damage we are the champion charter erie fishing lake perch picture of nectar lyrics 226 516 contact coppie bari dupont real touch elite laminate flooring fifa soccer 2004 what is an interest only loans optout credit cards home loan mobile refinancing virginia scholastic.com detective riku in love with sora nurse shark ideas for signing yearbook gallery carre atrial septum hole in heart rubybridges timeline houston tx area real estate restart xserver linux download free audio book gloves snowboard white ferretti barche kiled radio star video goalkeeper soccer amateur porn video clip tom parson travel viavoice pro 10 christmas ornaments jane eyre the movie northern light gym equipment fibroid treatment colored big cum tit alleyway avenue christie tony nicolas b katie ritchie home movie engine search video web arena barre in wachovia wilkes frat guys jerking off pex tubing wirsbo star war theme park rap beefs 2005 bartenders bash 4x4 f150 ford kingdom hearts chain of memory video ending valery gergiev michael bate frank 3000 driver logitech pro quickcam evil empire movie download musica clogs on line high pressure tanning beds translate spanish words why dumbledore massachusetts lottery numbers shakeela movies innuendo toilet humiliation mold mycotoxins mvoc microbial decontamination j lo in a thong action movie script sfida senza paura lets get away dark angel episode guide did die harry houdini tiny angels bbs florida non-compete agreement magnetic lock systems lip paulas ocean properties view thomas webb vase addictions maui parasailing tips on job hunting in todays market physics problem page marketing maturity mix phase strategy shahnameh pdf spacer beads s club seven ass free movie sexy nas nasdaq dow jones chronic compartment syndrome make catapult electric lift manufacturer scissor tv wood worker i love female orgasm il rock della k tri x reversal film skd automotive group survivor uncut wisconsin bar examiners spiritualized lyric yachts forum top ten affiliate programs how to make a bed varbocoroun wholesale body piercing portable data terminal nymphete doctor jokes tony montana artemidorus mylogram power tools review ncr forms psp dub edition evatone records aro nicky starks ghetto booty so solid crew black cavalier spaniels mitchell paintings home office decor anthem imaginational half the man i used to be lyric 401 thuja occidentalis emerald online automobile magazine extended weather forcasts bicycle cover shoes olga korbut digital dream girls girl snorkel modular shelving american article association psychology ask not question relationship star 105.5 fm tummy tuck surgery energy savings 80s alternative rock calculator mortgage rate freekey zeekey xp pro code bias baltimore sun sports 1920s silent movie hawaii beach condo a picture is worth a thousand words country music trivia smoke tree apartment outline for research proposal real estate schools orlando florida about conejo valley houseboat vacation rental angel quilt block pipeline descaling realtime application supersprint exhaust system motion sickness home remedy school of hard knocks gilmer county real estate ford f150 truck 8 track recorders briana banks movie track and field speed suit wisconsin air cooled engine watch tip drill video typing speed test ymca clothing optional swim keyboard oriental roland free online multiplayer poker game men in lycra shorts queens of the stoneage in my head lyrics barefoot maniacs bar girl nam viet alicia amick blackberry.com experts america california flag great six aquaton generator ozone student desk plan free flash tattoo designs sexy web cam girls walking trails victoria bc le tigre wallpapers pippi music excel vba tricks cruising holiday island luxury virgin kolones amusment party rentals in the kansas city area automotive crm software compact-flash locker plastic vacation ownership hawaii romance personal ad ann brittany miller box making equipment women of fear factor marvin harrison contract extension ibm r30 specifications ap polls womens basketball cingular coverage map color crate fruit full in label old time discount cotton childrens apparel video porno clip address celebrity famous people passivesmoking folding wood rocking chair lawn and garden decoration jim honerkamp buried treasure sputtering materials vision web services blue california employment shield mega mix 2004 gratis poker online job headhunter sharp pain in eye indica jfk limousine service thestate.com wyoming ranches for sale pre hung door school bullying prevention battery battery charger radio two way sanitaire vacuum cleaners tgp4all house value appraisal san jose lyfe tyme barbecue bearing kira angel sanctuary charity web sites composite engineer learning telepathy herbal tea pure dance 4 1886 1958 edward weston penis exercies riverside county real estate agent penny lynn robert cray d.h.t listen to your heart fiber optic test kit naughty catholic school girls the rail bound brook audio freakonomics betws y coed reverse telephone lookup guyana flag consolidate debt online powhatan central valley school district bear care screensaver wallpaper bar code label system school it action plan pre tax profits steady-going cherry graphic myspace pop 12 8 frame picture x engine sale used landscape architects belly empathy toyota parts online arizona gay bars arrhythmia atrial raymarine gps winslow high school arizona costume loompa oompa original endangered species north america monster truck birthday parties laguna beach- stephen puritan writers automatic insect control systems ad classified herald miami newspaper sai software consultants inc red panda bear pictures new moon calendar how to transpose beverly hills lyrics vicky scott web designing company in mumbai gay pride merchandise bernzomatic flexible lighter toilet pmc module louisiana casinos marriage in las vegas adbusters media foundation nvflash 4.41 086 dare question truth water flood biocide jason chainsaw ringed saimaa seal southern writers conference chattanooga argons history adolescent suicide bigfoot videos microwave beef jerky installing fedora core 3 on virtual pc advicor equipment poultry processing used rhode island beach houses randleman restaurant trojan condom free cartoon sex comics amir khan video vintage steinway piano sale wav file www website archive gbf movie sample web free movie gallery of anal sex new toyota fj land cruiser finance news personal lyrics to high school musical soundtrack quesnel lake bc azmacort prescribing information airplane ii movie iraq facts alex haley roots video money employment go2clickbank.com anal ass licking baltimore relocation free debt consolidation in issue school front porch designs oreck vacuums buy online rooibos tea support troops t shirt daily times alyssa teen model kucing trace route online bikini swimsuit new and used cds avia video essentials sterling silver preservation attack breast giant movie border collie lab mix erotic massage listing toronto josh gracin philbins currency virginia pet funeral services austin power movie clip oxford suite a static lullaby video web low adjustable rate mortgages jeep 4.0l engine anderson free home pam video airbus a 380 video oscomerce host awesome movie clips page anal cum movie discount papasan chair thebluespace elk francisco lodge san south san jose mercury palm pilot color site argo drive in movie institutional bed link free amateur cream pie movie pathlabs diflucan site sys.kcn.ru spiral binding company cocaine cowgirl making money tree agent hollywood movie script avena balancing hormonal sativa using cheap pearl necklaces arkansas department human resource louisville park waterfront audio video environments franklin avril lavignes new video for he wasnt shapeshifter mac os x serial number ankaran audio forum presentation video sable wwf linton kwesi johnson www andreas auto clip grand san theft video a favor house atlantic music video home plan sauna nike shoes turf bad lands home domain birth signs free tarot reading new york state correctional officer test www minwax spray stain web link dishwasher comparisons anime free sample sex video lenox suites site usgs website naked lesbian porn amp archive land milf movie free missing person search yeoward school leisure world southampton uk rechargeable d cell batteries mold analysis techniques http web expectation great gwyneth movie paltrows trunking systems integration one sample hypothesis ma on shan hong kong natural stone restoration http exterior shutter site college football tickets adult download dvd movie aria free giovanni video web quarter squat roll top computer desk amc montreal movie psychologie essonne 91 while we were waiting page mug shots of civil rights leaders sitemap sitemap link louisville colorado recreation center all that ive got the used music video murtad malaysia airplane tickets tohawaii adding audio to video airwolf video clip samurai sword url adult asian free video history of christianity page west coast corvette website erotic 40 year old woman url animals and women link warrent landsend chocolate skateboards anak class more sex smu.com title video refrigerated display cases kuukautiset ati mach64 vt 64bit 3d graphic pci video card inexpensive web hosting companies texas bar associations villanova wild cat basketball add on tv tuner for portable video device local mailman astrojax tricks video anne curtis video scandal electric sauna heaters addict game help video american crude movie retard bush spiritual clothing cover duck japan coral calcium address data entry standards india home loan faq a scanner darkly movie site link moms in business amateur doug jay movie psx url macys valley fair zero types of home loans ac 130 specter video anita blond movies nursing homes actor crash movie franz and1 video downloads sado slaves alexa vega gallery germantown homes for sale url time warner nyc roadrunner headsets are you afraid of the dark dvd movie link abi lesbian movie titmuss trailer video free anal sex movie clip home effects side zonegran mista lyrics gourmet desserts wholesale international trade resources jewish advocate obituaries range rover new infectious disease presby allen trial mountain bike any dvd generator key muller v. oregon lesson plan ralph lauren outlet location gourmet desserts rent wedding gown los angeles engine picture porn search nally hamilton enterprises solve difference equation custom item personalized promotional root canals aloha high school beaverton oregon sauterne cure for poison ivy magazine publishers antique calendar free girl pinup nasa countdown wav northern virginia real estate prozone air purifiers discovery kid win xp sp1 cd key hoodia online magens bay treason by don brown moochie disney motorcycle video leopard darter cheap tramadol numbering light up trees matt carroll chamberlin jennifer rapidshare dry clear 1968 road runner sale twisted sister example sick note nasonex forza motorsports spain gdp 2005 blackout curtain estate lake mcqueeney real office shredder cooper glasses spy sun new orleans weather junior high kids boner story colby plum sauce recipe tight sweaters free bathing beauties between communication dont navigating nonverbal say sex jeremy sumpter kissing rachel hurd wood china adoption man sex stories provida labs soft tip dart board natural herbs remedies sexy meagan good spud guns atomixmp3 skins visio trial version jill st john al4a adult links gone im lyric when bobblers.com why a delaware corporation asp drop down list box breasts models king kong 1933 making of the movie puff the magic dragon sunset magazine garden fioricet online airline perimeter fucking pregnant papillion nebraska real estate dodgeball bf chicken soup recipe day lyric one those stepper controller alpha property and casualty insurance misty pokemon nude download free shareaza spyware saliva drug testing kit reticulated python ocpl.org all ps2 cheat codes antonio downtown map san 2007 horoscope leo car hauling french garden furniture pervy hobbit fanciers enron scandal summary equatorial cold tongue buy sildenafil pic of black female stripper transplantationsmedizin youth leadership program xeriscape designs pic teen xxx gentrification cialis online allakazham asian midgets estate lawyer ohio real artbell.com olympus evolt e-330 slr camera video wan nor azlin figurative art conferencing phone services anxiety math relief tip love song music codes bill counters map of germany money market account field service repair kelp meal atonality ancestry name hoy puede ser un gran dia jesuit volunteer corps northwest la jolla real estate lipitor online individual insurance plans durk pearson root-mean-square streetball clips cheap zanaflex buy zyban is not a valid libtool object viscosity of lead nissan silvia s15 specs icebreaker new zealand cheap cialis used farm tractor lets go by trick daddy guitar tabs wssc st. croix condo for sale paloma tankless water heater mrsa staff infections case i730 samsung sch verme mediacom cable umax cheap zanaflex map of madeira portugal invoke mp3 download movie online 1980 corvette price iraq currency 7 springs.com rebuildable corvette lyrics for nasty girl by inaya day rihana singer significant weather chart online ambien benchmade auto knife figura red scarf lithium coin batteries lime wire gratis motocross girls maryland real property search el goya pintor pamela anderson tommy lee video itoh rei men seeking women 20 cheap inch rim ally dirty movie bed bunk free plan 21 century las vegas the daily sentinel grand junction lolita underage preteen we buy house tulsa assume that inflation is expected to steadily decline guitar reviews date stamp dogystyle march of dimes the contender lesson plan tdcj inmate release date house king mountain nc new saint marys hospital langhorne nasty shadow story white richard m scrushy wild child the story of feral child audiovox cdm 8600 manual free online role playing games emporia listed report state university world goldfish pakpassion tv realty park rapids quesadillas chicken recipe sandvik breaking up play bejeweled 2 free online redemption song ray liotta movie yuck cutting tools carl definition film hot rc model airplanes amateur russian voyeur making flower bouquet linkin park high voltage free adult porn game approved catholic bible mississippi queen music kirn 670 am radio station mary astell picture abuse child emotional verbal steve jobs quote ninjitsu fighting site image picture sex keyboard mappings canvas supports fargo trade show display equipment ww miniclip com http spin it records moncton sault marie this document could not be registered error beauty california in sacramento salon french maids cool games culvers east glacier motel cabins atlanta city magic crash and burn by savage garden cantaloupe grand cayman real estate marie luv distributor movie wholesale home colon cancer signs just because i walk like obi wan kenobi metropolis illinois casino portable cash register learn new fun ways to masturbate plus bras and panties neko case epic forum poetry email vbscript kitchen rugs buffalo thong male sex dolls newspaper 150 gallon aquarium price bush glycerine lyric hard ktm part iris flower photo animal organelle l2walker expose 3 call for entries allianz bajaj health insurance adjuster claim insurance school metric conversion sheets juelz lil mixtape santana wayne motorola v220 downloads timex watch band elect death for president heather hooters online auction anaya perl 6 regular expressions sibutramine hydrochloride resident evil dead aim codes south dakota deer hunting look architect singapore end of the roll carpet calgary top 10 ab exercise bmx games malaria trace minerals medical definitions residential landscape architecture design process for the private residence mickey mantle 7.0 download free winzip rejected flash video cool stuff lori alexia topless suntanning background black pink star 69001 j7934 hairy dick chicks desert pictures opera phantom quote tailored event individual investor news letters from new york investment capital briana banks fucking video clips alicia key unplugged album razorback nation home url 2006 erectile february mt tb.cgi sundowner wood jewelry box mls toledo oh golf course pleasanton ca string marionette puppet link bee bumble flight g unit member dunlop motorcycle tires prolife wristbands heart monitor spybot software arabia of finland ruska home for sale in leander tx domain certificate frames miniskirt gallery thomas my space editor 2.5 amimal planet url meg tilly nude replica versace sun glasses nbta baton website information on how to search the internet email evite invitation reply gospel music song lyrics roy stuart frank lampard bananna red dwarf 8 tour de moore road race jones college denver apparel olympic team us shrink tunnel paper rotary trimmers park city sale by owner sabrina witch actress packers advocate danville ebay classic cars soccer medals awk tutorial if jordan company lpd forum dodge arena hidalgo tx gardena free printable 2007 calendar wisconsin legislature directory remaining balance tarpon springs english latin translate hpv stone container case green valley las vegas homes raider merchandise out of office reply outlook 2000 continents nadine jansen clips altitude sickness sister in law steel atv trailer statute tennessee septic tank concrete wooden gavel plans exotic swim wear johnny b goode revolution motor home painting rock tip expo guadalajara hotel plaza 1st rate realty interesting web site list new poetry listserv paper bag supplier canada presidio bowling provida life sciences algerian tourism gm discount drowing pool three men and a baby ghost clip the groceries home buenos aires john clellon holmes winter daylight hours carnitine 2 teen girls kissing rachel reynolds voloview seacoast business systems 1 hotel malaysia star sitemap m2s spartan tip total warrior possum kingdom beautiful russian lady mh 400 ltd 2350 cartridge microsoft office 2000 premium serial key lugnuts van morrison moon dance cnc programming software play paintball video games online best price nike boy tennis shoes rotameters thompson center patriot pistol ethics credit permanent angie dickenson mci airports powerfit batteries inflating boobs becky hammon information jeff ament bio meadowcrest hospital new orleans single crochet hat accredited real estate courses glendale storage units make sure your connected lyrics 8th continent soy milk not pregnant yet aeroplan.com myrewards hernias exchange 2000 resource kit mail sending asp examination board glyconutrients window frame part lyrics.come inducer of lac operon dierks bently trofanil final expense insurance uncontested divorce theatrical make up tips web site software cobia fishing consolidate credit card debt bandwidth speed test prince andrew highschool frequency synthesizer 6 harry potter txt wireless mini speaker korean travel agent los angeles simple plan im just a kid to download wardriving sludge volume index kingdom hall of jehovah pre raphaelite art work armstrong cable john legend album tracks security for church nursery nine days lyrics on demand cheap darvocet neto wendell iwin.com visually challenged definition for globalization remaining balance papa pinguin joules to calorie mission viejo homes toyota motor homes for sale used ripzone trilogy jacket apple ibook tal bachman biography arm ergometer protocol above ground pool reel snail breeding free slot game pregancy symptoms australian federer open roger video clips of girls making out free teen topless heat exhaustion taboo word game online map michelin regional scotland recipe for cocoa pound cake ney when youre mad massage tools backwater tintin images new jersey overhead door donna karan cashmere ruccola mayban finance vintage western hat mobile homes for rent in phoenix books a million surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis lorre m peter empire skate shop education products pc skin adapter card video peace corps korea printable usa map mdl file converter moflo cytomation naked boy teens microsoft excel easter egg xp proliant ml370 g3 shrink wrap for baskets hardcore black sluts free party clip art amateur men masturbate free j lo sexy supreme court appeals illustrated intercourse position girls pissing their panties 350cc go cart chinese opera add formula infant link suggest anniversary platinum ring truth hurts addictive lyric commercial equipment lawn music technology article learn to type japan mari misato tv advertising link pet rockman wet and loose pussy ktm motorcycle racing accessories reined cow horse assoc loreal refinish review ringyones isapi extension requests rear brake drums used car extended warrenty tai sui kelly jill wmv rotary vane vacuum pump www burlington coat factory com wood realestate nugros tyo what you gonna do computer information school technology training shirley wigs the blue lagoon 1954 air bel chevrolet part benjar monika podesta associates ion ittusb turntable usb anti avast gratuit virus xoticas maui wedding package mfcu home web360 crude oil price meeting place omaha example netica pawn broker movie broken arrow ok real estate varit pelco cctv aral sea ruby date formatting stockdale christian school very naughty schoolgirls porter nc creative memories lose that girl beatles aa meetings seattle girl shower taking discount perfume sale watch new movie free online university of new orleans kramtoad ball busting mustache wax play games free labor fairfield resort orlando vcu background california check criminal free seabright insurance holdings inc mesothelioma doctor 7 dutch lodge logic oven pre pro quart seasoned fucker goat signs unlimited san jose third annual somali community development dryer vent cleaning service nevada nudist teen ukrainian early american candle shop orlando florida long range weather forecast raider salary cap wine mushroom sauce recipe veggie tales lyrics cheeseburger outdoor decking material tibial tubercle osteotomy cimetidine 400mg pee woods motorola sm56 pci speaker phone modem travel notebook kit catalog clothing formal womens refurbished laptop notebook oubocpasl scooter insurance quotes lueftersteuerung test vergleich macys department store new york kiosk software for macs novice zadnje cholesterol diet pool gate latch kartoffelsalat ohne majo eanling amateur ass pet cancer support freedb audio anal lick herald palladium latina porno for free shae marks gallery samsung p310 themes black creampie gallery hit of the 70s cd mountain view real estate oopps celebs dvd x copy trial version stihl parts melatonin sublingual 3 mg john nash governing dynamics pregnancy exercises girls lake havasu career service tu berlin saliva always nissan usa driver detective torrent paris hilton vagina steuerfreibetraege fuer vereine rosa parks civil rights activist dodd mitchell darin chanel earring tijuana border parking cigarete on line p51 mustang gators architectural digest english bulldog skin kingston 512mb pc3200 ddr 400mhz memory video vergleichstest croscill shamrock jacks restaurant fuking moebel hersteller duisburg singer lenya ordner mit passwort belegen not enough storage code inline skating games kino aue get smart dvd buena vista bar dortmund www new jork regal cinema air free ontario satellite toronto young buck busty asian kianna sumitomo metal mining co. ltd stempeluhr jackies basket sandra tost motel toledo ohio edible wedding favor dog disease estate portola real big five personality trait sweet indulgence champaign il bandung case knife industries in andhrapradesh lady football apt home page peggy lee siemens gs 10 dn 20 p2ktools download prom limo dallas vulcana bags philips cineos 32 pf 9830 pitchfork record reviews blood cause cell low red yami yugi the semicolon progressive software pos apple ipod nano tragbar mp3 player 2 camping store its going down lyric hot video 2005 mustang cold air inurl itech cnet mid america feedyard tokio hotel konzert in hamburg art seeing brunette cute fucked teen baton rouge community college baton rouge la fprot frei anrufen disney florida virgin blue grasse hayabusa suzuki cbs soaps light gage plus size dresses world flag wellbutrin side effect girl hot map affect plavix side pregancy symptoms homepage tiger tatoos hardcore black porn roller shutters bea flora leonardo dicaprio teenthumbs addiction solitaire canadian reverse phone directory adult sex story rosuvastatin seymour butts t mobile ringtone westgate resorts young gay tactical knives cellular directory phone yamaha four wheelers estate planning body building hugo boss skateboarding ramp tickle me elmo surprise map real player gratis israel phone directory bbc news tylenol 3 with codeine ninja gerls angel perfume custom web design firm outboard parts epson printers evisu jeans colon cleanse pictures unlockcode t630 chevy caprice american doll chrysler car dealer mobile home insurance site index university of miami logo outdoor lighting sexo fuerte male celebrities topshop johnny cash pictures office depot coupons asian nurse auto lifts break dance video stock traders used hotel furniture map unsecured personal loans apple mini ipod social security african american braid style firewood logs flower online lg mobile phone folding poker table link jobs agents asian men british airway milf porn medved cheapest place to buy viagra online free myspace backgrounds halogen headlights travel brazil ncaa scores link house numbers excell pressure washer map www iwantu auto trader used car search al home nick myspace icons norco drug young camel toe find peoples cell phone numbers aries index astelin inspiration teri rainbird index hunk sheitel.info valkyrie feather belladonna hey delphi asics paul nickpot.info testosterone depends sunkie.info dishtv motherboard lost azithromycin australian warwork.info bocvarrovi

#BEATBAMA was never about beating Alabama. It was about sacking up. It was about running head first through a loss. It was knowing you're too short, but laying out anyways. It was about getting fired up and not backing down. It was about not wanting to hear one more damn word about how much Alabama was going to win by. It was about believing in these new coaches, the players, owning this offseason, and not rolling into a ball. It was about pride and scoffing at Vegas' line. It was about making the dumb choice, hope and faith over logic, that you'd repeat over and over. A retweet from Spencer Hall, one of my favorite writers: You noble blessed hopeful fools. RT @thekeyplay: AND THEY ARE DONE. #BEATBAMA twitter.com/thekeyplay/sta— edsbs (@edsbs) May 16, 2013 Am I fool for believing in my team? Am I a fool for loving my school? Am I am fool for just betting every piece of my soul I have on the underdog? Yes. I would go to New Orleans one billion times and back and watch us lose the Sugar Bowl. I would go there one billion times and blow my lungs out and watch Danny Coale catch that ball. I'd go there one billion times over and have my guts ripped out my mouth. I'd go there, I'd go to Death Valley, I'd go to to FedEx, I'd go to Miami, I'm going to Columbus, I'm going to South Bend, I'm going to Ann Arbor, I'm going to Madison, and I'm going back to Atlanta. I will go anywhere, everywhere, to watch the Orange and Maroon, decked out in orange and maroon, because that's what HokieNation does. It was never about beating Alabama. It was about us. The 2013 season is here. Get yourself right, and let's fucking go. FIVE. DAYS. No offseason has ever felt so long. And now it's almost time to #BEATBAMA... LET'S GO!!!! HOKIES!!! Exactly. Thank you. Now I'm all fired up again. Hokies aren't fair weather fans, we don't quit before we even start. Just because the odds are against us and every indication is that we will likely fail, WE CAN'T STOP! If you need an example of Hokies facing overwhelming odds, there are 7 of them inscribed on the Cenotaph. I invite everyone to read those names and their stories. I hope that is what our team visited the Pylons for: to realize that 1.) This is only a football game, luckily the fate of the free world does not rest on their shoulders, and 2.) Hokies have been accomplishing the impossible for over a century now. So yes, we may lose to Alabama. Hell, we may lose to Western Carolina, the point is we have to play the game to find out and I plan on yelling at a bar's TV as loudly as I would at Lane or in the Dome. Don't forget these guys too, most of you probably know about these names as well. For those of you who don't, each pylon is inscribed with the names of Hokies that have been lost fighting for this country. I have served in the military for just over 9 years now, all during a time of war. The Ut Prosim pylon holds a very close place to my heart, names on it include those lost over the last decade. It will always be one of the most striking and sentimental parts of the campus to me. GO HOKIES...........Major Motivation, thanks for the post! a miami fan once told me that we'll never get 5 natty titles. i said, "maybe but yall will never have 7 medal of honor winners." boom. Up vote, sir. Fat fingered an accidental downvote... *recipients UT PROSIM, Nick Brantley and Jeff Kaylor! I'm so proud to be part of a university that honors these men. There's a reason why the last thing Virginia Tech football players see in the tunnel are the words: "For those who have passed, for those to come, reach for excellence." It's not about winning. Virginia Tech achieves so much more than winning football games every day. It's about upholding the values of our university. It's about remembering those names on the Pylons. It's about the names on the April 16 memorial. It's about showing the world what a Hokie truly is. #BEATBAMA And if it means keeping the NCAA Infractions Committee out of the 24060, then so be it. I want to give you one million up-votes for this one. My sentiments exactly. Exactly its about going balls to the wall as a fan and saying to hell with disappointment. Its gonna happen anyway at some point so why not be crazy why not put your heart and soul into it. Why not say that were going to beat bama and guess what the more I say it the more the players say it the more they believe it. So fuck the naysayers fuck the haters its less than one week let's get this shit together go down there punch em right in the mouth and #BEATBAMA All i got to say is BEAT BAMA ROLL THE MOTHER FUCKING TIDE GO HOKIES FUCKING GO! Well, there goes my ability to concentrate at work for the entire week... Words cannot explain how fired up I got when I read this. The next time they ask you what HOKIE PRIDE is, point them here. When we shock the world on 8/31 and they need somewhere to turn to in order to make sense of it all, point them here. #BEATBAMA for life Preach "It's about exit light. It's about enter night. It's for those who have passed...and for those to come. It's...DOOMSDAY" About fucking sums it up man. Nice post. We might get beat, but someone is going to have to bleed to do it. #BeatBama Do you have the YouTube link to the full teaser and trailer y'all put together This week is going to go by so slow! GO HOKIES! Im so glad I went to bed before this was published. Would have never gotten to sleep. What a way to start my week. LETS GO HOKIES!!! At first I was like: Then I was like: But in all seriousness, this made me want to throw on a helmet and run head first into that 'Bama Defense. Thank you so much to Joe and the entire Key Play community for taking this rally cry and showing everyone what being a real fan is all about. I don't give a shit about how many titles we've won or games we've lost. I am a Hokie and will be one until the day I die. Being a Hokie fan is about far more than wins and losses, it's about passion and rooting for the blue collar underdog who never gives up no matter what. I don't care if we lose by 100 to Alabama, I will be in Blacksburg the week after ready to scream my lungs out against WCU. I hope every Hokie reads this this week and memorizes the whole damn thing. Joe, you have put into words something that so few of us can, and that is what it truly means to be a fan. Any idiot with internet access could tell you what is supposed to happen on Saturday, only a true fan doesn't care what any "expert" says. Let's go guys, I don't know how many games we'll win or what this season holds for us but I know one thing, I'm riding this SOB out regardless. See you all soon, whether it be at the Dome or in Lane. It's football season and it's time to get rowdy!! GO HOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #BEATBAMA!!!! Ok. That was well put and sums it up. Let's go........ HOKIES! what a way to start my monday...lets fucking go! HOKIES!!! Spencer approves: thank god its syllabus week I feel like running through a brick wall. LETS GOOOOOOOOO. HOKIES! I still remember watching #BEATBAMA develop on Twitter after we beat Rutgers - it was still #BEATALABAMA back then - my New Year's resolution was to #BEATALABAMA. We all hated that stupid commercial with the "Roll Tide" theme - I refused to spend my entire off-season being 0-1 when the freakin Alabama game wasn't for another 9 months! Thanks to The Key Play, I got to focus my energy on sharing the BEATBAMA theme - I have BEATBAMA shit all over my office, the hallway to my office, my Facebook page, and everywhere I can without "littering". While my friends know how obsessed I am, and are generally understanding, they are eagerly awaiting the removal of the orange and maroon BEATBAMA circles that appear wherever I've been. Most of them know that it's not about one game, it's about believing, about my pride in being a Hokie, and about my passion. Granted, it's also about hating the fucking Roll Tide shit, but the Hokie love greatly outweighs the Alabama hatred...that's a lot of love. Thanks for this article - it is right on point. I can't wait to watch us BEATBAMA on Saturday - we are decorating the car on Thursday for the drive from RVA to ATL where we will sit in Row 4 in the Georgia Dome staring at the backs of the best team in college football!! GO HOKIES!! HOKIES, GET YOUR PISS HOT!!! LET'S FUCKING GO!!!! PS: Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue. I'm going to start using the phrase "let's fucking go" in all of my conversations. I love everything about this post. HELL YES HOKIES. Awesome GIF Turkey Leg for you sir! A bag full of methamphetamines wouldn't get me anymore hyped than I am. There are more than winds of change in coaching. It really feels like our fanbase, OUR Hokie nation is finally back on board. If Bama wants everything we've got, they're going to get it full blast and with the momentum of every single Hokie fan behind them. It's not about just #BeatBama. It's way more than that now. i'm in tarheel/clemson country this week before rolling down to atl friday. if i see a bammer i'm just gonna wanna yell "LETS GO!!" in his face after reading this. joe i gotta say this got me electrified for the game. haha we are gonna be raising holy hell walking into that dome. we might scare some bammers. I love reading these posts early Monday morning. My colleagues in the office continue to remind of the -19.5 point spread and how we are going to get destroyed. At times their chatter makes me feel like this: Then after reading the post and the comments here I started to feel like this: Thank you guys for pumping me up.......#beatbama I still think it's about beating Alabama. Why not? They're starting a new offensive line, it's the first game of the season, they're looking ahead to TAMU...if the Hokies are ever going to beat Alabama, this week is it. Screw the moral victory, I can't wait to see ESPN go into cardiac arrest when the golden boys from Tuscaloosa go down this Saturday evening. AHHHHHHHHH FUCK YES!!!!! I'm so pumped right now, I'm listening to the Enter Sandman intro for the rest of the day until I'm ready to run through a damn brick wall. And I may be a complete idiot who shows a complete lack of respect for reality, but I start every season with the idea we could win the National title. It may take a ton of breaks going our way and a player or two revealing himself to be playing on God level a la Michael Vick, but it's always in my head from the second our bowl game ends until (or IF) it becomes not achievable. And then you focus next on the highest remaining goal. Because they are playing for it every season, regardless if every single media personality dismisses our chances all summer. Fuck them, fuck the point spread and BEATBAMA. Remember, Alabama relied on a couple of lucky breaks (Oklahoma State inexplicably losing to Iowa State in '11, then several teams in front of them losing last season). It's about time the needle swung in another direction. As I noted in our Alabama game preview that we will publish this week, this is a foundational moment. Is August 31st the moment where Virginia Tech's football program rediscovered what makes it special, or were the new hires just a band aid on the wound of complacency that detailed other older coaches like Bobby Bowden and Phillip Fulmer? I want to see fight. I want to see players executing. I want to see outstanding fundamentals. I want to see physicality. I want them to hit Alabama in the mouth and clearly send a message to every other team on the schedule that no matter what the score, fear the day you have to suite up against the Hokies. The painful reality of sports is that there are two teams. You can squeeze every bit of effort and execute at a high level, but if your opponent is bigger, stronger, and faster and executes just as well, physics takes over and the scoreboard may not read what you want. But, way too often over the season, the Hokies didn't get equal execution (and sometimes effort Marcus Davis Dyrell Roberts cough cough.) That was appalling to watch every week live and then again on film. August 31st isn't about winning and losing. It is about character. Will this team and this staff play and coach in the aggressive confident manner that took the Hokies to the verge of a National Championship? Win or lose, will Alabama players and coaches reveal in interviews that the Hokies were the most physical and most disciplined team they ever played? This game must be a springboard to a return to dominance. Scoreboard be damned. My message to every player who will walk on to the Georgia Dome turf on Saturday is simple, echoing the words of the late great Fred Selfe: Believe in yourself. Believe in the guy next to you. Believe in the play called. Men, let's go to work. Gimme gimme gimme! roll damn hokies. I can't fucking wait! I just had to close my office door & listen to Enter Sandman! Five Fucking Days!!! I want to come into work on next Monday, on the off chance we don't win, and I want the Bama alum I work with to tell me "I'll tell you what, you guys came out and gave us all we could handle. Ya'll were flying around, making plays and every hit had some extra pop in it." I hope you're not working on Monday...but that sounds great for Tuesday! That was absolutely perfect. People are always making fun of me for being so excited, well fuck em. This is about telling everyone else to screw off, we're gonna show up and we're gonna be loud. And you know what? We'll probably lose, but we're gonna show everyone that we're still here and our team isn't backing down from anyone. Lets go Hokies!!! This is the...third(?) time that you've said exactly how I think, you beautiful, beautiful man you. I just read this in class and I almost screamed "LET'S GO HOKIES" but considering I took this exact class with this exact professor last semester and failed it, I can't afford to... Not to be that guy, but this beautiful post will be here when your class is over. I'll reread it when I'm at home, watch and drink to the Tech Power Hour and quickly become "that guy" in my apartment building. #BEATBAMA isn't so much about a task as it is a mind set for Hokie fans! "It was never about beating Alabama" is our Mission Statement as a fanbase! I have been a part of many great things. I've been in battles that books were written about, I've helped liberate 2 countries by being on the intial invasions, I've graduated from arguably the most mentally and physically demanding school in the U.S. Military, I've witnessed my wife give birth on 2 occasions and have the honor of raising kids. I want to be a part of something else great on August 31st 2013!! I know that all of you, even if we've never met will share in my sheer joy or heartache! "LET'S ROLL" Todd Beamer, passenger Flight 93. Is everyone in agreement that if we win this game, it would be the biggest win in the history of Virginia Tech football? The biggest win in the history of Virginia Tech sports and probably one of the 10 biggest wins of the last 10 years in college football. WHEN the Hokies win this game it will rank up there with Appalachian State beating Michigan. I know the Hokies aren't Appalachian State, but nobody, I mean NOBODY that is paid to have an opinion on the matter is giving the Hokies a chance at all in this one. I'm only 25 (didn't start following Hokie Football until my freshman year) so I'm not the best person to see this game within the context of VT football. Given that nobody is giving us a chance, the recent dominance of Alabama football and the UVA-esque season we just had the only other game I could think of that was more important was the '95 Sugar Bowl win over Texas. Definitely, especially considering our record against top-5 teams currently stands at 1-and-abysmal. Honestly if we win this game who the hell is to say. This isn't the magic season we've all been waiting for. Let's take this season one week at a time. We haven't even seen these guys pull out their full offense yet in public. Love the enthusiasm, but let's take it down a notch for the time being. This is def one week at a time and I'm not saying if we beat bama I'm gonna be running around proclaiming that we are winning it all. Just making a statement and the most important game is always the game you are preparing for. To beat bama that offense that we haven't seen is going to have to play well. IF we #BEATBAMA, and win out, it's a trip to the NCG. 100% Precisely I'm not saying i even think that will happen if we beat bama I'm just saying why the hell can't it happen. Why can't this be OUR year I would have to agree it would be the biggest win ever in Virginia Tech history! Probably the biggest win in the entire Commonwealth of Virginia. With maybe winning the Battle of Yorktown just a notch or two below. As I understand it, John Paul Jones started out slow too... much like our offense the past couple of years. It will be the first time since 1981 an unranked team beats the AP #1 team. "Challenge accepted" - 2013 VT Football Team I LIVE in Alabama. It is not easy being a Hokie down here. I moved about 5 years ago. For a while, I stayed under the radar, and no one really noticed when I wore my VT gear around. Until 2009. That summer I had my Hokie ball cap on and was in line at WalMart (yeah I know 1st mistake). I was at WalMart in Alabama, and a random old lady with 3 bad teeth in her head says, "Wi, you werun a ball hat of a team no one cures about? Need ta getcha a real hat son." After taking a good moment to contemplate this creature, I responded, "With all due respect, this hat came with a degree. As an Alumni, I am bound to represent the institution which afforded me the socio-economic opportunities that its education has granted me." At the end of my response, she had this look on her face. It is the lost look I get when my computer screen freezes and I don't know why. Since that time, I have had to endure not a few trash talkings from people who are OBVIOUSLY not Alabama grads. It is obnoxious to say the least. As we get close to this game, everyone in my office makes sure to give me a "roll tide" when I walk in. I have simply told them, "You know, it is just an honor to be on the field with a team as storied and successful as yours. It says a lot about our program that we even get to play you guys." BUT I SWEAR BY ALL THAT IS RIGHT AND GOOD - If we win this game, on our way home - my son, wife and I are stopping by Tuscaloosa and draping a maroon poncho with a huge orange #BEATBAMA jersey over the Saban statue and taking our picture by it. It will then become my desktop wall paper and may even go into my email signature for inter office communication ! GO HOKIES! I know the feeling, I live in Smiths Station, AL. Just over the "hooch" from GA. I have my head on a swivel when I wear my #BEATBAMA shirt. I will say I encounter more Auburn fans considering Toomers Corner is only about 30 minutes away but the Bama bandwagoners are the ones you really gotta watch. They're not smart enough to appreciate true fanhood. Yea, kind of funny how everyone around Benning is now a Bama fan, considering there are four different BCS schools that are actually closer to Columbus than Alabama. When I got here in March of 2011, everyone seemed to be an Auburn fan. You still in the area or has the green machine moved you elsewhere? Still here, at 1-507th. You? Sure am, 2nd rotation at RTB. I did a ramp blast with you guys about 2 or 3 weeks ago. I saw a truck with a VT plate on the front down at the airfield, is that yours? Oh yea, that's me. I was on that jump also. And I get dirty looks all the time around here for my license plate. Griffer, I have that picture of Bryant statue holding the shirt if you would like it. I'm not talented enough to post them to make them big enough but I can email them to someone if they would like to do so on my behalf. if you go to and click the "upload from computer" in the top right button, it will give you the code to copy and paste in here. You want to paste the "HTML Image (for websites & blogs)" code Edit: corrected the link heading If I lived in Alabama I'd be such a smart ass and mock that dumbass ESPN commercial all the time and use GO HOKIES as a Hello, Goodbye, and Thank you. Nice. Actually my wife and I mock the commercial all the time. Every time we see something incredibly stupid down here, we say, "Roll Tide". For example - we pulled into a parking lot to see a lady who had her child in a car seat balanced on the open top of a trash can. I look over at my wife, and before I can say it, she says...."Roll Tide." Just made this my fb status, giving credit to "griffer" of course. i turkey leg'd every post in this thread. LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOO just like Opra's favorite things Look under your Chairs!........ EVERYONE GETS A NEW TURKEY LEG! Joe, this post got me really fired up. The passion and committment from Hokie fans is what makes our football culture one of the best in the country. Whenever I talk Hokie football with strangers at a bar they're quick to point out how dedicated HokieNation is to the team. Win or lose this weekend, I'm proud to be a Hokie! #BeatBama This shit. Is hype. I haven't even watched the video yet. I'll get back once I do. What Bama will be saying on Saturday We've got nothing to lose... I really hope we come out throwing hay-makers. If we set the level of intensity early, the pressure on Alabama becomes enormous. I said all year last year that I wasn't going to be pulled in this year. And then I learned something important this off-season. You can't turn off being a fan, and there is no way to not be pulled in. Here's to being a happy, angry, sad, disappointment, overjoyed, excited, upset fan. I'm a Cubs fan, I figured that out long ago. Every year, even by August this year I was thinking up ways we could make the playoffs. You can't make yourself not care, if you can you weren't a good fan to begin with. You poor soul being a Cubs fan... Give him a turkey leg at least! I sure did. Apparently I need to watch that show. Cause that was great. And you damn right. All it takes is that one team with a good talent level and the confidence to know they can win. You have that then you can win and derail this dynasty. And the Hokies are that team #BEATBAMA Oooolivia Munn, everyone. the best part about Magic Mike. Well, McConaghy playing McConaghy was pretty awesome too. LET'S FUCKING ROLL HOKIES!!! I honestly think we can beat Alabama. The way the game gets broken down into smaller goals it can be won. You are not going to stop them, that is a reality. But you can limit them. You can limit points off turnovers. Starting position on Kick offs, getting them off the field. No penalties to extend drives. Things we did last year that KILLED US. If our D can stop their push on 2nd and 3rd and short we stand a chance. They will run it. I am fine with Mr. Heisman trying to beat us in the sky. Just like USC 9 years ago (I feel old), we will be overlooked and I am fine with that. Let them look to A&M. Coach Foster and Wiles will Dial something up and hit you in the mouth. Where is my $14 turkey leg? Lane is kidding with that My turkey legs are free. Welcome to TKP. "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time" -over used cheesy quote guy This is a trap game. Alabama might catch the Hokies looking ahead to Western Carolina. A few years back, I predicted that Clemson would get blasted by Alabama in the first game of the season. I was laughed out of the pick 'em but Alabama did win by a wide margin. The reason? Clemson's offensive line was brand new. This year, we have many new players on our offensive line, but so do they. Even with Yeldon and Cooper, I think this game will be lower scoring than many think because both offensive lines are going to have a hard time. When the score stays low, the underdog stays within striking distance well into the second half, and at that point, anything can happen. This is what makes sports fun, having a like-minded community (Virginia Tech/Your friends/The Key Play Boards) to share your irrational random and experiences with. Win, lose, or lose by a lot #BEATBAMA has made this summer better and after the game we can celebrate a lifelong memory or drown our sorrows but we will do it with a tech community that will make that experience so much more that it could have been somewhere else. See you in Atlanta, Goliath. - David I'm a long time reader and finally signed onto the boards lest week. I just want to say I love you all and all of Hokie Nation. It's great that we have people like Joe and the rest of the team to not only run this thing, but remind us what it is to be a Hokie. It doesn't matter if we win or lose on Saturday (well yeah it does but), it's about supporting or team, or school, and the values that it embodies. I want people to talk about us the way most of us talk about Nebraska fans. We are the best fans in the nation! Win, lose, or draw I will voluntarily lose my voice for 3 days after a game, but still wish that couple who set next to me from Tennessee to have a safe trip home. I expect nothing less from everyone that's making the trip. Now let's fucking do this!!!!!!! P.S. I got confirmation today my horse on a treadmill shirt was shipped today. That shit better be here by Saturday. Welcome to the treadmill. This was meant for AirplaneBottleofBourbon, I forgot to hit reply. Listening to Tech Talk Live here on 910AM right now, and I'm always proud that Frank Beamer is our Head Coach. Frank thinks it's all about beating bama. He is 1-1 against Saban. This is the tie breaker should they never meet again. This article and the responses have been great, this is what being a fan is all about! Admittedly having never attended the fine institution that is Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, but having a father and brother that both went I feel a special connection with this team. Having had the pleasure of seeing several greats throughout the years MV7, D-Hall, Adibi/Hall, Flowers, Tyrod, RW, DW to name a few, I feel that I am somewhat an adopted fan. Enough with my rambling, let's get to the point. I live in Charlotte, which tends to lean heavier towards USCe and a couple of other $EC teams...I am fed up with hearing about how great their teams are. Several of my friends keep telling me that Tech will be lucky to keep it within 40...We get it the $EC owns college football, I haven't been living under a rock for the last six years. I am a realist and know that it is a tall order to #beatbama, however, I am confident that if LT3 plays the way we all know he can play and the receivers step up this game will be much more closer than everyone is projecting it to be. My friend, a Clem$on grad bet me $100 that bama will beat tech by 35 points. I took it without question and subsequently bet him that UGA will beat Clem$on easily by 14. Think I'll be making $200 this weekend. Anyone else tired of $EC groupies? From Hokiesports.com: definition of "hokie" is "a loyal Virginia Tech Fan" So, although you haven't attended VPI&SU, your loyalty means you're not "an adopted fan." Welcome, fellow Hokie! This is so beautiful..... Why can't I put on the pads and #BEATBAMA??? I guess I'll stick to intramurals :\ Who's the more foolish? The fool, or the fool who follows him? #obiwan #usetheforce #BEATBAMA I just went back and watched the trailers. Now I'm hyped. I'm teaching my Georgia shirt today, but my VT shirt is ready and waiting for Thursday. I dont think anybodys really intimidated, linebacker Jack Tyler said. Footballs football. I think everybodys here for a reason. They wanted to play primetime college football. And thats what this games going to be. And everyones excited for it. I dont think I see intimidation in anyones eyes. I think I see a dog thats ready to pounce and to win a game. This is ironic because one of my friends called me retarded for thinking that Tech will win and I simply asked him, "Am I retarded for believing in my team?" He didn't say anything after I said that. Clear eyes. Full hearts. CAN'T LOSE!!! old thread #bump

2010-02-19 13:51:50 bf527 and LDR Miguel Ángel Álvarez (SPAIN) Message: 86231 Dear all We are trying to use bf527 in a new design. We have some experience on bf537, but we have found that the boot mode is not the same for both DSPs. As we want to boot from a parallel flash, we have selected BMODE=1 for bf527, and have found that the image we have to program must be in LDR format. However, we are facing (at least) two different problems: 1. uboot does not add flags for dma and bits for the bf527. 2. ldr seems to place the code in 0xFFA00000 instead of 0x2000000. What are we missing? I know that perhaps I am not sending all the required information, but I am not quite sure of what could be required. Thanks in advance Miguel ángel QuoteReplyEdit 2010-02-19 14:16:01 Re: bf527 and LDR Robin Getz (UNITED STATES) Message: 86232 Miguel: For U-Boot, you should just define "BFIN_BOOT_SPI_MASTER" - and everything else should just work. Is this what you are doing? -Robin QuoteReplyEdit 2010-02-22 03:47:24 Re: bf527 and LDR Miguel Ángel Álvarez (SPAIN) Message: 86308 Why BFIN_BOOT_SPI_MASTER? I am trying to boot from a parallel flash and not from an SPI master... I am sure you may be right, but... why? QuoteReplyEdit 2010-02-22 09:20:14 Re: bf527 and LDR Miguel Ángel Álvarez (SPAIN) Message: 86319 More information... I have downloaded the precompiled u-boot-bf527-ezkit-para-2009R1.1-rc1.ldr and inspected it with "ldr -qS", obtaining the following. DXE 1 at 0x00000000: Offset BlockCode Address Bytes Argument Block 1 0x00000000: 0xAD995001 0xFFA00000 0x00000000 0x00036950 ( 8bit-dma-from-8bit ignore first ) Block 2 0x00000010: 0xADEC0801 0xFFA00000 0x00000134 0xDEADBEEF ( 8bit-dma-from-8bit init ) Block 3 0x00000154: 0xADC90001 0x03F60000 0x00003E8C 0xDEADBEEF ( 8bit-dma-from-8bit ) Block 4 0x00003FF0: 0xAD761001 0x00000000 0x00002000 0xBAADF00D ( 8bit-dma-from-8bit ignore ) Block 5 0x00006000: 0xADFC0001 0x03F63E8C 0x00004174 0xDEADBEEF ( 8bit-dma-from-8bit ) Block 6 0x0000A184: 0xAD7B0001 0x03F68000 0x00008000 0xDEADBEEF ( 8bit-dma-from-8bit ) Block 7 0x00012194: 0xADFA0001 0x03F70000 0x00008000 0xDEADBEEF ( 8bit-dma-from-8bit ) Block 8 0x0001A1A4: 0xAD7A0001 0x03F78000 0x00008000 0xDEADBEEF ( 8bit-dma-from-8bit ) Block 9 0x000221B4: 0xADF50001 0x03F80000 0x00008000 0xDEADBEEF ( 8bit-dma-from-8bit ) Block 10 0x0002A1C4: 0xAD750001 0x03F88000 0x00008000 0xDEADBEEF ( 8bit-dma-from-8bit ) Block 11 0x000321D4: 0xAD170001 0x03F90000 0x00004724 0xDEADBEEF ( 8bit-dma-from-8bit ) Block 12 0x00036908: 0xADF90001 0xFFA00000 0x00000028 0xDEADBEEF ( 8bit-dma-from-8bit ) Block 13 0x00036940: 0xAD3B0101 0x03F9474C 0x0006A9C8 0x00000000 ( 8bit-dma-from-8bit fill ) Block 14 0x00036950: 0xAD738001 0xFFA00000 0x00000000 0x00000000 ( 8bit-dma-from-8bit final ) So it seems it is prepared for booting code from 0xFFA00000 and not from 0x20000000 and using an 8bit flash instead of a 16bit flash (the same I am obtaining for my "from sources" ldr). I am sure to be missing something, but I am not quite sure what. Any clues? Thanks QuoteReplyEdit 2010-02-22 11:30:32 Re: bf527 and LDR Robin Getz (UNITED STATES) Message: 86326 Miguel: If you want to boot from parallel flash - then it is either BFIN_BOOT_BYPASS or BFIN_BOOT_PARA. Look in include/asm/config-pre.h for the description. -Robin QuoteReplyEdit 2010-02-22 11:31:29 Re: bf527 and LDR Robin Getz (UNITED STATES) Message: 86327 Miquel: You are confusing the run time address vs storage address. The storage address doesn't matter for ldr files. -Robin QuoteReplyEdit 2010-02-22 11:48:17 Re: bf527 and LDR Miguel Ángel Álvarez (SPAIN) Message: 86330 Dear Robin. Thanks for your answers. I was trying to use "#define CONFIG_BFIN_BOOT_MODE BFIN_BOOT_PARA". Ok... So it seems i am mixing storage and program addresses... But... Why are not the same? I mean... my flash is placed in 0x20000000 and my code should run from it... I am wrong? In the "Direct Code Execution" chapter from the bf527 manual there is an example that show an ldr header with target address 0x20000000 and 0x20000020) for direct booting from flash and not 0xFFA00000. I am missing something, I know... But I cannot figure what. BTW... If I check the ARE# in the bf527, I can see four pulses, so it seems it is trying to read four words from the flash... As I do not see any more pulses, I am implying the .ldr is not correct. Thanks Miguel Ángel QuoteReplyEdit 2010-02-22 13:11:02 Re: bf527 and LDR Axel Alatalo (SWEDEN) Message: 86331 Chapter 15 of the hwref states: The internal boot ROM includes a small boot kernel that loads application data from an external memory or host device. The application data is expected to be available in a well-defined format, called the boot stream. A boot stream consists of multiple blocks of data as well as special commands that instruct the boot kernel on how to initialize on-chip L1 memories as well as off-chip volatile memories. The boot kernel processes the boot stream block-by-block until it is instructed by a special command to terminate the procedure and to jump to the programmable application's start address, which traditionally is at 0xFFA0 0000 in on-chip L1 memory. This process is called “booting.” I believe the "boot stream" mentioned is the .ldr file. The ldr file is not executable code, it is a bounch of blocks with headers telling the boot-rom where in RAM to put the sections. u-boot usually want to reside at the end of the ram as you see in your ldr header (all addresses starting with 0x03F60000 =63MB). You also see that init code is placed at the "traditional" addres 0xFFA0 0000 mentioned in the hwref. Most probably that is where execution will start after the boot-rom is finnished loading. Now you see the difference. 0x2000 0000 is where the (non executable) .ldr file is located. The other addresses is where the .ldr file is unpacked and finally where execution starts. The ldr file itself is never executed, just unpacked. -Axel QuoteReplyEdit 2010-02-22 13:52:20 Re: bf527 and LDR Miguel Ángel Álvarez (SPAIN) Message: 86336 Thanks Axel. I understand what you are trying to explain me... The code is prepared to be executed in 0xFFA00000 whether it is stored or not in flash or whatever... And it seems you are right as the precompiled images from the u-boot also try to execute 0xFFA00000. However I have a question... In the hwref when talking about "Flash boot modes", it states that: "The boot mode BMODE = 0001 can also be used to instruct the boot kernel to terminate immediately and directly execute code from the 16-bit flash memory instead. Code execution from 8-bit flash memory is not sup- ported. See “Direct Code Execution” on page 15-35 for details." Going to the "Direct Code Execution", I find that: "For example in BMODE = 1, when the block header described in Table 15-6 on page 15-36 is placed at address 0x2000 0000, the boot kernel is instructed to issue a JUMP command to address 0x2000 0020. The development tools must be instructed to link the above block to address 0x2000 0000 and the application code to address 0x2000 0020. An example shown in “Direct Code Execution” on page 15-117 illustrates how this is accomplished using VisualDSP++ tools suite. Table 15-6. Initial Header for Direct Code Execution in BMODE = 1 Field Value Comments BLOCK CODE 0xAD7B D006 0xAD00 0000 | XORSUM | BFLAG_FINAL | BFLAG_FIRST | BFLAG_IGNORE | (DMACODE & 0x6) TARGET ADDRESS 0x2000 0020 Start address of application code BYTE COUNT 0x0000 0010 Ignores 16 bytes to provide space for control data such as version code and build data. This is optional and can be zero. ARGUMENT 0x0000 0010 Functions as next-DXE pointer in multi-DXE boot streams." So... why is this? Am I using the wrong mode (BMODE=0001)? Thanks Miguel Ángel QuoteReplyEdit 2010-02-22 14:45:32 Re: bf527 and LDR Axel Alatalo (SWEDEN) Message: 86337 When I started reading this thread I was initially a bit puzzled to why you use .ldr file to boot from PFLASH. I then realized that the "BYPASS" boot-mode from BF53X (which is the processor I'm by far most familiar with) does not exist in BF527. BF537 hwref states on page 19-35: In bypass mode (BMODE = 000), the processor starts code execution from address 0x2000 0000. This is the first address in the asynchronous memory bank 0. While BF527 manual states: The no-boot mode is not the same as the bypass mode featured by the ADSP-BF53x processor. To simulate that bypass mode feature using BMODE = 0000, see “Direct Code Execution” on page 15-35 and “Direct Code Execution” on page 15-117. On BF537 you can use the .bin file (Not the .ldr) and just program it to 0x2000 0000. The .bin file contains a loader which loads u-boot to its final destination in RAM. If you really want to emulate that behaviour you can read page 15-35. However I don't think that is what you want. I don't know if u-boot can execute from flash, but even if its possible, I cannot se why you would like to do that (note that even in BYPASS mode on 53x u-boot is loaded to RAM before execution, it is just the loader that is executed from flash). To make a long story short: I believe that what you want to do is have the bfin boot-rom unpack the standard u-boot .ldr file from PFLASH (0x2000 0000), and in that case your boot mode (001) seems correct. Why doesn't it work? The boot rom first loads 4 words of header to try to decide the following loading. As you states the 4 initial reads indicates that the boot-rom does not understand what it is reading and stops * Have you verified that the file is correctly written to PFLASH? The jtag may come in handy here, ICEBEAR+gdbproxy+gdb you can dump bfin memory (rememver PFLASH is memory mapped) to you local disk on your PC and compare to what you expect to find. * Is the board hardware verified? PS: I see something strange in the manuals that I dont understand maybe Robin knows? The bf527 datasheet states: Idle/no boot mode (BMODE = 0x0) — In this mode, the processor goes into idle. The idle boot mode helps recover from illegal operating modes, such as when the OTP memory has been misconfigured. (BMODE = 0x1) — In this mode, the boot kernel loads the first block header from address 0x2000 0000, and (depending on instructions contained in the header) the boot kernel performs an 8- or 16-bit boot or starts program execution at the address provided by the header. While page 15-61 in the hwref states: The flash boot modes are activated by BMODE = 0000 And page 15-63 in the hwref states The boot mode BMODE = 0001 can also be used to instruct the boot kernel to terminate immediately and directly execute code from the 16-bit flash memory instead. This don't make sense to me, pages 15-61, and 15-63 seems to contradict the datasheet and even other places in the hwref. QuoteReplyEdit 2010-02-22 15:13:15 Re: bf527 and LDR Robin Getz (UNITED STATES) Message: 86340 Axel: All the manuals are correct. Boot mode 0 does not mean the same on all blackfins, in fact most do not use the same pin strapping. Execute in place ( Bypass Boot ROM - or Execution starts from address 0x20000000) - bmode 0 on some - is not on all. Others only support LDR boots. Because many people complained that this sucked, the people who wrote the bootrom came up with a workaround that the ldr could just jump to to 0x200000020 - or some other arbartary address. This is not a bypass mode - since it requires that the bootrom still boot. It is just a specific LDR example. Since you are required to use LDR on some - there is no advantage from U-Boot's perspective from having the Bootrom do the relocation from Flash to external memory, or having U-Boot do it. So on those parts - we don't support this wonky, poorly documented (or we wouldn't be having this discussion) LDR format which the manuals sometime refer to as execute in place. If you know what they mean, you can see why things were written the way they were written - but they don't explain things well... To paraphrase... bootmode 0 (execute the IDLE instruction), is activated by BMODE 0000. You can make a LDR which terminates immediately, and jumps to an address in flash, and use bootmode 1 (BMODE 0001), to approximate a execute in place. -Robin QuoteReplyEdit 2010-02-22 15:27:32 Re: bf527 and LDR Axel Alatalo (SWEDEN) Message: 86345 Hi Robin, The appearant discepencies were between bf527 hwref and bf527 datasheet, It was just in the beginning I made one single reference to bf537. Anyway, thanks fot your answer, I now understand what hw 15-63 refers to. However I still dont understand how hw15-61 in the bf527 can state: The flash boot modes are activated by BMODE = 0000 while for example 15-60 states: When the BMODE pins are all tied low (BMODE = 0000), the Blackfin processor does not boot. I believe 15-61 is a typo and should say 0001 instead. -Axel QuoteReplyEdit 2010-02-22 15:29:30 Re: bf527 and LDR Mike Frysinger (UNITED STATES) Message: 86346 i dont know what you mean when you say: 1. uboot does not add flags for dma and bits for the bf527. you'll need to clarify QuoteReplyEdit 2010-02-22 15:31:31 Re: bf527 and LDR Mike Frysinger (UNITED STATES) Message: 86347 datasheet/HRM corrections go through analog.com. either the processor support e-mails (as found in the datasheet/HRM) or the web forum over there. considering new HRMs are simply taken from previous ones and tweaked, it isnt surprising that an old reference slipped through. QuoteReplyEdit 2010-02-23 13:24:11 Re: bf527 and LDR Miguel Ángel Álvarez (SPAIN) Message: 86393 Thanks for all your answers... Yes... I should have stated that bf527 boot modes were not the same as bf537 ones... And that I was not quite sure about some inconsistencies between BMODE=0000 and BMODE=0001. I am sorry Robin, but I do not have quite understood your explanation. My intention is not trying to do anything strange with the u-boot, but just trying to boot it from RAM (and have it stored in Flash). So... In this case... What should be the mode? BMODE=0000 or BMODE=0001? And the LDR... is it just fine as it is build for 0xFFA00000? I suppose that although it has to run in RAM, if I had a correct header in 0x20000000 it should do more that four readings (at least to read the first lines of code and place them in L1, not?) Thanks a lot for all your help. QuoteReplyEdit 2010-02-23 13:35:44 Re: bf527 and LDR Miguel Ángel Álvarez (SPAIN) Message: 86394 Sorry Mike About the flags... For example in board/bf533-ezkit/config.mk we have LDR_FLAGS-BFIN_BOOT_PARA := --bits 16 --dma 8 However for bf527ezkit we are not stating the bits and dma, so the LDR headers always do not inform that we are dealing with a 16bit flash... Am I wrong? Thanks Miguel Ángel QuoteReplyEdit 2010-02-23 19:02:23 Re: bf527 and LDR Mike Frysinger (UNITED STATES) Message: 86406 stop worrying about the addresses in the LDR file relative to the flash/L1. everything you've shown from the LDR looks correct. QuoteReplyEdit 2010-02-23 19:04:22 Re: bf527 and LDR Mike Frysinger (UNITED STATES) Message: 86407 it probably could be changed to do 16bit dma from 16bit, but the current LDR boots fine, so no one has really cared. i can take a look when i get back to the US. QuoteReplyEdit 2010-02-26 13:30:27 Re: bf527 and LDR Miguel Ángel Álvarez (SPAIN) Message: 86613 OK. It is working. I was thinking that the BMODE pins had internal pullups... So I really was selecting BMODE=0000 all the time. Thanks

In the film industry, historically it seems to be a truism that women have not occupied major positions. Although they have participated in the profession, there has been a relatively small number of female producers, directors, and head writers for many years. A similarly small number of women have held positions of influence in the animation industry. A variety of reasons might be suggested for the scarcity of women animators: these might include systemic discrimination, institutional bias, and the fact that traditional animation and its focus on violence and physicality appealed to very few women. The relative dearth of females in the industry notwithstanding, the status of women in animation in Canada is anything but discouraging. From a cultural and historic perspective, this discussion will focus upon Canadian female animators and their experiences and suggest that at least some of the pessimism regarding women’s contributions to animation may have been overstated. Through examination of the challenges faced by female animators as well as strategies discovered that sustain their work, it becomes apparent that there is clearly a reason to celebrate the efforts and progress of women in Canadian animation, past and present. That women have not had an easy path in animation in general must not be forgotten. Sharon Couzin remarks that with few exceptions, “Historically a woman had no voice at all in animation. The field was occupied by men in the conception, rendering and distribution” (Pilling, 1992, p. 72). Karen Mazurkewich has called animation studios “boys’ clubs,” noting that there were “no girls allowed – except in the paint and ink departments” (1999, p. 5). Jayne Pilling confirms women’s somewhat lesser status when she notes that “[w]omen have always comprised a large part of the animation workforce – as paint’n’tracers, or ink’n painters, or in-betweeners, colourists or designers” (1992, p. 5). In 1951, Canadian animator Colin Low observed that that “‘people best suited for [organization of a cel cartoon film] are skillful at lettering. Girls are usually steadier, happier, and quicker at the work – they are neater and more methodical” (Mazurkewich, 1999, p. 185). While Low’s comments suggest that women indeed performed very useful functions in one form of animation, in this statement he seems to have relegated them to secondary, less significant, and perhaps less creative roles. Even almost a half a century later, Linda Simensky, Cartoon Network’s Director of Programming, is only slightly more positive: “First there is the history of the industry. While there have always been women in animation, historically the more important jobs have gone to men. This is much a function of the eras involved and of the history of the business. When you consider that the entire animation industry has been around for less than a century, and that for years women were systematically relegated to such ‘lesser’ jobs as ink and paint, women have actually done fairly well even getting into any positions over the last twenty years.” (Simensky, 1996) Nevertheless, a definite change for the better has been occurring for the female in animation more recently. Maureen Furniss observes that there is “an effort to hire and promote females as creators and producers (as well as in various other capacities) in order to rectify an imbalance created in the past by institutionalized policies of sexual discrimination – in part because women have made it to the top … and are now looking out for the future of other women” (1998, p. 234). In Canada, the number of female animators has increased, both at the National Film Board and at independent film companies. Women have had and continue to have an increasingly strong voice in animation. They enjoy many opportunities to practice in the field and are generally given considerable encouragement to do so. While in the commercial sector of the industry women seem to have less of a presence, in other areas women’s work flourishes and adds new perspectives, themes, and techniques, thereby immensely enriching Canadian animation as a whole. Whether there are discernible gender differences between animation created by men and women has been a matter of some debate. Marian Quigley has noted that Australian Antoinette Starkiewicz feels animation is “particularly suited to women because it requires infinite patience” (2005, p. 16). Ann Shenfield (who names Canadian animator Caroline Leaf one of her influences) sees a relationship between animation and gender, as she notes that “animation itself is like a gender issue. Animation is marginal, without any doubt … .Being a woman animator is a bit like being against the margin of the margin – not that you can’t succeed, but … it’s tricky” (2005, p. 93). Animator Carol Beecher perceives few significant differences in themes and approaches; however, she adds that if violence occurs in women’s films, there is often a more obvious and concrete psychological or sociological reason for it, whereas in animation created by men, the violence sometimes exists for its own sake or for pure effect (Beecher interview, June 26, 2006, Calgary, Alberta). Jayne Pilling has noted that “[t]here is no overriding thesis about the specificity of women’s animation,” but concedes that persuasive theories exist (1992, p. 6). She believes that women’s early experiences while growing up may account for their ability to express more easily personal emotions than their male counterparts: “men and women are socialized as children in different ways, with the result that women tend to be more able to explore and share personal experience” in their work (1992, p. 6). Not surprisingly, then, women’s animation has also explored and expressed feminist issues and concerns specific to the female experience. In Women and Animation, Pilling als discusses animator Susan Young’s belief that the fact that the socialization of boys emphasizes hierarchical play might help to explain men’s domination of character animation; the latter also thinks that this can account for women’s increased development of new styles and techniques of animation (1992, p. 6). There is no question that women in Canada have made and continue to make their mark in the country’s animation, and one of Canada’s earliest and most talented animators was Evelyn Lambart. Most closely associated with Norman McLaren, Lambart’s early career was spent as the assistant to the Scottish animator, but Lambart played a role in helping McLaren achieve the recognition and respect that he did. Karen Mazurkewich specifically notes colour correction, the incorporation of dust into an artistic image, and the enhancement of the personification of the chair in films such as Begone Dull Care (1949), Mosaic (1965), and A Chairy Tale (1957) respectively as aspects added by Lambart to McLaren’s films. Mazurkewich is appalled that Lambart’s name was left off the credits of Chairy Tale (supposedly the film’s producer wanted to maintain the illusion that the chair in the film was actually alive!) (Mazurkewich, 1999, p. 188). Nonetheless, in the end it was both Lambart’s technological knowledge and imaginative sensibilities that refined and improved the films on which the two worked (Ibid). Lambart herself seemed less bothered by the treatment she received and always felt grateful for the experience she amassed in the years with McLaren. An independent spirit for the most part, Lambart said, “The way I was brought up was to think of yourself as a person who had an obligation to use your talents in any way you could. Whether you were a man or a woman didn’t make any difference.” (Munn, 1982, p. 64) In a 1988 interview, she described her early experiences as an animator: “I must say that in those early days everybody was always highly cooperative. There was never any question of discrimination. I didn’t feel any differences displayed between the men and the women. This was partly due to my own background. My father had taught us that certain behaviour was expected of women and certain behaviour of men, but that we all had the same intellectual capacity. (Pilling, 1992, p. 30) Despite the fact that one might argue that Lambart spent much of her time in McLaren’s shadow, much to her detriment, and was recognized for her work far too late, that Lambart refused to see herself as a kind of second class animator is telling. Lambart not only enriched McLaren’s work but she also benefited from his tutelage both with regards to technique and theme. Gradually she came to learn what intrigued her and what no longer held her interest. Instead of simply taking McLaren’s lead, she kept pace with him despite the fact that the public saw only him for a large part of the time. Sociologist Seymour Lipsett has long compared American and Canadian values, and he maintains that Canadians typically are more collectivity-oriented than their southern neighbours. The belief that group effort and success is more important than individual glory has pervaded the Canadian psyche, and the dynamics of the partnership of Lambart and McLaren might have fit into this paradigm rather than a more hierarchical model. (Lipsett, 1992). Once her work with McLaren had slowed down, Lambart began to pursue her own style of film. She used wholly different techniques and content, leaving behind abstraction and pastels and focusing on linear stories with animated cut-outs and bright blues and reds. Her films often centred on concrete stories, frequently fables incorporating animals as characters; for example, she made Th story of Christmas (1973), Mr. Frog Went A-courting (1974), The Lion and the Mouse (1976), and The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse (1980). She continued to make films for both the National Film Board and independently for a great number of years. Another renowned and highly gifted female animator, Caroline Leaf, also began her career under the tutelage of a male artist, Derek Lamb. Leaf’s films have garnered much attention and received fulsome praise for their “compassionate sensibility to the lyricism and a humanity which one finds all too rare in animation” (Talia Schenkel in Pilling, 1992, p. 41). Like Lambart, Leaf sees the value in working with and learning from others; in the many interviews she has given, she speaks of her inexperience and her own uncertainty about her artistic ability rather than any overtly sexist attitudes or behaviour as obstacles to overcome. Derek Lamb was not Leaf’s only mentor; although he tried to get the National Film Board’s English Programme Unit to hire her, it was Co Hoedeman from the NFB’s French animation studio that ultimately hired her in 1972. The French office of the NFB in fact actively promoted the hiring of women in its department, and it was most notably Rene Jodoin who supported female animators. In order to produce highly original films, Jodoin not only encouraged young artists, but mentored women artists in particular. French-Canadian animator Francine Desbiens speaks fondly of her work with Jodoin: “At one time … there were more women than men. After he left the department, there were ten years where not one woman was employed as a freelancer or as a permanent … [Jodoin] was way out in front of everybody” (Robinson, 2000, p.2). Like Lambart, Leaf strives for the merging of innovative techniques and compelling stories. Interestingly, Leaf began her career animating films using animals and legends – similar to Lambart’s later work. Perhaps Leaf’s most famous technique to date involves her use of glass with sand or ink. Its originality and potential impressed even Norman McLaren who exclaimed, “This is wonderful! In all my years of animation, I’ve never thought of this!” (Talia Schenkel in Pilling 1992, p. 41). In The Street (1976), the animated adaptation of Mordecai Richler’s touching story of a child’s first experience with death, Leaf’s ink and glass brilliantly illustrate the use of metamorphosis, which evokes the passage of time and memory (Wells, 1998, p. 69). A more recent film, Two Sisters (1990), reveals yet another technique involving etchings that transmits both the fragility and power underlying codependent sibling relationships as well as the darkness and stifling atmosphere that can pervade these relationships. Irrespective of the techniques, Leaf consistently conveys a sense of pathos and authentic emotion. As Caryn James has observed, “At her best … Leaf combines visual elegance with a deep humane narrative” (1992, p.1). Animators following in Lambart’s and Leaf’s footsteps include Janet Perlman, Wendy Tilby, and Amanda Forbis. Like their predecessors, they focus on and value collaboration and the development of new techniques. Perlman, an independent animator for most of her career, has successfully used cel animation in her acclaimed Lady Fishbourne’s Complete Guide to Better Tablele Manners (1978), Why Me (1978) (co-directed with Derek Lamb), The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin (1981), and Invasion of the Space Lobsters (2005), to name a few. Themes in her work range from the very silly to the very serious: Lady Fishbourne pokes fun at social conventions while Why Me explores the nature of terminal illness. Both from western Canada, Tilby and Forbis have been inspired by Caroline Leaf, but have attempted to create their own individual techniques and narrative structures. Their award-winning When the Day Breaks (1999) stands out for its complex technical execution; the animators use Hi-8 film with live actors, photocopied frames, and re-drawings. The theme of the film examines the inter-relatedness of all people as it portrays how a chance encounter between two strangers changes both of them forever. Although Tilby and Forbis each make their own films, they value collaboration. Forbis says that their partnership, “allowed us to air and explore ideas in a way that we couldn’t have done alone” (Siegel, 1999, p. 4). She also commends the NFB for its unqualified support when she notes that she and Tilby were “supported, encouraged, and paid. We had excellent technical assistance, and our David Verrall not only championed the project from beginning to end, but he also provided excellent insight in the editing room.” (Siegel, 1999, p. 9) It is perhaps in the independent sector where the greatest number of female Canadian animated artists can be found. As Harvey Deneroff points out, it is important to be aware of “the dominant role [women] play among independent animators, whose films often constitute half the offerings at major international animation festivals” (1996, p. 1). One organization specifically for women animators is Women in Animation – an international support and resource system whose members mainly hail from the United States and Canada. Its mandate is “to foster the dignity, concerns and advancement of women who are involved in any and all aspects of the art and industry of animation” (). Open to both genders but no less supportive is the Quickdraw Animation Society (QAS) in Calgary, Alberta. Situated in a prairie city whose focus is on oil and gas and the corporate sector, QAS remains a strong and flourishing enterprise. Its official description calls it “a unique organization operated by animation artists dedicated to the production, education, and appreciation of animation” (QAS pamphlet, 2005). Located in a set of rooms on the floor above an ethnic restaurant in downtown Calgary, QAS contains all manner of equipment designed to create and enhance various forms of animation. Both traditional and computer animation can be produced effectively at Quickdraw. The society boasts an impressive library of books on animation as well as a huge array of tapes, disks, and other animation paraphernalia. What is most striking about Quickdraw, however, is the artistic and emotional support given to animators and would-be animators. Classes, workshops, and less structured events are offered to both the aspiring and the more seasoned artist. Animator Richard Reeves maintains that the society consciously strives to make the atmosphere welcoming to animators of both genders, and women who have been associated with the society concur (Reeves interview, October 10, 2005, Calgary, Alberta). Carol Beecher is one such animator who has branched out on her own and now is co-owner of Fifteen Pound Pink Productions, a small animation company. Her influences include Norman McLaren, Caroline Leaf, Wendy Tilby, and Amanda Forbis (the latter two also spent time at Quickdraw themselves). Another favourite animator of Beecher’s is Gail Noonan, an animator living in British Columbia. Noonan’s work often centers on issues more geared towards women’s interests: two of her most comical films are The Menopause Song (1995) and Your Name in Cellulite (1995). It is Beecher’s opinion that it might be easier for female animators to produce films in Canada than in the U.S. because the former provides more grants to auteurs than the latter. She also states that she perceives sexism in the industry to be far less prevalent in Canada than in other countries, most notably Japan and the U.K. (Beecher interview, June 26, 2006, Calgary, Alberta) Her work (often done in collaboration with Kevin Kurytnik) includes satire or parody rather than introspection or social commentary. The Wind between my Ears (2000) comments on the vacuous nature of television, while the cel-animated Mr. Reaper’s Really Bad Morning (2004) pokes fun at death itself. Her most current project is Intergallactical Who’s Who (2006), which parodies Hinterland’s Who’s Who CBC’s short fillers that spotlight Canadian wilderness animals. Keltie Duncan and Anne Koizumi are Calgary animators whose enthusiasm for their work is infectious. Duncan has spent time at Quickdraw, and like Beecher, she feels that women and men are treated equally by the organization, and she sees few obvious or significant differences in animation done by men and women. Nonetheless, she adds that male and female animators often can contribute different strengths to each film and is not surprising that some of the finest animation has both men and women working along side each other. Men and women view the world differently in many respects, and each perspective complements each other (Duncan interview, June 26, 2006, Calgary, Alberta). Koizumi recently returned from the National Film Board’s Hothouse Project in Montreal, where she made a short film using plasticine on glass with paper cutouts. She believes that gender differences in animation may exist, but she feels more comfortable saying that every animator is different regardless of his or her gender. Because she is an independent animator, like Carol Beecher, she sees little sexism in the industry. Like other independent animators, she strongly encourages others to continue actively pursuing their interests (Koizumi interview, June 26, 2006, Calgary, Alberta). To conclude, the fact that female animators in general have not been afforded the same opportunities as men throughout history should not be ignored. However, in Canada women artists have done very well in the field despite their lesser numbers. More importantly, women animators seem to have found ways to remain optimistic and creative, and when discussing women animators, perhaps more emphasis should be placed on their success than has previously been done. Colin Low may have been unknowingly prophetic when he used the words “steadier, happier, and quicker at the work,” in his discussion of women in Canadian animation. They have been participating in the field since its inception, and show no signs of slowing down. As evidenced in this discussion, female animators enjoy their work immensely and discuss it enthusiastically. Indeed, women seem to be thriving in the profession and are being recognized for their art, whether it is done at the National Film Board, in independent companies, or on its own. Positive self-perceptions, a supportive environment, and a focus on collaborative efforts have helped to secure a permanent and significant place for women in animation. Lynne Perras is Senior Instructor and Assistant Dean, Undergraduate Programs Office, Faculty of Communication and Culture, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Originally presented at 18th Annual Society for Animation Studies conference, Animation at the Crossroads, Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas, July 7-10, 2006. References Deneroff, H. (1996). “Women in Animation and Bill Everson.” Animation World Magazine, Volume 1, No. 2. Furniss, M. (1998). Art in Motion: Animation Aesthetics. Sydney: John Libbey & Company Ltd. James, C. (1992). “Multi-Faceted Animator’s Retrospective,” The New York Times. Lipsett, S. (1992). The Continental Divide: The Values and Institutions of the United States and Canada. New York: Routledge. Mazurkewich, K. (1999). Cartoon Capers. Toronto: McArthur & Company. Munn, F. (1982). “Creativity Heightened by Change in Career,” Ottawa Citizen. Pilling, J., ed., (1992). Women and Animation. London: St Edmundsbury Press Ltd. Quigley, M. (2005). Women Do Animate. Australia: Insight Publications. Robinson, C. (2000). “When I grow up I want to be Rene Jodoin,” Animation World Magazine, Issue 5.7. Siegel, L. (1999). Simensky, L. (1996). “Women in the Animation Industry: Some Thoughts,” Animation World Magazine, Volume 1, No.2. Wells, P. (1998). Understanding Animation. London: Routledge. © Lynne Perras Edited by Nichola Dobson To download this article as PDF, click here. I?ll come back again to read your upcoming post! Good job done

This is something you don’t see everyday – 1 Billion YouTube views. Wow. Talk about BIG. This is something you don’t see everyday – 1 Billion YouTube views. Wow. Talk about BIG. Let Photo by: Jerry McCrea/The Star-Ledger Too bad they lost the game in overtime, but this definitely is the top play of 2012 Olympic Basketball thus far. You decide… It started with a thought. Well, several random thoughts. Then it became this. And now I’m on my 100th post! Wooooot! Let me celebrate it by posting the past Random Thoughts entries. The next 100 posts would be more meaningful. I’m sending it to the universe. Can I make it through a thousand? Give me another year 😉 that’s how busy this mind is. Full of random thoughts. Random Thoughts – from January 1, 2010 to now. Pinay Pride Talking about the AI finalist, Jessica Sanchez. I am not really a fan of AI this year. I see it on tv and that’s it. I didn’t really get out of my way to watch it or follow it. I didn’t even know that there was a Filipina out there until my Aunt mentioned about it. And now she’s in the Final 2! Wow. I wish her all the best and I hope she wins it all. I am sending it to the universe. Mabuhay! OKC vs SAS Looking like it. And I won’t mind seeing these two in the West Finals. They are the top 2 teams in their conference after all. Too bad for the Thunders if indeed they end up matching up with the Spurs because they’re not going to have home court advantage. I know they’re kicking their heads right now for relaxing too much during the latter part of the season. Oh well. It shouldn’t be that big of a problem. They’ll be aight, I guess. This going to be the real test for each team. I just hope nobody gets hurt, like go down with an injury because that’s gonna be a bummer. It should be an interesting match up. Game on. BOS vs MIA? Maybe. And that will depend on what happens in the next 2 days. Can Miami still bounce back? Probably. Most likely. This is not the end, yet, for them. They can still redeem themselves. As for the Celtics, they’ve been really testy with fate. One wrong move and they’re done. Where, in fact, they could have focused and finished off their opponents. No need to slack off and stop going with flow. Finish them right away! You might be surprise what the Sixers can do, if you aren’t yet. Boston versus Miami. That’s how it’s supposed to be. Stop playing. Pet Peeve I just find it annoying when somebody tears a page from my notebook. Aaaaargh! I know, it’s just one page, but can you not find another piece of paper?? I mean, there could at least one or two pieces out there right? And even there’s nothing around, don’t you please just start tearing a page or two on my darn notebook without asking if it’s okay or not (because it’s not). I’ll be glad to look for a piece for you if you’re too lazy to look for one. Leave my notebook alone! Okay, too much drama. Too. Tough. Tim). Shared Planet To do business that is good for the people and the planet. You can’t go wrong with that. And so, smokers, please bear with us. As much as we would like to accommodate and tolerate you, we can’t (and won’t). I am maybe being a bit bias but it is what it is. It’s a law, and I’m happy. =) Locked-Out Now this can’t be good. NBA Players being locked-out for who knows how long. I just hope it won’t last that long. Everyone is going to be affected – the players, the fans, the owners, everyone. Every stakeholder. I hope they can sit down asap and resolve whatever. But I’m positive. With a great season, or seasons, for the past couple of years, they should be able to work things out. Myyyyyyyy Way ♪♪♪♫ Yep, you can’t sing that way in Makati no more. Uh-huh. The Mayor just passed an ordinance banning the use of loud videoke’s in the places where it may cause disturbance. I think this is a good one. I mean I’m fine with the noises here and there once in a while and if the neighbor is having fun, celebrating a birthday or what-not, but how about the other neighbors right? I think this would only highlight the value of respect, and that’s always good. Kudos to you Mayor. Can i hear a hell yeah Quezon City? Manila? Starbucks Ice Cream Aha! I got your attention. It got mine too. Hmmmm… looks really nice. I just wonder why are we still not offering this here in our Starbucks stores. And yeah, the Frappuccino with liquor, the Starbucks card, and so on and so forth. But yeah, I think our time will come. For now, enjoy the picture, savor the taste later. Or, you can call me, I’ll hook you up =P Past: Mavs All The Way That’s my code name in one of the blog sites I frequently visit (basketball fans you should check it out:). Lo and behold, MY Mavs went all the way. I wanted to brag and throw some thrash-talk while it was all happening but I think I have learned my lesson (you know what, thinking about it, I think I should have. hehe). I’m the happiest fan, at least in my world. I have been a Dallas fan ever since I don’t know when. Just like what I told to one stranger, they have disappointed me for the longest time! Not anymore. To MY 2010-2011 Dallas Mavericks, congratulations. Well deserved I must say. Let’s go get the next one. Present: Laundry, House Chores Just finished doing the laundry, the dishes, errands, etc etc. That’s my routine now. It is truly life changing. And the good thing about it? I’m not complaining a single bit about it. Not like when I was a child when I hated every single time I had to do any chore. Yep, I’m that kind. Fast forward to Now, I’m glad I was able to experience those things; that my mom and dad didn’t spoil me like I would’ve wanted to at that time. You wouldn’t really understand the lesson/s sometimes until it stares you right in the face. I’m lucky and grateful that I am blessed with a great family. Thanks Dear Almighty. Amen. Past-Present: My First Place Damn, I missed the whole experience! From my partners, to the aroma, to the connection. Everything! I have said it before, I’ll say it all over again: I’m more than glad to be part of something great. Thank you Noey (my Tito) for the opportunity. Pleasure’s mine. Future: Dark Of The Moon I waited a whole year for this. Of all the movies I was looking forward to seeing this year, it’s this flick. With or without Maegan Fox. Don’t get me wrong, it would have been really great if they have the same casts for all the sequels of this movie but nevertheless I think it would still be a good one if not great. So, it would be shown June 29. It’s a date. Free up your schedule. Past-Present-Future: The Man I would just like to pay tribute to The Man, my dad. I know I have done you wrong soooooo many times but you’re still there, ready to support me, ready to pick me up. I owe you big time, and, I will make sure to give it right back to you in due time. In God’s time. It may not be now, might not be tomorrow, might not be next week. I know that time will come. For now, I’d like to say THANK YOU. I am proud to be your son. I love you and mommy. Happy Father’s Day, De. Future Perfect: Priceless Antonio, this little space won’t suffice to occupy all the words I would like to tell you. As I type here, I can see you on your little playpen drinking the milk I prepared for you. Soon, I know before I knew it, it’s gonna be beer or vodka that you’re gonna be drinking. Sorry Son, I won’t prepare that for you. But I’ll give you the money so you can buy (just don’t tell Mama). Kidding aside, I’d like you to know how much happiness you bring in our lives – priceless. I love you. We love you. Let’s rock and roll \m/ The Script of Maroon 5 They are coming over!!! I’m uber excited! I’m still having second thoughts about the Maroon 5 concert but I’m already sold to the The Script’s gig. But I don’t think they’re selling tickets now. I checked yesterday, and it wasn’t included yet on the concert list for Araneta. What the heck. I’m really looking forward to it. Anyone who’s willing to give me free tickets, just send me a message =) Manny The Bieber Pacquiao Have you seen his new ‘do? haha. he caught the Bieber Fever. Look it up now. Or perhaps you have seen it already, since our man has been on the news again as of late. I just hope he won’t wear that kind of hairdo come fight night. He might get knocked-out because of it. He’d be like brushing his hair every once in a while and next thing you know is a right hook from Mr.Mosley. But it’s all good. The new look I mean. My bold prediction? He’s gonna sing a Bieber song in front of the camera soon. Wanna bet? Lost In Transition Kind of. but it’s all starting to make sense to me now. All the changes that have been happening over the past few days, weeks, it’s all starting to matter. I guess it has started to sink in. I just hope it brings out the best in me and make me a better person. So help me God. We Care Through Coffee and… wooden stirrers. Yep. It’s another milestone for all the stakeholders, for everyone. We have started doing away of those plastic stirrers and replaced it with a wooden stick. Isn’t that one of the best things ever? It just shows how we are truly concerned about our environment. I just feel very proud for being a part of something great. I have always envisioned myself being part of a company that genuinely cares. and Starbucks (Philippines) is that company. In our own little ways, we are making this world a better place. Starbucks — more than just coffee. Good Job. “This Is Where Your Taxes Go… …in our pockets!” Oh, more of our bank accounts. several bank accounts. Now I can understand why Trillanes and troops went that way, the Oakwood route. It’s a shame to everyone. It’s sad, thinking about it, that the system is that flawed and dirty and full of sh*t. Now, how can we even trust them to protect us, right? Hay… and they’re deducting taxes from you and me and this is what we all get – get all our moneys. Frustrating. Woooza… Alright, enough of the negativity. There are still a lot of good things happening. Fan Page Anyone? Don’t we have a fan page yet for her? With her courage and charisma, who else won’t be awed by The Heidi Mendoza. Given that what she’s saying in the Senate and all the hearings are true, we should be all thankful for her. I just hope she gets all the necessary support so that once and for all, these junkies would be jailed forever. I salute you ma’am. I want you to know that you have one supporter right here. I’m A Fan! Have you seen Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s facebook account? one word, astig. You should like her page now. There are a lot of meaningful things in there. And that’s an understatement. Man. I used to hate her because of politics but as time went by, I started liking her and now I’m a fan! Can’t wait to read all the notes and posts she have there and to meet her in person and have a chat with her. That would be fun. Yup, we need some more Miriam’s in the world =) Indefinite Total Log Ban He’s on the right track. Good job Mr.President. Putting an indefinite log ban, across the country. Very awesome. The last thing we need is another tree cut. Enough of it please. It’s time for us to care and give back to nature, and this law, bill, executive order, whatever it’s all called is a start. a very good start. Next step? Use of plastics ban? why not right? we can do it. Wet Summer The more we need to have that law implemented, soon. Now. They said we’re going to have that kind of summer – rain showers, storms, even typhoons. Yaiks. That’s not good. I just hope mother nature gives us a chance to at least enjoy the sun, sea and sand. Puhleaaaaase…. Thank You Berry Much. I heard it’s really good for the heart. Any kinds of berries – blueberries, blackberries, strawberries. Hmmm… interesting. I should start buying and start munching on berries then. Aside from berries, they said foods that are high on omega-3 are our heart’s bff. Such as oatmeal, salmon, avocado, and soy! I’m cool with those. I think I can handle it. Bring it on! yum! The Mummy Returns What’s happening in Egypt now? I really hope it turns out well for everyone. To the President or Prime Minister, c’mon sir, i think it’s time to step down. It’s been like, 30 years? Time for change. Your people aren’t happy no more. We need no blood shed. But yeah, none of my business as far as you’re concerned. I just hope everything works for the better. World peace. Bodicky, Thanks. I know we’ll see each other again. I would just like to thank you for all the things we’ve shared. You are a big loss for the team but I guess we’ll have to learn how to deal with it. And, i know it’s for the best. We wish you and your family all the greatest things this world has to offer. Until we see each other again. Thanks, man. Air Jordan 2011 I must say, one of my favorite Air Jordan’s to date. The past few releases were kind ho-hum, but this one is really something. I know it has some resemblance to Jordan 11? but still… I like the twist to it too, changeable soles? That’s like the first time i heard it made for a shoe. astig. anyway, universe, I’m sending my request. I won’t mind getting the red ones 😉 December Came In Late Are you not liking the weather? Well, I am (except for the pabugso-bugsong pag-ulan). This kind of weather usually happens during the Christmas season, but apparently it came in late. I guess it’s the effect of global warming and stuff. things are starting to change. But I’ll take it. This is like our extended holiday. Well, Chinese New Year is still on its way, so… Enjoy the weather. Cheers! Serpent Tamer Oh Yeah And with all the changes that are happening, even the zodiac signs changed! This might be too late for a news already but it still fascinates me. So, those people who are this sign before are now this new sign. You were born a cancer, now you are a scorpio, or libra, or whatever. Interesting. As for me, I am now under the Ophiucus sign. Awesome. Happy 400th Birthday! “Go Uste… Go Uste… Go! Go! Go!” I remember chanting this for UST. And they are celebrating their 400 years of existence. Man. Talk about tenure and age and experience. That is just unbelievable. Thomasians, you should all be proud. Last year it was UP’s 100 years if I am not mistaken. Next year would be La Salle’s. But this year is UST’s. Congratulations! More power and God bless y’all. Raaaaar! Nostalgic Forgive me but i still have the Annual Dinner hangover. It was F-U-N. Anyway, I have said that too many times. There were still a lot of stories to be told for that night. One of which is about the two great OPM bands of my era – Rivermaya and e-heads. ooops, rather Pupil. It was nice seeing them perform. I have a lot of reservations though about their performance and stuff, but overall it was aight. I can just imagine them playing during their prime. It must have been awesome seeing them play during their kasikatan and you’re there in front. But yeah, that’s life. I wish them all the best. They still are entertaining and i hope are enjoying what they’re doing, have been doing. Mabuhay ang bandang Pilipino. Astig! \m/ Blessing And Curse This Facebook man. It’s both a blessing and a curse for me. I should be resting by now and sleeping and yet here I am, in-front of the pc again, typing my thoughts away. I should stop this now right? But then again, I guess this has become a way for me to be an outlet of sorts. you know. So, there. Mr. Mark Zuckerberg, you are one hell of a genius. I hate you. Hall Of Fame Today, I am putting all the members of Team GBONe for the Most Awesome People Hall Of Fame in my heart. Yehesss… But seriously, I’m gonna miss this team. Whatever we do, wherever we go, wherever our fate may lead us, you, you, and you, and you will always have a special place here in my ailing heart. Your kindness and care will never be forgotten. Thank you. Which Type Are You? I posted this the other day, it’s about the type of people according to lifestyle. Wherein TYPE A people according to a study, are people who are workaholic, stress-junkies, and the like. While TYPE B people are those who are care-free, laid-back, and almost don’t give a damn. And here’s the crunch, TYPE A are more prone to heart diseases, which totally makes sense. Definitely a Type A here. So, what type are you? Green Tea Latte My new best friend! Especially now that I’m cutting down on coffee consumption, Green Tea Latte has become my new bestest friend. Hot alright. I didn’t like it that much before but I have started to feel the comfort from it. And it’s healthy too! See. So I’d like you to meet Starbucks Green Tea Latte. It’s made of matcha green tea powder, hot water, Classic Syrup, Steamed Milk, and a whole lotta’ lovin’ from your friendly and beautiful Barista. YOU.SHOULD.TRY.IT. Back From The Dead What a way to start the year. Last year, it was all cool – coffee with my mom and dad, Chico and Delamar on the background, breakfast with the family. This year? camp out in bed then straight to the hospital. haha. funny. but I’m all good now, i guess. and I’m not even complaining. you know what they say, it’s not how you start but how you finish. so I’m all positive. i know a lot of good stuff are on its way. and with that, happy new year everyone. let’s rock and roll \m/ Live Like We’re Dying There’s something wrong with that phrase but yeah I’ll take it. I couldn’t have imagined that this is gonna happen this soon. Well, at least that’s what the doctors are saying. They said it’s about the condition of my heart and it’s not good at all. You know those stories, you’re talking to your love one then the next thing you know you’re telling stories about that person – that how he or she was so good to you and everyone else, that he or she is still young, that you were just talking to that person earlier. So, the next time we talk, that might be the last. alright that’s emo. but as what my soulmates said, “pota, bahala na bukas!” XD Soulmates Now it makes sense. God will let you meet people that will break your heart, fail you, won’t meet your expectations, to let you feel how great your friends are. to make you realize that there would be no other better people than your true friends. they are still simply the best, in every way. even the “bad” things are still the best when I’m with them. they are my soul mates. so, to each and everyone of you, here’s to a wonderful time together. through the years. i love you all. Tickets Please…..! 10.22.10 Send me one universe, please…. wait! not just one. around 10 maybe! i need to bring my friends with me of course. calling out on Vinsh, Tony, Norman, Gayleness, Shiela and Jan M, Alvin C., John Paul, Breg, Ron and Steph, Crissy, Apple, and you, tickets puhleaaaaaaase….! see, that’s more than ten. i wouldn’t mind getting the pre-VIP ones. hay…. i’m desperate. I will give my virginity to whoever can provide me that ticket, those tickets. oh, wait… XD 10.27.10 – The Tip-Off Can’t wait for the opening night. we’re almost there. and i agree with the commish, that this maybe one of the biggest season in history if not the biggest. so much are happening and will happen. of course aside from the movements, there’s the pending lock-out, or should i say inevitable? i hope they work it out. anyway, i’m gearing up for the opening day. this is the year. let’s go mavs! all the way! Gun Ban I was thinking lately, good thing i don’t own a gun. and i should not. i feel like pulling the trigger on whoever – rude drivers, unfair people, insane mind, stress addict, crazy being. oh, did i just describe me? but yeah, don’t let me hold that gun or bring it near me because i might just shoot it. damn i’m a criminal. Lost That Loving Feeling Where can i buy love? because it feels like i already forgot how to give one. seriously. am i that busy? or is it just because? you can call it emo, but really it’s seems like i have totally forgotten how to reciprocate. i’m pathetic. but i know someday, somewhere along the way, it will come back. and when that happens, i promise to give it all. to pour in every bits and pieces. yuck. see what i mean? hay nako… Happy Octoberthday! This is the most i greeted people in a month! like 20 of my friends? it’s like greeting, and wishing, one person a happy birthday per day. man. seriously, there are a freaking lots of people celebrating their birthdays this month. hmmm… that means you were all made around the months January and February. okay. that explains it. i’m a genius ;-P Proud Pinoy While all the neighboring countries are parading, err more of boasting, their military power, the Philippines meanwhile is busy parading the heart of a true Filipino. Vietnam and North Korea yesterday boasted their troops, telling the whole world maybe that they are no push-overs or whatever. While us? Around 130,000 Filipinos (and Filipino’s by heart) joined the Run For Pasig. Now beat that! ha! I promise to join next time. Rock on Pinoys! One Helluva Night We work hard, we party even harder. It was fun, and it’s sweeter because we know we deserve it. We are number one after all. Yeah baby! and with that, we’ll do our best again to retain the crown. Team Manila number one! Patience Is A Virtue Or is it? please send me some more then. really, i have caught myself losing it a couple of times lately, and i know it’s not good. That’s why I’m asking for more of it. whew. wooooza… wooooza… Can’t Wait For… Christmas! it starting to feel a lot like Christmas! wait, that’s a song right? but really, that’s what’s keeping me sane lately. I don’t know, I just feel happy when I’m reminded that it’s almost Christmas. It’s the energy maybe? that during this season most of us are happy, jolly, or at least smiling. I going to savor this until it lasts. group hug…! Ang Problema Wag Mong Problemahin So Astrid said. Okay. I’m taking heed. but yeah she’s right, makes sense. but then again, it’s easier said than done, no? whatever. let’s just go with the flow and let fate decide. life is too short i guess to waste your time worrying. so help me God. amen. Sights Set On One It’s a long shot but I’m throwing it there anyway. I have my sights set on One. One Rockwell that is. I’m gonna get One. I’m throwing my request to the universe. Just like what joe said, the only way to make the impossible possible is to believe it is possible. i’m a believer but i doubt it. hehe. it will happen. will make it happen. Miracle One testament to the above quotes is the miracle i just received this week. i was worried how i’m going to make time for Urbandub’s concert, it’s October 22, Friday, my class’ last day of Nesting and I can’t be absent. Then all of a sudden, i receive an email saying that we should move the schedule to October 21. man. I was speechless. God made a way. I didn’t even request for the schedule. Hay… Thank you thank you. Let’s rock! 10.22.10 Yep, that’s the date. waiting. Now, if it’s not too much to ask…. can i get VIP, please? they only have 40 seats available for that and I’m hoping to get two, please? Sonicboom, i’ll be a slave for you just give me those darn tickets, puhleaaaaase…? okay. thank you. 10.10.10 This will not happen again in our lifetime they say, at least in my lifetime. but i just thought, so is 10.11.10 and 10.12.10 and 10.13.10 right? but yeah whatever. let’s enjoy each day as tomorrow it’s history. yeheeees… i sounded like a very bright man. anonymous. Team GBOne Told you we can do great things. I hope this continues until forever! I love you guys. You rock!\m/ We Have Arrived Telesales 43 it’s now time to show our stuff. Let’s show them how great we can be. OPS, here we come. Rock and Roll! I Love My Mom We’re friends now…in Facebook! haha! who would have thought that my mom would soon have a facebook account?! none. well, at least not me. haha. so, who’s next, my dad? why not, right? it’s cool. I super like it =) Yo, Mah! check out my new profile picture =P next thing I know, I’m being scolded by my mom online. we’ll call it online scolding. “Ray Anthonyyyyyyyyy….! Tanghali na! Bumangon ka na jan! Lunes na Lunes…” XD hehe. I love you, Me. You’re the best. Mwah! Mo’ Plastics, Mo’ Problems So, let’s eliminate the use of it. I still believe it can be done. Using paper bags may be more expensive but I guess that’s the price we pay. These malls, shopping centers, grocery stores, fast food chains, and all types of establishments. everyone should consider changing their usual plastic bags to paper ones. we’ve seen it in the movies. we’ve seen other countries do it. that’s why i’m glad to have read the news about a bill that being pushed by a few great congressmen to either put more tax on usage of plastics or totally ban it. i hope it becomes a law. again, I still believe it can be done – plastic(bag)-free environment. we can do it. One Big Fight! No, i’m not crossing over. I just admire the system they have with their basketball team. man. imagine losing all your key players last year and still contend for a championship?? only La Salle and Norman Black can do it. and maybe aric del rosario too. 4-peat by the growling tigers, THE Archers, and now 3-peat by the Eagles (or should i say the tweeter? hehe. peace brothers =P). well, not yet, but they’re almost there. it’s a perfect example of a championship or championships being won not because of 1 great player but because of an effective system. and with that, i salute you mr.Black. you are the man. It’s Been A Year It has been a year since Ondoy hit us like a thief in the night. I was at the store when the rain poured like crazy. next thing you now, our place is swimming in water as if we were suddenly transferred to the beach side. but imagine the other places. it was just horrifying. i wish we have learned our lessons, the government, the people, everyone. i wish this will not happen again. my prayer goes to all the family, friends, relatives, who were greatly affected by the wrath of nature. NLEX-SLEX Connect That’s just the best idea ever. I’m for it. I hope they do it really. i read that yesterday in the newspaper, that a private company is working on making it happen. and if it happens, that’s just awesome. i hope the government helps out and not become a hindrance to this this time. that’s just a driver’s dream right there. i’m already excited. wiiiiieh! overdrive, anyone? XD Power Plant Indeed A pen, notebook, a knife, and a short-in-a-tall white chocolate mocha. That’s a perfect ingredient for recharging one tired soul. I enjoyed every moment of being alone with me. Sometimes you really need some alone time and a quite place to gather yourself. i’m glad i have found my way back to my haven. I will for surely be back every weekend as much as I could. Thank God. This is more than a little piece of heaven. cheers. Sharon, Thank You. I don’t know her. she just happened to be the first person to buy a pack of VIA I offered, after a series of “unsuccessful” attempts. It’s all fun. I kind of look like a sorry ass there a couple of times but it’s all good. and sharon might have been the lucky charm. whoever you are, wherever you may be, thank you. not for just buying but for listening and taking time. i’m sending your reward to the universe. Never Be Without Great Coffee It’s worth trying. I know there could be a slight difference with the taste, and flavor, and overall quality, but it’s all good. I have tried it and i must say it worked for me. Though I have my own coffee press, it’s always nice to have a ready brew at hand. especially with people like me who’s always on the fly, really perfect. you should try it. it’s on me. let me know. Rock And Roll Today is the day, Telesales Batch 43. I’m excited and nervous, yay. We’ll be fine I know. Guys you don’t know me yet, but I’m excited to see you and meet you all and share all the great things. Fate brought us here together. That should be enough reason. With that, let’s rock and roll \m/ Greenwich Promo Have you seen that?? That is just the coolest thing! man. If you haven’t, go check their website. I didn’t want to tell anyone about it because i might have competition for limited stocks but yeah it’s all over the place anyway. hay… universe, please get me one? puhlease… I Love VIA. Yeeeeheeee… Tomorrow, Philippines will experience the greatest thing yet. Never be without great coffee *wink Finally, A Dinner Date Woooot! I had fun. I didn’t think I’ll have as much fun as I had, mainly because I am not really a fan of eat-all-you-can dinning. But I did! good stuff. and i can see myself doing such again. how about Team breakfast next payday =P Thanks, Paige, Brandy, Jay, Mommy E, Rej, and Crissy! “kumain na bgirl koh…? Kawawa naman yang syah…” XD It’s Time, Noh? I’m talking about making Divorse legal in the Philippines. Well, I don’t think that’s the right term. Right, it should be making divorse a law? or should i say an option? whatever it should be called, I think it’s time for it to be available as a last result for unhappy couples. they say, there are only 2 countries left where there is no divorse, us and another one (all I can remember is that it starts with the letter M. any guess?). I can understand where the church or anyone who is opposing to it is coming from. but if we are giving them an option to marry, why not an option to have it nullified? you know, i think it’s the couples right, both of them, whatever they want to do with their lives. Well, we’ll see. they have resubmitted the bill for the nth time. Birthday Treat I just noticed, the game scheduled on December 2 (December 3 here) is one of the NBA’s most anticipated game of the year – Miami Heat at Cleveland Cavaliers. I would take that anytime. As i have mentioned from my other post, this game may not even happen in The Q, with all the hate for the ex-King. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a game filled with different emotions – hate, excitement, love. So, thanks NBA for the early birthday surprise. can’t wait for the season to start. The (other) Man In a way, he’s the man, but no he’s not. What I am certain is that he is all worthy to be inducted in The Basketball Hall of Fame. I’m talking about Mr.Pippen aka MJ’s sidekick. I really admire his professionalism, his team-first attitude, his IQ, his love for the game. He knew his role and damn played it well. I know you’ll agree that MJ23 wouldn’t have won that multiple championships if it weren’t for Scottie, who stood by him and for the team. Can you imagine taking a pay-cut of about 8 figures just to achieve your end goals? he was that. there was a time in his career wherein a bench player was earning more than him, and when i say more, i mean millions of dollars. but there, he stood by the team even when the management isn’t treating him any better. This Hall Of Fame recognition was just a formality for a guy who did his best and made a great sacrifice for the love of the game. Mr.Scottie Pippen, you the man. High Level. Oh Yeah That was fun! Man. I had a blast! Training the VP, Senior Manager, and QA Supervisor. How high level can you get? haha. i hope they had fun as much as I did, and of course learned a lot from it. I’m sure they did. With all the discussions we had, I’m sure we picked up a couple of good things from there. It was such a great experience. From the topics, to the challenges, to the yosi breaks, to Starbucks foodies, to the electric fan in the training room – it was all great. Thanks to Toni, Paul, Maja, and Paige for not being so pasaway trainees. hehe. This is one of the highlights. Will for surely treasure this. Grateful for the experience. Totally. =) WOW! Wow? New version of Notes in Facebook! ummm… not bad but I’m missing that link. Where’s my “strike-through”? is that how you spell it? and my spelling checker? Facebook, anyone? I’d like to speak to your supervisor. Train Overload Can’t get enough of Train man. They are the best! awesome awesome music. I was reading the lyrics and I must say one of the bests ever. i like that kind of songs, you know, you mouth the lyrics, sing it, and then tell yourself that that’s exactly how you feel. just awesome. and they’re kind of jolly people too, eh? i don’t know. that’s how i see them. always dancing to their songs and seems like they are really having fun. and that they like to interact with their fans too. well, at least with the videos that i saw. i can’t wait for their next stop here in the Philippines. “..got to have something to keep us together. Love, Love. That’s enough for me.” \m/ It’s Been A While Man, I missed Facebook, or should i say Facebooking? Has it been three weeks? darn. Well, I’m here again, though may not be for long. I don’t know what’s wrong with my pc. I’ll have to have it fixed asap. I will. Sending it to the universe. Roller Coaster It feels like it. this past couple of days, weeks, it felt like i was in a roller coaster. (or as Boyong would put it – Roller Scoater. hehe). A lot has been happening, good and bad. or is it really like that? some say putting a tag on things is subjective, and not healthy. there’s no bad bad, nor good good. you know? you’re just the one putting a label on it. i think it’s really up to you on how you view things. sure it’s difficult to see everything as good good but at least you’re trying. I don’t think I’m making any sense. Anyway, I’m taking all the “good” things from the “bad”. charge it to experience. The WeekS Ahead The following weeks would be very exciting. If the previous weeks hasn’t been already. A lot things are in-store and I’m trying my best to psyche myself up. I’m nervous, but then again, like what Baz Luhrmann.” Isn’t that right? With that being said, Let’s Bring It. (yay). Here To Stay? I can’t imagine how I managed to last for a year (and hopefully more years) “working” for my First Place. With all the troubles i had caused, i honestly don’t know how i lasted for another year. I even forgot I had worked for a year already. I saw a letter in my locker reminding me that I had grown a year older. Great job for me I guess. So here’s to my anniversary and for another year and a decade and more. cheers! One Helluva Week Well, weeks. that was insane man. busiest weeks ever. i haven’t even had a chance to peak on my facebook. man. but, it’s all good. gained a few more experience, a few more mileage. thanks God for the strength, the patience, the guidance, the blessings, the challenges, everything. You are an awesome God. Up here. With that, here’s a week’s worth of random thoughts. weeks. NCAA 86: Game On! Could this be CSB’s year to win it all, in basketball? I hope. I like our chances, although more than half of the squad are rookies. I know, i know. A championship maybe a long shot right now, heck Final Four, but then again, the ball is round, and we’re here to win and not just to show up. I like what coach Richard Del Rosario said that their goal this year is to improve on last year’s performance, which is very realistic goal. He’s not saying to the world that “this is our year y’all! we gonna be champs this year!” no. (not yet). Just work hard on every possession, every game, every day, every week. Our time will come, and it may not be a long wait. Animo Benilde! Which Team? Team Charlie! Seriously, I never thought and never have imagined that I will be watching Eclipse not once but twice! I almost puke just by saying it. hehe. But you know what, I enjoyed it. It was aight. not the kind of movie that I’ll include in my top ten list; if not only because of the special people I watched it with. I was surprised I was paying attention to the movie as if i am that interested you know? I am a bit interested yeah but not that much. I’ll put it this way, I’ll watch it with someone dear to me but not by my lonesome. there. why am i explaining? anyway… there. the movie. it was good. Bella is such a biatch; Jacob is an asshole; Edward is emo; Victoria is O.A. (no pun intended); Bree is kawawa; Jasper is the man; his partner (what’s her name?) is beautiful, and sweet; dakota fanning is scary shit; and Charlie is funny. You should watch it. It’s worth it. Never thought I’d say that for this movie. When Leaving Has Become An Option I don’t know how I’m going to put this. This might be too heavy for a random thought, but, yeah… Might as well put it here. It’s just so sad that your work has become a work. you know what I’m saying. It’s no longer fun. all you have to do is produce numbers numbers and numbers. I understand this is business but whatever happened to fun, to enjoying your work, to connection with people? Maybe I’m just adjusting to this whole new movement, or maybe I’m just not the right fit for this, but one thing for me is for sure, WE have lost the connection. or perhaps there was no connection at all in the first place. I don’t know. My thoughts maybe just as bias as your thoughts when you’re on that other side. Has leaving become an option? I have thought of it, but not seriously considering it. But the fact that I have considered it right? Aaaargh. I’m not mentioning any names. If you think it’s you then it’s you. i am not even trying to be mayabang, and threaten anyone with me leaving, I am just saying. There are still more to business than this. and I still believe in that. call it idealistic. Bestfriends For Life Had a blast with J.A. and Jo this week! I missed them and thank heavens for the opportunity of being with them again. It was a perfect night. They’re still them, I’m still me when I’m with them. This deserves another post. I will. But for now, I’d like to say thanks Jo and J.A. You are my greatest treasures. Wang Wang Disclaimer: I am not a hater or an opposition. This is just one man’s opinion. Are you serious? With the nation having so many problems, all that’s got highlighted is the ban on wang wang?! really? what about education? books? teachers? classrooms? aren’t this the more important ones? Maybe, I am just not seeing the humor in it. I am just still wondering, of all things why the siren? or the blinkers? or whatever it’s called. I mean, if I’m in the streets and got nothing to eat, or a hard working fuckfactory worker worried about my pay, or a whoever, what’s that freaking bs has got something to do with me? I won’t be able to feed my family even if you jail those bastards. Come on. We’re better than this (that is a hope). I am only one and I’m counting a lot on the new admin to deliver the goods and see improvements. Okay, maybe this is somehow an improvement, alright, that it’ll start from them, that they’ll be a good example, alright that’s good, we’ll take that. But for me, we deserve something more and something better than this. And I’m not losing any hope because of this. I have gained more hope in fact. It’s just that it’s time to be more serious now, time to flex our muscles and move forward. We can do this. We’ll do it. Udub Encounter I’m soooo glad to have seen and heard them play again. woooootwooo! that was heaven. It was one helluva of a night! OPM music at its best. Great Music overload right there – December Avenue, Salamin, Subscapular, ‘Dub. Man. we were high! not literally. although that would’ve been nice too (*wink). It was fun. I don’t know. I can’t quite explain the feeling. When you’re around those cool people, everyone being on the same wave length, nothing compares. and I’ll do it over and over again. When’s the next ‘dub gig? let’s roll! Biggest Movies Of The Year Yep, it’s not the Twilight Sequel baby, it is, are… The Other Guys Meet The Little Fockers Now, I’d buy premiere tickets to see these. Man, I’m excited! Wiiiieeeeeh! Run Barbie, Run! We’ve registered and we’re set. Yey! We are joining the… what run is that again? I forgot. It’ll be in Alabang on the 11th, Sunday, and I’m excited! Hopefully it won’t rain. Kat, JR, Don, Crissy, and me! come, let’s join us =D And hopefully after this, we’d run some more and join some more run-for-a-cause for all the right reasons. It’s just weird, they’re setting all these Runs during the Rainy Season. Or perhaps I just missed on the previous runs this summer. See, I told you I’m busy. Rain or shine, it’s ready, set, go! Knight And Day And speaking of another movie (I thought I was busy?hehe), I’m glad to have found resources to see this! Funny, funny movie. Not your typical action heavy movie. It was an action with a rom-com twist kind of movie. I wasn’t able to catch Vanilla Sky wherein they first (?) paired up, but I’m thinking that was some kind of heavy stuff, with drama and shit. I think I saw the trailer of that movie hence my idea of it. With this one, I was laughing my head off here and there, wasn’t really affected with the drama of the movie, as again it was done in a lighter mode kind of way. which was perfect for me. i don’t know about you. that’s my kind of movie. With me. Without me. You choose ;-P Borrowed Time Lately, I have been borrowing time from Red Bull, I-On, Gatorade, and Starbucks. Really. I wouldn’t have survived last week without these folks. Yup, they’re my friends. We are this close. uh-huh. they have become my source of strength, and they’ve been true to me – set the right expectation, didn’t complain, didn’t scold me (not even once), was there for me all the time. I love you guys. Group hug! Blog. More Than Just A Game It was a great game. came down to wire, each team giving their all, each player doing their best to win the game. a great one. Congratulations to the Lakers and the Lakers fans. You deserve the championship. As for Boston, nobody expected you’d go this far, and taking the former champs to the limit is something to be proud of. To Phil Jackson, congratulations on your 11th. Now that is something. As much as I hate to say it, it’s time to hang it up. Arguably the best coach ever, 11 rings as a player and a coach? man, i don’t think it’ll still be topped. great job, Phil. Doc Rivers, now you gotta keep on going. I can see you having a great success in being a coach. your ways are that of a champion. Although I must admit that it’ll be difficult for you to have this kind f success next season. KG is old, so is Ray, Sheed, and Pierce. But then again, it was the same thing that was said to you prior to this season. All the best of luck to you and your team. Wow, the Finals just ended and I’m excited for next season already. So many exciting things that will and should happen. Basketball has really been the savior for me. Ever since I was a kid, i loved the game and still love it now. It takes my mind of the wall. One person I would really like to see on the other side and shake hands with is Dr. James Naismith. Without him, there’s no basketball, no NBA, no fun. I will look for ye on the other side 😉 With that, here’s to all the basketball fans all over the world and outer space. cheers! The Other Ball I’m talking about soccer. I don’t know, I just never got into the game. I can see a lot of fans going gaga over it, maybe more than I’m into a basketball as a fan, it’s just not for me. I find it too (forgive me for saying this word Soccer fans) boring. Maybe because them soccer players don’t score that much (pun intended. hehe)? It is one sport though that I think us Filipinos would be really good at. Maybe we’re good already but not that good. The good thing is it’s picking up, it’s starting to become popular here in the country. And I can see that in the near future we’ll have a representative in FIFA or wherever. Who knows. It’s all good. The Replacement I posted a picture on my wall just a couple of days ago. Beautiful right? Her name, Rosie Huntington-Whitely. She is the one replacing Megan Fox in Transformers 3. I know, I know. I hear you. Let’s give her a chance, who knows. Little Piece Of Heaven Quaker Oats Oatmeal Cookies! Yum! my guilty pleasure lately. It helps me a lot really, especially when I’m handling a class and I can’t go out, this saves the day for me. hmmmmm… I like all of the flavors but my favorite is Honey Nuts. You should try it. No, Quaker didn’t pay me anything for the ads. Enjoy! Thank You Will Do How difficult is it to say “Thanks!” or “Thank You!” or “Salamat!”? You know? I just find it rude when people ask something from you, or ask a favor, and all you get is… nothing. I know it’s my job, but not even a thank you? man. I’m not talking about a particular person or customer, but people in general who ask for this or that, and they treat you like they’re somebody. Just disgusting. So to you all, whenever you ask a waiter, a cab driver, a whoever, a little courtesy will do. (Yeah, I just had to get that out of my system. Bad vibes out. shooo! moving on…) Motorcycle Drive By No, not the 3eb song, but a motorcycle. should I get one? I don’t feel that I need it, I don’t think that I do, but my cousins are pushing me for it. And I am seriously considering it. I don’t know. Maybe, maybe not. But yeah, I shouldn’t say never. We’ll see. Kobe Rajon Rondo Is the Man. How can you go wrong with this guy – 19 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals, 1 block in 41 minutes. Man. All the things he does. He hustles, he scores, he passes, he defends, he’s focused and definitely have a big heart. and he’s only 23. damn. Basketball is in god hands. Yeah, Kobe is one of the best, so is LeBron, DWade, my other man Dirk, but Rondo is just awesome. He is now of one of my favorites. Not just because of what he did today, but what he consistently does for the Celtics. I am not a big fan of Celtics, I just want to make that clear (defensive). Rajon Rondo = MVP. TSUG! Rean: “help!!!” Life: “no. not this time. ” Rean: “but please…” Life: “no. you need to help yourself. you need some growing up.” Rean: =I S.Y. 2010-2011 Is it really school time again? That was fast! whew. Rain Rain Go Away Noooo….! not yet! I know it’s efin hot out there, but, no heavy rains yet. maybe next year? Youtube Hit I’m wondering for a long while now, what is the most viewed youtube entry? would you know? anyone? if you know it please let me know. I’m just curious.. (is it susan boyle’s video? 93+ million views last time i checked). FB – efin B I should be sleeping by now but I’m still here, in front of the pc, doing fb. darn. I’m pathetic. Tough Love I’m missing my family. It’s been a while. I will see you soon. sorry. “You’ve Got A Friend In Me…” Remember the song from Toy Story? It goes like, “You’ve got a friend me; I’ve got a friend in you…” something like that? I dunno, I just found myself singing that song over and over lately. I think the reason why was,or were, the people around me who are just very much willing to help me without asking for anything in return. You know, you ask a favor, and they’re there without batting an eyelash. And then you feel like connected with them when in fact you rarely talk to them or even see them. It is just heart-warming. So for those people who extended their helping hand/s, thank you. I appreciate it. I hope you don’t find this emo, and even if you do, all I want to say is THANK YOU. Your random act of kindness really touched a nerve and it won’t be forgotten. I hope I can repay you in whatever way, soon. I will. I won’t mention your names here, you know who you are. Thank God for people like you. I feel blessed, and I am, for having you. Group hug….. =) Three – Zero Orlando just got waxed right there. Man. Maybe the Celtics are for real. I remember Jake telling me that he thought I am in the Celts bandwagon, and I think I will be soon. That was just some ass-whoppin’. And that Rondo dude, he crazy! Best play of the year, best player of the Playoffs. Boston is in good hands… bring on the Lakers? Another Weekend, Another Quality Time Together This is what I’m saying. You don’t have to spend too many hours together to say that you weretogether. You know what I mean? It is what you do with whatever amount of time you have. And forcing fate just doesn’t make sense, won’t make sense. Go with the flow, don’t force things, let it happen, yadda yadda yadda… No Way But Up They say when you’re down and almost out, there is no way for you but to go up. And I am trying to get comfort out of that saying. If all the good things come to end, so are the bad right? Yep, trying to be positive. Come on, help me out here =) El Nino, La Nina Man, when are they going to give us a break? Experts say, after El Nino, there will be La Nina come July. my God. I hope we are all prepared. I hope the government is prepared or at least preparing for it. Yaiks. But then again, they said the same thing I think two, three years back? That La Nina will rip the country like whatever, and it didn’t really happen. So… I think these people are just expecting for the worst, wherein it’s a good thing too. Whatever happens, I hope we’ll all be safe. God bless us. Lauro Clan I should be sleeping right now as i still have two full shifts later (good luck with that), but i can’t put this of for later. I wanna tell the world how much I love my family. they’re the best! the way they care for me, they understand me, and love me unconditionally. call it drama but difficult times like this you really get to appreciate those little things – offers you food, asks you how you’re doing, and the likes. I mean, we are not that affectionate and showy, that’s just not us, but you know those things. I can’t quite explain it. their body language, words that are not spoken but you feel, their actions, everything. we don’t even have the family that some would envy, but who cares. I love this bunch of weirdos around me, and I love them for life. you guys know who you are. YOU rock. Shortest Weekend Ever But… …but worthwhile. thank YOU. Penny From Heaven i was busy looking at some of his videos lately and damn was he that great. i’m still in awe seeing his moves; he was simply the best. at the same time, i kept on wondering what could have been if he wasn’t injured that bad; what if he is still playing right now; how well would he match up with the youngsters now; who will be teaming up with; how many championships could he have won; and list goes on. it’s bittersweet. but it is what it is. he made a great impact to the league and to me as a fan. i wish him well. and i am still the number 1 fan. you’re the man. Will Do Better Yes, i will. slowly getting my groove back. give me a couple of more hours, days. None Of My Business The things that are happening to people, the things that they are doing, good or bad, that’s none of my biz. I will instead do my best to make this little corner of the world better. WTF There were pcos machines (that weren’t used in precincts) found in makati and antipolo?!! where did that come from? and why was it being kept in a private citizen’s house?! hmmmm… you gotta wonder… That Was A Quickie That was fast. Where did the days go? Suddenly it’s Friday. Man. Next thing we know it’s Christmas. Whew. Not complaining. Just saying. Let Him Be Ladies, if you want to keep your man, let him be. I think that’s the best unsolicited advise I can give you. Let him be – let him play those online games, let him hang around with his boys, let him make mistakes, let him realize his mistakes, let him be. He’ll appreciate it. I do. Can’t Get Enough Of Udub Don’t they have a next gig yet? They do have a gig but it’ll be in the South. hmmm… what about following them there? That’s a nice idea… One Cup At A Time Life has forced me to learn this lesson. I’m cool with it. Taking all the good things. Ray Anthony: Is A Mess Aaargh! i hate it! i hate myself for settling on mediocrity. I know I can do better but it feels like something’s pulling me to just lay back, relax, no need to panic mode. I don’t know if it’s a good thing or bad but if I am feeling this way then perhaps it is bad, right? hay… but it’s all good i guess. that means i am still doing fine but I could be better, things could be better (and it will). keeps me on my toes. alright, maybe i should just take all the good from the “bad” and move on. see, it’s a mess. Sorry For The Inconvenience I should hung a sign that says this phrase on my neck. really. i know i have been and have become a burden to many this past few days (years) and i would like to apologize for those who were affected, being affected. This is not even drama or emo moment. i just feel like sorry for being a headcase lately. and at the same time appreciative of things and people who’s putting up with my retarded self. you know who you are. thank you. i appreciate it really. i may not say it often or not say it all, but i’m more than grateful. group hug…… Where To Go From Here Talking about My Mavericks =( didn’t expect that from them. but it is what it is. we’re moving on. looking forward to next season. DWade and Dirk on the same team? Won’t complain for CB4. Really something to look forward to. Let’s go Mavs! All the way! I Wish I May, I Wish I Might I wish we can buy sleep. you know. you don’t have to really sleep , just buy it, so you can work on your everyday thing. man. 24 hours is just not enough. Sick and Tired of all the dramas in life. enough of it. i had too much already. drama overdose. let’s just enjoy the ride why don’t we. It Is What It Is It happened, move on. I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason. there’s a story behind the story. we may not know or understand it now, but I just know there is reason, there are reasons for it. WANTED: You. I am looking for a financial adviser. must be good looking, sexaaay, and good looking. math degree not necessary. Thank Heaven Chen is all ok now. here’s wishing and praying for her fast recovery. we love you Chen. Legalize It When are they going to? because quad espresso just don’t cut it anymore. i need a better drug. i am voting for whoever’s going to just even put it in his/her platform. yes, I’m insane. i heard that. Let’s Jump The Gun This is going to be one helluva week – new class (on my own. ngyai), money matters, udub gig (wooooot!), going back home, full scheds for both starbucks and oww. man. but i’m excited. excited to the things that might happen, good or bad. whew. must be because of the quad espresso. whatever it is, i hope i’m still alive by the end of the week. or maybe not. if i die along the way, that’d be nice too. cremation please. All Oh-Kaye In case I die this week (so emo) or anytime soon, I’d like everybody to know that I have my hats off to my Manager, Kaye. may not be the best to you, but certainly one of a kind. she’s different in a good way. awesome, awesome person. you may not like her but I do. thanks Kaye for being a true person. hugs… Rock and Rogue! Let’s go! All set for me; who wants to tag along? talk to whoever you need to talk to, take your leave (don’t be absent or go on awol, not recommended), let’s roll! soooooo excited. this is going to be the highlight of my life! exaggerated… but im freaking seriously uber excited. f*ck! woohooo! (must really be the quad espresso…). April 29, 8:30pm, Encore Taguig. It’s a date. I’m brushing up on my lyrics now… Hey You! Yes you. thanks for a wonderful weekend. one day, one cup, one c2, one weekend at a time. apir. Telesexysales 36 Congratulations y’all! You are all great. Definitely exceeded my expectations. Thanks for a wonderful time. your turn to show them vets that you belong. knock ’em all, bring in the sales! you can do it. again, thank you. (I’m trying to upload all the pictures and videos but i have yet to find time for it. verrrrry busy. darn. doing the upload from my phone to pc right now and I’m like 25 out of 471 pictures done. man…) Advy, Is That You? Why do I have this strong feeling that I’ll have my next car anytime soon? hmmm… I don’t know, weird (but nice). Whatever this is, I’m just gonna savor it; bring on the car. I’m sending it to the universe… Prayers Chen, hold on angel. everything’s going to be alright. Jo and Den, everything will be fine. I’ll see guys soon. Let me know how I can be of help. We are here for you. Playoffs 2010 Was waiting for a long while with this, and it finally arrived thank God. My Mavs versus Spurs? i know we can handle. Not to be over-confident though. we can breeze through it. Let’s go Mavs! All the way! Weekend Haven’t had in a while until this week. had fun sleeping, cuddling, sleeping, sleeping… =) Thanks for a wonderful one. until next week *wink Telesales 36 This is it guys. Let us finish strong. i owe leo and mary their favorite Starbucks drink right? who wants some more? 7 bookings. bring it! Old Habits Never Go Away or so i thought? there’s gotta be a way right? if i don’t stop this i’d rather be dead. help pleaseee… =( Moon Fetish Haha. i can’t explain it. it always leaves a smile on my face whenever i look at the moon. weird. i am just awed by the beauty of it. especially when its full moon? just a thing of beauty. God does exist. Excited!!! Told you guys, it will happen. and will happen soon. yeah. Looking forward to the weekend. Makati to Laguna to Zambales. Let’s do this! [email protected] my first real email address. debs, i’m going to see you soon. miss you debbie. New Training Admin Welcome!!! okay, back to work. Delamar’s Wisdom “Don’t regret anything you’ve done, don’t feel so sorry for the things you did. It happened. You learn your lessons. Move on. It’s your life. These things are part of YOUR journey.” – not the exact words but something to that effect. but it is so true, right? just the right words i needed to hear. this is my life, this is my journey. f*ck off. urbandub gig when will i hear these guys again? if you happen to know any gig of theirs, let me know. it’s on me. Soul Mates, Let Us Unite Got exciting news from Paul – they are going back home!!!! woooooot! him and Debs! I am soooo excited! Mates, clear your schedules. This is going to be crazy. Wisdom Tooooot! It is freaking aching! man… i thought i’m done with this. apparently, not. now I’m scared again. i remember my dentist telling me that if it gets in the way, they will have to do an operation – smack right my face, forcefully remove it, and then die of pain. huwaaaaaaaa…! For Your Ice Only Loooove munching on ice. drink will not be finished until i consume all those ice. yeah yeah, i know it’s bad for my teeth (haha! now we are even!), but what the heck. i am enjoying it. most good things are bad anyway – coffee, marriage, kindness… huwaaaat?!! you can tell I’m jaded. more ice, ice baby. Alright alright. This is for you Joe and the rest of you… 1.) Near Death Experience – nearly got ran over by a car because he was trying to “escape” from fans who were so eager to get his autograph. you know how fans are right? they were so into him that he had to run across the street and nearly got hit by a cab. crazy fans (hehe…) 2.) Rob Pat and Pierce Brosnan – when they were shooting for the movie Remember Me, again there were fans waiting for them everywhere they went, fans of him and Pierce. he was surprised with how Pierce accomodated his own fans – giving autograph, talking to them, and he was even the one who introduced himself to them. robpat was so amazed. he said he would like to be like that to his fans. now, good luck to that. 3.) Sex Scene from Remeber Me – a couple of trivia: they had to make a pad or something (forgot how it’s called) for his thingy for that particular scene. to make it look even bigger? (i thought he has 11 for his shoe size? hehe); they had to reshoot that scene because him and the actress (what’s her name?) were sooooo into it, it looked like a real real love-making. the director had to “edit” it for his fans, because you know, the image and sh*t; but i must say that’s good acting right? i mean, they made it believable (if there is such a word). 4.) Favorite “Person” – yep, you are right. it is his late pooch. i don’t know the name, it was not mentioned, but there, he said his late doggy is his favorite person ever. and yes, it got mixed reaction from his family. he must really love that bitch. There. I know there’s a lot more. you tell us. share it with other fanatics. Joe meet Teen, Teen meet Joe… Rob Pat Attention Rob Pat’s fans: DO NOT READ this. Okay, don’t tell me I didn’t warn you. But then again, you might know these things already. Look this up now: 1.) Rob Pat’s near death experience 2.) Rob Pat and Pierce Brosnan 3.) Sex Scene from Remember Me 4.) His Favorite, Most Important “Person” In the World. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. you’ll get more addicted to him. (yes, I’m talking to you Joe, *wink) and, I heard his shoe size is 11. big feet, big …. Mavs All The Way Just when I mentioned about the winning streak, they lose by 30. oh, 35 to be exact. Dang. Maybe they were just too pre-occupied with the pacquiao-clottey fight. Anyway, it’s time to start a new winning steak. Mavs all the way! B-O-R-I-N-G Yep, I’m talking about the pacman-clottey fight. Clottey fought not to win but to stay alive. It is a good tactic against the champ, but hey, this is boxing. Maybe he should’ve fought in another sport. But there, it happened already. Not complaining about it. Our man won, everybody’s happy. I hope everybody’s happy. I must say though, I like the Ghana dance, the way he danced during the entrance. That was cool. Missing My Alma No, not ms.moreno. My Alma Mater that is. I’d love to be back there in the campus, spend some time in the lobby, in the library, in the hallway, in the classroom. I miss having discussions with my classmates, with my thesis partner, with the professor. that’s the place i want to revisit before I die. Animo Benilde! Mavs All The Way 13 game winning streak and counting. Hopefully this is the year. all the way! Who Is The Next Training Admin? I enjoy being part of the interview. Knowing the candidates for the post, learning a few from them. and the discussion with Owen, Paige, and JR that ensues after each interview. whoever makes it, i, we are looking forward to working with you. cheers! Due For Another Vacay I know it will happen, soon. wanna tag along? Bieber Fever Man, this kid must be real good. have you heard about the news about him and his throng of fans? look it up. they crazy. i hope it all turns well for him. i mean i hope he does not become the next aaron carter. Udub Mode The inevitable. i am in that mood again. and there’s no stopping it. “when the fighting is over…” Telesales Batch 36 Excited about it. i hope everything turns out great for this batch, just like the previous. bring the rain! Iron Man 2 That just looked real crazy! more than a thousand iron mans?!! okay, thats exagerated. just saw the trailer and can’t wait to hit powerplant again. 1, 2 , 3… smile! Whew. Finally. after a long while, i was able to upload SOME pictures. Yep, just some. There are a lot more in the bag. that’ll come later. meanwhile, friends and enemies, enjoy! next batch of pictures might come no later than 3 months. hehe… Rean’s Shots Really loooove taking pictures. and with this album, i’d like to share some more of my weirdness. i hope you enjoy it. Son of a beach! who’s up for a trip to the beach?!! let’s go! let’s roll! Happy New…. Decade? Is it? or is that for 2011? hmmm… anyhoo, it is a new year that’s for sure. and with that, here’s hoping for a better year. cheers everyone! The Next Great Hope 2010 is the year when we see lots of banners and streamers all over the place. I am not a registered voter but what the heck. I am entitled to my own political opinion. Right now? I think it’s a raise between Noynoy Aquino and Manny Villar. It’s Noynoy’s election to lose; Villar is fast catching up and I must say with all those money to spend in advertisements (catchy ads too, “naranasan mo na bang magpasko sa kalsada…”), man he has a big chance. But whoever wins, I think we are in a better position, a better chance to improve our current state. It’s a win-win for us, I hope. Great Way To Start The Year What better way to start the year than serving your mom and dad a cup of Starbucks coffee? “Gold Coast Blend 4-Cup Press for Mommy and Daddy ready at the bar.” Enjoy! It’s gonna be a good day. Great day. Wooooooooooooooooot! This slideshow requires JavaScript.

[Info] Wonder Girls in Thailand (Fan Account) 28~01/03/09 By Apple 28/02/09 Concert Huamark indoor stadium is CRAZY! Like even before i went into the stadium, there were like 20plus stalls by the road selling WG merchandises (of course it isnt the official ones T-T) & another 10 or more booths opened by the sponsers. I didnt have time to walk about since i had to collect my tickets from WGThailand who was already getting ready to go in >.< (So sorry for having to rush me + wait for me) I collected a couple of WGthailand shirts & wristbands which they made for the concert. (I ordered about 10? Sunmi bands LOL~) Anyway, i would like to thank WGthailand for getting the tickets for me. (Hmmm, i ordered it around December?) It was quite an difficult task since i didnt know a bit of thai and we had to talk about it in english so i’d like to thank pong for his patience to explain everything to me hahaha. Thank You (: Concert JYP suddently came on when the lights went out together with his iworks friend to do a short speech/introduction before the concert. But when he came up i was already screaming like MAD HAHHAHA~ [OMG IT’s PD-NIM *squeals….But i’m still disappointed he didnt make any other appearence from then :(] Shortly after JYP left the stage, the intro of the concert started playing while everyone was chanting “Wonder Girls” and BAM! WG came on with their blue shiny outfits! I didnt expect them to do the opening with their non-title songs >.< So i was extremely even-more-high than expected HAHAHA! But the best part was when they came on with the sunglasses!! My first thought was “SUNMI IS WEARING Sunglasses??!” (Cos she hardly wears them at all >.<) how cool is that, they looked like terminator 3 4 or something hahahhaa! Now on to the solo performance, (FYI: I knew the order of the performance but i didnt know what the lyrics of the songs other than sexy back) When the other 4 wg members was standing on the platform while it was going down -leaving yeeun for her solo, After Sunye, Yoobin & Sohee’s platform went down, sunmi’s one was still stuck halfway (I think the platform jammed or something =,=) So poor sunmi, had to bend down and crawl her way out of there *aigooooo~ But yeeun totally owned that performance, especially during the highnote after the short break in the song…. Now on to sunye’s performance, i REALLY didnt expect the super HIGH platform stint during her solo. My heart almost dropped! Since it was SOOOOOOO HIGH (it’s really high if you see it with ur eyes) I was so worried for her, 1/2 of me was enjoying the performance, the other half was worrying incase anything would go wrong. [Since sunmi’s platform only went down 1/2way, i wouldnt want sunye to be stuck up there :/] Now on to sohee! I liked how she did the opening, you could only see her shadow as there’s like a huge light shininig behind her so everyone was like “who is that?! who is that!?” hahaha! And when the spotlight came on to sohee, wowwwwwww everyone went crazy cos you could totally see how SHORT her outfit was T-T When i saw sohee with that costume, i was praying that sunmi didnt wear something like that *prays (Since sunmi was next). uhk oh uhk oh oh~ LOL! Now on to SUNMI’s costume…. *tum tum~ (the bass came on) but sunmi’s still no where to be seen, then she walked onto the stage (OMGGGGGGGGG I TOTALLY LOST MY MIND) Sunmi in that cheongsam-inspired looking costume hahaha! I’m still against sunmi’s costume up till now =.= It made me happy for awhile cos i thought it was a super long dress…untill she put her legs out and i was like O.O sheeeetz~ still quite disappointed that not many people shouted “Sunmi Jjang” when they’re supposed to *sighs….Then binnie’s Sexy back song came on, & she was carried by 3 guys on a ladder-sort of thing @.@ I was shockeddd +while screaming at the same time. HAHAHA! Binnie’s sexy back is just so HER. she really brings sexy back hahaha! (skip skip skip……) On to the pompom performance, Sunmi is ESPECIALLY happy & hyper when they did the pompom performance HAHAHA! You can totally tell what a natural she was when she shook those pompoms, like she was playing with herself hahahaha! And they were smart to put sunmi in the center for the starting and the ending :X our little cheerleader~ I was laughing to myself when i saw them throw their pompoms to the side of the stage when the lights went off HAHAHA! (2pm performance….) Then “Saying I Love You” came on, & Sunmi was sitting on the piano -HOW CUTE IS THAT!, she looked like a doll when her head bobbed left&right hahaha. But the sad part is that, yeeun was playing the piano, so only half of her face could be seen during her part T-T But after yeeun sang the last line of “Saying I love you”, sunmi picked up her microphone and said “Saranghae” AHHHH~ JYP Celebrity News “World Star, Wonder Girls Split Up” (atm, i was shouting ahndweeh & shirrooh) “Wonder Girls Split Up Because Of A Love Triangle?” (I would bet this on Sohee, Sunmi & Yeeun LOL!) Wonder Girls Sunye & Yeeun: We havent talked to each other for years. Sunye grabs grammy with her first solo album New hip-hop sensation, Yoobin sweeps the world Former idol Yeeun’s cosmetics line, Wonder cosmetics named a fortune 100 First idol lady, new president elect’s wife, Sunmi (Rather than hearing people scream, more people was laughing HAHAHAA) Idol strikes back: Idol-turned-actress Sohee wins and oscar …. Although that clip was made just for fun, but it was a very “touch wood” kind of thing >.< I wouldnt want it to happen….at least not so soon T-T it really gave me the creeps, when they said about JYP passing away zzzz~ PLEASEEEEEEE it’s not funny you know T-T Encore stage: they played some old/new wg clips with ‘wishing on the star’ playing as the BGM before wonder girls came on. I was quite happy to actually see them in ‘normal’ clothes (although sunmi wore a shirt which showed her belly, but i’d just let it go (: ) Everything that was said during the encore, could not be heard at all since everyone was busy screaming no matter who was speaking so….*sighs…. but i watched a fancam and sunmi said “My wish is to save earth & world peace *while doing a peace sign” and she walked off to the other side, embarassed HAHAHAHA! so cuteeeeee! While performing tell me remix (i’m not sure if it was taken in the fancams) Sunmi was doing her own rendition/style/choreography of the performance. It resembles a mix of weird+hwangjinyi-inspired dance hahhaa! She was dancing it by herself while roaming around the stage. And of course, the highlight of everything was when sohee walked to sunmi’s side of the stage & they held hands and posed for the fans. (I was the only person screaming “Miso”, Thailand is (SUPER) Pro-EunSun HAHAHA!) But that has got to be my favourite miso moment! ahhh~ And after they did the ending bow together with dancers and 2pm, sunmi left the stage together with the dancers and 2pm at the side of the stage…She forgot that she was supposed to go to the center and exit through the platform HAHAH! So the other 4 girls was like standing there waiting for sunmi to come back, & Yep, after a while you can see someone running out from the side of the stage and on the the platform HAHAHA! Everyone was laughing when they saw that HAHAHA! But the concert is awesome, you’d really need to be there to experience it yourself! 2hours of wonder girls is AWESOMEEEEE! 01/03/09 Post-Concert + Departure I was told that Wonder Girls would attend a closed-door post-concert celebration party at the hotel’s club, however i didnt make it back to the hotel in time to see WG enter the hotel :( Anyway, while i was away (i went to bath +eat) i was told that binnie returned to her room alone first. which means the other 4 is still in the club. So i waited at the 2nd level lobby (since most of the time they would go back up by that way) However, a kind staff of the hotel told us to go down as they would be going back to their rooms from the 1st floor instead, however the lobby area was filled with fans already, so i just stood before the escalator and waited for wg to walk by. (The escalator is located in a way that i can see clearly from the walk way from the club to the elevator, so instead of going down and trying to peek at them through the loads of fans infront of you, i decided to just go down the escalator when they’re walking pass, at least i could see them) & yes! my stratergy worked out well! HAHAHA! I went down the escalator as sunmi was walking by, although i could only see her backview but it was good enough. After sunmi it was yeeun & then sunye. (which means that sohee went up long ago >.<) [It was about 3am then] Before going up to sleep, i checked with the staff about when WG will check out of the hotel and he said that wg will check out at 8pm or so, which means there was no changes in their flight. We got our hopes up, thinking that WG will be shopping around bangkok. Sadly, i woke up late and a friend called and told me sunmi just left the hotel (GOD I WANNA KILL MYSELF!) After i joined my friend, we was tipped off that WG will be shopping at siam paragon, but there was no details of what time or whatsoever so we ‘ran’ all the way there and searched the entire building but there was no sign of them. (I only found out yesterday that ONLY SoBin went to Paragon at the evening, which meant that i totally wasted my time searching there in the afternoon zzz) So i went back to hotel & waited for anyone to walk by. Then the staff set up the barriers again (it’s a sign that there’s someone coming) We obediently stood behind it and waited…during that time a thai wonderful took out her camera to show me a video that she took when Sunmi, Yeeun & Sunye left the hotel. While i was asking her “where’s is sunmi?” as i pointed to the video…..i looked up and guess what i saw… YOOBIN AND SOHEE WAS ALREADY ON THE ESCALATOR I said “isnt that…yoobin and sohee?” then everyone went “Sohee!~” “YooBin~”….I still dont know why NO ONE noticed them at all or screamed at all LOL! the hotel was so silent =.= It’s funny to see loads of fans standing at the barriers but when they walked by there was no “Sohee!” or “Yoobin” at all!!! (I’m so sorry sobin T-T ) About 30mins later, i noticed a group rushing out from the 2nd level lobby, i felt it was kinda weird cos they was walking really fast so i asked a friend to go up and check it out. & guess what…it was Sohee & Yoobin with their jyp staff. I joined my friend shortly after. They was checking out of the hotel so they just sat at the 2nd level lobby while waiting. (there was a security guard around though) We was like sitting just behind them, about 2m away? But everytime my friend tried to get their attention, the guard would shush my friend, so she just timidly sat behind them and looked. (SoBin was facing the other direction so they couldnt see us behind them) They was sitting there for about 10mins or so? (and yes we was sitting there for 10mins with them, just looking and not doing anything else =.=) Bonus: A staff walked up to sohee and was like chatting with her in korean, then the staff took out a pair of boxing gloves from sohee’s shopping bag & was playing & laughing while talking to sohee. (LOL!! why would sohee buy boxing gloves? perhaps ….mango? HAHAHA) Then after the staff got ready to go, SoBin stood up , my friend tried for one last time “Yoobin!~” but she didnt hear….so my friend just gave up and watched as they went down the escalator to the screaming fans. after they left, i went to some “orient” restraunt which they was having dinner at,before they leave for Seoul. They booked the entire restraunt so the fans could only wait outside. Sadly, i didnt see any of them there due to the massive number of fans there. So i followed iHeartWG to the airport instead (they was told that wg would leave by the vip area). The thing is the vip area isnt in the airport, it’s in another building beside the airport (thankfully i wasnt alone, if not i would be stupidly waiting at the airport instead HAHAHA) [Fan Count: approx. 10 WG Fans 10 2pm fans] After an hour plus of waiting, a van drove up the vip building, as i was sitting quite far away from the entrance i ran all the way up to see who it was (i hate vans with tinted windows T-T) & it was Sohee & Yoobin! I was expecting the other 3 to come down from the van too…but it was just them and some staff :( there was no chance for them to stop for fans as the staff just rushed them into the building… awhile later, nickhun came alone and the 2pmers ran up to him and shoved him gifts. Shortly after, 3 vans came up (followed be a handful of cabs which was chasing the vans & the fans ran out of the cab, to the entrance of the vip area. [Fan Count: approx. 15 WG Fans 25+ 2pm fans] The group that just came was screaming and squealing so much that the guy from iworks told the staff in the vans that they will have to go straight to the runway & that he cannot send them off. (He spoke it in english so i guess the thai fans didnt understand, so i took the chance and got myself away from the entrance and walked to the vans, there was 3 vans and only 1 of it has Sunmi, Yeeun & Sunye in it. And the windows are tinted so you can hardly see recognise anyone inside. The first 2 vans had lots of fans surrounding it so i made a quick guess that it’s probably 2pm’s van so i went right up the 3rd van. (I was the only person standing there) I was peeking instead and trying to verify who was instead the van, then i saw someone with goldish-colored bangs. (that’s definately sunmi!) So i just continued and stood outside their van and smile inside the van, I was afraid that i would make a fool of out myself if i shouted Sunmi and she’s not in that van =.= … And that was the last i saw of her….just the reflection of her goldish-colored bangs T-T [Credit: [email protected]] ___ BTW! i’m back in singapore now~ hohoho you want more of the hot PD-nim. Aww poor Sunmi, and that jammed thingy. But it’s so her if she bended.*I’m not making any sense* and crawled. Puhahaha sunmi our natural cheerleader<3 wah! i need more of that sunmi on top of the piano!… only sunmi can pull of those kind of stunts <3 Oh so that was the skit. i thought there was more to it.=x Like Yoobin and Sunmi had a fight about a boy. According to earlier fanaccounts. T__T i dont wanna talk about the break up part too.! but way to go WG. Their acting is <3 <3 <3. ““My wish is to save earth & world peace *while doing a peace sign” and she walked off to the other side, embarassed HAHAHAHA! so cuteeeeee!” You know i love her… <3 <3 <3 wah!!! that miso moment!! O_O i saw a fancam.. im screaming at home.. kiyaa~~~ i posted it here too. lol sorry.*random spazz..* i want to say more hahaha.. thank you for sharing sunmi’s eh ahmmm sunminess.. since she doesnt want to be called 4D. she’s such an angel to me. LMAO! poor mango! T__T haha sohee <3 <3 “booked” the entire resto… zzzzz lol JYP. wow…. alot of sobin/nyuma moments. aww her gold-ish bangs.. <3 why is sunmi alone in a van?! anyway thank you apple for this detailed fan account. and OMG im definitely waiting for your *comeback.. we surely missed you!. glad to have you back apple! :D what do you mean that was the last you saw of her, didnt she get out of the van to go to the airplane??????? aishhh apple shall we go korea tgt? ^.^ thank u for sharing ur experience here. (waiting for it!!) ^ ^ i’m happy to know that u r back i singapore now. i know that it’s not all experiences in thailand is good. but only that sunmi’s “i remember you” can make those some bad experience go away. whenever u think of thailand and thai fans, i hope you still remember how much thai wonderfuls love (or r crazy for) the girls..haha..^ ^ thank you for the detailed recount :) my gosh you are soo lucky (freaking envious) -.- haha but then you totally deserve it ^^ so glad you had a good time, Apple! Haha, I would’ve died to meet Wonder Girls and to witness miso in action? Wow…this is so bias T.T Anyway, if I were there I would scream for everyone..might lose my voice the next day haha…I’m gonna go search for more fancams! :D thai’s are super pro-eunsun? omg i better visit thailand and meet my fellow EunSun fans.

Frequently Asked Questions on FSMA<!— END Social buttons—> Questions & Answers on the Food Safety Modernization Act Additional Resources - Preventive Controls Rules: Human Food and Animal Food - Final Rule for Preventive Controls for Human Food as it Relates to Dairy Products Produced under the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO) - Dietary Supplements - Produce Safety Rule - Enforcement - FSVP Rule - Accredited Third-Party Certification - Voluntary Qualified Importer Program - Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food - Intentional Adulteration - Recalls - Administrative Detention - Records and Records Access PC.1 What are the major requirements under the final preventive controls rules? They can be found in two fact sheets: - Preventive Controls for Human Food At-A-Glance Fact Sheet - Preventive Controls for Animal Food At-A-Glance Fact Sheet PC.2.3. PC.4 corporation makes or holds similar products at separate facilities, it is unlikely that the separate facilities have exactly the same equipment and layout. Procedural instructions must be tailored to the equipment being used, and the layout of a facility including processing lines, technologies, and raw materials utilized as they will affect the approach to applying preventive controls such as allergen controls. PC.5 What is a preventive controls qualified individual? This is a new term in the final rule. A preventive controls qualified individual is someone who has successfully completed certain training in the development and application of risk-based preventive controls or is otherwise qualified through job experience. PC.6 Do I need to employ a have to.. PC.7 How does a PCQI demonstrate that he or she is qualified to serve. However, the rule does not require any specific certifications, including certification by the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance (FSPCA). An individual may voluntarily choose to attend the PCQI training provided through the FSPCA, but this is not mandatory. In general, FDA will assess the adequacy of a facility’s food safety plan rather than an individual’s documented qualifications. Deficiencies in the food safety plan indicate that a PCQI may need additional training specific to the rule, irrespective of documented training and experience. PC.8 I have many food safety certifications (HACCP, GFSI, SQF, BRC, etc). Do I still need to take the PCQI training from the FSPCA? The preventive controls for human food. There are some differences in the requirements of the CGMP & PC rule compared to the requirements of HACCP regulations and other preventive-based food safety programs such that the training provided by the International HACCP Alliance/GFSI/SQF/BRC etc or other institutions might not be equivalent. Such an individual may need additional training specific to the CGMP & PC rule. However, the CGMP & PC rule does not require any specific certifications, including certification by the. PC.9 I have worked as a food safety manager for a very long time. Do I need to take PCQI training, or does my job experience satisfy the requirements to. In general, FDA will assess the adequacy of a facility’s food safety plan rather than an individual’s documented qualifications. Deficiencies in the food safety plan indicate that a PCQI may need additional training specific to the rule, irrespective of documented training and experience. PC.10). PC.11 What is a qualified facility? A "qualified facility" is (when including the sales by any subsidiary; affiliate; or subsidiaries or affiliates, collectively, of any entity of which the facility is a subsidiary or affiliate) either: - A ),. (See 21 CFR section 117.3 for definitions of "qualified facility," "very small business," and "qualified end-user") PC.12 What are the requirements applicable to a qualified facility? A qualified facility is exempt from subparts C (Requirements for Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls) and G (Requirements for a Supply-Chain Program) of the preventive controls for human food rule. However, a qualified facility is subject to modified requirements. It must submit two attestations to FDA: (1) an attestation that it is a qualified facility and (2) either an attestation that it has identified potential hazards, is implementing preventive controls to address the hazards, and is monitoring performance of the preventive controls or an attestation that the facility is in compliance with non-federal food safety laws and regulations. Further, a consumer notification requirement may be applicable, depending on which attestation a qualified facility provides. The compliance date for a business meeting the definition of a “qualified facility” (including a “very small business”) is September 17, 2018. However, there is an earlier compliance date of January 1, 2016 for a facility to maintain (but not submit) financial records to support its status as a qualified facility. The rule also establishes two additional compliance dates applicable to qualified facilities. First, it establishes December 17, 2018 as the compliance date for (1) the initial submission of the attestation by a facility that it is a qualified facility and (2) the attestation by a qualified facility about its food safety practices or that it is in compliance with non-federal food safety law. Second, it establishes January 1, 2020, as the compliance date for the consumer notification requirement. The consumer notification requirement applies to a qualified facility that submits an attestation that it is in compliance with applicable non-federal food safety law and requires such a facility to notify consumers as to the name and complete business address of the facility where the food was manufactured or processed. PC.13 What records must be kept by a qualified facility regarding its attestations? A qualified facility must maintain those records relied on to support the attestations (see 21 CFR section 117.201(f)). PC.14 What form is used for qualified facility attestations? Form FDA 3942a (for Human Food) is an attestation form for a food facility meeting the definition of a “Qualified facility.” A facility must determine and document its status as a qualified facility on an annual basis no later than July 1 of each calendar year. The attestations required must be: - Submitted to FDA initially: - By December 17, 2018, for a facility that begins manufacturing, processing, packing, or holding food before September 17, 2018; - Before beginning operations, for a facility that begins manufacturing, processing, packing, or holding food after September 17, 2018; or - By July 31 of the applicable calendar year, when the status of a facility changes from “not a qualified facility” to “qualified facility” based on the annual determination; and - Beginning in 2020, submitted to FDA every 2 years during the period beginning on October 1 and ending on December 31. - When the status of a facility changes from “qualified facility” to “not a qualified facility” based on the annual determination, the facility must notify FDA of that change in status using Form 3942a by July 31 of the applicable calendar year. More information about the qualified facility attestation form can be found at: PC.15 In determining whether my business meets the definition of a “very small business,” what is the meant by the “applicable calendar year”? The applicable calendar year is the year after the three calendar years used to determine whether a facility is a very small business. The most recent applicable calendar year is the current year. For example, on June 3, 2024, 2024 is the most recent applicable calendar year and is the applicable calendar year when the three calendar years used to determine whether a facility is a very small business are 2021-2023. The exception is when three calendar years of records are not available, such as when a facility begins business after the compliance date for very small businesses. In such situations, the applicable calendar year refers to the year during which the calculation is made but is not preceded by 3 calendar years used to determine whether a facility is a very small business. PC.16 Does the final rule include provisions to appeal the withdrawal of a qualified facility exemption? Yes. The final rule provides procedures for a facility to appeal the withdrawal order and request an informal hearing. And there is a procedure for reinstating an exemption that was withdrawn. PC. 17 How are the preventive controls rules different from the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system? The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points systems that many FDA-regulated manufacturers have in place or controls other than those at CCPs that are appropriate for food safety. PC.18. PC.19. PC.20 Are facilities (such as pilot plants or test kitchens) that manufacture/process, pack, or hold food for research and development (R&D), consumer testing, or as food samples subject to the Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food rule? In general, a foreign or domestic facility that manufactures, processes, packs, or holds human food for consumption in the United States and that has to register with FDA under section 415 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act is subject to the requirements related to preventive controls (primarily located in subpart C and subpart G) of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food rule (21 CFR part 117; 80 Fed. Reg. 55908) (CGMP & PC rule), unless subject to an exemption (see 21 CFR § 117.5 for exemptions). Note that an establishment may also be subject to the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) requirements in subpart B; those requirements are not dependent on whether a facility is required to register. If a research and development (R&D)/pilot plant or test kitchen is a facility required to register (see 21 CFR § 1.225 , it will be subject to the requirements of the CGMP & PC rule, unless an exemption applies (see 21 CFR § 117.5 for exemptions). Food used in R&D or as product samples is "food" for purposes of the food facility registration requirements of section 415 of the FD&C Act (see 21 CFR Part 1, subpart H). Accordingly, a facility that manufactures/processes, packs, or holds food used in R&D or as product samples is required to register with FDA. However, if the food is not for consumption in the United States by humans or animals, the facility is not required to register (see FDA's Guidance for Industry: Questions and Answers Regarding Food Facility Registration (Seventh Edition) - Revised, Answer to Question C.2.11: “Are facilities that manufacture/process, pack, or hold food used in research and development or as food samples required to register with FDA?”) If an R&D/pilot plant is not required to register with FDA, it not subject to the requirements of subpart C (Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls) and subpart G (Supply-Chain Program) of the CGMP & PC rule. However, the R&D/pilot plant could still be subject to the requirements of subpart B (Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP)) of the CGMP & PC rule. PC.21 What are “Unexposed packaged foods”? Do unexposed packaged foods have to be in final packaged form ready for consumer purchase, or can they be ingredients that will be used in further processing to manufacture finished foods? “Unexposed packaged food” means packaged food that is not exposed to the environment (see 21 CFR § 117.3). A food does not have to be packaged for a retail consumer (e.g., boxes of crackers or packages of chips) to be an unexposed packaged food. For example, an ingredient that will be used as a direct additive in food may be packaged in such a way that it meets the definition of “unexposed packaged food.” Unexposed packaged food is protected from outside bacteria by its packaging. See also the discussion in Response 170 regarding produce packed in “vented crates,” which is not “unexposed packaged food.” (See Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food rule, Response 170; 80 Fed. Reg. 55908 at 55970 (CGMP & PC Rule)). PC.22 If a facility is solely engaged in the storage of unexposed packaged food, is it exempt from the requirements for preventive controls? The Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food rule (21 CFR part 117; 80 Fed. Reg. 55908) (CGMP & PC rule) creates requirements for certain domestic and foreign facilities to establish and implement hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls for human food. In general, if a facility manufactures, processes, packs, or holds food for human consumption in the United States and has to register with FDA under section 415 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (see 21 CFR Part 1, subpart H), the facility is subject to the preventive controls requirements in the CGMP & PC rule, unless subject to an exemption. Note that an establishment may also be subject to the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) requirements in subpart B; those requirements are not dependent on whether a facility is required to register. Subparts C (Requirements for Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls) and G (Requirements for a Supply-Chain Program) of CGMP & PC rule do not apply to a facility solely engaged in the storage of unexposed packaged food (see 21 CFR § 117.7(a)). To qualify for the exemption, the facility storing the unexposed packaged food must be solely engaged in the storage of unexposed packaged food. For example, the exemption in § 117.7 would not apply to a facility that stores but also processes food (see CGMP & PC rule, Response 212; 80 Fed. Reg. 55908 at 55985). Also note that unexposed packaged food that requires time/temperature control to significantly minimize or prevent the growth of, or toxin production by, pathogens is subject to the modified requirements in 21 CFR § 117.206. PC.23 Is a facility that is solely engaged in the storage of unexposed packaged food exempt from the requirements for preventive controls if some of the unexposed packaged food that is stored requires time/temperature control prevent or minimize pathogen growth? A facility solely engaged in the storage of unexposed packaged food, including unexposed packaged food that requires time/temperature control to significantly minimize or prevent the growth of, or toxin production by, pathogens is subject to the modified requirements in 21 CFR § 117.206 for any unexposed packaged food that requires time/temperature control to significantly minimize or prevent the growth of, or toxin production by, pathogens (see 21 CFR § 117.7(b)). Thus, the modified requirements apply to the food that requires the time/temperature control. PC.24 What exemptions from preventive controls are included in the Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food rule? In general, a foreign or domestic facility that manufactures, processes, packs, or holds food for consumption in the United States and has to register with FDA under section 415 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (see 21 CFR Part 1, subpart H) is subject to the requirements related to preventive controls (primarily located in subparts C and G) of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food rule (21 CFR part 117; 80 Fed. Reg. 55908) (CGMP & PC rule), unless subject to an exemption. Note that an establishment may also be subject to the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) requirements in subpart B; those requirements are not dependent on whether a facility is required to register. Also, the CGMP requirements may apply to facilities or food exempt from preventive controls (see 21 CFR 117.5(k) for exemptions from CGMPs). The CGMP & PC rule contains the following exemptions or modified requirements related to preventive controls: Exemptions: - Activities subject to seafood HACCP (21 CFR Part 123) at a facility in compliance with seafood HACCP (21 CFR 117.5(b)) - Activities subject to juice HACCP (21 CFR Part 120) at a facility in compliance with juice HACCP (21 CFR 117.5(c)) - Activities subject to 21 CFR Part 113 (low acid canned foods) at a facility in compliance with part 113 (21 CFR 117.5(d)). This exemption is limited to microbiological hazards that are regulated under part 113. - Manufacturing, processing, packaging, or holding a dietary supplement that is in compliance with certain requirements (21 CFR 117.5(e)) - Activities of a facility subject to the produce safety regulation in 21 CFR Part 112 (21 CFR 117.5(f)) - Certain low-risk on-farm activities on certain foods conducted by small or very small businesses (21 CFR 117.5(g) and (h)). - Alcoholic beverages and prepackaged food at certain facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold alcoholic beverages (21 CFR 117.5(i)) - Facilities solely engaged in the storage or raw agricultural commodities (other than fruits and vegetables) intended for further distribution or processing (21 CFR 117.5(j)) Modified Requirements: - Qualified facilities (21 CFR 117.5(a)) - Facilities solely engaged in the storage of unexposed packaged food (21 CFR 117.7). There are modified requirements applicable to these facilities for unexposed packaged food that requires time/temperature control to significantly minimize or prevent the growth of, or toxin production by, pathogens (21 CFR § 117.206). Final Rule for Preventive Controls for Human Food as it Relates to Dairy Products Produced under the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO) PMO.1.. PMO.2.. PMO.3.. DS.1 Is a manufacturer of dietary supplements exempt from the Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food rule? Dietary supplements are “food” as defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). In general, a foreign or domestic facility that manufactures, processes, packs, or holds human food for consumption in the United States has to register with FDA under section 415 of the FD&C Act and is subject to the requirements related to preventive controls of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food rule, unless subject to an exemption. An exemption for dietary supplements is provided in 21 CFR section 117.5(e) which states that subparts C (hazard analysis and preventive controls requirements) and G (supply-chain program requirements) of 21 CFR part 117 do not apply to any facility with regard to the manufacturing, processing, packaging, or holding of a dietary supplement that is in compliance with the requirements of 21 CFR part 111 (Current Good Manufacturing Practice in Manufacturing, Packaging, Labeling, or Holding Operations for Dietary Supplements) and section 761 of the FD&C Act (21 USC section 379aa-1) (Serious Adverse Event Reporting for Dietary Supplements). DS.2 Is a manufacturer of bulk dietary supplements exempt from the preventive controls for human food? The exemption applies to finished dietary supplements in bulk form. For example, bulk finished dietary supplements that will be packaged or repackaged are exempt if in compliance with 21 CFR part 111 and 21 USC section 379aa-1. DS.3 Are dietary ingredients exempt from the preventive controls for human food rule? The exemption does not apply to the manufacturing, processing, packing, or holding of dietary ingredients. Dietary ingredients are subject to the requirements of the rule, including the current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) requirements of 21 CFR part 117, subpart B; the hazard analysis and risk based preventive controls requirements of 21 CFR part 117, subpart C; the supply chain program requirements of 21 CFR part 117, subpart G; and the recordkeeping requirements of 21 CFR part 117, subpart F. DS.4 Which Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) regulations apply to a manufacturer of dietary supplements, those in 21 CFR part 111 or those in 21 CFR part 117? A dietary supplement manufacturer would be required to comply with the CGMP regulations in 21 CFR part 117, subpart B in addition to the regulations in 21 CFR part 111, unless the regulations conflict. To the extent regulations conflict, the manufacturer would comply with the regulation in part 111 (see the Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food rule, Response 197; 80 Fed. Reg. 55908 at 55978). PSR.1 What are the key requirements and compliance dates? More information about the final rule can be found in the Produce Safety At-a-Glance fact sheet. PSR.2...7. E.1 What are possible consequences for a firm that does not comply with the preventive controls or produce safety regulations? It is a prohibited act to fail to meet the requirements of section 418 of the FD&C Act, related to preventive controls, and to fail to comply with the requirements under section 419, related to produce safety. Depending on the nature of the violation, and whether the food is adulterated or misbranded, FDA may consider different regulatory actions. These include: - the issuance of advisory letters; - court actions, such as seizure or injunction; and - administrative actions, such as administrative detention to gain control of adulterated or misbranded products, mandatory recall of violative food, or suspension of a facility’s food registration to prevent the shipment of food. For imported food products, FDA may detain and refuse violative entries, or place imported food products on import alerts to inform FDA field staff that they may detain (i.e., initiate a refusal of admission) future shipments of a food without physical examination. FSVP.1 What are the key requirements and compliance dates? More information about the final rule can be found in the Foreign Supplier Verification Program At-a-Glance fact sheet and the 'Am I Subject to FSVP' flow diagram. FSVP.2 What are the final requirements for required supplier verification activities? The final rule gives importers the flexibility to determine appropriate verification measures based on risks associated with the food and supplier performance, while acknowledging the greater risk to public health posed by the most serious hazards in foods.. FSVP.4 Who is subject to the FSVP rule? When the FSVP requirements take effect, they will apply to all importers, unless there’s an exemption. The “importer” is: . FSVP.5 To what foods does the rule apply? FSVP requirements will apply to all food imported by the importer or agent of the importer, unless there’s an exemption. FSVP.6 What foods are exempt from. FSVP.7 Are foods that are subject to USDA regulation exempt from FSVP? The FSVP regulation does not apply to certain meat, poultry, and egg products that at the time of U.S. entry are subject to USDA regulation, as follows: - Meat food products that, at the time of importation, are subject to the requirements of USDA under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA). The FMIA regulates the inspection of the following species: cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules or other equines, including their carcasses and parts. It also covers any additional species of livestock that the Secretary of Agriculture considers appropriate. In addition, under the FMIA, the USDA regulates fish of the order Siluriformes and products derived from these fish. Food from other animals (e.g., bison, rabbits, game animals, and all members of the deer family including elk (wapiti) and moose) is not subject to the requirements of the FMIA at the time of importation and therefore would be subject to FSVP. In addition, products with 3 percent or less raw meat; less than 2 percent cooked meat or other portions of the carcass; or less than 30 percent fat, tallow or meat extract, alone or in combination; and closed-face sandwiches are not subject to the requirements of the FMIA at the time of importation and therefore would be subject to FSVP. - Poultry products that at the time of importation are subject to the requirements of the USDA under the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA). The PPIA defines the term poultry as any domesticated bird. USDA has interpreted this to include domestic chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese and guineas, ratites and squab. Products containing either less than 2 percent cooked poultry meat; or less than 10 percent cooked poultry skins, giblets, fat and poultry meat (limited to less than 2 percent); and closed-face sandwiches are not subject to the requirements of the PPIA at the time of importation and therefore would be subject to FSVP. In addition, food from all non-specified birds, including wild turkeys, wild ducks, and wild geese, is not subject to the requirements of the PPIA at the time of importation. - Egg products that at the time of importation are subject to the requirements of the USDA under the Egg Products Inspection Act (EPIA). Egg products are made from the shell eggs of domesticated chicken, turkey, duck, goose or guinea. USDA defines “egg product” to include dried, frozen, or liquid eggs, with or without added ingredients, but mentions many exceptions. Note that egg products do not include shell eggs. Also, egg products do not include, among other foods: egg substitutes, cooked egg products, freeze-dried products, imitation egg products, dietary foods, dried no-bake custard mixes, egg nog mixes, acidic dressings, noodles, milk and egg dip, cake mixes, French toast, sandwiches containing eggs or egg products, and balut and other similar ethnic delicacies.. FSVP.10 Where do I find information about industry training for FSVP? The Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance (FSPCA) is developing training regarding supplier verification that will be available to importers who are subject to the FSVP regulation. Please refer to the links below for additional information regarding FSMA training and the FSPCA. Please note, however, that importers will not be required to have their qualified individuals who perform FSVP activities take the FSPCA training (or any. FSVP.11 What are the compliance dates for FSVP? The earliest that an importer would need to comply with the FSVP regulation would be 18 months after issuance of the final rule, i.e., May 2017. Importers whose foreign supplier must comply with the following rules will be required to comply with the FSVP regulation six (6) months after their supplier is required to comply with the applicable regulation. The regulations are as follows: - Current Good Manufacturing Practice and Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food, - Current Good Manufacturing Practice and Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Food for Animals, or - Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption. For further information, please see the following: FSVP Compliance Dates TPA.1 How will the third-party certification program work? The final rule establishes a system for the FDA.. TPA.8 Can both foreign and domestic food entities receive food safety audits conducted under the Accredited Third-Party Certification program? Only foreign food entities can receive food safety audits under the third-party certification program. The program does not apply to audits of domestic firms. TPA.9 Where do I submit an application to participate in this program? The Accredited Third-Party Certification rule that FDA issued on November 27, 2015 establishes the framework, procedures, and requirements for the program. An accreditation body recognized by FDA under this program could be a foreign government/agency or a private third party. Accreditation bodies assess third-party certification bodies for accreditation and monitor their performance. Third-party certification bodies will be accredited under this program to conduct food safety audits and to certify that foreign food facilities, and the foods they produce, meet FDA food safety standards. FDA issued two companion documents in December 2016. First, FDA issued a guidance to industry entitled, “Third-Party Certification Body Accreditation for Food Safety Audits: Model Accreditation Standards,” which contains FDA recommendations on third-party certification body qualifications. Second, FDA issued a final rule entitled, “Amendments to Accreditation of Third-Party Certification Bodies to Conduct Food Safety Audits and to Issue Certifications to Provide for the User Fee Program,” which provides for a user-fee program to assess fees and require reimbursement for the work the agency performs to establish and administer the third-party certification program. In June 2017 FDA launched a website [NEED LINK] where organizations can apply to be recognized as an Accreditation Body. Third-party certification bodies can seek accreditation after one or more FDA-recognized accreditation bodies begin accepting applications. TPA.10 Where do I find a list of accreditation bodies? Once recognized by FDA, an accreditation body may begin accrediting third-party certification bodies that meet our program requirements. We will maintain a registry of recognized accreditation bodies and accredited third-party certification bodies on our website. VQIP.1 Where do I get more information about VQIP? VQIP is a voluntary, fee-based program for the expedited review and importation of foods from importers who achieve and maintain a high level of control over the safety and security of their supply chains. On November 10, 2016, FDA posted final guidance in a question-and-answer format to explain how this program works. VQIP.2 When does FDA expect VQIP to begin? FDA expects to begin accepting applications in January 2018. Applications will not be accepted before that point. VQIP benefits will begin October 1 following your acceptance into the program and will last through September 30 of the following year (VQIP year). ST1. What action has the FDA taken to date to ensure the safety of food during transportation? In 1990, Congress passed the Sanitary Food Transportation Act (SFTA) of 1990 and delegated primary authority to implement the law to the Department of Transportation (DOT). With the passage of the 2005 SFTA, Congress reallocated authority for food transportation safety to FDA, DOT, and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the FDA now has the lead role among federal agencies in regulating the safety of food during transport. However, both DOT and the. This rule implements the 2005 SFTA as well as the requirement in section 111 of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) that instructed FDA to issue SFTA regulations. In April 2010, FDA also issued guidance to provide the industry with broadly applicable recommendations for controls to prevent food safety problems during transport. This guidance and other information about regulations and guidance applicable to food transportation are available on FDA's Sanitation & Transportation Guidance Documents & Regulatory Information page.? As with the other FSMA rules, FDA is committed to developing training and technical assistance. Food industry training will be an important component of successful implementation of FSMA, as will be outreach to foreign trading partners. The agency will also use its partnerships with other Federal agencies (such as the U.S. Department of Transportation) and with state, local, and tribal entities to implement this rule. FDA will carry out some inspections, and the Department of Transportation, under the 2005 SFTA, will also establish procedures for transportation safety inspections to be conducted by DOT or state personnel. FDA maintains its ability to take enforcement action when agency efforts to work with a company fail to achieve compliance, but promoting a strong food safety culture is FDA’s first priority. How will the Intentional Adulteration final rule change food defense? The subject of this final rule is to, consistent with the statute, protect food from intentional adulteration when the intent is to cause wide scale public health harm. The final rule takes a HACCP-type approach to intentional adulteration, similar to the approach used in the preventive controls rule, as the most effective means of ensuring that mitigation strategies are consistently applied to areas of highest vulnerability in food production. The rule requires facilities to write and implement a food defense plan, train certain employees, and includes records requirements. FD.3. What are food companies required to do?. FD.4. Do food carriers need a defense plan during transport? No. The mitigation strategies are more appropriately implemented by food facilities, rather than by carriers. If a facility has identified a significant vulnerability related to transportation, the facility must take steps to reduce that vulnerability. FD.5. Will FDA create an alliance to support implementation of the Intentional Adulteration final rule? Yes, FDA has funded an Intentional Adulteration subcommittee under the existing Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance . The agency intends to leverage the expertise of state and local public health professionals, state and local public health associations, and industry associations to develop the standardized curriculum needed to meet the training requirement. FD.6. Prior to passage of FSMA, were there requirements for food defense? There were no requirements that food facilities implement mitigation strategies or measures to protect against intentional contamination. FDA has guidance, tools, and resources for industry on food defense, and the agency will update this cadre of materials after the release of the final rule. For more information on the guidance, tools, and resources available to industry, visit the FDA Food Defense page. FD.7: Is the current Food Defense Plan Builder an appropriate tool to use to develop my Food Defense Plan? Will it be updated or replaced? FDA is currently developing extensive guidance documents to help industry comply with the Intentional Adulteration rule. In addition, we will be updating many of our food defense tools and resources, including the Food Defense Plan Builder, to align with the IA rule. This user-friendly software program is designed to assist owners and operators of food facilities with developing personalized food defense plans for their facilities. However, the current version of the Food Defense Plan Builder on FDA’s website would not produce a food defense plan that is compliant with the rule. Additionally, some other tools on FDA’s website were developed during our voluntary food defense program and are not aligned to the requirements of the IA rule. We intend to evaluate and update relevant tools to support industry compliance with the IA rule. To receive email updates on when updated guidance, tools, and resources are available, subscribe to the FDA food defense email listserv. FD.8 What are the compliance dates for the Intentional Adulteration Rule? The rule applies to the owner, operator or agent in charge of a domestic or foreign food facility that manufactures/processes, packs, or holds food for consumption in the United States and is required to register under section 415 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 USC 350d) unless subject to an exemption. Compliance dates for the IA rule are staggered by business size. - Very small: July 26, 2021 - Small: July 27, 2020 - All others: July 26, 2019 FD.9 What is the definition of a very small business? If I am a very small business, what do I have to do and when do I have to comply? A very small business is). Very small businesses are exempt from the full requirements of the rule, but starting on July 26, 2021, they must upon request, provide for official review documentation sufficient to show that the company is a very small business. FD.10 If I am exempted from some requirements of the preventive controls for human food rule under sections 117.5(b) (seafood), 117.5(c) (juice), 117.5(d) (LACF), 117.5(e) (dietary supplements), am I also exempted from the Intentional Adulteration rule? Do I need to develop a food defense plan? The Intentional Adulteration rule does not include exemptions for seafood, juice, LACF, or dietary supplements. The IA rule applies to the owner, operator or agent in charge of a domestic or foreign food facility that manufactures/processes, packs, or holds food for consumption in the United States and is required to register under section 415 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act unless subject to an exemption (see 21 CFR 121.5). The rule requires covered facilities to prepare, or have prepared, and implement a written food defense plan that includes a written - vulnerability assessment, including required explanations, to identify significant vulnerabilities and actionable process steps; - mitigation strategies including required explanations; - procedures for the food defense monitoring of the implementation of the mitigation strategies; - procedures for food defense corrective actions; and - procedures for food defense verification (see 21 CFR 121.126 which FDA reasonably believes is adulterated and presents a threat of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals to now include records relating to any article of food that is reasonably likely to be affected in a similar manner. In addition, the FSMA amendment permits FDA to access records related to articles of food for which FDA believes that there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to the article of food, and any other article of food is likely to be affected in a similar manner, will cause serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animal. Once either of the above mentioned circumstances Does the FSMA amendments final rule change who is subject to food facility registration? Yes. The final rule amends the definition of a retail food establishment in a way that expands the number of establishments that are considered retail food establishments, and that are therefore not required to register. The expanded definition of a retail food establishment allows establishments located on a farm and “farm-operated businesses” may consider sales directly to consumers via roadside stands, farmers markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs), and other such direct-to-consumer platforms in determining their primary function and whether they would meet the requirements to be considered retail food establishments. By “farm-operated business,” we mean a business that is managed by one or more farms and that conducts manufacturing/processing not on the farm(s). Entities that meet this expanded definition are exempt from food facility registration requirements. R.5 When do I have to register or renew registration for my food facility? The owner, operator, or agent in charge of a food facility that begins to manufacture, process, pack, or hold food for consumption in the United States must register before the facility begins such activities. Registration expires at the end of a two-year renewal cycle and renewal is required each even-numbered year between October 1 and December 31. The next registration renewal period will be October through December of 2016. The requirement for mandatory electronic registration will begin January 4, 2020, and the requirement for providing a unique facility identifier (UFI) will begin October 1, 2020. R.7 How can I complete registration for my food facility? Food facilities can be registered here:. Beginning January 4, 2020, facilities must submit registrations, registration renewals, updates, and cancellations to the FDA electronically, unless the FDA has granted a waiver. To obtain a waiver, facilities must submit a written request to the FDA that explains why it is not reasonable to use the electronic registration system (e.g., lack of Internet access). Facilities that have been granted waivers may submit registration through mail or fax. R.8 What form do I use to renew a food facility registration?. R.9.10.11 Is there a fee for registration, updating a registration, or renewal of registration? No. There is no fee associated with initial registration, updating a registration, or renewing a registration. R.12.13.15.16 Will a food facility be issued a new registration number during the biennial registration renewal process? No. A food facility will not be issued a new registration number when it renews a current registration under the biennial registration renewal process. R.17 When may FDA suspend the registration of a facility registered under section 415 of the FD&C Act? Under section 415(b) of the FD&C Act, if FDA determines that food manufactured, processed, packed, received, or held by a. R.18.19.20 Who may issue an order to suspend a). R.21.22.23.24.25 the additional food product categories are necessary and appropriate for food facility registration and has included such categories as mandatory fields in the food facility registration form. R.26 Why did FDA make changes to “Guidance for Industry: Necessity of the Use of Food Product Categories in Registration of Food Facilities”? FDA believes that information about the food product categories of foods manufactured, processed, packed or held at food facilities..27. R.29 If my farm is registered with FDA but I am not required to register it, how do I cancel the registration, or will FDA cancel the registration? Cancellations of registrations must follow the requirements in 21 CFR 1.235. For example, cancellations must include the required information (e.g., registration number, facility name and address) (see 21 CFR 1.235(b)). In addition, as specified in 21 CFR 1.241(c), we will cancel registrations if we independently verify that a facility is not required to register.

Joan Sutherland, Judy Roitman, and Bodhin Kjolhede examine the practice of koan introspection, how different traditions approach it, and how the way we engage with koans is changing. Introduction by Ross Bolleter. Illustration by Mark T. Morse. The use of the koan as a formal teaching tool entered the West through the efforts of pioneering teachers such as Soyen Shaku, who taught Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Russell and their family at their home outside of San Francisco in 1905. (It seems that Mrs. Russell was the first person in the United States to undertake koan study.) Soyen Shaku’s student Nyogen Senzaki compiled his 101 Zen Stories in 1919 and used koans in his teaching in San Francisco at least from the 1920s onward. Sokei-an Shigetsu Sasaki, a Rinzai master who pioneered the Zen way in New York in the 1930s, made use of koans with his students, including Ruth Fuller, who became his wife. Ruth Fuller Sasaki’s contribution to the development of Zen in the West through her translations of major Zen texts, including Zen Dust: The History of the Koan and Koan Study in Rinzai (Lin-chi) Zen, is inestimable. However, koans have always been with us, and always are. They arise naturally in life situations and out of the dilemmas we face. At times of crisis, as when we lose someone we love through death or separation, we can find that we are facing ultimate questions such as What is the purpose of life? In the instance of the death of a loved one, we may find ourselves asking, Where has the one I love gone? At such times, we may somehow find the tenacity to stay with a fundamental question until it resolves. Verses, stories, dialogues between teacher and student, lines from the Bible, dreams, folk stories, and stories of our lives in love and work all furnish us with rich resources for the beginnings of a Western koan tradition. Beyond the koans that arise spontaneously from our traumatic experiences, we can find or create koans from within the weave of our lives. My father, while not a Zen practitioner in the formal sense, exemplified grace under pressure, that ability to deal lightly and freely with what is painful and difficult. When he was in his eighties, he was knocked down by a delivery van. In the hospital they put him in “treatment” prior to admitting him as a patient. Although no one could find time to get him a bottle to piss in, during the three hours he waited there, four staff members came round with their clipboards to ask him his age. He generously gave each of them a fresh response: “twenty-one,” “ninety-eight,” “forty-seven,” and, finally, “two hundred!” This story, treated as a koan, is rich in possibilities concerning time and the mystery of words. Verses, stories, dialogues between teacher and student, lines from the Bible, dreams, folk stories, and stories of our lives in love and work all furnish us with rich resources for the beginnings of a Western koan tradition. The koan literature we have inherited comes to us almost entirely out of patriarchal monastic traditions, so understandably there are lacunae, especially regarding relationships, family, love and sex, childbirth and child rearing. As Zen teachers and students, we have an opportunity as well as a responsibility to develop koans that reflect these aspects of our lives. Suggesting that we can discover or create koans in Western contexts does not mean we should abandon the noble koan traditions that come down to us. Such a legacy is a matter of wonder and is tremendously efficacious. We shouldn’t abandon tradition; rather, we should feel free to extend it. In the following panel discussion, a rare meeting of teachers from different koan traditions, we are invited to glimpse the world of koans—how they work, and how their practice is taking shape in the West. The word “koan” has crept into popular culture, usually to mean a riddle or unsolvable question. So perhaps we should start with the most basic question: what is a koan? Bodhin Kjolhede: The word “koan,” or gongan in the original Chinese, means a public case or precedent. We look back to the precedent, to the understanding of the masters, as a starting point. Teachers may add their understanding when working on koans with students, but those early guideposts are the basic frame of reference. Judy Roitman: One of the striking things about working with koans is that you’re using language to cut through language. The phrase “before speech, before thinking” refers to an aspect of mind that is much more fundamental than what we’re used to paying attention to. Through koans, you begin to develop the ability to cut through ordinary preconceptions and ways of thinking, to respond not from the intellect or emotions but from that more fundamental place. Joan Sutherland: A new form of Buddhism was developing in China about 1,300 years ago, and it needed a new kind of practice in order to flourish. That practice was koans. Initially, koans were simply stories about things that had happened—a record of a conversation, usually between teacher and student, though sometimes between two students or other people. Over time, additional elements such as poetry and references to popular culture were folded into the developing body of koan texts. The understanding of a koan includes individual experience, but it’s also held in the collective. That’s the public nature of the “public case.” In working with koans, we strive to find our own expression of that collective understanding that has come down to us through the centuries. When we experience the gap before vast empires of thought and feeling arise in reaction to a moment, that too is the field of the koan, which includes but isn’t limited to our individual selves. What’s so astonishing and beautiful about koans is that they aren’t intended to describe something to us or even teach us something but to invite us to take them into our lives so that we can experience the same state of consciousness as the characters in the story. So in a sense, the student is stepping into the story and trying on someone else’s realization. Judy Roitman: Part of the tremendous power of koans is that the student’s personal story is completely involving investigate our true nature through the specifics of that koan. The koan is a way of getting us out of our constricted sense of self, not by denying or cutting off that self but by expanding it so infinitely that it ceases to have the limited meaning it once had. having interest comes from people who have some kind of creative practice, who are artists in some way. So we have the depth that comes with people immersed in the practice and also the freshness of those who are attracted to koans because it speaks to them in their creative lives. Is there such a thing as informal koan practice? Thinking of our readers, most of whom will never have the privilege of working with a teacher who is trained in this way, how do Buddhist practitioners interested in koan practice explore the spirit of this kind of inquiry for themselves? Judy Roitman: I don’t know that they can. I don’t like saying that; I wish it were different, but looking at my own practice, both as a student and as a teacher, I don’t see how it’s possible. We do Skype interviews and email dharma combat, but it’s always with people we know personally. Since koans require you to cut through your own thinking, how can you do that without guidance at hand? Bodhin Kjolhede: You need someone to guide you who’s not part of your own loop, just as in psychotherapy you don’t decide to psychoanalyze yourself; you have to have someone who brings both experience and a measure of detachment to the situation. The very nature of this practice requires working with a mentor of some kind. Joan Sutherland: This is a very vexed question because with so few koan teachers, there are very few opportunities for people to stumble across that kind of relationship. I do agree that a teacher brings a perspective that is incredibly valuable; it’s not something you can reproduce in any other way. But there are some ways to bring the richness of the koan tradition to people who can’t have a one-on-one relationship with a teacher, such as having good translations of the koans. As a translator, I can see that some of what seems mysterious about koans is not actually a feature of the koans themselves but of the translations. And good commentaries can give people a more direct and immediate relationship with the koan tradition. Once you’ve given a student a koan, what are your instructions in terms of how to work with it? Bodhin Kjolhede: The most common first koan we use is Mu. I tell my students that mu is another word for our true nature, just as desk and lamp and stick are all words for our true nature. But in the case of mu, you want to have your awareness merge with it as much as possible—not just while sitting but also in activity. In a perfect practice, a student would be absorbed in mu all the time, but that’s very difficult to do when the discursive mind is engaged in conversation, reading, or discussion. So I suggest that students go to mu during simple activities that don’t require the use of the discriminating mind. One of the most effective ways of entering mu is framing it as a question. When you’re asking What is mu? you’re really asking what your true nature is. But focusing on that question What is my true nature? can elicit discursive thoughts. The value of the word “mu” as a koan is that it has no meaning in English, which helps shut down the discriminating mind so we can access what lies beyond. Joan Sutherland: That’s an interesting difference between our approaches. We actually translate mu to “no,” because for a Japanese person, mu does have meaning, and we’re trying to get closer to the spirit of that experience. To constantly say no, to bring it into your meditation and into the rest of your life, is a very strange, subversive thing to do that often brings up a lot of resistance. Why would I want to say no all the time? The destabilizing quality of that is a fruitful, powerful part of the practice. Another means of working with the koan is to drop away the concentrated repetition and bring in a question like What is this “no,” I wonder? Repeat it a few times, let it fall away, and notice what happens. The koans are interested in the dynamic quality of the mind, but if aliveness around the question disappears, or if the discursive mind is taking over, you can come back to “no” as a concentration practice. You can also ask What is “no” in this moment? or What is “no” here?, inviting it to reveal something in every situation. You’re always keeping company with your koan, even in sleeping and dreaming states. People fall asleep to no. They dream no. They spend all night with it. You’re looking for the throughline underneath sitting, walking around, waking, sleeping—all of those temporary states—not dependent upon your particular state at a particular moment. In classical hwadu practice, you’re not looking for an “answer,” you’re using the question to attain your true nature, to cut through conceptual thoughts like a hot knife through butter. Judy Roitman: The Kwan Um School does koan work very differently in that we don’t make koans the object of meditation. In Korean Zen, the hwadu tradition involves asking the Great Question, most commonly in the form of What am I? or What is this? We offer many different kinds of meditation practice, but in classical hwadu practice, you’re not looking for an “answer,” you’re using the question to attain your true nature, to cut through conceptual thoughts like a hot knife through butter. My teacher Zen Master Seung Sahn would say, “I don’t teach Buddhism, I only teach ‘don’t know.’” One technique he taught was to question on the in-breath What am I? and on the out-breath to reply very strongly Don’t know. So in the context of this “don’t know” tradition, when we work with koans, our practice is to let the koan come up naturally, not to hold on to it but to look at it when it arises. Not trying to intellectualize, not trying to analyze, just looking at it from different angles, as if turning an object in the palm of your hand and then letting it go. It’s the hwadu, the “don’t know,” that we tell students to carry into their lives, not so much the individual koan. In this ongoing practice, what is the dynamic between teacher and student? It seems that it could be quite intimate and intense. Judy Roitman: To me, one of the most revealing dynamics in koan practice is how students want to please the teacher. Teachers are authorities; they have the ability to tell you whether you’re right or wrong, and you can’t argue back at them. You want them to like you, to think you’re smart. You want this person’s approval, but you can’t truly engage in the process unless you give that up. You might get some right answers, you might get approved by the teacher here and there, you might even have some kind of awakening. But you can’t deeply engage in the process unless you’ve given up that desire for approval and learn how to completely focus on the work. Bodhin Kjolhede: In my fifteen years of koan training with Roshi Kapleau, I found that I sometimes got more out of being rung out of dokusan with my answer rejected than I did by getting the koan approved, because it exposed my frustration, self-doubt, and anger. I had plenty of anger toward him sometimes when he would throw me out, which was all great grist for the mill for giving up self-consciousness and attachment to the self. Judy Roitman: And it’s important that this anger and frustration is arising in a situation that has absolutely no consequences. I always tell people that koan practice is a no-consequence situation—not passing a koan is not going to affect your marriage or your children or your job. It doesn’t go onto your permanent record. People get angry, hate themselves, go into self-abnegation—all over something that really has no practical consequences. When your answer is not approved, you get to see how your mind creates these feelings; you get to see your karma in a certain way. There’s a koan that we use, not one of the classical ones—I can’t say it here without ruining it, but almost always, people’s first response is a very goody-two-shoes answer, very pious, the solution of a good little boy or girl. How wonderful for somebody to be told No! No! No! to the answer they expect to get approved. Koans reveal the karma everyone carries around with them. Joan Sutherland: Students bring an aspiration into the room, which is their connection to their own awakening. As teachers, we sometimes hold that connection for them until they can hold it for themselves. One of the most beautiful moments for me is when I see them ready to take that back, to hold that connection completely for themselves. We often hear stories about students working so hard to penetrate through that first koan, which may take months or years. How does koan practice change for the seasoned practitioner who has been working on koans for ten or twenty years? Judy Roitman: I would expect senior students to have a much stronger don’t-know mind, not dealing with all the conceptual hurdles that a beginning student might go through. Once you have pierced through a certain kind of koan, others that are similar will come more quickly to you. But there are many classifications of koans—and you can be a Zen master and run into a koan that you can’t crack. Bodhin Kjolhede: In my experience, a great breakthrough is rare, but there are varying degrees of openings. Over time, students learn to see through words and concepts, to see the emptiness of them, and also not to take their own reactions so seriously. Frustration, anger, dejection, and self-doubt are recognized as old conditioning, so it becomes easier to avoid those emotional tangles. Joan Sutherland: If this practice isn’t transformative, what’s the point? The hope is that eventually, among any number of breakthrough moments, there will be one that is fundamentally transformative, revealing what it’s like to not be obscured by our habits and opinions. From there, the work is to integrate that experience into the everyday moments of our lives. Longtime students tend to have a less constricted, self-concerned view and a more generous and open participation in the world. Can you expand on what the teacher’s role is in terms of guidance through the koan, catalyzing that experience for the student? Bodhin Kjolhede: I’ve changed how I work with students. I spent a few months working with a teacher in Japan whose style was very different from that of my main teacher, Roshi Kapleau. He was extremely affirming and encouraging, whereas Roshi Kapleau tended to be the opposite, critical and demanding. That worked for me when I was younger, but after working with this other teacher, Harada Tangen Roshi at Bukkokuji, I gave myself permission to be more encouraging and affirming. Americans tend to be very hard on themselves and have a persistently critical inner voice, so I try to help them put that aside and stay engaged with the process. I find it’s a more effective way to work. Judy Roitman: Yes—you want to help them believe in themselves. Even when telling students the answer they gave is not something you’re going to accept, you still want to affirm that you believe in them and that they should believe in themselves. Right or wrong answer doesn’t matter. Someone once asked Suzuki Roshi, “Do you like everybody? It seems that you like everybody.” He said, “No, there are a lot of people I don’t like. But you can’t tell who they are.” No matter if you like or dislike somebody outside that interview room, in the room you believe in everybody. Perhaps the most important thing a teacher does in that interview room is to believe in everyone. Joan Sutherland: Work in the room reminds me of Vimalakirti’s room: a ten-by-ten foot room that managed to fit thirty thousand bodhisattvas who came to visit. You set a field into which each student walks; the variable is who walks through the door and sits down. I see my job as mediating the relationship between the eternal and the particular, working with the person who presents herself while always keeping in mind that eternal aspect of the practice. Each question, each mistake, is a doorway to eternity. Nothing is excluded because awakening happens to all of a person simultaneously, nothing left out. Do you see koan practice evolving in the West? Joan Sutherland: Koans by their nature are not an orthodoxy. They’re a living tradition; they’ve always changed as they’ve moved from one culture to another. They meet with the genius of every group of people that takes them up. I don’t see koans simply as words on a page or as a particular story or question but as the interaction between that story and the people who take them up. I am part of a reimagining of what the koan tradition is, which is based on a couple of things: trying to listen to what the koans seem to want and understanding what’s actually happening in students’ experiences. About twenty years ago, we noticed that students were responding to the koans in ways that went beyond the traditional answers. The question became, Do we try to stuff the koans back in the traditional box and insist only on the traditional answers, or do we let the koans jump free of the box and see what happens? The last twenty years for me have been a process of paying attention to where the koans themselves seem to want to go and to what’s actually happening in people’s practice with them. I only started talking about this recently because I didn’t want to sound like I was putting forth a competing dogma of what koans are about. But it really is the great adventure of my lifetime to be able to witnesses this tradition I love so much blossoming and flourishing in a new way. Judy Roitman: Is it changing? My response would be yes and no. I’m a big traditionalist. I like to feel connected to ancestors, which I do when I go to synagogue and when I practice Zen. In the Kwan Um School, because we have so many teachers and because we encourage students to work with different teachers, the teachers communicate with each other about koans and our approaches to them. We try to keep enough of a common understanding that when a student gives a response to Teacher B that has already been approved by Teacher A, Teacher B doesn’t say, “Oh, that’s stupid.” We want to keep a common understanding of the koans to keep students from being confused. What’s interesting to me is that even with this commitment, there’s inevitable drift. Even my husband and I, who are both Zen masters in this school, find that we start drifting away from each other in our approaches and understanding. So while I want to keep to precedent, where I feel that an answer a student gives is one that could have been given one hundred, two hundred, or even five hundred years ago, at the same time I recognize that there’s this human drift we just can’t help. I might have a different answer for a question I received twenty years ago. But I do personally feel a kind of responsibility toward a core tradition that I want to somehow uphold. Bodhin Kjolhede: I have great respect for the public case, for precedent, and I worry about too much emphasis falling to a teacher’s personal interpretation. It’s wonderful that there are so many different approaches—sometimes I write down what a student has come in with because I think it enhances my understanding—but only as long as the tradition of our predecessors remains foundational to the teaching. Joan Sutherland: I don’t think there needs to be a choice made between a deep rootedness in the tradition and a willingness to allow things to unfold in different ways. What I see as my task is to try to understand the spirit of what our predecessors were doing, then to look at the ways in which there has been cultural overlay on top of that. Orthodoxies have grown up around expressions of a particular time and place that don’t necessarily relate to us now. What is our expression? I think our responsibility is to deeply understand the spirit of the ancestors, then to do everything we can to find the expression of that spirit here and now. Ross Bolleter is a Zen teacher in the Diamond Sangha tradition and the senior teacher of Zen Group of Western Australia in Perth. The author of Dongshan’s Five Ranks: Keys to Enlightenment, he is currently compiling a collection of Western koans. Joan Sutherland is one of the founders of the Pacific Zen School, which takes an innovative and contemporary approach to koan study. She is the author of Acequias & Gates: Miscellaneous Writings on Koans and a translator of koans from Chinese. Bodhin Kjolhede is abbot of Rochester Zen Center in Rochester, New York. He was ordained by Roshi Philip Kapleau in 1976 and installed as his dharma successor in 1986. Judy Roitman received authorization to teach from Zen Master Seung Sahn in 1998 and transmission from Zen Master Dae Kwang in 2013. She is the guiding teacher at Kansas Zen Center and several other centers affiliated with the Kawn Um School of Zen.

Testimonials SPARKY DIRECT CLIENT TESTIMONIALS Over 55,000 orders shipped Successfully. 7/2/2017 Simply the best (sorry Tina) 28/07/2016 Hello, Firstly thank you for your prompt delivery, it made our fit off so much easier. Marc 15/07/2016 Just wanted to say thank you for a great experience shopping with you. Faultless, fantastic pricing and exceptional in all areas. So glad we now have you on our radar. From Ken’s wife… Gaye Calamvale QLD 08/07/2016 Got it the next day, all perfect – thanks for getting it out so quickly, you guys are awesome. Regards, Kim South Fremantle WA 13/06/2016 Great service and speedy delivery, and the product works great Thanks Kind Regards Antonie 02/06/2016 With thanks for your prompt service. Product delivered today.... Sue Barnett Waterford West QLD 12/04/2016 Was very happy with your service and price thank you heaps product was great price and arrived quite quickly also you kept me informed of product being sent out etc. So over all would recommend you to friends Sophie Henderson 24/03/2016 Just a short thank you for the products that arrived at my home address before lunch time today, 24/3/16. The two products were both in excellent undamaged condition and glade we took your advice with colour selection. Cheers Bob. Barrett. Valentine NSW 19/02/2016 Hi I received the Elements today and they fit and work Thanks What service you guys offer I couldn’t recommend you guys enough I ordered yesterday got the goods today great hassle free service at affordable prices Thanks for your help Garry 19/02/2016 Dear Sparky Direct Please be advised that our item below was received yesterday afternoon. Cannot get over the promptness off the sale and delivery, Thank You so much. Kind Regards Malcolm Gray. Dickson ACT 3/01/2016 I'm in very happy with your service. Web sites in the shop is very good. And will be happy to recommend you to any in my clients. Best wishes for 2016. Mohamed 2/12/15 Hi Sparky Direct, Suitably impressed with the wire strippers, I wish I had purchased these ages ago, my thumb & fingers wouldn’t be so sore. Ralph 03/11/2015 Thank you received today!!prompt and very professional-already installed. Thanks, Steve Balmain NSW 02/09/2015 Thank you for a prompt sale. The price was right. The dispatching was fast. I had the ceiling fan up & fitted within 2 days after I ordering it. Well done. Will use your site again. Thanks. Paul 19/08/2015 Hi, thanks very much. Order arrived in excellent condition, and very quickly, Thank you Colin McAuliffe Epping NSW 16/08/2015 Thanks Sales, I made the order straight away. I am very impressed by quick reply to my query and amending website to enable my order. Excellent work! Cheers Olaf 14/08/2015 Hi There, I just wanted to thank you for your prompt service. I received the Pop Up yesterday which is days faster than the snail mail. This is the first time I have shopped with you and it won’t be the last. I will be recommending your site to all my friends. Kind Regards Ian Walker Lennox Head NSW 14/08/2015 I just want to say you have restored my faith in buying over the web. No mess, No fuss and quick.....thank you. One of the biggest problems on the web is that deadbeat traders don't have the product on hand even thou they have advertised it and then the fun begins, weeks not days of stuffing around. I have now developed a policy of one strike and you are out instead of the usual 2 or 3 and I am selective if traders don't pass the 'SNIFF' test. Thank you again, you pass with flying colours and I will be back. Mark Clifford 11/08/2015 04/08/2015 Great service and i will definitely will be using your business again. Regards Kevin 23/07/2015 Hi My products were installed yesterday. Look fantastic! Match my Siemens hot plate black glass etc. It turned out I didn’t need the 240v button for the oven as in Tasmania its not required (even though I had one there). But happy so far. Haven’t used them yet as kitchen not fully operational yet. regards Sophia Elder Tasmania 22/07/2015 15/07/2015 Great Service S.Kelly 1/07/2015 Your service is amazing ! Fast, Efficient, Competative, Courteous and Knowledgable ! Congrats to you and your team ! A pleasure to do business with. I will be back. Kelli Kozicka 23/06/2015 Sales Team Thanks for the email, and thanks for the prompt , courteous and efficient service. Regards Chris Zvirblis St Ives NSW 13/6/2015 Thanks for the email would deal with your company again great service George Ezzy 07/06/2015 Hi Guys, Thanks so much for a fast and easy buy. You were by far the cheapest for this product and your prompt delivery was great. I want to also commend you on your email communication, second to none. Overall, a very happy customer and will definitely return when I need something else. Thanks heaps, Annette. Sydney 22/5/2015 Just a quick email to advise that I received the Order below today. All GOOD, Thanks again, for my orders being supplied in a hassle free manner. Regards, Tom Buninyong VIC 19/05/2015 We are so very pleased with our coloured power points. They were a bit expensive for us, but they suite our new kitchen so beautifully, when the white ones wouldn’t do. Your delivery was excellent and should we need other products we won’t hesitate to contact you. Thank you Robyn 13/05/2015 Thank you for the email. Once again all was spot on with the order and delivery. Regards Nick 29/04/2015 Thank you for the excellent customer service received so far May I ask if you have a catalogue so I can review some products we may purchase or have a need in the future ? Tony Papas 21/04/2015 Thanks Cameron and Lee, fantastic service! Pleasure to deal with you. Your rates are by far the best. Good work on a great business. Going to convince our sparky to deal with you too. Meagan Cowell SA 5602 09/04/2015 Thank you for the excellent service. Ordered last night and arrived this afternoon. Regards Robert Dunlop New Farm QLD 4005 30/03/2015 Fantastic services, Thank You Cheers John Moorabbin VIC 3189 16/03/2015 I did thank you for your prompt response and will be sure to recommend your business to others. Thankyou. S. BARRETT QLD 04/03/2015 Package arrived promptly and correct order..... Thankyou. S Barrett Sue Waterford West Qld 10/2/15 Sparky Direct There are so good service. Why we have to go to the shop if we have some kind of good service like at you guy. Just one day to receive the order. Thank you. Trung Nguyen 7/2/15 Sparky Direct Thanks guys you do a great job, prompt reliable affordable service. I would rather get gear from you guys in Qld then my local electrical wholesaler!! cheers Michael (email) Western Australia Excellent service, fast delivery and great price. Thankyou Tasmania 2/3/2014 Dear Lee Thank you for delivering the 2 Typhoon Ceiling Fans (lights, bulbs, extras) this morning. I REALLY appreciate it. Was a tad busy today, but will ring a recommended electrician tomorrow to arrange installation of these beauties. I took the liberty of recommending your firm to the Body Corporate. Your prices are great (less than most other similar companies) and your service is tops. Thanks again! Regards P Marie Baxter North Brisbane 21/11/2014 Hi Dispatch, Thanks, I’m impressed. The items arrived yesterday in good order and condition. Wow, you guys don’t mess around to achieve timely delivery. (Here’s me thinking I have stacks of time to do some other things before the items arrive, when in no time at all they turned up - impressive). Thanks. Regards, Murray (Forster NSW) 13/11/2014 Received item today, thanks again for great service! Brian Terry 29/7/14 Thank you fro the brilliant service. Regards Robert Dunlop 13/5/14 Once again your company has shipped my order safely & efficiently from Queensland to Rural South Australia. Thank you for the incredible service. Richard S.A. 8/5/14 Sparky Sales, Thank you for the fast delivery of the oven element I ordered on the evening of Mon 5 May2014. It arrived here in Clifton Beach at 11 am this day. Thank you W Kinchin. 15/4/14 Hey, got the package today! Service you're providing is incredible, and great prices for those items too. Thank you so much, it's a welcome change from the service we've experienced in other parts of our renovation. Cheers Leigh 17/3/14 Hi Lee, Received it today, awesome service. Thank you, Wim. 2/3/14 Last friday I received my previous order and I am really surprised in how fast you shipped the items as well as the quality. I will never go back to local suppliers. Thanks. Ricardo 15/1/14 Thanks for the great service super fast delivery will buy again!! Ramon Peachey 5/8/13 Just like to congratulate you on your service. Ordered goods on Sunday evening and they arrived the next day. Amazing!! Thanks Regards Peter Craig 15/7/13 Hi, I wish to commend your company on the service and prompt postage of my order. I received the package this morning. Thank you regards Bob Haywood 5/8/13 Just like to congratulate you on your service. Ordered goods on Sunday evening and they arrived the next day. Amazing!! Peter Craig CMS(Contract management Services) 10/7/13 Order Receieved in less than a day!!! Thank you for your fast service. Received via feed back page Strickland64 5/7/13 Hi Sparky Direct I would like to thank you for the awesome delivery service. I am in NSW and got my order the next day. Same as last time. Your service and products are exceptional. Thankyou so much. Kind regards Julie :) 13/12/12 Andrew-Hi, Received my order this morning. Thanks Courier was good. Gave me some advice on Home Brew Beer!!! Peter 29/11/12 Dear Sparky Direct, Thank you very much. I appreciate all the information and the dedication Sparky Direct show in dealings with its customers. May not be buying again until the new year, so Merry Christmas to you all. Kindest regards, Michael Alexander 27/11/12 Hi, I received this order yesterday. Thanks you for your great service. Sam 19/11/12 Wow that was quick - thanks for the great service! Will Gout. 17/10/12 Thank you for the very quick delivery. Regards John 16/10/12 Thanks champion! Regards, Ashley Foy-Moxey Services Manager, AFM Trade Services Survey Responses - all via email Amazed at the price difference to wholesalers. Initially skeptical about getting genuine products but this stuff is all ridgey didge. Parts appear to be posted on day of order also. My only regret is I didn't find you earlier. 20/12/2012 7:07 AM Will definitely use Sparky Direct again, good website, good information, goood ordering process, good pricing, good delivery times, what more could anyone ask for. Keep up the good work. 16/12/2012 6:49 AM 11/12/2012 5:30 AM Your service was fast and friendly. I rang to change my order and you were very helpful and it was no problem fopr you to change it for me. 10/12/2012 1:36 PM Sparky Direct can supply parts to me at an affordable price with an albeit slightly slower freight service than their competitors but the charges are really reasonable and our clients are not bothered by a couple of extra days. 3 Cheers SD's you beat the WA people hands down! 9/12/2012 8:59 AM Unexpected freight cost caused me not to proceed with your servce and a refund was given. 8/12/2012 5:39 PM Great service. Received the product within a few days. David 5/12/2012 7:41 AM Hassle free purchase delivered straight to my door. Thanks for the great service!!! 4/12/2012 7:06 PM More than just having the best prices around, your cusomer service is great... it is win win result - best prices - greatservice, deivery was within 2 days. Highly recommended 3/12/2012 9:24 PM Great service 3/12/2012 9:30 AM It is so convienent to use Sparky Direct don't have to chase all over town you know if its in stock before ordering and fast door to door delivery makes it all worthwhile Don, Townsville 26/11/2012 4:19 PM Great Company - Great prices - Good service 25/11/2012 7:14 PM Low prices, easy ordering, fast delivery - who could ask for more? Some items only half the "trade" prices from major electrical suppliers. Great! Regards, LeanMachine 25/11/2012 5:32 PM good to be able to purchase what I need at a reasonable price, when I want it. My normal work hours make it difficult to travel the 100km round trip to the wholesalers. 21/11/2012 7:00 PM very affordable quick service with the items as described as they say in the movies I shall return thank you 21/11/2012 5:07 PM Up here in the PortHedland area 56 series gear is just so overthe top price wise. Even with my small orders + frieght I do save around 40% on the 56 series prices for equilvent materials. The cost of the frieght is always covered by the savings made Best regards. Den. 20/11/2012 9:34 PM Great product, delivered quickly. 20/11/2012 2:03 PM Fantastic easy to use online catalog & ordering facilities with good competitive pricing plus delivery to your back door - What more can you ask for! I have already recommend a number of my friends in the trade to check out your store & have positive feed back from them. Keep up the good work Sparky Direct! Darren Waterhouse 20/11/2012 5:29 AM Great service usually arrives next day 19/11/2012 6:31 PM When I need electrical items I automatically get in touch with Sparky. 14/11/2012 5:15 PM Good prices and fast delivery. 12/11/2012 6:33 AM great business you have built. I will be purchasing a lot from Sparky Direct. 11/11/2012 5:47 AM I couldn't believe how quickly my purchase arrived. 10/11/2012 7:00 AM Thanks for the extremely fast delivery to FNQ and your excellent communications are greatly appreciated. 9/11/2012 7:34 PM Friendly helpful staff, propmt service and delivery. Highly recommended to deal with. 5/11/2012 7:14 AM orders are dispatched and delivered in expected time. I have no problem ordering on line from this company 3/11/2012 11:59 AM Three Days delivery 31/10/2012 6:09 AM My first transaction with Sparky Direct gave me a well known product, fast service and at a very reasonable price. Will do business again with this company. 27/10/2012 3:40 PM Great crew of people to deal with. In my experience they will follow up a $5 item with the same professional approach as a $500 order. 22/10/2012 3:41 PM Excellent range of products with them all easily found on your web pages. Sparky Direct is a good company to deal with 20/10/2012 7:17 PM Good on ya, Sparky Direct. 20/10/2012 10:56 AM I love the prices listed next to item rather than mystery prices at regular wholesalers thanks sparky direct for your quick prompt quality service look forward to doing business with you in the future 19/10/2012 8:22 PM Great price and service Would recommend to friends 18/10/2012 9:41 PM Sparky direct online service is a convenient and trustworthy way to buy electrical goods online. There products are very competitive and also quite a range to choose from. In all Sparky Direct is a safe versitile online electrical store that is easy to use with product delivered to your door at one low rate. Thank you Sparky Direct 18/10/2012 7:15 PM Love being able to shop from home and have your parcel within a few days Thank You 15/10/2012 2:03 PM Great pricing, good delivery times, would highly recommend 15/10/2012 9:59 AM Prompt, accurate and convient service. If you plan ahead Sparky Diect saves a lot of time shopping arround. 15/10/2012 8:41 AM What a pleasure dealing with Sparky Direct, the prices are extremely competative and the delivery is very prompt. I will certainly be using them again and encourage others to do the same, Thank you Sparky Direct. 14/10/2012 3:16 PM After a small problem with a recent order the staff at Sparky Direct were very helpful, and a new part was received within 2 days to Central NSW. Couldn't ask for better service than that! 14/10/2012 5:57 AM Sparky is a great company to deal with quick service with great products 12/10/2012 2:52 PM Received today 2.40pm. Can't believe the fast service or the price. Was quoted $130 (competitor) and had to pick it up from Burleigh, 30 k away, and with a 5 day wait. (Sparky Direct Price inc Delivery $53.79 - ordered 10/10/12 3.34pm arrived 11/10/12 2.40pm - less then 24 hrs) Will be telling everybody. Best Regards Barry Whyte /> Recent Face Book Comments Hi Joshua I am happy to wait for the back order. Thank you for such great service, I am very impressed. Kind regards Andrew Thank you so much for all your help with this Josh! Have a brilliant weekend! Cheers liz Just a quick message to advise that I have received the 4mm2 Building Wire Cable today, refer below for details. All OK. Thanks again, for another painless purchase. Regards Tom Order Arrived 25/1 . Many Thanks for your Excellent Service. Western Australia Regards Ross Western Australia Thank you . If Turnaround is always that fast I will be buying alot more from you guys. ACT Cheers Regards Brendan ACT Thank you so much for the service and your quick response. I'm sure you will be hearing from me again in the near future. Enjoy the rest of your day. Regards Fernando Thanks Joshua, Parts arrived today & already utilized on the job. Look forward to dealing with you again. Regards Rex From Email 6/09/11 I made the order through SparkyDirect Monday last week, and it turned up today, sent via Fastway couriers (Who seem to have an average of a week+ delivery time from over East to WA, that's three times running for me now). I'm really happy with the price, and the fact that they stocked Clipsal for the GPOs and RCD/MCBs. Thanx Guys Received my order a pleasure doin' business with ya! Cheers Gary Josh Just wanted to share you a little bit of positive feedback with you. The customer was very delighted with the prices and delivery of the last order, he was especially impressed with the very nice looking down lights. Kind Regards Rehne Hi Joshua, Thank you very much for the prompt shipment and the update. Look forward continuing to purchase from you. Best regards, Emil Dimitrov, Artarmon, NSW Hi Joshua, Hi Joshua, Just got home to find my order on the front verandah. Hi Joshua, Stuart South Townsville Hi Joshua, Thanks for the quick reply. I received the package today - everything is great! Cheers, Hi Joshua, Geoff WA Geoff Sparky Direct Sparky Direct Thank you very much. Have received the cooktop this morning, Appreciate the speedy service. Regards Brad Hosking Maudsland QLD Dear Sir This is just a quick note to say that I am particularly impressed by the excellent service and speedy dispatch/delivery of my order (ordered Sunday; received 4pm Monday). Thankyou Brenton Thompson Satisfied customer 14/12/09 Your service has convinced me to put you on my list of online shopping destinations and to recommend that others do the same.Your service has convinced me to put you on my list of online shopping destinations and to recommend that others do the same. I can order anytime and quoting jobs is now a breeze as all my prices are on the screen day and night. I cover the cost of the freight with the savings on just one item. I've never been busier thanks to Sparky Directs competitive edge. Brenton Parnell Eacham Electrics Far North Qld It has been a pleasure doing business with you" Michael Markham [email protected] 16/10/2009 Just a quick email to thank you for making my stock ordering easy, products arrived within 1 day after placing the order. Great range and thanks for the sample pack. Darren Smith - Air Sparks - Caringbah NSW I am extremely impressed with your prompt delivery of goods and magnificent service that you provide. The competitive prices are too hard to pass by and you delivered quicker than our usual suppliers. The website is extremely easy to use and I will certainly not hesitate to recommend you. I will be in touch in the very near future for more product. Congratulations on a great job. Regards, Bob Hi thanks for sending the gear I ordered last week I received it today, I can't wait till I go to Morayfield to visit you lot at the store there. Thanks Again Mark C Katherine, Northern Territory Thanks, Air Conditioner has been delivered today. Damanjot Kaur Adeliade, South Australia Your customer service, pricing and speed of delivery makes it all too easy to do business with you. I feel confident every time I do an order. It’s great to have someone keep the other wholesalers honest. Keep up the great work. John Morayfield "Received my order today, thank you very much. You can be assured I will be dealing with you again" Simon Smith Townsville, Queensland 2/02/2010 "Just letting you know that my item has arrived in perfect condition. Thank you kindly for your efficient service and speedy postage.... Thank you and kindest regards, " Lindsay Chaffer Pakenham, Victoria 13/01/2010 "Thank you for your Prompt Service" Ian Muir Jamboree Heights, Queensland "I received the goods today, Well done on your prompt and value for money service" Kind Regards Ian Walters, Victoria Point, Queensland

Today is Lurker Day, as explained by Chris at Creek Running North, Lauren at Feministe, and PZ at Pharyngula. (Three of the coolest blogs on all the internets, I should add.) That is, lazy bloggers avoid posting original content by asking their readers who never (or rarely) comment to drop by and leave a note saying who they are and what they like about the blog. (Other blogs also ask for something called “constructive criticism,” or perhaps even for suggestions for improvement; we here at CV see no need for such things. But if you are so moved, knock yourselves out.) I’m especially curious as to two demographic questions: how many readers are professionally science-related in some way vs. how many are from the so-called “real world,” and among the former, how many are students vs. embittered elders. No pressure, obviously; consider this just a chance to pipe up and say hi if you haven’t yet had the chance to comment. Lazy bloggers? You’re a genius — you saw right through me. What about vain? Allow me my vanity already. Did I say “cool”? I meant “lazy and vain.” Sorry. I’ve commented before (rarely) but I’m a current college student who is one of Sean’s former students. I won’t be a professional scientist, although there’s a chance I’ll go into economics, which sort of almost counts. But I’m interested in science, hence taking Sean’s class and reading his (now shared) blog. what about a fanatical devotion to the pope? A couple of science degrees long ago. Too dumb to be a real scientist, too lazy to be anything else. Restricted to mind-numbing wage-slavery like most people and studying physics and mathematics by myself in my spare time. That’s 3 pointless, boring sentences too many; 4 if you include this one. A busy blog. Frequently, some nice science discussions. Comments can be interesting. Too much politics and fluff for my tastes, but easy enough to ignore. Will always enjoy listening to people smarter than me talking about things I can barely comprehend. Good luck, keep it up, and now I’ll shut up. I’m a physics-astronomy major in my senior year of college. I have read most of Sean’s GR book and a gigantic paper of his about entropy. I’m hoping to be a professional scientist…all those years of school seem like a good way to avoid any real responsibility. I started out reading the blog for the science stuff and being sort of annoyed by the politics (since I swore off news a while ago) but science politics is important to keep abreast of…just in case republicans try to change to change the value of pi to 3. Hey there, I’m a lurker, I really enjoy the explorations of the universe, there was a time I thought I would go into science but decided against it … so, to answer your questions, I am not a scientist, and I am no longer a student. I’m a scientist. But I’m not a lurker, because I won’t shut up. As witnessed by the fact that I’m posting in this thread for lurkers. Degree in Math, 50 years ago. I’m a non-embittered elder. I visit your site every day, and like it except that it often drifts pretty far from its core content of science. Not even remotely science based–I once was an English major; however, I’ve always been “lazily” interested in cosmological issues, especially as it relates to to quantum mechanics–such things always seem more like “fuzzy” ideas, at least in the abstract theoretical part of it, and I’ve always liked trying to apply these ideas in a philosophical context, if any of that makes any sense. . . Your website combines both an eye on the current science and throws in some good liberalized political awareness as well, which always brings me back to check in on it again. Keep it up! Hi – I work for the Department of Homeland Security and am tasked with monitoring websites such as this one to ensure that the information being discussed (science-related or otherwise) is not a breach to national security. Keep up the good work! cjl I’ve commented once or twice. I’m a first year grad student in the middle of nowhere studying physics: I’ll probably (but who knows?) focus on condensed matter physics. I studied math and physics as a undergraduate at a university in Chicago (but not UofC). I used to read preposterous universe back in the day. I really like the discussions on matters of physics I don’t know yet, and I generally like all of the political discussion and other “digressions” as well. So, uh, keep up the good work Clifford, JoAnne, Mark, Sean, and Risa! Is it possible to be an embittered student? Studying Physics and the History of Science in Red Sox country (am a lackidazical Mets/Astros fan). OK, I’m not a lurker as I’ve posted a little from time to time but I’ll be glad to introduce myself. I’m wrapping up my second Master’s degree (in Math, the first was in Physics) while teaching Physics and Math, in addition to job hunting. I like the blog for the thoughtful posts and discussions. Pretty much any topic is fine with me as long as it is thought-provoking and/ or the writer opens my eyes to an interesting facet of their world. how about science and the real world? I’m a lab rat, working in a clinical lab that is situated in a research building. Get to see a little bit of everything that way. (hmm. kind of like here…) I’d been checking in on Orange Quark and migrated over to CV when all of you joined forces. Back to lurking… Any others lurking in their wormholes? I was a lurker for a long time in Preposterous Universe, then migrated over here. Lurked for a while, then dared to post a comment. I’ve commented a few times here since then. Physics BS degree from a university in the best tropical climate in the world (or at least it seems so to me). Third year graduate student in Astrophysics in a very cold place in the middle of a mid-atlantic/northeast state. Hating the snow/cold, but slowly getting used to it 😉 Love CV, I visit every day. Everything about it is interesting, from the science to the politics to the random posts about personal stuff. Clifford’s posts are my favorite (most -if not all- of my few comments have been in them). Also love Sean’s GR-lecture-notes-turned-book (very helpful back when I took my first GR course). I’m a scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who, amongst other things, searches for Lorentz violations in laboratory experiments from both the neutron and the proton. I, too, have been lurking since the preposerous universe days. The discussions here are often quite valuable. Now I’ll go back to lurking. Thanks for all of your blogging! A few comments thrown in so not totally a lurker. BS in Physics (by the skin of my teeth). Masters in library science, working towards PhD in information studies (specifically personal information management, etc., of scientists and engineers)… I’m related to science professionally because I work supporting scientists and engineers, if that counts. So I’m really into online communities and blogging. The physics (when I get it) is my favorite. Really dislike some of the politics but I’ll deal, I’d rather have you honest. I also started on preposterous and migrated here. I love the fact that it’s a collaborative blog and that you get so many comments. Grad student in physics (astrophysics in particular), hoping to stick to the academic route. Computer science college dropout, with any luck, soon to return. I’m not a lurker, you’ve heard from me a few times (sometimes my stupid remarks). Some of you have heard this intro before. I’m an artist and commercial illustrator/graphic designer who took up the study of math/physics in middle age, after the inspiration of a visit to Fermilab. I want to prove by my own example that if physicists can do art, then an artist can do physics. And that an older female can learn math/physics at all with little previous background. I love this Blog because not only do I learn stuff from it but I get to hear a bit of what scientists’ lives are really like. Obligatory and self-serving reference: My Website is at, my Weblog on that site is ELECTRON BLUE. Bye for now. I teach English at Sean’s alma mater, but have always loved science, astronomy in particular. Wanted to be an astronomer when I was a kid. Didn’t, but my son did it for me. I like all aspects of the blog. Scientists are citizens too. Not my first post, but I post infrequently. Too busy grading freshman papers. Astronomy Grad Student: “Clifford’s posts are my favorite” – I’m probably supposed to remain all professional and aloof, but hang it: Thanks! You made a particularly heavy week seem much lighter. It makes it all worth it to know that there’s at least one who appreciates the output. Thanks all from all here for your comments in general. We appreciate them. Yes, more comments on this thread…please keep letting us know what you do as it helps us understand who we’re talking to and with. Cheers, -cvj What, you mean you do not have access to the IP addresses of people who read and comment here? Zero I was a lurker at Preposterous, now here. I received an undergraduate degree in biology abut 15 years ago, and worked for awhile at a pharmaceutical start up before it went belly up. Just before I was about to be cast adrift, I was lured into game design and some novel writing, but sometimes I wish I was a cosmologist :-). I visit every day (or more accurately, I read the RSS feed when new content appears), and quite enjoy the blog’s wide swathe of topics. Keep up the great work! College Student and Adventurer Extraordinairre. On a bit of a science kick after reading some stuff and so I started reading some science blogs, which is you and carl zimmer. I like your site because it’s about 30% science and 70% thoughts and opinions (about said science or otherwise). It is very readable and always has thought provoking discussion or at least links thereto. Keep up the good work! Senior undergrad taking GRE on Friday! Trying to be scientist. Started at Preposterous in April 2004. I like the science and politics. The hurricane coverage was great – one post (by Risa?) that pointed with many links to the mistakes being made cut to the heart of the matter, unlike the bullshit on CNN’s front page. Hi! I am a research student with specialisation in computational materials science. Guru Been lurking here for a while – wandered here from Preposterous Universe. I’m a chemical process engineer involved in biotech, with a general interest in all sorts of things… 4th Year of Arts/Science double degree at Melbourne University. Majors of Physics, Philosophy and Politics – a combination which seems to suit this site. Considering whether I’ll put myself through the tortorous Physics honours program, afterwhich travel will be the first priority. Enjoy the site – and is a great distraction from the study i’m supposed to be doing. m I’m a phenomenology postdoc… Not a frequent commenter. Nice distraction from work though. Oh, and I got my string theory basics at Clifford’s BUSSTEPP lecture course… I comment occasionally, but this is a good chance to blow your own trumpet:). It’s fair though that the hosts can get to know who is commenting and where that person is coming from in terms of background and so on. Myself, Bsc. Mathematical Physics; MSc. Bioengineering; Phd, Biophysics/Applied Mathematics. Interests: mostly stochastic processes in physics and biology; nonlinear systems/noise, general relativity/gravitation and areas of mathematical physics. Bit of a dilitante and “jack of all trades” really (yeah I know and “master of none”:)). I find a lot of stuff in math and science interesting actually but not enough hours in the day really to even learn a tenth of what you would like to. Not in academia right now but may return next year full time or part-time depending on funding etc. (I am in the UK). Still publishing a bit though on the side “for fun”(standard journals right now but not the arxiv). Hobbies: powerlifting(gravity is not a weak force). Have my own gymnasium (best place to think). Good blog with good range of views, discussions and ideas in science and other topics. Like the personal stuff too, like what people are doing in terms of other interests (eg Clifford’s gardening and biking). Mostly a lurker, migrated from Preposterous Universe, which I found via PZ Myers…. I’m a former Silicon Valley computer engineer and now a geology grad student, so I guess that makes me a scientist-wannabe. i’ve actually posted here once, so i’m not a complete lurker. 20 year old canadian who came here from preposterous universe. i’m in my 3rd year of undergrad doing a degree in arts & sciences, in math and history. so…hopefully someday far in the future when i am sufficiently smartified, i may enter into the sciences. but for now, i live vicariously through you. After hearing Sean at a colloquium two years ago, I turned to the internet to learn more about dark energy and stumbled into the Preposterous Universe. Currently a 3rd year physics and math undergraduate, determined to make a living in academia (even having just finished “Slaves to science” in Salon, one of the bleakest articles on the career path I’ve seen). One criticism, more of a suggestion- the blog is great, but I think some of the things on this site could do a lot more good in the NYtimes or the Washington Post or even on Fox News, where the audience is more diverse (and in the later case, lost). Everybody who writes on this thing is thoughtful, well-spoken, and charismatic enough to survive the public spotlight. How about some Late Show appearances? Carl Sagan can do it, right? The public needs to see more of human scientists. Ok, back to my swamps now, to lurk and listen. Thanks for the blog. -bob Ah..a chance for us lurkers to play I have a doctrate in (nuclear) physics with a few postdocs under my belt and am now working in computer science. Since I maintain an interest in physics, I followed a link from slashdot (/.) to a series of articles on 100 years of relativity which led to the quantum diaries which led to here. Simply put, as swamped as I am, I barely have time to read much of it (let alone post anything) but I’ve loved the content I have read…the physics discussions and the politics (great posts from Risa). The posting concerning the Federal Research and Policy Making Act, for example, did motivate me to dash off emails to Senators. Boxer and Feinstein (still need to write actual letters *sigh*). Thanks for askin’ XP Thought I was on the academia track until I got to grad school, basically — now, not so sure. (Reading professor’s blogs tends to be very discouraging, although CV is an exception and usually I come away feeling good about a career in science.) I am moving toward policy and ethics, perhaps, and so I like to read a blog that involves talking about issues related to science, without necessarily delving into the details of the science itself. And I’ll admit that as a female in a subdivision of geophysics that is overwhelmingly male (often attributed to the fact that most people in the field start out in physics), and after a number of gender discrimination issues as a physics undergrad, I am always delighted to find more female scientists who are proving successful at physics and at academic careers. Particle Theory Grad Student, mostly a lurker… Followed over from (first) Preposterous Universe and (later) Orange Quark. The former having been followed primarily due to such tremendously interesting physics content (I was working on dark energy stuff when I first found Sean’s blog, and have always been interested in gravitational entropy physics). Ironically enough, I *think* Sean is the only poster here I’ve not yet met, actually (but I hear rumors that you’re visiting UW in Seattle soon… ). I like the ‘mixed-use’ nature of the blog, but I do think the physics has gotten less technical now that all of you are sharing space (was it intentional, or has it just worked out that way?), which while nice for “the masses”, is sad, because it’s rare that I get to read something physicsy at a level above hallroom conversation, and yet below a research article. So, er… “more physics! of any kind, whatever interests whoever’s willing to post about it!” hi, I’m a PhD student in Astronomy (Uppsala, Sweden). I haven’t read CV for long, only a week or so, but so far I have come back every time my rss-reader said there’s new stuff and haven’t regretted it yet Pro mathematician, recently completed the post-doc phase of the life cycle, came from P.U, not a 100% lurker, but close. I’ve been a lurker here and at Preposterous Universe. I’m currently a 4th year undergraduate studying physics in the UK and I’m hoping to do a PhD in high energy theory/gravity. Really like the blog, it gives a nice insight into how science really works Physics degree a generation ago, sort of astronomy for a while, software now. I read this blog for the science commentary and perhaps to keep a virtual-kindly eye on Cliffords vegetable patch. You folk have actually inspired me to start my own blog!! It’s current readership is approximately zero but nevermind, you can’t build Rome in a day. Must say I’m still looking forward to the promised part 2 of the Holographic Principle. Part One I thought was spot-on. I guess if i did post more, then it would mostly be a series of questions. big cheers, astromcnaught I’m a PhD student in mathematics, doing a bit of the ol’ algebraic geometry (I also did physics as an undergrad, and I still love the stuff). And I’m a serial lurker. hi sean… phd student in string theory/cosmology (should have been one year, but now its two years to go). love the blog for many reasons. here are a few… sometimes its like being at a small conference in that you get to watch some real scientific debate take place, except in a very informal setting, and where the participants are very approachable. sometimes its like sitting around with your friends and enjoying a few beers and arguing about the issues of the day… collectively sighing here and there i guess… mostly its because in the course of procrastinating through ones day at the office, its nice to have something other than the newswires and the baseball scores (go mets!.. no really!) to kill time. but really the clincher for me (sorry to be boring), is that its very rare that you get to hear other people think out aloud or philosiphize or speculate on the issues of the day in the various fields of theoretical physics. we all do it among colleagues, but its just plain nice to be able to listen in on other people doing so, especially certain people whom you might have a lot of respect for, but might not neccesarily run into on a daily basis. also the synergy of the people involved in this group project is really neat. i really enjoy everyones posts for different reasons. how did you all meet? I’m a cosmology researcher outside the U.S., who reads Cosmic Varaince (and preposteros universe before that) not only for the excellant science, but also to remind myself that the U.S. has not completely become Jesusland yet. Keep up the good work! String theory lurker from the fortress of solitude. I’ve been a regular reader for a long time, keeping up with old friends and what’s happening on the other side of the pond. PhD student in CMB Cosmology in London, annoyed that someone else already thought of the “embittered and young” joke. Professional interest in String Theory and personal interest in all the other interesting things you guys talk about. Keep it up. I’m an undergrad physics/computer science student in New Zealand. I must say the physics in your blog generally terrifies me but the whole thing is a really good read. The politics side of things is interesting too, especially since we’ve just had our own election here. The contrast between the two systems is enormous! You’re distracting me from a lab report as we speak actually… So my request, if any, would be that you should write less so I can actually get some work done now and then! I’m a german lurker who is trying to get a PhD for work dealing with the Black Hole in the Galactic Center. CV is as great as Preposterous was. I read it every day. Especially the politics threads are very nice. They are the best source of information and everything I know about the USA I know from you. I find some discussions (e.g. ID) a bit strange though. How can it be that this a real discussion? You mean we have Mets fans reading this blog? I’m not sure if that’s permitted at all. Hi to Michael D (comment 32). I’ll be in Melbourne (at the Physics Department)twice over the next year or so. Perhaps I’ll run into you. I’m a graduate student in condensed matter physics. im a physics undergrad. student in england. followed links from peter woit’s ‘not even wrong’ and found CV about a month ago and have been lurking ever since. keep up the good work! Quasi-scientist; MS biotechnology in ’87, now assay/product development… mostly I reformat molecular assays for unsophisticated users. Trying to learn more about everything, and CV has some great teachers. Just recently discovered Cosmic Variance via a coworker so haven’t been lurking long. I have a Masters in physics and astronomy and still work in the field on the high-energy side of things, although I do more web development and outreach now than anything. I am currently a graduate student in Computer Science. My interest in physics is purely non-professional at the moment although as a youngster I did seriously intend to go into theoretical physics but other things caught my eye. Perhaps if CV existed back then I would now be a string theorist or something 😉 I enjoy all the posts personal and non-personal. My favorite kind are those that provide an insight into what physicists think about certain issues that I would otherwise not know about as an outsider e.g the “The greatest paper” topic, the “landscape” post,the “theories vs. fact” post and even “Lets talk about kids” (combining “normal life” with academia is a big issue for many people). Erm, yeah … Keep up the good work! Assistant professor of biophysics (yeah, I know…not real physics) at Case Western Reserve University. I found Cosmic Variance by following a link from Peter Woit’s sight “not even wrong” which I in turn discovered reading Cosma Shalizi’s weblog (I actually had legitimate science related reasons for being at CS’s sight to begin with, the rest is just idle websurfing though). Currently software engineer at a biotech startup. Trying to read here and on Pharyngula (hi, PZ!) every day, originally from curiosity about todays latest theories and results. Originally a PhD in Physics (Uppsala, Sweden; hi, tom!) on thin film materials. PhD in mathematics (combinatorics), associate prof. of mathematics at a midwestern liberal arts university. I really enjoy the discussions of the public perceptions and (mis)understanding of science and have found some good links on this website. Keep up the good work! As a lot of people said of them, I also was a lurker at Preposterous and Orange, now here. And I think that Risa, Clifford and JoAnne were excellent “acquisitions” for the blog world. PhD Student in Astroparticle at SISSA, just besides ICTP, Italy. I’m a science person, but a science journalist, not a researcher. I have a degree in Life Sciences (aka biomedical science). I like to know what’s going on in physics and cosmology and get in depth insight into news reports. im an RSS lurker studying(now industrial ) engineering after a jaunt through electrical engineering and applied math at ohio university(#2 party school in America!!). in my 5th year, threatening to be a perennial student. i like this blog because it makes me feel smart to read the cool stuff you nerds put up for nerds like me I’a a grad student in physics. I first found this site through Peter Woit’s blog. I’m a Condensed Matter Experimentalist with a strong interest in crossovers between CM and particle physics/cosmology. I also try to stay abreast of sociology issues related to science and so this is why I read CV. I came to it through Prep. Univ. I am an American currently based in Geneva Switzerland (but not at CERN), but return to the US next year to take a position at Johns Hopkins. I’m a Ph.D. student in Physics here at the U. of Chicago, and I’ve had the privilege of taking three (3!) classes from Sean. I say I’m a student, although not for long, as I’m defending my thesis on Gamma-Ray Bursts tomorrow morning, bright and early. I’ll probably not stay in academia long enough to become an embittered elder. I used to lurk on Preposterous Universe, and I’ve mustered the courage to leave a few comments here on CV (although usually long after the discussion has played itself out :)). It’s a great blog: I love the science and the politics discussions (and I quite enjoy Clifford’s slice-of-life posts as well). Thanks, and keep up the good work. Not a lurker, so I’ll pass on the personals, but thought the Salon piece referred to in comment #37 was so good it deserved a proper link. Here goes: I’m a regular visitor; I commented maybe once or twice on Preposterous Universe. I’m an investment manager interested in philosophy and science. Excellent blog! [unlurk] lurker since cosmicvariance started recently…found u guys thru the announcement on pharyngula when this site started…was not aware of sean’s or mark’s earlier blogs…love the varied perspectives u guys bring to the plate…love the physics posts immensely, but also love the non-physics ones like clifford’s posts on gardening, the arts and such topics that bring out the more everyday aspects of scientists born, raised and educated in india (bachelors in engineering), came to the US for my masters in the same field, switched over to working in the software industry, and been living in the US since (7 yrs and counting) been a lover of math and physics since childhood, idolized feynman big-time as a teenager, and still (i suspect) a wannabe nerd suffering from a case of severly suppressed physics-envy (damn u feynman!!) [/unlurk] Hi Sean, Well, you and I have met in person, but I’m a lurker at the blog…I’m a book editor, and obviously the way to learn about the kinds of books physicists want is to listen to physicists. Preposterous Universe was terrific, and so is Cosmic Variance. Blog reading has been incredibly educational, but don’t worry–mentioning someone’s name doesn’t mean I’m emailing them the next day for a project! I’m a physics/cosmology grad who realized I didn’t have the patience to do the sometimes tedious day-to-day work that good science requires. Now I’m an editor at a science magazine. Love the content, both technical and political. It’s good to see folks of reason respond when attacked. I’m a mechanical engineer in central Florida. I’ve enjoyed reading everything so far, science related or otherwise. But I really appreciate the physics related posts. Am I allowed to be an embittered physics grad student? Sean, you might recognize me as the student, who, after hearing your CTP talk last week said loudly: “Interesing idea, but I don’t think it’s real,” as, unbenownst to me, you were walking past my very open office door. Love the blog, I followed from the preposterous universe. I always leave reading this blog until last while going through my morning blogroll, its like the bonus at the end of sometimes very boring reads, the whip cream to my sundae, the B side of Abbey road…. I am a recently graduated chemical engineer from Venezuela. I ‘ ve been lurking for some time in many science related blogs. CV (and before PU) and Pharyngula are my favorites. Even if I miss the technical details it is fun to read the animated discussions ( especially if Lubos or Peter Woit are involved ) .Being a venezuelan I am White Sox fan (Ozzie Guillen, the manager is a native of here). I guess you will accept a ” mediasblancas” fan in your blog, right Sean ? Greeting and Keep Rocking!!!! A student in Probability. I find this blog very interesting and well written (especially Science related articles, but also occasionally other topics) Lurker. Physicist. In transition between student and embittered elder. I will dare to go out on this limb as it appears the majority of you are scientists or of a scientific mind. I’m very new to the blog world and I’ve only been reading CV for a couple of weeks now and enjoy it thoroughly. I was turned on to it by JoAnne. We went to high school together. It was great fun to see her name in lights and read her musings. And then of course I drifted about and read all of your posts. Great stuff! You are all – for lack of a better descriptor – cool. Alas, I am quite unscientific. I have no interest in becoming a scientist, I am not studying to be one, and only really know the one (mentioned above) whom I like very much. I am really more of a spiritualist (GASP horror, one of THOSE!) I am also one of those “real world” “kindergarteners” who hears a great whoosing when 99% of the science stuff flies past my head. However, I find your science utterly fascinating. And whether I get it or not, I recognize how important it is to all of us. I do appreciate your off-topic musings – as it shows me you all live in the “real world” with me. I’m not a lurker, but I don’t think I’ve said anything about my academic background here. I did graduate work in cultural anthropology (which I am happy to admit is not a science), but didn’t finish my PhD due to frustration with certain aspects of the field and my department, and a general realization that I’m not cut out for academia. I fiddled around doing educational software development for a few years, and for the last five years I’ve been working as a medical writer, specifically a writer of patient education booklets and pamphlets (y’know: “Understanding Your Colon”). I got into the job because the company I work for likes to hire writers who can self-educate about the medical stuff, not because I have any background to speak of in medicine or biology (I don’t). I’m quitting my job soon (expecting a baby at the end of the year) and am planning to go back to school part time, probably starting next summer, to do some remedial education in human biology and physiology so as to make myself more employable as a freelance medical writer. I have an idea I’ve been rolling around in my head for several years for a book about diabetes — not a how-to-manage book (there are plenty of those already) but a book on what could broadly be called the politics of diabetes. I’m interested in the social aspects of the disease, how it’s portrayed in the media, politics and funding of R&D, and history of and developing trends in medical management of the disease. I’m not sure the book will ever happen, but I hope so. So, not a scientist, not an academic, but with a foot on the edge of these worlds. Lurker. I’m a low energy nuclear physicist grad student slaving away at one of our nation’s salt mines national labs. I learned GR from Sean’s notes back in the day and enjoyed his previous blog before this one. I’m a grad student at University of Michigan; finishing my PhD in string theory this year and looking for a post-doc. Definitely a lurker here. Also lurk at Lubos’ blog but not really tapped into the rest of the blog o’ sphere… I’ve posted a few times. I’m a first-year graduate student at Chicago. Currently investigating the dialectic of doing fun theory vs. getting jobs. Also marvelling over Benjamin Franklin’s wit regarding science and religion in his letter to Ezra Stiles (an alma mater of sorts…). BA Math ’80. 20+ years as S/W engineer. I periodically go on Math/Phys binges. The last one was when I tried to get through MTW’s “Gravitation”; the current one was due to discovering Geometric Algebra via D. Hestenes and the Cambridge GA group; on thing led to another and I’m lurking on fizz-blogs. I notice most lurkers commented on the political postings one way or another; most seem to be saying they hold their noses and read you anyway. Physics grad student. My two cents about the blog would also be that it’s much more interesting when the bloggers are addressing their fields of expertise. I can go anywhere for left-wing political discussion. Informed discussion by experts on cosmology and the like is substantially rarer. (No offense intended by this comparison but) Consider the quality of Lubos Motl’s political discussions versus his physics. Dissident: That piece about the post-doc life doesn’t ring terribly familiar to me – I’ve known dozens of post-docs over my (overly extended, on-again-off-again) graduate career, and while most, if not all, worry about getting a good next job, hardly any work 80-hour weeks (unless you count the time when they’re yes, *always* thinking about their craft), and most (if not all) made over $30k/year (the median in 1997, in physics, was $34k, according to this article in Physics Today). If anything, a good post-doc appointment seems like a lot more fun than gradauate school or being pre-tenure faculty. The former get paid barely enough to live on, the latter have just as much worry about job security as a post-doc, and both of those have to teach all the time *while* doing research, unlike when you’re a postdoc (although I realize I’m mostly speaking about theoretical physics here). Occasional poster to Preposterous and now here. BA in English, but unofficially minored in History of Science. My first book is out now (linked in my name), and if it doesn’t completely bomb…I hope to do more. Director John Madden, on NPR’s Fresh Air today: “The idea of ‘hip’ might seem completely incompatible with higher mathematics, but it’s really not.” Math undergraduate from Lund, Sweden, with an interest in some of the fundamental questions in physics and computer science. One thing I like about CV (and many academic blogs in general!) is how you sort of get to know the authors — you get to see another side of the professors which sometimes can be hard to catch as a student, at least on my level. Though it should be stressed that I continue to read academic blogs on their academic merit, and to be honest with you there’s sometimes a bit too much politics in here for my taste. Actually, that’s why I stopped reading Preposterous after a while, I felt the science/politics ratio was too poor for me. That’s not to say I don’t like most of your writings. I’m still here, ain’t I? Continue the good work! I’m a middle-aged software engineer who’s been an amateur cosmologist since I was a teenager. Now I spend too much time on blogs and am trying to figure out if I can manage a career change, since while software pays the bills, it doesn’t excite me as much as it used to (and frankly, has never excited me as much as science.) I’m a senior in college, majoring in physics. I’m looking for a graduate school where I can pursue Intelligent Design/String Cosmology. Any recommendations? I’ve heard Baylor might be a good choice. Well we are into day 2, so it is really not lurker day anymore is it.:)You know who I am, right? I am not a lurker either. I have spent the last couple of years following the dialogue of gentlemen/ladies of superstringtheory and others facets of science, who are at the leading edge of science. Those who resist stringtheory, to see where they are leading us. While I am not to swift sometimes, my heart has always been in the right place:) As to being a bitter “ole fool” and “not real” like Dickt, I bath in the realization of completing years of raising family, and find my wife and I, at the peak of what life has brought us in terms of family and Grandchildren. My adult children now return what I had given them and am very proud of them. There’s not much I have not seen in this avenue. It has always been out of the kindness of my heart and respect, that perspectives were introduced. I am very proud of this, and now, such moments bring more blessings. There is no one here that really can say that this journey “has not” taken me to new perceptions, as a lay person. “My journey” is my blog. My attempts, at understanding. I hope to continue to learn from people here. You are my elders:)If such a stance is held, the respect for us little ones, takes on a even greater responsibility. If you learn to look in the face of these new little ones, you’ll understand how great that responsibility is. Museums are more then just recollections of article and material things. There have been people behind them all along. To the resurgence of the Wunderkammern then, and the real world.:)Do you think one could hide the abstract from the integration of science, and how we can now see this planet of ours? Keep up the good work here Was aqualung a lurker?? Well then i am not one. But as a retired humanties type (philosophy and religion first, then teacher education) i have always studied(academically for 40+ years), and continue to study, consciousness, which is inextricably linked to cosmogony, and thus requires me more and more to strive to understand cosmology and theoretical physics. I grew up in a household of scientists–mother taught med school, father was one of our nation’s rocket scientists, sister has a Ph.D. in nutrition science(specializing in food for research animals), brother is MD/Ph.D. in advanced cancer therapies. There was no other path for me except to pursue undergrad and graduate work in the history and philosophy of religions. btw—it just became Fall at 1414 hrs(PDT) or 2214 GMT Happy autumnal equinox and may those of you at risk in the western Gulf Coast be safe and wise. I’m just a regular guy. Most of the science stuff here goes right over my head (I’m an English and History) guy, but I still check back three or four times a week. I like the blog. When I do understand the science stuff, it’s fascinating. Having had the pleasure of taking both Sean’s undergrad GR course a couple of years ago as well as his and Shadi Bartsch’s Atheism class I thus found my way to Preposterous. I’m now at CERN for a year with the ATLAS experiment on the LHC…then probably heading out to Stanford, but we’ll see. So far it looks like I’m in for the long haul (in experimental research, that is). I enjoy just about everything written here…but most of all the politics and evolutionary discussions. (Sean should just post his course notes for that one!) ~dave m. Was a lurker at Preposterous, now am lurking here Third year Physics Student at Georgetown University, at this point planning on going on in my studies to pursue a PH.D. in Theoretical Physics. I also am put off by the politics at times-it can be overbearing. NM Lurker (transferred from Preposterous Universe). Science journalist–I cover physics, technology, and related policy, and follow the blog for professional interest. The occasional wondrously obscure arguments with other physics bloggers (most notably a certain Harvard string-theorist) are also quite entertaining. Thanks for blogging! I’m mostly a lurker, but I’ve posted occasionally. Being an astronomer, I fall into the “professional scientist” category. I’m mostly an observationalist (extragalactic), though I’ve done a little bit of theory (pure Newtonian gravitational dynamics, I’m afraid; none of yer fancy 21st Century stuff). BA in astronomy and medieval history — two separate subjects, not one weird combined major! — PhD in astronomy from the cold upper Midwest, postdoc in the Canary Islands and now in Germany. This is generally a very good blog, though I sometimes feel there are perhaps too many posts per day to keep up with regularly ;-). The most interesting topics for me are the science-related ones, particularly as they feed my thinking and musing on just what it is we scientists are doing, and how, and how we can do it better. I lurk on a couple of the physics blogs, posting at occasionally. I’m doing an honours year in maths at the University of Queensland, and will probably start a PhD in atom optics theory next year. The very frequent posts make this blog very good. I’ve been a grad student in a prestigious astrophysics department for a long time now — and still many have not caught on to what a fraud I am… I’m another lurking string grad student. I trekked along from Preposterous Universe – I enjoy Sean’s no-nonse attitude Anyways, CV is always the first stop on my morning blog-walk! First year physics grad student from the University of Kansas. Discussions, obviously are interesting. I somehow feel that we miss Prof. Feynman here! Imagine, Feynman blogs Former-lurker; finally couldn’t resist commenting on Presposterous Universe… Biophysicist (quasi physics, as someone mentioned above), former industrial “real world-er” turned academician. The two worlds have more in common than they may want to admit…. Good colleagues in both worlds seem to have the same phenotype; and the not-so-good colleagues…well, their phenotypes are rather invariant across the academia/industry line too… Pushing for a union of physics and biology will grow beyond traditional biochemistry/structural biology…of course this may only increase my embittered elder content. I thrive on my daily fix of Cosmic Variance….keep it going folks! It’s greatly appreciated for inspiration, news, and physics! Condensed matter theorist turned material scientist (but still theorist/computer modeler). Currently postdocing (at a gov’t lab), and beginning the academic search. I came here to read a link (probably on evolution), and decided to make it part of my daily skimming/reading. Keep up the good work. I saw this post the day after the fact…but I thought I’d comment anyway. I became a lurker at Preposterous Universe after I wrote an article for Swarthmore College’s newspaper about Sean’s lecture at my campus. His lecture was intriguing and I thought he did a really good job of lecturing to several levels of physics understanding. My mother was at the lecture and was able to understand the basic concepts, despite the fact that she never had any formal physics training in school. The student majors and faculty members were clearly engaged in the talk as well. I enjoy cosmic variance’s discussions and check in almost daily to see the most recent post. Thank you all for your thoughts, intelligent discussions, and interesting explanations of various astronomical concepts. I’m an astronomy major in my senior year of undergrad, and I am unsure of what my plans after college will be, beyond getting to Japan at some point, by hook or by crook (though doing astronomy research there would be so nice…). lurker, real world, no science background whatsoever I am the mom of a 3rd year physics grad student (particle, experimental, US.) Surfed over from Quantum Diaries which I read to see just what my son’s life is like even though, like many sons, he never writes or calls. If I don’t understand the science it just gives me topics for conversation and the kid gets practice explaining it to the lay people. Life looks pretty cool (especially compared to the real world.) Enjoy. Lurked for a year in the preposterous universe, and am very glad to now contemplate the cosmic variance. “Real-worlder” with degrees in classics and law, currently a legal aid attorney. I read the blog daily for respite and entertainment. (Also, helps me keep up with holiday meal conversations as mom is a biologist, dad is a geo-physicist, sis is post-doc steady-state gal). Thanks to you all at CV for your effort and thoughtful posts. Just an average reader… I live a few thousand feet up a volcano in the middle of the tropical Pacific. Got my physics Ph.D. in theory six years ago, then turned left to study what I wanted and try to solve the whole puzzle instead of getting a post-doc or real job. I just couldn’t swallow the string cool-aid, but I really love GR, QFT, differential geometry, Kaluza-Klein, etc. So I work on my own stuff — right now trying to figure out BRST geometry in a way that makes sense is kicking my butt! I earn enough money for food and surfboards by working the interstice between academia and the real world — teaching a college class or two, picking up the occasional consulting gig, and playing the stock market. Mostly though I alternate days between working on theory and playing in this beautiful ocean. I enjoy your posts. It’s good to have a place I can see physics discussed casually, instead of just religiously pouring over the papers that post to the arxiv. As I’m a bit isolated out here (I am the physics department), weblogs like this substitute for listening in on departmental conversations. If anyone’s planning to vacation in Maui, drop me an email. Definite lurker. This is my first ever post. I’m a recent UofC grad (Biological Sciences) and am currently a first year UW Genome Sciences grad student. My boyfriend, who often reads CV over my shoulder, is also a recent UofC grad (Physics and Math), is a first year UW physics grad student (so he might run into Jake from comment 40 at some point), and took both undergrad and grad GR from Sean. I read Preposterous, which I found via a Popular Science article, for about a year before it evolved into CV. I understand very little of the physics mentioned on the site, although aforementioned BF tries his hardest to get me more interested in it. I like the politics vs. science and women in science discussions, though. Although I’m a biologist, I’m in a very computational department, so male grad students still outnumber female grad students about 3:1 in my program. I understand that this is much better than the situation in many physics departments, so it’s encouraging to hear success stories from female scientists in academia, which is a path I’m trying to pursue. I also really enjoyed the conference on women in science at Chicago, which Sean has mentioned on the site. Female graduate student, soon-to-be postdoc, in particle theory. This is one of my favorite sites to read. postdoc at UofC/Argonne working in cond mat experiment. I found Cosmic Variance via a reference Chad Orzel of Uncertain Principles made to Sean’s site, Preposterous Universe. Around the 3rd or so time I visited PU, Sean announced the birth of CV, which led me here. I guess I’m professionally science related in *some* way, though probably not what you have in mind. I’m a former philosophy grad student who now works in biotech. What I find most interesting at this site are the introductions to various theories, e.g. string theory and general relativity. These tend to be rather over my head, but there’s usually one or more passages that are accessible enough to be interesting to me. Another former Preposterous lurker who’s now moved on to lurking at CV. I took GR from Sean at UofC during my undergrad and am now a second-year grad student (solar/astrophysics). Unembittered elder and natural history illustrator knowing just enough about a whole bunch of stuff to be truly dangerous. I’m a social scientist – a sociologist who teaches at the college level. Other than the basic interest I have in science and how the world “works” and is structured, whether physically, politically or socially, I very much like this site for adeptely integrating all off these relams. Thank-you for the illuminating perspectives on all matters related to all manners of science. I learned relatvity partly from Sean’s lecture notes in the late ninties while I was at New Mexico Tech. When the textbook came out, I googled him because I had just moved to Milwaukee for grad school in gravitational physics at UWM in the general area of Chicago, so I ran into his blog. I’m an assistant prof in physics in Canada, so I guess that makes me an (un)professional scientient, and the very young end of the embittered elder spectrum. Neutrinos are my thing, and I hope the Phillies win the wild card so they can be beaten by my beloved St. Louis Cardinals in the playoffs. (Sean, are you a Philly Phanatic, or is it just a Sixers thing?) Hi Scott, I’ll be out at UBC giving the theory seminar in a few weeks. Maybe I’ll run into you then. We usually don’t allow experimentalists in our theory seminars, but I suppose we can make an exception this time. When not perfecting my lurking skills, I’m working on a DFA (Doctorate of Fine Arts) on science and theater. I started my lurking at Preposterous after meeting Sean at the STAR conference. Humanities degree, work in programming/database. Came from PU (bet he didn’t check that when he started it). Like math & science, but not that good at it (ACT percentiles (1978) – English 99, Social Studies 96, something else 98, math 46, and that only because was good at geometry, for some reason. I wasn’t even lurking on lurker day. I’ve been a computer programmer for about a decade, but I’m about to return to grad school to become a middle or high school math teacher. I started reading political blogs shortly before the election last year, stumbled upon a science blog a few months later, and via links in posts and comments have collected dozens that I now read more regularly than the political blogs. I have a generic liberal arts degree, so much of the science is beyond me, but I like seeing what’s of current interest to scientists and I’m especially interested in the interaction of science and politics (which is a more central issue on the biology blogs). I’ve commented only about a half dozen times total on other blogs (and never on this one); I don’t write quickly and by the time I’ve organized my thoughts the conversation has moved on. al_art (comment 122), You said: “I don’t write quickly and by the time I’ve organized my thoughts the conversation has moved on.” Don’t blame yourself, it’s not your fault. It’s just that people usually don’t think before they write. I’m closer to being a semi-lurker than a full-blown lurker. I’ve been a post-doc in the observational cosmology group at UCSD, run by Brian Keating, for the past year. The three years before that I was a post-doc with Shaul Hanany’s group at the U. of Minnesota. I’m in lurk mode now as we are in the final push of lab testing for BICEP, which ships to Pole on Oct. 17. I think our sky coverage is just small enough that we will not be seriously affected by cosmic variance, actually. Forgot to include — as for the embitterment portion of the question, I would say that at worst I am in the process of becoming embittered, definitely a case of present imperfect with that shipping deadline looming on the horizon. I’m not sure if I qualify as an elder, either. Say hi to Brian for me. He and I were grad. lab partners. Couldn’t there be another category besides students and embittered elders? I am a still rather sweet elder who in spite of my life of leisure read some blogs some of the time, but perhaps not in my “Waking Life”, lurking until this very moment in the flow of time. In any case, I am a big fan of Clifford’s and Sean is the one who first showed me how to construct a web page (by cannibalizing his.) Tony… Hi…What a pleasant surprise! Just goes to show: “you never know who’s reading”. Folks…this is the guy who wrote that excellent introductory field theory book I’ve mentioned a few times…. Just a lurker. Non-scientist. Majored in CS and do software work now. Love CV though! PhD in Chemical Engineering, now developing new products and processes for a major chemical company in the US. I’ve been following Sean’s posts over from the Preposterous Universe for about a year now… Hi! Academically, I am Sean’s sole progeny so far (and hoping to be joined by another soon), now chugging along as a postdoc at Yale! I mostly lurk, since any post I make tend to be (a) ignored (b) shot down (c) plain wrong, though all my posts are full of deep insight that can be extracted only after long and hard meditation. Amy: PVHS women rock! Studied Physics/Math as an undergrad. Mostly an avocation. Like everyone else (of course ! ?) continually working on the ultimate TOE. Am interested in the work of Bekenstein, holographic principle, and applications of information theoretic approaches to cosmological problems. Currently work in telecommunications (it pays the bills) Just recently found this site and find it quite interesting. I am an undergrad at Stanford, and I’m almost definitely going to major in Physics. I was excited to see a physics blog somewhere on the net (I think I found this through Pharyngula), and in enough time, I hope to know enough to start my own. Sorry, I was vacationing on Lurker Day. I have a MS in mathematics, but have worked in mathematical finance in the US for the last 20 years. I studied algebraic geometry and am thrilled by the role it has come to play in physics. I also like the posts that battle inumeracy in the media and society. Blog on! been a long time lurker from p.u. days but, unfortunately, haven’t read much here lately. first year grad student interested in particle theory/cosmology. this blog is certainly one of the best available. thoroughly thought out posts that are very well communicated. great mix of physics and other, although it seems less physics as of late. sean – in my opinion the best blogger on the internet. first was introduced to your stuff when i used your g.r. text as an undergrad several years ago and have continued to enjoy your writings ever since. long time lurker who migrated to cv here from pu. first year grad student interested in particle theory/cosmology. cv is one of my favorite stops – unfortunately havent gotten around here much lately(hence the tardy post). keep up the great work. really enjoy your thoroughly though out and well communicated posts. good mix of physics and other, although less physics lately it seems. sean – best poster i’ve found on the net. was introduced to your work when i used to your text while studying gr as an undergrad several years ago and have enjoyed your writing ever .

Jaclyn Augustyn Smith Owner, Managing and Artistic Director [email protected] Ms. Jaclyn’s training began in Youngstown, Ohio. She went on achieve her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts degree from the Ohio State University with a focus in technology, production and performance as well as arts management. Her talents were put to work at OSU where she taught undergraduate dance classes, and facilitated Dance Major auditions with Professor Mockabee while bringing back the annual Jazz/Tap concert for budding choreographers. Named in the Who’s Who National Registry for Business owners in 2007-2013 and National Registry for Professional Women in 2014, Jaclyn’s fearlessness has pushed CORE to become the fastest growing dance school in our area and is recognized by Dance publications for her marketing techniques and success since 2004. Jaclyn works as a consultant for various Dance magazines in areas such as marketing, curriculum writing, early childhood dance programs and business management and was featured in Dance Magazine in 2006 as a “Force to be Reckoned With” in their spotlight article for dance professionals under the age of 30. Her combinations of traditional and contemporary styles create unique pieces from beginner to the most advanced dancers and range from high school musicals to Off-Broadway performances with the American Tap Dance Foundation, The 2003 Elan Awards honoring Rob Marshall from the motion picture Chicago and as a featured dancer in the Garden State Dance Festival among others. She has been invited by countless companies such as J&J’s Dance, BCIT and BCC, Holy Cross HS, as well as Westminster College to create choreography and curriculum including local public and private high schools. Ms. Jaclyn maintains her own training at STEPS on Broadway in NYC and introduces her students to the “scene” as often as possible. Jaclyn’s dedication as an educator has allowed her to reach into various aspects of the dance industry such as competition judging, and the development of a system of exercises and techniques based upon Myo-Skeletal Therapy used to strengthen dancers who have sustained injuries or suffer from chronic weaknesses. Ms. Smith also participates in National Dance Week as a State Delegate. She works for the Costume Gallery, posing models for their annual costume catalogs and helps raise money for Dance for the Cure. Through Wee Kids Early Learning Center in Hainesport, The YMCA and other township based programs, Ms. Jaclyn is implementing after school and rec programs for the elementary children at schools in our county. Her teaching can be enjoyed at local schools and day care centers and her dancers have gone on to successful careers at esteemed Colleges and Universities such as Ohio State, Boston Conservatory, Fordham, Montclair… In 2008, Jaclyn began a course for Graduating SR’s that will prepare them for auditions, interviews and other areas for entrance into a professional arts career. Her coursework has been redesigned and organized as an Associate degree at BCC and is currently being evaluated at national college and universities as a “Dance Studio Management” track within their reputable Dance Degree. Jaclyn’s projects have included the founding of the performance group, Xtensions, for community outreach and the development of young dancers. Xtensions has performed at the Jeanne Ruddy Performance Garage in Philadelphia, the Garden State Dance Festival and Project Dance. In 2010, the company was recognized by the esteemed panel of judges from “So, You Think You Can Dance.” With choreography by fellow teachers, the cast received national awards and will present at the PULSE National Convention in NYC in summer of 2010. During the 2009-2010 dance season, Ms. Jaclyn implemented a Master Class workshop on behalf of CORE that travels nationally and includes Teachers’ Training syllabi, pre-professional coursework and choreography as well as kinesiology for the dancer with So You Think You Can Dance cast mates, Tadd Gadduang, Wadi Jones, Ashley Rich, Clarice Ordaz, Jess LeProtto and several Broadway performers. With invaluable input from Lauren Rahilly, Lamia Dingle and Michael Phillips, the team has designed a new adult course, COREvolution- a 3 part fitness regimen including strength, resistance, endurance and stretch that will be taught in house at CORE and distributed on DVD and youtube channels in 2014. Jaclyn holds a multitude of certifications in pre/post natal fitness instruction and health, Pilates, Yoga, and has released a number of instructional DVDs. She maintains professorship at local colleges and universities implementing dance technique and movement fundamentals. Lauren Rahilly, Managing Director [email protected] What started as a random decision for her mother to enroll her in classes at a new local dance school, soon grew into a passion that Lauren Rahilly has been pursuing since the age of four. Miss Rahilly has been classically trained in Ballet & Pointe, Modern, Tap, Jazz and Hip Hop. Becoming a dance educator at the studio where she grew up, she furthered her dance education by attending additional conventions, workshops and competitions. Not only has Lauren shared her love of dance with her school but she has also devoted herself to sharing her talents with the community around her. Lauren represents CORE’s acclaimed Early Childhood Program at a number of local pre-schools and day care centers. Lauren has helped raise thousands of dollars through dance for such charitable foundations as Samaritan Hospice and Providence House, both of Burlington County. Her choreography has been featured in community performances for local events, performances by Arcadia University’s Knight Club Dance Company and most recently was sought after to be represented by DDO Arts Agency to appear in national venues and multi-media outlets. Lauren’s choreography has also earned various awards such as choreography, performance and top score awards. Her soloists rank among the highest in the country on the National competition circuit, making her one of the most awarded choreographers in the region. With a degree in Psychology from Arcadia University, Lauren utilizes her knowledge of child development and human interaction in the classroom and in her daily tasks as the Managing Director for CORE for the 3rd year in a row. She has pursued additional certifications in fitness, including Turbo Kick®, CrossFit, and Zumba®. Her choreography was recognized at the Pulse National Convention as a staff favorite by the esteemed panel from “So, you think you can dance” including Mia Michaels, Cris Judd and more. The piece was presented in NYC in summer of 2010. Lauren maintains her education in health in fitness through certification programs and has designed a fitness regimen with Jaclyn called COREvolution that includes nutritional information for adult clients as well as healthy conditioning for our highschool and college students. Her natural abilities as a teacher once again opened doors when she and Jaclyn produced COREvolution for DVD in 2014. Lauren’s personal training is sought after both in the studio and from professionals in dance and athletic training both here in NJ and Philadelphia- her own coach has offered her opportunities with sports training or Penn State’s football team. As a member of the Crossfit team in Philadelphia, Lauren’s fitness pursuits are sponsored by Reebok and she appears regularly in print and live modeling for the brand. LaMia Dingle Intensive Artist in Residency (Winter and Summer) [email protected] LaMia is from Camden NJ, a graduate of the city’s first arts high school. She attended the University of the Arts Philadelphia where she trained vigorously in ballet, modern, jazz and other cultural dances. LaMia’s artistic flare was recognized by recording artist, Jill Scott when she was in high school and was asked to appear as lead dancer in her music videos. Always an avid fan of hip-hop, LaMia began to delve into the dance style after joining Face Da Phlave a Hip Hop company that focuses on pure hip-hop movement and positivity. Through Face Da Phlave, LaMia has trained in the styles of locking, popping, breaking, and house and teaches each style at several studios in South Jersey. LaMia continues to train and perform in all forms of dance and performed as a dancer for the Garden State Dance Festival’s repertoire company. LaMia has performed with ICMovement in Philadelphia and travels internationally using dance as an instrument of education for young women. Her summer plans include pursuing further education in dance therapy as well as the development of a Praise Dance class. LaMia continues her own dance performance training under Rennie Harris and Lauren Putty. Ms. Dingle’s concept based choreography draws a wonderful and committed crown of young dancers every year as participants and her private lessons ahve helped place our college dancers in prestigious dance colleges and companies across America. Lamia’s solists are recognized for their innovative take on populat music and are recognized on the National Competition circuit for level of difficulty, technique and artistry. Lamia and her husband Josh welcomed their first child in November 2013. Her next greatest production is REVEAL Movement Co. which is housed here in CORE Academy twice yearly and travels nationally with guest artists from Philadelphia, Atlanta, Las Vegas and abroad. Michael Phillips Boys program, Hip Hop, Tap and Early Childhood *Sabbatical 2016-17* [email protected] Dancing since the age of nine, “Mr Michael” is taking the hip hop world by storm. A natural leader, he fills our studio with inspiration from his littlest tappers to highschool dancers alike. This pied piper of dance has earned his way through years of his own training at CORE, under Kyle Clark of Rennie Harris Pure Movement and Broadway Dance Center to become a great young choreographer. With special skills in Arts Technology, Michael has been a major part of CORE’s promotions since 2011 and most recently took on the formal editing of our charity concerts and recital videos that includes footage from our weekly classes, technique intensives and guest artists. It plays in our front lobby, appears online and has been recognized by Dance Studio Life Magazine for excellence in marketing. Michaels’ dedication to the art form extends to the organization of his “RV Boys” who train weekly in various hip hop styles. He is currently training under Jarod Grimes and Rhapsody. Alexei Charov, Ballet and Pointe Born in Yoshkar-Ola, Russia, Alexei began his ballet training at age nine and graduated from the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg – home of the famed ballet traditions developed by Agrippina Vaganova and Marius Petipa. His studies there included classical ballet, history of theater, history of music, acting, stage make-up, history of European and American ballet, character dance and pas de deux. Mr. Charov started his professional career at the age of seventeen at the Donetsk Opera and Ballet House in Ukraine. He began touring nationally and abroad and enjoyed great success, quickly building a rich classical repertoire. In 1991 he moved to the United States and continued his performing career with the Indianapolis Ballet and the Pennsylvania Ballet, adding a wide collection of Balanchine works to his range. Alexei has also performed in original works by many internationally acclaimed choreographers in a constellation of traditional and classical parts, which he has interpreted in new and exciting ways. His partners have included such ballet luminaries as Oscar-nominee Leslie Brown, Jodie Gates and Tatiana Pali, and his dancing has been highlighted and reviewed by the press in Europe and Asia, as well as in the United States. Lisa Gaunt, Tap and Modern Programs Lisa Gaunt is a 2005 Magna Cum Laude Graduate of Montclair State University where she earned her BFA in Theatre Studies with Concentration in Production and Design and holds minor degrees in both Musical Theatre and Dance. She has studied under Nancy Lushington, Lonne Morreton, Maxine Steinman, Freespace Dance founder Donna Scro Gentile and Alexdra Bellar, to name a few. During her college career she performed with the Montclair State Reparatory Dance Company and at the Kennedy Center’s American College TheatreFestival in 2004 and 2005, where she also won the Regional Stage Management Award for Outstanding Stage Management both years, and has performed in the final rounds of the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Competition. Professional Stage Management and Performer credits include venues such as NJPAC’s Victoria Theatre, The Count Basie, The State Theater, Algonquin Arts Theater, Alexander Kasser Theater, and several Off-Broadway venues. Since 2005 she has taken up her love for the arts through teaching, directing and choreographing at numerous schools across New Jersey . Her choreography in Tap, Jazz, Musical Theatre, Liturgical and Modern/Lyrical Dance has won her many Highest scoring awards at top Dance Conventions such as Dancers Inc, Headliners, Starbound, Star Systems, Nexstar, International Dance Challenge, Cathy Roe, Dance Rave, Groove and more. Her choreography has also won Special and Judge’s Choice awards described as “Most Entertaining,” “Terrific Staging,” “Broadway Bound,” “Best Choreography,” and “Fancy Feet,” and her dances and soloists often place top ten. Although proud of her convention and competition experience, she is most proud of her years as founder and director of Movements of Grace, a modern liturgical dance company that for two years, along with her student/company members, raised thousands of dollars for charities through performances. That halted only to make room for her greatest accomplishment yet, becoming a mother to two girls in 2011! Lisa always continues to further her dance education, studying under current top teachers in order to pass on top notch technique and fun to her students. Additionally, she has written dance studio syllabuses for Modern, Tap and Jazz studios, and choreographed numerous Musicals. She has provided private lessons and audition coaching to students currently on National Tours and accepted into prestigious dance programs across the country including, Rutgers Mason Gross, NYU Tish, Alvin Ailey. and her Alma Matter, Montclair State University. Lisa’s years of experience as a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer, as well as a Yoga and Zumba (International/Latin Fusion Dance) Fitness Instructor gives her valuable insight to her students dance training and tools for training she applies to each class she teaches. She has a passion for freedom of human movement, health, and artistic expression, but mostly for inspiring young people in the arts. Marcus Tucker Hip Hop and Choreography Marcus “Epic” Tucker is well rounded in every style of hip hop and funkstyle dance and has much experience on the theatre stage as a director, choreographer and performer. He is also a very inspirational teacher and workshop leader The summer of 2001, Marcus was introduced to Clyde Evans Jr. Owner of Philadelphia based Chosen Dance Company. Marcus began his hip hop theatre career here when he did his first theatre show in December 2002, in the “Philly Nut Crack up”. In 2003 Clyde Evans was asked to chose three of the best dancer in Philadelphia to do a hip hop theatre tour in England with Kompany Malikhiʼs “Hip- Hop story “.Marcus was one of the three chosen. There Marcus met Judi McCarthy from Independance. Interested in his ability to teach and leadership qualities, Judi gave Marcus the opportunity to be in the driver seat. He directed and performed in his very own theatre show called “Heroes”. Heroes toured the UK from March 2004 to August 2004 and May 2005 to August 2005. Following His tours, marcus then became a menber of a company called Funkstylerz UK. It was with Funkstylerz that Marcus was given the opportunities to perform with numerous artists such as singer Pixie Lott, one of UKʼs biggest international pop sensation. Marcus then returned to America to create a dance company called, “Face da Phlave Entertainment”, alongside partners Andrew Ramsey and Kennith Thomas. As word spread of His rapid success, Marcus was then invited to choreograph and perform for the world leading Hip-hop Theatre Company, “Rennie Harris Pure movement”. . Marcus recently traveled to Malaysia with partner Norman “Shay” Williams, dancer and choreographer for “Madonna”. Through Norman, Marcus has recently become a regular performer and artist for Madonnaʼs private parties and events. Marcus has been chosen to be the Hip-Hop choreographer for several dance shows such as “So you think you can dance Malaysia” season 2 and as a judge for 5 seasons in a row on “Astroʼs Battleground”, Malaysiaʼs fist Hip Hop television show. He plays a pivotal role in transforming the attitude towards hip hop and creating a phenomenal response to the show through each season. Marcus most recently collaborated and choreographed with Malaysian pop star “MiZZ Nina”.Through her projects, marcus was able to collaborate and choreograph for American “Colby Oʼ Donnis, Flo Rida, Taboo of Black Eye Peas and Korean K Pop superstar JAY PARK. Marcus also choreographed and danced with Melissa Indot, Dennis Lau Chris Willis, Yalonda Be Cool and Havana Brown. Marcus has dedicated his career to preserve and protect the foundation of the hip-hop community through performance and education. His mission is to eliminate the misunderstanding of a brilliant subculture and return a new understanding to the culture on a larger scale. Molly Misgalla Jazz and Choreography ‘Waves’ has choreographed nearly 20 original premiere works on stage as well as in concert venues including: Oops Office (rooftop performance) Brooklyn, NY, Philadelphia Film Society/Phl International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Six Flags/Great Adventure featuring recording artist; Aeryanah Von Moi, Pennsylvania Presbyterian Medical Center, DeSales University as well as a premiere ballet for Eleone Dance Theater “For Always and For Ever Luther” celebrating the late Luther Vandross. Molly has fostered strong links with the professional dance community through both her own experience as a working dancer and as a teacher and mentor.. Molly achieved her Masters degree in Spring of 2016 and is happy to be joining us as a faculty member this September. Matt Elliott [email protected] Tap and Special Performance Events A native of Philadelphia, Matt has been dancing for most of his adult life, while his passion has always been tap; he is also proficient in ballroom dance as well. As Matt teaches his tap classes, he shares a little bit of the history of what he is teaching making his teaching style unique. His classes focus on technique and cross over several different styles. Matt has studied under award winning tap choreographers Debbie Gatto who he considers his mentor, Karen Pauro, Robert Burden, Ray Hesselink and Dianne Walker and has had social dance training from champions Shana Vitoff, Barbara Miller, Bronislava Vrtalova and Vladimir Martinek . Matt has used his networking skills to build professional relationships with many of the professional dancers of TV’s Dancing with the Stars as well as other dance professionals worldwide. Matt had the honor of dancing with his students on TV in the 6 ABC Thanksgiving Day Parade. He has also recently joined the advisory board of Infatuation Dance Company based in Philadelphia and continues to lend his talents annually to the Cherry Hill Education Foundation’s Dancing with the Cherry Hill Stars. Emily Weitzel Early Childhood, Jazz/Tap, Musical Theatre Dance and Modern program Emily received her Master’s in Dance Education from Temple University. Her training began with David Gallagher of the Academy of Ballet for Children (now Ballet NJ). She has studied classical ballet, jazz, modern, and musical theater. She is a teacher, choreographer and performer in the South Jersey/Philadelphia area, having performed and choreographed for Haddonfield Plays and Players, The Eagle Theater Company, The Broadway Theater of Pitman, and the Woodbury Sketch Club. Her passion is introducing dance history into technique classes, while exploring new dance forms with young dancers. As a substitute and guest choreographer for the last 2 seasons, she is beyond excited to be joining the weekly staff of Core Academy is excited to about her most recent opportunity to choreograph the 2015 performances of the Mask and Wig Club, an all-male Ivy League theater troupe at the University of Pennsylvania. Notably, Karen has won many top awards for her stellar dance pieces, including a Critics Choice award. Karen was responsible for training Miss Pennsylvania for her talent portion in the 2015 Miss America pageant. Kayla Kelly Jazz, Modern and Xtensions Programs Since Kayla turned 8, she made dance her passion in life. Training in classical disciplines, Kayla was fortunate to garner great attention on the competition and convention circuit from Master Teachers such as Tyce Diorio, Cris Judd, Sheila Barker and Chebar Williams. In 2005, Kayla successfully auditioned to appear in the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco under the choreography and direction of LA based choreographer, Erin Lamont. Locally, Kayla was a member of the RV Dance team, helping to lead the team to NDA titles and went on to study dance at Rutgers University in the Mason Gross School of the Arts. Miss Kelly was a member of the Rutgers Dance company. Kayla is looking forward to another great year at her second home, CORE Academy. Tony Rhodes Ballet, Jazz, Modern and Xtensions Programs Theater . Under the mentorship of Dara Stevens- Meredeth and Luceda Cuyler , Anthony was accepeted into Eleone Connection the second company of elone Dance Theater where he danced for 5 years . He is a 2005 NAACP ACT-SO Silver Medalist for dance . Anthony’s choreography was featured in the 2008 philadelphia Film Festival, as well as the 2007 production of ” For Colored Girls ” at he Walt Whitman Center for Performing Arts. He was the 2014 recipient of the Rocky Award in Philadelphia and a celebrated member of Grace Dance Theater and Eleone Dance . He is cofounder of Reveal Dance Intensive Co., based out of Atlanta, GA with it’s roots in the Philadelphia area. CORE is the winter and summer home to Reveal with guest faculty and artists in residency. Victoria Holloway Early Childhood, Ballet, Jazz and Modern Programs Miss Victoria Holloway has trained at several studios after her formal training with Princeton Ballet School, Koresh, and Core Academy of Movement. She has danced a number of roles in The Nutcracker with a variety of dance companies including the American Repertory Ballet, The Donetsk Ballet, The Moscow Ballet, and En Pointe Dance Studio. She has also performed in Sleeping Beauty and Don Quixote with the Princeton Ballet School. In addition to her formal training, Victoria has had the pleasure of studying under Rachelle Rak, Kyra Nichols, Graham Lustig, Geoffrey Doig-Marx, Kathleen Moore, Andre Pirozzi, Jennifer Tinsley-Williams, and most recently, studied with the Rockettes in a summer intensive program, for which she received a scholarship. Miss Holloway has worked with CORE for two consecutive seasons as a substitute teacher and rehearsal director for our Xtensions companies and Youth Theatre workshops and is thrilled to be a part of the weekly schedule this fall. Chris Winkler Technical Stage Production, Music Compilation No stranger to the arts, Chris has been working behind the scenes in stage and screen productions for the past 15 years. He began his career by providing lighting, audio, and stage management services for a variety of high school and community theater performances. While in still in high school, he worked for the stage management and rental company Earl Girls, Inc. out of Egg Harbor City, NJ. Chris shifted gears in college to pursue work in television and multimedia production, earning a B.A. from Temple University and an M.A. from Syracuse University. He developed a passion for TV sports production, and has since worked for NFL Films, ESPN, Comcast SportsNet, and the Philadelphia Phillies in a variety of roles including camera operator, editor, and associate director. He is currently teaching TV production classes and working full time as the Television Production Coordinator at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ. Still, Chris is happy to return to his roots in live stage and fine arts performance, and 10th Annual CORE Academy Awards in 2014 marked his 9th show with CORE Academy.

lecture 10. The Milky Way s Interstellar Medium Birgitta Nordström, Copenhagen, & Gerhard Hensler, Vienna - Spencer Roberts - 2 years ago - Views: Transcription 1 IX. The Milky Way gas distribution lecture 10. The Milky Way s Interstellar Medium Birgitta Nordström, Copenhagen, & Gerhard Hensler, Vienna 1 2 1 2 1. HI Gas HI is observed by the 21cm hyperfine-structure line. Although the transient probability is almost zero, the large number of HI atoms sums up to a significant emission. 3 Disk thickness and radial extension z r In the stationary case, forces must be in equilibrium. dφ d M z hydrostatic equilib. Self - gravitational Force : FΦ = ρ( z ) = G ρ( z ) dz dz z Scaleheight H z dp k T dρ( z ) Vertical Pressure Force : Fp = = dz m µ dz H rotational equilib. Scalelengthα r Gravitational Force : Centrifugal Force : Mr FG = G m 2 r F 2 = ω r m c 4 2 3 Spiral Structure of HIH The Sun is assumed to sit somewhere in a disk. HI is not homogeneously distributed, but clumped into HI clouds. Under the assumption of isothermality the vertical extension of the clouds is determined by the vertical gravitational potential. The distance is derived from the apparent vertical height of the clouds. Location of the Sun at R GC 8.5 kpc Disk size: R MWG,HI 20 kpc 5 The vertical HI Distribution Dickey & Lockman 1990 Most of the HI gas is concentrated into the galactic plane: 6 scaleheight H z pc. 3 4 The HI seems to consist of almost 2 layers: a thin one (H z pc), a thick one (Lockman layer: H z 1 kpc) in transient to the HII distribution (Reynolds layer) 7 The thick HI Disk A thick HI layer was found by Lockman 1984 called Lockman Layer. Its scaleheight amounts to 500 pc. 8 4 5 The Lockman Layer extends over the whole Galactic disk and is even thicker in the innermost part. 9 The radial HI surface density distribution is almost constant between 3 R/kpc 15 a thin one (H z pc), a thick one (Lockman layer: H z 1 kpc) in transient to the HII distribution (Reynolds layer) 10 5 6 More detailed observations show that: 1. HI disk is very flat to the inner galaxy and extends vertically higher outside. 2. HI filaments and arcs exist above the galactic disk, caused by dynamical effects. 3. Flaring Disk! 11 2.The HI Rotating Disk v rot v obs With the determined distances of HI density enhancements. HI is not homogeneously distributed but clumped into HI clouds. Under the assumption of isothermality the vertical extension of the clouds is determined by the vertical gravitational potential. 12 6 7 13 3. HII Regions Churchwell 2002 The r,φ distribution of HII regions in the Milky Way unravels spiral arms in the solar vicinity. 14 7 8 4. The Galactic Rotation from HII Regions For a constant rotational velocity the innermost stars pass the Sun while they outermost remain behind. 0º 90º 180º 270º 360º In the solar rest frame the stars thus show a double sine wave in their radial velocities. 15 The double wave becomes also discernible (Georgelin & Georgelin 1982) for HII regions and can be traced much farther than stars. 16 8 9 Like molecular clouds (compact) HII regions are strongly concentrated to the equatorial plane. The rotation velocity distribution of HII regions can only be determined for the solar side of the Milky Way The Galactic Rotation Curve The slope of the rotation curve depends on the Galactocentric Distance (GCD) of the Sun. Present values fixed by the IAU: R GCD = R 0 = 8.5 kpc Θ 0 = 220 km/s 18 9 10 19 The Milky Way rotation curve has the following characteristics: Steep linear increase: v(r) r rigid rotation Maximum and drop followed by a constant (or slightly increasing) v(r) M(r)/r 2 v(r) 2 /r M(r) r, but not observed Dark Matter required 20 10 11 10.6. The diffuse Hα Layer In 1974 Reynolds & collab.s found that Hα is vertically more extended and more diffuse than expected from local HII regions: Reynolds Layer. (1974) 21 Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper WHAM surveys the ISM in the Hα line. Narrow emission lines allow to disentangle velocity structures due to the Doppler effect: v/c = λ/λ v>0: escaping v<0: approacing Results: Relative motions of ISM structures discernible 22 11 12 Emission lines of the Reynolds Layer differ from HII regions; e.g. lower [OIII]λ5007, vanishing [NI]λ5201, stronger [NII]λ6584 and [SII]λ6716. Derived temperature of T 9000 K; required energy ev, typical for the irradiation by massive stars. midplane el. density <ne > cm-3, scaleheight kpc. 23 Explanations for the Reynolds Layer : OB star radiation thru HI holes in the disk (Dove et al., 2000); ~10% LUV sufficient for ionization fraction, but emission line ratios differ ionization radiation from OB stars diffused through galactic chimneys (Miller & Cox, 1993); neutrino decay (Sciama, 1990); magnetic reconnection (Raymond 1992); turbulent mixing layer (Slavin et al., 1993); old SN remnants (Slavin 200); cooling superbubbles (Freyer & G.H., 2001): the cooling radiation of a T K hot superbubble can do it but electron temp. increases with z! 24 12 13 7. Molecular Gas φ,z distribution Dame et al Dame et al CO distribution reveals a very flat band (Hz 80 pc) within the innermost galactic region ( Molecular Ring ) with some fraying (mostly to the north: clouds in the solar vicinity), widens in the outermost MWG; Coincidence of CO structures with extinction features; 26 Total molecular mass derived from CO: MH M 13 14 The Molecular Ring In the Milky Way a Molecular Ring exists between 2-4 and 6-7 kpc. 27 Molecular Gas r,φ distribution Molecular Cloud distribution obtrudes an arm-like structure 15 CO velocity distribution Myers et al CO relative velocity Dame et al 16 31 Dame et al Characteristics of the CO velocity distribution (Doppler-shifted CO line at λ = 2.6 mm with respect to the Local Standard of Rest ): Individual arms, Long ranges of zero relative velocities, Inner molecular ring, An innermost expanding ring, 32 A fast rotating central disk. 16 17 8. Dust distribution The COBE NIR total dust distribution still includes the zodiacal light. If subtracted the Milky Way plane with fringes and arcs appears and extragalactic sources are visible. 33 Dark Clouds examples: Coalsack BHR 71 Barnard68 (A V 20 m ) Horsehead Nebula 34 17 18 Interstellar Extinction Extinction by dark clouds reduce stellar brightness mv by AV distance module must be corrected by AV : mv MV = 5 log d 5 + AV < AV> 1 m kpc -1 EB-V correlates better with column density of molecular gas than of pure atomic gas dust is combined with mol.clouds 50% of the IS metals are bound in dust! Savage & Mathis (1979) ARAA Cloud location determined by Wolf diagrams Neckel & Klare 1960 A V r 36 18 19 Applying Wolf s diagrams (see Part I) one can derive the distribution of dust concentrations in the solar vicinity. Neckel & Klare The non-thermal Radio Emission Radio observations of the Milky Way at 408 MHz (= 73 cm) represents the non-thermal hot interstellar gas. Characteristics visible: Distinct single sources and spots, Thin and thick inner disk, North-polar spur, Fringes and diffuse filaments, 38 Extragalactic sources 19 20 φ,z distribution Different sources of nonthermal radio emission can be identified. 39 Radio observations of the Milky Way at 408 MHz (= 73 cm) represents the non-thermal hot interstellar gas. It allows to see through the whole galaxy and to construct a 3-d distribution. The edge-on view is almost symmetrical and shows the thick disk structure 21 r,φ distribution The 408 MHz Radio structure of the Milky Way shows clear spiral structures Hot X-ray Gas red: soft ( kev): are easily absorbed by HI, i.e. emission locally or from layers above the galactic disk light blue: middle ( kev): structures of average distances 42 blue: hard ( kev): penetrates through the HI disk; bright spots 21 22 11. The Local Galactic Environment The Sun sits closely behind the Sagittarius arm. 43 The Local Cavity 2003 The determination of the interstellar Na D1 and D2 absorption features in stellar spectra allows to conclude about the neutral interstellar gas. In the solar vicinity: The Sun is sitting in a neutral gas 44 cavity of pc extension. 22 23 Equivalent widths contours of the NaI absorption unravels: (left) an hole devoided of HI in the galactic plane The Local Cavity (right) a cylinder almost perpendicular to the galactic plane (inclination: ~20º to NGP) The Local Chimney Lallement et al The Local Bubble The local cavity must be filled with another gas phase: hot gas = The Local Bubble The hot X-ray gas distribution can be derived from X-ray shadowing by cool clouds and from EUV absorption lines of highly ionized metals to near objects. density: ρ cm -3 temperature: T 10 6 K 46 23 24 Cloud Shadowing Technique Measure: On-cloud intensity Off-cloud intensity Cloud distance dl N(H) IX, off = If + I IX, cl = If + Ib exp{ κhi+ H 2 ds} I f = τ X dl I b dl b N HI+H2 cloud ds + dust XMM-Newton shadowing of B68 47 X-ray emission shows two facts: 1. a roundish bright hard X-ray distribut., 2. an extended shell: North Polar Spur Result: another X- ray bubble beyond the Local Bubble: Loop I Loop I 48 24 25 The hard-to-soft X-ray gas shows a neutral gas absorpt. sheet that detaches the Local Bubble from another soft X-ray bubble, Loop I 49 The Local Cloud Sun is embedded in gas that is denser and cooler than the Local Bubble and only partly ionized, the Local Cloud, also called Local Fluff : n e cm -3, T 6000 K 50 25 26 and the Local Bubble, a stellar ring Any conclusion about the origin of both features tends to: 1. Highly energetic event 2. Production of hot gas Most probable: Superbubble with triggered star formation (inclined to the galactic disk like W4) 55 Berghöfer & Breitschwerdt The Pleiades moving group B1 has an age of almost Myrs; 2. Its kinematics let B1 pass the local ISM within 100 pc (10-20 Myrs ago): ~ 20 supernova explosions! 56 26 27 The Motion of the Sun The Sun moves with respect to the Local Cloud (He 0 experiment) by: v =(26.3±0.4) km/s l ecl, =(74.5±0.5)º b ecl, =(-5.2±0.2)º 57 A gross Picture of the solar Environment 58 27 28 The Sun s proper Motion The Sun moves with respect to the Local Standard of Rest (LSR): with v 16.5 km/s in direction of l 53º, b 25º The Gaseous Halo Gas expands out of the Galactic disk. Questions: bound with fall-back? unbound? 60 28 29 Hot Halo Gas Hot gas exists in the Galactic halo. Observations: soft diffuse X-ray gas, shadowing of HI clouds, Rotation 61 Measure to NSs, absorption features to extragalactic sources, OVI in the Galactic halo; low density: n 0,OVI cm -3, large scaleheight: H z,ovi 5.5 kpc 30 Hot Galactic Halo Gas (OIV with FUSE), outflowing and infalling hot Complexes Galactic Chimneys and HI Shells > 600 pc D 6.5 kpc McClure-Griffiths et al. (2003) 64 30 31 HII-Region W4 Galactic HI W4 is a young massive stellar association; Stellar winds and explosions have produced a hot gas cavity within the HI that expands; The Superbubbles expands out of the 65 galactic HI disk Cumulative Stellar Winds + Explosions in stellar Associations lead to Superbubbles of hot Gas Superbubbles expand out of the gaseous disk and form hot gas halo 66 Schematic view of W4 31 32 Cometary clouds in W4 obtrude to be deformed by the evironmental hot gas outflow The Disk-Halo Connection Local Bubble Aquila Shell W4 Superbubbles expand out of the Galactic disk; they are visible in Xrays and by HI shells; by this, they transport hot gas into the halo 33 Probing the structure of chimneys in or Milky Way, absorption along different sight lines are utilized. Highly, intermediate, and low ionized gas, and neutral H coexist in the halo. 69 Chimneys are supported by the vertically opening of magnetic field. The synchroton radiation in the Radio range traces magnetic fields. 70 The outflow of hot gas is supported by the diffusion of Cosmic Rays. 33 34 15. The γ-ray Sky γ-ray brightness represents the direction of Cosmic Rays. Components: 1. diffuse γ-ray background 2. CRs confined to the galactic plane: flat central region discrete galactic sources (supernonae) + extragalactic sources 16. Cosmic Rays Discovered 1912 by Victor Hess (Nobel Prize 1936): Höhenstrahlung, ionsation in earth s atmosphere decreases up tp 1.5 km but increases again above upwards. Element abundances solar: 89% H, 10% He, 1% metals; but overabundant in Li, Be, B! High-energy charged particles: electrons, positrons, protons, and atoms nuclei: close to light speed, mainly originating from extra-solar sources, but also used for particles produced in energetic solar events, hitting the Earth from all directions, but entereing thru the magnetic field 35 ν GeV γ-rays Visible CMB Radio Flux Energy (ev) / / / / / / / TeV sources! / / cosmic / rays / / / / / / / MeV = p+ at 0.43 c 10 GeV = p+ at c Process of acceleration at highest energies is still unsolved. Highest energy CR measured to date >1020 ev (= Ekin of a baseball at 100 mph) CR energy distribut. of particles almost the same: knee at 1015eV, power law above. Cosmic Ray Energies total energy distribution of CR 74 35 36 Energy distributions of CR particles show almost same power law; Above ev ( knee ) steep decrease; N(>E=1GeV) = k(e + 1) -a, with a ~1.6, k ~ 5000 m -2 srd -2 sec -2. total energy distribution of CR 75 Galactic and Extragalactic Cosmic Rays -2.6 Knee New component with hard spectrum? Ankle 76 36 37 >>> energy in extra-galactic cosmic rays: ~ 3x10-19 erg/cm 3 or ~ erg/yr per (Mpc) 3 for years 3x10 39 erg/s per galaxy 3x10 44 erg/s per active galaxy 2x10 52 erg per gamma ray burst >>> energy in cosmic rays ~ equal to the energy in light! 77 1 TeV = 1.6 erg Origins of CRs Supernova explosions release high-energy particles and compress the surrounding ISM. Particles are accelerated by the shock-compressed magnetic fields. Radio emission of Cas A 78 37 38 Supernova Beam Dump RX J Gas Infall see sect.. XIV! HI clouds are detectable at high b in the Galactic halo 8.1 Radio Emission from Solar System objects 8.1 Radio Emission from Solar System objects 8.1.1 Moon and Terrestrial planets At visible wavelengths all the emission seen from these objects is due to light reflected from the sun. However at radio IV. Molecular Clouds. 1. Molecular Cloud Spectra IV. Molecular Clouds Dark structures in the ISM emit molecular lines. Dense gas cools, Metals combine to form molecules, Molecular clouds form. 1. Molecular Cloud Spectra 1 Molecular Lines emerge in absorption: Giant Molecular Clouds Giant Molecular Clouds Galactic Open Clusters Galactic Structure GMCs The Solar System and its Place in the Galaxy In Encyclopedia of the Solar System Heating & Cooling in Molecular Clouds Lecture 8: Cloud Stability Heating & Cooling in Molecular Clouds Balance of heating and cooling processes helps to set the temperature in the gas. This then sets the minimum internal pressure in a core 19 Star Formation Chapter 19 Star Formation 19.1 Star-Forming Regions Units of Chapter 19 Competition in Star Formation 19.2 The Formation of Stars Like the Sun 19.3 Stars of Other Masses 19.4 Observations of Cloud Fragments Class #14/15 14/16 October 2008 Class #14/15 14/16 October 2008 Thursday, Oct 23 in class You ll be given equations and constants Bring a calculator, paper Closed book/notes Topics Stellar evolution/hr-diagram/manipulate the IMF ISM Solar atmosphere. Solar activity and solar wind. Reading for this week: Chap. 6.2, 6.3, 6.5, 6.7 Homework #2 (posted on website) due Oct. Solar activity and solar wind Solar atmosphere Reading for this week: Chap. 6.2, 6.3, 6.5, 6.7 Homework #2 (posted on website) due Oct. 17 Photosphere - visible surface of sun. Only ~100 km thick. Features The Chemical Composition of a Molecular Cloud at the Outer Edge of the Galaxy Carnegie Observatories Astrophysics Series, Vol. 4: Origin and Evolution of the Elements, 2003 ed. A. McWilliam and M. Rauch (Pasadena: Carnegie Observatories,), Light as a Wave. The Nature of Light. EM Radiation Spectrum. EM Radiation Spectrum. Electromagnetic Radiation The Nature of Light Light and other forms of radiation carry information to us from distance astronomical objects Visible light is a subset of a huge spectrum of electromagnetic radiation Maxwell pioneered Science Standard 4 Earth in Space Grade Level Expectations Science Standard 4 Earth in Space Grade Level Expectations Science Standard 4 Earth in Space Our Solar System is a collection of gravitationally interacting bodies that include Earth and the Moon. Universal Ay 122 - Fall 2004 Electromagnetic Radiation And Its Interactions With Matter Ay 122 - Fall 2004 Electromagnetic Radiation And Its Interactions With Matter (This version has many of the figures missing, in order to keep the pdf file reasonably small) Radiation Processes: An Overview The Messier Objects As A Tool in Teaching Astronomy The Messier Objects As A Tool in Teaching Astronomy Dr. Jesus Rodrigo F. Torres President, Rizal Technological University Individual Member, International Astronomical Union Chairman, Department of Astronomy, WIMP dark matter and the isotropic radio signal Roberto A. Lineros R. Instituto de Física Corpuscular - CSIC/U. Valencia @Roberto_Lineros Outline Introduction Cosmic ray propagation Synchrotron emission! California Standards Grades 9 12 Boardworks 2009 Science Contents Standards Mapping California Standards Grades 912 Boardworks 2009 Science Contents Standards Mapping Earth Sciences Earth s Place in the Universe 1. Astronomy and planetary exploration reveal the solar system s structure, 8: Radiation Spectrum. Radiation. Electromagnetic Radiation Lecture 8: Radiation Spectrum The information contained in the light we receive is unaffected by distance The information remains intact so long as the light doesn t run into something along the way Since Populations and Components of the Milky Way Chapter 2 Populations and Components of the Milky Way Our perspective from within the Milky Way gives us an opportunity to study a disk galaxy in detail. At the same time, it s not always easy to relate A Universe of Galaxies A Universe of Galaxies Today s Lecture: Other Galaxies (Chapter 16, pages 366-397) Types of Galaxies Habitats of Galaxies Dark Matter Other Galaxies Originally called spiral nebulae because of their shape. The Sun and Solar Energy I The Sun and Solar Energy One of the most important forces behind global change on Earth is over 90 million miles distant from the planet. The Sun is the ultimate, original source of the energy that drives Interstellar Medium Astronomy 216 Spring 2005 The Interstellar Medium Astronomy 216 Spring 2005 Al Glassgold & James Graham University of California, Berkeley The Interstellar Medium/Media (ISM) What is the ISM? Just what it says: The stuff between, Name Class Date. true Exercises 131 The Falling Apple (page 233) 1 Describe the legend of Newton s discovery that gravity extends throughout the universe According to legend, Newton saw an apple fall from a tree and realized Universe. The Solar system, Stars and Galaxies The Universe The Universe is everything. All us, the room, the U.S. the earth, the solar system, all the other stars in the Milky way galaxy, all the other galaxies... everything. How big and how old, Lecture 6: distribution of stars in. elliptical galaxies Lecture 6: distribution of stars in topics: elliptical galaxies examples of elliptical galaxies different classes of ellipticals equation for distribution of light actual distributions and more complex The Origin of the Solar System and Other Planetary Systems The Origin of the Solar System and Other Planetary Systems Modeling Planet Formation Boundary Conditions Nebular Hypothesis Fixing Problems Role of Catastrophes Planets of Other Stars Modeling Planet Formation Electromagnetic Radiation (including visible light) An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes, which can be made in a narrow field. Neils Bohr Electromagnetic Radiation (including visible light) Behaves like a particle. light particles are called 1 A Solar System Is Born CHAPTER 3 1 A Solar System Is Born SECTION Formation of the Solar System BEFORE YOU READ After you read this section, you should be able to answer these questions: What is a nebula? How did our solar system Lecture 14. Introduction to the Sun Lecture 14 Introduction to the Sun ALMA discovers planets forming in a protoplanetary disc. Open Q: what physics do we learn about the Sun? 1. Energy - nuclear energy - magnetic energy 2. Radiation - continuum Lecture 19: Planet Formation I. Clues from the Solar System Lecture 19: Planet Formation I. Clues from the Solar System 1 Outline The Solar System:! Terrestrial planets! Jovian planets! Asteroid belt, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud Condensation and growth of solid bodies Milky Way & Hubble Law Milky Way & Hubble Law Astronomy 1 Elementary Astronomy LA Mission College Spring F2015 Quotes & Cartoon of the Day Happy Thanksgiving! Announcements 3rd midterm 12/3 I will drop the lowest midterm grade Astronomy & Physics Resources for Middle & High School Teachers Astronomy & Physics Resources for Middle & High School Teachers Gillian Wilson A cosmologist is.... an astronomer who studies the formation and evolution of the AS CHALLENGE PAPER 2014 AS CHALLENGE PAPER 2014 Name School Total Mark/50 Friday 14 th March Time Allowed: One hour Attempt as many questions as you can. Write your answers on this question paper. Marks allocated for each question Chapter 5 Light and Matter: Reading Messages from the Cosmos Chapter 5 Light and Matter: Reading Messages from the Cosmos Messages Interactions of Light and Matter The interactions determine everything we see, including what we observe in the Universe. What is light? First Discoveries. Asteroids First Discoveries The Sloan Digital Sky Survey began operating on June 8, 1998. Since that time, SDSS scientists have been hard at work analyzing data and drawing conclusions. This page describes seven, The Early Universe. Lecture 27-1 The Early Universe Lecture 27-1 Back to the Big Bang The total energy of the universe consists of both radiation and matter. As the Universe cooled, it went from being radiation dominated to being matter Introduction to the Solar System Introduction to the Solar System Lesson Objectives Describe some early ideas about our solar system. Name the planets, and describe their motion around the Sun. Explain how the solar system formed. Introduction CSSAR Space Science Cooperation CSSAR Space Science Cooperation WANG Shuzhi Center for Space Science and Applied Research Chinese Academy of Science(CSSAR) Table of Contents Brief History of CSSAR International Cooperation CAS Strategic Evolution of Close Binary Systems Evolution of Close Binary Systems Before going on to the evolution of massive stars and supernovae II, we ll think about the evolution of close binary systems. There are many multiple star systems in, Lecture 19 Big Bang Cosmology The Nature of the Physical World Lecture 19 Big Bang Cosmology Arán García-Bellido 1 News Exam 2: you can do better! Presentations April 14: Great Physicist life, Controlled fusion April 19: Nuclear power, L3: The formation of the Solar System credit: NASA L3: The formation of the Solar System UCL Certificate of astronomy Dr. Ingo Waldmann A stable home The presence of life forms elsewhere in the Universe requires a stable environment where Solar System Chapter 6 Atmospheric Aerosol and Cloud Processes Spring 2015 Cloud Physics Initiation and development of cloud droplets Special interest: Explain how droplet formation results in rain in approximately, SCIENCE 101 DISTANCES IN ASTRONOMY LECTURE NOTES SCIENCE 0 DISTANCES IN ASTRONOMY LECTURE NOTES Distances in the Solar System Distance to Venus can be obtained using radar ranging Send signal, determine how long it takes to return Radio waves move at

LETTER Diversity decreases invasion via both sampling and complementarity effects - Isaac Montgomery - 2 years ago - Views: Transcription 1 Ecology Letters, (25) 8: doi: /j x LETTER Diversity decreases invasion via both sampling and complementarity effects Joseph E. Fargione* and David Tilman Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN 5518, USA *Correspondence and present address: Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA Abstract Complementarity and sampling effects may both contribute to increased invasion resistance at higher diversity. We measured plant invader biomass across a long-term experimental plant diversity gradient. Invader speciesõ biomass was inhibited in more diverse plots, largely because of the presence of strongly competitive C 4 bunchgrasses, consistent with a sampling effect. Invader biomass was negatively correlated with resident root biomass, and positively correlated with soil nitrate concentrations, suggesting that competition for nitrogen limited invader success. Resident root biomass increased and soil nitrate concentrations decreased with the presence of C 4 grasses and also across the diversity gradient, suggesting that diverse plots are more competitive because of the presence of C 4 grasses. In addition to this evidence for a sampling effect, we also found evidence for a complementarity effect. Specifically, the percentage of plots that had lower invader biomass than did the best resident monoculture (i.e. that had invader ÔunderyieldingÕ) increased across the species richness gradient. This pattern cannot be explained by a sampling effect and is a unique signature of complementarity effects. Our results demonstrate the importance of multiple mechanisms by which diversity can increase invasion resistance. Keywords Biodiversity, C 4 grass, complementarity, invasion, nitrogen, sampling effect, species diversity, underyielding. Ecology Letters (25) 8: INTRODUCTION What determines the success or failure of an invading species? The properties that make communities resistant to invasions are relevant both for management (D Antonio & Vitousek 1992; OTA 1993; Wilcove et al. 1998; Pimentel et al. 2) and for understanding community assembly and structure (e.g. Fargione et al. 23). Biodiversity is one feature of communities that has long been hypothesized to reduce invasions (Elton 1958; Levine & D Antonio 1999). Invader success has been shown to decrease across diversity gradients in studies where diversity has been experimentally manipulated (Knops et al. 1999; Stachowicz et al. 1999; Levine 2; Naeem et al. 2; Symstad 2; Dukes 21; Hector et al. 21; Lyons & Schwartz 21; Kennedy et al. 22; Fargione et al. 23; van Ruijven et al. 23; see Levine et al. 24 for a meta-analysis). Negative effects of native diversity on invading species have also been shown in natural communities at small scales but not at larger scales (Stohlgren et al. 1999), perhaps because factors promoting native diversity also promote invasions (Levine 2) or because more diverse regions have greater anthropogenic disturbance (Taylor & Irwin 24). The invasion resistance effect has been attributed to the ability of diverse communities to occupy more space, generate more biomass, and use more resources (e.g. Stachowicz et al. 1999; Tilman 1999; Tilman et al. 21; Kennedy et al. 22; Levine et al. 23). Such effects could be due to both the increased probability of presence of highly competitive species at high diversity (the Ôsampling effectõ; Huston 1997; Tilman et al. 1997) and to complementary resource use among species (Loreau 2; Loreau & Hector 21). Complementarity could have numerous causes. For example, complementarity can result if species have tradeoffs in their efficiency of using different resources, tradeoffs in colonization and competitive abilities, or tradeoffs in their success under different environmental conditions. One form of complementarity 2 Diversity causes invader underyielding 65 often hypothesized to contribute to diversity effects in plant communities are differences among species in both the timing and the depth of resource uptake (e.g. McKane et al. 199). Because diverse plots are more likely to contain species that acquire resources at different times and from different depths, they may exhibit more complete resource capture, leaving less resource left over for invaders. In addition, complementary species may confer competitive resistance to a community if resident species compete more strongly with invader species that have the same spatial and temporal uptake patterns. Thus, both sampling and complementarity effects occur because of the increased probability of species being present at high diversity, the sampling effect because of the presence of strong competitors, and the complementarity effect because of the presence of combinations of complementary species (e.g. strong competitors under different conditions). Both of these effects can be in operation simultaneously. Although it is difficult to separate these effects, they each have their own signatures. The sampling hypothesis predicts that invader biomass is reduced primarily by the presence of one or a few highly competitive species. In our system, nitrogen (N) is the primary limiting resource. Highly competitive species may reduce invader biomass by increasing root biomass and decreasing soil nitrate concentrations, an index of the efficiency of exploitative plant competition. Complementarity predicts that diverse plots can inhibit invaders more than any monoculture plot can inhibit invaders (Loreau 1998; Stachowicz et al. 22). Otherwise stated, diverse plots may ÔunderyieldÕ in terms of invader biomass, just as diverse plots have been shown to ÔoveryieldÕ in terms of the biomass of the resident community (e.g. Tilman et al. 21). Greater understanding of the mechanisms of biodiversity effects are needed to inform management and conservation decisions affecting biodiversity in natural and designed systems (Hooper et al. 25). Here we report the results from 3 years of natural invasion into a 6-year-old biodiversity experiment. We present analyses to detect sampling and complementarity effects, and to test competition for N as a mechanism behind these effects. MATERIALS AND METHODS A long-term biodiversity experiment (Tilman et al. 21) was established in 1994, consisting of m experimental plots planted with 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 randomly selected prairie-savannah species from a pool of 18 possible species. These plots were weeded to maintain the planted species composition. Plots were weeded three or four times a year in an effort to remove individual invaders when they were small so as to minimize differences in the amount of biomass removed between plots differing in susceptibility to weed invasion. In 22, we measured resident root biomass in these weeded plots in 8 5-cm diameter by 2-cm deep cores. In 2, weeded plots were shrunk to 9 9 m plus an unweeded 1 9 m strip along one edge of the plots where invaders were allowed to colonize. In 22, a 6.1 m strip of the aboveground plant biomass in these invasion plots was harvested, sorted to species, dried and weighed. Also in the invasion plots, on 7 August 22 1-g subsamples from four pooled 2-cm diameter cores were extracted for nitrate using.1 M KCl (a weak extractant that still fully extracts nitrate) shaken for 3 min, and allowed to settle overnight at 4 C. The supernatant was removed the following day, and was frozen until analysed for nitrate on an Alpkem analyzer (Pulse Instruments Ltd, Saskatoon, Canada). In 21, in the weeded portion of the plots, soil nitrate concentrations at the depths of 1 and 1 2 cm were similarly measured 1 times throughout the growing season on four pooled 2-cm diameter cores in each plot. We present analyses based on two types of invader species: Ônon-experimental invadersõ and Ôall invadersõ. Nonexperimental invaders include only those species not planted anywhere in the full biodiversity experiment. ÔAll invadersõ is defined for each plot to include all species not planted in that plot. When species that were planted somewhere in the experiment invade a plot in which they were not planted, they are considered invaders by the Ôall invadersõ criterion, but not the Ônon-experimental invadersõ criterion. Thus, using the Ôall invadersõ criterion, some species are considered residents in some plots and invaders in other plots, depending upon which species were planted in a given plot. Patterns detected using this approach could be confounded because individuals that invade a plot in which that species is a planted resident are considered residents rather than invaders. Using the non-experimental invaders criterion avoids this problem. Although we recognize the limitations of interpretation with the Ôall invadersõ approach, for completeness and comparison we present results for both measures of invader success. Invader biomass and invader species number values, for both all invaders and non-experimental invaders, were all greater than zero. These values were log transformed to improve normality for statistical analyses, performed with JMP version 4..4 (SAS Institute Inc. 21). RESULTS Sixty-two species of non-experimental invaders and all 21 experimental species occurred as invaders in our experiment (see Appendix S1). Both the biomass and the number of species of invaders decreased significantly across the gradient of resident species number (Fig. 1). Comparing 1 and 16 species plots, invader species number decreased by 3 66 J. E. Fargione and D. Tilman 1 1 Invader species number Invader biomass g m All invaders P <.1 r 2 =.38 Log 1 (y) = x Log.1 1 (y) = x Treatment species number P <.1 r 2 =.42 Log 1 (y) = Log 1 (x) Invader biomass g m 2 Invader species number Non-experimental species only P <.1 r 2 = Treatment species number P <.1 r 2 =.31 Log 1 (y) = 1..33Log 1 (x) Treatment species number Treatment species number Figure 1 Invader success vs. species number. Invader biomass and number decreased with increasing resident species richness for both nonexperimental and all invaders. 76% and 68% for non-experimental and all invaders, respectively. Invader biomass decreased by 81% and 92% for non-experimental and all invaders, respectively. When the biomass of resident species was included as a predictor, resident species number was still a highly significant predictor of invader biomass (for non-experimental invaders P ¼.2 and P ¼.1836 for resident species number and resident biomass, respectively; for all invaders P <.1 and P ¼.873 resident species number and resident biomass respectively). Resident species number also still significantly predicted invader species number when resident biomass was included in the model (for nonexperimental invaders P <.1 and P <.49 for resident species number and resident biomass, respectively; for all invaders P <.1 and P ¼.37 resident species number and resident biomass respectively). Species number affected resident root biomass and soil nitrate, indicators of the strength of competition experienced by invaders. Resident root biomass increased with increasing species number (r 2 ¼.31, P <.1). We measured soil nitrate at 1 cm and at 1 2 cm 1 times throughout the growing season in 21 (Fig. 2). Species number had significant negative effects on soil nitrate at one or both depths for the first five sampling dates, 29th May to 24th July. Species number had significant positive effects on soil nitrate at one or both depths for the last two sampling dates, 17 September and 15 October. This pattern suggests that soil nitrate pools are responding to greater uptake of N at higher species richness during the beginning and middle of the growing season, and greater decomposition and N supply at higher species richness after plant uptake has ceased for the season. Temporal trends were similar for both depths, but the shallow depths had more extreme values, both negative and positive. Thus, the magnitude of the diversity effect on soil nitrate was greater at this shallower depth. In total, species number affects soil nitrate across multiple times and depths, with negative effects during the part of the growing season in which plant uptake occurs. Variation in soil nitrate and resident root biomass explained the majority of variation in invader biomass (Fig. 3). In the monoculture plots, where effects of individual resident species could be isolated, the average soil nitrate concentration and average invader biomass were well-correlated (Fig. 3). When all plots were considered, 4 Diversity causes invader underyielding 67 Figure 2 Soil nitrate concentrations over time. Data are from weeded plots in 21. Change in soil nitrate mg kg 1 with each additional species May 29 June 11 June 25 July 9 July 24 Aug 7 Aug 2 Aug 3 Sep 17 1 cm 1 2 cm Filled symbols indicate P <.5 significant difference from zero Oct 15 Invader biomass in treatment species monocultures (g m 2 ) 3 25 Am All invaders 2 Pp Ac AsMS Pp 15 At Lc Pv 1 Kc Qm Qe y = 246(1 e 11.8x ) 5 Sn r Ec 2 =.55 La P =.4 Ag Ss Soil nitrate in treatment species monocultures (mg kg dry soil 1 ) Lp Invader biomass in treatment species monocultures (g m 2 ) y = 174(1 e 4.28x ) r 2 =.38 P =.68 Ec Ag Non-experimental species only MS At Qe Lc Pp Am Qm As Kc La Sn Pv Ss Soil nitrate in treatment species monocultures (mg kg dry soil 1 ) Pp Ac Lp 4 Log 1 (y) = x 25 Log 1 (y) = x Invader biomass r 2 =.38 P =.1 C4 grasses + C4 grasses Invader biomass r 2 =.38 P =.1 C4 grasses + C4 grasses Root biomass (g m 2 ) Root biomass (g m 2 ) Figure 3 Invader success is correlated with soil nitrate concentrations and root biomass. Soil nitrate concentrations explained most of the variation in invader biomass among monocultures of different species. Averages across monocultures are used for both invader biomass and soil nitrate, both of which were measured in the invasion strips. Root biomass, which was highly correlated with the presence of C 4 grasses, was the best predictor of invader biomass across all 168 plots. Root biomass was measured in the adjacent unweeded plots. The regression results are for log (invader biomass) regressed on root biomass. Analyses including C 4 grasses are reported in the text. resident root biomass was a better predictor of invader biomass than was soil nitrate (for soil nitrate as a predictor, P ¼.2 and P ¼.34, r 2 ¼.8 and.5 for nonexperimental and all invaders respectively; for root biomass as a predictor P <.1 and r 2 ¼.38 for both nonexperimental and all invaders, see Fig. 3). 5 68 J. E. Fargione and D. Tilman Responses Log biomass all invaders Log biomass non-experimental invaders Predictors Effect F P Effect F P Table 1 Multiple regression of invader biomass (all and non-experimental) on the presence of functional groups, the number of C4 species, and the total number of species C 3 presence/absence ) ) C 4 presence/absence ) <.1 ) <.1 Forb presence/absence ) ) Legume presence/absence ) Overall r Overall P <.1 <.1 The C 4 grasses strongly inhibited invaders, and their effects largely explain the patterns observed with soil nitrate and root biomass. Although initially planted in relatively equal amounts, by the end of our experiment resident functional groups in the invasion strips had markedly different abundances, with C 4 grasses comprising 5% of the total resident biomass, legumes 35%, forbs 16% and C 3 grasses only 3%. Comparing average functional group traits measured in the monoculture plots, C 4 grasses had the lowest soil nitrate values and were less invaded than the other functional groups. C 4 grasses also had high-root biomass, and the presence of C 4 grasses strongly increased the root biomass of resident communities (Fig. 3). The presence of C 4 grasses explained 54% of the variation in root biomass. It is difficult to separate whether increased root biomass is the mechanism by which C 4 grasses competitively inhibited invaders, or whether root biomass is significant only because it is well-correlated with the presence of C 4 grasses. When both factors are included in a model, they are both significant (for non-experimental invaders P ¼.428 and P <.1 for root biomass and C 4 presence, respectively; for all invaders P ¼.11 and P <.1 for root biomass and C 4 presence respectively). This suggests both that the increased root biomass is a mechanism inhibiting invaders and that the C 4 grasses have inhibitory effects on invaders in addition to those mediated through increased root biomass. The strong effects of C 4 grasses are also shown in Table 1. The presence of C 4 grasses strongly inhibited both non-experimental and all invaders. There were additional effects of C 3 grasses on both non-experimental and all invaders, and of forbs on all invaders. The majority of the effect of species number on invader biomass was likely because of the presence of C 4 grasses. Regressions of loginvader biomass on the number of C 4 grass species explained more variation (r 2 ¼.51 and.31 for nonexperimental and all invaders respectively) than did species number (r 2 ¼.38 and.18 for non-experimental and all invaders respectively). Although the number of resident C 4 grass species and resident species number are collinear variables, when both are included as predictors of loginvader biomass, the number of C 4 grass species was significantly negatively correlated with invader biomass Percent of plots with all invader biomass lower than invader biomassin S. scoparium monoculture plots Percent of plots with non-exp invader biomass lower than non-exp invader biomass in S. scoparium monoculture plots Species number r 2 =.96 Logistic P.1 1 r 2 =.62 Logistic P = Species number Figure 4 The percentage of plots with invader biomass lower than the average biomass in Schizachyrium scoparium plots increased with species number. Schizachyrium scoparium was the species most resistant to invasion. The y-axis reports the percentage of plots with invader biomass >2.45 or 3.84 g m )2, for all invaders and non-experimental invaders respectively. 6 Diversity causes invader underyielding 69 while resident species number was not significantly correlated with invader biomass (data not shown). Although these results suggest a sampling effect, might complementary interactions among established species also inhibit invasion? The species with the lowest invader biomass in monoculture was Schizachyrium scoparium. We used the average invader biomass from the monocultures of S. scoparium as a cutoff, and calculated for each diversity treatment the percentage of plots that had invader biomasses that were below this cutoff (Fig. 4). This analysis addresses the question: Ôdo diverse plots tend to resist invaders more than does the most resistant species in monoculture?õ We found that, as diversity increased, there was a highly significant increase in the percentage of plots that had lower invader biomass (i.e. that had underyielding invaders) than did average S. scoparium monocultures (Fig. 4). In the most diverse plots, 43 and 91% of the plots had lower invader biomass than did the average S. scoparium monoculture, for non-experimental and all invaders respectively. In combination with earlier results, this result suggests that both interspecific complementarity and sampling contribute to the greater inhibition of invaders observed in higher diversity plots in this experiment. DISCUSSION Our results are consistent with previous invasion experiments, which have shown negative effects of resident species number on invasion (Knops et al. 1999; Stachowicz et al. 1999; Levine 2; Naeem et al. 2; Hector et al. 21; Lyons & Schwartz 21; Kennedy et al. 22; Fargione et al. 23; van Ruijven et al. 23; but see Crawley et al. 1999; Dukes 21), positive effects of legumes on invaders (Prieur-Richard et al. 22), and strong negative effects of a subset of resident species (e.g. Crawley et al. 1999; Symstad 2; Fargione et al. 23; Xu et al. 24). Here, we show that the strong negative effect of C 4 grasses on invader biomass is associated with specific functional traits (Diaz & Cabido 21): high-root biomass and low soil nitrate concentrations. Both root biomass and soil nitrate are measures of the efficiency of exploitative competition for N, suggesting that a community s ability to efficiently consume N leads to invasion resistance. In support of this interpretation that competition for N is the mechanism inhibiting invasion at high diversity, we found that diversity reduced soil nitrate at multiple depths during the early and middle part of the growing season when plant N uptake occurs (Fig. 2). Diverse plots had lower soil nitrate concentrations during the early and middle part of the growing season in spite of diverse plots in this experiment having higher mineralization rates (Zak et al. 23). Our results are consistent with this previously observed positive effect of diversity on N mineralization; diversity had a positive effect on soil nitrate pools during the latter part of the growing season, when belowground plant senescence and decomposition may be contributing to N mineralization rates. Thus, the shifting effect of diversity on soil nitrate concentrations during the growing season (from negative to positive) appears to be caused by high uptake in diverse plots during the early and mid-season leading to lower nitrate concentrations, followed by high mineralization rates in diverse plots during the late season leading to higher soil nitrate concentrations. Although data were not collected on individual plants, both personal observation and the fact that invaders were reduced both in biomass and in number of invader species suggests that high diversity limited both invader size and number. However, invaders commonly set seed, suggesting that invaders were establishing viable populations, rather than persisting solely because of propagule pressure from outside the plot. Reduced invader size suggests reduced invader growth rates, whereas reduced invader numbers could be caused either by decreased establishment or increased mortality. Competitive effects could operate to decrease growth rates, decrease establishment, and/or increase mortality; further research is necessary to reveal the life history stages at which biodiversity effects on invaders occur. The strong negative effect of the presence of C 4 grasses (Table 1) is evidence for a strong sampling effect that contributes to invasion resistance in diverse communities. In addition, we detected a clear signature of complementarity, the underyielding of invader biomass. Such underyielding occurs when diverse plots resist invaders more successfully than the best species in monoculture. In our experiment this was S. scoparium, and the percentage plots with lower invader biomass than the average S. scoparium monocultures increased with diversity (Fig. 4). A similar result has also been found in a sessile epibenthic invertebrate community (see Fig. 3 in Stachowicz et al. 22). This provides clear evidence for underyielding by invaders, demonstrating that the presence of additional species increases the ability of communities to resist invaders beyond what can be achieved even by the strongest competitor alone. The evidence presented in this study for complementarity as a mechanism of diversity effects inhibiting invasion is consistent with previous studies documenting complementarity as a mechanism for biodiversity effects on productivity (Loreau & Hector 21; Tilman et al. 21; Spehn et al. 25) and with studies discussing different forms of complementarity (e.g. Tilman et al. 1997; Loreau 1998; Loreau et al. 21; Kinzig et al. 22; Scherer-Lorenzen et al. 23). We hypothesize that complementarity contributes to invasion resistance by diversity in our experiment for reasons that are generally applicable in other systems. Specifically, that resident species compete more strongly 7 61 J. E. Fargione and D. Tilman with species of invaders more similar to themselves (Fargione et al. 23; Xu et al. 24) and that differences amongst resident species in phenology and rooting depth lead to more complete uptake of N and stronger competition with invaders (Fargione 24). In total, our results demonstrate the importance of multiple mechanisms by which diversity can increase invasion resistance. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank Sarah Hobbie, Claudia Neuhauser, Dennis Cook, Gary Oehlert, Keri Holland and two anonymous referees for helpful comments and Troy Mielke and many Cedar Creek interns for field help. Funding for the project was provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF/DEB 8382 and NSF/DEB ) and the Andrew Mellon Foundation, and funding for JEF was provided by the University of Minnesota Graduate School. SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL The following material is available from blackwellpublishing.com/products/journals/suppmat/ele/ ELE753/ELE753sm.htm Appendix S1 Table of invader speciesõ abundances and functional groups. REFERENCES Crawley, M.J., Brown, S.L., Heard, M.S. & Edwards, G.R. (1999). Invasion-resistance in experimental grassland communities: species richness or species identity? Ecol. Lett., 2, D Antonio, C.M. & Vitousek, P.M. (1992). Biological invasions by exotic grasses, the grass/fire cycle, and global change. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst., 23, Diaz, S. & Cabido, M. (21). Vive la difference: plant functional diversity matters to ecosystem functioning. Trends Ecol. Evol., 16, Dukes, J.S. (21). Biodiversity and invasibility in grassland microcosms. Oecologia, 126, Elton, C.S. (1958). The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants. Methuen & Co Ltd, London, UK. Fargione, J.E. (24). Biodiversity and community structure: the consequences of resource competition in space and time. Dissertation, University of Minnesota, MN, USA. Fargione, J., Brown, C. & Tilman, D. (23). Community assembly and invasion: an experimental test of neutral vs. niche processes. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 1, Hector, A., Dobson, K., Minns, A., Bazeley-White, E. & Lawton, J.H. (21). Community diversity and invasion resistance: an experimental test in a grassland ecosystem and a review of comparable studies. Ecol. Res., 16, Hooper, D.U., Chapin F.S. III, Ewel, J.J., Hector, A., Inchausti, P., Lavorel, S. et al. (25). Effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning: a consensus of current knowledge and needs for future research. Ecol. Monogr., 75, Huston, M.A. (1997). Hidden treatments in ecological experiments: re-evaluating the ecosystem function of biodiversity. Oecologia, 18, Kennedy, T.A., Naeem, S., Howe Katherine, M., Knops Johannes, M.H., Tilman, D. & Reich, P.B. (22). Biodiversity as a barrier to ecological invasion. Nature, 417, Kinzig, A., Pacala, S. & Tillman, D. (22). The Functional Consequences of Biodiversity. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. Knops, J.M.H., Tilman, D., Haddad, N.M., Naeem, S., Mitchell, C.E., Haarstad, J. et al. (1999). Effects of plant species richness on invasions dynamics, disease outbreaks, insect abundances, and diversity. Ecol. Lett., 2, Levine, J.M. (2). Species diversity and biological invasions: relating local process to community pattern. Science, 288, Levine, J.M. & D Antonio, C. (1999). Elton revisited: a review of evidence linking diversity and invasibility. Oikos, 87, Levine, J.M., Vila, M., D Antonio, C., Dukes, J.S., Grigulis, K. & Lavorel, S. (23). Mechanisms underlying the impact of exotic plant invasions. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc., 27, Levine, J.M., Adler, P.H. & Yelenik, S.G. (24). A meta-analysis of biotic resistance to exotic plant invasions. Ecol. Lett., 7, Loreau, M. (1998). Biodiversity and ecosystem function: a mechanistic model. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 95, Loreau, M. (2). Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: recent theoretical advances. Oikos, 91, Loreau, M. & Hector, A. (21). Partitioning selection and complementarity in biodiversity experiments. Science, 412, Loreau, M., Naeem, S., Inchausti, P., Bengtsson, J., Grime, J.P., Hector, A. (21). Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: current knowledge and future challenges. Science, 294, Lyons, K.G. & Schwartz, M.W. (21). Rare species loss alters ecosystem function invasion resistance. Ecol. Lett., 4, McKane, R.B., Grigal, D.F. & Russelle, M.P. (199). Spatiotemporal differences in 15 N uptake and the organization of an old-field plant community. Ecology, 71, Naeem, S., Knops Johannes, M.H., Tilman, D., Howe Katherine, M., Kennedy, T. & Gale, S. (2). Plant diversity increases resistance to invasion in the absence of covarying extrinsic factors. Oikos, 91, Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) (1993). Harmful Nonindigenous Species in the United States. OTA-F-565. US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. Pimentel, D., Lach, L., Zuniga, R. & Morrison, D. (2). Environmental and economic costs of nonindigenous species in the United States. Bioscience, 5, Prieur-Richard, A.H., Lavorel, S., Dos Santos, A. & Grigulis, K. (22). Mechanisms of resistance of Mediterranean annual communities to invasion by Conyza bonariensis: effects of native functional composition. Oikos, 99, van Ruijven, J., De Deyn, G.B. & Berendse, F. (23). Diversity reduces invasibility in experimental plant communities: the role of plant species. Ecol. Lett., 6, SAS Institute Inc. (21). JMP SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA. Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Palmborg, C., Prinz, A. & Schulze, E.D. (23). The role of plant diversity and composition for nitrate leaching in grasslands. Ecology, 84, 8 Diversity causes invader underyielding 611 Spehn, E.M., Hector, A., Joshi, J., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Bazeley- White, E., Caldeira, M.C. et al. (25). Ecosystem effects of biodiversity manipulations in European grasslands. Ecol. Mono., 75, Stachowicz, J.J., Witlatch, R.B. & Osman, R.W. (1999). Species diversity and invasion resistance in a marine ecosystem. Science, 286, Stachowicz, J.J., Fried, H., Osman, R.W. & Whitlatch, R.B. (22). Biodiversity, invasion resistance, and marine ecosystem function: reconciling pattern and process. Ecology, 83, Stohlgren, T.J., Binkley, D., Chong, G.W., Kalkhan, M.A., Schell, L.D., Bull, K.A. et al. (1999). Exotic plant species invade hot spots of native plant diversity. Ecol. Monogr., 69, Symstad, A.J. (2). A test of the effects of functional group richness and composition on grassland invasibility. Ecology, 81, Taylor, B.W. & Irwin, R.E. (24). Linking economic activities to the distribution of exotic plants. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 11, Tilman, D. (1999). The ecological consequences of changes in biodiversity: a search for general principles. Ecology, 8, Tilman, D., Lehman, C. & Thomson, K.T. (1997). Plant diversity and ecosystem productivity: theoretical considerations. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 94, Tilman, D., Reich, P.B., Knops, J., Wedin, D., Mielke, T. & Lehman, C. (21). Diversity and productivity in a long-term grassland experiment. Science, 294, Wilcove, D.S., Rothstein, D., Dubow, J., Phillips, A. & Losos, E. (1998). Quantifying threats to imperiled species in the United States. Bioscience, 48, Xu, K.Y., Ye, W.H., Cao, H.L., Deng, X., Yang, Q.H. & Zhang, Y. (24). The role of diversity and functional traits of species in community invasibility. Bot. Bull. Acad. Sin., 45, Zak, D.R., Holmes, W.E., White, D.C., Peacock, A.D. & Tilman, D. (23). Plant diversity, soil microbial communities and ecosystem function: are there any links? Ecology, 84, Editor, Marcel Rejmanek Manuscript received 12 January 25 First decision made 2 February 25 Manuscript accepted 28 February 25 The relationship between biodiversity REVIEW: ECOLOGY S CIENCE S C OMPASS REVIEW Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning: Current Knowledge and Future Challenges M. Loreau, 1 * S. Naeem, 2 P. Inchausti, 1 J. Bengtsson, 3 J. P. Grime, 4 A. Hector,. Biodiversity,, The relationship between forest biodiversity, ecosystem resilience, and carbon storage The relationship between forest biodiversity, ecosystem resilience, and carbon storage Ian Thompson, Canadian Forest Service Brendan Mackey, Australian National University Alex Mosseler, Canadian Forest III. THE MICROBIAL BIOMASS III. THE MICROBIAL BIOMASS Required Readings: Ley, R.E., D.A. Lipson and S.K. Schmidt. 2001. Microbial biomass levels in barren and vegetated high altitude talus soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 65:111 117. Issues in Ecology. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning: Maintaining Natural Life Support Processes Issues in Ecology Published by the Ecological Society of America Number 4, Fall 1999 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning: Maintaining Natural Life Support Processes Biodiversity and Ecosystem Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 569 Dabney Hall, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA Functional Ecology 2011 doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2011.01857.x Biotic and abiotic influences on native and exotic richness relationship across spatial scales: favourable environments for native species Disturbances & Succession in a Restoration Context Objectives: How can the foundations of and theory in community ecology restoration ecology ecological restoration? Disturbances and Succession Key concepts to understanding and restoring ecological systems». Introduction. Abstract The importance of rare species: a trait-based assessment of rare species contributions to functional diversity and possible ecosystem function in tall-grass prairies Meha Jain 1, Dan F.B. Flynn 1,2, Case BENEFITS OF USING IPM Edward J. Bechinski and William H. Bohl Potato growers who use IPM consider all available pest control tools. Alternatives to conventional pesticides are the foundation of every IPM plan. Pesticides play Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Arguments for our Future Environment Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Arguments for our Future Environment How have we advanced our understanding of the links between biodiversity, ecosystem functions and ecosystem services? The issue Species Richness: Small Scale Species Richness: Small Scale Rebecca L Brown, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, Washington, USA Lee Anne Jacobs, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA Robert K Peet, University REPORT The power of time: spatiotemporal scaling of species diversity Ecology Letters, (2003) 6: 749 756 doi: 10.1046/j.1461-0248.2003.00497.x REPORT The power of time: spatiotemporal scaling of species diversity Peter B. Adler 1 * and William K. Lauenroth 1,2 1 Graduate SUSTAINABILITY OF WOODY BIOMASS PRODUCTION SUSTAINABILITY OF WOODY BIOMASS PRODUCTION Potential Environmental Benefits and Concerns Robert Bilby, Ph D. Chief Environmental Scientist Weyerhaeuser Company WEYERHAEUSER: FOREST PRODUCTS LEADERSHIP Population Density as an Equalizing (or Misbalancing) Mechanism for Species Population Density as an Equalizing (or Misbalancing) Mechanism for Species Coexistence Rafael D. Guariento 1 * * Corresponding author: E-mail address: [email protected] (Rafael Dettogni Guariento) Key Words Forest Ecosystem, Carbon Dynamics, Boreal Forests, Tropical Forests, Plots Network 1 - i Global Environment Research Account for National Institutes Advancement of East Asia Forest Dynamics Plots Network -Monitoring forest carbon cycling for the development of climate change adaptation-(abstract Introduction to protection goals, ecosystem services and roles of risk management and risk assessment. Lorraine Maltby Introduction to protection goals, ecosystem services and roles of risk management and risk assessment. Lorraine Maltby Problem formulation Risk assessment Risk management Robust and efficient environmental The roles of people in conservation Oxford Scholarship Online You are looking at 1-10 of 23 items for: fulltext : climate change science research context history systems findings biocon bioeco The roles of people in conservation C. Anne Forest Restoration Ecology Forest Restoration Ecology Objectives: Definitions, terminology & introductory material Restoration Ecology within the Ecological Hierarchy Succession & Disturbances Invasive Species Future of forest restoration CRP Mid-Contract Management Option: Integrated Wildlife Management (645) CRP Mid-Contract Management Option: Integrated Wildlife Management (645) Conservation Practice Job Sheet ID - CRP, JS-20 Revised August 2013 The purpose of mid-contract management activities is to enhance PRESCRIBED GRAZING NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE CONSERVATION PRACTICE STANDARD. (Acre) Code 528 NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE CONSERVATION PRACTICE STANDARD PRESCRIBED GRAZING (Acre) Code 528 DEFINITION Managing the harvest of vegetation with grazing and/or browsing animals. PURPOSE Improve Global Ecology and Wildlife Conservation Vaughan Centre for Lifelong Learning Part-Time Certificate of Higher Education in Global Ecology and Wildlife Conservation Delivered via Distance Learning FAQs What are the aims of the course? This course RESTORATION & REVITALIZATION RESTORATION & REVITALIZATION Legal preservation has not proved to be sufficient to preserve natural communities. Restoration activities are diverse and includes revitalization of natural communities which COLLABORATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EVIDENCE WORKING TITLE: DOES REDUCED MHC DIVERSITY DECREASE VIABILITY OF VERTEBRATE POPULATIONS? COLLABORATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EVIDENCE CONSULTATION DRAFT REVIEW PROTOCOL SYSTEMATIC REVIEW No. 65 WORKING TITLE: DOES REDUCED MHC DIVERSITY DECREASE VIABILITY OF VERTEBRATE POPULATIONS? Lead Reviewer: The conservation of biodiversity is one of the most Biodiversity, Ecosystem Function, and Investment Risk Articles THOMAS KOELLNER AND OSWALD J. SCHMITZ Biodiversity has the potential to influence ecological services. Management of ecological services thus TAMARISK MAPPING & MONITORING USING HIGH RESOLUTION SATELLITE IMAGERY. Jason W. San Souci 1. John T. Doyle 2 TAMARISK MAPPING & MONITORING USING HIGH RESOLUTION SATELLITE IMAGERY Jason W. San Souci 1 John T. Doyle 2 ABSTRACT QuickBird high resolution multispectral satellite imagery (60 cm GSD, 4 spectral bands) CONCEPTS & SYNTHESIS CONCEPTS & SYNTHESIS EMPHASIZING NEW IDEAS TO STIMULATE RESEARCH IN ECOLOGY Ecology, 96(10), 2015, pp. 2613 2621 Ó 2015 by the Ecological Society of America A unified approach for quantifying invasibility Joseph Edward Fargione Joseph Edward Fargione Director of Science North America Region The Nature Conservancy 1101 West River Parkway, Suite 200 Minneapolis, MN 55415 Office: 612.331.0745 Fax: 612.877.0770 [email protected] MS DATA ANALYSIS EXAM INSTRUCTIONS MS DATA ANALYSIS EXAM INSTRUCTIONS Please Read Carefully This exam consists of one question, with two parts. You are asked to write a report on your analyses and we strongly recommend that you begin writing Habitat Use, Selection and Preference , Selection and Preference ESRM 450 Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Habitat any area offering the resources and conditions that promote occupancy by a species any area offering the resources and conditions Introduction: Growth analysis and crop dry matter accumulation PBIO*3110 Crop Physiology Lecture #2 Fall Semester 2008 Lecture Notes for Tuesday 9 September How is plant productivity measured? Introduction: Growth analysis and crop dry matter accumulation Learning Spatio-Temporal Modeling Issues: a Case of Soybean Aphid Spatio-Temporal Modeling Issues: a Case of Soybean Aphid 9. 7. 2012 Seong Do Yun Project Advisor: Dr. Gramig, Benjamin SHaPE Space, Health and Population Economics Research Group Project: Enhancing Ecosystem CCR Biology - Chapter 13 Practice Test - Summer 2012 Name: Class: Date: CCR Biology - Chapter 13 Practice Test - Summer 2012 Multiple Choice Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. 1. A group of organisms of the same Course Description, BOT*3050, Plant Functional Ecology, Fall 2013 Department of Integrative Biology Lecture: Laboratory: Instructor: Office hours: Laboratory Coordinator: Teaching Assistant : Course Description: Prerequisites: Required Textbooks: 10:30-11:20 MWF MW classes will be in MACK 117 unless Peer review on manuscript "Predicting environmental gradients with..." by Peer 410 Peer review on manuscript "Predicting environmental gradients with..." by Peer 410 ADDED INFO ABOUT FEATURED PEER REVIEW This peer review is written by Dr. Richard Field, Associate Professor of Biogeography Fundamentals of Ecology Fundamentals of Ecology FIFTH EDITION Eugene P. Odum, Ph.D. Late of University of Georgia Institute of Ecology Gary W. Barrett, Ph.D. Odum Professor of Ecology, University of Georgia Institute of Ecology 1. Biodiversity: Basic Commodity or Luxury Item?... 2 2. Conclusions and Recommendations... 5 3. Key References... 6 Page 2 of 6 CONTENTS 1. Biodiversity: Basic Commodity or Luxury Item?... 2 2. Conclusions and Recommendations... 5 3. Key References... 6 1. BIODIVERSITY: BASIC COMMODITY OR LUXURY ITEM? How is biodiversity Technology For Adaptation. Forestry Conservation Management. Dr. Javier Aliaga Lordemann Technology For Adaptation. Forestry Conservation Management Dr. Javier Aliaga Lordemann Forests has more carbon store than the currently carbon free atmosphere. By contrast, are important sources of emissions AP Biology Essential Knowledge Student Diagnostic AP Biology Essential Knowledge Student Diagnostic Background The Essential Knowledge statements provided in the AP Biology Curriculum Framework are scientific claims describing phenomenon occurring in Belowground Ecology in a Restoration Context Objectives: How can the foundations of and theory in soil science restoration ecology ecological restoration? Topographic heterogeneity Overview of soil physical, chemical and biological properties 1 Heterogeneity Regents Biology LAB. STUDY OF POPULATION DENSITY ON A SUBURBAN LAWN Period Date LAB. STUDY OF POPULATION DENSITY ON A SUBURBAN LAWN Ecological communities are built on the interactions between the creatures (both plants and animals) that live there and the physical environment The AS Physics content is as follows: Science Department The AS Physics content is as follows: Module 1 Development of practical skills in physics 1.1 Practical skills assessed in a written examination 1. Practical skills assessed in the We collected immature and adult female Pardosa milvina from Miami University's 1 Supplementary Information: Fear of predation alters soil CO 2 flux and nitrogen content 2 3 Supplemental methods 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Organism collection and maintenance We collected immature FedEx Ground Rates. Effective January 7, 2013 FedEx Ground Rates Effective January 7, 2013 Introduction FedEx Ground shipping services provide you with dependable, cost-effective, day-definite delivery for packages that don t require the speed of Reaping the benefits Science and the sustainable intensification of global agriculture Reaping the benefits Science and the sustainable intensification of global agriculture Reaping the benefits: Headlines I major challenge because a substantial (50+%) increase in food production. Biological Experiments in Complex Stands Experiments in Complex Stands Valerie LeMay, Craig Farnden and Peter Marshall March 8 to April 3, 009 LeMay, Farnden, Marshall 1 The Challenge Design an experiment based on an objective Constraints: Must Grade 7. Objective. Students will be able to: Grade 7 Objective Students will be able to: Describe the carbon cycle in more detail: o Learn about the importance of carbon and the role it plays in photosynthesis and cellular respiration, Identify elements Evaluation of Correlation between Within-Barn Curing Environment and TSNA Accumulation in Dark Air-Cured Tobacco Evaluation of Correlation between Within-Barn Curing Environment and TSNA Accumulation in Dark Air-Cured Tobacco Preliminary Study Grant Report CORESTA TSNA Sub-Group M.D. Richmond, W.A. Bailey, R.C. Pearce Research to improve the use and conservation of agricultural biodiversity for smallholder farmers Research to improve the use and conservation of agricultural biodiversity for smallholder farmers Agricultural biodiversity the variability of crops and their wild relatives, trees, animals, arthropods,, REVIEW UNIT 10: ECOLOGY SAMPLE QUESTIONS Period Date REVIEW UNIT 10: ECOLOGY SAMPLE QUESTIONS A. Sample Multiple Choice Questions Complete the multiple choice questions to review this unit. 1. All of the following are density-dependent factors by Erik Lehnhoff, Walt Woolbaugh, and Lisa Rew Designing the Perfect Plant Activities to Investigate Plant Ecology Plant ecology is an important subject that often receives little attention in middle school, as more time during science classes is devoted Pond Ecosystem Field Study MOLS This multi-week lab involves field studies comparing ecosystem-level ecology between 2 freshwater ponds in Marshfield Outdoor Learning Sanctuary. We will be investigating a correlation between weather Multivariate Analysis of Ecological Data Multivariate Analysis of Ecological Data MICHAEL GREENACRE Professor of Statistics at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain RAUL PRIMICERIO Associate Professor of Ecology, Evolutionary Biology ENERGY IN FERTILIZER AND PESTICIDE PRODUCTION AND USE Farm Energy IQ Conserving Energy in Nutrient Use and Pest Control INTRODUCTION Fertilizers and pesticides are the most widely used sources of nutrients and pest control, respectively. Fertilizer and pesticides, LIVING LANDS Helping Land Trusts Conserve Biodiversity LIVING LANDS Helping Land Trusts Conserve Biodiversity Land Trust Biodiversity Survey, Winter 2006 Purpose of Survey To better understand local land trusts current activities and interest in biodiversity Unit 2 Plants For Food And Fibre REVIEW Key Concepts Unit 2 Plants For Food And Fibre 1.0 Structures and Life Processes Seed plants have roots, stems, leaves and either flowers or cones Each structure performs a specific function Life ECS COURSE CREDITS SUMMARY M.S. Ph.D. Environmental and Conservation Sciences Program Course Requirements North Dakota State University, May, 2013 Requirements for M.S. Degree in Environmental and Conservation Sciences Each M.S. student will What is Landscape Ecology? Introduction to Landscape Ecology By Kevin McGarigal Disclaimer: Some of the material in this document was borrowed from Turner et al. (2001) and Dean Urban s Landscape Ecology course notes, Duke University. Mutualistic fungus promotes plant invasion into diverse communities Oecologia (2005) 144: 463 471 DOI 10.1007/s00442-005-0039-y COMMUNITY ECOLOGY Jennifer A. Rudgers Æ W. Brett Mattingly Jennifer M. Koslow Mutualistic fungus promotes plant invasion into diverse communities Division of Forestry Guidelines for Managing Sites with Ash To Address the Threat of Emerald Ash Borer On Forestry-Administered Lands BACKGROUND The ash genus (Fraxinus) in Minnesota comprises some 900 million trees and is Study Guide B. Answer Key. Interactions in Ecosystems Interactions in Ecosystems Answer Key SECTION 1. HABITAT AND NICHE 1. a habitat is all of the biotic and abiotic factors in the area where an organism lives, while a niche includes all physical, chemical, Top Peer Reviewed Journals Environmental & Ecology Top Peer Reviewed Journals Environmental & Ecology Presented to Iowa State University Presented by Thomson Reuters Environmental & Ecology The subject discipline for Environmental & Ecology is made of

The Extreme Right in Contemporary Romania - Jocelyn Osborne - 2 years ago - Views: Transcription 1 INTERNATIONAL POLICY ANALYSIS The Extreme Right in Contemporary Romania RADU CINPOEª October 2012 In contrast to the recent past of the country, there is a low presence of extreme right groups in the electoral competition of today s Romania. A visible surge in the political success of such parties in the upcoming parliamentary elections of December 2012 seems to be unlikely. This signals a difference from the current trend in other European countries, but there is still potential for the growth of extremism in Romania aligning it with the general direction in Europe. Racist, discriminatory and intolerant attitudes are present within society. Casual intolerance is widespread and racist or discriminatory statements often go unpunished. In the absence of a desire by politicians to lead by example, it is left to civil society organisations to pursue an educative agenda without much state-driven support. Several prominent members of extreme right parties found refuge in other political forces in the last years. These cases of party migration make it hard to believe that the extreme views held by some of these ex-leaders of right-wing extremism have not found support in the political parties where they currently operate. The fact that some of these individuals manage to rally electoral support may in fact suggest that this happens precisely because of their original views and attitudes, rather than in spite of them. 2 Contents 1. Introduction Extreme Right Actors The Greater Romania Party The New Generation Party Christian Democratic (PNG-CD) The Party»Everything for the Country«(TPŢ) The New Right (ND) Movement and the Nationalist Party The Influence of the Romanian Orthodox Church on the Extreme Right Discourse The Relevance of the Extreme Right in Romania Dealing with the Extreme Right: Counter-Strategies Conclusions 3 List of Abbreviations and Acronyms BEC BOR CEE CNCD EU IMF ND PDL PNG-CD PP-DD PPP PRM PSD PUNR SRSP TPŢ UDMR USL The Central Electoral Bureau The Romanian Orthodox Church Central and Eastern Europe The National Council for Combating Discrimination The European Union The International Monetary Fund The New Right The Democrat Liberal Party The New Generation Party Christian Democratic People s Party Dan Diaconescu The Party for the Fatherland The Greater Romania Party The Social Democrat Party The Party for Romanian National Unity The Romanian Society of Political Sciences Everything for the Country The Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania The Social Liberal Union 2 4 1. Introduction Since the collapse of communism, the dynamics of rightwing extremism in Romania have followed a rather peculiar pattern. That said, there are clearly many similarities with other Central and East European (CEE) 1 countries. As critics observed with surprise, extreme right-wing nationalism experienced a resurgence immediately after the collapse of communism in the region (Verdery, 1993). Romania was no exception, but it occupies an atypical position because right-wing extremismemerged here with more virulence and resilience. A number of factors account for this. One is the communist regime s deployment of nationalism as a means of consolidating and legitimating power; another is the violent nature of the events of December 1989 and the power vacuum 2 that emerged after the regime collapsed. Both of these helped to create a fertile breeding ground for right-wing extremism and, in a more broad sense, were also partially responsible for the slow (in comparison to the other CEE countries) transition to a post-communist order. As a result, extreme right-wing groups in Romania scored electoral successes very quickly. The Party for Romanian National Unity (the PUNR) 3 and the Greater Romania Party (the PRM) were the first extreme right-wing formations in CEE to enter government (as coalition partners) in 1992, followed by the Slovak National Party in 1993 (Mudde, 2005: 165). Subsequently, the PRM reached the peak of its electoral success in 2000, when it became the largest opposition party, and its leader, Corneliu Vadim 1. The descriptor»central and Eastern Europe«is employed here in the same way Cas Mudde (2005: 162) used it, namely to refer to the postcommunist states that have joined the European union (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia). 2. I refer here to the fact that in Romania there were no organised groups able to challenge the dominance of the communist regime though elections and to make a legitimate claim for power (in the same way it happened, for example, in Poland or the former Czechoslovakia). As a result, members of the communist nomenklatura were able to exploit the chaotic events of December 1989 and to hijack the transition from communism. 3. The PUNR was the first extreme right party to emerge in post-communist Romania. It was formed in March 1990 as the Party for the National Union of Romanians in Transylvania (the PUNRT), the political arm of the Romanian Hearth Cultural Union (VR) which, itself, was born as a reaction to the organisation of the ethnic Hungarians, in December 1989, into the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) (Gallagher, 1992). It changed its name to PUNR in June 1990 (most likely to deemphasise its local character in an attempt to build on the minimal success of the March 1990 elections). However, the PUNR remained largely a parochial party. It was overtaken in terms of success by the Greater Romania Party (the PRM) and was eventually absorbed into the Conservative Party (PC). The VR later severed its ties with the PUNR. It still operates as a peripheral organisation and it maintains its strong nationalist and anti-hungarian stance. Tudor, managed to enter the second round of the presidential elections (anticipating by two years Jean-Marie Le Pen s feat in the 2002 French presidential elections). The representation of the extreme right has, in recent years, increased in the parliaments of various CEE countries and in Europe more widely (one need look no further than the recent results in Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Sweden, to name but a few). Romania seems to buck the trend here. Since 2000, the PRM s support has declined consistently, and currently the party has no representation in the Romanian parliament. Moreover, no other extreme right-wing group has since managed to achieve significant electoral success, and the achievements of the PRM are unlikely to be replicated by any other party in the near future. These results in Romania appear reassuring in comparison with the trend in Europe. However, new extreme right-wing political groups have emerged and intend to participate in elections. Extreme nationalism, revisionism and intolerance vis-à-vis various groups, including the Roma, ethnic Hungarians and sexual minorities, are still manifest outside electoral politics in institutionalised and non-institutionalised forms. Furthermore, what I call casual intolerance 4 is a common occurrence in public and private speech. Far from being harmless, this phenomenon is widespread and contributes to the perpetuation and reinforcement of racism and intolerance in Romanian society. Thus, a more detailed examination is necessary in order to establish an accurate picture of the extreme right-wing landscape in Romania. To this end, the present study surveys the current key players in this category and outlines their main features in terms of organisation, rhetoric, support and impact. In doing so, it also reflects on more general aspects of Romanian society. Some brief conceptual clarifications are necessary from the outset. The literature on extreme nationalism and right-wing politics abounds in names and labels attached to the phenomena investigated. There is little agreement on what constitutes the»right«, which 4. The term borrows from Michael Billig s (1995: 6) notion of»banal nationalism«and refers to day-to-day discursive practices displaying embedded intolerance which often goes unnoticed, while having the negative effect of reinforcing stereotypes. Idioms such as»înecat ca ţiganul la mal«(drowning like a gypsy by the bank / shore) are illustrative examples in this respect. 3 5 of the tags used (»extreme«right,»far«right,»radical (populist)«right, etc.) offers the most precise description of reality and what kind of political groups or parties fall into this category (Hainsworth, 2008: 5 23; Mudde, 2000: 5 16; Eatwell, 2004: 5 15). For the purpose of this study, the label extreme right will be used with reference to groups that according to Mudde s maximum definition display as key ideological features nativism, authoritarianism and populism (2007: 20 23). Thus, the extreme right exhibits»exclusionary representations of the nation«as well as anti-parliamentary, anti-pluralist and anti-systemic tendencies, even when operating within the norms of liberal-democratic frameworks (Hainsworth, 2008: 11 12). 2. Extreme Right Actors Despite the current lack of representation in parliament, the landscape of extreme right-wing groups and organisations in Romania is abundant and diverse. Such manifestations occur both within and outside the framework of electoral politics. In the first category, three actors stand out: the Greater Romania Party (PRM), the New Generation Party Christian Democratic (PNG-CD) and the Party»Everything for the Country«(TPŢ). These parties deserve a closer investigation in this study due to their previous electoral success (the PRM), the way in which they have contributed to the shaping of party politics (PNG-CD) or because of the character and significance of their discourse (TPŢ). Among the groups not engaged in electoral politics it is worth mentioning the New Right group (ND) because of its overt use of the Iron Guard legacy (in this respect it competes directly with the TPŢ party), the effective dissemination of its ideas on the Internet (and during various public appearances) and its ambitions (yet to be realised) to stand for election. The Romanian Orthodox Church (BOR) is also an institution that has traditionally mixed a nativist form of nationalism with authoritarian tendencies and a propensity for involvement in public and political life. Outside these groups and institutions, which represent the most significant current extreme right players in Romanian society, a large number of other, smaller organisations operate. Andreescu (2004: 172), for example, identified twenty-eight organisations and associations promoting racist and extremist activities. It is extremely difficult to monitor the number of such groups: many are organised as cultural associations and foundations, tend to operate on a largely parochial level, have low membership, and their activity and even existence / disappearance often falls below the radar. In addition, a large number of groups are only active on the Internet, where they disseminate often anonymously racist, discriminatory and intolerant materials and ideas. It is not the purpose of this study to identify and examine all such groups. Rather, its focus will be on the politically relevant groups, movements and manifestations. Finally, if we look at extreme right subcultures we find that there are no skinhead-type groups operating in Romania. Random acts of violence motivated by racism, homophobia or intolerance still occur, but have not been widespread in recent years (U. S. Dept. of State, 2011). Cases of football hooliganism, where fan groups display racist banners or chant racist slogans (mostly hostile to the Roma) still occur, but not in an organised manner. These instances are part of the casual intolerance phenomenon highlighted earlier. 2.1 The Greater Romania Party Corneliu Vadim Tudor and Eugen Barbu, two former sycophants of Ceauşescu s regime, founded the PRM a year after they had set up the weekly publication with the same name. Under Tudor s leadership, the party s success grew steadily, peaking in the 2000 elections, when it became the largest party in opposition. A combination of a failed attempt by Tudor to shed the party s and his anti-semitic image (which undoubtedly alienated some of their core supporters), internal struggles, mass defections and a realignment of the political landscape in Romania, which generated a challenge to Tudor s dominant rhetoric focused on justice versus corruption, ushered in the PRM s decline from 2004 onwards. Since then, the party has failed to secure any seats in parliament (in the 2008 elections) and currently Tudor (together with George Becali) is an MEP (Cinpoeş, 2010). In their most recent electoral test the local elections of June 2012 the PRM performed dismally, winning not a single presidency of any county council, no county council seats, and only seven mayoral mandates and 600 local council seats (BEC, 2012). 4 6 The PRM describes itself as»centre-left, of a national direction«(statutul PRM). However, the»national doctrine«outlined in its official publication highlights the fact that the PRM glorifies its nationalist predecessors and claims to represent their nationalist goals (Doctrina PRM). This, together with staunch revanchism, 5 its authoritarian organisational hierarchy and its hate speeches directed at members of ethnic minorities (ethnic Hungarians, Roma and Jews being the preferred targets) and sexual minorities, and its positioning itself against the political mainstream warrants the inclusion of the party among the representatives of the extreme right in Romania. Ideologically, three broad value frames appear relevant, each with its own discursive correspondent (Cinpoeş, 2010: ). First the notion of territory and ancestry is expressed in the party s focus on the issue of Romania s territorial integrity. The historical continuity of the Romanian nation (defined in a purely ethnic way) and the need to protect the territorial integrity of Romania and to return to its pre-1940 borders constitute the key markers of the PRM discourse. The ethnic Hungarian community in Romania is the main target of PRM hate speeches and fear-mongering. It is accused of plotting the secession of Transylvania with the cooperation (or at least connivance) of the Romanian authorities, and the party has repeatedly called for the outlawing of what it calls the»terrorist organisation«the UDMR (see among others: Agrigoroaie, 2003 and România Mare, August 2002; Tudor, 2001: vol. II, 60; and Agrigoroaie, 2012). On the other hand, the PRM states as one of its key goals the unification of Romania with its lost territories in Bessarabia and Bukovina. The party has consistently pursued this revanchist line, lobbying, for example, for the freeing of Ilie Ilaşcu, imprisoned by the authorities of the self-proclaimed independent Transdniestria. He was subsequently freed, became a member of the PRM and held a seat in the Romanian Upper House between 2000 and The second value frame in the PRM s ideology is the notion of sovereignty and independence and its corresponding articulation of Romania s position in Europe and the world, which is rather ambivalent. On the one hand, the party emphasises a mythologised version of Romania s historical continuity and importance in Europe. On the other hand, the party has accepted mem- 5. As its name (which points to the enlarged territory of Romania, following WWI) suggests, the partyhas openly been militating for the restoration of the Romanian territory along the lines of the 1918 borders. bership of the EU, albeit reluctantly. Furthermore, PRM discourse focuses substantially on the external»other«, which it accuses of ceaselessly conspiring to subjugate and destroy Romania. The favourite culprits of the PRM s rampant anti-semitism are the»jewish Mafia«,»Zionism«, the US (controlled by Israel), Judeo-Freemason groups, but also Western actors more generally who it alleges are trying to impose their control through a»new World Order«(Cinpoeş, 2010: ). Finally, the Christian Orthodox tradition and beliefs relating to the issue of corruption (both material and spiritual) form an essential aspect of the PRM s ideology. The issue of corruption in particular has featured prominently in the party discourse, especially since The Romanian political elites and state institutions are held responsible for the failure to establish law and order in Romania. From this point of view, the PRM positions itself as a populist, anti-system party. I have argued, however, that the extreme nationalist dimension of the party is relevant here, because it legitimises the solutions offered by the PRM and identified by it as part of the Romanian Christian Orthodox tradition (Cinpoeş, 2010: 121). Thus, economic failure goes hand-in-hand with the widespread moral failure of society. As well as the political class in general, specific groups are targeted, in particular the Roma minority and the gay minority, 6 and are held responsible for moral degeneration in Romania. Like most groups of the extreme right, a charismatic leader Corneliu Vadim Tudor stands at the centre of its structure and organisation. Any sense of internal democratic process is absent, and decisions are taken at Tudor s whim. This has led over time to the alienation of prominent figures who eventually left the party. In fact, Tudor himself has often emphasised his role as the party s decisionmaker, and any attempts to undermine his authority have resulted in people being expelled from the party and then being named and shamed in the România Mare and Tricolorul magazines, the party s mouthpieces (Tudor, 2002; Cinpoeş, 2010: , ). More recently, Tudor and the PRM have also been abandoned by their youth organisation and the editor of the Tricolorul.ro newspaper Tudor s use of words such as»sallow and repulsive vice«that Romanians»judge very harshly, as being diabolic«directed at the former US Ambassador in Romania, Michel Guest (who had openly declared he was gay) is illustrative of the PRM s approach to these issues (in: Cinpoeş, 2010: 140). 7. See statements explaining their actions at: ro/, 30 January 2012 and 7 May 2012, last viewed on 11/08/ 7 Traditionally, the PRM has attracted people sympathetic to the nationalist policies of the communist regime as well as former members of the communist nomenclature (including retired members of the army and of the Securitate) who found themselves deprived of their positions of influence (Deletant, 1993: ). In other words, the members and supporters of the PRM are mainly drawn from among those who have been affected negatively by post-communist realities and are likely to display nostalgia for communism (Mungiu-Pippidi, 2004: 63). Thus, the PRM s constituency is largely working class, not very educated and increasingly consists of older people (Sum, 2010: 22 23). The controlling character of the PRM leader and his increasingly erratic behaviour have led to a significant drop in both membership of and support for the party. The main beneficiary of the PRM s decline is the People s Party Dan Diaconescu (PP-DD), 8 which is also gathering support from among those disgruntled with the Social Liberal Union (USL) and the Democrat Liberal Party (PDL). 2.2 The New Generation Party Christian Democratic (PNG-CD) The New Generation Party (which in 2006 changed its name to the New Generation Party Christian Democratic) was an anonymous formation founded by the former Bucharest mayor Viorel Lis. In 2004, George Becali the owner of the football club Steaua Bucharest and a controversial figure in Romanian public life became the leader of the party, signalling a change of direction characterised by a mixture of extreme nationalism, Christian Orthodox beliefs and intolerance. At the time, there was speculation that the PSD informally supported Becali s decision to enter politics, in the hope that his party might erode the PRM s electorate (Shafir, 2004). Whether such allegations are true or not, in 2004, the party did offer an alternative to potentially disillusioned PRM voters. However, it performed modestly, failing with only 2.26 per cent of the vote for the Upper House and 2.23 per cent for the Lower House to secure any 8. The PP DD is a populist party founded by Dan Diaconescu, the owner of the successful tabloid-type television channel OTV. Despite making grounds in the recent local elections, and already scoring double figures in opinion polls, this party does not meet the criteria for this study. While sharing some of the characteristics of extreme right groups (populism being the most obvious one), it lacks a clear nativist dimension. seats in parliament. The 2008 elections brought similar results 2.53 per cent of the votes for the Senate and 2.27 for the Chamber of Deputies and again, no seats (SRSP, 2004; BEC, 2008). After 2008 the trajectories of the PNG-CD and the PRM intersected: despite previous verbal tussles between the leaders of the two parties, Becali ran on the PRM lists in the European parliament elections of 2009 and secured an MEP seat; this coincided with his arrest and investigation for kidnapping! Like the PRM, the PNG-CD is also declining: in the 2012 local elections its results were dire winning only one mayoral position and 108 local council seats (BEC, 2012). Under the leadership of Becali, the ideology of the party has come close to that of the inter-war fascist legionary movement with an added twist of opportunism, demagogy and gutter talk. In the past, Becali has appropriated symbols and slogans of the Iron Guard, and the party slogan currently displayed on its official website»serving the Cross and the Romanian Nation!«reflects this fusion of conservative Christian Orthodoxy and mythologised nationalism. In terms of structure, the PNG-CD resembles the PRM inasmuch as it is largely centred on its leader. Thus, what the party lacks in programme is made up for by Becali s insulting language, homophobia and intolerance. So far he has been fined several times by the National Council for Combating Discrimination for making discriminatory statements against women, the Roma and other ethnic minorities, and he is well known for his homophobic statements. At one point he stated that he would never hire gay players in his football team and that»homosexuals are protected by Satan«(ProTV, 2012). His constant references to God and the Orthodox Church, and his use of legionary symbols may as Frusetta and Glont argue have offered voters»a rallying point for protest against conventional politics«(2009: 564). However, crass populism rather than toying with legionary symbols has so far been Becali s recipe for success, and competition from the PP-DD on that front is likely to dash the PNG s chances of further success. As for the committed sympathisers of the Iron Guard and its legacy, it is unlikely that they were ever taken in by Becali s pretences. The PNG-CD s core constituency is to some extent similar to that of the PRM. For a while, the PNG-CD was actually home to former PRM members and supporters. As Sum (2010: 22 23) points out, however, despite the common class base, the PNG-CD seems to attract more young and unemployed voters. 6 8 All in all, the future does not look promising for the PNG-CD. After a tentative attempt to forge an alliance with the PRM for the local and general elections of 2012 (which, incidentally, might have been mutually beneficial, given that both parties are struggling), the two leaders failed to reach an agreement (Ionel, 2012). 2.3 The Party»Everything for the Country«(TPŢ) One party that despite operating since 1993 has only recently achieved some electoral success (tiny as this may be) is»everything for the Country«(TPŢ). 9 The group was called the Party for the Fatherland (PPP) until February 2012, when a court officially approved the use of the name TPŢ the name carried by the political arm of the Legionary Movement in inter-war Romania. The party declares itself openly as a perpetuator of the legacy of the Iron Guard, an aspect demonstrated, for example, by its efforts to secure the official registration of the current name, or by the fact that the official website states that the party was»re-established in 1993«(a clear allusion to the continuity with the Iron Guard) (Partidul»TPŢ«, [no date]). Membership of and support for the party comes mostly from younger educated people, who sympathise with the fusion of ethnic nationalism, Christian Orthodox faith, folk tradition and racial purity based on the nationalist foundation myths that characterised the Iron Guard. With the exception of the president of the party, Coriolan Grigore Baciu, who is fifty, and a few other persons, most of the TPŢ candidates are in their thirties (including the executive president, Florin Dobrescu). At the other end of the age spectrum, the party has attracted a number of former members of the Iron Guard, some of whom survived imprisonment during communism. This latter category of members has provided legitimacy for the party with respect to its claim to continue the Iron Guard legacy. Recently, the party has been busy enhancing its profile as a political actor with electoral ambitions. Its programme lists of relatively tame conservative themes such as the importance of the family, the church, and the struggle against bureaucracy and corruption, which it addresses in vague terms. (Partidul»TPŢ«, [no date]). However, it is at 9. The party managed to obtain one single local council seat in the 2008 local elections and 2 local council seats in those of 2012, but in 2012 has had a much more visible public presence (BEC, 2008b; BEC 2012). the grass-roots level of civil society participation that the strategy of the party is predominant. Like the Iron Guard before it, the members of the TPŢ often organise ritualised activities and cultural events ranging from marches and celebrations of various nationalist heroes and personalities held in reverence, to work camps and visits to Christian Orthodox churches and monasteries. While participation in these events is usually low in terms of numbers, they nevertheless aim to be very visible: members often wear traditional costume and carry Romanian as well as party flags. Another similarity with its inter-war predecessor is the fact that the group has received significant moral support from monastic figures in the Orthodox Church. Party discourse emphasises what are considered to be central Romanian spiritual values (especially rooted in folk traditions and Christian Orthodoxy) and highlights the threats to them from actors inside and outside the country. Thus, in the online publication Buciumul (The Bugle) one of the TPŢ mouthpieces one can find numerous articles denouncing plots by the Hungarian state or the Hungarian community in Romania designed to undermine Romania s territorial integrity. As far as territory is concerned, the movement is also a supporter of unionist claims concerning the lost territories of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. In terms of external threats, Western organisations perceived as globalisation agents are often portrayed as instruments controlled by occult groups (Free Masonry is often identified as the culprit) aiming to establish a new world order. Sexual minorities are also a key target, and several contributions to the online publication have condemned them and claimed links between homosexuality and paedophilia. 10 While irrelevant in electoral terms, the TPŢ s recent public presence is perhaps relevant for the general social and political context: it shows that the Iron Guard (and what it stood for) not only still has currency but can also be used openly as a legitimate discourse and political alternative in contemporary Romania Several entries on Buciumul, either original or imported from other online outlets, focus on these aspects. See, among many other, the articles:»ce mărturisiri face un francmason pe patul de moarte«, available at: or»secretul mişcării pentru drepturile homosexualilor: pedofilia«, taken from the Christian Orthodox website Familia Ortodoxă (), available at: 2012/06/28/secretul-miscarii-pentru-drepturile-homosexualilor-pedofilia/. 11. On a related note, the fact that in 2012 a court deems legal that the party registers the name»everything for the Country«after a court rejected the same name in 1993, may be, in itself, significant for broader mutations Romania. 7 9 2.4 The New Right (ND) Movement and the Nationalist Party The TPŢ party has not been the only group in postcommunist Romania to lay claim to the legacy of the Iron Guard: the New Right (ND) movement has been its main competitor. The ND group was founded in 2000 and since then has been a consistent element in the extreme right landscape in Romania. The movement has more than twenty-five branches (including in Germany, Italy and the Republic of Moldova) and an active online presence. Apart from its official website and blog and the websites of some of its branches, and a large number of other blogs operated by ND members and supporters, the ND movement also has a YouTube-based television channel with more than seventy uploaded videos and more than 200 subscribers (YouTube, Noua Dreaptă TV). The similarities between the ND movement and the TPŢ party are manifold. Beside its ideological roots, the ND, too, appeals primarily to young, educated people with strong nationalist and Christian Orthodox beliefs. Alongside its president the thirty-four-year-old lawyer Tudor Ionescu most of the movement s leadership are university students or graduates in their twenties and thirties. The main themes of the movement s discourse are likewise drawn from a mythologised interpretation of Romanian history informed by strong Christian Orthodox values. The revisionist tendencies of the movement are more explicitly argued than those of the TPŢ. The official website, for example, displays the slogan of the movement»for a dignified and strong greater Romania«and a map of Romania with its borders. The group s»bessarabian«branch and its activities in the Republic of Moldova reinforce this aspect. Another central theme is its opposition to the rights of sexual minorities. In terms of public appearances, the ND is best known for organising counter-marches (called»marches for normality«) in opposition to marches by sexual minorities in Romania. More broadly, the ND focuses in unambiguously intolerant terms on anyone deemed to be contributing to economic, social and moral decline in Romania. Externally, the preferred targets of the ND discourse are institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank, often portrayed as agents of Freemasonry (ND, Acţiuni 2012). Internally, the»gypsy problem«and»hungarian irredentism«along with the whole political class are favourite scapegoats. As recently as the end of 2011, the ND movement attempted to enter electoral politics, when it tried to register as a political party under the name of the Nationalist Party. The courts rejected the application, however. As a result, the main relevance of the movement remains in its grass-roots organisation outside political competition, where it operates as is the case with TRŢ mainly by organising work camps, marches and commemorative events. 2.5 The Influence of the Romanian Orthodox Church on the Extreme Right Discourse The inclusion of the Romanian Orthodox Church (BOR) in a study of the extreme right in Romania is motivated by the role it has played in informing and influencing the extreme right discourse in Romania. The BOR has a long history of articulating and/or supporting an ethnically based conception of the nation. Over time, the BOR ideological position has intersected (directly or implicitly) with that of other extremist political groups. In inter-war Romania, the collaboration between the Iron Guard and the Orthodox Church was extensive, with a large number of priests sympathising with the Iron Guard and even running in elections for the»everything for the Country«Party (Iordachi, 2004: 35). Currently, the attitude of the BOR can be summarised as Andreescu (2004: 178) points out in terms of four characteristics: its exclusivist nationalist definition of the Romanian state (equating the Romanian state with the Romanian nation and the Romanian nation with the Christian Orthodox faith); its authoritarian, fundamentalist tendency to subordinate the notion of rule of law to that of divine right; the use of aggressive instruments to protect its position; and its ability to mobilise people and resources to achieve its aims. Considering that Romania recently occupied sixth place in a global index of religiosity (WIN-Gallup International 2012) and that Christian Orthodoxy is the dominant religion in Romania, it is no surprise that the BOR manages to exercise such a large degree of influence over public life. Owing to this privileged position, it is common for political figures to pander to the BOR. Political figures across the whole political spectrum often attend various religious celebrations to gain political advantage. The BOR is also able to exert pressure on parliament and on political parties in order to achieve favourable outcomes for its various causes. During the electoral cam- 8 10 paign of 2004, for example, after being repeatedly criticised by Pimen, the Archbishop of Suceava and Rădăuţi, then Prime Minister and presidential candidate Adrian Năstase was forced to seek a public reconciliation with the Archbishop and to pledge support in pressing the court case concerning the return of 90,000 hectares of forest to the Orthodox Church (Ziarul de Iaşi, 2004). The nationalist and intolerant attitudes of the BOR are visible through its involvement in other areas of public life. It has, for example, been a staunch activist against the rights of sexual minorities through its publications and has provided a rallying point for other civil society groups campaigning against the rights of homosexuals in Romania. 12 In addition, there are documented links between the BOR and neo-legionary groups in Romania, including meetings of such organisations hosted in churches or participation by Orthodox priests in events organised by them. 13 Consequently, the BOR has played an important role in the shaping of the extreme right in Romania. Its ideological position has functioned as a key reference point and source of inspiration for various such movements and organisations, which have incorporated aspects of it in their discourse. On a more concrete level, the BOR s involvement in public life has often lent legitimacy to attitudes and actions and even provided a point of convergence for extremist views. 3. The Relevance of the Extreme Right in Romania As argued earlier in this study and shown by the brief survey of relevant extreme right organisations in Romania, there does not appear to be a serious chance that any of these groups will gain significant electoral ground. There are several reasons for this. First, the electoral system in Romania has since 2008 been a form of mixedmember proportional representation, with a reasonably 12. In 2006, for instance, 22 civil society groups as well as a number of private individuals signed a petition to the representatives of the BOR requesting them to take a public stand against»the aggressive agenda pursued in Romania by homosexual activists«(details available at: ro.altermedia.info/familiesocietate/societatea-civila-impotriva-promovarii-homosexualitatii-memoriu_4159.html, last viewed on 11/08/2012). 13. Several pictures and articles on the official websites of TPŢ (http:// and ND () document these links. high threshold (5 per cent for political parties and up to 10 per cent for political alliances), thus favouring larger parties (Monitorul Oficial, 2008). Second, in parliamentary elections looming later in the year, the USL looks to be the front-runner (at least if this year s local elections results are anything to go by); other parties likely to secure seats include the PDL, the newcomer PP-DD and the UDMR (although the last really needs to mobilise its voters in order to secure parliamentary representation). The PRM, the PNG-CD and the TPŢ (if it manages to stand for election at all) look certain to fail. However, given the tense situation in Romania at the moment and the apparent stalemate between the president and the current government, together with general public disillusionment with the mainstream parties, new competitors may emerge. Finally, the extreme right groups themselves seem to be affected by an inability to profit by the current situation. Both Tudor and Becali (and their respective parties) seem to have alienated their public, which appears to have moved on to the next populist group promising unrealistic solutions to their problems (this time it is the PP-DD that has attracted some support), while the supporters of the inter-war legionary movement are very much divided between the TPŢ and the ND (with accusations and invective being exchanged between members and supporters of the two groups, in the very active Romanian extreme right blogosphere). The fact that Romania does not appear to be following the trend of increasing electoral support for the extreme right visible elsewhere in Europe might seem laudable. However, there are some other aspects influencing the social, cultural and political climate in Romania that might require further consideration. First of all, the presence of a very large number of extreme right (many of them of a neo-legionary character) Internet-based outlets (websites, blogs, facebook pages and groups, publications, etc.) that disseminate overtly racist and intolerant messages and materials should not be underestimated. As Goodwin (2012) suggests, the web can serve several purposes: it assists these groups in»their quest for credibility«, it provides a space to sustain the loyalty of members and a sense of community and comradeship, and last, but not least, it offers the possibility of instant communication and mobilisation for real life activities. If nothing else, the web has helped to validate messages and reinforce stereotypes that would otherwise not stand up to any process of common sense scrutiny. 9 11 Linked to this point is the fact that public opinion in Romania is susceptible to intolerant and discriminatory messages. A survey by INSOMAR (2009) has uncovered highly prejudiced attitudes directed at minority groups. The study found that people of a different sexual orientation have the worst image in the public perception, with over 55 per cent of respondents saying they thought that sexual minorities should receive medical treatment, 90.5 per cent stating that they would not themselves marry a homosexual nor accept someone in their family doing so, and 70.9 per cent saying they would not have a homosexual as a close friend. Intolerant attitudes towards the Roma also score high, with 56 per cent of the respondents declaring that they feel uncomfortable around Roma people and 20 per cent stating that there should be shops and public places where Roma people should not be allowed. Thirdly, intolerant and discriminatory tendencies and practices are still very much present in the discourse and actions of public figures, and despite existing anti-discrimination legislation are still treated with leniency or outright indifference by the authorities while the culprits often carry on in their public positions with impunity. One need look no further than the racist comments made, among others, by two former foreign ministers Adrian Cioroianu in 2007, and Teodor Baconschi in 2010 directed at the Roma minority, or the case of PSD Senator Dan Sova who after having been involved in a public scandal due to his denial of the Jewish Holocaust in Romania was appointed Minister for Relations with Parliament (Barbu, 2011; Mihăilescu, 2012). Finally, the fact that extreme right parties are not successful does not necessarily mean that people holding extreme views do not find their way into mainstream politics. One characteristic of post-1989 Romanian politics is what has been dubbed traseism politic (political cruising). Thus, several former members of extreme right-wing parties have subsequently found refuge in other political parties. Lia Olguţa Vasilescu, who formerly occupied important positions in the PRM, is currently a prominent member of the PSD, and Mayor of Craiova Anghel Stanciu is currently a PSD Deputy having abandoned the PRM in Valeriu Tabără former leader of the PUNR is currently a PDL deputy; Vlad Hogea, a young lawyer with extreme nationalist views, has moved from the PRM to the PNG- CD, then to the PC and is currently executive secretary of the PP-DD. These are only a few cases of party migration, and it is hard to believe that the extreme views held by some of these people while they were active in extreme right-wing groups have not found at least to some extent support in the political parties where they currently operate. If nothing else, the fact that some of the individuals mentioned manage to rally electoral support may suggest that this happens precisely because of those views and attitudes, rather than in spite of them. All these aspects create a fertile breeding ground for extremism and intolerance, and provide populist leaders and groups with themes that can be appropriated easily and effectively. President Băsescu, for instance, has shown his ability to play the nationalist card on several occasions, emphasising the national unitary character of the Romanian state; and his hints on the mobilisation of the ethnic Hungarian community on nationalist lines by the Hungarian government fuels the sensitivity of a large number of Romanians concerning territorial integrity and possible Hungarian secession plots (Cinpoeş, 2010: ). Similarly, the response of the Romanian president to Moldovan Communist President Voronin s accusations that Romania is attempting to destabilise Moldova (alluding to the relaxation of the policy for granting Moldovan citizens Romanian passports) was another illustration of tit-for-tat politics that trades on a historical revanchist interpretation of Romania s past (Kramer and Hill, 2009). It is unlikely that such instances will generate real conflicts between Romania and neighbouring countries. Rather, they function as populist, point-scoring exercises between officials in the countries involved. However, longer-lasting exchanges of this kind may result in the mutual radicalisation of the discourse and in growing support for extremist politics, not to mention a cooling of diplomatic relations between neighbouring states. Considering all of the above against the current background of economic decline and austerity, it seems likely that the extreme right discourse has the potential to gain ground. Antipathy towards the EU and other international organisations, such as the IMF, has been growing in Romania (as elsewhere in Europe), but the country s current dependency on IMF loans has led an increasing number of people to view their government s relationship with the IMF as that of puppet and master. This feeds straight into the anti-european and anti-globalisation discourse of populist extreme right groups. While this would not necessarily convert into support for such groups, it does open the way for a further radicalisation of mainstream politics. 10 12 4. Dealing with the Extreme Right: Counter-Strategies The specialised literature highlights the challenges of dealing with the extreme right, owing to the diverse nature of the groups operating under this umbrella term and the kind of threats it poses to democracy (Mudde, 2004). In the case of Romania, two levels of action will be briefly evaluated in the concluding remarks to this study: strategies involving political parties and state institutions, and strategies and actions by civil society, the media and other actors outside the state. As far as the first level of discussion is concerned, Romanian legislation prohibits a number of extremist acts. These include fascist, communist, racist or xenophobic activities, organisations and symbols as well as discrimination based on race, gender, disability, ethnicity, nationality, language, religion, social status, beliefs, sexual orientation, age and other categories (The U. S. Dept. of State, 2011). In addition, state institutions such as Avocatul Poporului (the Office of the Ombudsman) and the National Council for Combating Discrimination (CNCD) are supposed to protect the rights of citizens vis-à-vis state institutions and other individuals and organisations. However, state authorities, including the police, have often been criticised for providing inadequate protection to citizens, for dragging their feet, especially in cases involving high officials, for playing down some incidents involving anti-semitic vandalism or for mistreatment of some categories of people (especially the Roma) (The U. S. Dept. of State, 2011). While progress has been made by state actors, the main issue is that their public conduct is not on a par with the legislative framework. It is still very common for members of mainstream political parties to adopt overtly nationalist, racist or discriminatory stances in their public appearances, ranging from Holocaust denial to inflammatory nationalist, homophobic or racist statements. 14 Thus, fines imposed on people such as Becali for making discriminatory statements are merely a slap on the wrist, 14. Some significant examples have been discussed earlier. In addition, it worth mentioning the legislative proposal, in 2010, by PDL MP Silviu Prigoană to change the designation of»roma«to»ţigani«, allegedly in order to avoid confusion with»român«(romanian). The proposal was eventually dismissed by the Senate, but it had the support of the Romanian Academy and a similar internet-based petition and Facebook page managed to collect, so far, over 77,000 signatures and over 20,000 members respectively. with no immediate consequences. As long as politicians in Romania carry on practicing»casual intolerance«, and political parties and state institutions are not willing to sanction perpetrators in a meaningful way (removal from public positions and exclusion from parties), a culture of intolerance will continue to be reinforced and legitimised. Civil society organisations seem to carry the burden of educating the public in the spirit of inclusion and tolerance and of pressuring political institutions and media outlets with regard to dissemination of extremist and discriminatory materials. A combination of»carrot«and»stick«types of actions might yield some results in the long run. Education (the»carrot«) represents the most important precondition for a tolerant society, and this is an area that could be explored and pursued further by NGOs and civil society groups. Given that it is often the politicians and public figures in Romania who set a poor example when it comes to tolerant and inclusive views, closer work with political parties and public institutions focusing on educating them in the principles of equality and diversity training and about existing legislation concerning discrimination might be useful steps towards reducing casual intolerance. In the long run, this kind of cooperation could be extended to implementing institutional changes that reflect commitment to inclusive values. Eventually, public institutions could be assisted in developing in-house educational programmes that could more easily and more effectively be made available to all members and employees, thus producing a self-sustaining framework. These specific short- and long-term activities could be combined with broader ones, such as lobbying authorities with a view to improving the civic education curriculum in schools. A great deal of work is already being done by NGOs with a view to raising public awareness of discrimination and intolerance. Such educational projects, however, could benefit from better public exposure. Additional strategies could be modelled on anti-fascist organisations in countries like the UK and Sweden, which often stage counter-protests (not unlike the marches by the ND in Romania) aimed at minimising the impact of the events organised by extremist groups. Their role is not only to upset the goals of fascist manifestations, but also to display a robust and visible public critique 11 13 of extremist actions and to provide channels and incentives for action for a supportive but otherwise passive and un-engaged people. Finally, more pressure on the authorities regarding the enforcement of anti-discrimination legislation (the»stick«) may also contribute to the decline of right-wing extremism and intolerance in Romania. Given that the CNCD is relatively toothless when it comes to dealing effectively with discrimination, the use of existing criminal law frameworks could provide better protection to citizens, if the relevant authorities (such as the police, the prosecutors and the courts) make appropriate use of them. Given the state of public opinion in Romania, which is still very much polarised on issues to do with equality, diversity and inclusion, civil society organisations still face an uphill struggle. Nevertheless, significant progress has been made in the past decade (not least though the setting up of the CNDC) and through the growing number and diversification of organisations concerned with fighting discrimination. 5. Conclusions As this study suggests, extreme right groups have a low electoral profile in Romania, and a visible surge in the political success of such parties in the near future (and certainly in the coming parliamentary elections of 2012) is very unlikely. This is not to say, however, that there is no extreme right in Romania. Worryingly, racist, discriminatory and intolerant attitudes are more insidiously present within society. Casual intolerance is widespread and its exclusion from public life does not seem to be a priority of the political class. As a result, racist or discriminatory statements often go unpunished. In the absence of a desire by politicians to lead by example, and given the particularly ineffective action by the state authorities, it is left to civil society organisations to pursue an educational agenda, in the context of serious obstacles. In conclusion we can say that despite the poor showing of extreme right parties (which goes against the current trend in other European countries), there is potential for the growth of extremism in Romania, which would align it with the general direction in Europe. 12 14 References Agrigoroaie, G. (2003):»Cu ajutorul tacit al trădătorilor din PSD, ungurii pun la cale dezmembrarea ţării«, România Mare, 9 May. Agrigoroaie, G. (2012):»Nu şovinii unguri sînt de vină ci cozile de topor româneşti Soluţii pentru stîrpirea năpîrcilor horthyste«, România Mare, 30 March. Andreescu, G. (2004):»Romania«, in: Mudde, C. (ed): Racist Extremism in Central and Eastern Europe, London: Routledge, pp Barbu, D. (2011):»Roma and the Public Discourse in Romania: Best Practice Guidelines«, Romani CRISS, available at: (last viewed on 11/08/2012). Biroul Electoral Central (BEC) (2008a):»Alegeri pentru Camera Deputaţilor şi Senat, 30 noiembrie 2008«, available at: (last viewed on 10/08/2012). Biroul Electoral Central (BEC) (2008b):»Alegeri pentru Autorităţile Administraţiei Publice Locale«, available at: (last viewed on 10/08/2012). Biroul Electoral Central (BEC) (2012):»Alegeri pentru Autorităţile Administraţiei Publice Locale«, available at: (last viewed on 10/08/2012). Cinpoeş, R. (2010): Nationalism and Identity in Romania: A History of Extreme Politics from the Birth of the State to EU Accession, London: I. B. Tauris. Deletant, D. (1993):»Convergence versus Divergence in Romania: the Role of the Vatra Românească Movement in Transylvania«, in: Duncan, P. J. S. / Rady, M. (eds): Towards a New Community. Culture and Politics in Post-Totalitarian Europe, London, SSEES, pp Eatwell, R. (2004):»Introduction: the New Extreme Right Challenge«, in: Eatwell, R. / Mudde, C. (eds): Western Democracies and the New Extreme Right Challenge, London: Routledge, pp Frusetta, J. / Glont, A. (2009):»Interwar Fascism and the post-1989 Radical Rights: Ideology, Opportunism and Historical Legacy in Bulgaria and Romania«, Communist and Post-communist Studies, vol. 42, pp Gallagher, T. (1992):»Vatra Românească and the Resurgent Nationalism in Romania«, Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol.15, no. 4, pp Goodwin, M. (2012):»We Must Respond to the Far Right s Web Threat«, The Guardian, available at: guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/07/respond-far-right-web-threat?intcmp=srch (last viewed on 11/08/2012). Hainsworth, P. (2008): The Extreme Right in Western Europe, London: Routledge. INSOMAR (2009):»Fenomenul discriminării in Romania: percepţii şi atitudini«, Consiliul Naţional pentru Combaterea Discriminării, available at: (last viewed on 11/08/2012). Ionel, C. (2012):»Becali despre alianţa cu Vadim Tudor: nu ne-am înţeles la negocieri. Voi candida singur la Primaria Bucureşti«, Hotnews.ro, available at: (last viewed on 11/08/2012). Iordachi, C. (2004):»Charisma, Religion, and Ideology: Romania s Interwar Legion of the Archangel Michael«, in: Lampe, J. R. / Mazower, M. (eds): Ideologies and National Identities: the Case of Twentieth-Century Southeastern Europe, Budapest: Central European University Press, pp Kramer, D. J. / Hill, W. H. (2009):»Moldova: the Twitter Revolution That Wasn t«, Open Democracy, available at: (last viewed on 11/08/2012). Mihăilescu, R. (2012):»Dan Sova, ministru pentru relaţia cu Parlamentul. Coleg de facultate cu Victor Ponta, a fost trimis la Washington să se documenteze despre Holocaust, după o gafă televizată«, Hotnews, available at: hotnews.ro/stiri-politic dan-sova-ministru-pentru-relatia-parlamentul-coleg-facultate-victor-ponta-fost-trimis-washington-documenteze-despre-holocaust-dupa-gafa-televizata.htm, last viewed on 11/08/2012. Mudde, C. (2000): The Ideology of the Extreme Right, Manchester: MUP. Mudde, C. (2004):»Conclusion: Defending Democracy and the Extreme Right«, in: Eatwell, R. / Mudde, C. (eds): Western Democracy and the New Extreme Right Challenge, London: Routledge, pp Mudde, C. (2005):»Racism and Extremism in Central and Eastern Europe«, East European Politics and Societies, vol. 19, no. 2, pp Mungiu-Pippidi, A. (2004):»Milosevic s Voters: Explaining Grassroots Nationalism in Postcommunist Europe«, in: Mungiu-Pippidi, A. / Krastev, I.: Nationalism after Communism: Lessons Learned, Budapest: Central European University Press, pp Noua Dreaptă (no date):»conducerea«, available at: (last viewed on 11/08/2012). Noua Dreaptă (2012):»Timişoara: Marş naţionalist împortriva Guvernului FMI «, Acţiuni 2012, available at: nouadreapta.org/actiuni_prezentare.php?idx=397 (last viewed on 11/08/2012). Parlamentul României (2008):»Lege pentru alegerea Camerei Deputaţilor şi a Senatului şi pentru modificarea şi completarea Legii nr. 64/2004 pentru alegerea autorităţilor administraţiei publice locale, a Legii administraţiei publice locale nr. 215/2001 şi a legii nr. 303/2004 privind Statutul aleşilor locali«, Monitorul Oficial al României, partea I, nr. 196/ Partidul»TPŢ«(no date): Official website, available at: (last viewed on 11/08/2012). 13 15 References PRM (no date):»doctrina Partidului România Mare«, available at: (last viewed on 11/08/2012). PRM (no date):»statutul Partidului România Mare«, available at: statutul-partidului-romania-mare (last viewed on 11/08/2012). ProTV (2012):» Homosexualii sunt protejaţi de Satan. Becali, judecat la Luxemburg pentru declaraţii defăimătoare«, Ştitile ProTV, available at: (last viewed on 10/08/2012). Shafir, M. (2004):»Profile: Gigi Becali«, RFLR, available at: (last viewed on 11/08/2012). Societatea Română de Ştiinţe Politice (2004): Alegeri 2004, available at: (last viewed on 10/08/2012). Sum, P. E. (2010):»The Radical Right in Romania: Political Party Evolution and the Distancing of Romania from Europe«, Communist and Post-communist Studies, vol. 43, pp Tricolorul.ro (2012):»În atenţia cititorilor noştri. O lămurire necesară«, 30 January, available at: (last viewed on 10/08/2012). Tricolorul.ro (2012):»Fuziune OTRM OTUNPR«, 7 May, available at: (last viewed on 10/08/2012). Tudor, C. V. (2001): Discursuri, vol. I-II, Bucureşti: Editura Fundaţiei România Mare. Tudor, C. V. (2002):»Oameni şi porci«, România Mare, 18 January. Verdery, K. (1993):»Nationalism and National Sentiment in Post-socialist Romania«, Slavic Review, vol. 52, no. 2, pp WINN-Gallup International (2012): Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism, available at: d2/47/default_ pdf?c=ab55dd31ce a4db6cd4f9c27a5 (last viewed on 11/08/2012). YouTube (no date): Noua Dreaptă TV, available at: (last viewed on 11/08/2012). Ziarul de Iaşi (2004):»Pimen ne-a dojenit pe bună dreptate«, available at: pimen-ne-a-dojenit-pe-buna-dreptate~ni3i5m (last viewed on 11/08/2012). 14 16 About the author Radu Cinpoeº is lecturer in politics at the faculty of arts and social sciences at Kingston University, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, UK. Imprint Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Dep. for Central and Eastern Europe Hiroshimastr Berlin Germany Responsible: Dr. Ernst Hillebrand, Head, Dep. for Central and Eastern Europe Phone: Fax: To order publications: The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. ISBN Private Television in Poland & Slovakia Private Television in Poland & Slovakia, March 2003 Matúš Minárik CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS The present policy paper and recommendations result from the policy research done in the framework of MULTI ANNUAL WORK PLAN 2013 2015 MULTI ANNUAL WORK PLAN 2013 2015 Translation into English: Elena Arrebola 1. CONTEXT a) Mandate The Council promotes the principle of equal treatment and non-discrimination of persons on racial or ethnic I. CONTEXT II. POLITICAL PRIORITIES IDENTIFIED SHAPING THE FUTURE OF EQUALITY POLICIES IN THE EU JOINT HIGH LEVEL EVENT ON NON-DISCRIMINATION AND EQUALITY, ROME, 6-7 NOVEMBER 2014 SUMMARY AND MAIN CONCLUSIONS I. CONTEXT The Italian Presidency of the INTRODUCTION... 2. I. Participation in the 2014 European elections... 3 ?? Directorate-General for Communication PUBLIC OPINION MONITORING UNIT 2014 EUROPEAN ELECTIONS DESK RESEARCH Brussels, April 2015 Profile of voters and abstainees in the European elections 2014 INTRODUCTION... Citizenship. (This is an extract from The National Curriculum 2007) Crown copyright 2007 Qualifications and Curriculum Authority 2007 Citizenship Programme of study for key stage 4 (This is an extract from The National Curriculum 2007) Crown copyright 2007 Qualifications and Curriculum Authority 2007 Curriculum aims Learning and undertaking 2014 post-election survey EUROPEAN ELECTIONS 2014 Directorate-General for Communication PUBLIC OPINION MONITORING UNIT Brussels, October 2014. 2014 post-election survey EUROPEAN ELECTIONS 2014 ANALYTICAL OVERVIEW Coverage: Population: Methodology: Fieldwork: DEFEND THE RIGHT OF INDEPENDENT LIVING. Action toolkit for an EU Parliament Resolution DEFEND THE RIGHT OF INDEPENDENT LIVING Action toolkit for an EU Parliament Resolution This initiative is supported by the working group Defend the Right of Independent Living : INTRODUCTION On the occasion EUROPEAN YOUTH: PARTICIPATION IN DEMOCRATIC LIFE Flash Eurobarometer EUROPEAN YOUTH: PARTICIPATION IN DEMOCRATIC LIFE REPORT Fieldwork: April 2013 Publication: May 2013 This survey has been requested by the European Commission, Directorate-General for PERSONAL DATA: Born on 26 October 1954, Ponor commune, Alba County, Romania. VICTOR CIORBEA PERSONAL DATA: Born on 26 October 1954, Ponor commune, Alba County, Romania. NATIONALITY: Romanian CITIZENSHIP: Romanian ADDRESS: Intrarea Valului St., no.14, Sector 1, Bucharest, Romania. European Security Strategy Austrian Perspective Erich Reiter and Johann Frank The European Security Strategy Austrian Perspective The following essay gives the Austrian view on the ESS from a security political perspective and analyses the needs and General recommendation No. 34 adopted by the Committee United Nations Advance edited version Distr.: General 30 September 2011 CERD/C/GC/34 Original: English Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Seventy-ninth session 8 August 2 September 2011 Information Call for participants DDCP YD/NHSM (2015) 24 Strasbourg, 3 December 2015 In cooperation with the Gender Equality Unit Combating Sexist Hate Speech A seminar bringing together youth and human rights activists, researchers Table of Contents. Executive Summary 1 Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Part I: What the Survey Found 4 Introduction: American Identity & Values 10 Year after September 11 th 4 Racial, Ethnic, & Religious Minorities in the U.S. 5 Strong. Civil Society Organizations From the Republic of Moldova: Development, Sustainability and Participation in Policy Dialogue Civil Society Organizations From the Republic of Moldova: Development, Sustainability and Participation in Policy Dialogue CHAPTER I. EVOLUTION AND STRUCTURE OF CSOs IN THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA Conceptualization Lobbying: Sweet Smell of Success? Lobbying: Sweet Smell of Success? A case study on the transparency of lobbying around sugar regulation in the European Union and Spain 1. Introduction It is essential that government decision making be Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), Science and Technology Special Eurobarometer 401 Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), Science and Technology REPORT Fieldwork: April - May 2013 Publication: November 2013 This survey has been requested by the European Guide for Community Screenings Guide for Community Screenings Waking in Oak Creek is a 35-minute film that follows a community as it heals in the wake of a tragedy. The cameras follow the courageous police response and powerful community e-justice in Hungary Ferenc Zombor Deputy State Secretary Responsible for EU and International Justice Cooperation e-justice in Hungary Ferenc Zombor Deputy State Secretary Responsible for EU and International Justice Cooperation PRESENTATION OUTLINE I. Historic and Legal Background II. The Act on e-signatures III.Electronic CABINET OFFICE THE CIVIL SERVICE NATIONALITY RULES ANNEX A CABINET OFFICE THE CIVIL SERVICE NATIONALITY RULES Introduction The Civil Service Nationality Rules concern eligibility for employment in the Civil Service on the grounds of nationality and must Fabio Bargiacchi, Executive Director Fabio Bargiacchi, Executive Director Delivering Cascade Training for Sustainability and Peer Exchanges 24th Annual Conference and General Assembly Meeting of the ACEEEO 9-11 September 2015, Chisinau, Moldova. Joint Declaration. On the Establishment of the Regional Co-operation Council (RCC) Joint Declaration On the Establishment of the Regional Co-operation Council (RCC) Representatives of the Participating States of the South East European Co-operation Process (SEECP), the United Nations Clearer rules for international couples frequently asked questions Clearer rules for international couples frequently asked questions Why does the EU need to act to help international couples? There are around 122 million marriages in the EU, of which around 16 million GENERAL POLICY RECOMMENDATION N 5: COMBATING INTOLERANCE CRI (2000) 21 GENERAL POLICY RECOMMENDATION N 5: COMBATING INTOLERANCE AND DISCRIMINATION AGAINST MUSLIMS Strasbourg, 27 April 2000 Secretariat of ECRI Directorate General of Human Rights DG II Council Expert Seminar. Engagement with Non-State Armed Groups in Peace Processes Expert Seminar Engagement with Non-State Armed Groups in Peace Processes Sept. 14 th and 15 th, 2010, Berlin Background: Non-state armed groups (NSAG) conflict regions. By exercising armed violence Annex 1 Primary sources for international standards Annex 1 Primary sources for international standards 1. The United Nations The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 20 1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. Equality between women and men Equality between women and men Gender equality means an equal visibility, empowerment, responsibility and participation of women and men in all spheres of public and private life. It also means an equal Can the criminal justice system be made to operate equitably in relation to race? Can the criminal justice system be made to operate equitably in relation to race? Conceptions of race within the criminal justice system have always been a controversial issue. Indeed, there is no denying Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men Opinion on an EU initiative on female genital mutilation The Opinion of the Advisory Committee does not necessarily reflect the positions of Political participation: Model by Verba in the EU and Russia Political participation: Model by Verba in the EU and Russia Introduction Democracy is a political system based on 1) representative government; 2) citizen participation in the political process; 3) freedom Words matter Taking a stand against hate speech - a response from the EEA and Norway Grants Norwegian Embassy in Poland Words matter Taking a stand against hate speech - a response from the EEA and Norway Grants Taking a stand against hate speech Human rights experts, media and civil society Student Handout #1: A Brief History of Canadian Citizenship Student Handout #1: A Brief History of Canadian Citizenship Section One: Citizenship The concept of citizenship goes all the way back to ancient Greece. In the Greek city states, citizens were people who Programme for Cohesion, Sharing and Integration: A Summary Document and Aid to Dialogue Programme for Cohesion, Sharing and Integration: A Summary Document and Aid to Dialogue Community Dialogue Steps into Dialogue Project Telephone: 028 9035 1450 [email protected] Website: United States Government Unit 3 Suggested Dates Title Political Parties and Voting, Elections, Civics, Media Big Idea/Enduring Understanding Voluntary individual participation is essential for the U.S. constitutional republic to thrive.. Political parties INTRODUCTION THE 2ND EUROPEAN YOUTH WORK CONVENTION INTRODUCTION This Declaration, prepared within the framework of the Belgian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, is addressed to the Member States of the Council of Euro, SPEECH MOVEMENT NO HATE. Youth Campaign for Human Rights Online. NO SPEECH MOVEMENT NO Youth Campaign for Human Rights Online. NO NO SPEECH MOVEMENT The Internet allows users to create, publish, distribute and use media content in a multitude Special Eurobarometer 397 CORRUPTION REPORT Special Eurobarometer 397 CORRUPTION REPORT Fieldwork: February - March 213 Publication: February 214 This survey has been requested by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Home Affairs and UN Human Rights Council UNITED KINGDOM 2014-2016 candidate UN Human Rights Council UNITED KINGDOM 2014-2016 candidate The UK is a passionate, committed and effective defender of human rights. We are seeking election to the UN Human Rights Council for the term Teaching about controversial issues: guidance for schools controversial issues: guidance for schools Conflict and controversy is a fact of life In an age of mass media and electronic communication, children and young people are regularly exposed to the conflicts Manifesto for Education Empowering Educators and Schools Manifesto for Education Empowering Educators and Schools As the world faces new challenges with the growing threat of violent extremism, schools and educators are confronted with expressions and sentiments UPC Agreement Ratification Process and Local or Regional Divisions Ausschuss für Streitregelung Litigation Committee Commission Procédure Judiciaire Update 7 December 2015 (original document dated 20 July 2015) UPC Agreement Ratification Process and Local or Regional Domagoj Mateković. Zagreb Faculty of Law Domagoj Mateković Zagreb Faculty of Law Introduction Definition of whistleblowers Legislation The term whistleblower Types of whistleblowers International solutions The protection of whistleblowers SCHOOL SAFETY & VIOLENCE PREVENTION FOR LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL & TRANSGENDER STUDENTS: SCHOOL SAFETY & VIOLENCE PREVENTION FOR LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL & TRANSGENDER STUDENTS: A Question & Answer Guide for California School Officials & Administrators A publication of the California Safe Schools ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAW IN SWITZERLAND. Legal Memorandum ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAW IN SWITZERLAND Legal Memorandum March 2013 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this memorandum is to provide an overview of the structure and content of anti-discrimination laws in The issue of Secret Ballot: Chapter I. Sovereignty versus Transparency by IWMC The issue of Secret Ballot: Chapter I Sovereignty versus Transparency by IWMC Table of Contents I. Secret ballots at CITES: Sovereignty versus Transparency II. Historical background III. Proposals) What is going on in Hungary? Direct democracy in a weird political environment What is going on in Hungary? Direct democracy in a weird political environment The signs of change are obvious. A different understanding of democracy and politics is taking place and ruling the country. Mechanisms for Promoting Freedom of Expression JOINT DECLARATION ON CRIMES AGAINST FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION International Mechanisms for Promoting Freedom of Expression JOINT DECLARATION ON CRIMES AGAINST FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and 2015 Update in 19 Countries 2015 Update in 19 Countries Methodology The Anti-Defamation League commissioned First International Resources to update attitudes and opinions toward Jews in 19 countries around the world. Fieldwork and Jesuit Refugee Service Submission of the Jesuit Refugee Service to the Peace Forums organised by the United Nations and Universidad Nacional on resolution of armed conflict in Colombia Jesuit Refugee Service The Jesuit Refugee Threatening visibility Radical right Homophobes in European Parliaments 2012 Threatening visibility Radical right Homophobes in European Parliaments 2012 A report by Martha Hannus, Expo. 2012-12-13 Photo: Expo Författare: Martha Hannus epost: [email protected] Cover photo: Academic Standards for Civics and Government Academic Standards for Civics and Government June 1, 2009 FINAL Secondary Standards Pennsylvania Department of Education These standards are offered as a voluntary resource for Pennsylvania s schools and Home Security: Russia s Challenges Home Security: Russia s Challenges A Russian Perspective Andrei Fedorov * Home security: Russia s challenges Home security and the struggle against terrorism is one of the most crucial issues for the Russian European judicial training 2014. Justice European judicial training 2014 Justice Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union. Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) Certain mobile telephone OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK EN ECB-PUBLIC OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK of 2 October 2012 on preparations and legal amendments required for the introduction of the euro (CON/2012/73) Introduction and legal basis On 20 July Too Political? Charities and the Legal Boundaries of Campaigning. Professor Debra Morris Too Political? Charities and the Legal Boundaries of Campaigning Professor Debra Morris 1 Overview Charity Law Charity campaigning in the spotlight Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Human Rights. Resource Pack 1 Human Rights Resource Pack 2 What s in this pack? Sections Pages Important Notes Page 3 What s it all about? Page 4 Why the Human Rights Act? Page 6 Who we are and what we do Page 9 What are human rights? Tom Ginsburg, University of Chicago Law School July 30, 2008 COMPARATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW Tom Ginsburg, University of Chicago Law School July 30, 2008 Constitutional review is the power to examine statutes and government actions for conformity with the constitution. ELECTORAL OFFICE FOR NORTHERN IRELAND ELECTORAL OFFICE FOR NORTHERN IRELAND JOB SPECIFICATION POLL CLERK Completed application forms must be returned to HR Section by 3pm on Monday 17 November 2014 EONI is an equal opportunities employer and REPORT. on the Polish Banking Ombudsman activities. in 2011 REPORT on the Polish Banking Ombudsman activities in 2011 Warsaw, January 2012 A. General information The Polish Banking Ombudsman Scheme (PBO) at the Polish Bank Association was established on March 1,

Providing Professional Care in Rehabilitation Services - Ethelbert Shepherd - 2 years ago - Views: Transcription 1 For more information about Inspira Rehab Care or for a patient evaluation, please contact any one of our facilities: Inspira Rehab Care Bridgeton Health Center 333 Irving Avenue Bridgeton, NJ (856) INSPIRA HEALTH NETWORK Rehab Care Providing Professional Care in Rehabilitation Services Inspira Rehab Care Elmer 445 W Front Street Elmer, NJ (856) Inspira Rehab Care Vineland & Inspira Kids Rehab Care Inspira Vineland Health Center 1038 E Chestnut Avenue Vineland, NJ (856) Audiology: (856) Inspira Sports Rehab Care Vineland 1430 West Sherman Avenue Vineland, NJ (856) Inspira Sports Rehab Care Tomlin Station 201 Tomlin Station Road, Suite D Mullica Hill, NJ (856) INSPIRA 2013 Inspira Health Network IHN-3004 2 Common Orthopedic and Neurologic Conditions that can benefit from our program include: Low back pain, sprain or strain Herniated discs Scoliosis Whiplash Joint replacement Plantar fascitis ACL tear/repair Bursitis Rotator cuff tear Ankle sprain/strain Fractures Stroke Knee strain / sprain About Inspira Rehab Care Our goal at Inspira Rehab Care is to provide quality care to our customers in a comfortable setting so they achieve their highest level of function possible. In addition to standardized methods, Inspira Rehab Care utilizes Nintendo Wii as an adjunct to current and traditional therapies. Our therapists find it enhances the patient experience while creating a fun atmosphere. Your treatment plan will be individualized based on physician s orders. Once the treatment plan is developed, regular updates and progress reports will be provided to your physician. Inspira Rehab Care offers specialized programs that are created to service a wide range of diagnoses. We offer multiple locations and select evening hours to provide our patients convenience that fits their lifestyle. Physical Therapy / Sports Medicine Therapy Whether recovering from an injury, motor vehicle accident, surgery, work related injury or chronic condition, Inspira Rehab Care will work to help you achieve your highest level of functioning possible. 3 Inspira Rehab Care Occupational and Hand Therapy At Inspira Rehab Care, our Occupational and Certified Hand Therapists will use therapeutic techniques as well as functional tasks to have patients achieve their maximum potential following injury or surgery. Inspira Rehab Care s Certified Hand and Occupational Therapists have special training in treating patients with a variety of injuries. Our Occupational Therapy offers personalized rehabilitation programs to assist patients with: Hand and wrist injuries and fractures Finger fractures Joint injuries Sports injuries Tendonitis and arthritis of the hand, wrist and elbow Nerve injuries and surgeries, hand re-plantations Carpal tunnel syndrome Trigger finger Work related injuries Stroke Activities of Daily Living (ADL s) Our therapist will determine the best plan of care based on the physician s orders and the patient s physical and functional needs. The Occupational Therapist will then use some of LifeSpine Program Inspira Rehab Care uses the LifeSpine program to treat many spine and back related diagnoses. The customized program is evidence-based and standardized throughout all of our locations. The LifeSpine program maximizes individual physical activity and function, minimizes discomfort and allows for measureable improvements. Degenerative disc disease, sports or work injuries, poor posture and back pain or strain patients are good candidates for this program. Treatment option may include: Strategies to decrease pain Flexibility and stretching Strengthening exercises Spine stabilization Soft tissue and joint mobilization Biofeedback Movement and positioning strategies Aerobic/cardiovascular conditioning This program is available at all locations. 4 Inspira Kids Rehab Care Inspira Kids Rehab Care offers specialized pediatric therapy facilities designed especially for our young population. Our facility includes a sensory dark room, equipment for vestibular and gross motor skills, as well as programs for senory integration issues and feeding/swallowing challenges. Our Inspira Kids Rehab Care staff consists for physical, occupational and pediatric speech therapists and audiologists that specialize in the treatment of infants and children of all ages with orthopedic, developmental and neurological diagnoses, including: Developmental delay Brachial plexus Cerebral palsy Spina bifida Traumatic brain injury Tortocollis Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis Downs syndrome Play is incorporated into most pediatric treatments. It is our most important tool maintaining the interest of your child while we work together toward your child s therapeutic goals. Inspira Kids Rehab Care incorporates the use of Nintendo Wii as an added therapeutic technique in addition to other treatments. Our Inspira Kids Rehab Care facility is located at Inspira Health Center Vineland at 1038 E. Chestnut Avenue, Suite 260, Vineland, NJ Please call (856) for more information. Employer Education Services and Industrial Rehab Program Inspira Rehab Care offers a number of programs to educate employees about safe work practices. In the event of an injury, Inspira Rehab Care offers physical and occupational therapy services to help individuals achieve their highest level of functioning possible. Services Post-injury, full service physical and occupational therapy Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCE) Pre-Work Screens (PWS) Educational Programs Educational Programs / Lunch and Learn Sessions Injury prevention Repetitive motion injury Proper body mechanics at the work site Stretching and home exercise Back safety techniques and postural awareness Benefits Reduced potential for on-the-job injuries Improved employee awareness and prevention of injury or re-injury Decreased time away from work Decreased workers compensation costs. For more information please call (856) 5 LifeSpine Program For patients that experience back and spine issues, this evidence-based protocol helps to correct movement patterns that may chronically irritate a condition. Once improved, patients receive education on ways to perform daily activities and reduce risk of injury or discomfort. Vestibular Program Women s Health Women have special health needs. That s why Inspira Rehab Care has developed programs that specifically target the needs of women. Our programs allow our female patients to take a more active role in managing their health while minimizing the potential need for medications. Specialized programs include: Urinary Incontinence Program as a complement to standard gynecologic and urogynecologic care, our OAB therapy focuses on strengthening the pelvic floor muscles with Kegel exercises and biofeedback, resulting in noticeable improvements in just a few weeks. Through our Inspira Rehab Care Vestibular Program, physical therapists with advanced specialized training provide treatment to alleviate symptoms and improve function related to dizziness, vertigo and balance disorders. Common patient conditions include: Head trauma/whiplash Stroke Post-op brain tumor or inner ear surgery Disease or inflammation of the inner ear Dizziness or imbalance Lightheadedness, nausea, disorientation Motion intolerance This program is available at select locations. Please call the location nearest you for more information. Osteoporosis Program Our customized osteoporosis therapy utilizes postural corrections, activity modification and specific weight bearing exercise programs to minimize the risk of fractures. Edema/Lymphedema Program Our certified lymphedema therapists provide a comprehensive evaluation and treatment plan, utilizing manual lymphatic drainage technique, multi-layered bandaging, compression, education and home exercise to protect and maintain function of affected limbs. 6 Audiology & Speech Language Pathology Brain injury, stroke, mouth cancer, swallowing and neurological disorders, audiological and speech impairments may leave some patients with significant deficits in their ability to speak and communicate effectively. This program is available at select locations. Please call the location nearest you for more information. Inspira Rehab Care has licensed speech pathologists and audiologists that are specially trained and experienced to improve speech function and communication skills in adults and children. Inspira Rehab Care treats patients with the following conditions: Speech and sound articulation dysfunction Chewing and swallowing problems Oral/motor issues Oral cancer Throat cancer Vocal nodules, polyps Dysphagia Middle ear dysfunction Tinnitus Central auditory processing problems The Speech Language Pathology department incorporates the use of VitalStim technique for its patients. VitalStim therapy is a safe and effective treatment for patients suffering with difficulty swallowing or dysphagia. It was developed in response to the 15 million Americans living with dysphagia today. Inspira Rehab Care s Audiology and Speech Language Pathology departments work closely with area employers for hearing conservation efforts and audiologic baseline testing studies, as well as local school systems for enhanced one-to-one therapy not offered in the classroom setting. Your First Visit Please bring your physicians prescription for therapy, your insurance card(s) and a list of your prescribed medications. Please dress in a manner that will provide you comfort during your evaluation. Example, if you are being seen for a knee injury, please bring a pair of shorts, sweat pants, etc. Appropriate t-shirts and sweat pants provide comfortable attire for your first visit. Please arrive minutes before your scheduled appointment to fill out required paperwork. To complete the required forms prior to your first visit, please visit under the Services Tab, highlight Hospital Services, then click Rehabilitation Services. The link to our Medical History Form is at the bottom of the main page. If you have any questions or need to change an appointment, please contact your nearest Rehab Care facility. We look forward to meeting and exceeding your expectations! SUMMA HEALTH SYSTEM. Summa s Outpatient Rehabilitation Services SUMMA HEALTH SYSTEM Summa s Outpatient Rehabilitation Services Summa s Outpatient Rehabilitation Services Patients have convenient access to therapy services ranging from acute rehab to wellness Summa SAM KARAS ACUTE REHABILITATION CENTER SAM KARAS ACUTE REHABILITATION CENTER 1 MEDICAL CARE Sam Karas Acute Rehabilitation The Sam Karas Acute Rehabilitation Center is a comprehensive and interdisciplinary inpatient unit. Medical care is directed OUTPATIENT PHYSICAL AND OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY PROTOCOL GUIDELINES OUTPATIENT PHYSICAL AND OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY PROTOCOL GUIDELINES General Therapy Guidelines 1. Therapy evaluations must be provided by licensed physical and/or occupational therapists. Therapy evaluations mobility. recovery. flexibility. Harrington HealthCare System Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine mobility. recovery. flexibility. Harrington HealthCare System Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine Welcome Aquatic Therapy Backpack Fittings Community Education Lymphedema Oncology Rehabilitation Orthopedic Outpatient Rehabilitation Outpatient Rehabilitation Simply the Best. A COMPREHENSIVE REHAB PROGRAM Moorings Park offers a comprehensive rehabilitation program tailored to clients who have suffered a multitude of disorders. Consisting The Pediatric Program at Marianjoy MARIANJOY Rehabilitation Hospital Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare The Pediatric Program at Marianjoy Celebrating Even the Smallest Steps, One Step at a Time The Pediatric Program at Marianjoy Celebrating Overview. Please see other side of this sheet for more information. St. Mary Medical Center offers outpatient therapy in two convenient locations Overview St. Mary Medical Center offers a wide variety of personalized physical, occupational, and speech therapies on an outpatient basis for people who need help to regain their mobility and the ability Closed Automobile Insurance Third Party Liability Bodily Injury Claim Study in Ontario Page 1 Closed Automobile Insurance Third Party Liability Bodily Injury Claim Study in Ontario Injury Descriptions Developed from Newfoundland claim study injury definitions No injury Death Psychological Offering Solutions for The Management of Pain Integrative Pain Treatment Center Integrative Pain Treatment Center Offering Solutions for The Management of Pain ADACHES BACK AND NECK PAIN FIBROMYALGIA MYOFASCIAL PAIN ARTHRITIS SPINAL STENOSIS JOINT North Shore-LIJ Cancer Rehabilitation. Restoring function for patients and survivors North Shore-LIJ Cancer Rehabilitation Restoring function for patients and survivors Improve Your Quality of Life The North Shore-LIJ Rehabilitation Network provides a comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation Sports Health. Dedicated to building champions Sports Health Dedicated to building champions Dedicated to Building Focus The Competitive Edge All athletes deserve the very best sports-related care and treatment that s one-on-one and state-of-the-art. Program Program Descriptions ALS Clinic Amputee Rehab Amputee Support Group Aphasia Conversation Group Aquatic Therapy Balance Center Better Breathers Club Brain Injury Program Brain Injury Support Group Cam/Integrative Medicine Cardiac Elbow Injuries and Disorders Elbow Injuries and Disorders Introduction Your elbow joint is made up of bone, cartilage, ligaments and fluid. Muscles and tendons help the elbow joint move. There are many injuries and disorders that Neck Injuries and Disorders Neck Injuries and Disorders Introduction Any part of your neck can be affected by neck problems. These affect the muscles, bones, joints, tendons, ligaments or nerves in the neck. There are many common Chapter 6 Musculoskeletal System Diseases and Disorders Chapter 6 Musculoskeletal System Diseases and Disorders Anatomy and Physiology Bones and Joints Bones provide framework and support; classified by shape and composition Joints: where two or more bones: Profile: Kessler Patients Profile: Kessler Patients 65 Breakthrough Years Kessler Institute has pioneered the course of medical rehabilitation since 1948. Today, as the nation s largest single rehabilitation hospital, we continue Guidelines for Medical Necessity Determination for Occupational Therapy Guidelines for Medical Necessity Determination for Occupational Therapy These Guidelines for Medical Necessity Determination (Guidelines) identify the clinical information MassHealth needs to determine A Note to Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists D Page 1 of 5 A Note to Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists Treating Children with Hurler Syndrome Because Hurler syndrome is such a rare disease, we have provided some basic information to assist UTILIZING STRAPPING AND TAPING CODES FOR HEALTH CARE REIMBURSEMENT: UTILIZING STRAPPING AND TAPING CODES FOR HEALTH CARE REIMBURSEMENT: A GUIDE TO BILLING FOR SPIDERTECH PRE-CUT APPLICATIONS AND TAPE Billing and coding taping and strapping services can be a complex issue. Back & Neck Pain Survival Guide Back & Neck Pain Survival Guide Zachary - 225-658-7751 Baton Rouge - 225-768-7676 Kleinpeter Physical Therapy - Spine Care Program Finally! A Proven Assessment & Treatment Program Advanced Elvarez Workshop. Common Fallacies About Cancer Pain Sponsor Biologix Solutions BSN Name of Course Ethics for Physical Therapy Professionals Advanced Elvarez Workshop Common Fallacies About Cancer Pain Back in Action with Joint Replacements Part 2 ABCs of Ergonomics Monitor Training Manual Table of contents I. Introduction Ergonomics Monitor Training Manual II. Definition of Common Injuries Common Hand & Wrist Injuries Common Neck & Back Injuries Common Shoulder & Elbow Injuries III. Ergonomics Chapter. CPT only copyright 2009 American Medical Association. All rights reserved. 29Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Chapter 29Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 29 29.1 Enrollment...................................................... 29-2 29.2 Benefits, Limitations, and Authorization Requirements...................... Associated Disorder Whiplash Associated Disorder Bourassa & Associates Rehabilitation Centre What is Whiplash? Whiplash is a non-medical term used to describe neck pain following hyperflexion or hyperextension of the tissues First Year. PT7040- Clinical Skills and Examination II First Year Summer PT7010 Anatomical Dissection for Physical Therapists This is a dissection-based, radiographic anatomical study of the spine, lower extremity, and upper extremity as related to physical MCGHealth Orthopaedic Center MCGHealth Orthopaedic Center Why refer your patients to MCGHealth Orthopaedic Center? Full range of care from general orthopaedic diagnosis and triage to the most complex spinal surgeries Team of board-certified THE RUSK INSTITUTE REHABILITATION NETWORK. Rehabilitation for Each Phase of Recovery THE RUSK INSTITUTE REHABILITATION NETWORK Rehabilitation for Each Phase of Recovery The Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, the flagship facility of the Rusk Institute Rehabilitation Network, has Chapter. CPT only copyright 2010 American Medical Association. All rights reserved. 29Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 29Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Chapter 29 29.1 Enrollment..................................................................... 29-2 29.2 Benefits, Limitations, and Authorization Requirements........................... Feel better today! Look inside to see our facility! Feel better today! Look inside to see our facility! Tailored to Your Needs Pantops Physical Therapy is your home for comprehensive physical therapy programs. When you get right down to it, we don t simply GENERAL ADMISSION CRITERIA INPATIENT REHABILITATION PROGRAMS Originator: Case Management Original Date: 9/94 Review/Revision: 6/96, 2/98, 1/01, 4/02, 8/04, 3/06, 03/10, 3/11, 3/13 Stakeholders: Case Management, Medical Staff, Nursing, Inpatient Therapy GENERAL ADMISSION Healing from head to toe Healing from head to toe The WCA Center For Orthopedics, Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation brings together ONE team for a wide range of treatments and rehabilitation including, orthopedic care, sports medicine, Medical Policy Definition of Skilled Care Medical Policy Definition of Skilled Care Document Number: 015 Authorization required Home skilled care and short term rehab Notification within 24 hours or next business day No notification or authorization Health History Form: Beverly Hosford, Muscle Activation Techniques Specialist Health History Form: Beverly Hosford, Muscle Activation Techniques Specialist Name: Phone: Address: E-mail: Birthdate: Age: EMERGENCY CONTACT Name: Phone: Are you seeing any medical practitioners such Get Rid of Elbow Pain Get Rid of Elbow Pain Self Regional Healthcare Optimum Life Center 115 Academy Avenue Greenwood, SC 29646 Office: (864) 725-7088 Self Regional Healthcare Physical Therapy Savannah Lakes 207 Holiday Road THE LUMBAR SPINE (BACK) THE LUMBAR SPINE (BACK) At a glance Chronic back pain, especially in the area of the lumbar spine (lower back), is a widespread condition. It can be assumed that 75 % of all people have it sometimes or Graston Technique Changing the way soft tissue is treated. PTA 236 Seminar II In-service Presentation By Michele Kersman Graston Technique Changing the way soft tissue is treated PTA 236 Seminar II In-service Presentation By Michele Kersman Graston Technique An innovative, patented form of instrument-assisted soft tissue THE RUSK INSTITUTE OF REHABILITATION MEDICINE. Rehabilitation that focuses on the whole person THE RUSK INSTITUTE OF REHABILITATION MEDICINE Rehabilitation that focuses on the whole person The Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine has been ranked best in rehabilitation medicine in New York) Concussion Management Program for Red Bank Catholic High School Athletic Department Concussion Management Program for Red Bank Catholic High School Athletic Department *This document should be used as a framework for a successful concussion management program but is not intended to replace Bourassa and Associates Rehabilitation Centre Multidisciplinary Musculoskeletal Functional Rehabilitative Services Slide 1 Bourassa and Associates Rehabilitation Centre Multidisciplinary Musculoskeletal Functional Rehabilitative Services Slide 2 Introduction To Rehabilitation Professionals Physical Therapy Occupational Integrated Manual Therapy & Orthopedic Massage For Low Back Pain, Hip Pain, and Sciatica Integrated Manual Therapy & Orthopedic Massage For Low Back Pain, Hip Pain, and Sciatica Assessment Protocols Treatment Protocols Treatment Protocols Corrective Exercises By Author & International Lecturer Therapeutic Canine Massage Meet our Certified Canine Massage Therapist, Stevi Quick After years of competitive grooming and handling several breeds in conformation, I became interested in training and competing with my dogs Temple Physical Therapy Temple Physical Therapy A General Overview of Common Neck Injuries For current information on Temple Physical Therapy related news and for a healthy and safe return to work, sport and recreation Like Us CNR S SHORT TERM REHABILITATION CNR S SHORT TERM REHABILITATION A Leader in Innovative Therapies A Member of the Beth Abraham Family of Health Services Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation Where Healing Hands Lead You Home CNR s innovative Independent Therapist Provider Specific Policy Manual. Revision Table. Description. Sections Revised. Revision Date Provider Specific Policy Manual Revision Table Revision Date Sections Revised Description 5/1/04 New Manual Prior to 5/1/04, DMAP did not enroll or reimburse Independent Therapists for services. 9/1/2016 Hand Injuries and Disorders Hand Injuries and Disorders Introduction Each of your hands has 27 bones, 15 joints and approximately 20 muscles. There are many common problems that can affect your hands. Hand problems can be caused If you have an accident, will it hurt your bank account too? Group accident insurance With wellness benefit If you have an accident, will it hurt your bank account too? Unum s accident insurance gives you something to fall back on. Life can take a tumble. With Pediatric Outpatient Rehabilitation Services Pediatric Outpatient Rehabilitation Services Northwestern Medicine Pediatric Rehabilitation As a parent, you want your child to lead a full and satisfying life at home and in school. The goal of Pediatric Chapter. 34Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) Services 34Speech-Langu Pathology (SLP) Services Chapter 34 34.1 Enrollment..................................................................... 34-2 34.2 Benefits, Limitations, and Authorization Requirements........................... Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs) [Preauthorization Required] Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs) [Preauthorization Required] Medical Policy: MP-ME-05-09 Original Effective Date: February 18, 2009 Reviewed: April 22, 2011 Revised: This policy applies to products Cerebral Palsy. Causes Cerebral Palsy Cerebral Palsy (sera brul PAUL zee) (CP) is an injury or abnormality of the developing brain that affects movement. This means that something happened to the brain or the brain did not develop: Marianjoy Physical Therapy and. A Leader in Rehabilitation Marianjoy Physical Therapy and Outpatient Services A Leader in Rehabilitation Choose Wisely Choose Marianjoy Marianjoy Distinctly Different Marianjoy provides a complete range of rehabilitation services A Patient's Guide to Arthritis of the Finger Joints Introduction A Patient's Guide to Arthritis of the Finger Joints When you stop to think about how much you use your hands, it's easy to see why the joints of the fingers are so important. Arthritis of Rehabilitation and Choosing a Rehab Center The following excerpt has been taken from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation Paralysis Resource Center website. How_to_Pick_a_Rehab.htm Integrated Manual Therapy & Orthopedic Massage For Complicated Forearm, Wrist & Hand Conditions Integrated Manual Therapy & Orthopedic Massage For Complicated Forearm, Wrist & Hand Conditions Assessment Protocols Treatment Protocols Treatment Protocols Corrective Exercises Artwork and slides taken Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physician Referral Center: (801) 581-2897 Toll-Free: (866) 850-8863 physicians.utah.edu Physical Medicine and The mission of the Division of Physical Medicine and is to provide compassionate, state-of-theart Rehabilitation Documentation and Proper Coding Guidelines Rehabilitation Documentation and Proper Coding Guidelines Purpose: 1) Develop a guide for doctors in South Dakota to follow when performing reviews on rehabilitation cases. 2) Provide doctors in South PLANTAR FASCITIS (Heel Spur Syndrome) PLANTAR FASCITIS (Heel Spur Syndrome) R. Amadeus Mason MD Description Plantar fascitis is characterized by stiffness and inflammation of the main fascia (fibrous connective [ligament-like] tissue) on the): Rehabilitation Therapies Bluebonnet Medical Rehabilitation Hospital Rehabilitation Therapies 512-444-4835 or 800-252-5151 Austin, Texas What Sets Us Apart Rehabilitation Therapies Physical Therapy - Neuromuscular Caring for loved ones. Family style. Caring for loved ones. Family style. Hughes Health Rehabilitation Welcome to Our Family Since 1961, Hughes Health and Rehabilitation in West Hartford has treated everyone like family, from those who come Documentation Requirements ADHD Documentation Requirements ADHD Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is considered a neurobiological disability that interferes with a person s ability to sustain attention, focus on a task Sport-specific Rehabilitation and Performance Programs Sport-specific Rehabilitation and Performance Programs At Cleveland Clinic, we understand athletes. That s why we ve designed an entire range of sport-specific rehabilitation and performance programs to' Whiplash and Whiplash- Associated Disorders Whiplash and Whiplash- Associated Disorders North American Spine Society Public Education Series What Is Whiplash? The term whiplash might be confusing because it describes both a mechanism of injury WHAT IS CEREBRAL PALSY? WHAT IS CEREBRAL PALSY? Cerebral Palsy is a dysfunction in movement resulting from injury to or poor development of the brain prior to birth or in early childhood. Generally speaking, any injury or disease Treatment Guide Understanding Elbow Pain. Using this Guide. Choosing Your Care. Table of Contents: Treatment Guide Understanding Elbow Pain Elbow pain is extremely common whether due to aging, overuse, trauma or a sports injury. When elbow pain interferes with carrying the groceries, participating in Section 2. Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Services Division of Medicaid and Health Financing Updated July 2015 Section 2 Table of Contents 1 General Information... 2 1-1 General Policy... 2 1-2 Fee-For-Service or Managed Care... 3 1-3 Definitions... 3 Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) Speech-Langu Pathology (SLP) Services Chapter.1 Enrollment..................................................................... -2.2 Benefits, Limitations, and Authorization Requirements...........................

guide minimising the cost of personal injury claims arising under employers and public liability - August Jennings - 2 years ago - Views: Transcription 1 guide minimising the cst f persnal injury claims arising under emplyers and public liability 2 cntents Intrductin... 2 Target audience fr the guide... 2 The authrs credentials... 2 Why publish the guide nw?... 2 General principles t be applied... 2 The rle f the slicitr... 2 Pre-incident phase... 2 Basic behaviurs... 3 Culture... 3 Danger areas fr defendants... 3 Risk assessments... 3 Safe systems f wrk... 3 Training... 4 Understanding yur liability... 4 Cntractual terms... 4 Setting up systems... 4 Jined up -insured/brker/insurer/adjuster/slicitr... 5 Feedback/learning... 5 Hw much effrt and resurce shuld be put int preventin -cst benefit analysis... 5 Privilege... 5 Pst incident phase... 6 Basic behaviurs... 6 Systems... 6 Cllating the facts... 6 Imprtance f legal privilege... 6 Third party capture... 7 Anticipating incidents that will result in claims... 7 Feedback/learning/reviewing risk assessments... 7 Handling claims... 8 Basic behaviurs... 8 Access t the facts and dcuments... 8 Understanding yur cntractual terms cntributin / indemnity... 8 Aligning yur handlers t yur business needs... 9 Type and use f medical experts... 9 Gd decisins n the law... 9 The mnkey/nuts syndrme... 9 Key Perfrmance Indicatrs Effective use f Part Cntrlling and aligning yur lawyers... 10 3 Large incidents HSE invlvement Settlement schemes Rehabilitatin schemes Cntributry negligence Examples % cntributry negligence % Cntributry negligence % Cntributry negligence % Cntributry negligence % Cntributry negligence Practical cnsideratins Emplyers liability case law illustrating when an emplyer can win Manual handling (The Manual Handling Operatins Regulatins 1992) Wrk equipment (Prvisin and Use f Wrk Equipment Regulatins 1998) PPE (Persnal Prtective Equipment Wrk Regulatins 1992) The Wrkplace (Wrkplace (Health Safety and Welfare) Regulatins 1992) Occupiers liability verview Occupiers Liability Act Visitrs and Occupiers Occupiers Liability Act Trespassers and Occupiers When has liability been fund? When has liability nt been fund? Obvius dangers Visitrs carrying ut their trade r prfessin Aviding Liability Under The 1957 Act Warnings Cntributry negligence Exclusin f liability Unfair Cntract Terms Act Independent Cntractrs and the Occupiers Liability Act Practical strategies Aviding r mitigating liability fr ppsing parties csts Part 36 Civil Prcedure Rules Strategies Medical expert evidence Pst-traumatic stress disrder and psychiatric injury Claiming/defending claims fr cntributin/indemnity Example Practical strategies Rehabilitatin Liability t the Cmpensatin Recvery Unit Offsetting repayable benefits Methds f reducing yur liability t CRU NHS charges Cnclusin... 33 4 Guide t minimising the cst f persnal injury claims arising under emplyers and public liability Intrductin Target audience fr the guide Organisatins wh pay fr the cst f injury claims via insurance premiums, insurance deductibles r thrugh their captive/self insured arrangement. The authrs credentials are a majr UK law firm with a substantial insurance law practice. We cmbine a refreshing apprach with the scale and depth f expertise t meet the challenges facing every business. We will prvide yu with high quality advice that is underpinned by a real understanding f the sectr. Partner Alan Jacbs and his team have wrked with businesses t supprt their risk management strategies fr ver 30 years. He has prepared this guide frm his experience ver many years acting fr insureds in defending persnal injury claims under the insureds captive r self insured schemes r by nminatin by an insured t their insurer. We view ur rle as directly helping crprates manage and cntain claims spend. Why publish the guide nw? The Jacksn refrms are likely t give a shrt term reductin in the third party cst element f yur verall claim spend. Hwever, ver time, changing market dynamics (eg, claimant law firm cnslidatin, ABS s, etc) will mean a significant rise in the number f claims being pursued, in the level f damages being awarded and therefre in the verall claim spend. This guide is intended t assist rganisatins in adpting strategies that will keep that spend t the lwest pssible level. General principles t be applied The key is active (as ppsed t passive) management (including inspectins/checks) at every stage f the incident/claims prcess. Underpinning this principle is a crdinated, aligned and jined up relatinship between insured, brker, insurer, investigatr/adjuster and slicitr. The rle f the slicitr An experienced slicitr has a massive amunt f accrued knwledge that culd be used t help yu in preventing incidents and helping yu reduce the cst f claims arising when incidents d ccur. Hw t best use that resurce warrants a guide in its wn right. Our shrt summary guide Managing Risk Cntrlling Cst is available free f charge frm 2 5 Guide t minimising the cst f persnal injury claims arising under emplyers and public liability Pre-incident phase Basic behaviurs Culture Anticipating and then managing risk t prevent incidents ccurring but nevertheless anticipating they will ccur. Having in place prcesses which effectively capture evidence f the facts and circumstances surrunding an incident. Learning frm every incident that ccurs and feeding back that learning int the business. Organisatins that are best at aviding incidents ccurring, but being able t dispse f claims quickly and at their lwest cst when they d, are thse wh have embedded the abve behaviurs. Danger areas fr defendants Risk assessments Main prblems N risk assessments carried ut. Assessments are prly prepared. Failure t reassess risk assessments peridically and t have a fllw n inspectin prcess t ensure risk assessments are being cmplied with. Causatin T successfully argue that failures arund risk assessments give a defendant liability fr an injury the claimant must shw that the lack f r inadequacy f a risk assessment is causatinally relevant t the injury ccurring. In ther wrds a missing r inadequate risk assessment des nt, n its wn, help a claimant in recvering damages (see Shirley Parker v Rbin Levy (T/A Essex Marinas) (2007) generally and Susan Lane v Disabilities Trust (2007) re manual handling). It has t be shwn that had there been a prper risk assessment it wuld have prevented the injury ccurring. Nn delegable duty The curts view the requirement fr risk assessments t be very imprtant, t the extent that in Uren v Crprate Leisure (UK) Limited and Ministry f Defence (Curt f Appeal) (Feb 2011) the duty fr an emplyer t undertake a risk assessment was held t be a nn delegable duty, thugh if an emplyer used a cntractr fr an activity and satisfied themselves that the cntractr had carried ut a thrugh risk assessment, in relatin t that activity it might well lead t the cnclusin that the risk assessment carried ut by the emplyer was suitable and sufficient even thugh it was nt as detailed as wuld therwise be required. In Uren the cntractr did nt carry ut a suitable r sufficient risk assessment and the MD shuld nt have relied n it t satisfy their nn delegable duty. S, even where thse cntractrs may be experts, an emplyer still has t make sure that the risk assessment is suitable and sufficient. (This will nt stp the emplyer arguing cntributin r indemnity frm the cntractr if it is nt). Safe systems f wrk Risk assessments shuld be the basis fr detailed safe systems f wrk fr any activities determined t have a significant risk expsure. 3 6 Guide t minimising the cst f persnal injury claims arising under emplyers and public liability Training Main prblems N training. Inadequate training (eg, Anthny Edward Gwer-Smith v Hampshire Cunty Cuncil (2008), a case with helpful guidance n inadequate training n the use f ladders, where the defendant was fund liable but managed t get a healthy 25 per cent reductin fr cntributry negligence despite that) N subsequent retraining refreshers. The lnger the perid between the training and an incident the less likely the training will be said t be relevant t the defence f a claim. Understanding yur liability N practical and in depth knwledge f the circumstances in which yu might have a legal liability is a prblem because: Risk assessments, training and accident investigatins systems will be inapprpriate and will nt capture the infrmatin, nr fcus n the detail, that is needed t minimise r defend such a claim. This is a management training issue and why we spend s much time with ur crprate clients training them n legal liability. Yu will als find AIRMIC training sessins & materials a useful resurce (). Cntractual terms T make sure that yur cntracts with suppliers, subcntractrs etc are all as strng as they can be t prtect yu, ideally yu will require: Indemnities in yur favur. The suppliers and subcntractrs having adequate insurance in place t cver them shuld yu wish t claim n the indemnities: diarise their renewal dates t ensure yu always have their current insurance details; retain their insurance details fr at least the perid f any indemnity perid impsed under yur main cntract. (But remember prfessinal indemnity insurance is generally written n a claims made basis s retentin is less imprtant). If yu d nt have the cmmercial clut t get indemnities yu at least need t understand clearly what liabilities yu have under the cntract s that when an incident ccurs fast accurate decisins can be made. Make sure yur cntracts have been reviewed by yur lawyers. Setting up systems Capturing the evidence, using the "glden hur" (the hur fllwing the incident). Witnesses Yu need systems in place fr identifying witnesses and capturing their evidence fllwing an incident (and fr retaining cntact details shuld they leave the business). Are peple that speak t witnesses prperly trained s that they can assess what facts might be relevant? The cntent f statements must be relevant t ptential civil liability. Statements must be signed. Statements shuld include thse witnesses wh can talk abut the relevant facts leading up t the incident. 4 7 Guide t minimising the cst f persnal injury claims arising under emplyers and public liability Statements must nt just describe the aftermath f the accident, particularly the injuries, withut any attempt at trying t understand hw and why the accident ccurred. Statements need t be taken asap after the accident and t have sufficient detail t allw readers t visualise what happened befre during and immediately after the accident, as if watching a film r reading a bk. They wuld ideally be augmented by phtgraphs and a sketch plan. Dcuments Are peple wh are cllating relevant dcuments, prperly trained t understand what might be available and what might be relevant. Are the dcuments stred s that they are crss reference-able t witness statements/incidents. D they include relevant dcuments created befre the accident such as risk assessments and training recrds, maintenance recrds etc. Jined up -insured/brker/insurer/adjuster/slicitr Yu need: A develped relatinship between all f the team members/partners invlved in the prcess fr preventin f incidents and handling f claims with. Alignment f the team members/partners t yur business needs. All team members/partners t be invlved tgether in: strategy planning sessins; sharing f best practice frm their industries; and end f case feedback. Feedback/learning Is there a system fr feeding back lessns learned fllwing an accident, s that prcedures can be reassessed, risk assessments checked t see whether they need revising, training assessed t see whether it needs updating etc. Hw much effrt and resurce shuld be put int preventin -cst benefit analysis An rganisatin needs t be very clear abut what they are trying t achieve in the pre-incident phase, and the cst f achieving it. Fr sme rganisatins the resurce they put int this phase might be said t be disprprtinate t the benefits (financially) they will achieve. There are, f curse ptentially, ther reasns why resurce might be put int this area eg reputatin, paternalism twards emplyees and supprting the culture f the business. Privilege Yu need a clear understanding f whether any dcuments yu create arising ut f an incident are privileged frm prductin t a claimant's lawyers subsequently. (Fr mre detail, see under Pst incident, systems.) 5 8 Guide t minimising the cst f persnal injury claims arising under emplyers and public liability Pst incident phase Basic behaviurs Where the facts surrunding an incident (why and hw it ccurred) are captured, and the incident/preincident facts are clear, cases are either: Successfully defended. Settled quickly. Cntributry negligence is successfully raised. Withut an understanding f these matters it is virtually impssible t speedily and accurately determine legal liability. Systems Cllating the facts Ptential use f external resurce -A lt f rganisatins, particularly large rganisatins, struggle with capturing facts and dcuments. Alan Jacbs and his team have advised several clients n this issue and assisted them in setting up prcesses invlving the cst effective use f external investigatrs/lss adjusters t cllate facts and dcuments within an rganisatin, t create a claims file fr the defence f the civil claim. SMEs may have their wn issues, including lack f specialist knwledge t knw what infrmatin shuld be cllated and inability t allcate resurce t deal with the whle prcess. Als, SMEs are mre likely t be lw excess plicy hlders. Fr all these reasns, the clsest pssible liaisn with insurance brkers, insurers, slicitrs, etc will be helpful. Imprtance f legal privilege Legal advice privilege can be summarised as applying t cnfidential cmmunicatins that pass between a lawyer and their client; and which have cme int existence fr the purpse f giving r receiving legal advice abut what shuld prudently and sensibly be dne in the relevant legal cntext. Litigatin privilege will apply t material which satisfies fur basic rules: It must be cnfidential. It must be a cmmunicatin between a lawyer and their client r between either the lawyer r the client and a third party. It must be made fr the dminant purpse f litigatin (the dminant purpse test ). The litigatin must be pending, reasnably cntemplated, r existing. Any dcuments created, ideally, shuld pass either frm r t a member f the in-huse legal team (r external lawyer), and the dminant purpse test must be cnsidered in any cmmunicatins with third parties (which might even include yur emplyees). 6 9 Guide t minimising the cst f persnal injury claims arising under emplyers and public liability Third party capture Sme rganisatins are reprting cnsiderable success in "capturing" persnal injury claims befre the claimant instructs their wn slicitr. The bject is t reduce claimants csts and therefre the verall claim cst. Generally, the damages being ffered t these claimants is twards the tp f the bracket fr the particular claim and smetimes in excess f that but the verall savings make that wrthwhile. There are a variety f ways in which capture can be dne: The crprate insured intervening with a claimant and seeking t settle the claim withut the need fr lawyers. Using ne f the available specialist third party rganisatins t intervene/act fr the claimant. Yur insurer's claims handlers intervening. The key is appraching the injured party at a very early stage. Organisatins d nt want t prmpt claims frm peple that therwise wuld nt claim but mst interventin prcesses invlve identifying the prfile f an injured persn that yu are mst likely t receive a claim frm. Sme rganisatins cnstantly review the accident bk t try and identify cases which they think are apprpriate fr capture befre a claim is made. Anecdtally it is understd that schemes wrk in bth Emplyers Liability and Public Liability situatins. Frm ur invlvement with these schemes we have seen that they can wrk, in terms f saving csts and creating greater satisfactin fr the injured party Anticipating incidents that will result in claims As a separate issue t third party capture it makes sense t cnsider incidents t try t identify thse likely t result in a claim. These are the incidents where ptentially it wuld be sensible t put the greatest resurce int capturing evidence (witness and dcuments) and preparing a prper claim file with which t deal with any anticipated claim. This is particularly useful where resurce is limited and a decisin shuld be made as t where t mst effectively use it. Feedback/learning/reviewing risk assessments The pst incident phase is anther stage where attempts shuld be made t cnsider what learning pints there are frm the investigatin that yu have made and t feed this back int the business with a view t changing prcesses and prcedures t stp similar incidents ccurring again, t reviewing risk assessments and reviewing training requirements. 7 10 Guide t minimising the cst f persnal injury claims arising under emplyers and public liability Handling claims Basic behaviurs Once a claim is established it invlves a phase up t, and including litigatin. Yur lawyers may be invlved pre-litigatin but certainly they will be invlved nce litigatin cmmences. Because f the number f different parties that might be invlved (insured, brker, insurer, investigatr/adjuster and slicitr) it is vitally imprtant that all are aligned t yur business needs, s that everyne is pulling in the same directin. It varies frm rganisatin t rganisatin what that directin is: Sme rganisatins wish t take a really strng stand n claims t try and stp a "claims culture" develping. Other rganisatins needs are fr a very early reslutin f claims which appear t be meritrius. There is a whle range f ther requirements, including crdinating the handling f the civil claim with the handling f an HSE prsecutin. All f this becmes even mre imprtant when yu have an incident which has resulted in multiple claims. We deal with a cnsiderable number f these incidents every year, particularly in the cnstructin and energy sectrs, but als in relatin t manufacturing and prduct recalls. The cnsistent message in all f thse cases is the need fr gd (and frequent) cmmunicatin and alignment between all the parties invlved in the handling f the claim. Access t the facts and dcuments Because in this phase the claimant can issue curt prceedings, it is mst imprtant fr the claim t be handled quickly and effectively. There are endless pprtunities fr claimants' lawyers t explit defence team inefficiencies and build up csts related t pre-actin applicatins fr disclsure f recrds, where yu have nt been able t adequately prduce dcuments in supprt f a denial f liability r allegatin f cntributry negligence. This can cst yu 1000 per applicatin. Speedy access t witness statements fllwing the incident, access t dcuments relevant t the incident etc, allw sensible and early decisins t be made n settling the claim r fighting it. Understanding yur cntractual terms cntributin / indemnity The ability t seek cntributin r indemnity frm the supplier, subcntractr etc by virtue f yur cntractual trading terms is frequently verlked r nt thught abut until yu have settled with the claimant. That prbably means that yu d nt have access t relevant cntractual dcuments and evidence that will ultimately help yu make a recvery. There is ften misunderstanding by insureds, investigatrs/adjusters and insurers, f the effect f cntract terms. Have this aspect reviewed by cmpetent lawyers. 8 11 Guide t minimising the cst f persnal injury claims arising under emplyers and public liability Aligning yur handlers t yur business needs Cnsistently where we have been nminated t an insurer by an insured, the verriding reasn fr this is t be directly cnnected t the insured, and nt just the insurer and their panel arrangements. This nminatin can prvide an nging active rle and cntribute in aligning the claim handling with the needs f the business. This apprach is als seen as beneficial by insurers. We have already utlined under "general principles", abve, that this crdinatin and alignment is vital. Type and use f medical experts In lwer value claims it is quite difficult t steer the identity f the medical expert used t prepare a reprt, it is far easier n multi-track (and therefre larger) claims. The use f a quality, frensic medical expert f the crrect type f expertise is fundamental t achieving a settlement at the right level. S ften nwadays n great thught is put int this part f the claims prcess and a lt f bth claimant and defendants' lawyers treat the selectin as if any expert will d. Where there is psychlgical injury it is imprtant t use a psychiatrist rather than a psychlgist. A psychiatrist is a medical dctr. A psychlgist is nt. There is all t frequent use f an accident and emergency cnsultant when an rthpaedic surgen wuld be mre apprpriate. There is ften inapprpriate use f the claimant's wn GP t prvide a reprt. Pain management cnsultants are frequently used when an rthpaedic surgen r a rheumatlgist wuld be far mre apprpriate. It is nt sufficient just t chse an expert f the right specialism. The quality f experts varies massively and yu shuld be using an expert wh will lk at the case impartially and, crucially, frensically. Gd decisins n the law Getting the law right is relatively easy when the facts f the case have been clearly established at an early stage. If yu get the law wrng at this stage it can lead t massive claims inflatin by either settling when yu shuldn't, settling at the wrng value r fighting a case when yu shuldn't. Use gd quality lawyers wh care abut each case. The mnkey/nuts syndrme Yu have t decide whether yu want t use a handler/ lawyer n the basis f paying them a very lw (usually fixed) fee fr bulk wrk which they will prcess in a cmmditised cnsistent way (this lends itself t handling things at a high level perspective rather than a frensic case by case perspective and will prbably result in reasnably speedy settlements in mst cases). T invest slightly mre in yur wn lawyer's fees t btain mre bespke legal advice n each case and a mre frensic and cnsidered review f the matter, which is likely t lead t better utcmes and a saving in verall claims cst. 9 12 Guide t minimising the cst f persnal injury claims arising under emplyers and public liability It is getting the balance right s that yu are paying the right amunt t yur advisers t be able t secure the best verall ttal claims cst n the case. Talk t several different firms and g fr ne yu feel yu can wrk with, are respnsive and align with yur apprach t claims. Key Perfrmance Indicatrs T get the kind f perfrmance yu want frm thse handling yur claims set them clear Key Perfrmance Indicatrs. Insist that the handler (whether it be insurer, Third Party Administratr (such as a claims handling rganisatin) r lawyer) prvides the Management Infrmatin that yu need and which specifically allws measurement f the agreed Key Perfrmance Indicatrs. Effective use f Part 36 Recent case law has clarified cnsiderably hw the Part 36 prcess wrks and it is the strngest weapn that a defendant has in limiting claimants' slicitrs' csts. Where a claim needs settling it shuld be cnsidered at every step f the way and used effectively and deliberately. Fr mre detail, see later in the Guide, under Aviding r Mitigating Liability fr Oppsing Parties Csts. A similar device is a Calderbank ffer which allws yu t make ffers, with ptential psitive csts implicatins, where the ffer des nt cmply with Part 36 eg, an ffer t cver damages and csts at an inclusive figure. Make sure yur lawyers understand the difference and yu agree a strategy with them as t when t use which. Cntrlling and aligning yur lawyers Psitively chse yur lawyers and nt just accept the insurers (randm) panel firm. 10 13 Guide t minimising the cst f persnal injury claims arising under emplyers and public liability Large incidents HSE invlvement Inevitably these incidents lead t multiple claims. This guide is cncerned with civil injury claims, hwever the HSE are likely t be invlved in any large incident resulting in injury, frm a regulatry/prsecutin perspective. It is crucial fr yur lawyers dealing with any HSE invlvement t be in very clse liaisn with lawyers dealing with any ptential r actual civil claims. Ideally they wuld be the same law firm. There is a high likelihd f claims/litigatin in large incidents and it is recmmended t engage lawyers early in the prcess, ideally pre litigatin (if nly t keep an verview rle at that stage). It is really imprtant t engage lawyers that yu can trust, have the right expertise and wh are yur chice. They will be needed t help prtect yur brand, yur reputatin and t have sight f yur bigger picture in relatin t any HSE prsecutin, which might f curse result in fines and criminal sanctins against managers. Great care needs t be taken ver prducing dcuments in relatin t claims investigatins which, if nt dealt with crrectly, may becme disclsable t HSE. See earlier under Pst Incident Phase in relatin t legal advice and t litigatin privilege. The key is having lawyers n call, wh knw yur business and will specifically instruct yur teams t investigate fr the purpse f and in the expectatin f legal prceedings rather than simply t recrd what happened. Settlement schemes Cnsider setting up a scheme, a standard way f dealing with parts f the claims prcess. These schemes are mainly created t deal with quantum assessment. Where there is the ptential fr multiple claims it is best t try t reslve liability early r, where smene is liable but there are multiple pssible defendants then the ptential defendants shuld try and agree as sn as pssible t settle claims early and srt ut the final allcatin f payments between themselves subsequently. Pssible schemes t deal with quantum are: Use independent cunsel t value and, in effect, act as arbitratr binding bth parties t the valuatin. Have an agreed "appeal" prcess in relatin t any Part 36 ffers yu might make. That prcess ften uses independently agreed cunsel t arbitrate. Attempt t agree the identity f medical experts and ther experts t reduce pssible areas fr argument. If there is deadlck ver quantum this can be reslved thrugh a lw cst mediatin scheme. The experts are CEDR (). If it nt pssible t set up a scheme r a claim cmes ut f the scheme and is litigated, rather than ging thrugh the traditinal curt prcess, press yur lawyers t make sure the case ges thrugh mediatin. The advantages are: Very high settlement success rate Lw cst N legal precedents are set Settlement f the claim is achieved privately and cnfidentiality clauses are pssible 11 14 Guide t minimising the cst f persnal injury claims arising under emplyers and public liability Helps t keep relatinships between the parties Lack f publicity preserves brand Rehabilitatin schemes There is always the ptential t help reslve injuries early and t restrict damages accrdingly by use f rehab treatment. Frequently this is nt prvided quickly enugh, r at all, under the NHS. Setting up a scheme fr referring injured parties t rehab services at yur cst sn after an incident shuld be cnsidered. Often yur insurers will have facilities available that yu can utilise. This apprach is just as relevant t psychlgical injury as t physical injury. Smetimes referral thrugh such a scheme can take away the parties mtivatin t pursue a damages claim. It can help supprt yur brand. Yu shuld cnsider allwing access t anyne injured in the incident, withut prf f yur liability fr the injury, r whether yu wish t set up criteria t filter ut access. Sme prviders have a lw cst telephne triage service allwing initial assessment then ruting f peple dwn apprpriate treatment paths. This prcess can be the mst cst effective. There are gd and bad prviders. Watch ut fr thse that have n system t bjectively sense check the amunt f treatment recmmended, therwise yu are issuing a "blank cheque" t the prviders. Seek recmmendatins fr prviders frm yur lawyers etc. 12 15 Guide t minimising the cst f persnal injury claims arising under emplyers and public liability Cntributry negligence Yu cannt have a 100 per cent cntributry negligence. Fr cntributry negligence t arise there must be sme fault by the defendant that has caused sme f the claimant's damage (PITTS v Hunt (Curt f Appeal) (1990)). Disbedience f an emplyer's rder is nt, in itself, grunds fr cntributry negligence, the claimant still needs t have freseen that the disbedience expsed them t a risk f injury (Westwd v The Pst Office (Huse f Lrds) (1974)) an emplyee at wrk fell thrugh a defective trap dr in a rm. The dr t the rm said "N unauthrised entry". That ntice did nt indicate there was any danger and there was n reasn fr the claimant t believe there was a danger. His nly fault was disbedience, nt carelessness, and s he was nt guilty f cntributry negligence. In the wrkplace (particularly where the wrk is fraught with danger) the claimant has t g beynd mere inadvertence r reasnable risk taking befre there wuld be cntributry negligence (Sctt v Kelvin Cncrete) (1993). The claimant must be unreasnable if he takes a risk (Gibsn v British Insulated Callenders Cnstructin Limited (Huse f Lrds) (1973)). The claimant was nt wearing a safety harness because it prtected against sme risks (including the fall that actually happened) but created ther risks. In the circumstances the claimant was nt negligent in chsing t run ne risk rather than anther. If the risk t the claimant is inherent in fllwing the defendant's system f wrk it may nt be cntributry negligence (Mffat vatlas Hydraulic Laders) (1992). It was custm and practice t clean machinery whilst it was still in mtin, even after a guard had been remved. The claimant was injured whilst cleaning the mving machinery and it was held there was n cntributry negligence. His nly chice wuld have been t refuse t wrk in the manner adpted by his emplyer. A yung inexperienced wrker cannt be expected t be as safe as a mre experienced ne. (Yachuk v Oliver Blais C Limited) (1949). What percentage will yu get: Rarely less than 20 per cent and rarely mre than 80 per cent. Cntributry negligence has t be expressly pleaded in the defence. Beware that an applicatin t amend a defence t add a new allegatin f cntributry negligence late n in the day may be refused. Because cntributry negligence is a questin f reducing quantum rather than a defence t liability, a default judgement against the defendant deals nly with the issue f the defendant's liability and still allws cntributry negligence t be dealt with at the assessment f damages (Maes Finance v A L Phillips and C) (1997). The claimant's wn breach f a statutry duty. This is an alternative t the claimant being careless ie his actins cnstitute a breach f a psitive legal duty by statute: 13 16 Guide t minimising the cst f persnal injury claims arising under emplyers and public liability Health and Safety at Wrk Act 1974, sectin 7, take reasnable care fr his wn health and safety and cperate with the emplyer t enable the emplyer t cmply with their duties; Management f Health and Safety at Wrk Regulatins 1999, regulatin 14, use equipment etc in accrdance with training and instructins. The emplyee shall infrm his emplyer f dangerus wrk situatins. The Manual Handling Operatin Regulatins 1992, regulatin 10, t make use f any system f wrk prvided by the emplyer. Persnal Prtective Equipment at Wrk Regulatins 1992, regulatin 10, t use persnal prtective equipment prvided and in accrdance with training and instructins (includes self emplyed peple). T make sure the equipment is returned after use. Cntrl Of Substances Hazardus T Health Regulatins 2002, regulatin 8, t make full and prper use f any cntrl measures etc that are prvided. T reprt a defect discvered. Wrk at Height Regulatins 2005, regulatin 14, t reprt any activity r defect relating t wrk at height likely t endanger safety. T use any wrk equipment r safety device prvided in accrdance with training and instructins. Cnstructin (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulatins 1996, regulatin 4, cmply with the requirements f the regulatin relating t perfrmance f r refraining frm an act by him. T cperate with a duty r requirement impsed by any ther persn under the regulatins. T reprt any defect that might endanger safety. Cnstructin (Design and Management) Regulatins 2007, regulatin 5, t reprt any defect which may endanger health and safety. Examples 0% cntributry negligence Nixn v Chanceptin Develpments Limited (2002) - the claimant was n scaffld and fell frm it in high winds. Guardrails were absent, in breach f the Cnstructin Regulatins. Althugh at first instance the curt fund the claim failed because the claimant shuld never have gne nt t the scaffld in high wind. The Curt f Appeal fund that the absence f the guardrails and the fact that the claimant was ding his jb as he was tld t meant that there was n cntributry negligence at all and he recvered 100 per cent. Tle v Bltn MBC (2002) - the claimant was wearing rubber glves instead f heavy duty glves which were prvided t him and sustained an injury t his finger frm a used hypdermic needle as he picked it up. At first instance the defendants were fund liable but there was a 75 per cent reductin fr cntributry negligence. On appeal it was fund that the emplyer shuld have expected emplyees taking shrtcuts in their wrk, which was unpleasant and dangerus wrk. Even if he had wrn the heavy glves prvided they wuld nt have stpped this injury s failure t wear the heavy glves was nt causative f the injury. The defendants were liable and there was n cntributry negligence in all the circumstances. Yung v The Pst Office (2002) - the claimant returned t wrk after being ff fr fur mnths due t stress. Light duties were agreed. Frmally his hurs were reduced but he was given s much wrk that he ended up wrking lnger than he had agreed t wrk and s eventually he had t give up the wrk due t stress again. The defendants were liable but n appeal the curt fund the claimant had n cntributry negligence. He was a hard wrking and cntentius emplyee, likely t carry ut whatever wrk he was asked t d and was psychiatrically vulnerable. In thse circumstances the emplyers culd nt turn arund and say that the claimant had vluntarily verwrked and was cntributry negligent. Wright v Rmfrd Blinds and Shutters Limited (2003) - the claimant was std n the rf f a van t lad materials nt it when he slipped and fell. The emplyers were held liable having tacitly adpted the claimant's methd f wrking and thereby cndned it. The actual slip was due t mmentary inattentin and the curt fund n cntributry negligence. 14 17 Guide t minimising the cst f persnal injury claims arising under emplyers and public liability Cper vcarillin (2003) - the claimant and a clleague were carrying a large piece f plywd acrss a building site. The claimant fell dwn an unfenced hle which he culd nt see because f what he was carrying. At first instance a 10 per cent deductin fr cntributry negligence was made fr failure t lk belw the bard. On appeal it was held the claimant was entitled t expect that there wuld be n unfenced hles and there was n cntributry negligence. Piccl v Larkstck Limited (2007) - a public liability case. The claimant slipped n flwer petals n the flr f a railway statin. They wuld have been readily visible if he had been particularly vigilant but the curt fund that this was a similar situatin t the classic case f Ward v Tesc in that shppers, intent n lking t see what is n ffer, cannt be expected t lk where they are putting their feet. There was n cntributry negligence. Barbara Hk v Eatns Slicitrs (2012) a firm f slicitrs was liable when an emplyee fell dwn a flight f stairs after lsing fting when stepping backwards t accmmdate an utward pening dr n a tiny landing. The firm had failed t carry ut a risk assessment regarding the suitability f the rute in questin in breach f its statutry duty under Management f Health and Safety at Wrk Regulatins 1999 and Wrkplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulatins N cntributry negligence as the emplyee s behavir was mmentary inadvertence rather than cntributry negligence. Ali Ghaith v Indesit.c.uk Ltd (2012) - an emplyer was liable fr emplyee s back injury where there had been n suitable r sufficient assessment by the emplyer f the relevant risk f injury t the emplyee when carrying ut a stck take. N deductin fr cntributry negligence. 30% Cntributry negligence Ellis v Bristl City Cuncil (2007) - the claimant was a care wrker in a care hme wh slipped n a spillage n the flr. Althugh the emplyers were liable the claimant was well aware that the spillage was likely t be present and shuld have kept a special lkut. The lack f cncentratin was beynd mere inadvertence. There was 30 per cent cntributry negligence. Andersn v Lytier (2008) - the claimant was asked by a ski instructr, negligently, t ski dwn a slpe beynd the claimant's ability. The claimant felt he had t cmply even thugh he believed it was t difficult. His failure t vice his cncerns meant 33 per cent cntributry negligence. 50% Cntributry negligence Parker v PFC Flring Supplies Limited (2001) - the claimant was number tw in a small family business. An emplyee warned the claimant abut ging up nt a rf t investigate a prblem. Nevertheless the claimant went up despite wearing leather sle bts and knwing it was slippery. He slipped and fell thrugh a skylight. The defendants were liable fr breach f the wrkplace regulatins as it was freseeable that emplyees wuld get access t the rf and were nt prevented r frbidden frm ding s. The claimant was held equally t blame and there was a 50 per cent reductin fr cntributry negligence. Andersn v Newham Cllege (2002) - while walking acrss a classrm the claimant tripped ver the legs f the stand f a whitebard. The curt fund 50 per cent cntributry negligence. Butcher v Crnwall CC (2002) - the claimant, wrking utside, left a shed dr ajar. It blew against him injuring him. The retaining hk fr the dr t hld it back and pen was missing and the defendants were liable hwever the claimant did nt shut the dr prperly and was negligent. There was a reductin f 50 per cent fr cntributry negligence. Lwles v The Hme Office (2002) - the claimant walked up a ramp int a prtacabin but tripped n the tw inch step created between the tp f the ramp and the flr f the prtacabin. There was a "Mind the Step" sign. 50 per cent cntributry negligence was fund. 15 18 Guide t minimising the cst f persnal injury claims arising under emplyers and public liability Rbb v Salamis (2006) - On an il rig the claimant descended frm his bunk bed via a ladder. The ladder was nt prperly sltted int psitin and came away such that he fell. There was a reductin f 50 per cent fr cntributry negligence, the defendants being liable because the ladder culd becme detached and was nt suitable therefre fr use. Egan v Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hspital (2008) - the claimant was a nurse wh wheeled a patient n a mechanical hist. The hist cntacted with a plinth which was nt visible under a bath and she jerked her back. The claimant had nt lked carefully t see exactly where the feet f the hist where ging under the bath and there was 50 per cent cntributry negligence. Cllins-Williamsn v Silverlink Trains Limited (2009) - the claimant was drunk getting ff a train and placed himself int the gap between the platfrm and the train and was injured when the guard negligently failed t see him. There was 50 per cent cntributry negligence. Blaine Vincent Adam Quinn v Patrick Keenan (2013) -an emplyee sustained a back injury when lifting a heavy piece f wrk equipment n his wn. The emplyer was held t have failed t maintain and enfrce safe system f wrking but there was 50 per cent cntributry negligence because the emplyee had disregarded an bvius danger. 60% Cntributry negligence Sherlck v Chester City Cuncil (2004) - the claimant, an experienced jiner, cut his hand n a circular saw whilst feeding a lng fascia bard nt it. The accident was partly caused by there being n run ff table. The claimant was fully aware f the risks and hw t avid them. He had cnsciusly accepted the risk and was therefre 60 per cent cntributry negligent. Smith v Ntar (2006) - at a cnstructin site the claimant chse t deliver gds by walking n a plank walkway, which gave way. He was fund t have given n thught t suitable alternative means f access, f which several safer ptins existed. There was 60 per cent cntributry negligence. 75% Cntributry negligence Harvey v Plymuth City Cuncil (2009) - the claimant was drunk and running away frm a taxi driver when he fell ver an bscured drp. The landwners were liable but there was 75 per cent cntributry negligence. (In an appeal t the CA in 2010 the 2009 decisin was set aside and the appellant lcal authrity's appeal against the decisin that it was liable fr persnal injury sustained by the respndent n its land was allwed. When a lcal authrity licensed the public t use its land fr recreatinal purpses, it was cnsenting t nrmal recreatinal activities, carrying nrmal risks, and its duty as ccupier t an implied licensee culd nt be stretched t cver any frm f activity, hwever reckless). Practical cnsideratins Be realistic when deciding t allege cntributry negligence. Yu must pick yur cases carefully as fighting the issue will increase bth sides csts, ptentially cnsiderably. Knw when t use it as a negtiating tl but knw when t drp it. Hwever, with the right case yu will get it. Psitive indicatrs are an experienced emplyee and/r recent relevant training. Negatives are serius and persistent failings in maintenance f plant, equipment and premises and/r in enfrcing safe wrking practices. Try t get a feel frm the case law fr when a curt will give cntributry negligence. That desn't necessarily match with what yu might think is reasnable (see fr example abve, Wright v Rmfrd Blinds and Shutters Limited and Cper v Carillin). 16 19 Guide t minimising the cst f persnal injury claims arising under emplyers and public liability Emplyers liability case law illustrating when an emplyer can win Manual handling (The Manual Handling Operatins Regulatins 1992) Hughes v Grampian (2007) - the regulatins require that there must be a risk f injury arising ut f the manual handling peratin. Manual handling is defined as any transprting r supprting f a lad by hand r by bdily frce. In this case the claimant was cmplaining f repetitive mvement f the wrist, hand and fingers in the manipulatin f chicken carcasses by tucking in the legs and wings and tying it with elasticated string. Whilst that was being dne there was n transprting r supprting f the lad. Wellard v DSG Internatinal Plc (2009) - the claimant tre a bicep when he was attempting t remve and cllect a washing machine situated in a tight space underneath a wrktp. There was a suitable and sufficient risk assessment. The claimant was fully trained as t the methds f handling t adpt. He was experienced. He was entitled t refuse t cnclude the jb if there was any danger t him, and that was an established part f his training. The defendant had n liability. Ife v DSG Internatinal Plc (2009) - the claimant was attempting t deliver an American style fridge freezer. He stepped nt a rckery, slipped and injured his shulder. The risk assessment was suitable and sufficient. He had been prvided with a mbile phne and culd have telephned his emplyers fr guidance if he felt he needed it. He was aware at all times f the plicy that gds which were undeliverable shuld be returned t the dept. The circumstances f the accident were nt freseeable. Thrley v Vicarage Care Hme (2010) - the claimant was an experienced carer wh wunded her hip when lifting an elderly resident by using a methd f lifting she had knwn was prhibited. She chse that methd. She had had apprpriate training and apprpriate equipment was available. The defendant had n liability. Ann Wilsn v Baxterstrey Ltd (2012) - an emplyer was nt liable fr a repetitive strain injury caused t a chef s thumb, where the chef had adpted a wrk practice f hlding mixing bwls using a pincer grip. The activities were undertaken fr a very shrt time and fr limited perids during the day and did nt give rise t any freseeable risk f injury r any requirement fr a risk assessment. Wrk equipment (Prvisin and Use f Wrk Equipment Regulatins 1998) Cuzens v McGee (2009) - a piece f scrap metal that a claimant lrry driver had used as a makeshift tl did nt amunt t wrk equipment as the emplyers had n knwledge f it and had therefre nt given express r implied permissin fr it t be used. Smith v Nrthamptnshire Cunty Cuncil (2009) - the claimant cllected a disabled persn frm her huse. The claimant pushed the persn in her wheelchair dwn a ramp at the huse and the edge crumbled, the claimant stumbled and was injured. She alleged the ramp was wrk equipment, althugh it was installed at the disabled persn's hme. Because the emplyers had n cntrl ver the ramp, what was dne with it and t it, it was nt wrk equipment. The defendant had n liability. Whitehead v Trustees f the Chatswrth Settlement (2012) - the claimant, wh was emplyed as a gamekeeper by the defendant, accidentally sht himself in the leg while hunting vermin. He had been scaling a dry stne wall at the time which cllapsed beneath him. Bth barrels f the shtgun he was 17 20 Guide t minimising the cst f persnal injury claims arising under emplyers and public liability carrying went ff and hit him at pint blank range in the right calf causing him t suffer injuries. The emplyer was nt in breach f its duty t ensure that the claimant's expsure t health and safety risks, when negtiating bstacles carrying a shtgun, was prevented r adequately cntrlled, as the emplyer had distributed instructins n best practice and it had n reasn t suspect that the gamekeeper was nt fllwing best practice when wrking alne. Jasn Harris v Waitrse Ltd (2011) - the claimant had been unlading a cage frm a lift when the wheels f the cage struck a lip that had frmed between the slightly misaligned flr f the lift with the flr f the warehuse premises. The claimant jarred his back. He had deliberately ignred safety prcedures that were t be fllwed when the lift was ut f alignment and f which he was aware. It was impssible fr the defendant t eliminate all misalignment and althugh the degree f risk was freseeable, it was very lw. The claimant alleged that nce there was a risk, even if it was a very small risk, if it was a freseeable risk f smething that wuld affect the health r safety f an emplyee that was sufficient t give rise t a breach f regulatin 4. The curt fund the risk was lw and had been eliminated by the defendant's safety prcedures. David Ellitt v Wincantn Grup Ltd (2012) - althugh an emplyer had been in breach f the Prvisin and Use f Wrk Equipment Regulatins 1998 by failing t keep metal parts f a refrigerated trailer in prper repair, an emplyee wh fell and injured his hand n the metal parts while using nnstandard prcedures t tighten webbing belts within the trailer had been the authr f his wn misfrtune. PPE (Persnal Prtective Equipment Wrk Regulatins 1992) Fytche v Wincantn Lgistics (2004) - safety bts were prvided t the claimant driver t meet the danger f bjects drpping n the ft. Water leaked thrugh a hle in the bt and reached his little te causing frstbite. There was n liability as the claimant was nt expected t d wrk which required him t have waterprf bts. He was nt required t walk abut fr lng perids in snw and ice. Plus, althugh there was a defect with the bt, that defect was nt ne relevant t the safety functin f the bt that they were prvided fr. Susan Marie Splatt v Lancashire Cunty Cuncil (2010) - a lcal authrity was nt liable fr injuries suffered by ne f its cleaners wh had slipped n a flr she had recently mpped where the cause f her slip was her wn decisin t disregard what were satisfactry cleaning prcedures by mpping the flrs at a time when she culd still be distracted by members f staff in the building. The Wrkplace (Wrkplace (Health Safety and Welfare) Regulatins 1992) Furness v Midland Bank (2000) - the claimant slipped n water that had been spilled n stairs in the defendant's ffices. There were nly a few drplets f water, there was n histry f leakage r spillage n the stairs where the accident ccurred, the risk was small and it was nt reasnably practicable fr there t be cntinuus supervisin f the staircase. If there had been frequent spillages the psitin might have been different. The defendant had n liability. Palmer v Marks & Spencers (2001) - Is the flr f suitable cnstructin? The claimant tripped ver a weather strip placed acrss a dr threshld. The claimant had passed ver the threshld regularly fr tw years befre the accident and there had been apprximately 8,000 exits by peple ver the perid since it had been in place and with n ther prblems. The weather strip did make the flr uneven but this was nly slight and given it's use withut incident it did nt pse a risk. Adams v Omar (2008) - this case invlved the suitability f traffic rutes and the defendants were nt liable when a laded trlley had been blcking a pathway and the claimant was injured whilst trying t pass it, because alternative rutes were available and this was a transitry situatin. There was n 18 Health and Safety Training and Supervision Intrductin: Health and Safety Training and Supervisin University f Nttingham is cmmitted t maintaining and develping standards f excellence in all aspects f its business. T that end, the University aspires Accident Investigation Accident Investigatin APPLICABLE STANDARD: 1960.29 EMPLOYEES AFFECTED: All emplyees WHAT IS IT? Accident investigatin is the prcess f determining the rt causes f accidents, n-the-jb injuries, prperty damage, Overview of Civil Litigation Overview f Civil Litigatin What is civil litigatin? Civil litigatin is the area f legal practice cncerned with reslving disputes between individuals r businesses. Sme f the areas f wrk that this JOB DESCRIPTION. Technical Support Officer. Environment & Sustainable Communities. Environmental Services. September 2015 JOB DESCRIPTION JOB TITLE: DIRECTORATE: SECTION: GRADE: DATE PREPARED: REPORTS TO: Technical Supprt Officer Envirnment & Sustainable Cmmunities Envirnmental Services BBCU06 September 2015 Service SAEMA Document No. SDN. 14001 SAEMA Dcument N. SDN. 14001 Issue Date: 6 th Nvember 2012 Guidance dcument n facade access mechanical/ electrical breakdwn, rescue and rescue planning. Specialist Access Engineering and Maintenance Assciatin Patient Participation Report Patient Participatin Reprt In 2011, Westngrve Partnership decided t establish a PPG (Patient Participatin Grup) that wuld allw us t engage with ur patients, receive feedback frm them and ensure that THIRD PARTY PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES ADDENDUM #1 THIRD PARTY PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT JUNE 2011 OVERVIEW These prcedures establish standards and guidelines fr the Nrth Central Reducing road user distraction Page 1 Reducing rad user distractin Activities have been adapted frm Limiting Risks, Prtecting Lives (NSW Centre fr Rad Safety). Crssrads utcmes 1.2 Critically analyse situatins, attitudes and behaviurs, Safe Handling of Cylinders (Insert Company Name Here) PURPOSE RESPONSIBILITY AUTHORITY T prvide guidelines fr the safe handling and use f cylinders All individuals handling and/r using 6 packs, 12 packs, maniflded, cradled r stand-alne cylinders Plant Manager BLUE RIDGE COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE BOARD OF GOVERNORS BLUE RIDGE COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE BOARD OF GOVERNORS SERIES: 1 General Rules RULE: 17.1 Recrd Retentin Scpe: The purpse f this rule is t establish the systematic review, retentin and destructin: ANTI MONEY LAUNDERING POLICY What is mney laundering? ANTI MONEY LAUNDERING POLICY 1. Mney laundering is where mney btained, as a result f a crime, is used t pay fr services r gds. Althugh the term mney laundering is usually assciated

Publication Date: 2017-06-14 Approval Date: 2017-03-23 Posted Date: 2016-11-14 Reference number of this document: OGC 16-042r1 Reference URL for this document: Category: Public Engineering Report Editor: Lingjun Kang, Liping Di, Eugene Yu Title: Testbed-12 WMS/WMTS Enhanced - 7.1. Targeted Solutions - 7.2. Recommendations - 7.2.1. Recommendations for the time-varying layer access through WMTS - 7.2.2. Recommendations for extending map render options on WMS GetMap operation - 7.2.3. Recommendations for extending filtering options on WMS GetCapabilities operation - 7.2.4. Recommendations for extending WMTS interface support efficient layer domain inspection/relationship discovery - 8. WMTS for time-varying layers - 8.1. Introduction - 8.2. Existing OWS time support - 8.3. Time-query semantics and encodings - 8.4. WMTS interface extensions - 8.5. WMTS server implementation with enhanced time-varying layer support - 8.6. AWST WMTS client implementation - 9. WMS for NetCDF - 9.1. Improvements on the WMS support of map rendering - 9.2. Improvements on the mechanisms of WMS metadata filtering - 9.3. Improvements on the WMS support for map querying - 10. Multidimensional WMTS domain discovery - 10.1. Objective - 10.2. Existing OWS dimension support - 10.3. WMTS interface extensions - 10.4. Use cases - Appendix A: Revision History - Appendix B: Bibliography This Engineering Report (ER) describes requirements, challenges and solutions regarding improving multidimensional Earth Observation (EO) data access, discovery and visualization through Web Map Service (WMS), Web Map Tile Service (WMTS), and corresponding extensions. The ER will highlight solutions and recommendations of following main topics. In this topic, the ER will cover the following proposed work items enhancing time-varying layer access and discovery. The ER will also discuss the discussions and proposals of extending current WMTS/WMS specifications for the enhancements. New time-query semantic/encoding for time-varying layer query; WMTS Capabilities extension for time-varying layer discovery; and Improvements on avoiding empty tile request and better server-client communication (e.g., empty tiles). In this topic, the ER will cover the following proposed work items to better support NetCDF-CF data visualization and exploration. Extensions on WMS GetMap request parameters to enrich map render options (with non-standard ncWMS interfaces); and Extensions on WMS GetCapabilities request parameter to improve discovery of WMS GetCapabilities document (with large number of layers being advertised). In this topic, the ER will cover the following proposed work items to improve inspecting layer domain and discovery of the relationship between multidimensional layers. Extensions on WMS GetMap request parameters to enrich map render options (with non-standard ncWMS interfaces); and Extensions on WMS GetCapabilities request parameter to improve discovering WMS GetCapabilities document (with large number of layers being advertised). This engineering report reviews the time-varying layer/NetCDF supports and limitations in current WMS/WMTS specifications. The engineering report also covers proposed enhancements and extensions on current WMS/WMTS specifications. The contents of this report will therefore improve the geospatial map service interoperability through: Improved understandings of time-varying layer access supports in current standards and the possible space for extensions to achieve better time-varying access/discovery; Improved time-varying layer access with proposed advanced time-query semantics; Efficient multidimensional layer (including time layer) discovery through extensions on Capabilities document; and Improved NetCDF access capabilities in extended WMS. The importances of this ER to the WMS 1.4 Standards Working Group (SWG) are that the solutions and proposals present in this ER will serve as the references to extend existing WMS/WMTS standards for enhanced time-varying layer access/discovery and better NetCDF access support. The WMS 1.4 SWG is dedicated in improving both web map service standards and the EO data access through the internet. The proposed extensions of WMS/WMTS in this ER will serve as the reference for WMS 1.4 SWG’s future endeavor in: Improving the efficient access to time-varying layers; Improving the web map rendering options and GetCapabilities filtering; and Improving the map layer domain inspection/layer relationship discovery. ogcdocs, testbed-12, engineering report, WMS, WMTS, NetCDF, time-varying layer, multidimensional layers, etc. 1. Introduction This engineering report describes the requirements, challenges, solutions and recommendations regarding the access, discovery, and visualization of time-varying/multidimensional Earth Observations through WMS and WMTS with the proposed enhancements. 1.1. Scope This OGC® Engineering Report reviews and evaluates the map service interoperability (i.e. time-varying layer access and NetCDF support) in the following specifications: [WMS 1.3.0] OpenGIS Web Map Service (WMS) Implementation Specification, version 1.3.0, OGC document 06-042, 2006-03-15, [WMTS 1.0.0] OpenGIS Web Map Tile Service Implementation Standard, version 1.0.0, OGC document 07-057r7, 2010-04-06, [WFS 2.0.0] OGC® Web Feature Service 2.0 Interface Standard, version 2.0.2, OGC document 09-025r2, 20104-07-10, [ISO 8601] Data elements and interchange formats — Information interchange — Representation of dates and times, 1.2. Document contributor contact points All questions regarding this document should be directed to the editor or the contributors. 1.3. Future work GML geometry representation for the spatial footprint of available WMTS tiles. Currently the spatial domain is represented as a bounding box, a polygon or a multi-polygon could be used to better represent scattered datasets. As an alternative for clients unable to perform polygon intersections, a direct binary representation with regard to the availability of WMTS tile is expected. The direct representation of WMTS tile availability will free the client from complex math calculation in deriving the column/row number of available WMTS: OGC 06-121r9, OGC® Web Services Common Standard (2010) OGC: OGC 06-042, OpenGIS Web Map Service (WMS) Implementation Specification, version 1.3.0 (2006) OGC: OGC 07-057r7, OpenGIS Web Map Tile Service Implementation Standard 1.0.0 (2010) OGC: OGC 09-025r2, OGC® Web Feature Service 2.0 Interface Standard, version 2.0.2 (2014) ISO: ISO 8601, Data elements and interchange formats — Information interchange — Representation of dates and times (2004) The University of Reading: ncWMS User Guide, (2010) 3. Terms and definitions For the purposes of this report, the definitions specified in Clause 4 of the OWS Common Implementation Standard [OGC 06-121r9], OpenGIS Web Map Service (WMS) Implementation Specification, version 1.3.0 [OGC 06-042], and in OpenGIS Web Map Tile Service Implementation Standard 1.0.0 [OGC 07-057r7] shall apply. 4. Conventions 4.1. Abbreviated terms Most of the abbreviated terms listed in subclause 5.1 of the OWS Common Implementation Specification [OGC 06-121r9], OpenGIS Web Map Service (WMS) Implementation Specification, version 1.3.0 [OGC 06-042], and OpenGIS Web Map Tile Service Implementation Standard 1.0.0 [OGC 07-057r7] apply to this document. 4.2. UML notation Most diagrams that appear in this standard are presented using the Unified Modeling Language (UML) static structure diagram, as described in Subclause 5.2 of [OGC 06-121r9]. 4.3. Used parts of other documents This document uses significant parts of document [OGC 06-121r9]. To reduce the need to refer to that document, this document copies some of those parts with small modifications. To indicate those parts to readers of this document, the largely copied parts are shown with a light grey background (15%). 5. Overview This engineering report describes the requirements, challenges, solutions and recommendations regarding the access, discovery and visualization of time-varying/multidimensional Earth Observations through WMS and WMTS with proposed enhancements. 6. Status Quo & New Requirements Statement 6.1. Status Quo 6.1.1. Earth observation data access through map service With the advancements of earth observation and interoperability technologies, this era has witnessed the increasing availability of EO data with high temporal resolution and multiple dimensions. This leads to the need of enhancing current map services (i.e., WMS and WMTS) for better access and visualization of the EO data. On the other hand, the large volumes of EO data lead to the need of improving current map services' support on the standard EO data structure (i.e. NetCDF). 6.1.2. Time-varying/multi-dimension EO data access challenges The EO data access has been greatly facilitated with the support of WMS and WMTS. However, the time-varying EO data with high temporal resolution and dimensions brings the following new challenges: Support time-varying layer access through WMTS/WMS with proper and less ambiguous time-query semantic; Support metadata content filter through the WMS/WMTS Capabilities document with the layers of large number; Support rich map render options in WMS/WMTS; Improve WMS/WMTS server-client communication to prevent empty tile requesting; and Extend current WMS to better support NetCDF data access. 6.2. Requirements Statement WMTS for time-varying layer Extend WMTS time-query semantic/encoding to achieve accurate/efficient time-varying layer query. Extend WMTS Capabilities to achieve better time-varying layer discovery in GetCapabilities document. WMS for NetCDF Extend WMS to better support NetCDF. NetCDF-CF data visualization and exploration Extend WMS with selected non-standard WMS operations from ncWMS. Extend WMS Capabilities operation to achieve efficient capabilities content filtering/retrieval. Multidimensional WMTS domain discovery Extend WMTS interfaces to achieve efficient inspection on layer domain and discovery on multidimensional layer relationship. WMS/WMTS client Develop enhanced client-side communication to achieve efficient WMTS request (e.g., by avoiding unnecessary empty tile requests). 7. Solutions 7.1. Targeted Solutions WMS/WMTS Enhancements aim at improving the following aspects related with WMS/WMTS map access/rendering. WMTS enhancements for time-varying layer query/discovery. WMS extensions for NetCDF. Multidimensional WMTS domain discovery. 7.1.1. WMTS enhancements for time-varying layers query/discovery WMTS time-query enhancements A collection of time-query semantics/encoding were proposed as the enhancements on WMTS supports of temporal query. Additionally, WMTS Capabilities document was extended as a way to advertise proposed time-query semantics. 7.1.2. WMS extensions for NetCDF Improvements on the WMS support of map rendering A collection of extended GetMap parameters was introduced from ncWMS to improve WMS support of map rendering. Improvements on the mechanisms of WMS metadata filtering The extension was proposed for WMS GetCapabilities operation as a way to achieve better capabilities content filter/discovery. Improvements on the WMS support for map querying GetTimeSeries operation was introduced as the extension to retrieve the evolution of a phenomenon on a specific point over time or elevation, or at a fixed them and elevation, but along a path. 7.1.3. Multidimensional WMTS domain discovery Extensions on WMTS interface to support efficient layer domain inspection/relationship discovery The following three operations were proposed to support efficient inspecting layer domain and discovering the relationships among multidimensional layers: DescribeDomains; GetHistogram; and GetFeature. 7.2. Recommendations 7.2.1. Recommendations for the time-varying layer access through WMTS The following time-query semantics are proposed as the extension of WMTS to better support time-varying layer query. WMTS Capabilities document extension The proposed time-query semantics/encoding was recommended to be advertised through Capabilities document with the following extensions: Extend Capabilities <Dimension> element for time-query declaration; and Extend Capabilities <ResourceURL> element for time-query declaration in the RESTFul API. 7.2.2. Recommendations for extending map render options on WMS GetMap operation The following extended ncWMS GetMap parameters were proposed and introduced to support additional map render options in WMS. 7.2.3. Recommendations for extending filtering options on WMS GetCapabilities operation 7.2.4. Recommendations for extending WMTS interface support efficient layer domain inspection/relationship discovery 8. WMTS for time-varying layers 8.1. Introduction This proposal extends the existing WMTS 1.0.0 and WMS 1.3.0 time-query mechanisms to provide general time filtering for general “scattershot” source data in a tiled environment. Scattershot source data is not pre-composited or mosaicked but is available in discrete, randomly-overlapping scenes that are time-stamped as originally captured (though are normally orthorectified). General time filtering needs to support client-selected time intervals, not just time instants. Enabling fully-arbitrary time intervals fulfills the needs of general time filtering, but is impractical to use with WMTS services that are based on pre-generated tiles because of the combinatorial explosion of possible min and max times for an interval, so simpler semantics are also needed. Tiles can be used for efficient WMS-Map rendering as well. Eight useful semantics for time-based access are defined: ‘at’ time instant (as already in existing WMS/WMTS), ‘as-of’ time instant, fixed time-series, arbitrary time interval, and animated versions of the previous four. The arbitrary-interval semantic includes the capabilities of the simpler semantics, but it is important to allow simple server instances to provide limited, optimized service. The WMTS Capabilities document reports precisely what times are available by giving a list of time semantics and start/end time intervals and resolutions with continuousness, time-granularity, and interval-bound-inclusiveness taken care of. ISO 8601 time-value encoding is used and it is important that time values be character-for-character-precise for accessing static, pre-generated tiles through the WMTS REST interface. 8.2. Existing OWS time support Time support exists in both the WMTS and WMS interfaces. 8.2.1. Existing WMTS time support The latest official version of WMTS (Web Map Tile Service) is 1.0.0 [WMTS 1.0.0]. It includes a limited mechanism for dimensional queries including the dimension of time. An example XML Capabilities document might include: <Dimension> <ows:Identifier>Time</ows:Identifier> <ows:UOM>ISO8601</ows:UOM> <ows:Title>Time</ows:Title> <ows:Abstract>Monthly datasets</ows:Abstract> <Default>null</Default> <Value>2007-05</Value> <Value>2007-06</Value> <Value>2007-07</Value> </Dimension> Specific values must be explicitly enumerated, which is not a scalable approach. If data were available on a daily basis for 2000 through 2015, there would need to be 5,844 enumerated Value tags. Alternatively, if a time-interval notation with a resolution of one day were available, only a single Value would need to be given. Time values are opaque in that the client does not parse them but simply parrots them back to the server. This effectively makes the values format-independent, but also means that clients cannot reinterpret them into into specialized calendar-based GUI components, for instance. With Key-value-pair requests, the named Dimension identifier and selected value are included along with the standard request parameters. REST tile requests are indicated in the Capabilities document using templates with substitution variables in curly braces, such as: <ResourceURL format="image/png" resourceType="tile" template="{Style}/{Time}/{TileMatrixSet}/{TileMatrix}/{TileRow}/{TileCol}.png"/> 8.2.2. Existing WMS time support The latest official version of the WMS (Web Map Service) is 1.3.0 [WMS 1.3.0]. It has more-sophisticated time support than WMTS. An example declaration section might be: <Dimension name="Time" units="ISO8601" default="null">1996-01-01/2003-10-17/P1D</Dimension> Unlike with WMTS, the WMS declaration is stuffed into a single XML tag with attributes and uses time intervals with declared resolutions, making them much more scalable but also requiring viewer clients to parse the values and perform date calculations. For multiple intervals, WMS adds a syntax of using a comma separator (“,”) between allowed time ranges as opposed to the WMTS method of using multiple Value fields. Time-instant values are represented using ISO 8601 [ISO 8601] notation. The WMS data model for time is clearly for pre-composited/mosaicked full-coverage source data that is neatly stacked by discrete if not regular time instants. The ‘nearestValue’ mechanism assumes that there is a single nearest time instant, as confirmed by its warning message in the HTTP header. The ‘multipleValues’ attribute distinguishes whether a list of values or only a single value may be requested. It is not clear whether a time interval qualifies as a single value or as multiple values, but Example 2 in section C.3.6 implies that an interval is considered to be multiple values suitable for an animation response. WMS appears to offer only one base time-filtering semantic, which can be called “at,” or a variant from using the ‘nearestValue’ attribute that can be called “nearest-to,” plus animated versions of the previous two using the ‘multipleValues’ attribute. Only one of “at” or “nearest-to” can be in force in a declaration and the selection of animation depends on at least one factor outside of the scope of the time declaration (the data format for the result map). It is not clear what happens if an interval request is made when ‘multipleValues’ is not supported by a server. Also, an interval request requires a resolution according to Table C.2, implying a “multiple-at” semantic rather than a true interval. It is not clear if the resolution in a request is allowed to be “0” as described immediately after the table (though “0” is not a valid ISO-8601 period syntax; “PT0S” would be valid). Section C.3.2 gives the template “TIME=start_time/current,” but this is not a valid syntax according to Table C.2 which requires a resolution. In summary, neither WMS nor WMTS provides adequate support for general time filtering of general source data. Also, the exact WMS time semantics are not explained clearly enough. 8.3. Time-query semantics and encodings 8.3.1. Data environment The source-data environment envisioned is a fully general “scattershot” one where the source data is contained in “scenes” such as satellite or aerial images that can have various resolutions, locations, coordinate systems, acquisition times, and “color” types (e.g., RGB, Color Palette, RGBI, numeric), sample sizes, and data formats and can overlap each other in arbitrary ways and can have large gaps between coverage areas. Interfaces like WMTS hide the source-data semantics, though these semantics have implications for the exact tile content retrieved. 8.3.2. Timeless queries and overlapping-content ordering A time-capable web service should respond intelligently to queries that do not filter by time. One method would be to return content with the data with the latest acquisition time on top, though other ordering methods might override time in cases where some source data has a significantly finer resolution that other data or has a higher user-assigned priority. In principle, time-based queries could also be rendered in some order other than latest-time-on-top where source scenes overlap, if suitable for a service. There should be an obvious way to request data without special time filtering, such as requesting the default value for a time dimension, using a timeless REST template, or having the interface define special semantics for the time parameters. 8.3.3. Time-value encoding basis The basis for representing time values and semantics here is ISO 8601 notation, as in WMS 1.3.0. ISO provides several different encodings for the same time instant, but for an interface like WMTS REST, it is important to specify exact, character-for-character encodings. One approach would be to allow servers to specify the encoding of all of the components of a time value using a formatting template in order to accommodate prepared static data that has a pre-determined format, but this would probably not be a worthwhile exercise. Clients would need to be significantly more complicated to recognize such formatting and compose proper time values. Prescribing a time format can complicate a server in that it may need to provide a mapping between internal and external time-value representations but allows the client to be statically programmed. The prickly issues of time zones and time granularity must also be dealt with for both source data and open interfaces. If a source time value is merely “2015-03-17”, precisely what time is meant by that? Midnight? Noon? The whole day? In what time zone or zones? To avoid ambiguity and simplify coding, all time values passed in the enhanced WMTS interface shall be in the UTC time zone and the encoding shall include the explicit ISO designation character of “Z” (Zulu) where applicable according to the ISO-encoding rules to make this specific semantic extremely visible. Using arbitrary time zones would be an unnecessary complication and using an implicit time zone relative to the server is very awkward because of local Daylight Savings / Summer Time rules. 8.3.4. Time instant A time instant shall have the ISO general form “YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.dddddddddZ”, where the time components are Year, Month, Day, Hour, Minute, Second, and sub-second Decimals, using as many components, decimals, and punctuation characters as needed to encode times to a selected granularity. The “-”, “T”, “:”, “.”, and “Z” characters are literal. The time value shall end with the ISO “Z” character whenever the Hour (or finer) time component is included. The ISO comma (“,”) character is disallowed for the decimal point since exact coding will be needed for the WMTS REST interface and there is already an incompatible use for the comma character in the WMS Capabilities document. ISO also provides a mechanism to use years outside the range of 0001 to 9999 that is compatible with the approach used here. In principle, sub-second precision could extend indefinitely, but the finest practical accuracy even for synchronizing atomic clocks is around one nanosecond. Choosing a granularity limit of less than a nanosecond is generally a mistake, since systems far too often go through the evolutionary cycle of selecting seconds, then upgrading to milliseconds out of necessity, then microseconds, and finally nanoseconds (ns), because common computers can produce that amount of resolution (though not necessarily that amount of accuracy), though GPS synchronization can produce around 14 ns of accuracy in principle and 100 ns in practice. Just look at the evolution of the POSIX or SQL interfaces to see compatibility problems caused by choosing successively finer time granularities. The smartest move is just to start at ns resolution and be done with it. A ns within a second can be conveniently represented inside a system using a 32-bit integer. 8.3.5. Time granularity The server shall identify the granularity of time values it will accept for character-for-character REST encodings with each specification of allowed time values using an integer to represent the number of time components and sub-second decimals. The following table gives the legal granularity values: The server and client are free to produce time values encoded to any legal granularity except where exact encoding to the indicated granularity is required by a REST interface. If the server specifies the wildcard granularity (code 0), then the client is free to use any legal granularity in all requests including with all REST interfaces. It is useful to have a specific limit to granularity precision so that inclusive and exclusive time boundaries can be expressed unambiguously. This limit shall be the nanosecond. For example, the last legal time instant before “2015-03-17T00:00:00.000000000Z” is “2015-03-16T23:59:59.999999999Z”, so this value can be used explicitly as an inclusive upper limit to express a time “less than” or excluding “2015-03-17T00:00:00.000000000Z”. All time instants expressed to any granularity in the interface shall be interpreted internally by both client and server as representing the given value expanded to its first nanosecond. For example, “2015-03-17” would be interpreted as “2015-03-17T00:00:00.000000000Z”. Time instants re-expressed to a lesser granularity are always truncated instead of rounded. For example, “2015-03-16T23:59:59.999999999Z” re-expressed to Second granularity is “2015-03-17T23:59:59Z”. (One would not round up 10:45 to say that it is 11 o’clock.) 8.3.6. Time interval A time interval is specified using the inclusive first time instant and the inclusive last time instant, later than or equal to the first time instant, separated by the slash (“/”) character. Both time instants are interpreted as being expanded to their first nanosecond. For example, “2013-01-01T17Z/2015-03-17T17Z” would be interpreted as the inclusive interval from “2013-01-01T17:00:00.000000000Z” to “2015-03-17T17:00:00.000000000Z”. The two given time instants can be expressed to different granularities except where precise encoding is required by a REST interface. Be careful to give the appropriate ending instant recognizing that it is inclusive. Also beware of unintentional overlap in a list of time intervals that are not meant to overlap. ISO also allows either or both time instants to be empty strings corresponding to positive and negative infinity, but this notation is not needed here as explicit interval starting and ending times can always be given unless a layer has no time information available at all (perhaps because it is completely empty of content). In such a case, the server has various options, such as reporting a special null-value as an acceptable old-style time value that it knows how to interpret. For comparisons, using the nanosecond granularity limit makes it possible to effectively indicate whether time boundaries are inclusive or exclusive. For example, if a time interval is to be specified from noon 2015-03-17 EDT to 2pm but excluding both bounds, a proper expression would be “2015-03-17T16:00:00.000000001Z/2015-03-17T17:59:59.999999999Z”. If the two bounds were inclusive, it could be expressed more compactly as “2015-03-17T16Z/2015-03-17T18Z”. The slash (“/”) interval-separator character is very problematic for the WMTS REST interface because it is the folder separator used in most URI schemes and maps to the web-server file system, so using it would cause awkward interference with parsing pathnames. For this reason, in the WMTS REST-request URI only, two dash characters (“--”, U+002D U+002D) shall be used in place of the slash character when encoding interval time values and other time parameters like resolutions. 8.3.7. Time resolution ISO provides an encoding for time repetitions, but it is needlessly awkward. WMS defines a simpler format for repeated time instants/resolutions/intervals: “first_instant/last_instant/period”, using an ISO period as the last component, which is used here. The period component has the general format “P[yY][mM][dD]T[hH][mM][sS]”, where the square brackets indicate each optional component. The letter “P” is always present and means “Period”. The other components give the number of years, months, days, hours, minutes, and/or seconds, where each value can be any floating-point number. Note that different implementations are likely to interpret non-round results slightly differently. The letter “T” must always be used as a separator in the appropriate position if any time components to its right are used, as the letter “M” would otherwise be ambiguous. Examples are “P1D” for one day, “PT1H” for one hour, and “P1.5D” or “P1DT12H” for one-and-a-half days. A time interval with a resolution identifies a series of discrete time instants defined by the starting time instant plus all whole-number multiples (0, 1, …) of the given resolution (period) earlier than or equal to the last time instant of the interval. (The “last” instant is a limit that is not necessarily included in the set of specified instants.) For example, “2010-01-05T17Z/2016-03-25T17Z/P14D” defines the first nanosecond of noon EST (disregarding Daylight Savings) of every second Tuesday in the time interval. The first time instant of the series is “2010-01-05T17Z”, the second, “2010-01-19T17Z”, and the last, “2016-03-22T17Z”. Note that precise time values in UTC do not necessarily align with time granularities, nor do resolutions. If a time interval is given without a resolution to describe the times for which data is available, it means that any time instant (or interval) within the interval bounds can be requested (subject to any granularity restrictions). It can also be useful to provide a resolution for a single time instant in order to distinguish it from data prepared for different time resolutions available at the same instant (e.g., daily, monthly, yearly relative to instant “2015-01-01”). The special notation “instant/resolution” is used where appropriate for this purpose. 8.3.8. Frames per second For animations, an additional parameter can be appended to a time specification to request the number of frames per second to use for the animation. The format is “/Ffps”. The “fps” is a floating-point number. The default value is server-specific. 8.4. WMTS interface extensions Time is added to the WMTS 1.0.0 interface using the existing Dimension metadata structure. The Capabilities document indicates precisely what times are available with a granularity indicator and a list of time semantics with start/end time intervals sometimes with time resolutions. ISO 8601 time-value encoding is used and it is important that time values be character-for-character-precise when used with static, pre-generated REST tiles. This allows a time-based WMTS to be implemented using only a plain web server with no special runtime component or by using a large-scale service like Amazon CloudFront to enable potentially millions of concurrent users. 8.4.1. Capabilities Dimension declaration The structure of the WMTS 1.0.0 Dimension declaration is retained but with new values in the UOM and Value fields. This creates conflict between these field values which may necessitate a new version number for the WMTS to distinguish the semantics. The UOM field (Unit Of Measure) shall identify and parameterize the granularity of a new time dimension and has the following format: “ISO8601/granularity”. The UOM “granularity” value is the numeric granularity level from 0 to 15 shown in the table in the “Time granularity” clause. It is important to explicitly express the time granularity to use with REST requests up front exactly one time in order to be clear and unambiguous. It is also useful to have a different UOM value from the WMTS 1.0.0 literal “ISO8601” to indicate for old clients that actually check that the enumerated values are to be handled differently from 1.0.0. Also, unless and until this specification is incorporated into the official WMTS standard, a different dimension name such as “QTime” (query time) should also be used to avoid compatibility problems with clients that are hard-wired to recognize the dimension name “Time” with the old encoding. The time instants and time semantics available for querying are given in the Value fields of the Dimension. An example Dimension declaration is: <Dimension> <ows:Identifier>QTime</ows:Identifier> <ows:UOM>ISO8601/3</ows:UOM> <ows:Title>Time</ows:Title> <ows:Abstract>blah blah blah</ows:Abstract> <Default>alltime</Default> <Value>at:2007-05-01/2007-07-31/P1D</Value> <Value>asof:2007-05-01/2007-07-31/P1D</Value> <Value>series:2007-05-01/2007-07-31/P1D</Value> <Value>interval:2007-05-01/2007-07-31</Value> <Value>anim.asof:2007-05-01/2007-07-31/P1D/F12</Value> <Value>anim.interval:2007-05-01/2007-07-31</Value> </Dimension> Time values with the new semantics shall be identified by special short prefix strings. The WMTS 1.0.0 opaque-value semantics are maintained for all values that do not start with a new-time-semantic prefix. The new prefix shall be followed by an interval with a usually optional resolution which identifies precisely what time instants are legal for querying. If a resolution is given, it restricts legal query instants to only those that are integer multiples of the resolution from the starting time; otherwise, any time instant within the interval is legal. With time semantics that use a query interval in the client request, only legal time instants can be used for the starting and ending times of the interval. Animation semantics can also include an optional frames-per-second parameter if it is fixed by the server. Specifically, the Capabilities-declaration format is “prefix:first_instant/last_instant[/resolution]. The new time-semantic Value-prefix strings for single-frame still images are: - at: Selects a server-defined semantic for a single time instant. The WMTS 1.0.0 interface provides an interface to query tiles “at” specific server-defined time instants. The true meaning of the time instant is not clear, as it could be truly “at” a specific time instant, a time-series interval starting at or ending at the indicated time, data “as-of” a certain time, etc. Often, the precise semantic is unimportant or already known by the user. The server gives an accessible-time interval with an optional resolution; the client requests the sought time instant. The “at” client-query format is “at:instant”, for example, “at:2007-05-20”. - asof: Selects all times from the first time instant up to and including the given time instant. The “as-of” time-value semantic is probably the most useful for casual viewing. It can be used as a “time machine” to examine how the coverage area looked according to the most recently available data as of any time in the past. A GUI control might be a slider bar covering the time range of the available data. The server gives an accessible-time interval with an optional resolution; the client requests the ending time instant. The “as-of” client-query format is “asof:instant”, for example, “asof:2007-05-20”. - series: Selects one frame from a fixed time series identified by the first time instant of the frame. The resolution breaks the time interval into equal slices/frames (except perhaps for the last slice) and each slice includes its starting time and excludes the starting time of the next slice. The exact semantic of whether the time series defines instants or sub-intervals of time is server-dependent. Beware of the potential “fencepost problem” caused by the ending instant being inclusive. The server gives an accessible-time interval with a required resolution; the client requests a time instant plus the server-given resolution value (needed to disambiguate if multiple resolutions are available). In the case of a REST request, the resolution component shall be character-for-character exactly what the server gave. The time-series client-query format is “series:instant/resolution”, for example, “series:2007-05-20/P1D”. The implied query interval is from instant to instant + resolution − 1 nanosecond, modulo the data-availability interval. - interval: Selects all times in a given arbitrary inclusive time interval. Normally, all source data that overlaps the time interval is selected for processing. The server gives an accessible-time interval with an optional resolution; the client requests a time interval. The time-series client-query format is “interval:first_instant/last_instant”, for example, “interval:2007-05-20/2007-06-08”. Each still-image/single-frame method has an animated counterpart with a prefix-prefix of “anim.”. An animation is an orthogonal concept that selects multiple sequential frames of the base semantic with a time interval and at a specified resolution. The resulting content will normally be generated into a format that can hold multiple frames of animation, such as an MPEG4 video file, and with an optional given frame rate. Specifically, the Capabilities-declaration format is “prefix:first_instant/last_instant/resolution[/frames_per_second]”. All of the different semantics have the same query format, with only the meaning of the content being different (at, as-of, interval). - anim.at: Selects an animation of “at” image frames. The server gives an accessible-time interval with a required resolution; the client requests a time interval with the same resolution. With a REST request, the resolution must character-for-character the same. - anim.asof: Selects an animation “as-of” image frames. The server gives an accessible-time interval with a required resolution; the client requests a time interval with the same resolution. With a REST request, the resolution must character-for-character the same. An example client query time might be “anim.asof:2007-05-11/2007-07-08/P1D/F12”. - anim.series: Selects an animation of fixed-time-series image frames. The server gives an accessible-time interval with a required resolution; the client requests a time interval with the same resolution. With a REST request, the resolution must character-for-character the same. - anim.interval: Selects an animation of arbitrary-interval image frames with an arbitrary time resolution. The server gives an accessible-time interval with an optional resolution; the client requests a time interval with an arbitrary client-chosen time resolution that need not have any relation to the server-advertised resolution if there was one. An example client query time might be “anim.interval:2007-05-06/2007-07-28/P7D/F2”. The client can request any legal time defined by any Value field of a Dimension or by the Default field. The client and server are free to generate time values to any legal granularity except in the case of a WMTS REST request, where the client must use the time granularity indicated by the server unless the wildcard granularity (code 0) is indicated. The REST granularity, the granularities in Capabilities, the granularities in non-REST requests, and the time resolutions in different Value fields may all be different. As an example, a WMTS may offer a static-REST “as-of” time Dimension Value that overlaps new imagery scenes every second Tuesday but maintains a history of previous data versions. It might advertise its valid times as “asof:2010-01-05T12Z/2016-03-23T12Z/P14D” with a granularity of Hours (code 4). The first valid request time instant would be “2010-01-05T12Z”, the second “2010-01-19T12Z”, and the most recent, “2016-03-22T12Z”. To help with the forward-compatibility of old clients, the Default field could specify a special value to request “timeless” or all-time tiles. Servers could also accept the raw REST template-variable encoding as selecting the default value. E.g., a REST request might be for “https://…/mylayer/mystyle/{QTime}/smerc/…” or “…/%7BQtime%7D/…”. The server could recognize that a client does not understand Dimension usage and select the default time value. It could also recognize the client parroting back the literal time values specified in the Dimension declaration if invalid as meaning that an old client does not know how to parse new time values, and react accordingly. Faulty JavaScript clients may generate the value “undefined” when substituting the variable and the WMS specification seems to also allow the value “default”. 8.4.2. Key-value request interface A key-value client shall request times for tiles by using the Dimension Identifier as the key, selecting an appropriate Dimension Value field, and computing a legal time value according to the time semantic. The request value shall include the same time-semantic prefix as the Dimension Value. An example request might be: Note that key-value parameter names are case-insensitive in OGC requests. 8.4.3. REST request interface The REST method is specified in the Capabilities document using the ResourceURL template structure. The time key and value are computed similarly to key-value requests, and the value is substituted into the URI template variable with the same name as the key. For example, variable substring “{QTime}”. There are three differences in generating the time values, however. The first difference is that the time instants shall be generated to the granularity indicated by the server in the UOM field. The second difference is that because of incompatibilities between REST URIs and the slash character used in ISO time intervals, etc., the slash character (“/”) in computed time values shall be substituted with two dash characters (“--”). The third difference is that with “series:”, “anim.at:”, “anim.asof:” and “anim.series:” time values, the time-resolution component shall be character-for-character exactly what the server indicated in the Dimension Value. An example ResourceURL and REST-request URI are: <ResourceURL format="image/png" resourceType="tile" template="{Style}/{QTime}/{TileMatrixSet}/{TileMatrix}/{TileRow}/{TileCol}.png"> URI example: The special characters in the REST URI may be escaped with the “%xx” hexadecimal notation. This is compatible with character-for-character encoding. 8.5. WMTS server implementation with enhanced time-varying layer support For the Testbed-12 project, CubeWerx on behalf of Polar View, deployed a WMTS that serves tiles for arbitrary time intervals (trivially including the simpler semantics). As the tiles are necessarily generated on-the-fly, the “secret sauce” for such a server is its internal optimizations for dealing with a large volume of source data. Several such optimizations are planned. The time-based WMTS is accessed by a third-party viewer client to demonstrate interoperability for the project. CubeWerx also implemented a parallel WMS with time-query and animation capabilities. We wanted to directly tackle the problem of handling arbitrarily selected time intervals so that we only need to go through the implementation effort once and it can be used for all of the time filtering needed. Specialized and limited time semantics like monthly time-series or monthly “as-of” tiles could have been pre-generated which would operate more efficiently, but we decided to focus on optimizing the general solution to perform adequate performance. 8.5.1. OWS Interfaces The CubeWerx WMTS server implements the proposed time-query interface and uses wildcard time granularity (code 0) and supply “at:”, “asof:”, “series:”, and “interval:” time semantics through the REST and key-value-pair WMTS interfaces. The corresponding WMS interface offers the same single-frame semantics through a key-value-pair interface and also offers the animated versions of the semantics. Offering animations through the WMTS interface would make little sense since a viewer client would not be able to synchronize the multiple animated tiles on its display, even if it could process and position video files for playback. 8.5.2. Source data The data used for the project is 16-bit single-band Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar raster data that exists in small scenes at disconnected times near the north pole. The original source data has 37,939 TIFF images that occupy 6.7 TB of storage and cover two years of EnviSAT data from 2010-03-01 to 2012-02-29. The original source data had a several problems: the timestamp values were encoded into the filenames instead of the TIFF headers; the no-data value was not explicit; the data contained a great deal of empty pixels and hence was needlessly bulky; the data was internally organized into scanlines rather than tiles, making access to zoomed-in portions of the images slower; it needed a great deal of contrast stretching to be visible; and the data was not corrected for sensor-intensity variations. A script program was developed to repackage the source data so it could be used conveniently and efficiently. The timestamps were parsed out of the filenames and put into the Date/Time TIFF header; the no-data value was set explicitly using the GDAL No-Data tag; the pixel data was compressed within the TIFF format using the lossless Deflate compression method which reduced the data to about one-third of its original size; the new TIFF files were internally organized into 256×256 tiles for efficient access; and a suitable contrast-stretching method was developed. The source data now occupies 2.1 TB of storage. Corrected versions of data source scenes are still being sought. 8.5.3. Contrast enhancement Contrast enhancement was an “unscheduled problem” in the project. The source data has a 16-bit pixel-sample range, or 0 to 65,535, but most of the actual data values are in the range of 400 to 2300, though a few samples in each image can go up to the 20,000 range or beyond. An ad-hoc method was needed to determine what range to use, how to record it in the images, and how to apply it at runtime. Initially, a contrast enhancement specific to each individual source image was calculated by scanning the source samples and computing a histogram of the distribution of values and a percentile range was extracted. Samples from the 3rd to the 97th percentile produced a good contrast. A special value was written into the TIFF Description tag to record the contrast stretching that is needed on rendering the image and code was implemented to apply this stretching on-the-fly when reading the image, so that the original sample values remain intact in the source data. After some experimentation it was decided to use a constant contrast stretch for all of the images in the collection. This helps to make the images have a more consistent appearance when selecting time same area at different times and when generating animations. The source data itself, however, is ‘uncorrected’ in that the sensitivity of the sensor varies over the swath and between images in the same area, and this cannot be normalized by any simple means. The data provider is looking into providing corrected source data for us to use. 8.5.4. Dateline wrap-arounds Handling dateline wrap-arounds was another “unscheduled problem” in the project. Since the source data is in the Polar Stereographic projection, EPSG code 3413, some scenes cross over the the antimeridian at ±180° longitude, which will call the “dateline”. This was not dealt with properly, so we needed improve our handling of time complication in many levels of our system. This took some time and effort. On the other hand, the source data does not touch the North Pole since the EnviSAT satellite does not pass close enough to the North Pole; there is an almost perfect empty circle around the North Pole when all of the data is plotted. 8.5.5. Performance and functionality enhancement Numerous changes were needed to our existing system to handle time queries efficiently. The low-level spatial-database-access methods needed to be reorganized and then augmented with time functionality. Low-level methods were implemented to parse, generate, and compute time values for the new external representation. A special optimization was added to the map/tile-rendering methods to make them use far less memory when source-data scenes are deeply stacked on top of each other, since the source data for this project can be stacked thousands of levels deep, and a related optimization was added to avoid retrieving and rendering earlier-timed source data that is completely hidden behind later source data that is plotted over top. The processing of reprojection distortions was improved to better handle strongly diverging resolutions, as between the Polar Stereographic and Spherical Mercator projections near the North Pole. The WMTS and WMS Capabilities-document reporting and request parsing was updated for time queries, including time-series for Day, Week, Month, and Year recurrence periods. The WMS interface was also extended to handle animation requests that return an MPEG-4 video stream. The general approach used is to render all of the source-data scenes that are selected by the spatial and time-interval constraints of a query, but this can result in too much work when zoomed way out to an area that covers too many source files. So, an optimization was added to partially pre-generate tile content in this case to drastically reduce the amount of work that needs to be done on-the-fly. The result is that time-filtering WMTS queries normally take under one second with some taking about two seconds to execute. This is considered to be “good enough” for this project. Several additional optimizations were considered, all of which reduce the amount of processing that needs to be done on-the-fly to satisfy a request, but they are not needed for this project. Tile queries for all of time use fully pre-generated tiles when zoomed out so that all queries for the native tile-image format can be satisfied directly by the web server within a millisecond (excluding network-transfer time) and queries for non-native formats can be satisfied in under 50 milliseconds. The scalability of the server for concurrent users is around 10 users for time-filtering queries and hundreds of users for all-time queries. 8.6. AWST WMTS client implementation For the Testbed-12 project, AWST on behalf of Polar View deployed a WMTS viewer client () that allows the user to select time constraints for viewing the data. The client is based on the Cesium – WebGL Virtual Globe and Map Engine, the TerriaJS software developed by NICTA, Australia and the NationalMap software which was originally established to provide access to spatial data from Australian government agencies. All three are open source software projects. The client software is organized such that these individual open source components can independently be updated when new versions become available. The source data on the server side is accessed via WMTS where the client automatically generates data queries when the user selects a data source in the client, navigates on the Virtual Globe 2D or 3D map or changes the zoom level. Queries are generated for all tiles covered by the currently visible area in the map. The WMTS access is enhanced by time queries, where the user selects the desired query type for each data source. While all allowable query types are in principle supported, the asof: and series: time semantics are explicitly configured for user selection where series options are preconfigured for daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly series. The query time is selected in an interactive time slider in the client GUI with the selectable time range defined by the server providing the data. The following example shows the GUI design of AWST WMTS client. The supported time-query semantics are selectable under the dropdown box on the left side panel (1). The temporal value is selectable on the time slider bar on the bottom of the GUI. With the selected time-query semantic and temporal value, the AWST WMTS client generates the collection of WMTS requests with enhanced time-query semantics and requests the corresponding time-varying layers on the back-end WMTS server. Data-animation options are implemented and tested for two different approaches. In the first animation approach, the time slider is enhanced by a “play button” feature to scan thought the available time period at different speeds. As the time advances the client automatically generates queries with the new time for the same geographic area in daily intervals. Faster scans through time quickly lead to performance issues if the server response arrives only after the next query has already been submitted. The user does not see a smooth animation in this case but rather gets incomplete images with only a few tiles, which seem to randomly change. A number of improvements were implemented in order to achieve a better image-update performance. The server side performance improvements are described in the previous sections. The client was modified to pre-fetch the data in the sense that data for a new requested time slice is loaded while the previous image is still displayed. This has the effect that the user sees complete images in the client as long as data loading completes before the tile requests for the next time slice are submitted. Further, better parallelization of tile requests has been investigated. This aspect was found to depend on the specific web browser, which is used to launch the visualization client. While the number of parallel http queries in generically limited to a maximum of 6 in Google Chrome, this limit is configurable in the Firefox browser. Setting this limit to 32 essentially allows requesting all tiles at the same time, at which point the server performance becomes the next limiting factor. In summary this type of time scanning is useful for automatically updating images at limited speed but does not yield a movie-like animation experience for the user. Animation performance is more limited in 3D mode where the 3D re-projection is performed in the client. In the second animation approach, the data source is accessed via WMS to use the MPEG-4 video stream provided by the server implementation. The user can select the data source via WMS and then request a video for the currently displayed area where start and end time of the period to be covered are selected in the client’s time slider element. The video query is submitted to the server upon user request, and the user can continue with other activities in the client while waiting for the server response. Once the video stream is received it is automatically opened in the default video player. As opposed to the first approach this is an asynchronous interaction where the user has to wait a while for the server to respond and the response time depends on the amount of data which is covered both geographically and by the requested time period. However, the client is not blocked while waiting for the response, hence the user can continue working with the client, and the received video stream yields a smooth animation experience, which does not depend on external performance limitations. Following is a sample WMS request for a small video of ice moving in the Nares Strait (between Greenland and Canada) that is generated on-the-fly with a WMS request. The generated video is 2.9 MB in size. It takes about 31 seconds to generate, and returns an MPEG4 video file that should be playable in most browsers. The “PT12H” in the QTime parameter means that each frames covers 12 hours of data time and the “F4” means to generate four frames per second in the output video file. In parallel to work on the data interface and performance improvements, the user interface of the client was enhanced with a focus on users who are primarily interested in the polar regions. The client development work in this project provided insights into both technical performance and usability issues and yielded feasible approaches to tackle these issues. Future work may include further optimization of data pre-loading, improvements to performance of the viewer in 3D mode and further usability enhancements to the user interface focusing on specific use cases within larger scenarios. 9. WMS for NetCDF 9.1. Improvements on the WMS support of map rendering With the rising demand from the diverse end-user communities for geospatial tools to handle multidimensional products, many geospatial applications now have new functionalities that enable the end user to store, access, analyze, and visualize these EO data sets. One such visualization approach of NetCDF files uses the ncWMS. In this section, the non-standard WMS parameters from ncWMS are introduced as the extension to the WMS to improve the map render and GetCapabilities content filtering. 9.1.1. Extensions on WMS GetMap operation to support additional map render options Besides standard GetMap parameters, the following additional parameters from ncWMS are introduced as the extension parameters of WMS GetMap operation. 9.1.2. Examples The supported render parameters improve the flexibilities and effects of map rendering through WMS GetMap. The improvements are illustrated through the following examples. Render map with dynamic palette through WMS GetMap Launch a viewer (GetMap with format=application/openlayer): Retrieve an image (GetMap): Retrieve the legend (GetLegend): Render map with custom range/custom color number/above and below range colors through WMS GetMap Launch a viewer (GetMap with format=application/openlayer): Retrieve an image (GetMap): Retrieve the legend (GetLegend): Render map with log-scaling color schema through WMS GetMap Launch a viewer (GetMap with format=application/openlayer): Retrieve an image (GetMap): Retrieve the legend (GetLegend): Customize layer opacity through WMS GetMap Launch a viewer (GetMap with format=application/openlayer): Retrieve an image (GetMap): Generate layer animation through WMS GetMap Layer animation through time dimension (layer composite through the time interval between 2016-02-01 and 2016-03-01): Layer animation on elevation dimension 9.2. Improvements on the mechanisms of WMS metadata filtering 9.2.1. Limitation on current WMS GetCapabilities filtering The WMS layer metadata is advertised in the GetCapabilities document. With the increasing number of layers being advertised through the GetCapabilities document, requesting the GetCapabilities document tends to consume significant bandwidth and internet resource. In this section, an additional GetCapabilities parameter (i.e., DATASET) is proposed as a way for the client to efficiently subset relevant GetCapabilities content based on the dataset/layer of interest. The parameter still makes the server return a valid capabilities document that can be used by any application, it’s thus suited to be used from existing clients and linked from dedicated search pages (e.g., a CSW/OpenSearch search result). This is unlike XPATH based approaches, that do not require an external search engine, allow actual text based searches into the capabilities document, returning all the matched elements (e.g., to get a full list of all layer names). This approach does however require a client that has been developed to leverage the search and handle its results. 9.2.2. Extensions on WMS GetCapabilities operation Extension on GetCapabilities request parameter GetCapabilities response for specified layer A schema-valid GetCapabilities response is returned with layer metadata being specified in the DATASET request parameter. 9.2.3. Examples Retrieve the GetCapabilities document with the full set of layer metadata Full capabilities document: Retrieve the GetCapabilities document based on a specific layer The GetCapabilities for the flexpart layer: The GetCapabilities for the rain layer: 9.3. Improvements on the WMS support for map querying ncWMS extends the GetFeatureInfo with a few variants targeted to retrieve evolution of a phenomenon on a specific point over time or elevation, or at a fixed them and elevation, but along a path. In particular: GetTimeSeries has the same structure as a GetFeatureInfo call, but requires a TIME parameter expressing a time range, and will generate either a dump of all values at the point of interest in the specified time interval, or generate a chart GetVerticalProfile has the same structure as GetFeatureInfo, but requires an ELEVATION parameter expressing an elevation range, and will generate either a dump of all values at the point of interest in the specified elevation interval, or generate a chart GetTransect has the same structure as a GetMap, but requires a LINESTRING parameter with a comma separated list of "x,y" values, and will extract a chart of the phenomenon evolution along the path. If the dataset contains an elevation, a parallel chart will be generated showing the elevation at the same points. During the testbed a GetTimeSeries implementation has been included. Retrieve the evolution of the "flexpart" phenomenon over time at point clicked on the map, in the 2016-02-23T03:00:00.000Z/2016-02-26T00:00:00.000Z time range:

BLUE SUN ROOM FAN FICTION - GENERAL Maya. Post-BDM. Mal explains the election problem to the crew, while Ethan helps out with a different kind of answer. NEW CHAPTER (and apologies to my readers for the delay in uploading - family issues) CATEGORY: FICTION TIMES READ: 1891 RATING: 9 SERIES: FIREFLY “Would you mind telling us what the problem is?” Simon asked, sitting next to Kaylee at the big dining table, the rest of the crew ranged around. Only the children were absent, sitting in Bethie’s room playing quietly, although it was a fair bet the little girl was listening in to the conversation anyway. He looked up at Mal, standing at the head. “Particularly since we haven’t even set foot off the ship yet.” “Name, number and pack drill,” River murmured, and Jayne took her hand, squeezing gently. “It’s election time,” Hank explained quickly. “So?” Simon hadn’t heard his sister. “Didn’t you ever vote?” Mal asked, crossing his arms. “Of course. Always. Although I think it was only twice, before I tried to find River.” “Tap you on the shoulder, tell you where to sign,” River singsonged. Her brother glanced at her. “Are you okay, mei-mei?” “Try to run away, it’s the end of the line.” Simon went to rise. “Maybe I should go and get -” “It ain’t nothing for you to worry about,” Jayne rumbled. “Just a bad day. She ain’t gonna go crazy and kill everyone. Well, no crazier than she already is.” River looked at him gratefully, aware right now that most of the words she wanted to say would come out jumbled, full of other meanings, and that just occasionally it still unsettled the rest of the crew. Knowing that her husband understood and could talk for her made it easier to accept, and, in accepting, the disorder in her mind would ease quicker. “If you’re sure …” Simon wasn’t quite convinced. It might have been a good long while since he’d medicated River, but he was still a doctor, and she was still his sister, and sometimes he felt he should be able to do something. “Yep, I’m sure.” It was clear in his tone that he wasn’t going to let anyone stick his wife with needles, not unless it was entirely necessary. And even then he’d make a fuss about it, and everyone knew his kind of fuss tended to end up with other folks needing Simon’s skills, awkward if it was the good doctor himself who was the one lying bleeding on the medbed. “Okay.” Simon settled back down, and felt Kaylee tangle her fingers in his. “Just for that you get a go with the feather and the strawberry powder,” she whispered in his ear, so proud of her man for being able to acknowledge Jayne’s rights as husband and father, even though it was something he still found difficult. He blushed. Mal raised one eyebrow. “As fun as this is to watch, it ain’t exactly solving our problem.” Simon coughed and turned back, looking up expectantly. “Elections. Yes.” “You know voting is supposed to mandatory.” “Of course.” He shrugged slightly. “I remember back at MedAcad we used to discuss the various candidates, who we thought would be the best man for the job, then we’d all go to the voting station together. It was quite a party.” He brought his mind back from the past. “But out here, I wouldn’t have thought -” “And you’d be right,” Mal interrupted. “Most places, ‘specially those as didn’t support Unification, don’t exactly play to policy. I guess we’ve been lucky, and never had to make planetfall around that time, and for the most part made pretty damn sure we didn’t, but it looks like our luck just ran out.” “Jericho’s a stickler for the rules,” Hank added. “Most planets are more lenient over the regulations, and don’t make you vote if you’re not a resident, but this place … if you even touch the dirt in the week before the election, they make you stay and make you vote, whether you want to or not.” “Then I don’t see the problem. We vote. Admittedly we’ll know nothing about the candidates, but I doubt we’d affect the results that much.” “It’s not as easy as that.” Freya leaned forward. “Oh? Why not?” “Because they check our IDent cards at the voting office. And if you don’t have one, they check your fingerprints, retinal scan, DNA.” “What my wife is trying to say,” Mal added, “is that you and River are still tagged as fugitives. Those warrants may be old, but a place like this … they’d lock you up before you could wink and put a call into the Alliance.” Simon felt a frisson of fear run down his spine. “Then we hide. It’s only for a few days. If River and I don’t leave, aren’t seen by anyone outside the ship, then we should be fine. As soon as we’re … what? What is it?” He’d seen the look Hank and the captain had exchanged. “Doc, I love how innocent you are,” the pilot said, shaking his head. “They’ll’ve scanned us by now, probably the moment we touched down. They know exactly how many people are on board, down to the little one that isn‘t even born yet.” Simon could see Kaylee wrapping her arms around her belly even as the fear turned to ice. “So what do we do?” he asked. “We make a plan,” Mal said. He looked at his mechanic. “Mei-mei, how long to put that part in once we get it?” “Not long. Maybe a coupla hours. But that’s just to do the replacement. There’s a whole load of other adjustments needed, since we been flying on the primary, and that’s gonna take a lot longer.” She sighed heavily, adding regretfully, “And I ain’t yet figured a way to lift a landlock.” “So running ain’t an option.” “Nope. Sorry.” “Not your fault.” “Yes, it is.” She sniffed. “This is all my fault.” Her voice had dropped to a whisper. “If’n I’d been paying attention more, if I hadn’t been fooling around with stuff, this wouldn’t’ve happened.” “Now you know that ain’t the truth,” Mal said. “I asked you to.” Hank raised his eyebrows at his wife in query, but she shook her head. No-one else seemed to know what this particular conversation was about. Except perhaps two particular Readers. Kaylee wasn’t surprised that Freya had told Mal what had happened, but she was surprised that he didn‘t appear to be angry. “Yeah, but everyone kept telling me I should be taking more care. And I didn’t listen.” “No, you didn’t. But it ain’t something we can go back and change, so we live with it and move on.” His blue eyes were gentle. “Kaylee, we’ll figure a way round this.” She nodded, even though she didn’t feel particularly reassured. All she could see at the moment, in her mind’s eye, was Simon being hauled on board an Alliance ship and taken away from her, just as she went into labour. “Won’t happen,” River said softly. “Won’t let it.” Kaylee lifted her eyes to her sister-in-law, seeing the certainty on her face. “Maybe we should just go take over Port Control,” Jayne suggested. “Kaylee gets her part, then we go in, all guns blazing, make ‘em lift the lock.” Zoe gazed at him. “And then what? Every Alliance ship within a parsec would be looking for us.” “Us?” he scoffed. “Ain't they got better things to do?” “Not during the elections.” “Besides, it wouldn’t work,” Hank said. “You wouldn’t get within ten feet of Port Control, not armed.” “What?” “Because they’d arrest you. Or maybe just shoot you.” “Why?” The big man was suddenly on the defensive, fingering the gunbelt around his waist. “There’s a blanket order of no weapons allowed this week. Not a one. Not even a knife.” Jayne looked stricken. “I can’t go out there without some kinda –” “If it’s a choice between walking free and getting bound, yes, you can.” Mal was adamant. “No guns, knives or other implements of mayhem.” “Not even –“ “Not even. Whatever it was you were about to suggest.” Mal looked at the man’s broad chest. “Jayne, there’s enough of you to intimidate anyone, as you well know. And those fists of yours can do enough damage to stop a small army.” “But I don’t get why I can’t carry Betsey.” Zoe spoke, her gaze not moving from the big ex-merc. “Because they’re in the middle of an election. And Jericho Wells is very particular about weaponry around this time. After the incident.” At Mal’s raised eyebrow she went on, “Hank did some checking while you were calling everyone together.” Hank nodded. “Apparently a few years ago there was a local election, and someone didn’t like the result, and they shot the newly elected dog catcher. Caused something of a riot. So they just don’t let you carry at the moment.” “I'm gonna feel naked,” Jayne grumbled. “Then stay onboard. We don’t want to be having to rescue you too,” Mal said firmly. “Ain’t like I was gonna shoot anyone or nothing.” “Jayne.” “Yeah, sure, fine. I’ll … I’ll be good,” he said with as much sullenness as he could manage. Mal knew he was contemplating which of the smaller guns he could hide about his person, but decided he was better off not asking. “Fine. Then we need to –“ “Uncle Mal?” All eyes turned to Bethie standing in the far doorway, her hands clasped tightly behind her back. “Ain’t you supposed to be downstairs looking after the rest of the kids?” Mal asked. The little girl shrugged. “There’s someone outside, and they want to speak to you.” Mal and Freya exchanged a glance, and she opened her mind a little. “Bethie’s right,” she said. “And he’s got a list.” --- Mal pulled the outer airlock door open, letting in the fresh air of Jericho. For a moment he wondered how they’d managed to get the dock air to taste so sweet, since the scent of most ports was a mixture of fuel, metal and body odour, combined with a thousand other perfumes, each worse that the last, but his contemplation was put on the back burner at the sight of the man in front of him. Smallish, maybe five foot and a half, his suit was steel grey with knife-edged pleats down the pants. The shirt showing above the collarless jacket was so white it was almost blinding, and obviously freshly laundered, buttoned up to the neck. His head, almost completely devoid of hair, shone in the sunlight, and he had a look on his face that said exactly what he was. Official. Bureaucrat. A speck of grit in the wheels of liberty. He even had a clipboard. “Morning,” Mal said, putting on the slow smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “It’s 12:37,” the man said, consulting his watch. “Then … afternoon.” “My name is Jennings. I work for the election office here on Jericho and I will be taking a census of the people on board this vessel.” He glanced down at his clipboard. “And you are?” “Captain Malcolm Reynolds. This is my boat, bought and paid for.” Jennings made a notation against one of the boxes. “Our scans indicate you have eight adults on board, as well as six children. Is that correct?” “Well, six and a half, seeing as my mechanic is about to drop another pup.” He watched the man make a meticulous note. “Is that likely to happen whilst you are in port?” “Hope not.” “And their names?” “Well, we got me, my wife Freya, then there’s my pilot Hank Mills and his wife Zoe, then -” “Slower, please.” Mal did as he was asked, Jennings writing the names in precise, exceptionally legible script. “Then we’ve got my medic, name of Simon Frye and his wife Kaylee, and finally River Cobb and her husband Jayne.” Jennings looked up, his pen pausing. “Jayne?” “Long story. And I ain’t even sure I’ve heard it all.” Jennings nodded, and annotated the page. “And what does he do?” “Public relations.” “And the children?” Mal hitched his thumbs into his waistband. “Now, as far as I know, there ain’t a one of ‘em old enough to vote, so why do you need that information?” “As I said, I’m taking the census. This information will be passed on to the relevant office on Osiris, and the population records updated.” “Six kids. That’s all you need to know.” Jennings opened his mouth to argue, but saw the look on Mal’s face. “Very well. I suppose that will do. For the moment.” “We got a dog and a cat too, and the odd spider or three, considering the cobwebs I’ve seen around. You need to know about them as well?” “I am only doing my job, Captain Reynolds.” “And I’m sure you do it real well.” “I will, of course, need to see the adults’ IDent cards.” “I’ll make sure they have them when we go to vote.” “No. I mean now.” Mal’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t ever recall being asked to produce them beforehand.” “It’s how we do things here on Jericho.” Mal wondered just how long it was going to take to get heartily sick and tired of the phrase ‘here on Jericho’. Probably not long. “Well, Mr Jennings, that might take us a while. Seeing as truth to tell I'm not sure where mine is, and I know Frey’s just as bad at keeping things in one place, so … how about you say you saw them, and we just show ‘em at the election booth like we planned?” Jennings shook his head. “That isn’t possible. I have to see them before you can leave your ship.” He waved the clipboard. “I need to make a note of the numbers.” “Why?” “So we can confirm who you say you are on the day of the election.” He sighed, as if the weight of Jericho was on his shoulders, and his alone. “You’d be amazed at the number of people who try and get away with claiming they’re someone they’re not.” “Really.” “Oh, yes. And the full weight of the law is brought down upon them.” He made it sound like a sermon. “Nothing will be done unless you try and leave Jericho Wells, but I do need to see them.” “Shiny.” Mal took a deep breath. “Well, it’s a nice day, so you can take the weight off your feet while me and mine see if we can’t find those cards.” He stepped back inside. “Don’t you be going anywhere.” The door closed with a loud metallic thud, and he turned to look on his crew. “Yeah, that went well.” “Now what?” Simon asked, holding up his IDent. “This card might look okay, but if he runs the number …” “Dillon paid good cashey-money for that, Doc,” Mal assured him. “That and your sister’s. They’ll pass first view, don’t you worry.” “I just think it’s nice you wanted your last name to be Frye,” Kaylee said, leaning against him. “Even though I’ve always loved being Mrs Dr Tam.” “I didn’t want it to be Mara. Not anymore.” He patted her hand. “But I’ll always be Simon Tam for you.” “S’real nice.” Her eyes promised more than just the feather. “Simon’s right, though,” Freya put in. “I wouldn’t put it past Jennings out there to run all our numbers, just because he can.” “And even if he don’t, we’re still deep in it when it comes to voting day,” Jayne said. “And I ain’t letting anything happen to River.” “I’m not letting anything happen to anyone,” Mal avowed. “But I still got to get to that yard,” Kaylee said. “If I don’t get that part, this is something of a useless conversation, don’t you think?” Zoe nodded. “Then we have to think of a plan.” She turned to look at Mal. “Sir?” “I'm pondering.” Mal felt a tugging at his pants leg, and looked down. Somehow Ethan had managed to sneak up on them from the cluster of children in the entrance to the common area, and now he was gazing at his father. “Daddy, I want to help.” Mal reached down and picked up his son, settling him onto his hip and wondering at the back of his mind how much longer he was going to be able to do that, considering how fast the little boy was growing. “Not at all sure you can,” he said, looking into familiar blue eyes. “Want to.” “You know what’s going on?” Mal asked, not angry, just resigned. “Bethie was peeking,” Ethan admitted. “She told,” he added in a stage whisper so loud that the little girl bridled with indignation at being ratted out. The corner of Mal’s mouth twitched. “That young lady should know better.” “But I want to help.” “Sir.” Zoe stepped closer. “I think I have an idea.” The ramp lowered, and for one moment Mal felt the hope leap within him that maybe Jennings had got fed up and gone away, but the officious little man appeared around the corner of the Firefly. “Did you know your mandatory registration markings are almost illegible?” Jennings said, pointing upwards with his pen. “Really. Have to do something about that,” Mal said, stepping down onto Jericho soil. He held out his IDent card. “Here you go.” Jennings almost smiled, taking the card and running it through the small reader attached to his clipboard. “Thank you, Captain.” He handed it back. “And the others?” “Found it!” Hank shouted from inside, jogging down the ramp. “It was under my manuscript.” He waved it in the air. “I’ve been writing this tome for a long while now,” he explained to Jennings. “And it won’t be long before this says ‘Best Selling Author’ rather than pilot. Of course, I’ll still fly just to keep my hand in, but it’ll be my boat, not someone else’s.” Jennings reached for the card but it was jerked out of his fingers. “Or maybe I’ll buy this one,” Hank went on. “She’s a good old crate, and it’d only take someone spending some credits on her to make her even better.” He ignored the look he was getting from Mal. “Mr …” Jennings consulted his board. “… Mills? Can I have your card, please?” Hank opened his eyes wider, as if surprised he was still holding it. “Oh, sorry.” He let the little man take it. “And she ain’t a crate,” Kaylee added, waddling outside and thumping him on the arm. “She’s Serenity.” “I know, I know!” He rubbed his bicep. “Do you have to get quite so physical?” “Yes.” She smiled at Jennings. “I'm Kaylee, and here’s my card.” She held it under his nose. “Just a moment.” The man looked like he was about to drop things. “And mine.” Zoe strode down the ramp, her own card held out. “Although I still don’t see why you need to check them now.” She tossed it onto the clipboard. “Please, please, one at a time!” Jennings implored. “And as I was explaining to your husband, we –“ “You were?” Hank asked. “Did you explain something to me?” “No. To him.” Jennings pointed at Mal and looked flustered. “Aren’t you Mrs Reynolds?” he asked Zoe. “Me? Marry him?” Zoe chuckled. “Not if my life depended on it.” “And I kept you alive all these years,” Mal said, shaking his head. “I thought it was the other way around, sir.” “I'm Mrs Reynolds.” Freya stepped out into the sunshine, with River, Simon and Jayne at her back. “And I don’t think I’d wish Mal on anyone else.” “That hurts, you know that, don’t you?” Mal said. “Going to play, Daddy!” Ethan yelled, darting out between them and pounding along the road, his little legs almost a blur. “Ethan!” Mal yelled. “You get back here right now!” But his son took no notice. “We’ll get him, Mal,” Jayne said, and starting to run, River at his heels, Simon keeping pace. “Kaylee, stay here,” Freya ordered, her feet already moving. “If he comes back, keep a hold of him.” She followed the others. “Hank, go the other way, I’ll make sure he doesn’t double back on us,” Zoe said, heading around the side of the Firefly. “Got it.” The pilot was off, kicking up tiny puffs of dust. “Gorramit,” Mal muttered, almost to himself. “The last time he did this it was suppertime before we found him, and that was only because he was getting hungry.” He picked up the cards from Jennings’ clipboard. “Look, I have to go help. He’s my kid, after all, least according to his mother. You just say you checked, and we’re all fine and who we say we are. It’s not like we’re going any place, are we? What with the landlock, ‘n’ all.” “Well, I don’t know …” “And you wouldn’t wanna have to let your superiors at the election office know you didn’t manage to catch us all before we left the ship, do you?” “No, I suppose I –“ Mal pressed home his advantage. “It’s only a few days, then we’ll be voting anyway, like the good Alliance citizens we are.” He had to hold back the bile on saying the words, but managed to sound helpful and honest instead. He gave Jennings a gentle push in the small of his back. “We won’t say anything.” Jennings looked agonised, but to his credit managed to pull himself together quickly. He put the top back on his pen and thrust it into his jacket pocket. “Captain Reynolds, you and your crew are required to present yourselves at the election booth on June 1st between the hours of 6.00 am and 11.00 pm, with all relevant documentation, in order to cast your vote. If you do not, you will be held accountable by law.” “Oh, we’ll be there. Nothing my crew likes better than to show what they really feel about the Alliance.” For a moment Jennings paused, as if Mal’s words and his meaning weren't quite the same, then he nodded. “Good.” Taking a flyer from the board he held it out. “The candidates. You are at liberty to attend any of the meetings being held in the next few days, subject to all the rules and regulations appertaining thereto.” Holding his clipboard in front of him like a shield he nodded first to Mal, then to Kaylee. “Sir. Ma’am.” He marched off, his head high. Kaylee waited until he was out of sight before exhaling loudly. “Can’t believe we got away with that, Cap’n,” she said, fanning her face. Immediately Mal was next to her, helping her to sit down on the edge of the ramp. “Truth to tell, I can’t quite believe it my own self,” he admitted. “But Ethan surely made it work.” She grinned. “He just wants to be a pirate like his old man,” she said. “Hey, less of the old, xiao mei-mei.” He lowered himself next to her. “Now we just gotta figure out how to keep it working.” They sat in silence for a few seconds before Kaylee said, “You think they’re gonna be back any time soon? Only I gotta get to the yard, see about that part.” “Pretty soon.” They were quiet for maybe half a minute more. “I guess Ethan’s just having too much fun leading them a merry chase.” “Prob’ly.” “Yeah,” she said, laughing quietly. “Just like his dad.” to be continued Sunday, April 26, 2009 7:23 AM AMDOBELL Sunday, April 26, 2009 7:47 AM KATESFRIEND Sunday, April 26, 2009 7:55 AM WAKEUPSOON Sunday, April 26, 2009 2:32 PM ANGELLEMARCS Sunday, April 26, 2009 4:41 PM SLUMMING Monday, April 27, 2009 8.

brother and sister fuck videos Amateur Adorable Creampie Anal Toy Latina Adventure Anorexic Reality Ass Big Tits Amateur Watching my wife fuck another man Real mother son incest videos You just married my mom gay porn Pornstar that looks like selena gomez Monster cock in my ass Older women having sex with younger women My wife craves black cock Dont cum in my pussy Lesbian kissing in the shower Girls gone wild sex videos Mom and son in the shower American dad steve and francine porn Baku ane otouto shibocchau zo! 2 Lesbians make out in shower Black pussy vs white pussy Yosuga no sora all sex scenes Lo re: pako sukusuku mizuki-chan White boy fucks black girl Lara croft fucked by horse Kim kardashian sex tape xxx Cum on! bukkake ranch! Kim kardashian and ray j sex video Porn stars with big nipples Real brother and sister videos Video porno de laura g My wife loves huge cocks Riley reid and melissa moore Horse having sex with a woman Rugrats all grown up porn Father and son incest porn Cum in my mouth video Girls sucking their own tits Cumming in another mans wife Britney white here kitty kitty Latina with big ass gets fucked Young men having sex with old women Men having sex with sex dolls Vanessa veracruz and abigail mac Halle berry monsters ball nude Cum-in-mouth Rub a tug tug leigh darby Hot sexy girls stripping naked Summer from rick and morty porn Freaks of cock eva angelina Middle aged women getting fucked Fucking your sister in law Ariella ferrera & cherie deville Saggy tits with big nipples My wife needs black cock Girls watch guys jack off Biggest dicks in the world Videos de despedidas de solteras Brandi c rock of love porn Deepthroat cum in mouth compilation Brother and sister sex video Hot nude red head women First time anal sex videos Wolf of wall street nude Biggest cocks on the internet Straight guy fucks gay ass Wild things 3 sex scenes End of days sex scene Stopping!!! hentai Remember ladies cock sharing is caring Twink fucked by huge cock Women has sex with horse Tranny cums in mans ass Step dad and daughter sex Mirando por debajo de los vestidos White girl with big booty Girls touching each others breasts Wii fit trainer initiate rule 34 Girls licking other girls boobs That game made me cum 2 times Wife fucked in a bar Avatar the last air bender hentai games Mahou_shoujo_erena Lady and the tramp porn Women with cocks and pussys Videos de diosa canales desnuda Shae game of thrones nude Kagney linn karter double anal Wife forced to pay husbands debt Girls who like to fuck Japanese av model is forced to have sex Father and daughter sex stories Forced to have lesbian sex Mom begs son to fuck her Amber rayne james deen anal One piece bathing suit porn American pie 2 nude scenes Holly marie combs nude pictures She can suck a dick Sister caught me jerking off My daddy has a big dick Alyssa milano embrace of the vampire 2 hot blondes hunt for big black cock Totally free hard core porn Mom wants son to cum inside her Wife tricked into fucking stranger Girl tied up and gagged Harley quinn poison ivy porn Lena gets her groove back Sister in law sucking cock Husband watches wife with other men Pretty girls with nice tits We live together reality kings Wife eats pussy for first time Dont cum or ill scream Wet dreams on elm street Wwe aj lee sex tape Naked girls with huge boobs Zahra amir ebrahimi sex video Last of us inner demons Need a hand kendra lust My friends mom is so hot I caught my mom masturbating Shooting cum in her mouth Mario is missing h game Alexis texas and lisa ann Big black teen creampies teacher to get back his fidget spinner Kim kardashian ray j sextape Pamela anderson tommy lee video Riley reid fucks a fan Fucking a blow up doll Girls line up to get fucked Husband watching wife getting fucked Men jerking off in cars Teen caught on hidden camera Daughter begs daddy to fuck her Asian massage parlor hidden camera My wife fucked in front of me Jamie lee curtis trading places topless Free full length porn movie Tell me you love me nude Ray j kim kardashian sex video Sex with a silicone doll Girl in see thru panties Step brother forces sister to have sex Girls peeing in guys mouth Free full length sex videos Janet mason blacks on cougars Maricar reyes and hayden kho scandal Caught my daughters boyfriend porn Paizuri cheerleader vs sakunyuu ouendan! She likes it in the butt My sister has a tight pussy 6 Daughter shares boyfriend with mom I want a big black cock The last of us 3d porn Video porno de nicki minaj Camera cums in handy eva angelina Hot woman giving blow job Lela star patiently waits for a creampie Guy cums in horse pussy Greatest ass in the world Wife sucks huge black cock Pink flamingos movie sex scene Big ass and big titties Pants pulled down and spanked House of lies sex scenes White girl gets fucked hard Mother molested by son and daughter You can cum inside me Sexy asses in yoga pants Emma watson porn look alike Hot girl with hairy pussy See through yoga pants cameltoe White girls taking black cock Girls with big boobs video Angelina jolie look alike porn Star wars slave leia porn Mom wakes son with blowjob Girl makes guy cum quick Nude pics of lisa kudrow School girl groped on bus Buffy the vampire slayer porn Nude pictures of drew barrymore How to eat pussy good My stepmom is a shemale Dillion harper and malena morgan Beautiful women with hairy pussies Dragon ball z nude pic Amazing world of gumball naked Brother cums in sister mouth Behind the scene porn videos Wife first time glory hole Gay sex in the woods Huge gay cock in ass Pocahontas jones the suck machine Alice in wonderland an x-rated musical fantasy Father helps his insecure daughter Girl on girl pussy licking Jodie turner-smith nude Girl in thong bent over Chubby girls in yoga pants Girls stripping on web cam Andrea rincon aka selena spice Fosters home for imaginary friends xxx Hot milf playing with herself Amber lynn bach mom and son Layla london girls do porn Tatematsu-ka-go rinkan chudoku Saijaku muhai no bahamut hentai Girl fucked while passed out La venganza de las ninfas Kayden kross girls gone wild Real father daughter sex video Dancing bear its party time Sex for money in public Anjelica and zoe cock addicts Older women giving blow jobs Another one bites the dust bang bus Dont cum in your sister Shemales having sex with girls Sex video mom and son Fuck me till i cum Chloe sevigny brown bunny blowjob Animal and girls xxx video Sex with mom and aunt Asian girls with big ass Tiny pussy huge black cock She forces him to cum Sex videos for married couples Akame ga kill! porn Katarina und ihre wilden hengste Teen titans go raven porn Black girls fuck white guy Watch free online porn videos Video to jerk off to Video porno de yeni rivera Couples watch each other fuck Free girls gone wilds videos Espiando en vestidores de mujeres Black men fucking asian women Sharing the siblings part 1 White boy sucking black cock Popping a girls cherry video Legend of zelda sfm porn Im a married man porn I want to fuck my mom Girls with big butts in thongs Let me suck you 4 Sister dearest (1984) The best free porn videos Kim kardashian sex tape full video Jewels jade my friends hot mom Cumming in my moms pussy Eva lovia teens love huge cocks Big booty black girls nude Large breasted women having sex I fucked my daughters friend Daddy cums in my mouth Man giving woman oral sex Backroom casting couch full video Hot nude women over 50 Real mom and daughter lesbian sex Free sean cody gay porn Ill cut your hair and blow your husband brazzers Daughter fucks dad for money My mom is a shemale Lesbian seduces daughter in law Metiendo mano en el metro Straight guys with big dicks Please dont cum in me Hunting season season 2 free Smoking hot blonde amateur milf Cum deep down her throat Big ass black teen porn Mature men with huge cocks Backpage com rochester new york 18 year old asian girl Watching my girlfriend get fucked Asian guy fucks white girl Men and women sex videos This aint modern family xxx Zelda and link having sex My wife likes big black cock Brandi love and lisa ann Pam and tommy lee sex Free gay male massage video Hope harper - daddy monkey business Real brother and sister sex Youre so much bigger than my husband Fat girl fucked in the ass Chezlize_hot_twin Girls licking cum off each other I made my sister cum Girl playing with her nipples Gay guys having sex videos Mom and son sex story Girl sits on guys face Teen gets filled with cum Freida pinto blunt force trauma nude Girls that like to swallow Her first big cock videos Out of the family anal Wife makes husband suck dick Girl gets fucked hard in the ass Jayden jaymes and lisa ann Ariel and eric having sex Pictures of people having sex Sex at the office videos Videos de sexo camara escondida Fuck me while my husband watches Forced to fuck my sister Leave it to moms beaver Guys take turns fucking girl A day with a porn star Girls squirting for the first time Video de sexo con gordas Girl gone wild first timer Jacking off in front of women Play-mate of the apes In front of parents porn But i poop from there video Is kim kardashian a pornstar Sister sees brothers huge cock Step brother blackmails step sister Girls on girls free videos 50 year old woman nude Girls who fuck older men Girl on girl free videos Lindsay lohan leaked sex tape Old man big dick pics Malena morgan & aurielee summers Young asian girl getting fucked Big tits and ass latina Kim kardashian full porn video Free xxx full length movies Male to male erotic massage Nude photos of halle berry White top black bottom gay See through yoga pants pics Cum deep in my throat Cut your hair and blow your husband League of legends hentai video Man watching wife get fucked Big booty rides big dick My husband is a cuck Teens having sex in public Shoujo kara shoujo e… episode 1 White cum in black pussy Kyonyuu kazoku saimin episode 1 Video escandalo de galilea montijo My sister let me fuck her Big black cock jerking off Tranny cums in his mouth 300 rise of an empire sex scene Playing with my sisters tits Teen fucked by old guy Syren de mer danny wylde Ming-na wen naked I know that girl xvideos 2 guys on 1 girl Mom and daughter make out Xs teen shocked by teachers cock Free full length erotic movie Cum and ill scream for your wife Teachers having sex with students videos Rick and morty summer hentai Lesbian tied up foot worship Mia khalifa takes fans virginity Me follo a mi mama Halle berry monster ball scenes Guy with small dick fucks Girls squirt in guys mouth 50 year old women nude 18 year old black pussy Leah gotti 5 on 1 Sasha grey behind the scenes Girls fucking on spring break Videos porno de esperanza gomes Ebony mother and daughter porn Asian pussy for white cock Tiffani amber thiessen nude pics Girl gets fucked while sleeping Free black gay porn video Tea and very hot tarts Dad and daughter sex stories I scored a soccer mum Teenage mutant ninja turtles hentai Cum in my ass daddy King noire dicks down lethal lipps Japanese full body massage video Gay guys humping each other 3xl white table top booty Men jacking each other off Nikki sexx can he score X-art group sex Mother-daughter exchange club Teens in wet t shirt Pretty girls with hairy pussies Sweet sweetbacks baadasssss song sex Family guy lois and chris porn Trying to get pregnant porn Keeping up with kiara mia Brazzers sneaky brat strikes again Cum in my mouth tumblr Cum and ill scream for my husband Hidden cameras in locker room Fuck my wife please videos My wife fucking a black guy Brittney spears in the nude Girls and boys haveing sex Best girl dady hard fuck Big tits with hard nipples Cameron diaz soft porn movie Kleio valentien and bonnie rotten Mother id like to fuck Batman xxx: a porn parody Girl pees in guys mouth Teens fucking at the beach Talking on the phone while having sex Getting wet & breaking a sweat Girl getting their cherry popped Teen cant handle big dick Young chicks love big dicks Gay teen boys jacking off Anyone you can do i can do better hentai Hot_milfy_mom Big booty white girl bbc Genmukan sin of desire and shame Ariane saint amour before after Mom helps daughter fuck dad Lesbians eatting each other out Black women with huge tits Young men fucking mature women Grimgar of fantasy and ash hentai Dirty step brother sneaking a peek Black shemales fucking each other Fuck hard in the ass Girls who squirt when they cum Biggest black dick in the world Betsy rue my bloody valentine Teenage girl in the shower Playing with my sisters pussy Straight outta compton nude scenes Step dad fucks daughter and friends Katy perry look alike pornstar His first big black cock Aesthetica of a rogue hero hentai 18 year old blonde girl Girl licks cum from ass I want your cock in my mouth Dragon ball z bulma naked Jennifer connelly nude the hot spot Breath of the wild porn Me cojo a mi tia Kowaremono: risa plus the animation Paige xavier woods video link Bound and forced to cum League of legends lux porn Hot guys in the shower Wtf mom shes your step daughter Just for one night jodi west Fucking the real estate agent New wave hookers traci lords Whitney st john naked news Let me cum in you Old women fucking old men Jesse jane & riley steele Jessica biel powder blue nude White teens love black cock Ed edd and eddy porn Lesbian milfs with big boobs Wife fucking husband with dildo We live together porn video Dick in sleeping girls mouth How bud light is made pornhub Sword art online porn games White girl with phat ass Shemales fuck guys in ass Blow job with cum shot You want to wear panties Free house wife sex videos Cum on my face comp Ashyn rae and tommy gunn Otameshidouga pretty pridot dounyuhen my eager blowjobber Black dick fucking white pussy Hot japanese mom by avhotmom The_gaiamonroe_show 47 year old black milf has epic natural tits Video of gay men having sex Girl fucked by two guys Girl getting fucked in ass Olivia taylor dudley the barber gif Malena morgan and melody jordan How to masturbate like a sissy Chyna queen of the ring Amateur wife first time lesbian Hitting it from the back Mother and daughter nude pics Taylor swift look a like porn Father son gay incest porn Teens in stockings and heels Girls eating each other out Panty and stocking with garterbelt hentai Son blackmail mom for her pussy Church girls are easy to get on the bang bus Legend of zelda gay porn Harley jade and the 40 inches of fantastic ass Game of thrones porn gif Bbc fucks husband and wife I love to fuck my sister Guy and girl share double dildo Our secretary has a big ass Mom and son blow job Please cum in me daddy Suicide squad harley quinn hentai Phoenix marie and danny d The biggest dick in porn Hurry before my dad gets home porn Forcing my sister to fuck Sin: nanatsu no taizai hentai Game of thrones nude gifs Girls with big tits porn Free xxx rated porn video My new stepmom fucked my sister I know that girl videos free Teen gets fucked in public Game of thrones porn hub Busty cuban milf does first porn Mujeres singando en el malecon Boys jerking each other off Black gfs tiger team full Phoenix marie and piper perri Black man white woman porn Girl gets fucked by stranger Jodi west is this good Biggest cock in gay porn Real first time lesbian experience Videos porno de lisa ann Yvonne strahovski manhattan night nude Lara flynn boyle sex scenes Pokemon ash and dawn sex Gia hill and noma hill Naked men with big dicks Carmella bing cum on tits Father in law gay porn Bible black new testament episode 4 Son blackmails mom to fuck Beautiful nude women having sex Girls getting fucked in cars Very old granny porn tubes Cote de pablo nude scene Young black girls sucking dick Erotico corti circuiti fratelli serpenti Sex with a blowup doll Men sucking there own dick Backroom casting couch cute redhead Girl watches her friend masturbate Double timing wife 2 sarah vandella Reagan gomez-preston nude My sister lets me see her naked Bonnie rotten squirts in public Young men sucking older men Girls tied up and spanked Two women one man porn Give me your cum compilation Gay porn big black cock Fela pure mitarashi-san chi no jijou the animation 2 Red tube moms and sons Video on how to give a good blow job Wife shows pussy in public El culo de mi prima Black on black crime porn Video de intercambio de pareja Girls and boys having sex videos Sharing the shower 2 ryan conner, jojo kiss Mom and daughter cum swap Best bus trip ever porn Big booty on the beach Guys eating a girl out Rob me blind and fuck me stupid My new step dad snuck in porn Girl held down and fucked Girls with big natural tits Brother and sister masturbate each other I want to eat your pussy Husband walks in on wife fucking Adriana chechik: the ultimate slut Women tied up and fucked Holly hendrix swallows after taking it up the ass Eat cum out of pussy Face down ass up university Paris kennedy and tommy pistol Asian girl with big breast Teen girl masturbates on omegle Did you just cum in mommy Sister lets brother fuck her Brown sweater radar love dance Kelsi monroe lets try anal Free interracial anal sex videos Enter the void sex scenes My friends hot mom naughty america Tila tequila backdoored and squirting Free x rated lesbian videos How to make a porn video 2 guys and a girl porn Pamala and tommy lee video Tiffani amber thiessen sex tape Sexy_lovely_sam Anekee van der velden naakt Game of thrones porn scenes Videos de sexo con mi prima Pirates stagnettis revenge sex scenes Megan fox nude jennifers body Wait wait im your daughters best friend How to rub my pussy Ecw strip poker no blur She keeps fucking after he cums I want to cum in your mom Please dont fuck my ass A girl fucking a girl Slamming my hot cuban maid Kowaremono: risa the animation Video of people having sex Girl next door porn videos Woman and man making love Gay black man free porn Mother and daughter fuck son Sister tricked into fucking brother Kill la kill mako porn Big tits round asses video Metemela toda por el culo How to fuck my wife Anna bell peaks full training session Redheads with big natural tits Skinny girl fucks huge cock Intimacy (2001) sex scenes Men peeing in girls mouth Okusama wa moto yari man Shemale sucking their own cock Elizabeth seven deadly sins hentai Free gay male sex movie Bianca kajlich 30 minutes or less Mother and daughter share a cock Xvideos fifty shades of grey My little pony sex games Amature home made sex video Hentai girl fucked by monsters Jenna jameson i dream of jenna Mom forced to have sex with son Nude pictures of miley cyrus Hot teen with big ass I fucked my best friend Wife gets fucked while husband watches Female crew of space slave battleship amado The wolf of wall street nude scenes 301-732-0792 I came in moms mouth White wife sucking huge black cock Teens and big black cocks Hot women with big boobs Girls in tight booty shorts Torbe pilladas en la calle Jada stevens and anikka albrite Son blackmails mom for anal Girl sits on boys face Jennifer aniston the break up nude Petite teen fucks monster cock Guy forced to eat pussy Go to xvideos for more porn Ray j kim kardashian sex tape Pictures of men having sex Vannessa phoenix and lexxxus adams Husband watching wife get fucked Kagney linn karter glory hole Girls caught in the shower All about anna nude scenes Amanda blow and ron jeremy American dragon jake long porn My wife love black dick Black girls with big clits Jack and the beanstalk xxx Husband and wife sex movie Naked men in the gym Was cameron diaz in porn Watch sean cody videos free My friend hot mom mrs starr Free forced lesbian sex videos Brother having sex with sister Video of girl getting fucked Girls gone wild co ed My ts ex girlfriend with benefits Put your face in my pussy Asian girls fucking black guys Mother of all sales fucking black friday My dad has a big cock Father and son gay porn Cum on her pretty face Sakura swim club hentai patch Men tied up in bed Forced to cum in her Nikki mudarris sex tape download Videos porno mujeres con animales School girls with big boobs Jennette mccurdy leaked sex tape Free full lenght gay porn videos Sisters force brother to choose in pussy wars Eroge! h mo game Jordi el nino polla brazzers Young guy old woman porn Man shares wife with friend Espiando debajo de las faldas E_is_for_esme Show me your naked tits Cocks cumming on each other Light skinned black women nude Jessica bangkok and nicole ray Maid watches me jerk off Talitha luke-eardley nude Deborah ann woll sex scenes World of warcraft porn tube Naked joke of the week Lo re pako sukusuku mizuki-chan Sword art online sex pornhub I love the beach videos Lesbian sex in a pool Wait wait youre my moms friend My wife fucks black cock We wanna gangbang your mom Black men fucking white women porn Free full length gay porn videos 50 shades of grey porn Light skinned black girl nude I neva let a hoe go Accidental up skirt no panties Cece capella tastes just like candy Himouto! umaru-chan hentai Teanna trump teasing my teacher Girl eats pussy first time I love my sister big tits Dragon ball z sex xxx Mom forces daughter to strip Vanessa veracruz and spencer scott Held down and fucked porn Brother spies on sister porn Man and girl having sex Sex on a pool table Wont let him pull out Big boobs and hairy pussy Big hero 6 gay porn Justin owen and austin wolf Katherine heigl nude side effects Brandi love and mia malkova Brittney white has it going on Phineas and ferb isabella nude 45 year old fucking sexy asian milf Bro is that your dick Roxy raye gagged n gaped Big girls with big ass Hot college girls getting naked Madison ivy cum on tits Oku-sama wa moto yariman Squirts in her own mouth Michelle monaghan nude true detective Farrah abraham new sex tape Carter cruise obsession chapter 3 Rough girl on girl porn Girl jacking off a guy Big booty white girl pornhub Kimberly kendall takes a huge load in the ass! Skinny girls with small boobs Real incest brother and sister Biggest pussy hole in the world To love ru yami hentai Sex with my sister videos Two women one man sex How to eat pussy the right way 4 girl finger painting original video Real estate agent gets fucked Girls fucking guys with dildos Wife lets husband fuck friend Sakura swim club nude scenes Big booty puerto rican girl Kim kardashian sex tape full version 2 girls 1 guy sex gif Mom rewards son for good grades Pornstars and lisa ann in your dorm Girl gets facial in public Gay boys having sex video Sister unknowingly fucks her brother Rita g on howard stern Cum in my wife video Straight guys jerking off videos Free full length shemale movies Charlee chase and macy cartel Two guys fucking each other My friend hot mom deauxma Big tit hairy pussy fuck Free freaks of cock videos Skinny babes with big boobs Sara jay my friends hot mom Lesbian strap on sex videos 18 year old cream pie Nude couples on the beach The bronze sex scene video Amazing world of gumball anime porn Classic mom and son porn Girls begging to be fucked Japanese girl white guy porn Stepmom takes some young cock Watch my girlfriend sex videos Adorable Me mom and granny part 1 Hulk hogan sex tape porn Girl with a big ass Black girl sucking white dick Big black dicks in white pussy Life as a teenage robot porn Passed out girls get fucked Grandma takes it in the ass Teen and older men porn Girl wont let guy pull out Real sex in mainstream films Fucking girlfriend and her sister I fucked my real mom Mother and daughter forced fucked Petite teen cum in mouth Eva green sin city nude She watches me jerk off Sexy women with big boobs Fat ass black girl porn Jennifer love hewitt nude scenes Biggest cock she ever had Black girls getting fuck in the ass All in the family porn Free full lenght porn movies Guy tricked into fucking tranny Hot eighteen year old latina takes it all! Guaranteed to make you cum Reporter gets big surprise porn You want to suck his cock The last of us porn gifs Dad still thinks im a virgin Nude photos of jennifer lopez Cum and i ll scream Brazzers - stepmom takes some young cock My wife fucked my best friend I want to fuck my little sister Amateur wife fucked at party My wife spread her legs Free black teen sex videos Best free safe porn sites Asa made jugyou chu hentai Porn stars of the 70s Naked boys in locker room Guys who love to suck cock Old black women getting fucked Girls finishing the job compilation London andrews tits on top Dragon ball z videl porn Free girls gone wild vid Video porno de britney spears Japanese lesbian mother and daughter Dick too big for her Stepmom cory chase fucking with teen couple after dinner Step brother and step sister fucking Stephanie-van-rijn nude Small tits big ass porn Suck cock and swallow cum Hot asian girl gets fucked Guy gets fucked in the ass Kim kardashian sex video full The tale of tiffany lust Japanese father in law and daughter in law Hot 18 year old girl Son fucks mom in nature Shae summers tight and wet Mom fucks son in the kitchen How to suck my own cock Oops i came in my sister Night shift nurse ren nanase The princess has come of age Italians do it better porn gif Teens like it big free Thank grandma for that ass! Dani daniels and sinn sage Guys with big ass porn How to watch private pornhub videos Naked women with big boobs Girl sucks dick for money I want to bang my mom Girl ass in the air Caio veyron and ian torres Grimgar of fantasy and ash porn Caught masturbating on hidden camera Japanese social insurance is worth it Fat girl sitting on guys face Fucking my step sister and her hot friend Videos of couples having sex Teenage girls having sex videos Guy raped by girl porn One night in china porn Big tits on the beach Big booty black girl porn The amazing world of gumball hentai But i poop from there porn Girl gets fucked while playing video games Black lesbians with big clits X-men porn parody Shemale cums while getting fucked My little pony porn pictures Amber lynn bach and son My sister has huge boobs Wife forced into lesbian sex Killing me softly sex scene Game of thrones daenerys porn Kendra lust join the lust army Girls gone wild best tits Cum then put back in Big asses in yoga pants 70 year old granny fucking Fathers and sons icon male Cum in my pussy porn Jamie lee curtis trading spaces The walking dead porn parody Teen sex videos for free Women no panties in public Best blow job in the world Marisa tomei before the devil Videos de sexo con maduras My best friend s hot mom Daughter of the defeated devil Girls peeing on each other Girls make out in bed Sei brunehilde gakuen shoujo kishidan to junpaku no panti Brazzers my dad still thinks im a virgin Rub your pussy on my dick Videos porno de julia paes Black mom fucks sons friend Forced to gag on cock I love to eat cum Free fat woman porn video Asian teen with big tits Lesbians eating each other out Videos that make me cum The last of us sex I told you not to cum in me Halle berry monster ball nude scene Nicki minaj real sex tape Sucking dick for a ride Blindfolded mom fucked by son I anal fucked my roommates girlfriend Halle berry monster ball sex scene Big asses make beach blast better Fallout 4 vault girl porn My friends fucked my mom Ore wa kanojo o shinjiteru Videos porno de mujeres violadas Guy cums on girl in public Los culos mas ricos del mundo I gave my mom a creampie Okusama ga seitokaichou! hentai Mom and son on bed Star wars rogue one porn Sexy girls with big tits Moms teaching teens to fuck Free lesbian hairy pussy sex Nude pics of janet jackson Pinkerton [episode 01] You want to suck cock Free hot teen sex videos Teen ass in yoga pants Hot naked women with big tits Girl and guy having sex Family guy lois porn gif Belly full of cum hentai Fuck my wife while i watch Girls jerking off a guy Girls who like big cock Riley reid and samantha rone Kimmy granger and riley reid School girls fucking older men Straight guys seduced by gay Bryce dallas howard nude scenes Girl with perfect tits gets fucked Sophie dee big tit creampie Son wakes mom for sex Skin diamond and rico strong My best friend mom is hot Sex on a nudist beach Asian girls big black cocks Clash of clans archer hentai Teens love huge cocks free Como se masturba una mujer Scarlett johansson black widow porn Video of college girls having sex Cum dripping from her mouth Reality kings scream and ill tell your mom Hot live sex shows com Teen and old man sex Abellas ass is in danger Teens taking it in the ass Jacking off on my wife Baise-moi sex scenes Free home made sex videos 1 2 3 4 5 © 2017 brother and sister fuck videos

California First What will happen in the nation’s most populous state if Obamacare is repealed? What will happen in the nation’s most populous state if Obamacare is repealed? By Ian Morrison As Republican moves to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act race forward, states are likely to gain more flexibility in the form of block grants, enhanced waivers, and flexibility to redesign programs for the uninsured and for Medicaid. But what about big blue states like California and New York? California, in particular, is the sixth largest economy in the world, with a Democratic super majority legislature. What could a super blue state achieve in the new era of states’ rights? I’m going to take the long-term view and explore possible scenarios for a California-first strategy to expand Covered California, transform Medicaid, combine public and private payment reform initiatives, as well as possibly create new regulatory and tax schemes. A new California governor will be elected in 2018, and he or she may play a pivotal role in defining the state’s, and perhaps even the nation’s, health policy for the decades ahead. A Big State With nearly 40 million people, Disneyland, Apple and Google, we Californians are kind of a big deal. We have a huge diverse economy that is doing well. We have a state that is running a budget surplus. And like other big blue states, we pay more in federal taxes than we get back in federal benefits (even after Obamacare). We have a governor and a legislature with high approval ratings. And we have Democratic super majorities in our legislature. We embraced Obamacare to the max, and it is going amazingly well (come on, man, if he can say it I can say it. I have some facts coming up, too). We have reduced the uninsured by more than 5 million (a quarter of all the national improvement in coverage). We have a high-functioning exchange, Covered California, that is a model for the country. And it is raining like crazy (at least where I live in Menlo Park), so the drought worries are pretty much gone. Life is good here. Except for the election. Californians voted overwhelmingly Democratic; indeed, President Trump would have easily won the popular vote nationally had it not been for losing California by 4.2 million votes. But remember: California is politically diverse within the state. “California is a big blue state with a thick red stripe down the side,” California Healthcare Foundation CEO Sandra Hernandez told me an interview, referring to the more conservative political orientation of the Central Valley, most of rural California and parts of Southern California. Challenges under the new administration We have a Trump administration and a Republican Congress. What happens now for a mostly Democratic California? I interviewed more than a dozen friends and colleagues who are all key players in the Californian health economy and I had conversations on this issue with more than a dozen more. I talked to insurers, providers, employer groups, health plans, government officials and foundation CEOs. I did it off the record, though many agreed to be quoted on the record for this column. I asked two basic questions: - Will California be able to protect the $20 billion per annum of net new federal dollars that flowed to expand coverage ($15 billion for Medicaid expansion and $5 billion for exchange subsidies)? If not, what happens? - Is there an opportunity for California stakeholders to step up and rethink our overall marketplace to protect the gains we have made and to build on our unique strengths? My overwhelming sense from the interviews is that the Trump administration policies will create serious challenges ahead for Californian health care, particularly in protecting the gains we have made in coverage, payment reform and value-based redesign of health care, but especially in protecting the current flow of federal funds to support those gains. However, there was also a remarkable sense of optimism among all the respondents and a strong determination to roll up their sleeves and (as Californians always do) try to be creative and innovative in improving on those gains in a way that is consistent with California values. I will do my best to represent the spirit of the discussions here. I take full responsibility for the prose. And this essay of course does not represent in any way the official views of the AHA, as we always make clear in these columns. So, if you are reading this in hope of a lefty secession manifesto, you came to the wrong place. There are petitions for all that and they are growing rapidly, but as much as many Californians could live with a wall atop the Sierra Nevada (possibly redundant) to keep y’all out, we actually like being American, too. Gains from Obamacare “We were all in on Obamacare” – almost all California stakeholders voiced this view. There is indeed evidence that Obamacare is working for all Californians. Consider this: - According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) the uninsured rate in California dropped to 7.1 percent as of September 2016 from 17 percent in 2013. - The uninsured rate dropped for all racial and ethnic group with the greatest gains among Latinos. Between 2013 and 2015, the number of California Latinos who were uninsured fell by 1.5 million, and the uninsured rate in this population fell from 23 percent to 12 percent. - Covered California announced in February 2017 it has added 412,000 new consumers in the most recent (its fourth) open enrollment period for a total of 1.5 million Californians enrolled. - An additional 750,000 Californians bought identical (same price, same benefit design) “non-subsidy” plans off the exchange. - A full 90 percent of Covered California consumers receive a subsidy which is on average $440 per month, making coverage affordable for lower and middle income consumers. - Covered Californian rate increases over a three-year period have averaged 7 percent per annum, more modest than the national picture. - Medi-Cal has added 3.7 million Californians to coverage with nearly a third of all Californians now covered by California’s Medicaid program. - For a whole host of access to care, coverage and utilization of service measures tracked by a variety of organizations and research groups from the Centers for Disease Control to the Commonwealth Fund, Californians have seen their access to health care services and their health improve because of Obamacare. The Overall Health Care Industry Recently, I had lunch with Joe Swedish, Anthem’s CEO, after a fireside chat we did for a group of health care system CEOs. I asked him what should happen nationally and in California. “Nationally, we need to Repair, Restructure, and Rebuild the Affordable Care Act. In California, it is imperative that the coverage gains made through Medi-Cal expansion and Covered California are maintained and that sensible insurance market reforms help us cover even more Californians” California is a big deal for Anthem: “California is a very important state to us across all lines of business: individual, exchange, small and large group, Medicaid and Medicare,” Swedish said. “It accounts for close to a quarter of our members, and we have very important initiatives in the state including Vivity and our reference pricing pilots with CalPERS.” Anthem Senior Vice President Pam Kehaly, who has responsibility for all of Anthem’s business in the West and for specialty services including all exchanges, confirmed in an interview that indeed a full 22 percent of all Anthem members are in California and stressed Anthem’s leading position in the Covered California marketplace and in the state’s Managed Medicaid initiatives. Anthem has a big stake in California. But for Kaiser Permanente, California is even more important, accounting for almost three-quarters of its membership with recent California coverage expansion being a major part of Kaiser’s growth. For Blue Shield of California, virtually all of its $5 billion in revenue is earned in the state. The same is true for some giants in health care delivery based exclusively in California. The University of California campuses are each multibillion-dollar health care enterprises, and California is home to other multibillion-dollar, nationally prominent academic systems including Stanford, Cedars-Sinai and the University of Southern California. The state has major “California only” health systems such as Sutter in Northern California, Sharp and Scripps in San Diego, and Memorial Healthcare in Southern California. There are also multistate, multibillion-dollar players with a big California presence such as Dignity Health, Providence/St. Joseph, Centene, Molina and Davita/Health Care Partners, all of which have large shares of their national business in California. What happens to the Californian health care ecosystem will affect a lot of nationally prominent institutions as well as 40 million Californians. Weathering the repeal-and-replace storm Kaiser Family Foundation CEO Drew Altman told me, “If Medicaid expansion stays in place, and tax credits are sufficient to maintain coverage, and block grant details are decent, then California has a fighting chance, including the opportunity to maintain its insurance reforms, provided they are not upended by insurance being sold across state lines.” That is a lot to ask. Will California do well in the coming food fight for federal dollars in a year of repeal and replace? Altman was wise to point out that “we are not going to have a real debate about this until we have an actual repeal and replace plan on the table.” What is At Risk for California While it is still early in the policy making and legislative process, at this time, it is still useful to ask what is at risk for California. The short answer is money. As stated earlier, California is getting an estimated $20 billion in new federal money. Clearly that would be at enormous risk in a repeal without an adequate replace scenario. “But it is more than just the $20 billion,” as Robin Arnold Williams of Leavitt Partners told me. “California has pursued waivers and initiatives such as maxing out provider fees and other special funding arrangements that go far beyond the $20 billion of expansion dollars.” A forthcoming report from the Public Policy Institute of California on funding the Medi-Cal program lays out in considerable detail the complex financial and policy options involved in funding Medi-Cal, especially because, as the report shows, 65 percent of California’s Medicaid program is federally funded, because of the expansion and other initiatives. Would the Trump administration enjoy fiscal retaliation against California? One interviewee had a colorful metaphor: “There are some folk who would absolutely relish taking it away. The $20 billion would be like a pile of cocaine on the table at a Studio 54 party in the ’80s.” Another experienced observer told me more soberly that “the politics don’t line up for California.” However, repeatedly my interviewees pointed to three factors that would mollify the tendency for overt political retribution against California: - Governors in expansion states. A full 32 states have expanded Medicaid, including the vice president’s home state. Sixteen of those states have Republican governors (17 if you count Alaska, a normally red state with an independent governor). They do not want Medicaid expansion to go away. - Replace requires bipartisanship. Repeal is easy. Replace is hard and requires bipartisan support, a view that is backed up by law and logic. Budget reconciliation is handy for repeal, not so useful for replace. Moreover, former Utah governor Mike Leavitt and other wise voices are urging Congress to make this new reform effort bipartisan and not “overreach” with a partisan plan that lacks legitimacy, a valid critique often leveled at Obamacare. - The role of career civil servants. Andrew Croshaw, president of Leavitt Partners, pointed to the continuity that the civil service plays in maintaining consistency in policymaking. Anyone who has seen the British TV series Yes Minster can attest to the many ways that gung-ho politicians are thwarted and talked down from political overreach by lifetime civil servants. Nevertheless, as one senior longtime observer of California health care told me: “Overall, California is exposed politically, exposed financially and exposed in terms of current level of provider rates; this is not a good base to be negotiating from.” Medicaid Block Grants Block grants seem to be the rage. Talk is everywhere. My colleagues at Leavitt Partners believe that block grants in the rigid form we’ve seen in one isolated example (Puerto Rico) are not likely to happen. More likely is honoring the spirit of a block grant to provide federal fiscal discipline and flexibility to the states, which can be achieved through the considerable waiver authority granted to the secretary through 1115 Medicaid waivers and 1332 waiver authority applied to exchanges. If this is the policy choice, block grants would be more virtual than actual. But any way you cut it block grant probably means less money. If we do go down the block grant road toward per capita caps, three key questions will be important (according to industry sources): - What is the base year and base amount that the block grant applies to? Is it current spending with expansion dollars included, pre-Obamacare levels, or some yet to be determined redesign of federal matching in Medicaid? - What is the annual inflation factor? - Will state general funds and other non-federal sources be maintained? California will have an uphill slog to preserve the flow of federal funds. A Range of Choices An extremely wise and experienced public affairs professional counseled me: “Don’t get too smarty-pants, policy wonk on this thing you are writing. Just keep to the broad sketch map of choices.” So here goes: Left-wing isolationism. Single-payer advocates see this “crisis” as an opportunity to revive aspirations for a single-payer system. Getting the Employee Retirement Income Securities Act and Medicare waivers needed, or the massive increases in taxes on the rich that would be required to sustain it in California, would be unlikely, but that will not stop them from being proposed. Replacing the Obamacare Medicare tax on high income earners (at the state level) may be an early target if the repeal-and-replace legislation removes it at the federal level. Massive Medicaid à la New York. New York is a big blue state. Its exchange is puny, with fewer than 300,000 members. Instead, New York elected to opt for a basic health plan to expand its already generous Medicaid program. Most of the gain in coverage that has resulted is in Medicaid. A basic health plan idea will be advanced, with considerable pushback from providers. Dude, a third of Californians are already on Medi-Cal – can we realistically add more to the rolls in a Trump administration, particularly if we have to do it with mostly state money? Public purchasing power à la Washington State. Some proposals may emerge to leverage public spending by Medi-Cal, CalPERS, Covered California, and other state and local government employees and entities, much in the way that states like Washington and Arkansas have done (a topic I explored in a previous column). A competitive managed care marketplace. When I came to California more than 30 years ago, I met and learned from managed competition guru Alain Enthoven of Stanford. Over the years I came to believe that Alain got it right: Competing integrated delivery systems with cost conscious consumer choice was the right American compromise. The colleagues I talked to recently had great positive energy for a revitalized competitive marketplace based on value, where competition was not just on perceived quality, but on price. They described it as a market where consumers faced meaningful and simple standardized benefit plan designs that encouraged competition not based on actuarial trickery and marketing sleight of hand, but on the underlying performance of the delivery system partners. Covered California could be the vehicle for that marketplace, and stakeholders (including insurers and providers) are willing to come to the table to discuss how such a redesigned delivery system and marketplace might be fashioned, starting with coverage expansion populations. Other respondents cited Oregon’s approach of Medicaid contracting directly with provider groups who form coordinated care organizations as another variant to be considered by California policymakers. California Darwinism. As the old saying goes: “There is a danger that as the pie shrinks the table manners suffer.” Without multi-stakeholder cooperation and leadership there is a high probability that each stakeholder (from community clinics to academic medical centers and all points in between) hunkers down to protect recent gains and hopes to cut a deal to preserve what it can. This may be likely but not desirable and could hurt a lot of Californians. In addition, as California Health Care Foundation’s founding CEO Mark Smith told me, driving decisions to the state level may aggravate the “political guild steeplechase” that takes place on issues of reform such as scope of practice and telehealth rules, and licensing regulations such as certificate of need. Common Hopes and Dreams In my conversations there were several themes for the future that emerged, and there was considerable consensus that California stakeholders need to rally around these themes. Preserve the gains. Don Crane, CEO of the California Association of Physician Groups, voiced the concerns of many when he told me, “Most California stakeholders want to preserve the gains we have made under Obamacare.” Create a glide path for the individual market. Nationally, the individual market will collapse without a glide path reassuring insurers that a market may be viable. This is not a uniquely Californian problem, but Covered California is the second largest exchange in the country behind Florida’s. Behavioral health integration. Spontaneously, almost all interviewees independently identified the need to integrate behavioral health with medical care more effectively within the state. They see this as a huge opportunity to improve efficiency, quality and patient experience, particularly for vulnerable populations. For example, including greater focus on social determinants of health coupled with behavioral health integration and elimination of waste, “we can save billions”, Crane said. Celebrate our advanced delivery models. Crane and others stressed the importance of preserving and enhancing California’s “unique winning model” of capitated-delegated provider groups underlying much of California’s managed care plans. Don’t lose momentum on value purchasing and payment reform. Whether employers, insurers or providers, respondents were in agreement that the momentum gained in the Obama years toward value-based purchasing and payment reform should not be lost in the repeal-and-replace process, and that is even more true in California than the nation as a whole. Remember the most vulnerable. As we have seen, California had one of the highest rates of uninsured before reform. Obamacare reduced that number, particularly for low-income Californians and people of color. Most repeal-and-replace proposals will hurt the most vulnerable, especially in those states with a history of social, economic and racial injustice that has been only ameliorated by a federal response. Getting along with Trump’s CMS. There is a new sheriff in town and Trump’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will have different views on waivers and regulations. Californians may have to think about options a little more like Arkansas’ all payer reforms or Indiana’s cost-sharing provisions, no matter if they hurt left coast sensibilities. As Smith said, “Let’s not get too smug about it.” Revisit the two-plan model for Medi-Cal. California’s Medi-Cal has evolved as a system “separate but unequal” from the rest of California health care, as Smith told me. And it is complicated, because California has also institutionalized a complex two–health plan infrastructure of local and commercial plans at the county level in most counties. Many observers urged that policymakers take this new reform opportunity to revisit the Medi-Cal models over the next decade. California Values A lot of interviewees told me we need to continue to reform health care but do it in a way that reflects California values. People throw around the values word a lot. Let me tell you what I know about California values having lived here for more than 30 years. We value diversity, decency, innovation and entrepreneurship. It’s why we love Uber and public schools, science and Burning Man, our phones and our surfboards, virtual reality and real reality. Most of us are immigrants, most of us are non-white, many of us are poor, and some of us lucky ones are really rich and pretty much willing to help the less fortunate. That is who we are. As the great Lady Gaga says, “We were born this way.” We are informal, fun, laid back, but incredibly hard working. We love food and we grow most of yours. We are always the future…and proud of it. Coming Together My metaphor for repeal and replace is that it is like breaking up the Beatles and just keeping George and Ringo and expecting it to sound good. Whatever happens in Washington DC, Californians will need to “Come Together” (to use another Beatles metaphor) to respond to a new environment. We can work it out. Ian Morrison is an author, consultant and futurist based in Menlo Park, California. He is also a regular contributor to H&HN Daily.

2017 Free Agent Frenzy Signings Saturday July 1st marked the day in which Free Agents could sign with a new NHL team. At 11:00am CST it was no holds barred signings. As a whole, the day went as expected. The price tags were not as crazy as previous years. A total of 150+ transactions took place on Saturday making it an exciting day for all hockey fans. Who has signed? Here is a list of some of the key signings that took place: Los Angeles – Mike Cammalleri F – 1 year, $1 million San Jose – resigned Marc-Edouard Vlasic D – 8 years, $56 million and goalie Martin Jones G – 6 years, $34.5 million Pittsburgh – Antti Niemi G – 1 year, $700k and Justin Schultz D – 3 years, $16.5 million NY Rangers – Kevin Shattenkirk D – 4 years, $26.6 million Nashville – Nick Bonino F – 4 years, $16.4 million and Scott Hartnell F – 1 year, $1 million Carolina – Justin Williams F – 2 years, $9 million Dallas – Martin Hanzal F – 3 years, $14.25 million Detroit – Trevor Daley D – 3 years, $9.5 million Vancouver – Sam Gagner F – 3 years, $9.45 million and Michael Del Zotto D – 2 years, $6 million Colorado – Jonathan Bernier G – 1 year, $2.75 million New Jersey – Brian Boyle F – 2 years, $5.1 million Montreal – Karl Alzner D – 5 years, $23.1 million Winnipeg – Steve Mason G – 2 years, $8.2 million Chicago – Patrick Sharp F – 1 year, $1 million Philadelphia – Brian Elliott G – 2 years, $5.5 million Who is left? Montreal Canadiens forward Alexander Radulov heads the list. Radulov is looking for a five year deal, and is rumored to be on the Dallas Stars list of players to get. Long time San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau is also a key player up for grabs. Marleau is said to be in search of a three year deal. The 37 year old veteran has reportedly been offered a two year deal from the Sharks but it looks like Marleau is playing out all the options. There are up to four teams expressing interest. The Maple Leafs, Ducks, Stars and of course Sharks are all still in the mix. Defenseman Andrei Markov may be the best defenseman up for grabs. The Canadiens defenseman is looking for a two year $6 million dollar deal, and the Canadiens feel that is too high of a price tag. The jury is still out on who is willing to pay that price tag. Other notables searching for new homes include Thomas Vanek, Shane Doan, Drew Stafford, Jaroslav Halak, Roman Polak, Johnny Oduya, Jarome Iginla, Jaromir Jagr, Mike Fisher, Nail Yakupov, and Cody Franson. TEAM-BY-TEAM SIGNINGS AND FREE-AGENTS Anaheim Ducks Signed Goaltender Ryan Miller signs two-year contract with Ducks Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Max Gortz, Nick Sorensen. Group 3 UFAs: Spencer Abbott, (signed: COL), Jhonas Enroth, Ryan Garbutt, Nate Guenin, Matt Hackett, Jeff Schultz, (signed: OTT) Group 6 UFAs: None. UFAs: Emerson Etem, Ryan Faragher. Arizona Coyotes Signed Defenseman Adam Clendening signs one-year contract with Coyotes Forward Nick Cousins signs two-year contract with Coyotes Free Agents Group 2 FAs: (re-signed), Anthony Duclair, Tyler Gaudet, Jordan Martinook Group 3 UFAs: Shane Doan, (signed: BUF), (signed: TBL), Zbynek Michalek, (signed: TOR), Chris Pronger, (signed: FLA), Joe Whitney. Group 6 UFAs: Craig Cunningham, Garret Ross, Jarred Tinordi. UFAs: (signed: VAN), Grayson Downing, (signed: MTL), (signed: CAR), Jeremy Morin, Mitchell Moroz, Branden Troock. Boston Bruins Signed Kenny Agostino, Paul Postma, Jordan Szwarz inked to one-year contracts Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Linus Arnesson, Austin Czarnik, Zane McIntyre, David Pastrnak, Tim Schaller, Ryan Spooner, Malcolm Subban. Group 3 UFAs: Alex Grant, John-Michael Liles, (signed: TOR), Zac Rinaldo, Drew Stafford. Group 6 UFAs: Chris Casto, Brian Ferlin, Tyler Randell. UFAs: Colton Hargrove, Joe Morrow. Buffalo Sabres Signed Forward Benoit Pouliot signs one-year contract with Sabres Goaltender Chad Johnson signs one-year contract with Sabres Defenseman Matt Tennyson signs two-year contract with Sabres Forward Seth Griffith agrees to one-year contract with Sabres Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Zemgus Girgensons, Johan Larsson, Robin Lehner, Evan Rodrigues. Group 3 UFAs: (signed: TBL), Erik Burgdoerfer, Cody Franson, Brian Gionta, Derek Grant, (signed: WPG), Cody McCormick, (signed: VAN), (signed: MIN). Group 6 UFAs: (signed: NYR) UFAs: Brady Austin, Jean Dupuy, Justin Kea. Calgary Flames Signed Forward Marek Hrivik signs one-year contract with Flames Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Sam Bennett, Micheal Ferland, Garnet Hathaway, Brett Kulak, Curtis Lazar, David Rittich, Linden Vey, Tyler Wotherspoon. Group 3 UFAs: Brandon Bollig, (signed: PHI), Michael Kostka, Ladislav Smid, Dennis Wideman, David Wolf. Group 6 UFAs: None. UFAs: Alex Chiasson, Ryan Culkin, Kenney Morrison. Carolina Hurricanes Signed Forward Justin Williams agrees to two-year contract with Hurricanes Forward Josh Jooris agrees to terms with Hurricanes Defenseman Brenden Kitchon agrees to terms with Hurricanes Defenseman Dennis Robertson agrees to terms with Hurricanes Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Phillip Di Giuseppe. Group 3 UFAs: Bryan Bickell, Danny Kristo, (signed: TBL), Jay McClement, (signed: BUF). Group 6 UFAs: (re-signed), Brendan Woods. UFAs: Daniel Altshuller, Erik Karlsson, Andrej Nestrasil. Chicago Blackhawks Signed Forward Patrick Sharp signs one-year contract with Blackhawks Forward Tommy Wingels signs one-year contract with Blackhawks Goaltender J-F Berube agrees to terms with Blackhawks Forward Lance Bouma agrees to terms with Blackhawks Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Erik Gustafsson. Group 3 UFAs: Brian Campbell, Andrew Desjardins, Lars Johansson, (signed: NSH), Shawn Lalonde, Martin Lundberg, Brandon Mashinter, Johnny Oduya. Group 6 UFAs: Mac Carruth. UFAs: Dillon Fournier, Kenton Helgesen, Michael Latta, Dennis Rasmussen, Nolan Valleau. Colorado Avalanche Signed Goaltender Jonathan Bernier signs one-year contract with Avalanche Andrew Agozzino, David Warsofsky, Joe Cannata sign with Avalanche Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Gabriel Bourque, Felix Girard, Rocco Grimaldi, Matt Nieto, Duncan Siemens, Nikita Zadorov. Group 3 UFAs: Rene Bourque, (re-signed), Cody Goloubef, John Mitchell, Jim O’Brien, Mike Sislo, (signed: CAR), Fedor Tyutin. Group 6 UFAs: Mat Clark, Brendan Ranford. UFAs: Troy Bourke, (signed: DET), Eric Gelinas, Mikhail Grigorenko, Samuel Henley, (signed: VAN) Columbus Blue Jackets Signed Defenseman Cameron Gaunce signs two-year contract with Hurricanes Defenseman Andre Benoit signs one-year contract with Hurricanes Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Josh Anderson, Alexander Wennberg, Daniel Zaar. Group 3 UFAs: Marc-Andre Bergeron, (signed: VAN), Brett Gallant, Lauri Korpikoski, (signed: MIN), Jaime Sifers, Ryan Stanton. Group 6 UFAs: TJ Tynan. UFAs: Oscar Dansk, Oleg Yevenko. Dallas Stars Signed Forward Martin Hanzal signs three-year contract with Stars Defenseman Patrick Nemeth re-signs with Wild Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Radek Faksa, (re-signed), Jamie Oleksiak, Brett Ritchie, Gemel Smith, Matej Stransky. Group 3 UFAs: Ales Hemsky, Jiri Hudler, Travis Morin, Justin Peters, (signed: CHI), Dustin Stevenson. Group 6 UFAs: None. UFAs: Mattias Backman, Nick Ebert, Justin Hache, Henri Kiviaho, Maxime Lagace. Detroit Red Wings Signed Defenseman Trevor Daley signs three-year contract with Red Wings Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Andreas Athanasiou, Martin Frk, Xavier Ouellet, Robbie Russo, Tomas Tatar. Group 3 UFAs: Drew Miller, Joe Vitale. Group 6 UFAs: Mitch Callahan, Edward Pasquale. UFAs: Jake Paterson. Edmonton Oilers Signed Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Leon Draisaitl, Joey Laleggia, Dillon Simpson, Bogdan Yakimov. Group 3 UFAs: David Desharnais, Andrew Ference, Justin Fontaine, Mark Fraser, Jonas Gustavsson, Matt Hendricks. Group 6 UFAs: (signed: CHI), Tyler Pitlick. UFAs: Anton Lander, Eetu Laurikainen, David Musil, Zach Pochiro, Jere Sallinen, Henrik Samuelsson. Florida Panthers Signed Forward Evgeny Dadonov agrees to deal with Panthers Forward Radim Vrbata agrees to one-year contract with Panthers Forward Micheal Haley agree to two-year contract with Panthers Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Mark Pysyk, MacKenzie Weegar. Group 3 UFAs: Reto Berra, Jaromir Jagr, Jakub Kindl, Brent Regner, Paul Thompson, Shawn Thornton, Thomas Vanek. Group 6 UFAs: Sam Brittain, Brody Sutter. UFAs: Graham Black, Tim Bozon, Steven Hodges, (signed: MIN), (signed: WPG), Colin Stevens, Adam Wilcox. Los Angeles Kings Signed Forward Michael Cammalleri signs one-year contract with Kings Defenseman Christian Folin agrees to one-year contract with Kings Goalie Darcy Kuemper agrees to one-year contract with Kings Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Justin Auger, Jonny Brodzinski, Andrew Crescenzi, Kevin Gravel, Paul LaDue, Michael Mersch, Nick Shore. Group 3 UFAs: Jarome Iginla, (signed: TOR), Teddy Purcell, (signed: WPG), Rob Scuderi, Devin Setoguchi. Group 6 UFAs: Zach Trotman. UFAs: Patrick Bjorkstrand, Joel Lowry. Minnesota Wild Signed Goaltender Niklas Svedberg agrees to one-year contract with Wild Defenseman Kyle Quincey signs one-year contract with Wild Forward Kyle Rau signs one-year contract with Wild Forwards Landon Ferraro, Cal O’Reilly sign two-year contracts with Wild Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Marcus Foligno, Kurtis Gabriel, Mikael Granlund, Steve Michalek, Zack Mitchell, Nino Niederreiter, Zach Palmquist, Mike Reilly. Group 3 UFAs: Victor Bartley, Ryan Carter, (signed: DAL), (signed: LAK), Nate Prosser, Mike Weber, Ryan White. Group 6 UFAs: None. UFAs: Brady Brassart, (signed: LAK), Guillaume Gelinas, Alexander Gudbranson. Montreal Canadiens Signed Defenseman Karl Alzner signs five-year contract with Canadiens Canadiens agree to terms on a two-year contract with Peter Holland Canadiens agree to terms on a two-year contract with Byron Froese Defenseman Matt Taormina agrees to two-year contract with Canadiens Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Max Friberg, Alex Galchenyuk. Group 3 UFAs: Bobby Farnham, Brian Flynn, Dwight King, Andrei Markov, Magnus Nygren, Steve Ott, Alexander Radulov. Group 6 UFAs: None. UFAs: Connor Crisp, Joel Hanley, Ryan Johnston, Keegan Lowe, Mark MacMillan, Stefan Matteau, Nikita Nesterov, Dalton Thrower. Nashville Predators Signed Forward Nick Bonino signs four-year contract with Predators Forward Scott Hartnell signs one-year contract with Predators Goaltender Anders Lindback signs one-year contract with Predators Goaltender Matt O’Connor signs one-year contract with Predators Forward Pierre-Cedric Labrie signs one-year contract with Predators Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Pontus Aberg, Viktor Arvidsson, Frederick Gaudreau, Ryan Johansen, Marek Mazanec, Austin Watson. Group 3 UFAs: Vernon Fiddler, Mike Fisher, Brad Hunt, Mike Liambas, Adam Pardy, PA Parenteau, Mike Ribeiro, Harry Zolnierczyk. Group 6 UFAs: Adam Payerl. UFAs: Jonas Gunnarsson, Jaynen Rissling. New Jersey Devils Signed Forward Brian Boyle signs two-year contract with Devils Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Blake Coleman, Vojtech Mozik, Mirco Mueller, Stefan Noesen, Blake Pietila, Kevin Rooney, Damon Severson, Ben Thomson, Scott Wedgewood. Group 3 UFAs: Yohann Auvitu, Carter Camper, Luke Gazdic, Shane Harper, Jacob Josefson, Andrew MacWilliam, Marc Savard, Karl Stollery, Mattias Tedenby. Group 6 UFAs: (signed: NYI), Petr Straka. UFAs: (signed: STL) New York Islanders Signed Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Calvin de Haan, Christopher Gibson, Connor Jones, Adam Pelech. Group 3 UFAs: Eric Boulton, Stephen Gionta, Ben Holmstrom, Bracken Kearns, Kirill Petrov. Group 6 UFAs: None. UFAs: Matthew Finn, Jesse Graham, Loic Leduc, Stephon Williams. New York Rangers Signed Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk agrees to terms with Rangers Goaltender Ondrej Pavelec agrees to terms with Rangers Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Daniel Catenacci, Jesper Fast, Nicklas Jensen, Mika Zibanejad. Group 3 UFAs: Tanner Glass, Brendan Smith, Chris Summers. Group 6 UFAs: Chris Brown, Magnus Hellberg, (signed: CGY), Tommy Hughes. UFAs: Taylor Beck, (signed: ARI), Troy Donnay, Michael Paliotta, Brandon Pirri, Mackenzie Skapski. Ottawa Senators Signed Forward Nate Thompson agrees to two-year contract with Senators Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Chris Driedger, Ryan Dzingel, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Patrick Sieloff, Mikael Wikstrand. Group 3 UFAs: Stephane Da Costa, Nikita Filatov, Marc Hagel, Chris Kelly, Chad Nehring, Chris Neil, Viktor Stalberg, (signed: CHI). Group 6 UFAs: Casey Bailey, Brandon Gormley, (signed: PHI) UFAs: Jyrki Jokipakka, (signed: NSH), Ryan Rupert. Philadelphia Flyers Signed Goaltender Brian Elliott signs two-year contract with Flyers Forwards Mike Vecchione, Corban Knight, Phil Varone sign two-year contracts with Flyers Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Cole Bardreau, Scott Laughton, Taylor Leier, Roman Lyubimov, Anthony Stolarz. Group 3 UFAs: Chris Conner, (signed: VAN), Boyd Gordon, (signed: WPG), Andy Miele, Nick Schultz, Chris VandeVelde, Eric Wellwood. Group 6 UFAs: None. UFAs: Jesper Pettersson. Pittsburgh Penguins Signed Goaltender Antti Niemi signs with Penguins Defenseman Matt Hunwick signs three-year contract with Penguins Defenseman Justin Schultz signs three-year contract with Penguins Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Josh Archibald, Frank Corrado, Jean-Sebastien Dea, Brian Dumoulin, Derrick Pouliot, (re-signed), Conor Sheary. Group 3 UFAs: (signed: NSH), Matt Cullen, (signed: DET), Pascal Dupuis, (signed: CBJ), (signed: TOR), (signed: TBL), Kevin Porter, Tom Sestito, Mark Streit, (signed: COL). Group 6 UFAs: None. UFAs: Tim Erixon, Stuart Percy. San Jose Sharks Signed Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Barclay Goodrow, Marcus Sorensen, Chris Tierney. Group 3 UFAs: (signed: FLA), Dan Kelly, Patrick Marleau, Harri Sateri, Zack Stortini, Joe Thornton. Group 6 UFAs: (signs: WPG) UFAs: Mantas Armalis, Nikita Jevpalovs, Patrick McNally. St. Louis Blues Signed Forwards Chris Thorburn, Oskar Sundqvist, Beau Bennett to one-year contracts Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Jordan Binnington, Petteri Lindbohm, Colton Parayko, (re-signed). Group 3 UFAs: Sergey Andronov, Evgeny Grachev, Brad Malone, Scottie Upshall. Group 6 UFAs: (signed: BOS), (signed: COL), Morgan Ellis, Alex Friesen, Reid McNeill. UFAs: Jordan Caron, Jacob Doty, (signed: MIN), Ty Rattie, Nail Yakupov. Tampa Bay Lightning Signed Defenseman Dan Girardi signs two-year contract with Lightning Goaltender Michael Leighton signs one-year contract with Lightning Forward Chris Kunitz signs one-year contract with Lightning Forward Alex Gallant signs one-year contract with Lightning Defenseman Mat Bodie signs one-year contract with Lightning Defenseman Jamie McBain signs one-year contract with Lightning Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Michael Bournival, Jake Dotchin, Kristers Gudlevskis, Tyler Johnson, Slater Koekkoek, Tye McGinn, Ondrej Palat, Matthew Peca, Tanner Richard. Group 3 UFAs: Jaroslav Janus, Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, Mike McKenna, (signed: MTL), (signed: DET). Group 6 UFAs: Stefan Fournier, (signed: MTL), Mike Halmo, Greg McKegg, Joel Vermin. UFAs: Dylan Blujus, Henri Ikonen, Jonathan Racine. Toronto Maple Leafs Signed Goaltenders Curtis McElhinney, Garret Sparks sign two-year contracts with Maple Leafs Defenseman Ron Hainsey signs two-year contract with Maple Leafs Forward Dominic Moore signs one-year contract with Maple Leafs Colin Greening, Chris Mueller, Vincent LoVerde sign with Maple Leafs Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Connor Brown, Justin Holl, Zach Hyman, (re-signed) Group 3 UFAs: (signed: NJD), Andrew Campbell, (re-signed), Teemu Hartikainen, (signed: PIT), Brooks Laich, Milan Michalek, Steve Oleksy, Roman Polak, Stephane Robidas. Group 6 UFAs: None. UFAs: Antoine Bibeau, (signed: BUF), Sergey Kalinin. Vancouver Canucks Signed Defenseman Michael Del Zotto signs with Canucks Forward Sam Gagner signs three-year contract with Canucks Goaltender Anders Nilsson signs two-year contract with Canucks Forward Alex Burmistrov signs one-year contract with Canucks Defenseman Patrick Wierioch signs one-year contract with Canucks Forward Anton Rodin signs one-yer contract with Canucks Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Reid Boucher, Michael Chaput, Brendan Gaunce, Bo Horvat, Joseph LaBate, Nikita Tryamkin. Group 3 UFAs: Chad Billins, Philip Larsen, (signed: ANA) Jack Skille. Group 6 UFAs: Alexandre Grenier, Borna Rendulic. UFAs: Joseph Cramarossa, Michael Garteig, Tom Nilsson, Drew Shore, Michael Zalewski. Vegas Golden Knights Signed Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Brendan Leipsic, Oscar Lindberg, Teemu Pulkkinen, Griffin Reinhart, Nate Schmidt. Group 3 UFAs: (signed: STL) Group 6 UFAs: (signed: CHI), Connor Brickley. UFAs: None. Washington Capitals Signed Forward Brett Connolly re-signs with Capitals Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Travis Boyd, Andre Burakovsky, Philipp Grubauer, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Liam O’Brien. Group 3 UFAs: (signed: MTL), Chris Bourque, (signed: NYR), Tom Gilbert, (signed: NYR), (signed: CAR), Daniel Winnik. Group 6 UFAs: Stanislav Galiev, Garrett Mitchell, Christian Thomas. UFAs: (re-signed), Cody Corbett, Darren Dietz. Winnipeg Jets Signed Goaltender Steve Mason signs two-year contract with Jets Forward Michael Sgarbossa signs one-year contract with Jets Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov signs three-year contract with Jets Forward Buddy Robinson signs one-year contract with Jets Defenseman Cameron Schilling agrees to one-year, two-way contract with Jets Free Agents Group 2 FAs: Connor Hellebuyck, JC Lipon, Brandon Tanev. Group 3 UFAs: Tomas Kubalik, (signed: NYR), (signed: WSH), (signed: BOS), Brian Strait. Group 6 UFAs: Brenden Kichton. UFAs: Quinton Howden, Scott Kosmachuk, Ryan Olsen. FREE AGENTS SUBJECT TO COMPENSATION AND RIGHT TO MATCH – GROUP 2 These players have been tendered a qualifying offer by their respective Clubs and are subject to draft-choice compensation and right to match. The draft choice compensation scale is based on compensation offered by the new Club: OFFER / COMPENSATION $1,239,226 or below / None Over $1,239,226 to $1,877,615 / Third-round choice Over $1,877,615 to $3,755,233 / Second-round choice Over $3,755,233 to $5,632,847 / First-round and third-round choice Over $5,632,847 to $7,510,464 / First-round, second-round and third-round choice Over $7,510,464 to $9,388,080 / Two first-round choices, one second- and one third-round choice Over $9,388,080 / Four first-round choices UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS – GROUP 3 These players have qualified for Group 3 Free Agency (age 27 or older or with at least seven Accrued Seasons) and are Unrestricted Free Agents. UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS – GROUP 6 These players qualify for unrestricted free agency, having met the requirements for Group 6 free agency. This group is defined as players whose contracts have expired, are age 25 or older, have completed three or more professional seasons, and (i) in the case of a player other than a goaltender, have played fewer than 80 NHL games (regular-season and playoff), or (ii) in the case of a goaltender, have played fewer than 28 NHL games (regular-season and playoff). Please note that these amounts are subject to pro-rating due to the 48-game season in 2012-13. UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS These players were not tendered a qualifying offer and are therefore Unrestricted Free Agents not subject to a right to match or draft choice compensation. * Partial information provided via NHL Press Release

If you'd like to take a moment to have a look over at Writers' Bloc you'll find a nice set of 5 poems that's I'd like you to have a look at and then I've a few words to say about them. The link will open in a new window. For a very long time I have been preoccupied with what a poem is. I'm not talking about the multifarious and contrary opinions of what makes a poem a poem. I'm talking about fundamentals. All music is made up of rhythm and melody and usually harmony. Go back a step and you can reduce music to pure sound, sound organised in time if you want to be pedantic. So, what happens when you apply that same kind of logic to poetry? When you peek behind the words, what do you see? Something to Think About Can a poem, for example, contain no poetry? That is the question I ask in 'Something to Think About'. What happens when you strip away all the rhymes (internal and external), the metaphors, the similes, the onomatopoeia, the alliteration and the everything-that-most-people-associate-with-poetry? What attracted me to Larkin's poem 'Mr. Bleaney' was the fact that it was just about the most barren thing I have ever read. Even its rhymes were arranged so that if you read the piece properly you missed out on most of them. And yet it was still a poem. Why? Why was it a poem? The bottom line had to be that a poem was more than an amalgam of technique and form. 'Something to Think About' is a poem about thought. And poems are things to be thought about, not merely read. Every poem contains a poet's thoughts. That is all they contain. And what does the reader do? He thinks about them. What I'm saying is that poetry at its core is a way of thinking. That's what I was on about in my poem 'Changeling': Turning fourteen I started thinking poetry. At the time I never really considered what I meant by "thinking poetry". It was such a part of me that it was the expression made total sense and it still does. I had to lose that ability to appreciate it though. It's not as weird as it sounds. I simply find I can tune into the poetic possibilities of what's going on around. As the words pass through my head they sound like bits of poems, opening lines mainly, as if I'm testing out everything I experience to see if there's a poem in it. Most of the time there isn't. A Thoughtful Poem The idea of poetry as pure thought is developed further in 'A Thoughtful Poem' which states its purpose explicitly in its opening stanza: The purpose of this poem is to make you think. It is completely up front with the reader. It is related to an earlier poem called 'Reader, Pleaser Supply Meaning' because I believe very strongly that meaning is the remit of the reader. A poet provides an environment, a framework of words, for the reader to use to hang a meaning on and that is it. But where does the meaning come from? It comes from the only place it can come from, your life. If you have no knowledge of or experience with a subject then you will not be in a position to fully grasp what's going on. You need to go away and acquire the necessary knowledge before you proceed to the next level. The poem itself may provide that knowledge but you have to process it for it to work. Do poems go off? People I find, and I include myself here, tend to go for new things. If I see a list of books by an author I'm always drawn to the most recent one. The same goes for a poetry magazine; I veer towards the latest issue. Why? True some poems do date but it takes years; many years. Wordsworth's poetry hasn't gone bad but it has dated; it is no longer as accessible to an audience as it once was. In this particular poem the point I'm making about additives and preservatives is that once you open up a poem it's no longer new; it affects you, it changes you. I'm talking about the immediacy of reading a poem for the first time. There's just you, alone with the poem. It's one of those moments that you can't get back. And so, I, the poet, leave the two of you together to take as long as you like. If you go back to it later it won't be the same. That's what I was on about in my poem 'Sons' where the poem says: "What sex am I?" the poem asked. "You are a boy." "Then there is life in me. I shall go and sleep with a virgin mind." A poem is a catalyst, which, according to The American Heritage Dictionary is, "One that precipitates a process or event, especially without being involved in or changed by the consequences." – italics mine. This is what I was getting at in 'Mirror, Mirror': (Because poems are whores; they become what you want, but there's always a price.) A poem never changes. The words remain the same. No matter how many people read it, no matter how many different meanings they impose on it, a poem never changes. You do. No one has no reaction to a poem. No matter what they think they will have been affected. Just like an infection though some will shrug its effect off. Others will find their lives changes forever. The Skeleton of a Poem Beckett worked with sounds before anything else. If something doesn't sound right then it probably isn't right. A poem needs to flow in a way that prose does not. 'The Skeleton of a Poem' reduces a poem to its most basic elements. There are no proper words asking that you ascribe them with meaning. There are just 'das' and 'DUMs' and that's about it. This is a real poem – I forget which one – stripped down so that all you have is the sound and the rhythm. It is not without meaning because now you'll look at every poem you read and realise that underneath all the cleverness there is a skeleton that is essential of the poem will have to shape and shape is fundamental if you are to attribute any meaning to it. When you hold a poem in you hand the first thing to feel for is its skeleton, its bone structure. You look for iambs and trochees. In accentual-syllabic verse we could describe an iamb as a foot that goes like this: da DUM. There are others and you can see a whole list in this Wikipedia entry. If we look at the first stanza of this poem: da DUM da DUM DUM, DUM DUM, DUM DUM da DUM what we're presented with is a wee bit on the odd side. No nice iambic pentameters here, oh no. What we have is: iamb bacchius / spondee spondee / iamb in fact I toyed with the idea if a set of poems showing parts of speech and metrical feet but this one poem gets the basic idea over well enough. Visual poems aside you cannot have a poem without these. Indeed that could be an argument against visual poems being 'poems' but that's an issue for another time. The Lowest Common Denominator What does a poem do? What is the first thing it does? Take everything else away and what are you left with? It occupies time and space. The function of this poem is to use up time. There is no more. This is the point to 'The Lowest Common Denominator'. The very least that anyone will do when reading a poem is use up time. Whether that becomes a waste of time depends on the individual. So I decided to write a poem that only set out to do that. It admits up front what its function is. It does so mechanically, like a pre-recorded message. You could leave after the first stanza. You stay of your own free will. You have lost your time; the poem has it now and there are no refunds. You cannot appeal to a higher authority. You cannot ring me up and say, "Jim, could you change your poem so it does something else?" because that is all it was designed to do. Sorry. The poem is a direct response to people who, after reading a poem or a story or interacting with any art form, come out with something like, "Well, that was a total waste of time." They annoy the hell out of me. Art requires time. Even more, it demands it. Before you get down to liking it or not liking it you have to be prepared to devote time to it. How much is up to you. As I walk around an art gallery I'll glance at every painting there but they do not all get the same amount of time. Some never get a second look. I make that call. Think about that verb for a moment: devote. I chose it carefully. It has religious connotations, true, but the point I wanted to make was that poetry requires time specifically set aside for its appreciation. You can't have a poetry tape playing in the background while you work on your computer the way you can with music; there's no such a thing as background-poetry. Devotion also suggests zeal. You need to approach poetry with the right mindset. You need to be receptive, open. Second Draft The last poem, 'Second Draft', is related to 'A Thoughtful Poem' in that it is also concerned with the ageing process: how poems go off. This is more from a writer's perspective than a reader's I have to say. I look at some of my older poems and I want to take a hatchet to them. I don't of course. They were as good as I could do at the time and they also reflect my mindset when I wrote them. I would tackle the subjects in completely different ways now. It's also a comment on youthful poetry in general. When I see a lot of poems online I just know they're by newbies because they go on and on and on. Mine certainly did. As I get older I find that I have less that really needs to be said and need less words to say it. I know what you're thinking: Christ, Jim, how can you say that when you look at the length of your posts? and you're quite right. I offer in my defence Winston Churchill. An anecdote my dad was fond of telling concerned how much time Churchill needed before giving a speech: Winston Churchill is said to have replied, "Two hours," when asked how long he needed to prepare a two-minute speech. When asked how long he needed to prepare a two-hour speech, he said, "I'm ready now." - The Confident Speaker by Harrison Monarth, Larina Kase, p 210 And I'm the same. I've set myself a goal of two posts a week and so I don't have the time to whittle them down to the bare essentials. My poems are a different matter entirely. I had in mind Beckett's final poem, written on his deathbed, 'What is the Word?' when I wrote this poem. I find the image a very striking one, a dying man searching for that one last word that will give his life meaning. I suspect the word Beckett would have settled on actually would have been 'folly' because he was nothing less than disparaging of his own efforts. But what are you really trying to say? I've had people ask that. Usually, being Scots, all I get is: Ah don get it. And that's when I know I've usually said too much. Basil Bunting, in his advice to young poets included this section: Put your poem away till you forget it, then: 6. Cut out every word you dare. 7. Do it again a week later, and again. It's good advice. I put it this way: Say what you have to say and get off the page. I think I have done. So, I'll go. Bye. 17 comments: What a fantastic post, Jim! I really enjoyed the poems, like holding a mirror up to the poetry-reader reflecting back on ourselves our thoughts and expectations. You never metapoetry you didn't like? Glad you enjoyed it, Sorlil. I have to say when the five poems were accepted I did wonder how I was going to write a post tying them all together but I think it worked out quite well. And, Art. One sentence and a bad pun? Are you poorly or something? Jim - tying the five poems together (your needles always have thread!) worked out quite well indeed. I read the poems and enjoyed every one. I think because they were dispassionate and fearless (I hope these words make you smile at least a little). A poem is a precious thing. I was reminded of the lyrics of ’must I paint you a picture’ by billy bragg The temptation To take the precious things we have apart To see how they work Must be resisted for they never fit together again I’m glad you did not resist the temptation. I'm glad you were taking the poetry apart. And. I love your phrase 'background poetry.' I think, I may be wrong, but I think it might be out there somewhere. (I left a comment on Writer's Bloc too. . . I couldn't resist given the comment that Ani left.) kww Thanks for the comment, Koe. One thing I have learned through the Wonderful Worldwide Web is that there are very few truly new ideas which is why Google just threw up 15 million entries for "background poetry". I appreciate the Billy Bragg quote. It reminds me of a poem a friend of mine wrote about pulling a flower to pieces to wee how it worked. Thankfully one can deconstruct a poem and still have a copy there safe and sound. You've outdone Stephen Fry here, Jim. An excellent post. Your poems are devastating. I really like them but they have a barren quality that is in stark contradiction to my 'over the top' poetic flare. I enjoyed them however, the strip the poem bare, the beg the question why you are reading them at all, they demonstrate in some ways the 'meaninglessness' of reading a poem. A short waste of imaginative time. Deconstructing poetry can be a sterile, cold room of a business, but in my view you succeeded, but you are a cold rationalist with your meta poetry. I'm always here to add a little fruit and spice. Untenably metaphorical and imaginative and colourful. For many, this is the antithesis of what poetry should be. Interesting as ever. Nearly finished here in Italy, to be honest, I can'r wait to get home. Italy has been intriguing but also in many ways quite miserable. I will love to see Glasgow anew for the first few weeks. I'll be reading. Thanks for that comment, Dick but I'd be grateful if you'd not let Mr Fry know about this otherwise his intellect might just come and eat mine for breakfast. And, McGuire, devastating, eh? Not quite sure how to take that compliment either. I don't think that the poems are pointless though. If that's all I wrote then fair enough. One of the things I think is important for all writers but especially poets and that is to understand these "machine(s) made out of words", as William Carlos Williams called poems, work. Machines obey laws so why not poems too? I studied Applied Mechanics at school but I had a great deal of difficulty equating the formulae I had memorised with, for example, driving a car. But driving a car depends on so many laws. There a beauty to a mathematical formula – all those Greek letters – mmmmm. You just need to open your eyes. Jim, I always thought algebra, was a country in eastern europe. Maths was never my strong point. You can drive a car without having to know how to build one or how it works in mechanic detial. I always like to build simple structures with large crayon strokes of colour. My eyes are open perhaps I need to do a bit of woodwork mind you. It was devastating in a way that wasn't altogether 'bad' you just deconstructed poetry down to its bare scaffolding. Which for a man like me, who likes broad strokes, was a rare and welcome challenege. You sayin' a canny build a poem right? ;) Jim: If you want to think about a poem which has none of the characteristics of poetry, try the work of Barrett Watten. Better, read my series of blog entries on his book-length poem, Progress; here's one (). Cheers Thanks for the feedback, Curtis. I've had a wee search online to see if I could find more poetry by Barrett Watten. There's not a lot. I managed to find one site where he read a few poems. One about Tibet seemed okay but I would have liked to have seen the thing written down. Even on his website there were no examples which I thought was odd. I'm back in Glasgow. First morning here. Refreshing. I'll return to Italy in the future. I'm sure but for now it's nice to be back. No response to my last comment, Jim. Perhaps I'm learning to be more precise. I really should. Moving from feral prose to a more considered and precise apprroach. I really enjoyed your poems, Jim, don't get me wrong. Their sprase and precise nature at once devastating (for their cold articulation and clarity). It makes me realise how far I have to go in terms of precision. I'm off to the post office and then to the shops to by some tetley tea. Shocking. 26 and fond of tetley more than beer. (Aye right....but I haven't had a cup since Feburary.) Sorry, McGuire, i wasn't being rude or anything. I just didn't think your comment needed a response. It's hard to know who should have the last say. Your point about the car is perfectly valid, however, an understanding of how that car works (and by that I mean beyond which pedals to push and that) can go a long way. I believe that a poem is a machine made out of words and what I've done with these poems is to strip away everything bar the mechanics. Every other poem I've written will have this stuff going on but you don't always see it. And some poets never do nor would they be benefitted by the knowledge. That's what I mean when I talk about my knowledge of Applied Mechanics and my ability to drive a car. The two were not connected in my head. I had drawn diagrams of the two-, three- and four-stroke engines but seeing one under my car bonnet was another thing entirely. Glad you made it back to Scotland safe and sound. I don't drink much tea these days and when I do it's decaffeinated. I never knew there was caffeine in tea till Carrie showed me the box. So there you go. Needless to say my coffee is also decaffeinated and I'm on sweeteners and I have to take it black so you'll forgive me if I don't get excited about beverages. Oh, and when the messages came today there was a box of green tea in with them because apparently it's good for us. Yeuch. As you know - I look to mine the old posts now and again - I like to see what was going on a year ago. I had remembered reading this one back when - but hadn't remembered the comment I'd left. I love your short, thoughtful poems. Sometimes it seems the shorter they are the more punch they have. The link behind Beckett's "What is the Word?" seems to be broken - thought you might like to know. Thank you for that, Koe. I've fixed that broken link now. WHAT DOES POETRY DO? I wish that I could write like Horace; But is America like Rome? Both sets of leaders’ heads are porous. It may be leadership syndrome That sets in when a politician Has risen to a high position: They all forget what they were taught In civics so they’re easy bought. So politicians are generic. But what of poets? Are they too? Indeed. The difference is milieu. The Romans, closer to barbaric Ways of life, put them to death. Here? You could be talking to your mirror. From So politicians and poets are generic, the only difference being the environment? I suppose I can accept that. I’ve never been much of a nature poet. I’m just glad we live in more enlightened times when being a poet isn’t such a risky thing to be. Thanks for the comment, Bob.

Download No Limits: The Will to Succeed by Michael Phelps, Alan Abrahamson pdf Download Why Do We Have Laws? (Know Your Government) by Jacqueline Laks Gorman pdf Download The Corporeal Image: Film, Ethnography, and the Senses by David MacDougall pdf Download Redondo Beach (CA) (Postcard History Series) by The Historical Commission of Redondo Beach pdf Download The Seventh: A Parker Novel by Richard Stark, Luc Sante pdf Download Childhood Sexual Abuse: Long-term Effects on Female Victims by Rafael J Rodríguez pdf Download The Call by Rick Joyner pdf Download The Everything Mediterranean Slow Cooker Cookbook: Includes Sun-Dried Tomato and Pesto Dip, Apricot-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin, Tuscan Chicken and ... Zucchini Ragout, and Chocolate Creme Brulee by Brooke Mclay, Launie Kettler pdf Download Almost Hollywood: The Forgotten Story of Jacksonville, Florida by Blair Miller pdf Download Historic Houses of Virginia: Great Plantation Houses, Mansions, and Country Places by Kathryn Masson, Steven Brooke, Richard Guy Wilson, Calder Loth pdf Download Graphic Design and Religion: A Call for Renewal by Daniel Kantor pdf Download The Brigade: An Epic Story of Vengeance, Salvation and World War II by Howard Blum pdf Download The Sourcebook of Contemporary Architecture by Àlex Sánchez Vidiella pdf Download Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade by Oliver Bowden pdf Download Narrative Pedagogy (Counterpoints: Studies in the Postmodern Theory of Education) by Ivor F Goodson pdf Download Business Networking: How to Build an Awesome Professional Network: Strategies and tactics to meet and build relationships with successful people by Mike Fishbein pdf Download The Caravaggio Shawl (Gertrude Stein And Alice B. Toklas Mystery) by Samuel M. Steward, Phil Andros pdf Download The Elements of Mathematical Logic by Paul C. Rosenbloom pdf Download Rainbow Tarot by Saleire pdf Download Gestation by Patricia Debney pdf Download Getting Home by Celia Brayfield pdf Download The End of Your World: Uncensored Straight Talk on the Nature of Enlightenment by Adyashanti pdf Download Pro Drupal as an Enterprise Development Platform (Expert's Voice in Web Development) by Jamie Kurtz, Thomas Besluau pdf Download Mas facil: A Concise Review of Spanish Grammar by Estelita Calderon-Young, Rodney M. Mebane pdf Download Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein pdf Download The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells pdf Download Murder at Government House (A Viking Novel of Mystery and Suspense) by Elspeth Huxley pdf Download Experience Research Social Change: Methods Beyond the Mainstream, second edition by Sandra Kirby pdf Download Talent Assessment and Development Pocket Tool Kit: How to Get the Most out of Your Best People by Brenda Hampel, Anne Bruce pdf Download Sicilian Dynasty by Daniela Di Benedetto pdf Download Dirty Daddy: The Chronicles of a Family Man Turned Filthy Comedian by Bob Saget pdf Download Encountering Jesus, Encountering Scripture: Reading the Bible Critically in Faith by David Crump pdf Download The American Heiress: A Novel by Daisy Goodwin pdf Download Microsoft Publisher 2013: Comprehensive (Shelly Cashman) by Joy L. Starks pdf Download Legends and Lore of Birmingham & Central Alabama (American Legends) by Beverly Crider pdf Download Great Shoots, The: 2E: Britain's Best - Past and Present by Brian P. Martin pdf Download Contemporary Theory of Conservation by Salvador Munoz-Vinas pdf Download Principles of Corporate Taxation (Concise Hornbook Series) by Douglas A. Kahn, Jeffrey H. Kahn, Terrence G. Perris pdf Download Corduroy Mansions: A Corduroy Mansions Novel (1) by Alexander McCall Smith pdf Download Pixel Detectors: From Fundamentals to Applications (Particle Acceleration and Detection) by Leonardo Rossi pdf Download The Maiden (Morland Dynasty) by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles pdf Download The Hall-Mills Murder Case: The Minister and the Choir Singer by Professor William Kunstler pdf Download Mastering Audio: The Art and the Science by Bob Katz pdf Download Student Solutions Manual for Algebra & Trigonometry by Michael Sullivan, Kevin Bodden, Randy Gallaher pdf Download The Discovery Of Guiana by Sir Walter Raleigh pdf Download The Empty Chair by Raymond I. Keffer pdf Download Measuring And Gauging Geometric Tolerances by Gary K. Griffith pdf Download Compliance Management for Public, Private, or Non-Profit Organizations by Michael G. Silverman pdf Download The Jungle Book (Classic Starts) by Rudyard Kipling, Lisa Church, Lucy Corvino, Arthur Pober Ed.D pdf Download Marie Antoinette's Head: The Royal Hairdresser, the Queen, and the Revolution by Will Bashor pdf Download 101 Tips on Getting into Medical School by Jennifer C. Welch pdf Download Being Coached: Group and Team Coaching from the Inside by Ann V Deaton, Holly Williams pdf Download Hypnotherapy: A Client-Centered Approach by Mary Lee LaBay pdf Download The Vision by T. W. Tibby Weston pdf Download Laboratory Outlines in Biology VI (v. 6) by Robert G. Thomson pdf Download Fundamental Method for Mallets, Book 1 by Mitchell Peters pdf Download Maid Sama! Vol. 7 by Hiro Fujiwara pdf Download Circles of Fellowship - Responding to the Crisis of Christian Identity - A Reprise of "Who Is My Brother" by F. LaGard Smith pdf Download Cribbage by Frank Buttler, Simon Buttler pdf Download Setup On Front Street by Mike Dennis pdf Download Fun Dog, Sun Dog by Deborah Heiligman pdf Download Cultural Anthropology by Paul G. Hiebert pdf Download Pages for iPad: Visual QuickStart Guide by Nolan Hester pdf Download Waldo & Magic, Inc. by Robert A. Heinlein pdf Download Tilda's Winter Delights by Tone Finanger pdf Download Academic Life: Hospitality, Ethics, and Spirituality by John B. Bennett pdf Download Teaching Literature: The Independent Educator's Guide: for homeschoolers, unschoolers and others who teach outside the conventional classroom by Kathleen Schwab pdf Download Vodka by Boris Starling pdf Download The Frog Prince by Kathy-Jo Wargin pdf Download Bonds: The Unbeaten Path to Secure Investment Growth by Hildy Richelson, Stan Richelson pdf Download Insight Guide Morocco (Insight Guides) by Tatiana Wilde pdf Download Pilgrim Soul (Douglas Brodie series) by Gordon Ferris pdf Download American Constitutional Law, Volume II: Civil Rights and Liberties by Jr. Otis H. Stephens, II John M. Scheb pdf Download Sorry, Tree by Eileen Myles pdf Download Introduction to Global Politics, Brief Edition by Steven Lamy pdf Download Surfing (Cool Sports (Av2)) by Aaron Carr pdf Download Done With Being Fat by T.C. Hale pdf Download On Dragonfly Wings: A Skeptic's Journey to Mediumship by Daniela I. Norris pdf Download LEGO® Legends of Chima: The Legend Begins (Comic Reader #1) by Trey King pdf Download Good Night, Mr. Night by Dan Yaccarino pdf Download Is He Dead?: A Comedy in Three Acts (Jumping Frogs: Undiscovered, Rediscovered, and Celebrated Writings of Mark Twain) by Richard A. Watson pdf Download Genetics: A Conceptual Approach by Benjamin A. Pierce pdf Download Courbet by Linda Nochlin pdf Download Not a Box by Antoinette Portis pdf Download Just Like a River (Interlink World Fiction) by Muhammad Kamil Khatib, Muhammad Kamil Al-Khatib, Maher Barakat, Michelle Hartman pdf Download Contested Lives: The Abortion Debate in an American Community by Faye D. Ginsburg pdf Download Afro-Cuban Diasporas in the Atlantic World (Rochester Studies in African History and the Diaspora) by Solimar Otero pdf Download Thinking with Whitehead: A Free and Wild Creation of Concepts by Isabelle Stengers, Michael Chase, Bruno Latour pdf Download Operation Neptune 1944: D-Day's Seaborne Armada (Campaign) by Ken Ford pdf Download Locksmithing and Electronic Security Wiring Diagrams by John Schum pdf Download From Yoga to Kabbalah: Religious Exoticism and the Logics of Bricolage by Véronique Altglas pdf Download Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness by Christopher Lane pdf Download Remedies (University Casebooks) (University Casebook Series) by Emily Sherwin, Theodore Eisenberg, Joseph R. Re pdf Download Lost in Wonder: Rediscovering the Spiritual Art of Attentiveness by Esther de Waal pdf Download 8 Attributes of Great Achievers Volume 2 by Cameron C Taylor pdf Download Frommer's Chicago 2010 (Frommer's Complete Guides) by Elizabeth Canning Blackwell pdf Download 100 Classic Napkin Folds: simple and stylish napkins for every occasion: Over 700 step-by-step photographs show you how to make stunning folds to a professional level by Rich Beech pdf Download Life in the Mountains (Life in the...) by Catherine Bradley pdf Download 283 Useful Ideas from Japan by Leonard Koren pdf Download Skinner's Box (Fang Mu (Eastern Crimes)) (Volume 2) by Mi Lei pdf Download In the Park (Look Once, Look Again Science Series) by David M. Schwartz pdf Download Studyguide for Agile Information Systems: Conceptualization, Construction, and Management by Desouza, Kevin, ISBN 9780750682350 by Cram101 Textbook Reviews pdf Download Plant-Driven Design: Creating Gardens That Honor Plants, Place, and Spirit by Scott Ogden, Lauren Springer Ogden pdf Download The Warlord, The Warrior, The War: (From the RISE OF THE PENGUINS SAGA) by Steven Hammond pdf Download Rapid Instructional Design: Learning ID Fast and Right by George M. Piskurich pdf Download Noah's Ark: Thinking Outside the Box by Tim Lovett pdf Download Jesus Calling: A 365 Day Journaling Devotional by Sarah Young pdf Download The Islands of Greece: Recipes from Across the Greek Seas by Rebecca Seal pdf Download The Sopranos: A Family History by Allen Rucker, David Chase pdf Download Theory Construction and Model-Building Skills: A Practical Guide for Social Scientists (Methodology in the Social Sciences) by James Jaccard PhD, Jacob Jacoby PhD pdf Download The Revised Common Lectionary: The Consultation on Common Texts by The Consultation on Common Texts pdf Download Fatal Self-Deception: Slaveholding Paternalism in the Old South by Eugene D. Genovese, Elizabeth Fox-Genovese pdf Download Don't Fall Off the Mountain by Shirley MacLaine pdf Download Crusade (Eden Book 2) by Tony Monchinski pdf Download House of Many Gods: A Novel by Kiana Davenport pdf Download Like a Child: Restoring the Awe, Wonder, Joy and Resiliency of the Human Spirit by Rev. Timothy J. Mooney pdf Download Five Little Monsters by Rozanne Lanczak Williams pdf Download Glory (The Dust Chronicles) by Maureen McGowan pdf Download You Can & You Must: Career Planning for Changing Times by Sue Liburd pdf Download A History of the Connecticut River (CT) (The History Press) by Wick Grisworld pdf Download Financial Institutions Management: A Risk Management Approach by Marcia Cornett pdf Download The American Alps: The San Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado (Coyote Books) by Donald L. Baars, Baars pdf Download Bombs Away: The Story of a Bomber Team (Penguin Classics) by John Steinbeck pdf Download Devil and Commodity Fetishism in South America by Michael Taussig pdf Download No Time to Lose: A Life in Pursuit of Deadly Viruses by Peter Piot pdf Download This Tragic Gospel: How John Corrupted the Heart of Christianity by Louis A. Ruprecht pdf Download Alternatives for High-Level Waste Salt Processing at the Savannah River Site by Committee on Cesium Processing Alternatives for High-Level Waste at the Savannah River Site, Board on Radioactive Waste Management, Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, National Research Council pdf Download Petty Details of So-and-so's Life by Camilla Gibb pdf Download Neolithic Europe (Cambridge World Archaeology) by Alasdair W. R. Whittle pdf Download Getting the Best out of Your Juicer by William H. Lee pdf Download MTV Uncensored by MTV pdf Download Shadow of the Titanic: The Extraordinary Stories of Those Who Survived by Andrew Wilson pdf Download Study Guide for Exploring Lifespan Development by Laura E. Berk pdf Download Critical Moments in Chess (Batsford Chess Books) by Paata Gaprindashvili pdf Download No, They Can't: Why Government Fails-But Individuals Succeed by John Stossel pdf Download The Key to Theosophy by H.P. Blavatsky pdf Download Cocaine: An Unauthorized Biography by Dominic Streatfeild pdf Download Saving God's Face: A Chinese Contextualization of Salvation through Honor and Shame (EMS Dissertation Series) by Jackson Wu pdf Download The Epicurious Cookbook: More Than 250 of Our Best-Loved Four-Fork Recipes for Weeknights, Weekends & Special Occasions by Tanya Steel, The Editors of Epicurious.com pdf Download Doing Psychotherapy by Michael Franz Basch pdf Download User Interface Design and Evaluation (Interactive Technologies) by Debbie Stone, Caroline Jarrett, Mark Woodroffe, Shailey Minocha pdf Download Symphony No. 7: "Song of the Night" (Dover Miniature Music Scores) by Gustav Mahler, Music Scores pdf Download Where's Waldo? In Hollywood: Deluxe Edition by Martin Handford pdf Download If I Stay by Gayle Forman pdf Download Jewish Spirituality : A Brief Introduction for Christians by Lawrence Kushner pdf Download The Great Cat Massacre: And Other Episodes in French Cultural History by Robert Darnton pdf Download The Catskills Alive! by Francine Silverman pdf Download Prostate Cancer: A Patients Guide to Treatment by Arthur Centeno MD, Gary Onik MD, Jack Allen Kusler pdf Download Jane Doe by Lisa Girolami pdf Download Training People: How to Bring Out the Best in Your Human by Tess of Helena pdf Download The Sun Two-Speed Crossword Collection 1 by The Sun pdf Download Alexander of Aphrodisias: On the Soul: Part I: Soul as Form of the Body, Parts of the Soul, Nourishment, and Perception (Ancient Commentators on Aristotle) by Victor Caston pdf Download Global Capitalism and the Crisis of Humanity by William I. Robinson pdf Download A Singular Hostage by Thalassa Ali pdf Download Saving Grace by Darlene Ryan pdf Download Surveys in Social Research (Social Research Today) by D.A.De Vaus pdf Download Rural Life (Pictures from the past) by John Seymour pdf Download Pogo: Bona Fide Balderdash (Vol. 2) (Walt Kelly's Pogo) by Walt Kelly, Stan Freberg pdf Download Basic Defense & Safety Fundamentals for Pool & Pocket Billiards by Allan P. Sand pdf Download Female Labor Supply: Theory and Estimation (Princeton Legacy Library) by James P. Smith pdf Download FTCE Middle Grades Mathematics 5-9 Secrets Study Guide: FTCE Test Review for the Florida Teacher Certification Examinations by FTCE Exam Secrets Test Prep Team pdf Download The Rough Guide to Puerto Rico by Stephen Keeling pdf Download Upper Level Disturbances (Mountain West Poetry Series) by Kevin Goodan pdf Download Food of Japan by Shirley Booth pdf Download SAT Math SparkCharts by SparkNotes pdf Download The Weight Of The Evidence (Inspector Appleby Mystery) by Michael Innes pdf Download The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter: The Remarkable True Story of American Heroine Ida Lewis by Lenore Skomal pdf Download Cardano's Cosmos: The Worlds and Works of a Renaissance Astrologer by Anthony Grafton pdf Download I Freed Myself: African American Self-Emancipation in the Civil War Era by David Williams pdf Download Decorative Fusion Knots: A Step-by-Step Illustrated Guide to New and Unusual Ornamental Knots by J. D. Lenzen, Barry Mault pdf Download Contestation and Adaptation: The Politics of National Identity in China by Enze Han pdf Download A Game of Spies by John Altman pdf Download Writing in Political Science: A Practical Guide (4th Edition) by Diane E. Schmidt pdf Download Dangerous Days: In the Roman Empire by Terry Deary pdf Download The Miniature World of Peter Rabbit (Potter) by Beatrix Potter pdf Download Beaten (Surviving Southside) by Suzanne Weyn pdf Download Harry's Cosmeticology by R.G. Harry, J.B. Wilkinson, R.J. Moore pdf Download Finding Faithful Elders and Deacons (9Marks) by Thabiti M. Anyabwile pdf Download Combustion: From Basics to Applications by Franz Winter pdf Download International Book of Tennis Drills; Over 100 Skill-Specific Drills by United States Professional Tennis Registry pdf Download A Rose for Haley and other works of poetry by Teresa A Miller pdf Download Study Guide Volume 2 t/a Intermediate Accounting, 15th Edition (chs 15-24) by Donald E. Kieso, Jerry J. Weygandt, Terry D. Warfield pdf Download Practical Spectorscopy: The Rapid Interpretation of Spectral Data (for McMurry's Organic Chemistry, 5e) by Paul R. Young pdf Download From the Front Lines: Student Cases in Social Work Ethics (4th Edition) (Connecting Core Competencies) by Juliet C. Rothman pdf Download Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual and Movement Therapists, 3e by Thomas W. Myers pdf Download Exposed (Maggie O'Dell) by Alex Kava pdf Download The Bride Price (The Civil War Brides) by Tracey Jane Jackson pdf Download Trace-A-Story: The Mermaid's Child (Cursive Practice Book) by Angela M. Foster, Abbie Farwell Brown pdf Download Finlandia by Sibelius, Jean, Schaum, John W. pdf Download The Beach Bum's Guide to the Boardwalks of New Jersey by Dick Handschuch, Sal Marino pdf Download Think of a Number (Dave Gurney, No.1): A Novel by John Verdon pdf Download I Was Blind But Now I See: Time to Be Happy by James Altucher pdf Download Mary, Mother and Warrior: The Virgin in Spain and the Americas (Hall, Linda) by Linda B. Hall pdf Download Roget's Thesaurus of Words for Intellectuals: Synonyms, Antonyms, and Related Terms Every Smart Person Should Know How to Use by David Olsen, Michelle Bevilacqua, Justin Cord Hayes pdf Download The Secret Prince by D. Anne Love pdf Download Adventure Kayaking: Inland Waters of the Western United States by Don Skillman pdf Download DK Readers: The Story of Spider-Man (Level 4: Proficient Readers) by Michael Teitelbaum, Cynthia O'Neill pdf Download Q. Science: Party Time Key Stage 1 by Sue Chapple, Brian Davis, Alan Rowe pdf Download Problems and solutions in introductory and advanced matrix calculus by Willi-hans Steeb pdf Download Town Spaces by Harald Bodenschatz pdf Download The Practical Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids: A Complete Guide To Orchids And Their Cultivation by Brian Rittershausen, Wilma Rittershausen pdf Download Design of Special Hazards and Fire Alarm Systems by Robert Gagnon pdf Download The Essentials of Japanese Cooking by Tokiko Suzuki pdf Download Ideas: Bathrooms by Fernando de Haro, Omar Fuentes pdf Download The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano by Martin A Gosch, Richard Hammer pdf Download Riemann Surfaces by Way of Complex Analytic Geometry (Graduate Studies in Mathematics) by Dror Varolin pdf Download India before Europe by Catherine B. Asher, Cynthia Talbot pdf Download Korea in World History (Key Issues in Asian Studies) by Donald N. Clark pdf Download Depression in Japan: Psychiatric Cures for a Society in Distress by Junko Kitanaka pdf Download What's The Verdict?: You're the Judge in 90 Tricky Courtroom Quizzes by Ted LeValliant pdf Download Leadership for Great Customer Service: Satisfied Employees, Satisfied Patients, Second Edition by Thom A. Mayer pdf Download Prisoner of the Turnip Heads: The Fall of Hong Kong and the Imprisionment by the Japanese by George Wright-Nooth, Mark Adkin pdf Download Mini Donuts: 100 Bite-Sized Donut Recipes to Sweeten Your "Hole" Day by Jessica Segarra pdf Download 72 Hour Hold by Bebe Moore Campbell pdf Download Operation Solo: The FBI's Man in the Kremlin by John Barron pdf Download How to Draw and Paint Aircraft Like a Pro (Motorbooks Studio) by Andrew Whyte, Ann Cooper, Charlie Cooper pdf Download Nonlinear Systems (Cambridge Texts in Applied Mathematics) by P. G. Drazin pdf Download Gregory and the Magic Line by Dawn Piggot pdf Download Secret Dead Men by Duane Swierczynski pdf Download Holiness by Grace (Redesign): Delighting in the Joy That Is Our Strength by Bryan Chapell pdf Download Strongholds of the Samurai: Japanese Castles 250-1877 (General Military) by Stephen Turnbull pdf Download Understanding Vision: Theory, Models, and Data by Li Zhaoping pdf Download Business Writing For Dummies by Natalie Canavor pdf Download This Man Confessed (This Man Trilogy) by Jodi Ellen Malpas pdf Download Bring on the Girls! by P. G. Wodehouse pdf

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48208594701189357532015-09-17T00:39:23.149-05:00Land of Lakes and HockeyKirsten still out there? I realize I completely suck at blogging, but now that I'm back in MN for at least a year or more, I fully intend to try this again. <div><br /></div><div>I've been away in Oregon for four years so now I get to re-learn the team pretty much. My junior and senior years at school were super busy and I had a hard time keeping up with the Wild, so this will be quite the reintroduction.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's to hoping I can actually make it this time!</div><div><br /></div><div>-K</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Kirsten is Golden once again!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href=""><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 466px;" src="" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><i><br /></i><div>Forgive the title, but I'm quite excited about the win. Please don't throw anything at me. </div><div><br /></div><div>As excited as I am, I'm still rather irritated that Crosby had to get the goal, and subsequently be shown every two seconds just to remind us that he exists. As Elise pointed out, many other players (Toews, Miller, Keith, Parise, Nash, Iginla, etc) had much better tournaments, but of course Crosby can do no wrong. He may be great for the game and all, but it'd be nice to see some new faces being promoted and talk about the team efforts as well. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Canadian goalies did not impress me terribly much, and in my opinion Scott Niedermayer was pretty good at the beginning of the tourney, but made some key mistakes later on. I was also very unimpressed with Patrick Kane. I didn't see any of his usual smoothness on the ice.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was fun following all the tweets from Vancouver, and I think Brendan Shanahan is doing a good job as an ambassador for the league.</div><div>The game was insane, and it was great to see how excited the fans were. I love going to tourneys with Canadian fans, the passion they bring to the game is unrivaled. </div><div>It was nice to see Nash spread his wings a little bit, and in the words of Pierre McGuire, he was a monster. </div><div>GM Steve Yzerman did a great job picking players who know each other, as well as players with starpower. For the most part the combination worked really well, and Canada was a force to reckon with (minus the ending of the Slovakian game) for the last four games they needed to win. </div><div><br /></div><div>Oh yeah and the NHL resumes tomorrow with the Red Wings playing the Avalanche. Don't forget to set your fantasy rosters...</div><div>Go get messy, Vancouver, and enjoy the win! I don't envy the city workers...</div>Kirsten you couldn't tell by the title, I'm pretty excited about the Olympics. <i>(To clarify, the Olympic Games. My internship advisor is a forester and thought I meant the coastal mountain range in Washington state, but those mountains/rainforest are full of banana slugs and non-stop rain in the winter, so no.)</i><div><br /></div><div>I have to admit, I've spent a lot more time doing homework and studying for midterms than I have watching the Olympics, but I've made time to watch all of the men's Canadian hockey games, and some of the others as time allows. By far the best hockey day was Sunday, or as my friends back home called it, "hate day". In Oregon we can't use words like that, so I called it "rivalry day" while explaining the finer points/major points of hockey to the revolving door of people who watched with me.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stream of consciousness:</div><div>-I really enjoyed the U.S./Canada game...even if I did not enjoy the outcome.</div><div><div>-Thus far I have managed to get my roommate on the path to addiction to hockey, and have gotten the majority of my good friends out here to stop making fun of me for liking hockey</div><div>-I'm a little disappointed that it's pretty much a three team competition. </div><div>-Less than excited for the Russia/Canada match today, mostly because I have to write at least 5 pages during it</div><div>-Ski jumping seems like a really bad idea on so many levels</div><div>-People who do not come from a wintery place do not appreciate just how little there can be to do in the wintertime outside. They are not very kind to the more obscure winter sports</div><div>-The biathlon is really cool</div><div>-Sidney Crosby needs to stop looking like a petulant child every time the camera is on him. </div><div>-Professors do not accept the Olympics as a reason to extend deadlines.</div><div>-The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, however; does accept the Olympics as a legitimate reason to move a deadline.</div><div>-Google Calendar and iCal are friends, and this is extremely useful.</div><div>-It still freaks me out when there are flowers and trees blooming before Valentine's Day.</div><div>-Canadians do not seem to judge what medals they get, as long as they win. Case in point: my Canadian friends were all quite excited that the Canadian pair won gold for ice dancing. </div><div>-Caribou Coffee still REALLY needs to have a location west of Denver. Preferably in Salem.</div><div>-Canada should focus less on curbstomping teams they know they can beat, and more on beating Russia and the U.S. </div><div><br /></div><div>Hope everyone is enjoying the Olympics and watching something new and interesting. Soon I'll probably write something pertaining to an actual Minnesota team. At this point, the Twins as well as the Wild are fair game, because BASEBALL SEASON IS STARTING SOON!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Kirsten a long, long hiatus...I might be back. At least for a little while, if for no other reason then to profess my great love for the Winter Olympics. <div><br /></div><div>I. </div><div><br /></div><div.</div><div><br /></div><div.</div><div><br /></div><div>As a side note, I'm really digging the new, streamlined Team Canada hockey jerseys and the awesome red mittens. No wonder my housemates all think I'm a traitor. </div><div><br /></div><div>As a second side note, there is a really cool, free iPhone app that tells you what events are on TV that day and what channel. It pops up right away in the app store on the iPhone...</div>Kirsten captain post....for other teamsThere has been a lot of talk about captains for the Wild, so I thought I'd post about other captains in the league and my thoughts on them.<br /><br />Ana.<br /><br />Atlanta-Ilya Kovalchuk...all I know about him is that he has a horrible sweet tooth and had to have most of his teeth pulled when he came to the US from Russia.<br /><br />Boston-Zdeno Chara is probably a great captain, because everyone is too scared to cross him. They just do whatever he says so he doesn't eat their children.<br /><br />Buffalo-Craig Rivet, again, don't know enough about him to pass judgement. Sorry slug fans.<br /><br />Calgary-Jarome Iginla- as much as I love to hate him, I have respect for him. Mostly because people have been comparing him to Joe Sakic.<br /><br />Carolina-Rod Brind'Amour-kill me now. Better yet, kill him.<br /><br />Chicago-Jonathan Toews-I don't think I really have to say what my thoughts are on him, even though he played for the Sioux. (barf)<br /><br />Colorado-Adam Foote-I was unaware they had named another captain, but Foote will get the job done...just not as well as Joe Sakic.<br /><br />Columbus-Rick Nash-well he must be doing something right...they sort of made the playoffs.<br /><br />Dallas-Brendan Morrow-meh, as long as it's not Alvin the chipmunk, I don't actually care.<br /><br />Detroit-Nicklas Lidstrom-he's not what he used to be, but he's still pretty good. He's now slightly less robotic than he used to be, and he's done a pretty good job filling Steve Yzerman's shoes.<br /><br /.<br /><br /.<br /><br />LA-Dustin Brown-from what I gather he's pretty young, but so is the whole team, so whatever, right? I like the Kings, so I hope he does a good job.<br /><br /.<br /><br />Montreal-I'm not sure what's going on here, but I imagine it's not very fun to be the captain of the Habs. So much pressure it's insane. I'm sure something will be worked out before the season starts.<br /><br />Nashville-Jason Arnott-personally I think he looks like kind of a douche, but I think the Preds should not exist, so that's fine.<br /><br /?<br /><br />New York Islanders-No captain at the moment, they better hope the team doesn't take a page out of Vancouver's book, otherwise the team will not have a captain on the ice 99% of the time.<br /><br />New York Rangers-Chris Drury-he's kind of a wuss, but then when you look at the rest of the team, he suddenly seems a bit tougher. Hasn't been the same since he left 20 Cent's hometown.<br /><br />Ottawa-Daniel Alfredsson-he makes a really ugly woman, but other than that, he's alright. Not my favorite, but I largely ignore the fact that the Sens exist.<br /><br />Philly-Mike Richards-from what I hear, many people approve of his being captain. Seems like he has a couple of good alternates, too.<br /><br />Phoenix-Shane Doan-I don't like him at all, but apparently he's a great leader. I wouldn't follow him if my life depended on it.<br /><br />Pittsburgh-<strike>Cindy</strike> Sidney Crosby-ok, I lied. I dislike Crosby more than I dislike Doan. The only place I'd follow him is to a cliff...then I'd shove him off.<br /><br />San Jose-what a mess. I'm guessing Thornton won't get it....<br /><br />St. Louis-Eric Brewer-I think he's a fine leader for the young team. I have a lot of respect for him, and I hope they do well.<br />)<br /><br />Toronto-another storied franchise without a captain. Sad.<br /><br />Vancouver-Luongo. I don't think this is a good idea. I mean there's a reason they made the rule that goalies can't be the captain, and I think it's a good rule.<br /><br />Washington-Chris Clark-who now? I'm sure he's lovely, but I have no idea who he is.Kirsten'm such a good Minnesota sports fan<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href=""><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 256px; height: 320px;" src="" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381037003086859618" /></a><br /><i>Coach Richards back in the day. Nice hair, Coach. </i><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of Google</span><br /></i><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href=""><br /></a>They say hope springs eternal, and I say this phrase was probably invented for Minnesota sports fans no matter the sport. Generally if we didn't have hope, we wouldn't have anything at all. (We can't really complain though, most Minnesotans are cheap, so why would our team owners be any different?) I find myself thinking this to be very true as we stand on the cusp of a new NHL season. I'm really excited for this season to begin. From what I hear, I like the new coach. Granted I heard this from my friend's housemate, whose dad played with Coach Richards for the Gophers back in the day. Regardless, he seems pretty chill, and ready to make a good impression. As a bonus, he's from the better side of the river. <div><br /></div><div>I particularly like the fact that he wants to name a permanent captain. I'll like him even better if that captain is Mikko Koivu. I'm also excited to see the fans back in the game. I think we started to lose our trademark enthusiasm towards the end of the old regime, and that made me sad. Even if the game sucked, the crowds were usually fun back in the day. On top of that, the first thing anyone asks me when they find out where I'm from (after they ask if it's winter year round and to repeat the word Minnesota) is if I'm a hockey fan. It gives me so much street cred for some reason, so I need my brethren in MN to keep up the hockey rep for me.</div><div><br /></div><div>Besides, it's new. I like new things that are not school years, so anything new is exciting. Exception: the new jerseys. I like the fact that they're green, but they're not quite as cool looking as I was hoping for. My all time fave Wild jerseys are the original green ones. The logo is pretty cool, and it means something with the trees, star, river, and colors. I guess you can't win them all, and green is a much more flattering color for the highly Scandinavian population than red, so it's a step in the right direction. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm sure I'll write something a bit more focused in the near future, but I'm back in school and it's Sunday, so that means I have essays/lab reports to write and books to read. I think they stole my focus. </div></div>Kirsten Kane is a huge douchebag.<br /><br /.<br /><br /.<br /><br />TSN has an article and interview with the taxi driver <a href="">here</a>..<br /><br />I vote they change his goal song to "Jailhouse Rock" and take him off the cover of NHL '10. He's scheduled to appear in court the day USA's camp opens, I wonder what will happen there.Kirsten Ovechkin is one Crazy Dude!<div xmlns=''><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src=''/></object></p><p>Haha, I think the title pretty much says it all. </p></div>Kirsten NHL can't count?NHL.com is doing a "<a href="">30 teams in 30 days</a>" thing for August, except as the <a href="">Ladies...</a> pointed out, there are 31 days in August. Good try, NHL, but that seems kind of awkward unless you have something spectacular planned for the 31st? That being said I'll probably read most of them even though they won't tell me a whole lot, it's good to get a refresher in before the season starts, especially with the amount of info not weather or fishing related that makes its way to me lately.<br /><br />In other news, the Twins actually won a ball game yesterday, beating the Tribe 10-1 in Cleveland. LOLAH and 18,568RW favorite Kevin Slowey is done for the season with a wrist injury. I definitely feel his pain (2 wrist surgeries) on that one. Feel better soon, dude! Wrist injuries are hard to heal from, but I'm sure you have a good doctor or two on hand to help.<br /><br />My brother earned the rank of Eagle Scout, so congrats to him.Kirsten to my long neglect of the blog, some things needed to be changed, as the blogosphere is a very fluid and ever changing place. I've added, deleted, and changed some links, but if you have a blog and you don't see it on the blogroll, or your link has changed, let me know! I tried to remember who all has changed it up, but y'all are much less lazy than I am and it's hard to keep up sometimes. Also let me know if any of the links don't work. Hopefully I will find the time to update the layout, too.<br /><br />Thanks!Kirsten book clubAs I'm sure you know by now, I am interning for the DNR this summer. Because the DNR is a statewide operation, I have to live someplace awfully boring, so therefore I have more time than usual to read. I have finally recovered from the school year, so I've started picking up books on random subjects that I don't normally read about. I've decided to write about a few of the books I've read this summer and what I thought.<br /><br /><div><div><a href=""><img style="WIDTH: 152px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 201px" alt="" src="" border="0" /></a><br /><em>Image courtesy of Amazon.com</em><br />.)</div><div>I give it 4 out of 5 stars.<br /></div><div><a href=""><img style="WIDTH: 168px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 216px" alt="" src="" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div><em>image courtesy of Amazon.com</em></div><div>...</div><div>Because some sections were kind of slow I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.</div><div><a href=""><img style="WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 259px" alt="" src="" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div></div><div><em>Image courtesy of Amazon.com</em></div><div>.)<br />It was a quick read and I liked the style for the most part, but it does like to repeat itself a lot to make sure you get it, so I give it 3 out of 5 stars.<br /></div></div><div>How about you guys? Have you read any good books this summer? I'm definitely looking for ideas. I don't tend to read fiction, but this summer might drive me to it. <div><br /></div><div></div></div>Kirsten to a great<a href=""><img style="WIDTH: 351px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 450px" alt="" src="" border="0" /></a><br /><div><em>A very classy, talented man. Look at all that bling!</em></div><div> </div><div? </div><div> </div><div>Link to his press conference is <a href="">here</a></div>Kirsten updatesFirst of all, I'm sorry I have failed and disappeared. First school was crazy, then I accepted a job with the DNR in northern MN, and the internet is hard to find up here. BUT, I did take up golfing while up here, and I'm getting a good tan, so it's not all bad.<br /><br />Second, I'm pleased that we got Havlat...I think. I'm hoping he stays healthy for us. He Twitters, so he can't be THAT uncool, right? (I got sucked into Twitter. It's more fun than I thought it would be...)<br /><br />Third, the Twins are picking it up? They blew it yesterday, but I'm hoping that was a fluke. Someone just mailed me a crapton of Twins baseball cards from the mid 80's to present, so if anyone wants a baseball card, give me a player name and I might be able to help you out. I have a lot of random ones including a bunch of Kirby Puckett.<br /><br /> All of you should read Gillies' diary on Wild.com about the prospect camp because it's really funny. He's definitely my new favorite player on the team, and even though I think he's awesome, I think going to the AHL for a bit would really help him out. Playing will help his development more than sitting.<br /><br />Lastly, Ron Schara is awesome and gives the DNR love. Dennis Anderson...not so much. Moral of the story: Ron Schara is clearly much cooler. <br /><br />If anyone is headed up north, I can easily get you a fishing report and maybe even think up something fun for you to do if you are looking for ways to have fun without spending a ton of money. Working for the DNR seems to require you to not only know things about nature, but also about the local tourism industry.Kirsten, so it's no secret that I wasn't Gaby's biggest fan, but when I found out he was no longer with the team, I did a cartwheel. Then I remembered the hard way that I am still very much surgically repaired in my left arm, and also that we let him walk for free. That killed the celebration a bit, but still. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. I would give my condolences to the Rangers fans, but by being fans of the Rangers, they should pretty much expect them to sign players like this. They know what they are getting themselves into.<br /><br />Not gonna lie, I kind of thought he'd go to be with his immortal beloved in Vancouver, but then I would have been very suspicious of tampering. <br /><br />Also, since I haven't posted for a while, I'm extremely pleased that Dougie R got fired, but this does not completely change my attitude towards our...lovely owner. It helps, but still, he smacks of slime to me.<br /><br />Maybe Baby Hockey Jesus is listening to me after all. Now if only the prank text I got the other day were true and we signed Toews.Kirsten is no great loss without some small gain...<br /><br />1.) Mikko Koivu was mostly healthy the entire season, and he made himself a STRONG case for being the permanent captain of the team. Under the new coach perhaps?<br /><br />2.) Our veteran players really stepped it up and did their jobs. Hats off to Nolan and Brunette! This does not mean I will stop telling dinosaur jokes about Nolan.<br /><br />3.) The Wild sucking got rid of Risebrough! If I had known that was going to happen...but that's beside the point.<br /><br />4.) I got to see the Blackhawks play in person, and it was awesome. That's what I hope our team can turn into. Unfortunately that would involve almost 15 years of horrible teams. On second thought, that would suck.<br /><br />5.) Foster's return! I'm so happy for him, I'm really glad he gets to play again, and let's not lie, I'm happy he's able to simply return to having a normal life. Walking is a really important thing.<br /><br /.<br /><br />Did I miss anything major? I wasn't able to watch most of the season, but I read blogs and the paper and watch when I can, so you guys will have to fill in the gaps.Kirsten<img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;" border=0 width=0 height=0<div style='background-color:#e9e9e9; width: 425px;'><object id='A971214'AyMaJkyI0eKG1qp&service=sendables.jibjab.com&partnerID=JibJab'></param><param name='allowScriptAccess' value='always'></param></object><div style='text-align:center; width:435px; margin-top:6px;'>Try JibJab Sendables® <a href=''>eCards</a> today!</div></div>Kirsten Monday!So my playoff predictions kind of fail, but maybe the Blackhawks will save me a little bit.<br /><br />In their honor, I made this video. See post above. I figured out how to make it post directly here!<br /><br />If you want to make one of your own, just go to jibjab.com, get a free account, and google some pictures to use. It's an excellent use of your time...they have a bunch of different styles, too.Kirsten Playoff Predictions!Ok folks, here you go. The only time of the year when I make predictions.<br />West is the best, so I'll start with them.<br /><br /><strong>Western Conference</strong><br /><strong>Round 1</strong><br />San Jose vs. Anaheim<br /><em>Sharks in 5</em><br /.<br /><br />Detroit vs. Columbus<br /><em>Wings in 4</em><br /.<br /><br />Vancouver vs. St Louis<br /><em>Canucks in 6</em><br /.<br /><br />Chicago vs. Calgary<br /><em>Blackhawks in 7</em><br /<a href=""> Elise</a> will be cheering for the Blackhawks... <em>Maybe I'll be joining her, so sue me.</em><br /><br /><strong>Round 2</strong><br />Boston vs. Montreal<br /><em>Bruins in 7</em><br /. <br /><br />Washington vs. NYR<br /><em>Washington in 5</em><br / <em>that </em>good.<br /><br />New Jersey vs. Carolina<br /><em>Devils in 6</em><br /...<br /><br />Pittsburgh vs. Philly<br /><em>Pens in 7</em><br /.<br /><br /><strong>Round 2</strong><br />Boston vs. Pittsburgh<br /><em>Boston in 6</em><br />The Bruins can totally take on the extremely non physical Pens. The Pens struggled quite a bit this season, and I'm a little surprised they made the #4 seed. This series will hold my attention for less than 5 seconds.<br /><br />Washington vs. New Jersey<br /><em>Devils in 7</em><br />This series will be a little more worth watching. The Devils aren't the most exciting team ever, but they have a lot of fight to them. The Caps aren't that deep, so they'll rely heavily on Ovechkin.<br /><br /><strong>Round 3</strong><br />Boston vs. Devils<br /><em>Bruins in 6</em><br />The Devils have good, young talent, but I don't think they will be able to slow Boston's roll this season. Sorry, Brodeur, I know you think you're that good, but I don't think you are.<br /><br /><strong>Stanley Cup Final</strong><br />Detroit vs. Boston<br /><em>Wings in 6</em><br /.<br /><br />Who do you think is going to win? Do you think I'm crazy for making these rankings?Kirsten<a href=""><img style="WIDTH: 586px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 391px" alt="" src="" border="0" /></a><br /><em>Lake Natomas, where I'll be. Not my crew, btw. We have crimson oars with a gold stripe on the end of the blade.</em><br /><br />Well then. I haven't posted in a while, because I really haven't had a lot to say, also no time to say it.<br />Uninspired play by the Wild? Check.<br />Professors trying to kill me? Check.<br />Mini mental meltdown? Check.<br />Going to Cali to row next week? Check.<br />Trying to find a way to make hippies do useful work? Check.<br /><br /><br /><br />Maybe that's why I haven't had time to post. Sorry guys.<br /><br /><br /><br /.<br /><br /><br /><br />I'm ready for baseball season. If only the Twins were opening in Seattle instead of the other way around...that would be sick. This Twins season is going to own. OWN.<br /><br /><br /><br />All I have to say about the Wild is they had better win tonight, because co'mon. The Avs have been horrible this season. On that note, pleased Hockey Gods bring Joe Sakic back. He's too cool to leave.Kirsten Hockey Jesus Trade DeadlineDear Baby Hockey Jesus,<br />I know I have been a most undeserving fan recently, but man does my team need your help. While I've been away taking care of my life, the Wild have run into some struggles. (Actually, they were struggling before I left, too.) Mostly stemming from the fact that our GM seems to not want the team to win. Ever. Please help us in your infinite wisdom and power. I will sacrifice Joe Mauer to you for a Stanley Cup. Not that he has anything to do with hockey, but everyone seems to love him, so I figured maybe you did too. Hockey isn't a year round sport, and who knows, maybe you enjoying knocking back a cold one at the ballpark with the other Hockey Gods.<br /><br />As chief liason between you and the Wild fans, I would ask you for these things:<br />1.) PLEASE PLEASE let Burns stop sucking. He was so awesome, and now, I don't know what it is, but something isn't going well. Maybe he's having some minor elbow relapses too. Either that or he's spending more time taking care of his <a href="">pets</a> (if you don't like snakes, don't click...) than focusing. Whatever it is, please help him to see the light. Also, please help the coaching staff see the light and NEVER EVER put him on forward ever again.<br /><br />2.) Smite Gaborik. If you are merciful, you will smite him in one fell swoop so I don't hunt him down and beat him to death slowly with his own stick. Since they usually make a half a dozen sticks at a time, so 5 other people can help me!<br /><br />3.) Make Mikko the permanent captain. The team seesm to do soooo much better when he is the captain. He is driven and competitive, two qualities I like to see in my captain. <br /><br />4.) Please let us either make the playoffs and do well, or get some draft picks. I'm sick of this middle of the road holding pattern that MN teams seem to be cursed with. If you think of it, could you extend this to the Twins as well? <br /><br />5.) Help me clear out my schedule so I can get more than 4 hours of sleep a night and actually have some free time to read something that isn't assigned/sleep/sit around doing nothing/not do homework whatever that means.<br /><br />6.) Help Wiz to make his way back to the Blackhawks. Bur is probably crying in the corner as we speak, and the Ducks are dumb. They don't deserve entertaining players.<br /><br />7.) Keep a close eye on Lombardi and help him to realize his speedy potential in Phoenix. At least he's not a Flame anymore.<br /><br />8.) Let TSN be correct that Jokinen is a locker room killer. I would like nothing more than to see the Flames self destrct and implode. It would kind of make my life.<br /><br />9.) Let Shanny and Sakic have graceful exits from the hockey world if they have to leave us. Such great players deserve to be remembered well and treated with great respect.<br /><br />Please Baby Hockey Jesus help my team(s) on to great success because I want to come home to some playoff hockey in Minnesota!Kirsten Royals!<a href=""><img style="WIDTH: 127px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px" alt="" src="" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><br /><div>I came out of hibernation to support my former high school team. The ladies are playing in the state hockey tourney, and they play the cake eaters (Edina) tomorrow! They beat <a href="">Irondale</a> and now it's showtime. Go girls! Kick some ass for me! I have instructed everyone I know still in the Twin Cities to cheer for me.<br /></div><div>You should all send good karma their way for me!</div><div> </div><div>I miss you all and hopefully will post regularly soon. You can expect me to say a few words about the trade deadline...</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>Kirsten (ice) fishingDear lovely bloggers and readers,<br />It is with great regret that I must write a posting notice. As many of you probably noticed, I haven't been around much this past season. I have read other people's blogs as much as I can, but I just haven't been able to keep up with the team well enough to have anything new to add to the blogosphere very frequently.<br />I'm not shutting down the blog permanently, just making all of you aware of why I can't post much. My personal life has been very hectic out here in Oregon, and I've taken on more than I can possibly handle at the moment. I'm hoping things calm down soon, but until they do, I can't even pretend like I know what's going on in MN for the most part.<br />Elise, Jeremy, Cortney, Roy, Nick & Co, Buddha, Maggie, Ms. Conduct, Deuce, and all the other good people of the blogosphere will continue to keep you informed, and I'll update my blogroll as I can. I say you should turn to all of them to keep you abreast of current events, and as always, entertained.<br />My email is listed, and I'd love to hear updates from the Wild world that aren't posted, or if you like you can facebook, text, or call me anytime, I'll probably be awake.<br />This isn't goodbye, just me taking some time off and if I were in MN, I'd say I was going fishing, back soon. I'll still continue to write the Friday Five for HLOG for the time being, so I'll check in with you all there, and I'll continue to read all of your stuff.<br /><br />Thanks,<br /><br />Kirsten<br /><a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>Kirsten Ohlund vs Sheldon Souray Jan 7, 2009<div xmlns=''><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src=''/></object></p><p>Eat it, Ohlund.</p></div>Kirsten on the flip side...I don't really like to make angry posts, so this one is all about the good things I've seen going on with the Wild and in the NHL.<br /><br /. <br /><br /. <br /><br />3.) We have won quite a few of the games since I have been home. I'm hoping this won't end when I leave next week.<br /><br /!<br /><br /. <br /><br /!Kirsten Anger<a href=""><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289013082965235954" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 250px" alt="" src="" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div><div>I've been absent for a while, and I'm sorry, but I had surgery and relatives to visit, so that ate up my time and internet connectivity. </div><br /><div>I'm mad at the Wild. There are several reasons for this, and most of them include the management. I'm not a patient person, and for me, I've been plenty patient with this team. There are reasons I'm happy with them too, but I'll make that a seperate post.</div><br /><div>1.) Risebrough doesn't seem to be doing anything about Backstrom. He has saved our butts on many, many occasions, and when he's not saving our butts, he has saved us from embarrassment. He wants to come back. He likes it here, likes the fans, wants to sign. I fail to see anything wrong with talking to him, and besides, the better he does, the more we have to pay him. With the theory that the cap is going to come down, less money is good.</div><br /><div>2.) The Gaborik thing. I'm just pissed at everyone in this situation. Everyone knows of my great disdain for Gaborik, a disdain that I have held for him since I was like 12. Now that has extended to Risebrough. The second he said he wouldn't sign for the very generous offer this summer, I would have packed him off to another team while he was still worth something. Dragging things out this long has made a mess, and now I wouldn't be surprised if he walks without us getting anything for him. WTF, DR? On a petty note, Marian Gaborik's face looks like a potato. Also, Mr. Gaborik clearly doesn't know how to take one for the team. The team he's being paid a lot of money to take one for.</div><br /><div>3.) Benoit Pouliot. I keep hearing all about his mad skillz, but all I see is a lazy young man who isn't going to do anything but have potential. Every coach ever has told us "hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard". Colton Gillies seems to be showing this lesson, too bad Benoit isn't learning it. I seriously doubt any GM in the league will be dumb enough to take him in a trade, they've seen him play, and the #4 overall draft pick won't fool anyone, because as Daigle showed us, being drafted highly doesn't mean automatic awesomeness. (Though in all fairness to Mr. Daigle, I think his situation could have been handled better.) He's the Wild's version of Nilsson, not that any of you care about the Oilers.</div><div> </div><div>4.) The expectation that the fans will just sit through this holding pattern. I'm starting to see that we as fans are getting pissed. There are more and more empty seats in the X, and I'm hoping eventually this will send a message. No message will be sent until the season ticket holders start to not renew their seats, though. You have to suffer to get a good team. Detroit in the 80's, Chicago in the late 90's-early 00's. We need to draft better with the picks we get, we need to either get better and make more rounds of the playoffs, or suck more and get higher picks. Something. I'm sick of just sitting in the middle. If I were in charge of my family's season tickets right now, I'd strongly consider dropping them. I still love the team, but I seriously doubt the management will REALLY do anything until we stop handing them so much money. </div><br /><div>5.) Defencemen who don't play defence. I don't have a problem with having one on the team, but we have both MAB and Zidlicky. I heard complaints before I got here, but then I saw for myself, and they're right. Jesus. Also, putting them out at the same time? Bad news bears. It's like Souray only less talented and more liable. Skoula is starting to backslide a little bit too. I almost had to be nice to him for a while. </div><br /><div>6.) The new Wild owner. There is something about him that I just don't trust/like. Maybe it's cause he's from Wisconsin? I can't put my finger on why I don't like him, I just don't. Mikko Koivu seems to be kind of creeped out by him too.</div><br /><div>I'm sure there are more reasons, but my brain is tired. Why are YOU mad? Any beefs you'd like to get off your chest about the Wild? Let's hear 'em.</div></div></div>Kirsten

out of her classroom at my mother’s school, Sophia hands me the 12th birthday invitation she has received since September. I slit it open. It’s from her friend Marie. She’s turning five. “Please can I go mommy?” Sophie pleads, her brows knitted together hopefully, worried that I’ll say no. To be fair, Sophia rarely asks me to attend a party. If she doesn’t know the child well, she’s the one to suggest that we decline. But Maria is special. Each week, at school, she greets Sophia effusively. Their faces light up when they see each other. They embrace and head straight for the trunk of dress-up clothes. Unchecked, they would play in the housekeeping all morning, dressed in discarded evening gowns, Maria cooking, Sophia serving plastic facsimiles of food. I hesitate. “I don’t know sweetie. It’s not on a school day when we’re already up here. Marie lives really far away.” Four hours round trip, to be exact. Sophie, dejected, instantly reacts with anger, “You aren’t allowed to say that! She’s not too far away! She lives close!” Though I know better than to argue, I let a snotty little, “No, she doesn’t,” slip out. Sometimes, it’s hard to be the grownup. We run into Marie on the way out the door. “Sophie’s Mom? Can Sophie come to my birthday party? Please?” She clearly did not hear the conversation that just took place between Sophie and me. “I’m sorry, Marie. I don’t think so. We live really really far away.” Marie literally hung her head. She looked crestfallen. “Oh man!” she said. Then, the two of them clung to each other as if they would never see the other again. And they kissed, just barely missing each other’s lips. I watch, struck by this truth: their friendship matters. I flash back to when I was six years old and best friends with Judy Kelly. We were as close as six-year-olds could be, playing exclusively together on the playground, visiting each other for play dates. Our teacher, Miss Stonehill, would put a cardboard box around my desk to try to keep me from talking to her in class. Judy had invited me to her seventh birthday. It was going to be a sleepover. We were so excited, we couldn’t stop talking about it. I got my first sleeping bag for the occasion. Saturday, the morning of the sleepover, I got a phone call from Judy. Mom brought me the phone. “Where were you last night?” Judy asked me. She sounded really upset. “What do you mean?” “My party! Why didn’t you come to my party!” “But it’s tonight!” I protested, an awful feeling rising up inside of me. “No! It was last night! You missed it. Why didn’t you come?” I didn’t know what to say this. I was so overwhelmed with disappointment. I started to cry and dropped the phone. Judy’s party! My first sleepover! How did this happen? I was too young to realize this was not my mistake. I blamed myself. Even when I think about now, thirty-five years later, I can feel the disappointment and shame. Sophie was not going to miss this party. I found a way to make it work, logistically, and then I told Sophie. She was elated. The next day, she told Marie. Marie was ecstatic. The two hugged each other and danced around. My hope is not that Sophie will remember the party. I doubt that it had any great emotional salience for her. It was one good time among many. But I do wish that, no matter how many people she meets in her lifetime, no matter how many relationships she moves in an out of, this early friendship will hold a sweet place in her heart. Love, in any size, at any age is the most important thing. Sunday, December 4, 2011 Hanukkah v. Christmas Smack Down, Part III (Yes, Sophie, There Really Is a Santa Claus) I hurry past the North Pole, whenever I pass it in the mall. I avert my eyes when I walk by the bell swinging Salvation Army recruit in front of the grocery store. I am so conflicted about Santa. Mind you, I have nothing against him. In fact, that’s my problem. I grew up with him. I love the idea of him. What is more magical than the idea of someone who travels the world in one night, his sole mission to bring you whatever you want most? To wake up and discover, yes, indeed he came. The proof is under the tree. What was barren is now laden with gifts. Everything seems to sparkle. But I still want Sophie to feel the primacy of her Jewishness. It’s something I struggle with every year. But this year I have a new challenge. This is the first year that Sophie gets the Santa thing. We were in Pottery Barn Kids and I surreptitiously made a holiday purchase for Sophie while she trashed the joint with some friends. As we walked out of the store, Sophie asked, “What’s that, Mommy?” indicating my bag. “A surprise…” “What’s my surprise?” “If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise. It’s for Hanukkah.” “There are no surprises for Hanukkah! Santa brings surprises. You’re not Santa. You’re Melissa. I can know what you bring!” Interesting logic, but what really struck me was that she knew Santa brings surprises. Where did she pick that up? Everywhere. He’s on the radio. He’s on my neighbor’s front lawn. And most recently, he was in her nursery school. Apparently, one of the teachers had been warning another child that if he didn’t behave, Santa wasn’t going to bring him any gifts. “He knows if you’ve been bad or good,” she warned Sophie, who would make an excellent spy if anyone could get her to do it on purpose, reported this tidbit back to me. I think she was looking to have me weigh in. The whole idea of it disturbed me. In general, I don’t like manipulating behavior via the whole “he sees you when you’re sleeping” thing. For one, it’s creepy. Secondly, it’s passing the buck. If you don’t like the kid’s behavior, say so. Don’t make Santa the heavy. And third, don’t threaten something you won’t make good on/have no control over. Really, what is this teacher going to do, tell the parents to cancel Christmas because their kid wouldn’t sit in his seat? I assured Sophie that despite her inability to sit in a chair, Santa was not going to stiff her. Yes, Santa will be coming. I can’t avoid him for too long. He’ll be visiting us at Grandpa’s house, not ours, because, as Sophia understands, Grandpa is Christian and celebrates Christmas. And, not so secretly, I will enjoy it. Just as I have enjoyed participating in Christmas every year as long as I can remember. Truth be told: I want Sophie to feel the magic too. As for Hanukkah, which we’ll celebrate several days before, there may be no magic, no surprises... ...but at least I’ll get all the credit. Saturday, November 26, 2011. Sunday, November 20, 2011 Four. Sunday, November 13, 2011 Cherishing Difference. Sunday, November 6, 2011 The Apology. Wednesday, October 26, 2011 Anthropomorphism Though Jamie Patterson didn’t quite anthropomorphize her car, I was struck by how frequently and fondly she wrote of it. To me, her car became as much of a character as her abusive husband. In fact, it seemed to carry an aura of protection, which got me thinking about my own tendency to anthropomorphize, and the role of inanimate objects in my (and Sophia’s) life. “Look mommy! There’s Green Car. He’s over there. Oh look he’s talking to his friend, Blue car.” Sure enough, our car was nose to nose with the same make and model, different color. And yes, they did look like they might be engrossed in conversation. Since we were at the JCC, it might have been along the lines of a little kvetching, “Oy! Are my gaskets leaking!” And, “You should see the color of my oil. Do you think she takes me to dealership for a regular change? NO! She’s too busy. Always on the run, this one.” I even felt bad for a moment at the prospect of dragging Green Car away from his new friend. Who was he going to bitch to about me at home? I am a great anthropomorphizer, giving life to the inanimate, attributing thoughts and feelings to all things without a consciousness, and interacting with these objects as if they were real. Thus, Sophie lives in a world where, at any moment, say, while apple picking, the trees might snatch their apples back, give her a tap on the wrist and assert “Don’t you touch my apples!” Sophie reacts with surprise and giggles, still unable to separate reality from fantasy, she disregards that the voice of the tree is actually coming from my mouth. I love this. Kevin just rolls his eyes and sighs whenever I endow the non-living with animate features. But there is a reason I do this. My special things have gotten me through some pretty tough times. When I was a child, Doggy Dear, my life-sized stuffed animal was my protector. I made him sign a contract when I was in elementary school. “I, Doggy Dear, promise to stay awake and watch over Melissa while she sleeps. I will not allow any harm to come to her—will fight off any monsters, intruders or otherwise unwelcome guests. In exchange, Melissa promises to let me sleep during the day and go everywhere with her. Forever.” Or something like that. At any rate, he still resides in my room, stretched out across the window seat, ready to jump to life when it really matters. I know he will. And my cars have always has a personhood in my eyes. I gave them names, thanked them for delivering me safely, empathized with them when they got hurt. Granted, I never gone so far as to confide in my cars (can I really trust them not to share my business with other cars), but there is this tiny part of me that thinks they are listening. Believes that what I say to them matters. And now, my daughter, who emulates all that I say and do, believes too. “Mommy, be snakey,” she begs, holding up her six-foot orange python. Using my best vampire voice Snakey says, “Sophia, my princess, dance with me,” and Sophia dances with the snake that has become her protector, her pal, her confidant. And I know that one day soon, I may be drafting the most important, most reassuring of contracts between the two of them. I am very much in favor of whatever gets us through. Sunday, October 23, 2011 You Are Not My Best Friend Right after I say no, she’s running away from me, past racks of discounted designer clothing and handbags in colors nobody wants, toward the front door. I have to make chase because outside is a very busy parking lot and the doors are automatic. I catch up to her just as she makes her way into the vestibule, pick her up airplane style, and carry her straight out to the car. All the while, she is protesting, flailing, and threatening. “I’m going to hit you, if you don’t let me go, Mommy.” “I would keep your hands to yourself if you want any chance of getting to listen to music in the car.” She hits me. “That’s it. No music.” “Can I please have a book instead?” she asks, full of false sweetness. I don’t answer her until I’ve got her strapped in. (It is essential that she is strapped in before I say this. She holds on to a shred of hope and offers up a modicum of compliance while uttering this last request.) “No, you may not.” I inform her. My denial sends her into paroxysms of rage. “I DON’T LIKE YOU. I DON’T WANT YOU TO BE MY FRIEND ANYMORE.” The insult is new, and it is a strange thing to hear this playground threat—something that has clearly been said to her—aimed at me. The words must have hurt her, a barb that, a week ago, she hadn’t known existed, is now tucked way in her own arsenal of anger. I have the sense that it will become her go to phrase when denied. She’ll level it at me, her father, even her grandmother. My anger is muted by sadness. A little more of the real world, of how people treat each other, has crept into her awareness. And it’s not just the fact that I know she has been mistreated that bothers me, but that she’ll use these words to mistreat others. Saturday, October 15, 2011 Make Room for Daddy Fortunately, I unwittingly picked a guy who is pretty much willing to go with this program. Despite the fact that I have more masculine traits than he does, (we once took a test that we found in a paperback book in a used book store, the quasi-scientific equivalent of a Cosmo Quiz—I came out leaning towards the masculine side, and Kevin the feminine) we have settled into very traditional gender roles. Kevin takes the morning train. He works from 9-5 and then, he takes another home again to find me waiting for him. (Lines totally stolen from Sheena Easton, but, alas, true. Please don’t sue me, Sheena.) Meanwhile, I take care of all things Sophie—from baths to doctor’s appointments, from laundry to preschool drop-off. This is not to say that Kevin doesn’t pitch in. He does. We do her bedtime routine together almost every night. He plays with her while I cook dinner. And in the mornings, whenever possible, he’ll help with her shoes or brush her teeth or make sure she eats. There is a price to pay for this—for the control. For one, if I want it done in a particular way (say, I want her to sit in her chair while she eats and she wants to sit in daddy’s lap, stroke his beard, and chew each bite with glacial slowness) I need to either 1) leave the room and what will be will be or 2) do it myself. If I stay and watch, the tension builds up inside my body and becomes so great that I say something I regret, or I have to take over. I wish this wasn’t true. I wish I could let it go. Parenting together is the hardest thing. The other morning, we were all sitting around the breakfast table and Sophie told us about a negative interaction she had with a peer at school. The other child had told her she didn’t want to be her friend anymore—she wanted another girl to be her friend. Sophie tilted her chin to her neck and looking downtrodden, said, “I felt left out.” It is a phrase I taught her in an attempt to give words to her emotions during a similar incident. Though I believe her feelings were hurt in this instance, there was also something melodramatic about the presentation. It seemed to me that she was trying to evoke a particular response from Kevin and me. So, I tried to treat this admission with lightness. Sophie has a tendency to get locked into routines. I could see this becoming a daily drama. I took a very problem-focused approach: “Well, if she says something like that, just go find someone else to play with. She gets moody sometimes. So do you. It will blow over.” I saw a look in Kevin’s eye that led me to believe he didn’t agree with my approach. Then, Kevin, who is very attuned and takes great care to ensure that Sophie’s feelings are acknowledged, leaned in and said, empathically, “it really hurts your feelings when a friend says something like that to you.” Sophie nodded. I felt that twinge, the discomfort that arises from disagreement. A tightness in my chest. But then, I overrode it. It was almost as though I had stepped out of my body and was watching the three of us having this complex interaction. I saw Kevin’s intent, his sweet parenting style, his very different way of conceptualizing this moment, and I stopped judging it. I let it go. And, since that conversation, she hasn’t said another word about it. Maybe all that she needed was a father’s feminine touch. Monday, October 10, 2011 Beautiful (Day) Dreamer I am not allowed to talk. Or sing. Or even hum along. Which is fine with me. One of the things I love about driving is how boring it is, providing me with ample opportunity for my mind to wander. Whole fabricated conversations, possible (and impossible) futures, and occasionally morbid flashes of how I will die bloom in the emptiness of my mind. The banal highway landscape disappears for chunks of time. And, when I come to, I’m surprised to find how far I’ve traveled while my thoughts have drifted, anxiously wondering how it is that we haven’t crashed. Now, I am startled out of my reverie, when Sophia suddenly exclaims, “Mom! I’ve got a great idea!” I look into the rearview mirror. Her blue eyes are round and wide. “What if we invite the entire neighborhood to put on the play of Beauty and the Beast in our basement?!?” She’s gesticulating wildly, her hands, palms-up, drawing large ovals in the air as she speaks. If it wasn’t completely unconscious, I’d think she was mocking me. I’m lost for a moment in the thought that Sophie is a caricature of me, just as I must be a caricature of my own mother. How many generations back does this gesture go, I wonder? “Mom?” she’s checking to see if I’m listening. I kind of wasn’t. “Yes, that’s an interesting idea,” I say, one corner of my mouth turned up, bemused. “We could have all the girlies from the block. And my friend Lexi….” She pauses. “Lexi doesn’t know Beauty and the Beast,” she frowns for a moment, considering this assumption (which may very well be false. I, for one, have no idea if Lexi is or isn’t familiar with Beauty and the Beast). “I’ve GOT ANOTHER IDEA. We can invite everyone to LISTEN to Beauty and the Beast in our basement. That way, everyone will know it!!!” She says this like she has discovered the cure for cancer or how to eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels. This is my daughter’s mission: to spread the gospel of Beauty and the Beast. I find it charming that she has no idea that Disney has beat her to it. Her desire to share her love of this musical extravaganza, of recruiting everyone she knows to participate in her very own Spectacular Spectacular a la Moulin Rouge reminds me of my own younger self. I was older, probably about nine or so, when my best friend Christine and I had dreams of bringing the Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour to the kids on the block. We spent months perfecting dances (flitting across a floor covered in strawberries and then hula dancing to the flute music at the end of Strawberry Fields), making tickets, creating marketing materials, imagining how we might build a stage. In reality, it never happened. The joy was in the possibility and the vision—the hours spent in joint imagination. I feel a small thrill when I hear Sophie speak so passionately about her fantasy. I want her to be a dreamer and dream big. In my youth, daydreaming saved me. It offered me an escape from the oppressive tedium of school. Hours spent listening to teachers drone on about something easily read in a book. The constant waiting. Waiting for books, papers, tests to be passed out. Waiting for the film strip to be loaded into the projector. Waiting for the bell to ring. All my elementary teachers said the same thing. She’s a good student, but she spends too much time daydreaming. As if it was my fault. It offered me an escape from my bedridden state—constantly ill, often absent, frequently alone. In the absence of real relationships, I fabricated virtual ones. I would dress myself in clothes I didn’t own for dates I’d never go on to places I’ve never been. I feel sad now, reflecting on it. But at the time, it was all so beautiful, like the splendor of The Little Princess’ attic, decorated with imagination. The images in my mind were sustaining. They gave me hope. It offered me an escape while my parents fought—eyes turned inward are blind to one’s surroundings, ears attune to an inner voice are deaf to shouting. My fertile inner life delivered me from my dismal “real” life. Books helped. The provided a window, opened the doors. They supplied endless friends and travel to exotic locales. They kept the fire of my imagination stoked. Even now, if I don’t want to be here, I don’t have to stay. My bag is always packed. I owe boredom my gratitude. I have read that the availability of information, the phenomenon of everything “on demand,” the constant stimulation of the digital world has all but eradicated boredom—and that this bodes poorly for creativity. It is in the moments of nothingness that something is created—whether its dramatic play or scientific advancement. Boredom necessitates change. It creates frustration. It begs filling. These empty hours in the car have perhaps, unwittingly, become one my greatest gifts to Sophie as her parent. Sunday, October 2, 2011 Sweet but Sassy I knew that one day it would. And so I shouldn’t have been shocked, or hurt. I tell other people not to be shocked or hurt when it happens to them. It’s developmental, I say. I had just taken Sophia to her ballet class with Miss Marissa. It is one of the highlights of our week. She goes with two of the girls from our block. I watch them, stealthily through the cracked door (Miss Marissa shuts it to keep out the distracting moms who point their ipads at their kids and instantly upload images of their budding ballerinas to Facebook or those who wave manically at their child, like me.) Sophie is holding hands with her BFF, Leah, their free hands in surprisingly graceful arcs over their heads, and walking across the floor on their tippy toes. They are dressed in almost identical leotards and tutus. Sophie’s has rhinestone ballet slippers on the front and Leah’s has a rhinestone heart and a variety of mysterious stains that result from daily wear. Both are beaming. I get that tight feeling in my chest, tears sting my eyes, and I am choked up with the pleasure that I am able to give her this. Afterwards, we meet up with her other friend, her sister and mom at a local café for dinner. We arrive first, as they are on a post-ballet diaper run to CVS. Knowing that Sophie is napless and likely to break down soon, I put in our order. I run the options by Sophie first. Turkey salad trail mix, with walnuts and cranberries sound good to both of us. I get a wildberry smoothie to wash it down. We sit in a comfy chair, reading and waiting for our friends to arrive. I am relieved that the place is empty. It takes the heat off of me, knowing that there are no strangers whose judgment I fear. Just me, the other mom, and our kids. Our friends arrive and put in an order for chicken nuggets and a bagel. I know in that moment that I’m about to have a problem. Sophie will not want to sit and eat turkey trail mix when her friends are consuming a carbolicious meal. Still. I’m used to asserting my parental will in front of others, and I figure the die is cast. She’ll eat the turkey. Sophie is wild, an edge of hysteria to her voice as she shouts nonsense words and rolls around on the pre-owned overstuffed chairs. The girls organize a game of house, but are far more interested in assigning and reassigning roles than actually playing the roles. “You be the mommy and I’ll your little girl. No No NO. I’ll be the mommy and you be the little girl and I’ll be your older sister. No No NO.” Sophie’s voice rises above the others, and I am disturbed by her bossiness. I sit there, talking to the other mom and trying to figure out if it is my voice I hear coming from Sophie’s mouth. If that is the way I talk to her. I give her a couple verbal warnings: for her voice rising, for her bossiness, and when she steps into the back office and says, “Let’s play in here.” I turn to the other Mom and say, sarcastically, “If there’s a boundary she’ll cross it.” As soon as the words leave my mouth I feel badly, as though I have betrayed Sophie, speaking ill of her this way to another parent, just a few feet away. Soon after, the food arrives. Sophie is galled to watch her friends be served kiddie culinary delights and a turkey wrap (light on the mayo) to be set before her. She runs to a couch, buries her face it in and says: “I don’t want you as a mother. I want another mother.” I understand what she was feeling. She was exhausted. I was being particularly negative. And, to add insult to injury, I had insisted that she eat what I had purchased—not a bagel and not chicken nuggets. Still, the words cut deep. I try not to reveal my hurt, growing sterner instead. I demand that she comes to the table and takes a bite. She does, reluctantly, and then spits out the mouthful onto the plate, her face twisted with disgust. The other mom offers Sophia part of her daughter’s bagel. I let Sophie have it because I don’t want the situation to escalate. Because I don’t want a scene. And, secretly, because I don’t want Sophie to want her over me as her mother. Sophie eats it happily and peace, for the most part, is restored. She still has difficulty staying at the table, and occasionally lures her friends away from their dinners, but I manage to keep bringing her back and keep her eating. Throughout dinner her words continue to echo in my head. They perturb me and so, in turn, I am more curt than usual. The sharper I become, the worse Sophie behaves. Refusing to listen. Refusing to leave. Refusing to hold my hand as we cross the street. I feel like we’re caught in a downward spiral of reinforcing each other’s poor behavior. Later, in the car, I try to explain the impact that her words had on me. “You really hurt my feelings, Sophia. If you’re mad at me, that’s okay. You can tell me that. But telling me that you want a different mother is mean and hurtful.” “I’m sorry, Mom,” she says, a little too sing-songy to sound truly sincere. But, I’ve made my point. I try to let it go. Cognitively, I recognize that she had to say it, that it’s part of the process of her separating from me and individuating as a human being. That this is only the beginning, and I will hear much worse from her over the course of my life time. I realize our relationship, my love, has to be strong enough to tolerate her anger. I have to watch my sarcasm and the dangers of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. I can’t dismiss her rude comments; I need to let her know that they are not acceptable. At the same time, I can’t give them too much power. Still, hearing these words for the first time felt a little like a chip in the wedding china. The first scratch on a new car. It may not look like much. I may even forget it tomorrow. But in a small way, it has changed the thing forever. Saturday, September 24, 2011 She Said It So Well . Sunday, September 18, 2011 Facing Race. Saturday, September 10, 2011 Death-defying Dreams. Monday, September 5, 2011 Poopy Eyeball When I was in my junior year of high school, I went to Ohio to check out Oberlin College. We stayed with my father’s twin brother, his wife, and their three little girls. Two of them were in or around preschool age. Giggly, curly-haired, silly little girls, they loved toilet-talk as much as the next three-year-old. What stands out in my mind about this visit is that they had invented a truly unique expletive that sent them into peals of laughter every time it was uttered: Poopy eyeball. There was something particularly irreverent about the combination of naughty word “poop” with the inherently goofy word “eyeball” that made the phrase worth repeating over and over and over again. Needless to say, it left an impression. And twenty-five years later, I found myself uttering it in a moment of playful toilet banter with Sophie. Mind you, it’s not something I said more than once or twice, but Sophie immediately found it to have lexical appeal. “Poopy eyeball?” she said grinning broadly, her own eyes rolling in her head with excitement. I rue the moment it passed my lips. Sophie manages to work it into every conversation we have. Apparently, it’s a noun, a verb, an adjective, and an exclamation. As in, “Poopy eyeball! I poopy eyeball on my poopy eyeball. It’s very poopy eyeball.” Despite my determination not to “limit” her toilet talk and to kill it with permissiveness, I’ve had to enact the rule: no toilet talk while we’re eating. It’s really annoying to dine with someone who feels compelled to repeatedly drop the phrase “poopy eyeball,” the way teenagers pepper their sentences with, “like.” My rule has been poorly observed. Thus, I’ve resorted to more desperate measures. I tried super-saturating her in the car one afternoon, saying “poopy eyeball” in response to everything she said. She thought it was hilarious. Today, for the first time, I saw signs of her weakening. After her nap, in a moment of extreme crankiness, I responded to her request to watch Mary Poppins with, “Poopy Eyeball.” “STOP IT MOMMY!” Oh yeah. Take that. In your eyeball, baby. Sunday, August 28, 2011 In Praise of Older Motherhood. Sunday, August 21, 2011 It Happens Sunday, August 14, 2011 A Mixed Diet).

Schools dropping/suing Adidas I hope they go back to Nike just because I hate the neon maize hockey and basketball jerseys So you don't think Nike, the creator of The Oregon Ducks uniforms, wouldn't push a brighter yellow for maize? Grass is always greener.... Well I'm probably wrong, but doesn't Nike have a trademark on the exact Michigan color, which forced Adidas to go with a color called "highlighter"? How is this possible? I can't imagine Nike owning a trademark on a color -- much less a color of a brand (or the associated goodwill) that they don't even own. Link? I don't know if Nike owns a "color" but have you ever heard of trade dress, which is a legal term of art that generally refers to characteristics of the visual appearance of a product or its packaging (or even the design of a building) that signify the source of the product to consumers. I represented a client some years ago who obtained protection for lime green packaging for a product it produced. Here is a Wiki link if you are interested: you cannot trademark a color. Does Nike get a cut of the "Legal Pad" writing paper that I am using right now due to its sheer yellowness? And how close does the yellow have to be to be in Nike's "territory." I think Crayola would be all over Nike's ass if that is the case. And even if you could trademark a color, what kind of a colossal failure would it be on U-M's part to allow one of their colors to be appropriated by an apparel company? Nike also developed and owns Texas' "burnt orange." They're the only company that can legally use that name too. You CAN trademark colors. may own the term but they do not own the color. Unless you literally invented a new color, one that could not properly be accounted for by the alteration or blending of previously existing colors, like invented something previously never even considered in the wonderful and endless world of colors, you cannot have exclusive right to the use of it. The very fact that the word orange is in that term means that the color itself is fair game for anybody they want to use it. Just call it "rustic orange" or "western orange" and your good. Nike does not own Maizish-Yellow. Michigan does not own Maizish-Yellow. Maizish-Yellow is its own boss.. Trademark is not used to protect inventions, it's used to protect things associated with a brand. Michigan didn't invent the letter M or block lettering, but they can still trademark the block M. And, yes, you can trademark a color. Tony the Tiger Orange is a trademarked color and I learned about that one 10 years ago. Generally, trademarks are industry-specific. The idea behind a trademark is not to prevent others from using the color, but to prevent competitors from using your trademarked item to compete with you. In the case of Nike, they put time and money into developing jerseys for Michigan. If a competitor can come in and offer replica jerseys for half the cost without going through the design process that Nike went through, then that is a disadvantage to Nike. That said, I agree that trademarking a color is beyond ridiculous. If anyone is able to trademark it, it should be Michigan because the color is associated with the brand. However, that's not how it works in the legal system. notwithstanding, try proving that a color is exactly, and I mean exactly the same as another color. I did read the link, I just don't think it says what everybody else does. As a technology attorney who dabbles on patent/trademark issues, I'm with the other guys. You absolutely can trademark a color. Colors aren't that abstract; there's a reason Home Depot can reproduce the same tint in any can of paint on demand. It isn't that Nike can prevent ANYONE from using that color; it's that they can prevent its use in similar contexts (such as in Michigan-related merchandise). It's pretty standard stuff. who dabbles in many things that i consider to be ridiculous, I say I hope Nike likes an annoyed Judge looking down at them with a "you can't be serious" look on his face why Nike tries to plead its case that they in deed own the color yellow. Michigan/Adidas can splash a miniscule, wholly irrelevant hint of some other kind of yellow into a bucket, throw it on their uniforms and say "this is not Varisty-Maize, this is Awesome-Maize." I guess Illinois and Clemson are going to have to duke it out for ownership rights to orange. And don't even get me started on Northwestern and TCU. IANAL, but I do know that the courts prevented a fashion company from trademarking red soles for women's shoes. Given that, I find it difficult to believe that a decent lawyer couldn't convince a court that a particular shade of yellow is the exclusive property of Nike, even as it relates solely to Michigan athletics. It is called Trade Dress, not a trademark, and you can get protection for a color. Check this link out: You can claim it, but how can you enforce it? Target's website has 3 different shades of red...including two different ones for their logo alone- Look at their header, logo, and flyer. And how is that different from Kmart red or Meijer red? Trademarked color, similar industry (it's not like Post It protecting their yellow by saying a car can't be painted that color), yet there's nothing there. It's a game to keep trademark lawyers in business. And scare off the little guys. Because these are companies that could afford the lawsuit...yet they're all basically using the same color. In Nike's case they'd have a hard time in court trying to prove they "developed" Michigan yellow because Michigan yellow existed before we had a contract with Nike. So they can claim they own the name because they put a TM on it, but they're not going to win saying they "own a color." Frankly we could solve all this by going back to actual maize. The kind we were wearing before anyone paid Nike a dime. They're the ones that turned it brighter.. I'm no expert on legalities but doesn't the idea of trademarking a color really boil down to naming the color? There is a subjective element to identifying and naming colors that does seem to involve some honest work. And when you start carefully examing colors, it becomes apparent that there are almost infinite possibilities. Just take a look at paint colors. It gets mind-blowing pretty quickly. If for example Sherwin-Williams comes up with a shade and they call it "Nantucket Seaside" then it's not just the literal color (in the scientific sense of hues, saturations, etc) at stake but also the emotional imagery associated with the name of that color. There's nothing stopping another company, Pratt & Lambert for example, from literally copying the formula of the color but it'd be difficult for them to recreate the emotional element involved in the naming of the color. It can seem silly at times but there are good reasons for companies to stake out legal claims for the work they've done. Rumor goes that Nike has "Maize" trademarked. Some disagree with this saying you can't copyright a color. I dunno, but color did seem to get lighter with the change, It has been getting lighter over the years, I heard to make it look better on camera, though I don't have a source. Copyright and trademark are two different things. Frankly, I don't believe this is true ... maybe Nike could have a trademark on the name "Maize" associated with athletic apparel, but I don't think they can get a trademark on the appearance of the color maize -- this could be why addidas calls it something else. It is still absurd, though, and if true it is definitely a fuck-up by whoever negotiated the Nike contract long ago if Nike has the right to block Michigan from letting a third party vendor use the name "Maize." But it's true. They have a trademark on "maize" (though I don't know what they actually call it). I don't have time to find a link, but this was pretty well established around here several years ago, after the switch to Adidas. at the color of the book 3 and Out. That is adidas and that it pretty damn close to the previous "maize" type color that everybody is referring to. Adidas has change the color of the uniform since they have gotten a hold of it, but not due to the lack of ability to use a color similar or identical to the color used in the Nike years. True, but your uniform supplier doesn't have the final word on which uni's you wear on Saturday. That's on the AD. See other Nike schools Penn State, Alabama, USC, Texas, and Oklahoma for further clarification. why i dont think a switch to nike will change the uniform carousal as long as dave brandon is the AD. Agreed. A few million seems like a pretty small number though... if we're talkin legit reparations for the shitty conditions those people are forced to work in. Its hard to imagine Nike not having these same issues in the future; cheap foreign labor is the name of they're game if I'm not mistaken. In the 80s and 90s it was Nike that had the terrible rep for poorly paid workers. Actually, the exact same reason schools are leaving Adidas has happened to Nike in the past 5 years, they just decided it was worth paying a couple million dollars to settle with the factory workers than have a bunch of schools drop them publicly. Seems like a pretty easy decision when it comes out the other side like this. I definitely remember articles in the Daily and protests from some of the lefty groups on campus over Nike's labor practices. It was also part of the reason we switched to Pepsi from Coke in the campus vending machines, labor issues with the company. Can we organize a group of fans to sue them for producing shitty looking uniforms? Incredible machines, ugly cars. They were who we thought they were. until I thought about it and realized you were absolutely right. BMW and Mercedes disagree with you and actually so do I. But to each their own I suppose. I'm sorry, but BMWs and Mercedes look a whole hell of a lot better than anything Lexus, Infiniti, or Acura are producing these days. Mary Sue wrote a letter to Adidas about this. The Michigan Daily wrote a story about it. Can't post the link right now but I can dig it up later. I'm guessing the first one? /bored at work if you guys think the clown costumes would go away if we switched back to nike...well, i wouldn't get my hopes up. i'll bet you a genuine replica under the lights throwback legends jersey that we'd see some of the same kinds of crapola with anyone else. We have a lot of "traditionalists" here. It makes me wonder what younger people actually think about the uniforms. Do the players like them? Do they look forward to having a special uniform for big games? The most important people to ask might be high school kids. Do recruits like the current uniforms? If so, is it one of the subtle determining factors in a recruit's decision to attend any school? Would the lack of incandescent uniforms for big games make a recruit see a school as "boring?" I would hope the uniforms don't make a bit of difference in recruiting, but the iconic helmet has been cited as at least a minor factor a few times over the years. The cautionary note here is that too many uniform changes could adversely affect brand recognition among young players who will eventually be faxing in LOI's to various schools. I would like to see a return to a more traditional look myself. I have a feeling it isn't going to happen. Holy crap, are none of you parents? Have all of you forgotten what congenital idiots you all were when you were that age? Why should we allow the portion of the population that is most easily swayed by whatever shiny new stupidity that's come along in the last 15 minutes make decisions like this? Considering what kids were all wearing in 1969 and the early '70s, thank god Bo didn't let his players back then have any input on what the uniforms should look like. 17- and 18-year old kids are the LAST people whose opinions ought to be solicited. Any potential recruit who would refuse a Michigan scholarship offer solely because of the lack of new uniformz is better suited to another school. When I was 17 I thought 7 year olds were stupid. I'm 27 now and I think 17 year olds are stupid. When I'm 37 I'm sure I will think I was a stupid 27 year old. My question is when does it stop? My guess is it doesn't. Also I've convinced my 16 year old nephew that Michigan should never change their uniforms, ever. He is very impressionable, they all are. As a KSU grad I see both sides. Snyder refuses to change the uni and hasn't in many....many years. I have heard stories of recruits talking about it and part of me wishes they would do an alternate every once in a while for the recruits. However, during the press conference yesterday for the Fiesta bowl a KSU player was asked about Oregons unis and his reply was "we are rolling out a new uni tomorrow too, it is going to have a Fiesta Bowl patch on it" Awesome. The think that I don't get is that Michigan is the client and should have to approve the jerseys before production in mass amount. How could the brass at Michigan ever approve some of the past jerseys, especially those for the Outback Bowl (maize numbers on white?). Michigan as the clients should be able to say this is what we want and Adidas should comply with what we want if they want the Michigan contract again. How could the brass at Michigan ever approve some of the past jerseys, especially those for the Outback Bowl (maize numbers on white?). You think Dave Brandon DIDN'T approve them? Are you not wowed? 1. The adidas contract gives Michigan the right to refuse any proposed uniform design. 2. Nike refused to agree to such a provision during the 2007 negotiations. Since going to Adidas I think we are something like 34-29. That includes two losing seasons in 08-09. A blow out bowl loss to Miss St in '10. A victory over ohio and a Sugar Bowl win in '11. A win in over Sparty and a close loss to SC this year. Thats a total of 1 win apiece against Ohio and Sparty. One bcs appearance. My point? We have more alternate jerseys than bowl wins. I blame all losses on Adidas. Bring back Nike, asap. Well you totally missed the boat on my comment. I was basically stating that we've been an awful football team since Adidas sponsored us. I wasnt really complaining about alternate jerseys, just merely stating facts. If thats the most ignorant comment youve ever seen, then you must not read this blog too often. Lol no, just being sarcastic. I do wish theyd bring back Nike, though. Just my personal preference. You're right. Had we stayed with Nike, Rich Rod would have been awesome here! /s Forgot Ohio State and their alternate uniforms against us 3 of the last 4 years. Sparty was only provided one alternate from Nike, the green/black/bronze/whatever Pro Combats two years ago. Last year was just a helmet which I didn't think was provided by Nike (or Adidas in this case). Do you know something we don't since you work there? maybe thats the reason the workers in asia left the numbers off of our bowl jerseys I don't know what Nike's standards are now, but when I was a student in the 90s there were some students protesting against Nike's labor conditions at games. I really don't care which company makes the gear so long as it isn't ugly and fits the players. I really don't mind Aididas. I used to be a huge Nike fan too...but the Adidas brand has improved a ton...imo. Above is the link to the actual filing in Dane County from back in July. In a nutshell, the primary issue, if I understand this correctly, is that the Adidas contract with Wisconsin has a Labor Code Of Conduct which calls for Adidas to comply with all "applicable legal requirements" in the country of manufacture with regards to workers, worker safety, and so forth. One interesting note in here is that the suit mentions that Adidas is the only manufacturer who employed this factory that has not contributed towards the benefits mandated by the Indonesian government. It's entirely on him, and the idiots advising him. This is correct. The OP raised a legitimate and concerning issue. However, it is entirely distinct from from the "Brandon's clown costume of the week" issue. He would probably have Brooks Brothers dress the players like clowns if they had the contract. I think Oregon would have been ashamed to wear something as tacky as the Alamo Bowl ensemble. if only because then my Nike UM hockey and football jerseys in my closet would match up better with the products the players are wearing on the field. But really, we're likely to run in to labor issues no matter who we use. Maybe Under Armour? I haven't heard anything bad about them in terms of labor ever (but its not like I go and spend time looking up stuff on this issue either) I would love under armour. I know they have some out there uniforms, I'm looking at you Maryland, but Auburn, Boston College and Temple all have extremely classy uniforms for football, and the basketball stuff all looks about the same to me My biggest gripe with the jerseys is that they look like they fit like crap. The uniform around the shoulder pads is way too tight. The numbers fold and get skewed. Having watched most of the bowl season, it's the same with all of their jerseys, not just UM. FSU looked nice and crisp. Florida, despite playing pretty bad, looked good. I like the normal Adidas home and away jerseys. I hated what we wore in the bowl game. I prefer Adidas over Nike in my life but I roll with whoever Michigan rolls with...as long as it's not under armour. Go back to Nike. I'd even take Under Armour over Adidas. ...with respect to the sweatshop issue but it does beg the question of why these companies even need to use such cheap labor? With all the money pouring into college sports via the TV contracts, you'd think that a school like Michigan would pay the extra money for American made products (or even better yet, Michigan made products). Dave Brandon will stop with the alternate jerseys once you buy a regular jersey every time they don't change. I don't know if the alternate uni's would be better or worse if we went back to Nike. I know the internet can lie when it comes to colors, and I'm just going off of Google Images, but... Wheatley: to me doesn't look that different than Henne: who doesn't look that different than Denard: What does actually look different is Desmond, three years before the Nike contract got signed: (and I picked a more "yellowey" picture for Desmond, several were much more "orangy".) Just to add onto this, I really don't think the football uniforms have changed that much, especially in what we call maize, and I don't think the biggest factor is Nike or Adidas, it's the advent of HD cameras where the brighter colors look better on film. The real change has come in the basketball uniforms and maybe hockey, which I think is a completely different topic. justingoblue notwithstanding, how many times does this Board have to go through the same old histories? - Yes, Michigan's 'highlighter' maize is a lot different from the yellowish corn-colored maize from the 50's, 60's and 70's. And even more so, from the tannish gold of the leather helmet era that preceded. - No, there was no sudden change from Nike to adidas in Michigan's pantone color choices. Yes, Nike did trademark something that they called "Varsity Maize." But that trademarking has had no dramatic effect on the appearance of Michigan-licensed and team-worn uniforms. The progress from "old maize" to "highlighter" has been gradual and steady. It began before Michigan's Nike contract and has continued since, into and through the adidas contract. - My own theory (I'd very much like to ask Bruce Madej, who would be in perhaps the best position to know) is that the modern 'highlighter' maize is a color that photographs better and shows up more dramatically on television. No one has ever disproven that theory. I'd also happily agree that the modern 'highlighter' maize is more dramatic, more modern, more contrast-y with our dark blue, and generally falls within the meme of 'always something new' for modern merchandise sales. All of those things I'd agree with. - But back to photography and television. I believe that it is possible to show the differences that I have described above in a photographic chronology that justingoblue has tried to do. However, it is tricky. Photography and television really do distort color reproduction. But I recall our host and proprietor Brian Cook posting a photo of game-worn helmets from about 25 years apart, in a single photo image, and you could clearly see the difference. So year there's that. There is also the collective memories of everybody who has seen with their own eyes the progression of uniform colors and it clearly has been a gradual progression, over many years. - So there is simply no plausible basis to blame Nike or adidas for any sudden changes because there haven't been any sudden changes. Changes; yes of course. Sudden changes due to trademarking concerns; no. Thanks to justingoblue for again raising the issue of a photo chronology through the relevant periods. Brian Cook's MGoContent from ten months ago: And with another hat tip to Brian for the link, here's MVictors with a dandy explanation of how things photograph. To put a reeeeaally fine point on it, I disagree with justingoblue that the uniforms appear different because television is now so much more hi-def; and I also disagree if indeed MVictors is trying to tell us that adidas suddenly jumped to a more hyper-highlighter yellow. As I have said, the progression to a more intense highlighter yeellow has been steady -- it started before Nike, and has continued since and through the adidas era. Yes, it's brighter than ever now. what I was trying to get across is that choosing between "highlighter" and "orangish" tints of maize seems to be an easy choice judging purely from aesthetic value on camera, at least to the extent that football has highlighter as a color. The question I'd like to see answered, and it sounds like you do as well, is whether the lessened contrast is worth having a more unique Michigan quality to the uniforms, since I can't think of any other uniform with a similar color scheme. That would probably mean seeing a modern version of a Bo or pre-Bo era color scheme, which would definitely be cool to see. All that said, for now I'm happy with the football colors; basketball has gone too far and hockey is right on the edge. I think I'd be willing to bet that the colors themselves on the current uniforms of the Michigan revenue-producing sports (and others) are all the same, but that basketball looks strange to our eyes because of the venue (indoors at Crisler) and mostly because of the fact that basketball features the only all-maize (or predominant maize) kit. And justin; like you, I am actually satisfied with "highlighter Maize." It is, in my unquantified view, unique to Michigan. What do you call that highlighter color? Maize, of course. And yes I think we all agree; it photographs better and it televises better. It is "high-definitely" more 21st century. It is the one and only nice way that Michigan's iconic uniforms could have been improved in the modern era. btw; do all of the MGoBoard readers realize that Michigan changed The Banner this past year? It was brand new; using an identical old font but with a rejuvenated highlighter maize color and a fresher blue background. I would go with Nike for the sole reason that they seem so much more involved in recruits lives from little on. When I go to the gym, Nike is everywhere. If I go to the park to play some pick up ball 85% of the kids wear Nike. I know it seems like a flawed theory with little to no substantial evidence but I really just feel that there is almost a cool confidence with Nike. You may like their products, or you may feel we are better suited with adidas, but the undeniable truth is that I guarenshead that if we polled the majority of incoming recruits they would prefer Nike. To hs the program sells itself. During or after college most people tend to ease off on name brand concern, but everyone can remember that when we were first entering school, clothes and brands did seem to matter for the majority. Adidas clothing is fine (although I do not feel like they market Michigan well enough) but for some silly reason I just see more enthusiasm and hype over Nike. I find it funny Roy Roundtree posted a pic on Instagram of the new Nike cleats he just bought. Now why would a player who prob has 20 pairs of cleats go out and buy new ones? Kinda like how after my last purdue track meet i bought a new pair of Asics because Nike blows in the running market (ironic since the founders Phil knight and bill bowerman were an Oregon distance runner and track coach). Each company has their strengths. Nike is strong in football and basketball, addidas in soccer, reebok in hockey. I wore Nike cleats for both track and football and they suited me just fine... Sure some preferred Asics, New Balance, Saucony, Adidas, etc... but I never had a single complaint about the Nike product... I also find that the quality of Nike's compression gear is far superior to Under Armour or Adidas. Just my 2 cents. Nike trainers fell apart so easily for me. I also hated their fit. My Asics and Brooks trainers and marathon racers last with great quality through out the standard 500 mile shoe lifetime. I also had injury issues in high school whenever I used Nike trainers. I hate compression gear. I must be the last runner that sticks to running in a hoody and running tights during winter. I find it too restrictive. I'm still wearing my NU Adidas baseball cleats from 2004 and NU football cleats from 2006. I play about 30 baseball games a year (plus the 60 in 2004 and all practices) and a dozen 7-7 games. They have held up admirably well. I wonder if the quality has gone down in more recent production years. What would you say to Under Armour? A buddy of mine works for them and says they'll be making a big-time push for the next contract I'd take Under Armour over Nike. Just the UA logo will make the stuff popular with kids and their stuff really is made well...but no UniformZ I just want the parade of alternate jerseys to end where it is. Walking around the concourse of Raymond James before the Outback Bowl I counted Michigan fans wearing 6 different jerseys. So much for brand consistency. Just so we are clear, Dave Brandon does not choose which jerseys we wear. Per the AD announcement back in August (too lazy to go find the link),. That being said I hate the jerseys we just wore, I am not a fan of Adidas and I would like for all this nonsense to stop. I believe that the ultimate authority on this subject is DB, but the actual choices are made by the coaches. Is anybody else bothered that a situation which involves thousands of workers being screwed by a company turned into a discussion about uniform quality and choice? These are people who are possibly having their lives destroyed and we are talking about how we can avoid wearing two different kinds of uniforms, sometimes sports discussions should take a back seat.

Accident Report - NC18612 SA-152 File No. 1-0088 CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REPORT Adopted: December 14, 1948 Released December 15, 1948 AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL AIRWAYS, INC -- BERMUDA SKY QUEEN, NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN -- OCTOBER 14, 1947 The Accident A Boeing flying boat, Model 314, aircraft NC-18612, operated by American International Airways, a non-scheduled carrier, landed at sea at 100A, 1 October 14, 1947, near the United States Coast Guard weather ship, "Bibb". All 62 passengers and the crew of seven were rescued by the Bibb. The aircraft was then sunk by gunfire since it constituted a hazard to surface vessels. History of the Flight NC-18612 departed New York, New York, October 8, 1947, for Poole, England and arrived there three days later without incident. The crew consisted of Captain Charles Martin, First Officer Addison Thompson, Second Officer John H. Shafer, Flight Engineer Walter Yaramishyn, Robert Hamilton, assistant flight engineer, and Willard Keith Woodmansee, radioman During the afternoon of October 12th, 62 passengers and 3,651 pounds of baggage were taken aboard at Poole, and the flight then took off for the return trip to the United States. Later that day the aircraft arrived at Foynes, Ireland, the first scheduled stop. Since weather was unfavorable over the North Atlantic, the flight remained there over night. The following morning Captain Martin, First Officer Thompson, and Second Officer Shafer visited the official meteorological station at Shannon, Ireland, to obtain the necessary weather information for the 1,730-mile over-water trip to Gander, Newfoundland. A high pressure area existed south of the great circle course from Foynes to Gander, and a series of low pressure cells were located to the north Winds at the intended cruising altitude of 8,000 feet were expected to have an average headwind component of 26 knots. With this information a flight plan was computed. Based on a .JPG"> airspeed between 128 and 132 knots, the time en route was estimated to be 16 hours and 58 minutes. The fuel supply was 4,000 gallons. The point-of-no-return (that point in time beyond which the aircraft could not be flown and still return to its point of departure) was computed to be 11 hours and 36 minutes after take-off. At the rate of 180 gallons per hour fuel consumption, the crew estimated they had a fuel supply sufficient for 22 hours of flight which allowed for a 5-hour fuel reserve after reaching destination. Take-off from Foynes was accomplished at 1540, the afternoon of October 13th. The flight climbed to its cruising altitude of 8,000 feet, proceeded on course for five hours and 50 minutes over the tops of clouds, and then, at 2130, instrument weather conditions were encountered. Since celestial navigation was no longer possible, Mr. Thompson, the only qualified celestial navigator aboard, retired. Before he had retired, however, he informed Captain Martin that the estimated time of arrival over the United States Coast Guard weather ship, Bibb, located on course and approximately 961 miles west of Foynes, was 0200. This was 45 minutes later than was originally estimated. Icing conditions were encountered shortly after midnight. At 0134, October 14th, the flight requested and was granted permission from the Moncton Ocean Air Traffic Control to descend to 6,000 feet. About this time the flight received from tie Gander radio station a weather forecast which included wind information at the original cruising altitude of 8,000 feet. According to the data received, the average headwind component had d velocity of 12 knots greater than that which was used in the computation of the flight plan. No further icing conditions were encountered at 6,000 feet, but instrument weather continued. The flight proceeded without the benefit of any navigational fix until 0205 when a radar fix from the Bibb placed the aircraft 68 miles from the vessel on a bearing of 80 degrees. At this time the flight had flown approximately 892 miles from Foynes, was slightly over half way to Gander, and had used 10 hours and 25 minutes of the estimated 22 fuel hours carried at the time of take off. They informed the Bibb that their estimated arrival time at Gander was 0930, which was 32 minutes later than was originally estimated. The crew anticipated no possibility of fuel exhaustion, and one hour and 11 minutes remained before they were to reach the point-of-no-return as computed in their flight plan. The Bibb reported the wind at its location at 6,000 feet to be 40 to 45 knots from the west. a headwind component of about 17 knots greater than that used in the flight plan. The captain estimated at 0232 that they were on course and 13 to 20 miles south of the Bibb. This was one hour and 17 minutes later than the original estimate and 32 minutes later than the amended estimate. Altitude was reduced to 4,000 feet after approval had been given by Moncton Ocean Air Traffic Control, and shortly thereafter, at 0327, eleven minutes after the flight passed its point-of-no-return, another weather forecast was received from Gander which showed the average headwind for the remainder of the route to be from 250 to 260 degrees at 38 knots, a headwind component 12 knots greater than that received in Shannon. Still no difficulty was anticipated, nor was the navigator consulted at this time. By 0500 clear weather was encountered. The navigator was then awakened in order that he might fix the aircraft's position by celestial observation, and according to the fixes that were plotted, headwinds in excess of 60 knots had existed en route, the average ground speed being only 59 knots. The crew immediately be came concerned as to whether or not the fuel remaining was sufficient. Approximately 550 miles remained to destination Captain Martin and First Officer Thompson believed that it was impossible to accomplish the remaining portion of the flight with the fuel remaining, so decided to return to the Bibb where rescue facilities would be immediately available. However, the flight continued westward and a position report was made to Gander at 0600. The turn around was actually made at 0758, at which time the aircraft was still 60 miles east of the previously reported 0600 position and approximately 460 miles east of Gander and 300 miles west of the Bibb Gander was advised of the decision, and at 0840 was Informed that the flight had two hours and 45 minutes of fuel remaining. The aircraft's position was reported at 0914 to be 100 miles west of the Bibb. The flight arrived over the Bibb at 0940, made four low passes, and then landed. All passengers had been fitted with life jackets and had been provided with seats and safety belts. Though the aircraft encountered waves six to eight feet high, no injury to any person or damage to the aircraft occurred. However, in taxying toward the Bibb the aircraft and Bibb drifted together with substantial damage to the aircraft. Rescue operations were slow and hazardous because of high seas, out by the next day all of the passengers and crew had been successfully transferred to the Bibb. Investigation Since the aircraft could not be flown from its position because of the heavy seas and the damage which had resulted from the collision with the Bibb, it was considered a hazard to surface navigation and was sunk by gunfire. Therefore, no part of the airplane remained for examination, and many of the records essential to the investigation, such as the weight and balance form, the engine and aircraft log books, the navigation, the radio, and the engineering logs were lost. So far as could be determined from the records secured from the operator, the airplane was in an airworthy condition prior to the flight, and according to the testimony of the crew, no mechanical difficulty was experienced on route. It was determined that all passengers had been provided with life jackets and safety belts. The aircraft carried nine 10-man life rafts and other emergency equipment such as an emergency radio transmitter, a Very pistol, smoke bombs, and flares. According to the flight engineer, the aircraft weight at the time of takeoff from Foynes was approximately 89,710 pounds. If this was correct, the aircraft weighed 3,710 pounds in excess of its maximum allowable weight of 84,000 pounds. The flight engineer testified that this load was distributed with respect to the center of gravity within approved limits. However, the testimony of the passengers as to the attitude of the aircraft in level flight, and also the testimony of the captain regarding the difficulty in trimming the aircraft for level flight indicated that the load was distributed so that the center of gravity was at the maximum rearward position. An aftercast of the weather, together with reports from other flights that flow the route at about the same time as NC-18612, established that weather conditions, including winds, were substantially as forecasted and reported by Shannon radio, the Bibb, and Gander radio. Winds over that portion of the route flown by the flight were generally westerly with an average velocity of 39 knots. Since charts, maps, and records pertaining to navigation and engine operation were not recovered from the aircraft, the following data concerning airspeed and fuel consumption can be, at best, only approximated. Crew statements were in part conflicting. The planned indicated airspeed of 115 knots when corrected for an altitude of 8,000 feet and a temperature of minus two degrees centrigrade results in a .JPG"> airspeed of 130 knots, approximately the same, according to the captain's testimony, as that used by the crew in computing their flight plan. However, the navigator stated that an average indicated airspeed of only 105 knots was maintained from take-off until 2130. An indicated airspeed of 105 knots corrected for the same altitude and temperature results in a .JPG"> airspeed of only 118 knots. This discrepancy alone accounts for the speed of the a aircraft being 12 knots slower than planned. The effective headwind component used in computing the flight plan was 26 knots. Actually it was 39 knots. This resulted in a ground speed 13 knots slower than originally estimated. The difference in effective headwind should have been apparent to the crew from the weather reports received from Foynes the Bibb, and Gander. The Increase in effective wind and the failure to obtain the planned indicated airspeed resulted in a ground speed of 25 knots slower than planned. In other words, the flight made good a ground speed not of 104 knots as estimated but of only 79 knots. .JPG"> ground speed could have been computed by the crew at the time of their 0205 position report, at which time they received a radar fix from the Bibb. The flight had then been in the air 10 hours and 25 minutes and had traveled 892 nautical miles, resulting in a ground speed of 86 knots. Had the ground speed of 86 knots remained constant, it would have required 20 hours and 12 minutes to complete the 1,730 mile trip from Foynes to Gander. Thus a reserve of only one hour and 48 minutes of fuel was available to the flight instead of the five hours which they believed they carried. According to the testimony of the crew an average fuel consumption of 180 gallons per hour was used in computing their flight plan. Thus, they estimated that 4,000 gallons of fuel would provide for 22 hours of flight. However, at 0840 when the aircraft had been airborne for 17 hours, it reported having two hours and 43 minutes of fuel remaining, which would mean that the total fuel capacity was 19 hours and 45 minutes, rather than 22 hours which had been estimated. This being .JPG"> the average hourly consumption would have been 202 gallons per hour instead of 180 gallons per hour. Therefore, there was insufficient fuel to complete the flight as planned. No attempt was made to use long range cruise control technique which would have resulted in lower fuel consumption. The low indicated airspeed from Foynes to the Bibb can be accounted for in part by the fact that the aircraft carried m overload in excess of 5,000 pounds. There was no "howgoezit" or cruise control chart made prior to the time of take-off, nor was any attempt made during flight by any member of the crew to systematically plot fuel consumption in relation to time of flight and distance made good. Had a cruise control chart been prepared before the flight, departed and maintained systematically during the course of the flight, it would have been evident to the crew after the first hour or two of cruise that their fuel consumption was greater than planned. At the time that they reached the position of the Bibb, they should have known from their cruise control charts and from their average ground speed made good that the fuel on board was insufficient to reach destination. The flight engineer testified that at the cruising altitude of 8,000 feet power settings were 1750 rpm and 28.8 inches of manifold pressure, resulting in 810 hp and a fuel flow of 290 pounds per hour. A fuel flow of 290 pounds per hour would give a fuel consumption of 192 gallons per hour. With the fuel capacity of 4,000 gallons and fuel consumption of 192 gallons per hour, the total endurance of the aircraft would be 20 hours and 18 minutes rather than the 22 hours which had been estimated. However, an engineer from the Wright Aeronautical Corporation testified that at the above power settings, the fuel flow would be 340 pounds per hour, and at this fuel flow the consumption would be 228 gallons. resulting in endurance of 17 hours and 30 minutes, or 4 hours and 30 minutes less than the estimated endurance. This engineer also testified that if the fuel flow reading had been 290 pounds per hour the horsepower would be less than 650. This flight was Captain Martin's second round trip crossing of the North Atlantic. His total flying time was 2,000 hours. He had a total of 162 hours in Model 314 flying boats, and of this 60 hours were as a co-pilot. Captain Martin's seaplane experience had been obtained in the Naval service where he accumulated 200 hours in PBYs and 30 hours in PBMs. He held commercial pilot, single and multi-engine land and sea, and instrument ratings. His last instrument cheek was January 11. 1946. First Officer Addison Thompson, the navigator, was also a pilot. He had a total of 4,040 flying hours, which included 102 hours in Model 314 flying boats. He was a graduate of a trans-ocean, scheduled air carrier navigation school, and had approximately 10 years of navigational experience on racing yachts. This was his second round trip crossing of the North Atlantic. He held commercial pilot, single and multi-engine land and sea, and instrument ratings. His last instrument cheek was September 20, 1947. Second Officer Jack Shafer had accumulated a total of 1,238 flying hours, including 67 hours in Model 314 flying boats. This was his fourth crossing of the North Atlantic. He held commercial pilot, single and multi-engine land, and instrument ratings. His last instrument check was June 12, 1946 Walter Yaramishyn and Robert Hamilton, the first and second engineers, respectively, held airman certificates with aircraft and engine ratings. Willard Keith Woodmansee, the only radio operator aboard, held a first class radio telegraph operator's certificate. Discussion There are three basic reasons for the aircraft landing at sea due to a shortage of fuel. These reasons are (1) exceeding the maximum permissible gross weight, (2) no cruise control, and (3) failure to utilize available weather data, with reference to speed and navigational fixes. When the aircraft departed Roynes, it was loaded above its maximum gross weight by approximately 5,000 pounds. The aircraft was certificated and placarded for a gross weight of 84,000 pounds, and as far as can be determined, the actual gross load was over 89,000 pounds. The captain and flight engineer, who are responsible for the loading of aircraft, testified that they were aware of the maximum authorized gross weight, but believed that the flight could be accomplished with the overload. 2 The quantity of fuel at take-off, 4,000 gallons was insufficient for the flight. The flight engineer had available the operating manuals for this type aircraft and also the operating instructions for the engines from the manufacturers. Both of these instructions showed clearly that at the power settings which the flight engineer had recommended for the flight it would be impossible to reach their destination. The captain and navigator, who were responsible for the flight plan, estimated the .JPG"> air speed for the flight to be between 128 and 132 knots This .JPG"> air speed was not based upon an air speed that could be maintained by a heavily-loaded aircraft, but was based on the air speed that had been maintained on the previous east-bound flight without a pay load. During the most critical period of the flight, from 2130 to 0500, the navigator was asleep when the aircraft received a radar fix from the Bibb. The fix showed that the flight had not been maintaining the ground speed necessary to allow them to reach their destination with the amount of fuel on board. Also during this period, winds aloft reports were received from Gander, which would Indicate that it was not possible to reach their destination. While in the vicinity of the Bibb they had sufficient fuel to return to the point of departure but not to reach Gander The evidence developed during the course of this investigation showed that the crew disregarded fundamental principles of long range flight planning and certain Civil Air Regulations designed for safe flight. As a result a landing was necessary at sea. Findings On the basis of all the available evidence, the Board finds that 1 The aircraft and pilots were properly certificated, (the navigator, flight engineers. and radio operator were not certificated as such) 2 There was no malfunctioning of the aircraft during the flight involved. 3 The crew received adequate weather information prior to take-off and during the flight. 4 The aircraft was loaded approximately 5,000 pounds in excess of its certificated gross weight at the time of take-off. 5 Estimated air speeds for the flight could not be obtained without the use of uneconomical power settings because of the overloaded condition of the flight 6 There was not sufficient fuel on board for the flight in its overloaded condition to complete the intended trip safely. 7 Information concerning winds received during the course of the flight was not properly considered in estimating a point-of-no-return and total time of flight. 8 No continuing cruise control chart was prepared or maintained during the course of the flight. Probable Cause The Board finds that the probable cause of this accident was due to improper flight planning under conditions of an excess gross weight, resulting in a landing at sea. BY THE CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD /s/ JOSEPE J O'CONNELL, JR OSWALD RYAN JOSH LEE HAROLD A JONES RUSSELL B ADAMS Supplemental Data Investigation and Hearing The Civil Aeronautics Board received notification of the accident on the morning of October 14, 1947, and immediately initiated an investigation in accordance with the provisions of Section 702 (a)(2) of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended. On October 20th, depositions were obtained from the crew and a public hearing was held in New York, New York, on November 7, 8, 10, and 11, 1947. The Air Carrier American International Airways Inc., a Delaware corporation with headquarters in New York, New York, had been issued a letter of registration under Section 292.1 of the Economic Regulations as an irregular air carrier but it had not been issued an air carrier operating certificate under part 42 of the Civil Air Regulations. Flight Personnel Captain Charles M Martin, age 26, of Miami, Florida, until the date of the accident had accumulated a total of 2,000 hours flying time, of which 162 had been obtained in Model 314 flying boats. He held commercial pilot, single and multi-engine land and sea, and instrument ratings. His last instrument cheek was January 11, 1946. First Officer Addison Thompson, age 34, of Miami, Florida, until the date of'the accident, had accumulated a total of 4,040 hours flying time. of which 102 had been obtained in Model 314 flying boats. He held commercial pilot, single and multi-engine land and sea, and instrument ratings. His last instrument cheek was September 20, 1947. Second Officer Jack Shafer, age 25, of Miami, Florida, until the date of the accident had accumulated a total of 1,238 hours flying time, of which 67 had been obtained in Model 314 flying boats. He held commercial pilot, single and multi-engine land and instrument ratings. His last instrument cheek was June 12 1946. Walter Yaramishyn, age 28, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Robert Hamilton, age 24, of New York, New York, the first and second engineer, respectively, held airman certificates with aircraft and engine ratings. Willard Keith Woodmansee, of Santa Monica, California, held a first class radio telegraph operator's certificate. Charles Penn of New York, New York, was steward. The Aircraft NC-18612 was a Boeing Model 314 flying boat and was registered in the name of American International Airways, Inc. The flying boat had accumulated a total of approximately 12,000 hours since its manufacture in 1941. It was equipped with four Wright R-2600-579-C-14 AC-1 engines on which Hamilton Standard propellers were installed. The time since overhaul was 557, 316, 258 and 499 hours for the Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 engines respectively. At the time of departure from Foynes, Ireland, the gross weight of the flying boat exceeded the maximum allowable by at least 5,570 pounds, although the load was distributed with respect to the center of gravity within approved limits. Appendix I CORRECTIVE ACTION ACCOMPLISHED As a result of the evidence developed during the course of this investigation the Administrator of Civil Aeronautics accepted the payment of a civil penalty in the amount of $200 in compromise from Captain Martin for his alleged violations of the civil Air Regulations in the conduct of the flight. Furthermore the letter of registration issued by the Civil Aeronautics Board to the company, American International Airways, Inc., was indefinitely suspended by the Board. A further compromise of a civil penalty b the Administrator of Civil Aeronautics with American International Airways, Inc., in the amount of $500 for alleged violation of Civil Air Regulations is still pending. Foot note 1. Times noted in this report are Greenwich and based on the 24-hour clock, and all distances expressed in miles are nautical miles See Appendix I

297 This item is only available as the following downloads: ( PDF ) Full Text NE WLET TR SOUNDED I TH AUGUST 1973' For The period Ending 31st December 1984 '1th .Year of Publicatimn -. - - - *yilt Issue Volume 12 Number 15 PARLI AMENT CFENS Grenada returned to the practice of Parliamentary Democracy on December 28th for ,the first time since the electedd Government of : S. sir Eric Gairy was overthrown on..-13th March 1979 in a revolution led by. the late Maur4ceBishqp. .- SIn a colorful joint sitting of the House of Representatives . y'a' and the senate at Parliament Buildings in St* George's, prime S.b Minister Herbert Blaize and the 13 other members of hies!e Nat~ *t' >|ional Party (NP) .took the oath of allegiance t'o-Bs f Maj..ty Queen Elizabeth of England. The 15th~seat in the House, won 'by Mr. Marcel Joseph peters of Sir .ric Gairy:' Grenada United La- our p:-arty, was vacant, . ,. p iMr. peters was not present when his name was called three times 4 : Z by Clerk of parliament Mr. Curtis Strachan, but this did net come. -, 'as a surprise. Mr. peters and Sir Eric have alleged that the .-', recent General Elections were rigged and Mr. peters said he will not take his seat.in the House. Also taking the Cath of Allegiance to the Queen were 10 Senators appointed by the prime Minister. Had he taken his seat in the House and accepted the post of Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Pet- Sers would have been entitled to appoint three senators, but those seats we e vacant today. SOn the invitation of the Clerk of parliament to senators to el- ect a president of the Senate, senator ,ric Pierre nominated Mr. Lawrence Joseph, a fellow Senator. The nomination was seconded- 1 Vi by Senator Norton Noel and, there being no other nominations, Mr. Joseph was declared President ... yPro;dLed d& Printd4 by Alister .CyntietthC P 0 65ix Syt-eorgta'GrernMa, Westindies L --, - .. .. .. .. . . ... ... . . .. .. i.-t i- - Page 2 T1HE GJRINADA NEWSLETTBR ferlc. Ending 31.12.84 As his deputy, the Senators elected Senator Adolphus Antoine. The' prime Minister, seconded by Dr. Keith Mitchell, nominated Mr. Hudson Rup6rt Scipio .to be Speaker of the House. Mr. S$ipio, a bar.riater and not a Member of the House, has been a member of Mr. Blaize's Grenada Nation- al Party (GNP) since that party was established in the 1950s. GNP was one of the three parties coming together to form NNP. Member of the House, -Mr. .Phisna.ey. St. Lou id, wad elected Mrt. Scipio's depu- ty. i.. 0. -4 , Governor General Sir Paul Scoon read the speech from the throne to a dis- tinguished audience which included 5 Prime Ministers. These were Mr. Ed- ward Seaga of Jamaica, Miss Eugenia Charles of Dominica, Mr. John Compton of St. Lucia, Mr. James "Son" Mitchell of St. Vincent and Mr. Manuel Es- quivel of'Belize. Also presentw-rere.'t ie foreign Minister of''Trinidad & Tobago, Mr. Basil Ince, the. Leader of-the Oppositibn in-Trinidad & ~obsoo Mr. Basdeo F.and-y, Trinidad & Tobago's acting High CommissioneBr in Barbados, accredited to' Grenada, Mr. peter Rambert and Mr. Walter Burkes Barbados High Commission- er resident in Grernad-d. In the audiqncetobdw~re Mr. Roy Haverkamp, United states Charge d'Affaires at the embassy in Grenada; Mrw Noble power, Canadian High Commissioner re- sident in Barbados, Mr. HBrnah Calcurian, Venezuelan Ambassador to Grenada, Mr, Sun sup Chang, .South K6redn Ambassador to Grenada, Mr. John Kelly, Bri- tish High Commission Representative in Grcnnda, Mr. William Deras, President of the Caribbean Development Bank, Mr. Bob Visser, European Economnic Commun- ity Represernt itive in Grenada, Chief Justice Archibald Nedd,. Mr. Roderick Rainford, tccret'o y Generzil of the Caribbean Community and Mr. Nicholas Brathwaite, Cdh-.irhan' of the now disbanded Interim Government. The debate on the Throne Speech was deferred to a date to be fixed. GG. PADS TiRONE. SPEECH. Echoes of the massacre of October 19th 1983 rang in the Chamber of Grenada's Parliament Building on December 28th as Governor General Sir PaulScoon .read the speech fromIth (throne at the first meeting of Parliament since the Gov- ernment of Sik Erie Gairy wad overthrown by'the New Jewel Movement revolu- tion of Maroh 13th 1979. On October 19th 1983, the Peoples Revolutionary Army of the New Jewel Move- ment murdered their -att--prime Minister Maurice Bishop, members of his Cabinet and a still unknown number of Grenadian citizens. -continued- ~ I period riding 31.12.4 TH GENADA NEWSLETTER ge In the Throne Speech, Si* Paul said the Government of Prime Minister Her- bert Blaize will take steps to find out how many people died on that day. "My Government are deeply concerned that there are so many missing Grenadi ians still unaccounted for since that fateful October day of last year", he said. "My Government will therefore, as soon as practicable, set up a fullscale commission of inquiry into the horrendous events and circum- stances surrounding 19th October 1983". The Governor General revealed also that the Blaize Government has inherited k"one of the grimmest situations in the history of the Public Finances of Grenada". This has come about, he said, as a result of "massive debts" and a "bloated Public Service structure" created by the peoples Revolution- ary Government of the New Jewel Movement. As of 30th November last, he said, the total debt of the country was EC$164,804,020. This figure represents, he said, twice the country's annual revenue and this debt burden is likely to have significant implications for the Publia Finances for some time because "the already overstrained taxable capacity" of Grenada cannot generate revenue to service this debt. Additionally, he said, the Public service, mainly as a result of overstaff- ing, is costing in excess of 5C3" of recurrent revenue. "These two factors", the G6vernor General said, "have already contributed to a projected overall deficit of EC~37.2 million to 31st December 1984. It is small wonder, he said, that Grenadians have been subjected to such severe and suffocating systeris of taxes that have left them with little incentive to productive effort. Sir Paul said that, in 1985, the Blaize Government will be designing and adopting strategies'to correct what it sees as the present deficiencies in the public Finances as a whole and the Tax System in particular. "My Government propose to introduce comprehensive fiscal reform providing for the reduction of-the heavy tax burden, for the control and reduction of the public Debt and for the large-scale reorganisation of the public Service with a view to bringing the number of Public Servants within manage- able proportions compatible with efficiency, economy and effectiveness", the Governor General said. To this end, he continued, arrangements have already been made, through th British Government, for the recruitment of a team of Organization and Meth- Sods consultants for the specific purpose of rationalizing the public Service. *______________ _ page 4 THE GRENADA NEWrLETTER period Ending 31,12.84 CONSTITLTION.L REFCRR PLANNED "In the light of experience, and conscious of the experiments in Government that our people have been subjected to in the name of democracy, my Govern- ment will have, as a top priority, constitutional reform aimed at eliminat- ing -abuse of power by elected representatives and ensuring greater partici- pation in governmental affairs by the people". I This was one of the important objectives of the new Grenada Government an- nounced by Governor General Sir Paul _coon as he read the Throne Speech at the opening of parliament on December 28th, and he said Government proposes Sto set up machinery to provide the necessary checks and balances against any abuse of power and individual freedom. "This will include", Sir Paul said, "the removal from office of those who are not working in the best interests of the people". Concerning security, the Governor General said it will be necessary to re- tain the services of the Caribbean peacekeeping Force and the United States Military police "for some time to come" as the Royal Grenada police Force proceeds with its pro&ramme of improvement numerically and qualitatively. The Blaize Government will move especially rapidly to improve the quality of the top echelons of the Police Force, sir Paul said. The Force will be insulated from coercive political influence and undue interference, he said, -nd it will have resources and training, to make it into a professional Force. "It is proposed to establish a Police Service Commission with responsibili- ties for promotions, dismissals and general discipline of the Force", he said. In what was seen as a veiled reference to the visa restrictions imposed on Grenadians by Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica, the Governor General said the Blaize Administration believes ordinary citizens of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) should have greater opportunities to meet one another without let or hindrance. "In keeping with the true spirit jof CARICCM", he said, "my Government will be very reluctant to do anything to pose even the slightest difficulty or inconvenience to citizens of other C.AICCM countries wishing to travel to Grenada for legitimate purposes". The Throne speech affirmed the Grenada Government's commitment to the Or- Sganization of East Caribbean States and the Organization of American States, but stated that the island's foreign policy will-not include friendship with any nation which does not allow religious freedom. S"My Government will maintain relations with traditional friends", Sir Paul said, "but will review certain relationships with a view to preventing the imposition of any philosophy whian is hostile to our parliamentary Democrat- ic lifeR,-'le, or which is foreign and repugnant to the way of life of the Grenadi.n people". -continued- ______________ -Ui_ THE GRENADA NEWSLETTER Informed sources close td~Government told NEWSLETTER that the. certain re- lationships" to be reviewed are some of the diplomatic connections estab- lished with non-democratic regimes by the left-wing Peoples Revolutionary Government. VIPS 3IVE TMPRESSICNS In a series of on-the-spot interviews following opening of the Grenada Par- liament on December 28th visiting dignitaries gsve their off-the-cuff im- pressions of the ceremony. "I am very glad that Grenada has restored all the democratic institutions", said South Korean Ambassador sun Sup Choang, "the opening of Parliament is significant because it says democracy is back in Grenada again". St. Lucian prime Minister John Compton said he is pleased to see Grenada re- turn to the democratic fold. "Granadiians ought to be proud of themselves", he said,"they have.really car- ried themselves since the events of October 1983"1 Mr. Compton said Grenadians are the "winners" out of these events, the Car- S ibbean has a lesson to show the world in adherence to democratic principles, and Grenada is the place where this lesson has been shown. "I found the Throne Speech full of substance which makes one very interested in seeing Government carry out those undertakings it gave through the Throne Speech", said Mr. William Demas, President of the Caribbean Develop- ment Bank. "I look forward to seeing Government implement all the inten- tions expressed on its behalf by His Extellency the Governor General". Mr. Basdeo Panday, Leader of the Opposition in Trinidad & Tobago said the Government of Trinidad should not leave its relationship with Grenada in a state of uncertainty as it is now. ,"We, the Opposition in Trinidad & Tobago, have called on the Government to m-ke a ,decisive statement about GrCnada, particularly with respect to the visa restrictions", he said, "but the Government has been indecisive,. Mr. Panday-knew Prime Minister George Chambers of Trinidad & Tobago recently issued an invitation to prime Minister Herbert Blaize of Grenada to hold discussions, and Mr. Panday hoped these matters-will be settled at that meeting. The return of.democracy to Grenada is a thing which will be appreciated, not only by,Grenadians, but by all Crcnad.nIs "brothers" in the region, said Mr. Basil Ince, Trinidad & Tobago's Foreign Minister, -continued- Period Endifng j1.12.84 ~cl-cJI~ page 6 THE GRLNADA N~E'.SLETTER "As far as our relations with Grenada is will note that I ciam`here and the Leader Mr. Ince disclosed that he was to meet w eign Minister Ben Jones before he return "They are both very enthusiastic to spea some indication of the closer bonds betwe period Ending 31.12.834 concerned", he continued, "you of the Cppcaition is here also". ith Prime Minister Blais and For- ed home. k with me", he said,"and that is en our countries". Prime Minister Eugenia Charles of Dominica who, as Chairperson of the or- g-nisation of East Caribbean states, was largely instrumental in arranging for the "Rescu- Mission" to Grenada, said it was "a pleasure to come here and to see that the effort we put out in October 1983 has led to this". Miss Charles was particularly pleased to hear from the Throne Speech that the Blaize Administration will strengthen local Government to ensure that Grjenadine l pairt.icipate in their own government. "I think it is a very important thing", she said, "and I believe the Minis- ter in charge of Local Government will have a big job but a very important job to do'". " What is important now is that one chapter of Caribbean history is over and that we really plan properly how we are going to take the Caribbean for- ward from now on". That is the opinion of James ,Scn" Mitchell, St. Vincent's prime Minister. Mr. Mitcholl said he was delighted to hear in the Throne Speech that there is to be a Constitutional Review Commission similar to what has been set up in St. Vincent. "It is.going to be difficult to change these constitutions", he said, "but, nevertheless, in the light of our experience, it's important to have a good rational look at them".: "It is a great relief to see Grenada recover to the point where it can est- ablish, once again, a parliamentary Democracy", said Mr. Edward Se g, Jamai- ca's Prime Minister, "this is the 'strong tradition of the entire English- speaking Caribbean . and Grenada was the odd man out for some time". It is rewarding and pleasing to see Grenada once again in the parliamentary Democracy fold, Mr. Seaga said, andihe expressed the opinion that on this base can now be built an economic system which will offer the opportunities of prosperity to the people. ;Prime Minister Herbert Blaize, around whom the ceremony of the opening of Parliament centred, expressed satisfaction with "fantastic" public support Sand said the new members of the House had "shaped up like veterans". -continued- _____I --~-----~- -Period Ending 31.12.84 THL GRENADA NEWSLETTER age 7 Mr. Blaize said the Throne Speech had, in a general way, thanked all those countries who came to Grenada's support and help, and it would be understood that this means, primarily, the United States of America. "But, in addition to that", he said, "we are having special help from the United States in our budget arrangements, and I believe that, without their assistance, we could not function". GGC THINKD , Prime Minister Herbert Blaize, addressing parliament on Decembet 28th, said that, in the Throne Speech, there had been an omission from the list of per- sons and or.-nis...tions who were thn:;-ked for having come to Grenads's'assist- ance after the crisis of October 18'3. "I invite you to throw your minds back'to one year and two months ago", Mr. Blaize said, "when this country was-in need of a saving grace and had to find the means of getting itself out of a hole and, by God's grace, we had at Governor General's House, a man with courage and resourcefulness who put the pieces together and created the' conditions'for our rescue". The prime Minister said it is essential, in thanking Governor General Sir Paul scoon for delivering the Throne Speech, that the fact be recognized that, were it not for his efforts and the efforts of those who came to Gre- nada's assistance, the Parliament of Grenada would not have been reestab- lished at this time, Mr. Blaize said that, in addition to recognizing the valuable service render ed to the country by Sir Paul, under very difficult and hazardous conditions he took the opportunity to.thank the slaff of,the Houses of parliament and citizen who volunteered to help to organise the proceedings of the opening of parliament. C.P pINT AT.7'CUNCED prime Minister Herbert Blaize, addressing the nation in a radio broadcast from an .ecumenical service held on December 14th, announced his Cabinet and the Senators appointed on his advice by Governor General Sir Paul soon. According to the Constitution, ,the Prime Minister nominates 10 Senators oi the 13-strong Senate, the Le-der of the Opposition nominating the other 3. Of the 10 nominated by the prime Minister, 3 are appointed by the Governor 1Gener-l, acting on the advice of the prime Minister, "after the Prime Minis- ter has consulted with the organizations and interests which the Prime Min- ister consiacrs the Senators should be selected to represent". .... -continued- I- ':- Page 8 THE GRENADA NEWSLETTER period Ending 31/12/84 In this connection, Mr. Norris James, Chairman of the Grenada Cooperative Nutmeg Association, represents the agricultural community, Mr. Charles "Lad- die" Mclntyre, president of the Grenada Chamber of Industry and Commerce re- presents the commercial community and Mr. C6 Eric Pierre, Secretary of the Grenada Seamen and W'aterfront Workers Union, represents the trade union move- ment. The other 7 Senators appointed by Mr. Blaize are Messrs. Bennet "Ben" Andrews, Adolphus Antoine, Franklin Theodore St. Bernard Bullen, Lawrence A. Joseph, Jerome Oliver Joseph, Norton Geoffrey Noel and Miss Gloria St. Bernard. The Cabinet will have 7 Ministers, each being assisted by a Parliamentary Secretary. Mr. Blaize, as Prime Minister, has retained the portfolios of Home Affairs, Security, Information, Carriacou Affairs, Finance and Trade, Industrial Development and.Planning. Two Senators will be attached to Mr. Blaize's office as Parliamentary Sec- retaries. They are Mr. Franklin Bullen who will be in charge of Csrriacou Affairs and Mr. Ben Andrews whose duties have not been specified. External Affairs and Legal Affairs will be the responsibility of Mr. Ben Jones with Mr. Tilman Thomas as parliamentary Secretary assisting in Legal iAffairs. Mr. George Ignr3tious Brizan holds the portfolios of Agriculture, Forestry, Lands and Fisheries, and of Tourism. His Parliamentary Secretary is Mr. Geoffrey Alexander. SLabour, Cooperatives, Social Security and Local Government will be the re- sponsibility of Dr. Francis Alexis assisted by Parliamentary Secretary Mr. SNorton Geoffrey Noel who is a Senator. The portfolios of Education, Culture, Spo't and Youth Affairs have been given Sto Mr. George McGuire and he wiln be assisted by Parliamentary secretaryy Mr. Alleyne Walker. Mr. Daniel Williams, assisted by parliamentary Secretary Mrs. Pauline Andrews will handle Health, Housing, women's Affairs and Community Development. Mrs. Andrews is the wife of Senator Ben Andrews. The seventh Ministry ,oes to Dr. Keith Mitchell. This is the portfolio of Works, Communications, public Utilities, Civil Aviation and Energy. His parliamentary Secretary is Mr. Kenny Lalsingh. No Senators have been appointed by the Leader of the Opposition because, Mr. Marcel peters, .the sole representative in the House of Representatives of Sir Eric Gairy's .renada United Labour Party, has resigned his appointment by the Governor General as Leader of the Opposition. It is not expected that Mr. peter, will take his seat in the House and, when he has missed 3 consecutive meetings, his seat will be declared, vacant... I^ Nk~SS~ __ P'ri6d Ending 31.12.84 BLAIZE: THINGS BD WITH "RIGHT" AND "LEFT" prime Minister Herbert Blaize, in a radio broadcast to the nation on Decem- ber 14th referred to an election pledge of his New National Party (NNP) that changes will be made in Grenada's Constitution. "We asked you, during the course of the campaign, to give us the authority that we can make the changes that are necessary to be made in the Corstitu- tion to give you the control of the affairs of your state and to permit you to maintain that control". Mr. Blaize said NNP had asked for at least a two-thirds majority in parlia- ment, the majority.needed to effect Constitutional changes, but the elector- ate, by giving NNP 14 of the 15 seats in the House of Representatives had said "at least" is not enough and had given the party"a whopping majority". The Prime Minister referred to charges laid by right wing Sir Eric Gairy of the Grenada United Labour Party and left wing Kendrick Radix of the Maurice Bishop Patriotic Movement, that the elections had been rigged. "Those who could not stand the sight of each other before the election", he said, "those on the right with the kind of dictatorship that we do not want to go back to, (and) those on the left with the kind of destruction we turn- ed our backs on, they joined together in saying 'they tief, It. Mr. Blaize said that, when that stage has been reached, things are very bad with both the right and the left, and he said the test of a man who wins is not that he gloats but that he gives thanks for the opportunity given him. "The case of the one that loses", he said, "is not to charge rigging, but to say, 'perhaps I will have better luck next time, let me try to serve the people in such a way that, perhaps, next time, they might tell me yes' ". The Prime Minister said that, since the election of his party to control the Government, he has had positive indications of support from a number of countries and he is thankful for this. These include China, St. Vincent, Jamaica and other Caribbean Community countries, France, Venezuela, south Korea, the:organization of East Carib- bean States, Canada, The United Kingdom, the European Economic Community, and the orgCanizration of American States. "I have left out the last and the best", Mr. Blaize-said, "the biggest and the 'hardest', the United States of America. Having come to our rescue, They don't feel they can turn their backs on us, and so we say, 'help us to help ourselves, to put ourselves in a way that we can ensure our own security'. They say they will do that and more, and I'm waiting to hear what the 'and more' is." Mr. Blaize said his Government wishes to mote rapidly on the matter of Amendment of the Constitution which will provide for local Government, -continued- THE GRENADA NEWSLETTER Page 9 Page 10 TH E GRELADA NEW SLETT_ T per I" ~ '* * * ' iod Ending 31.12.84 and a Chairman of the Constitution Amendment Committee has already been identified. The prime Minister said also that each iNP' elected Member of the House has already begun to prepare a statement of his or her financial position for publication. "Woe cry ahtn a man takes office, you must know what he is, who he is oun how much he is worth ...", he said. The unemployment situation is to have priority attention, he said, and fin- ancial clearance has already been had from the United States for the setting up of some factories and, in due course, industrial estates are to be set up throughout the state. An Industrial Development Corpbration is shortly to be established, he said, and Tourism Development is to have early attention. The Prime Minister said action will be taken against the use of obscene lan- guage in the streets, on the playing fields, in public places and "even ob- scene language among some of those who are supposed to maintain law and order, He spoke out against lawlessness, speeding on the roads of the state, misuse of Government vehicles and praedial larceny. "The task ahead is no easy task", he said, "and that is why we began this day the way we did, so.that we and you together will put:the job on foot". r" TUC ACCUSES BLAZE The Grenada Trade Union Council (TUC) has accused Prinme Minister Herbert Blaize of making 'erroneous" and "misleading" statements. In a press Release TUC referred to Mr. Balize's public announcement that agreement had been reached with the Trade Union Movement.on the appointment of Mr. C. Eric Pierre as Labour's Representative in the Senate, and TUC said this is not so. According to TUC, at a meeting held with Mr. Blaize on December 11th, the prime Minister said that, for this post, he had selected Mr. Pierre who is the General secretary of the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Union. "The TUC's delegation voiced strong objections to the manner in which the selection was made in that the Movement was not afforded the opportunity of making a recommendation as to .who should be its representative", the TUC 'Release said. "The Prime Minister's reply to the delegation's reservations ,as that he had noted the comments made". -continued- __ _ __ _ I period Ending 31.12.8 THI GRENADA NEWSLETTER Page 11 According to Grenada's Constitution, the Prime Minister is to appoint 10 Senators. There are no conditions attached to the appointment of '7of these posts, but there are conditions governing appointment of the other 3. These 3, the Constitution says, are to be appointed after r the prime Minis- ter has consulted the organizations or interests which the Prime Minister considers the Senators should be selected to represent'". These 3 Senators are regarded as "independent" and divorced from the Prime Minister's political party. In the case of the appointment of Mr. Pierre, however, there has been public criticism in that he is known to have been a firm supporter of, if not a member of, Mr. Blaize's Grenada National Party, one of the parties which went into the making of the New National Party (N;UP There has been criticism also of the appointment of Mr. Charles "Laddie" McIntyre to represent commercial interests in the Senate. Mr. McIntyre is president of the Grenada Chamber of Industry and Commerce but informed sources say that body was not consulted on the appointment. Further, it is known that Mr. McIntyre took an active part in organizing the NNP election campaign. There has been criticism also of the appointment of the third Senator, Mr. Norris James, who represents agricultural interests. Informed sources re- port that a delegation representing the Grenada Cooperative Nutmeg Associa- tion, the Cocoa Association and the Grenada Banana Cooperative Society met Mr. Blaize and put forward the name of their choice for the Senate. Mr. Blaize did not accept this and it is pointed out that his choice, Mr. Jam.s, was a candidate for elections on the Grenada National Party ticket before ?NIP was formed. An editorial in the "Grenada Voice" newspaper'puts forward the view held by some sections of the public, I"The representatives of sectional interests have usually been regarded as 'independent' Senators", the editorial said* "and given the situation which exists in the Lower House (Blaize's NNP has 14 of the 15 seats) it is some- what like loading the dice to appoint, in these particular seats, men who are clearly identifiable as 'Blaize men' ". '""3 * CHAMBER DISPLEASED WITH PM The Grenada Chamber of Industry and Commerce 'is to protest to Prime Ministe: Herbert Blaize over the manner in which he appointed a Senator to represent commercial interests in parliament. Scurces close to the Chamber said on December 24th the Chamber was not con- suited b'efore-Chamber President Charles "Laddie" McIntyre was ap-ointed to -continued- .-.. 4 r r, THE GRENADA NEWSLETTER period Ending 31.12.84 page .12 the Senate, and a letter of protest signurd by the first Vice-president,Fred. Toppin, is to be sent to the prime Ministr* According to the Grnad.a Constitution, the Prime Minister is to appoint 10 persons to the Senate. There are no conditions attached to the appoiht- ment of 7 of these but there are conditions for the other 3. The Constitution says they are to be appointed "after the prime Minister has consulted the organizations and interests which the Prime Minister con- siders the Senators should be selected to represent". This protest from the Chamber will follow a protest made by the Trade Union Council that that body was not consulted before Mr. Eric Pierre, Secretary of the' Samen and l3at'trfront Workers Union, was appointed to the Senate to represent labour interests. There has been no public protest from the agricultural community over the appointment of the third Senator, Mr. Norris James, but informed sources say there is dissatisfaction with this appointment also. The sources say a delegation representing the Grenada Cooperative.Nutmeg Association, the Cocoa Associaton and the Grenada Banona Cooperative Society met Mr. Blaizu and submitted to him their choice of a senator, but the prime Minister did not accept this. ,Mr. Mcintyre played an active part in organizing the campaign for Mr. Blaizet New National Party (rNP) in the recent election campaign. Mr. James was a candidate on the ticket of Mr. Blaize's Gr'narda National party before NNP was formed and Mr. Pierre is known to be a firm supporter, if not a member of Mr. Blaize's political party, the three are seen as "Blaize's men" and theit appointments:as "patronage" rather than as for'independent represent- ation of sectional interests. GRENADA DEDICATED TC GOD "Three times a day, morning, noon and night, I have prayed for this day to come ... I promised Almighty God that, come that day, we the people of Gre- nada will assemble and say, 'God, we are your people, we are here in your name, bless and let us go forward' ". So said Prime Minister Herbert Blaize'on December 14th as he addressed tht nation at an Ecumenical Service of Dedication of the Nation organized by the Council of Churches, Grenada. Some 2,000 persons accepted Mr. Blaize's invitation issued after his election to attend this service held at Queen's Park, the playing fields on the out- skirts of St. George's. -continued- --- --- - i r I -- Period Ending 31.12.84 THE GRL.NADA. TE'LETTER Page 13 Lessons were read by Governor General Sir Paul Scoon and Chairman of the now dissolved Interim Government, Mr. Nicholas Brathwaitel and the sermon was preached by Roman Catholic Bishop of Grenada, Sydney Charles. With his theme centering on "liberation" Bishop Charles said that, after their "exodus" Grenadians are being "challenged to holiness". "Christian liberation is not only liberation from political domination, ec- onomic domination or cultural domination", he said, "but liberation from sin, from moral ic- iad: tion and every other kind of evil that stands between us and God". In the course of the service, Mr. Blaize announced his Cabinet and the Sen- ators the Governor General has appointed on his advice. The .ernators and Members of the Cabinet each took their oaths of allegiance to the tueen and their Oaths of Office, their Instruments of Appointment being hahded to them by the Governor General. In a moving ceremony at the end of the service, Sir Cuthbert Woodroffe, Gre- nada-born Anglican Archbishop of the West Indies, led the dedication of the nation as he called on the crowd present and the radio audience to put aside all else for a few moments. "Let us forget Herbert BlEise, let us forget Eric Gairy, let us forget Ken- drick Radix, let us forget GNP and NNP and GULP and what else", he said, "but let us now see Greonad. with its hands outstretched to God ...", Then, with the crowd standing and saying after him, and with a request to Grcnndians in the radio audience to do likewise, Bishop Wcodroffe recited a vow and pledge of allegiance to Grenada. During the course of the service, there were renditions by a local choir and at the end of the service, refreshments were served. BLAIE TO RELET CHAMBERS Mr. peter Rambert, acting High Commissioner to Grenada for Trinidad & Tobago resident in Barbados, confirmed in an interview on December 28th that the Prime Ministers of Grenada and Trinidad & Tobago are to meet for discussions "The Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago, Mr. George Chambers, sometime last weekk, he said, "issued an invitation to the prince Minister of GrirnAda, Mr Herbert Blaize, to visit port-of-Spain for talks as soon as Mr. Blaize's busy schedule will permit him to do son, jthe Trinidad & Tobago Foreign Minister, Mr. Basil Ince, was due to have dis- cussions with Mr. Blaize on December 29th, Mr. Rambert said, and he .thought This is a-very "positive sig,,'. -continued- THT!? GREVDA rN'.V'SLETTER The acting High Commissioner said he "susp cts" that the Blaize/Ince dis- cussions would lay the foundation for the prime Ministers' meeting, but he did not have any inform: tion on this. MBPM CANDIDATE RESIGNS One of the candidates who unsuccessfully contested the recent General Elec- tions on the Maurice Bishop patriotic Movement (MBF'M) ticket, resigned from that party on December 15th. Mrs. Kennethia Gittens-Thompson, who polled a total of 99 votes out of the total of 3,386 cast in the St. George's East constituency, said in a press Release that she had been "browbeaten" by Messrs Kendrick Radix and George Louison, prominent MBPM members, into signing a statement which "does not give a true picture". The controversy centres around the ollceation that MBPM approached Sir Eric Gairy with a view to forming a common front with his Grenada United Labour Party (GULP) to protest the conduct of the recent-General Elections. Mr. SRadix has denied this, but, in his Party newspaper of December 1st issue Sir Eric claims that an approach was.made. "..hil I had decided to lay low with Mr. Radix' denial that a prominent :'BiM member had visited me", he said, "I must clear the air since silen.ce on my part would tend to tarnish my reputation and, particularly, as more and more people have been coming to respl-ct the verity of my written and spoken word". Sir Eric said Mrs. Gittens-Thompson visited him and told him she had been sent by MBPM to find out what GULP planned to do "concerning the Election fraud". The GULP Political Leader reported pleasantries he had exchanged with the lady and indicated that there had been a discussion concerning the purpose of her visit to him. "Our 25-minute discussions were mutually regarded as confidential", Sir Eric said, "and, as far as I am concerned, it would remain so". In her Press Release, Mrs. Gittens-Thompson said the visit to sir Eric had not been her idea but had been at Sir Eric's invitation, She named a prominent Government official in the Information Service as bringing the i invitation from Sir Eric and said she did not discuss the matter with Mr. Radix or any other MBPM Leader before accepting it. However, naming a wellknown Gren'adian barrister, 'rs. Gittens-Thompson said ae is Mr. Radix' "close advisor" and, when she had discussed the invitation with this man,"...he tho' .-ht it was a good idea (and) I have every reason to believe Mr. Radix 'iid or would approve". -continued- period Ending 31.12.84 Page 14 Pe iod Ending 31/12/84 THL 'REr:.DA NEWSLUTTIR Page 15 Neither the Information Service official nor the barrister was available for comment. The Gittens-Thompson press Release says Messrs. Radix and Louison were "very abusive in their demands" that she sign the statement prepared by them. She said also that "the basis of the statement is correct" but, aft- er she had signed it, Nessrs. Radix and Louison added the words, "I wish to apologise to the Party and the people for the damage this incident has caus- ed", Mrs. Gittens-Thompson said she sees no cause for apology and, if any damage has been done to fiBYHM, it resulted because Mr. Radix' barrister "close ad- visor" did not tell her Mr. Radix would not approve of accepting Sir Eric's invitation. "I have today resigned from the MBPM", Mrs. Gittens-Thompson said. "I re- sent the browbeating and pressure brought on me by Mr. Radix and Mr. Louison to make me sign the statement, and also the Party directives as to who I can and cannot speak to". The ex-tHBPM cmrdidnte said she particularly resents the adding to the state- ment after she had signed it. This is a dangerous and deceptive practice, she said, and she has publicly disassociated herself from MBPM. JONES ADDRESSES POLICEMEN Honourable Ben Jones, recently appointed Minister for Legal Affairs in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Herbert Blaize, told a passing-out parade of train- ee policemen on December 20th that the safety and security of G-rrnada de-p.-nr on their performance. "I have been told that we will not have an army', he said, "therefore, every aspect of security in this state will depend on you and how you perform. And this is why I want to entreat you, as you go about your normal duty, to bear in mind that you are the custodians of the law and the eyes of the na- tion will be turned on you, watching what you do and. how you do it". This was one of Mr. Jones' first official acts and the passing-out parade was the fourth since the training programme started. There were 35 men on parade and they bring to 210 the number of policemen who have received training. This trnirinng pro'gramme has been divided into three phases, most of the men now having completed phases 1 and 2. In February next, phase 3 will begin. !The best trainees from each of the graduating classes will take part in phase 3, the aim being to create in this phase a specially trained 8C-man para-military force. -continued- t I page 6 TI:E GR1ADA NE1'SL.TTER period Ending 31.12.84 Mr. Jones told the graduates that the law will be the instrument with which they will work and that instrument will give them a great dealt of p6wer and authority. They will have the power to arrest and to use a certain amount of force if there is resistance, he said. "I want to remind you that, in exercising those authorities", he eaid, tre- member that you must do it with consideration. The laws you will he at- tempting to enforce .apply requ:illy to you and you will be subject to tzem to the same extent as the ordinary citizen". Mr. Jones told the policemen their salaries will be paid from funds provided by the ordinary citizen. This made them servants of the people, he said, and no servant can be greater than his master. Also attending the ceremony was Mr. Cosmos Raymond, deputy Commissioner of police and Mr. Ben Andrew, parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Secur- ity, which is in the prime Minister's portfolio. PIERRE DJII-.S "r-ACHIIG" Senator Eric pierro, General Secretary of the Grenada Seamen and Waterfront Workers Union (SWUU) has denied charges that his union has been guilty of "poaching activities". In October, the Bank and General Workers Union (BGWU) complained to the Trade Union Council (TUC) that SWWU was poaching its members employed at Gre- nada Breweries Ltd. In a press Release issued on December 17th, TUC said that, with agreement of both unions, an impartial umpire was appointed to settle the matter. Before the umpire could meet the two parties, however, TUC said, the Labour Commissioner took a poll at Grenada Breweries and this, according to TUC, was in defiance of Grenada's labour laws and repeated requests from the TUC president, Mr. Basil Harford, to resolve the matter before the umpire as re- quired by the TUC constitution. "The activities of SVJWU-.in violation of the constitution and the TUC work plan has been viewed by the Council with great disappointment", the TUC re- lease said, "especially as it was pointed out to both unions at the Manage- ment Council Meeting that they should cease organising activities pending the outcome of the investigations of the impartial umpire". Mr. Pierre said i. an interview on December 17th that, before the complaint was made against S:'.TU, his union had applied to the Labour Commissioner for a poll to be taken at Grenada Breweries. i"We did not approach the BVjGU .:urkers at Grenada Breweries", Mr. pierre said, S"they .ecnt representatives to us three or four times saying they had no wish -continued- 1 - T.!.Z -REtADA NEWSLETTER to be-lohg to a 'political' union. At their request, I had a meeting with the workers at the Brewery. I encouraged them to take up their grievances with B3,U but they were determined to have nothing further to do with that Union". Mr. Pierre said the workers at Gren.d-. Brew-ries are not the only workers belonging to BGWU who have expressed a desire to leave that Union which was founded by a prominent member of the New Jewel Movement, Vince Noel, who died in a massacre at Fort George in October 1983. Mr. pierre said workers at the Grenada Beach Hotel, Spice Island Inn and Caribbean Agro Industries (operators of the flour mill), all members of BGWU, have approached SVIWU and stated they no longer wish to be B'!GU mem- bers. The Labour Commissioner cleared it with the Attorney General that it was legal to conduct the poll, he said, and when the poll was taken, 52 of the 59 workers voting chose SWWU. "The people in TU.C are talking about poaching", Mr.. Pierre said, but they do not know the meaning of the word. I have suggested to them that they speak to the workers at Grenada Breweries and discover for themselves what the facts are". A similar situation existed last July with workers at the Health Department and the St. Georgcs University School of Medicine where the Technical and Allied Workers Union (TAWU) has r:co01nition, Mr. pierre said. The Senator said these workers complained to SWWU that they were not getting service from TAWU and requested SWWU to represent'them. As he had done with the BGWU workers at Grenada Breweries, Mr. Pierre,said, he advised the TAWU workers to discuss the matter with their union and, in that case, the mat- tet had been resolved. The SWWU General Secretary said most of the LG.VU members had been forced to join that union in the days of the Peoples Revolutionary Government and now the Grenada Breweries workers have come over to-SWWU because they no longer wish to belong to:whnt they call a "political"union. VENE U LATI EMBASSY BROKEN INTO A Sunday morning chase by an alert young man may open the way to solve th, mystery of two break-ins suffered by the Venequelan Embassy in Grenada. j Mr. Hyron Donald drove his parents to Churqh in St. George's on Sunday, December 30th and, having dropped them off, was returning home when he saw a lady he knows, Mrs "Ma" Lottie Phillip standing in the street outside her -continued- ItI period ..nding 31.12.84 Page 7' page 18 THL GRENADA JS,.LLpTTER Period Ending 31.12.84 Mrs. Phillip seemed agitated so Mr. Donald stopped his car and inquired. Mrs. Phillip said she had heard sounds of someone breaking into the next-door Vene- zuelan Embassy so Mr. Donald went to investigate. That Embassy is on the top floor of a 3-storied building and there is.a long flight of outside stairs le:iding to the entrance* At the top, Mr. Donald foundd the door open, and inside, there was a man in the front office. The man ran out a back door and Mr. Donald raced back down the stairs to the Street. Mr. Donald is a motor mechanic and his car, a "3000 Capri", has had its en- -ine souped-up and body remodelled with loving care. He calls it "Kit" aft- er the computorised car seen in the television series "Knight Rider". "Ma Lottie told me the man had run up the street past where the traffic pol- iceman was on point duty", Mr. Donald said, "so I jumped into "Kit' and gave chase"* SJenic he got to the policeman, the officer gave Mr. Donald the direction the man had run and, shortly after, he caught up with the fugitive standing in front of a shop. Mr. Donald told the man it would be better if he came with him but the man pulled a knife so Mr. Donald left and alerted Embassy offi- cials and the police. Examination of the premises showed the man gained entrance by removing an air conditioner. Inside, doors had been beaten open with a hammer and desk "rawers had been forced. Nothing had been stolen. The disturbing: feature of the incident is the apparent attempt at arson. The Embassy opiertes a stand-by electricity generator and keeps a 5-gallon ccn- tainer of gas on the premises. That container was found, half-empty, aban- ioned in the p-ssage leading to the Ambassador's office. The rest of the gas had been poured around a bank of three 4-drawer locked filing cabinets in the office of the Ambassador's secretary. And there was a trail of gas from the cabinets to the entrance door. Sources close to the Embassy said there had been a similar break-in some 4 months ago. Nothing had been stolen then either but there had been no at- tempt at arson. There was, however, one peculiar aspect of that first inci- dent. In the outer office, on the desk of one of the secretaries, was found a blank letterhead no one has been able to ex:-lin. The bottom right hand corner wa ' torn off and at the top of the letterhead was printed, "From the desk of the A Ambassador of Cuba, Grenada". A Police official said it is only a matter of time before the intruder dis- turbed by Mr. Donald is caught. "From Mr. Donald's description" he said, 'we know who he is and we will find him"I -continued- period Ending 31.12.84 THE GRENADA NEWSLETTER Pag- 19 And the police got a "bonus" out of their investigations. Looking for the man, they approached a house which undesirables are known to frequent. The man was not there but, before they could enter the house and question the occupants, a zipper bag containing several hundred dollars worth of mari- juana was thrown,out of a window. The thrower was not identified. Uil~TS DO B:.DLY For yet another year,,the Grenada Cooperative Nutmeg Association (GCNA) has been forced to dip into its reserve funds in order to put cash in the hands of farmers for Christmas. In a financial statement circulated early in December to the 6,000 plus nutmeg growers in the island, the Nutmeg Board shows a loss of over half a million East Caribbean (EC) dollars on the trading year ended 30th June 19684 However, cheques were prepared by the Association to distribute 1.2 million EC dollars to growers. This has been made possible because one of the last acts of Mr. Nicholas Brathuaite's Interim Government was to approve a grant of .5 million EC to the Association from the European Economic Community's (EEC) STABEX alloca- tion. STABEX is a fund used by EEC to stabilise export prices of commodities from the African, pacific and Caribbean (APC) countries with which EEC has an economic treaty. Additionally, GCNA transferred .7 million EC dollars from reserves, thus making a "surplus" of i.2 million which was distributed to growers. GCIIA is the statutory body through which all exports of nutmegs and mace must be made and the operation of the Association is to buy these commodi- ties from growers throughout the trading year and, when the books are closed on 30th June, to pay out the "surplus", if any. However, because of unfavourable world market conditions, the fortunes of the Association have been on the decline since 1978. In that year, the surplus was 4 million EC dollars. This figure fell to 2.8 million in 1979 but a transfer from Reserves permitted a "surplus" payment of 4.3 million SEC dollars in that year. The actual trading profit fell, in 1980 to 2.1 million, in 1981 to less than .5 million and in 1982 to a mere 45 thousand dollars. Inroads were made on reserves in those years to pay "surplusses" of 4 million, 3.1 mil- lion and 1.0 million respectively. -continued- L Page 20 ''E GREIJ,'..\ 1 .T.LLTTER period Ending 31.12.84 In 1983, trading for the year resulted in a loss of 152.4 thousand dollars but a transfer from Res.rves allowed a payment of 1.2 million as "surplus" to growers, and the 1984 year, with loss increasing to 576.7 thousand dol- lars, was helped by Reserves and the STABEX gr-nt to pay 1.2 million. Over the period 1979 to 1984, GCN. has drawn some 9.5 million EC dollars from reserve funds to put with a total profit of 4.7 million to pay a "sur- plus" of over 14 million EC dollars. In a report to growers, GCNA said the STEEX funds had not yet been received. It was hoped they will be paid into the Association's account in December and, in the meantime, overdraft facilities were provided by Barclay's Bank International and the National Cofmcrcial Bank of Grenada. Mr. Robin Renwick, GCNA manager, said in an interview on December 13th that trading in the period July to December 1984 has shown a slight improvement over the average for the trading year ended 30th June last, but the improve- ment is "nothing s:ectacular".l "The constant drr.;ing upon reserve funds to fill out the 'surplus', is a very unhealthy sign", he said, "and it is not a practice which we can continue in- definitely". FIRE IN ST. GEORGE'S Hundreds of Grenadians and the Grenada Fire Service stood and watched im- potently on December 17th as a fire of unknown origin completely destroyed a wooden dwelling house in St.Juille Street in St. George's The fire was first seen and reported about 10.45 a.m. but the Fire Brigade was slow in arriving and, the First Aid tender having exhausted its tank, there was no water in the mains and the fire burned uncontrolled until the house was entirely consumed by flames. Residents of the area said the house had not been occupied but they alleg- ed that it was frequented by "pot" smokers and it was suggested that this activity may have been the cause of. the fire. As a precaution, furniture from the nearest house to the fire was removed to the nearby Roman Catholic St. Joseph's Convent. Several nuns, sisters, Roman Catholic Bishop of Grenada, Sydney Charles and the Vicar General Cyril Lamontagne, were seen actively engaged in this operation with other members of the public. No injuries were reported : the value of the fire loss could not be ascer- tained but residents said, the house was in great need of repair. ^ 'f4 period Ending 31.12.84 THL CREND_ NEhSLETTLR -age 21 TH;( ST. BL NA.RD CASE A former Captain in the Trinidad & Tobago Defence Force and a graduate of Sandhurst, the British Officers' Training School, gave evidence on December 12th for the prosecution against Ian St. Bernard, former member of the Peo- ples Revolutionary Government and Ccmmissioner of Police. Mr. St. Bc'rnard is charged with "preparing by the show of armed force to procure an alteration in the Government of the State of Grenada", a charge said to be very close to treason, and the charge relates to events which took place here in October of last year when the late Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and others were killed at Fort George. The Saindhjrst graduate, Mr. Cecil Tony Buxo, who is now an Optometrist, was the fifth witness to give evidence in this Preliminary Inquiry which opened before Magistr-te Jerome Forde on October 1st. On that date, Mr. Robert Evans, a businessman and a cousin of Maurice Bishop was the only person to give evidence. The case was then adjourned until October 8th but the Prosecution was not ready and no evidence was heard un- til October 15th when three witnesses appeared. These were Mr. Anthony Munro, a businessman who had been detained by the Peoples Revolutionary Army (Pji.), Ms. Dale Ho3d who is an ex-member of the PRA and police Inspector Jasper "'atson of the Barbados Police Force, now seconded to the Grenada Police Force. At the end of the hearing on December 12th, after Mr. Buxo's evidence, the prosecution rested its case and Jamaican barrister Mr. Delano Harrison call- ed no witnesses but made a "no case" submission. This was replied to by S Grcnada's Jamaican-born Director of public Prosecutions, Mrs. Velma Hylton, Q.C. Magistrate Fordc reserved his decision which "ill be delivered on January 10th. MeIanwhile, Mr. St. Bernard remains free on bail. According to Grenadian law, evidence given at a Preliminary Inquiry may not be reported. Mr. St. Bernard was one of 20 persons charged with the murder of Maurice Bishop and others on 19th October 1983. In a Preliminary Inquiry ended on .Aju3t 8th last, he was freed of this change. The other 19 remain in cust- ody and are experiencing difficulty in retaining Defence lawyers. The ne' issizes open on February 5th'and this case may be heard then. The present charge againstt Mr. St. Bernard was laid on August 21st. ^iJ period Ending 31.12.84 JCOIIS DEPORTED A 'Vest German national, Mr. Gerhard W. Jonas, convicted here for firearm offences, has had his sentences remitted by Governor General Sir Paul Scoon. At the same time, Sir Paul has issued a deportation order against Mr. Jonas as an undesirable alien. Mr. Jonas came to Grenada during the regime of the peoples Revolutionary Government (PRG) and was employed by the PRG on a road construction project. He stayed on in Grensda after the October 1983 Militar Intervention and, early in October last, was arrested and charged with being in illegal possess- ion of a submachine gun and ammunition. On October 17th he was found guilty and was sentenced to serve two three-month sentences. The Governor General's orders of romi!sion of the unserved part of I tences and of deportation are dated December 3rd and Mr. Jonas was Departing plane the next morning. concurrent the sen- put on a A. GR7T'.'DI.N CHRISTMAS United States troops in Grenada (and possibly some of the Caribbean Peace- keeping force) will learn things about the Grenada Christmas they didn't know last year. December 1983 was too close to October 1985... the events of October were too fresh in mind and there could not have been much notice of the Christmas things Grenadians take for granted. For instance, greet a Grenadian with the universally traditional "Merry Christmas" and the reply comes back, "Many happy returns". This is not to be confused with the birthday greeting, "Many happy returns of the day". What the Grenadian is saying is, happilyy, I am returning your greeting to you many times". As happened in 1983, it was expected many of the visiting soldiers the Caribbean and United States would be invited to have Christmas with Grenadian families. And, they would enjoy again the special Which make the Grenadian Christmas. SThere would be ham and turkey, of course. But, there would also 1 pfI' pot". This is an inheritance from the Amerindians who used tl manioc root to make a meat preservative called "cassareep". This from dinner things be "pep- he bitter dish must be prepared in an earthenware pot as the cassareep would eat ihto anything ietal with serious gastronomic effects. "-, -continued- Page 22 I I THE GNZNuD."D iJEJSLETT-R THE GRLN ,D, IiJE'S.LETTER The only thing which mUst not be put into the,peppetpot is fish. Outside of that, it's your choice. Beef, pork, chicken, lamb., oxtail ...* it's all there and, just warm the pot everyday and it lasts on and on with what- ever you add to it. There's a tradition of some families bequeathing their pepperpots as heirlooms. In Grenada, if Christmas dinners to be a Christmas dinner, there are cer- tain essentials. There must be "cush-cush", a delicate purple yam which is never available ab\ny other time of the year. And there must be green peas and fribd plantains. On the "soft" drink side, the two Christmas drinks in Grenada ( and most of the Caribbean community) are sorrel and ginger beer. Ginger beer is made from the root of the ginger plant while sorrel is made from the bright red flower of a s1c-cies of hibiscus plant. After the seed has been removed, the flower is put to soak in water, then it is "drawn" and put to "set" in bottles... A secret in the manufacture of sorrel, learned the hard way, is never, re- peat, never, put sorrel to set in bottles with screw tops. It must be put in bottles with corks. As sorrel sets, it ferments, gets "ripe", they say in Grenada, and there comes a time when the fermentation reaches a point when it will blow out the bottle cork. The fermentation is so strong that, without this safety valve, the sorrel will burst the bottle with the conse- quent risk of flying glass. For the "hard".drinks, at Christmas, in addition to the usual rum, whiskey, beer,:gin, vodka, etc., there is "ponchecrema-, a concoction of rum, eggs, sugar, milk and nutmeg whose smooth consistency masks a potency which is not readily apparent. In Grenada, at Christmas, a tale is sometimes recounted to "correct an error' appearing in most standard dictionaries. In those dictionaries, the word "grog":is said to mean "a mixture of rum and water" and the Grenadians have no argument with this. 'ihat they do take issue with is the derivation of the word which, in the dictionaries, is traced back to a certain British Admiral Vernon who, in 1740', is said to have ordered that water be mixed with the rum before it was issued to his sailors. This Admiral wore a cloak of silk, mohair and wool, known as a "Grogram" cloak, and, because that earned him the nickname of "Old Grog" the rum and water mixture he ordered for his sailors is said by the dictionaries to hav become known as "grog". lGrenadians dispute this derivation and relate a far more attractive story. According to the islanders, at a time when Grenada was known for its fine rum and was a major supplier of this commodity to the Britishmarket, the British Navy decided to draw its supplies direct from the rum manufacturer: in Grenada rather than buy through a merchant in Londbn, -continued- . priod Ending 31.12.84 .. Page 23 P-.ge 24 THE GREN.D\I NE:.3;LETTER period Ending 31.12.84 Because it was aged in casks for many years before being shi iped, all Grenada rum was marked, "Old Grenada" to indicate its excellence but the Navy wanted special markings to, differentiate it from the stuff sold io the market. This vas in the reign of George 3rd and so all Grenadian exporters were told to mark "Georgeus Rex Old Grenada" on all casks of rum shipped for the Navy. These instructions were followed at first, but it took too much time and ef- fort to write it out in full so, after a while, it was abbreviated to the First letter of each word, G-R-O-G. And, for the Grenadian, that's a much better story for Christmas:than Admir- al Vernon's Grogram cloak. THZ GR2NADA MACE STe Mace, in any House of parliament, is a piece of ceremonial equipment re- Spresenting the authority of the House, but the Mace of the Grenada House of , Representatives is, in addition,a thing of mystery. .hen the Gron:.da parliiamnt opened on December 28th, the Mace was ceremonious- ly carried into the Chamber of the House and laid on its special cradle. Be- fore that, it h-id rested, unremembered and gathering.dust, in some cupboard after the New Jewel Movemen' revolutionaries had in 1979, banned the Consti- tution and the "Wlestminster' Style" form of Government. this was not the first time the Mace has dropped out of sight.'' According to informed sources close to parliament, it disappearede" from the House in 1876, Sa significant year in Grenada's history. .t that time, the island had a Constitution from Britain which gave it, if not " the powers of an independent nation, then control of its own affairs to a far :greater extent than a Crown Colony. But, the majority of the elected members of.the Government of that day were not of the calibre to cope with this re- sponsibility. -hey passed a Resolution abolishing their Constitution and, in an address to uc.en Victoria, said, "..*4e leave entirely to your Majesty's wisdom and dis- cretion to erect such form f Government as your Majesty shall deem most de- sirable for the welfare o he Colony..".. 'The result was that, for the next 50 years, there were no elections in Grena- da and the island wnsg.-overne.i by decree from London. IIt was during that period thi the mace, solid silver, measuring 4 ft. 9 ins., with a weight of 45 pounds, is said to have ndisnpp.-ared", 7hat happened to it is anyone's guess, but Grenada was granted Limited Repre- .entative Government in 1925 And, 5 years later, the mace was again occupying its place in the Legislative Chamber. -contd.- ,~~~- _^________________^------------ page 26 THE GREN.'.D.1 N: 'SLETTER period Ending 31.12.84 In asking for assistance from the -ublic for his Government to carry out its programmes, he used a popular proverb which nceds no explanation. The Government and people need each other, he said, because "one hand can't olap". SI!IRTJ..CS OUT 1 At the ceremonial opening of the Grenada Parliament on December 28th the dress of Members of the House of Representttives and Senate was noticeably in sharp contrast to what has become the norm in Parliament up to the time of the 1979 revolution. All Members in Parliament conformed, to "colonial" standards. The conven- tional, "jacket and tie" was the order of the day and some of the parliament- arians had on the full regalia of three-piece suits. This was a reversal of the trend which began after the General Elections of December 1976. At the first meeting of parliament..after those Elections, 5 of the 6 Opposition Members of the House wore shirtjack suits. They were Messrs. Norris Bain, Bern'rd Cgard,..Unison Whiteman, 'inston Whyte and Maur- ice Bishop, and that was :the first time this Caribbean-style dress had been seen in the Grenada parliament. . The sixth Member of the Opposition, Mr. Herbert Blaize, was dressed in collar land tie. Informed sources told NEWSLETTER that the Speaker of the House decides what Dress is appropriate. Those sources said also that in an effort to "raise standardss, there will be insistence on the "jacket and tie" mode of dress tin parliament. Alister Hughes 31st December 1984 , o j : * ^ - Cynthia Hughes printed &-,Publisied by the Proprietors .AlXster & Cynthia Hughes, Journalists: of Sqott Street ,.St., Georgee, Grenada, Westiadies I t .1. *5 I .1 " i, '9 i __ period Ending 31.12.84 THL GREIJ,D.. NEVSLETTR Page 25 But the greatestmystery of the Grtn.,da Mace is its origin. It bears the old Arms of the island which show a primitive sugar mill operated by slaves ard oxen with the Latirt words which mean, "these will be thine arts". And, like most silver, it bears a hallmark which indicates the year of its manu- facture. That year is 1780 or 1781, but this does not fit comfortably into Gronodrn's history. In 1779, the French captured Grenada from the British who had been in poss- ession for some 16 yas bYefore that. And the French held Gren3ad until 1783 when the Treaty of Versailles gave the island back to the British. So, in 1780 and 1781, when Grenada was in the hands of the French, the Mace was trade in Enlrnnd for an-EnglisHi-sp'iaking Government 6f Grenaia which did not exist. Of course, the order may have been placed with the silversmiths before Bri- tain lost the island in 1779 and it was made and kept in anticipation of recovering Grenada. And, as far as its disappearance in 1876 is concerned, some patriotic soul may have had it in safekeeping, anticipating a return to Representative Democratic Government at some time. The answers are shrouded in'the darkness of poorly kept records. On Dec- ember 28th, however, Geran-diins saw, nace more, the Mace of the Grenada House of Representatives, the symbol of parliamentary Democracy, in its honoured place in the Chambor of Parliament Building. ONE .'.ND CAN'T CLAP By his liberal sprinkling of words, phrases and proverbs drawn from the Gre- nadiin vernacular, Prime Minister Herbert Blaize delighted his listeners on December 14th as he made his speech to the nation during the Ecumenical Service of dedication. Referring to the United States intervention .n October 1983, and highlight- ing that action as God-inspired, Mr. Blaize said it is well known that, "when God can't come, he does send". (When God can't come,he sends). In another instance, giving the reason why poli cians elected to public office should publish a statement of their fin ial position, he said, "so when things turn ole mas, you can tell if they practice rachefay". (so, at the moment of truth, you will know' if they h-'e bekp dishonest). Speaking out against those who use the roads of Grenada as race tracks for their vehicles, he said they are behaving as aif "speed is going out of style". And he said, woe betice those who break the regulations to stop this becnauBe "crapeau Smbke their pipe" ,: (They will be in a very serious sition)onnu -continued- ~ Full Text

Full Text The Jo and Pai of Buyin Foreclos a~iuurao~Jlldlllld1~8~1~Ele~-~31111 ys ins IllS iga iure iPagi 10 Abortion Comment . Shows How Out of Touch Many S Conservatives liillk h Sveal Slhllcs lile Secrcis of Iis Success and I Longevity Page 11 I)cades \After Apartheid, Life in South Africa Still Dismal for Many and Now They Are Rebelling Page 12 FIA LIBRARY HISTORY 205 SMA UN\'" P.O. Box 17 '"" Gainlesville .*i''' b K IS I C 0 A Sbl Q L ALITY1 1 B LAC K SE K L Y Cents 50 Cents FAMU to Try to Settle Suit Over Band Hazing Death TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Florida A&M University wants to try to settle the family's lawsuit against the school over the hazing death of a band member. Trustees voted last week to enter a voluntary medi- ation. "Occupy the Corners" Plans to Man NYC Streets NEW YORK, NY Rev. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network (NAN) are launching an "Occupy the Corers" initiative aimed at curbing gun violence on New York streets. Beginning Friday, Aug. 17, NAN members, community organiza- tions, politicians and church leaders began standing on covers in "hotspot" areas around New York City from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. for four consecutive weekends. Participants will be on watch for signs of vio- lence and talking to residents in efforts to foster a greater sense of community and show support to neighborhoods scarred by violence. The initiative is timely given the recent spate of gun violence occur- ring in many New York neighborhoods. Tuesday, four teens were shot when a gunman opened fire in a park where the teens were watching a neighborhood basketball game. Last month, five people were shot at Harlem's historic Rucker Park after a man started shooting into the crowd in the heat of an argument. For more information, visit: D.C. Students Being Paid to Attend Summer School Going to school this summer is a lucrative opportunity for 305 stu- dents in Washington, D.C. Under the Summer Youth Employment Program, the D.C. school district is paying students $5.25 an hour to attend summer school in an effort to help students in jeopardy of not finishing high school in four years. When District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) initially opened sign-ups for the "Summer Bridge" summer school program, only 95 students signed up. So they recruited students from other agencies, students with poor academic and behavior records. The school system plans to review this year's results and possibly expand the program next year. However, critics of the program question whether it is a good strat- egy to pay students to go to school. "How much will we pay going forward, and who will we pay, and what's the cutoff to get paid?" local political consultant Chuck Thies told the Washington Examiner. "It's critical that we get at-risk students and under-performing students and failing students into the program, but I don't think incentivising them with money sends the right mes- sage." Mom Beats Children's Football Coach Over Molestation Allegations A Tennessee mother faces criminal charges after she nearly beat a kids' football coach to death with a baseball bat over claims he molest- ed her sons. Lakeshia Richmond, 27, of Memphis, admitted she took the law into her own hands when her boys, aged 8 and 9, told her they had been groped by their coach, Tony Massey. "I asked them 'Did he touch you bad, did he touch you down there?' and my little boy said 'yes,'" Richmond told reporters, "and I said 'was it just you?' and he said 'no, it was some more kids."' Within an hour of being told this information, Richmond saw the lit- tle league football coach walking alone in Memphis on Saturday. "When I see him, I see my kids being hurt and that's all I see," she told WREG-TV. It was then that Richmond said she flipped. She went to the trunk of her car and pulled out a baseball bat. She chased Massey down and began beating him repeatedly with the bat. "During the beating he was saying he didn't do it and that he was sorry," said Richmond. "If you didn't do it then why are you saying you're sorry? What are you sorry for?" Massey was found, bleeding and badly injured, by police officers and remains in a serious condition in hospital. "I didn't intend to do whatever I did to him," Richmond said at a media conference, after she was released from jail on a $10,000 bond. "I apologize, but I don't apologize for what happened to my kids." Volume 25 No. 44 Jacksonville, Florida August 23-29, 2012 U.S. Court Says Florida's Early Voting Rules Discriminatory Back to School Preparation on the First Coast As children across the city prepared to return to schools, many in the urban areas took advantage of the Jacksonville Local Organizing Committee of the Millions More Movement Inc. Back to School ,Clothes Give Away. Children of all ages arrived with their parents to make their selection of clean useable clothes to be used during the school year at the event held off Myrtle Avenue. New rules that reduce the number of early voting days in Florida are an unfair burden on minorities, a U.S. federal court said in a ruling that upheld the U.S. Justice Department's decision to block the changes in five of the state's 67 counties. The Justice Department and civil rights groups had argued that a 2011 Florida law allowing counties to reduce the window for early vot- ing from 96 hours per week to as few as 48 made it more difficult for minorities to vote than whites. The federal government blocked the rules from taking effect in five counties -- Collier, Hendry, Osceola, Polk and Lee -- by invok- ing the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which allows it to veto voting rules changes in certain states and coun- ties with histories of racial repres- sion. Florida's 62 other counties, including Duval, are not protected by the provision in the Voting Rights Act cited by the Justice Department, so their voting rules changes took effect immediately. In June, Florida told the District Court in Washington that reducing early voting hours did not affect overall turnout. In the 2008 presidential election, more than half of black voters in Florida cast their ballots during the early voting period, twice the rate of white voters. Continued on page 9 Jacksonville Chapter of Links S.nd S'dtudents Back to School Well Equipped In support of Operation New Hope, members of the Jacksonville Chapter of the Links, Incorporated donated school supplies for the 2012 2013 school year. It is well documented that a child without school supplies in hand is at a greater risk for truancy. With that in mind, the chapter held two sup- ply collecting events to assist Duval students. The Jacksonville Chapter of The Links, Incorporated consists of leaders, newsmakers, activists and volunteers working toward the realization of a better life for citi- zens of Jacksonville. The chapter was chartered in 1966. Nationally The Links, Incorporated is an inter- national, not-for-profit corporation, established in 1946. (Shown L-R) Seated: Kenyonn Demps, Vice-President, Betty A. Cody, President; Standing: Links Kelly King Toaston, Marjoria J. Manning, Candace A. Thompson, Monique McCarthy, Anest McCarthy, Mari- Esther Norman, Miriam Ann Gayle, Gail Riley Kenney, Geraldine Smith, Karen Smith, Adrianne McFarlin King, Brenda Simmons-Hutchins, and Jimminda L. Thompson. Blodgett Homes Community Celebrates 12th Reunion with a Party with a Purpose Shown above are Kenyatte Kilpatrick, Kenya Kilpatrick, Lavern Jenkins-White, Reggie Stance, Deloris Bryant-Bookelr Emma Godbee, Bole Tilghman, Shala Sheria and Darlene Williams and seated Otha Greer. The ladies helped to register voters during the festivities. The 12th annual "Everlasting Families" of Blodgett Homes and surrounding areas Reunion was held this past Saturday at Julius Guinyard Park (formerly Jefferson St. Park). The rich history of Blodgett Homes journey began when the housing complex began in 1942 at a time when family housing was important to the city and its residents. The homes were eventu- ally torn down in 1989 and rebuilt in 1994. Former residents returned last weekend to celebrate the his- toric landmark and the many years of families united for life as neigh- bors. "Our main goal is to strength- en the community and develop our children and encourage families to keep families together," said Everlasting Families Committee President and reunion founder Elizabeth Ding. The reunion area includes Julian Street to Cleveland and Adams to South 8th Street. Among the festivities were a full program featuring the Golden Girls Dance group and a historic presen- tation of the many contributions to the area. For more photos, see page 11 Judge Brian Davis prevailed in a recount for his bid for the Fourth Judicial Group One race against Melina Buncome. According to Florida Statute 102.141(7), the Secretary of State ordered a recount for multicounty races if the unofficial results reflect that a candidate for any office is eliminated by one-half of a percent or less for such office then a recount is ordered. Candidate Brian J. Davis won by 50.32% overall in Clay, Duval and Nassau counties, which is less than one-half of a percent and whereas eliminated Candidate Melina Buncome (Williams). Candidate Davis won by 69,306 votes cast in order of no recount Davis needed 69,550 votes cast. Can Be Page 4 I -I 31`~~~L~ ____ August 23-29, 2012 Page 2 Ms. Perry's Free Press The Good, the Bad and the Ugly When It Comes To Buying Foreclosures by real estate attorney Caril Lee I receive calls every week from potential clients who express a strong interest or desire in purchasing fore- closures. However, many have a lack of understanding and do not fully comprehend how they work, which has fostered an unusual amount of myths and pre-conceived notions among consumers. For this reason, before enlisting the services of a Re- altor, you should know the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to buying foreclosures. There are some great opportunities in this current real estate market for first time and move-up buyers to pur- chase a home. Not only are interest rates the lowest Ithey have been inll years, which significantly reduces your monthly mortgage payment and the amount )you will sal\ over the life of the loan, but homes that were ex- tremely inflated during the boom have now returned to prices that a\v- erage consumers can afford. \With that being the case, countless people to believe that there is a plethora of foreclosed homes available at unre- alistic bargain basement prices. Due to this belief, the first thing I clarify when speaking with clients re- garding foreclosures is whether they want to buy a home that is scheduled for a trustee sale/auction at the court- house or do they want an RIO) (Real IHstate Owned) property because many do not know the difference. When a lender forecloses on a property, they arrange for a trustee sale, which is a court auction where the property is sold to the highest bidder. Due to the fast pace and com- plex nature of the bidding process, auctions usually bring professional investors with deep pockets that have done very good due diligence on the !...icelltic they intend to bid on. You would need to do your own footwork to determine when and what proper- ties are being sold, as well as care- fully researching any liens, back taxes judgments etc. Also, since inspecting the property prior to the sale is not usually possi- ble, there may be problems such as termite/water damage, mold or other expensive issues or damage caused by the previous tenant or owner. In addition, once you purchase the property, if it is not vacant, you may have to evict tenants or squatters and this process could take months and/or require the help of an attorney. If a property does not sell at an auction, usually because bidders could not buy it at a price that would turn a profit, it then becomes an REO and the lender assigns it to a Realtor to sell. Although it will be listed at a competitive price to move quickly, the listing price is usually in line with other distressed homes in the neigh- borhood, which includes short sales. If you submit a low ball offer on an already competitively priced home, you will most likely be outbid as I have seen time and time again or your offer may be flat out rejected by the bank. Homes listed as standard or regu- lar sales may be priced a bit higher, but you have more options and room for negotiation because there is an actual home owner involved. With a foreclosure or a short sale, you are dealing with a bank where the sale is usually "As Is" with no repairs, war- ranties or closing costs included be- cause they are already taking a loss. In addition, since the competition is usually higher for distressed sales, especial in prime neighborhoods, they often times garner multiple of- fers. Therefore, instead of solely fo- cusing on foreclosures, it is wiser to focus on ALL homes within your price range because at the end of the day, you should buy the absolute best house that meets all of your needs and criteria. As Medicare Turn 46, What's News for You By Doug Heinle Everything changes as it accumu- lates more birthdays including vital program like Medicare. Medicare turned 46 on July 30, and olh'? Because different parts of the law will go into effect over a number of years, it's important to understand the changes that are in store for you. The AARP Health Law Guide, located at ww\w.aarp.org/healthlawguide, can help you stay on top of the law as it takes effect. The guide can also cre- ate a personalized report that tells you how the law will help you. If you're uninsured, your report will identify coverage you nmay be eligi- ble to receive. In tlie meantime here are a few\ changes to appreciate Inow: 1. If you reach the MNedicare Part D doughnut hold the threshold at When You Should File an Amended Tax Return By Jason Alderman Not every interaction with the IRS must necessarily induce flop sweat. Case in point: A few years ago a friend of mine decided his income taxes had become sufficiently com- plicated to merit hiring an account- ant. mis- takes end on such a happy note. Sometimes people find out after sub- mitting a return that their employer had sent an incorrect W-2 form, or they forgot to report self-employ- ment re- turn. Worst case: You could even face criminal charges for filing a fraudu- lent return. Here's a guide to when and how - you should file an amended tax re- turn: If you discover an error on your federal income tax return after hav- ing already e-filed or mailed it, you may file an amended return using IRS Form 1040X (at). The following rules apply: S Amended returns cannot be e-filed; you must submit a paper ver- sion. S Submit a separate Form 1040X for each year's return you wish to amend and mail them in sep- arate envelopes. S Generally, you must file Form 1040X within three years from the date you filed your original return or within two years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later. If your amended return in- volves changes to another schedule or form, you must attach a revised version of that schedule or form. S If you're filing to claim an additional tax refund on a recently filed return, wait until you've re- ceived the original refund before fil- ing correc- tions and bill you for any additional tax required (or increase your re- fund). Nor must you file a 1040X if you forgot to attached tax forms or schedules to your return. The IRS will send a request if it needs them. However, you should file an amended return if you: Received additional or amended tax forms or statements from em- ployers, re- turn for a specific reason, review the entire original return carefully for any other deductions, credits or ex- emptions you might have missed the first time. ; r r \ p ^ ^ - ,:E tzf-r 9. ; cr v r I J 'j - SJ J......^ J J " : :. .F^ P .y'- -, l;3; ; . rt~j ~J~;j~ .- ' - j; ui, I JYA'M :'r r~:jJfyl\'/^ which you are responsible for a higher portion of your drug costs - you will receive a 50 percent dis- count on brand-name drugs and a 14 percent discount on generic drugs while in the coverage gap. 2. Medicare will provide pre- ventive care services such as mam- mograms and screenings for cancer and diabetes, as well as an annual wellness visit, all at no cost to you. 3. If you're considered "high-risk" due to prior or current health prob- lems, and if you have been uninsured for at least six months, you may buy insurance through the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PHIP) in Florida. 4. You may be able to add unin- sured children to your family's exist- ing insurance plan if they are under age 26. 5. If you get sick, you will not lose your coverage as long as you con- tinue to pay the premiums. For the latest information about Medicare, or to find events in your area, visit: Upgrading to the House of Your Dreams The real estate market is still in a state of limbo, which has many homeowners staying in place and looking for ways to make their cur- rent abode the most comfortable it can be. Real estate agents expect the market to continue to be flat in 2012, according to ActiveRain Corp, a real estate social network. Because they're not selling, homeowners are looking at remodeling rooms, chang- ing out decorating schemes and in some cases, even adding on to the home. Incorporating a new look into the home whether it's in the kitchen, bedroom or bathroom can really change the feel of the house. Upgrad- ing hous- ing economy turns around. Here are some tips to changing the bathroom of your home into a beau- tiful and comfortable space: *Vanity: Used for hand washing, preening in the mirror and brushing teeth, the vanity is one item in the bathroom that is the center of activ- ity. mir- ror hu- midity well to give your upgrade a longer lifespan. *Toilet: The toilet trends to be the largest water consumption appliance in homes. But replacing your older toilet with a high efficiency toilet, can really affect your utility bills. *Flooring: High humidity often found in bathrooms can quickly age the flooring, causing peeling and even cracking of dated linoleum. Plus, modern flooring products are much higher quality, and are built to withstand more traffic and high hu- midity environment. Consider using ceramic, clay or stone tiles, or lami- nate in stone or wood styles to mod- ernize the look of your bathroom. Upgrading a bathroom will trans- form your entire house with a new look and feel. And if you love the change enough, you might decide to continue the upgrade to another room, like the kitchen or master bed- room, turning your home into the beautiful house of your dreams. ACLU: 13,000 Qualified Ex Felons Not Registered to Vote By Michael Peltier (The News Service of Florida) More than 13,000 ex-felons may be eligible to vote but don't know it, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida said on August 1, citing data it obtained from the Florida Parole Commission. The ACLIU said be- cause al- lowed non-violent ex-felons to have their rights automatically restored. The policy was repealed in March 2011 after Florida Gov. Rick Scott and newly elected members of the Florida Cabinet voted to eliminate au- tomatic restoration and again make it more difficult for ex-felons to get their civil rights, including the right to vote, restored. Tammy Salmon. a parole commissioner administrative assistant said the figures were correct and reflect certificates mailed to recipients who could not be found and left no forwarding address. In some cases, the agency made "multiple at- tempts" to make contact, but to no avail she said. The parole commission's website allow s viewers to search to see if an ex-offender's rights have been restored. "We are going above and beyond to try to reach these folks," Salmoni said. Eligible residents must register by Oct. 9 to vote in the general election in November. ..~..~1......,,,...,.,,~,,,~,~~ 1'J~~~I(II~Ji IjifJlJ - -`~~-'"~""~"""""''" "`""~ !: g~~ ~I Ms. Perry's Free Press Page 3 SLt L I : o I 1 n5 WWt -.a-- Committed $3.06 MILLION to Florida nonprofits since 2011, to help continue their good work. Worked with 114,330 Florida homeowners facing financial difficulty since 2008, to modify their mortgages. V Extended $361MILLION in new credit to Florida small businesses so far in 2012. Bank of America, N.A., Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender Credit and collateral are subject to approval.This is not a commitment to lend. 2012 Bank of America Corpoer tion. AR lYW I 14' ,, H. . .. .'I PageX 4HANMEPery'sareeWresaugst let It's no secret that I am a big supporter of Akins Abortion Comment Shows How President Obama, but I try to be as objective as possible when looking at out of Touch Many Conservatives Are issues especially polt- He added, "If it's a legitimate tive Republican. women should plan ahead for rape ical issues. rape, the female body has ways to While Republican leaders are the way he keeps a spare tire. In response to the ridiculous . In response to the ridiculous try to shut that whole thing down. trying to distance themselves from Again, all I can say is wow. I wish statement by U.S. Rep Todd Akin, But let's assume that maybe that the Missouri Rep, and claim that that I was making this stuff up, but who just happens to be running for didn't work or something, I think Democrats are using this issue as a it's true. U.S. Senate, the president hit the , U.S. Senate, the president hit the there should be some punishment, diversion from the "real issues" This year there was even a nail on the head. He basically said - al on te ha. e bsi y si but the punishment ought to be of they are also considering adding Republican Indiana State that too many times, men in Sto a ethe rapist, and not attacking the abortion as a national platform Representative that said some Washington are the ones voting or child." issue with no mention of excep- women might fake being raped in making decisions related to . makg d s r d to This is from a guy who is a politi- tions. order to get free abortions. Oh yes, women's health. om s cian and engineer; who obviously So is it or isn't a big issue? the hits keep coming. Obama was referring to the com- . Obama was referring to the c has no knowledge of the human Well, former presidential hopeful So is it just Akins or a conserva- ments that Rep Akins made last me ts that incs made last anatomy. Rick Santorum thought that it was a tive twisted perception about week saying that in cases of "legit- . imate rape" the body's int l Several days after his remark, big issue. While running for the women's health issues? imate rape" the body's internal . Sa d inAkin apologized, saying he meant oval office, he suggested that doc- The answer is clear. Since 2010 organs can defend against getting to say "forcible rape," and tors who perform an abortion on a when the Tea Party helped the GOP pregnant. had to see the interview for acknowledged that women "do woman who becomes pregnant get back in power in the U.S. I had to see the interview for , become pregnant" during such from an attack should be thrown in House, nearly 1,000 anti-abortion myself. I immediately called my wimylf. asonismendat called n instances, jail; and this year hesuggested rape bills have in introduced across the wife in astonishment I couldn't Really Mr. Rep so you all of a victims who become pregnant from country. believe what I was hearing. What bthel sudden figured that out? an attack should be forced to keep Why should Akins step down it the hell! But as the President said in his the baby and "make the best out of was just a simple slip of the tongue So that my more conservative . o t m m c comments to the press regarding a bad situation." right? readers will know that I am not readers will nw tha I a not the issue- "Rape is rape." Wow, coming from a guy who I guess my Conservative Tea embellishing, let me quote the good I Z, e eisin et e te te g So now all of the GOP leaders has obviously never been raped. Party friends only want to keep representative exactly. . representative exactly, want to silence Akins so that the How about in the Republican- government out of a certain part of When asked about his staunch Ssf abo ocus can return to the upcoming led Kansas House of our lives not including a woman's opposition to abortion even in the - Selections. The problem with this Representatives during a discus- body. case of women getting pregnant. e o w g pre issue and why it has gone viral is sion in March about abortion-only Signing off from Planned after a rape, the Republican U.S. after a rape, the Republican U.S. that many believe that Akins epito- health care policies: GOP State Parenthood. Rep. said, "From what I understand Rep. said, "From what I understand mizes the typical social conserva- Rep. Pete DeGraaf suggestedthat Reggie Fullwood from doctors, that's really rare." S-"? by E. O. Hutchinson Hil lar y Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines turned faux rap- per when he thumped out a rhyth- mic message to the press vehe- mently hap- pen. Even if Hillary hadn't repeat- edly- stream rea- sons. No incumbent has ever won or lost the White House based on the politics, ideology or personality of their VP. They do not have that kind of power or authority. VP's serve at the pleasure of the presi- dent and do his bidding; no more, no less. A switch of VP's in the Dump Biden Talk, Just That: Talk midst of an election would signal utter desperation, campaign chaos and panic. This would be the near political kiss of death for a presi- dent. The other reason is Biden. He is and will remain on the ticket for precisely the reason that he was picked by President Obama in the first place. He is a hard hitting, pol- icy knowledgeable adviser and point man. The supposed gaffes that he has made are anything but that. They are well-scripted, thought through political set pieces carefully designed to convey a seri- ous and politically enhancing poli- cy presi- dent. Biden just said and did what Obama had to do. The same is true of Biden's "chains" quip. The slave skewed imagery was simply dramatic reaf- firmation of the Obama campaign's center hit piece against Romney -- that a GOP White House will tank the economy and wreak untold eco- nomic misery on the poor and minorities. This has and will be repeated incessantly by Obama and every other Democrat all the way up to November 6. It will almost certainly be repeated in even harsh- erana three to five per- centage points of the popular vote in the 2008 election. If race had not been a negative factor in the elec- tion, Obama's win over GOP presi- dential foe John McCain would have been a walkover in the popu- lar vote. The even more troubling thing is that the loss of white sup- port came largely fiom many con- servative i trenches and hails from a blue collar background. He can and will be an important bridge to try and keep con- servative, blue col- lar, white Democrats from straying from the ".-_ fold. He'll keep hammering hard with them that despite their racial reservations about Obama, the threat of a Romney-Ryan hack up of M e d i c a r e, Medicaid and Social Security, . and labor protec- tions cam- paign. Any talk about dumping Biden is just that: talk. The likeli- hood is that even that won't last much longer. Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He is a frequent political commentator on AISNBC and a weekly co-host of the A.l Sharpton Show on American Urban Radio Ne'otork. He is the author of How Obanma Governed: The Year of Crisis and Challenge. He is an associate edi- tor of New America Media. SThe GOP and White-Collar Welfare The Romney-Ryan ticket suffers from pathological S. hypocrisy. i Recently, President Obama made a rare appearance in the White House pressroom and addressed false S sup- ported by the New York Times and the Washington Post, both of which revealed that Republicans actually requested the waiver. In fact, Romney was among several Republican governors who signed a letter in 2005 ask- ing eco- nomic sup- port the Bush proposal. "What we're trying to accomplish today with the passage of this third stimulus package is to create jobs and help the unem- ployed," Ryan said. "What we're trying to accomplish is to pass the kinds of legislation that ... in the past have grown the economy and gotten peo- ple. The recent attacks on Obama's welfare proposals are even more insidi- ous-prod- uct of them is blacks get hurt worse than whites ... because-obviously say- ing, 'We want to cut this,' is much more abstract .. than 'nigger.' Reagan perfected the modem politics of racial divisiveness. His bogus references to a "young buck" using food stamps to buy steaks and the "wel- fare wel- fare remains undiscussed because that would undermine Romney's argu- ment -- and offend the blue-collar workers who seem blinded by white-col- lar politics. Edward Wf'ckqof Williams is contributing editor at The Root. -~ A =ME tL ORI DA' ERST CO',T Ql AT LCKEEKL iLOr L 0 R JDA 5 F5 R S T C 0O A S T Q 1. ALI T Y B L A C K IV C K L 1 MAILING ADDRESS P.O. Box 43580 Jacksonville, FL 32203 Rita Perry PUBLISHER 001 CONTRIBI J 1C- ^ E.O.Huthc acksonville Latimer, P thnambr ot Co u'erce Vickie Bro PHYSICAL ADDRESS 903 W. Edgewood Ave. Jacksonville, FL 32208 Email: [email protected] n. .. tie staff and manage- inent of the Jlack) m4 l .. -r r - : i - v I=, iwn, Rahman Johnson, Headshots, William Jackson. 11 A r SUBSCRIBE TODAY Page 4 Ms. Perry's Free Press August 23-29, 2012 r^ August 23-29, 2012 Ms. Perry's Free Press Page 5 FOR THE WEEK OF AUGUST 21 27, 2012 P - TM " - -,,--- ....... IN -- - w- -- TROUBLE IN THE RED: CIAA RIVER looking at half-million dollar deficit as it enters CITY 2012. HSRN GEARED UP FOR ANOTHER SEASON OF BLACK COLLEGE FOOTBALL ON RADIO *- SATURDAY, AUGUST 25 Texas College vs. Saint Francis in Tyler, TX 12n Edward Waters vs. Point University in Jacksonville, FL 2p UNDER THE BAN WHAT'S GOING ON IN AND AROUND BLACK COLLIE HALL TAKES REINS AT W Winston-Salem State held a 1 p.m. press Wednesday to announce as the Lady Rams' newI ball coach. Hall comes to WSS hune-Cookman of the Athletic Conference, spent the last two seas sistant under head coP Blair. HALL He replaces Ste Jr. who left after two become head women's basketball coach at his Johnson C. Smith University. Joyner was 3 his tenure. Hall also spent two years as an assist hoops coach at Clemson. Prior to that he spent at Providence. Hall played collegiately at North Carol in the 1990s, graduating in 1998. He started career at NCCU as a graduate assistant. "We're thrilled to have him." said WS Director, Bill Hayes. 2012 BLACK COLLEGE FO ON TELEVISION NETWORK 9/1 Fort Valley State at Delta State Comcast SE Grambling State vs. Alcorn State SWAC-TV 9/1 Jackson State @ Mississippi State Fox Sports South SWAC-TV 9/2 B-Cookman v. Alabama State (MEAC/SWAC Challenge) 9/6 Bowie State @ Benedict 9/8 Delaware State @ Delaware B-Cookman @ S. C. State Jackson State vs. Tenn. State Alabama A&M @ Arkansas-PB 9/13 Miss. Valley St. @ Southern 9/15 Howard @ Norfolk State Alabama State @ Grambling St. 9/20 Ark.-Pine Bluff @ Alabama St. 9/22 Alabama A&M @ Texas Southern 9/27 Morgan State @ N. C.A&T 9/29 Prairie View @ Jackson State Grambling @ Alabama A&M 10/6 Prairie View vs. Grambling Jackson State @ Ark.-PB 10/13 Texas Southern @ Southern 10/18 Hampton @ N.C. Central 10/20 Miss. Valley St. @ Jackson State 10/25 DelState @ Morgan State 10/27 Alabama A&M vs. Alabama State Grambling St. @ Texas Southern 11/3 Southern @Alabama A&M 11/10 CIAAChampionship Game 11/17 FloridaA&M v. Bethune-Cookman 11/22 Tuskegee @Alabama State 11/24 Grambling St. vs. Southern 12/8 SWAC Championship Game ESPN CSS NBC Sports Network ESPNU Fox Sports South SWAC-TV ESPNU ESPNU SWAC-TV ESPNU SWAC-TV ESPNU SWAC-TV ESPNU ESPNU SWAC-TV SWAC-TV ESPNU SWAC-TV ESPNU ESPNU SWAC-TV SWAC-TV CIAA Network ESPN Classic ESPNU NBC Sports ESPNU The Southwestern Athletic Conference schedule includes games on SW internet broadcast site. The schedule has eight games across ESPN ne and regional television dates with NBC, Versus and SportsSouth. In a are scheduled to be televised during the 2012 season )AZEEZ Communications. Inc. Vol. XIX. No. 3 INER EGE SPORTS SSU: Ss conference :e A. G. Hall head basket- SU from Bet- Mid Eastern CIAA facing $500,000 deficit LUT WILLIAMS BCSP Editor Charlotte WBTV television reporter Ded- rick Russell said in a broadcast Monday that the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association is running a $500,000 deficit. In the report, a top CIAA official acknowl- edge the debt and says the conference is working on a resolution. "We are trying to deal with legal issues and challenges," CIAABoard Chairman Dr. Mickey Burnim, president of Bowie State University said in a phone interview. "Sometimes that involves payment and sometimes it involves legal fees for lawyers to work on things." According to Russell's report online at wbtv. com, declines in ticket sales and sponsorships, and unexpected legal fees have caused the or- ganization to go into the red. What those legal fees entail is also unclear. The report of the deficit comes in the wake of the conference declaring that its signature basketball tournament, which has been played in Charlotte for the last seven years and is the linchpin of the conference, has set new records for economic impact and attendance. An April II release from the CIAA said that according to the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority (CRVA), "the 2012 CIAATournament accounted for a total economic impact of $50.5 million over the seven-day tournament. Atten- dance for the official CIAA and Uptown (Char- lotte) functions increased to over 197,000." In the release, Interim CIAAColnmissioner Peggy Davis termed the event "a huge success." Davis also said "the momentum generated from this year's tournament will be used to propel the CIAA into the future." What bearing the attendance and economic impact records have on the conference's financial stability is unclear. Attempts to reach Davis and Burnim for clarification before Tuesday's BCSP deadline were unsuccessful. Longtime Commissioner Leon Kerry abruptly retired in November 2011 for "personal reasons" saying he was "tired of fighting the battles." Whether there was any buy-out or payout to Kerry upon his retirement is not known. Kerry has also been the focus of a lawsuit filed in September of 2011 by one of his former assistants who later became an assistant com- missioner. According to the Charlotte Observer newspaper, in the lawsuit Jeffrey McLeod said Kerry told him he would not be paid a commis- sion for scholarship money he raised for the 2010 fiscal year because the CIAA "went in the hole $300,000" the previous year. It is not clear whether the resolution of that lawsuit is the reference to legal fees in Russell's report. Burnim says to help with the budget gap, the board is requesting each of the 12 CIAA schools to give $25,000 to help the organization bounce back, the first time in recent history the CIAA had to lean on schools to fill the void. "A solid majority of the board felt that was the best approach to take in dealing with it," Burnim said. Bowie State photo LOOKING FOR SOLUTIONS: CIAA Board Chair- man and Bowie State University president Dr. Mickey Burnim says CIAA asking its 12 member- institutions for help in covering $500,000 deficit. The organization hopes other money itclaims is due to them will help raise the rest of the money. "This economy is tough," Burnim said. "And so the board exercised its fiduciary responsibilities and see the conference through it." BCSP Notes where he has HSRN ready for fifth season onas an as- as radio voice of black college football ach Vanessa HARTLY. Delaware For the fifth consecutive year the Heritage Sports Radio Network (HSRN) will broadcast the premiere Historically eve Joyner. Black College Football events to a national radio audience. In addition, Seasons to HSRN plans to aggressively expand its multimedia component with more ; ahna mater, TV and podcast content via the new website. 35-21 during "No other company has broadcast as many HBCU events as we have since we launched in 2007," says Omarr Bashir. CEO. "This year we plan ant women's to become the go-to place for H-BCU sports content before, during, and t six seasons after games. Our schedule allows us to paint a real picture of the African American national pastime." a C Each broadcast begins with the "HBCU Tailgate" pregame show his coaching, hosted by Bashir one hour before kickoff every Saturday. SportsGroove his coaching TV's "HSRN HBCUI Sports Nation" will preview and recap the games each w\\eek on 1HISRN.com. SU Athletic The games will be available on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio with audio streams via computers, tablets and mobile phones at HSRN.com. Tunein. com as well as streaming internet affiliates BlackSportsOnline.com, HB- CUConnect.com, Onnidan.com, HBCUDigest.com, ClevelandSports.comn, UrbaniaMag.com, Core360media.com and 195Ballerz.comn as well a host OTBAI LL of terrestial stations around the country that are being finalized. SWAC. O BAL org will carry the SWAC games. This year's schedule features teams from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). TIME BROADCAST Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), and the South- TIME western Athletic Conference (SWAC) and three of the four conference 12n Live champions from 2011. The broadcast season begins with the Labor Day Weekend Kickoff p ve four games in four days featuring two classics (John Merritt & AT&T 6p Live Nation's) and a showdown between two nationally ranked teams in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge. 12n Live Reeds land at Georgia Southern Former Bethune-Cookman head basketball coach Cliff Reed and 8p Live his son, 2010-11 Mid Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Year, 3:30p Live guard C. J. Reed, have both landed at Georgia Southern University. The elder Reed, who was fired at B-CU after the 2010-11 season, was p. 10:30 hired as an assistant coach at Georgia Southern earlier this month. C. J. 6p Live Reed announced Monday that he was leaving the University of Central 6p Live Florida basketball team to join his father at Georgia Southern. C. J. Reed should be eligible to play this season. 6:30p Live Cliff Reed was let go at B-CU after a ten-year stay as head coach. 4p 10:30p His firing, in June of 2011, followed a season in which his team won the 4p Live MEAC regular season title for the first time as a Div. I program, compiled a 21- 13 overall mark and made its first appearance in the postseason at the NIT. His dismissal followed an internal investigation by the school that 11a Live concluded that he did not cooperate with a police investigation of a sexual 7:30p Live assault that purportedly took place at the school's athletic facilities. C. J. Reed was allegedly named in the assault claim. 4p Live The victim did not mention C. J. Reed in the complaint. Police closed 6p Live the case after the alleged victim did not follow through with it. A week 6p Live after his father's firing, C. J. announced that he was transferring. "I'm in a great place," Clifford Reed told the News-Journal. "I'm 6p Live working for a great head coach, Charlton Young, in a program that's on the 5:30p Live rise." Georgia Southern is in the NCAA Div. 1 Southern Conference. The 7:30p Live team finished 15-15 a year ago, in third place in the conference's South Division at 12-6. 3p Live p LveReed compiled a 125-166 mark in his ten years at B-CU, a program 7:30p Live that was on the rise before his departure. This year's B-CU squad, in its 2:30p Live first year under head coach Gravelle Craig, finished at 18-17 overall, 11-5 in the MEAC, good for fourth place in the regular season and made a run 4p Live to the MEAC Tournament finals before losing to Norfolk State (73-70). 1p Live "(Getting fired) was the best thing to happen to me, just like going to 1p Live Bethune-Cookman to start my college coaching career was the best thing to happen to me at that time," Clifford Reed told Brent Woronoff of the 2p Live News-Journal. "But if (getting fired) didn't happen to me, I probably never 11/18 re-air ESPNU would have left Bethune. Now I'm at Georgia Southern ... I will work as 3p Live hard as I can to help make us a championship program" After averaging 18.8 points and 4.9 assists in his junior season at 1p Live B-CU, C. J. signed in the summer of 2011 to play for Centra Florida and 1p Live head coach Donnie Jones. He sat out last season in accordance with NCAA transfer rules and was expected to play this upcoming season. But Central WAC rTV the league's Florida was given a one-year postseason ban by the NCAA in early August, 11, 21 SWAC games adding to penalties the school self-imposed after major recruiting viola- 'n. tions were uncovered last year in football and basketball. Reed is one of three basketball-playing seniors at UCF, including Michael Jordan's son READY TO ROCK STHE RADIO HSRN CREW: (L. to r.) Di- rector Multimedia content/ Play-by-play announcer Mark Gray, Game Analyst Marc Harrison, Vice Presi- dent/GM/Game Analyst Mike Walker and Director of Marketing Mike Wilson. HSRN photo HSRN 2012 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE (All Times Eastern) 8/30/12 S.C State vs. Georgia State 9/1/12 Howard vs. Morehouse 9/1/12 Florida A&M vs.Tennessee State 9/2/12 Bethune-Cookman vs Alabama State 9/6/12 Bowie State @ Benedict 9/8/12 Bethune-Cookman @ South Carolina Staqte 9/15/12 Morehouse vs Winston Salem Morgan State vs. Akron 9/22/12 Southern @ Jackson State 9/29/12 Florida A&M vs. Southern Morehouse @ Clark Atlanta 10/6/12 South Carolina State vs NC Central Grammbling vs Prairie View A&M 10/13/12 Virginia State vs Bowie 10/20/12 North Carolina A&T @ Delaware State Miss. Valley State @ Jackson State 10/25/12 Stillman @ Miles 10/27/12 Alabama A&M vs Alabama State 11/3/12 Albany State vs Fort Valley State 11/10/12 SIAC Championship 11/10/12 CIAA Championship 11/17112 FloridaA&M vs Bethune Cookman 11/22/12 Tuskegee @Alabama State 11/24/12 Southern vs Grambling 12/1/12 Pioneer Bowl 12/1/12 BCF All-Star Game 12/8/12 SWAC Championship Game 7:30pm 3:30pm 6:00pm 12n 8:00pm 2:00pm 12:00n 4:00pm 6:00pm 3:30pm 7pm 2:30pm 7pm 1pm 1:30pm 3:00pm 7pm 3:30pm 2pm TBA 1pm 2pm 4pm 2pm TBA 1pm 2pm Georgia Southern Sports photo C. J. REED: Former MEAC player of the year C. J. Reed (above) joins his father, Cliff Reed (below), now an assistant coach, at Georgia Southern. Marcus, who have left the program. "C. J. Reed is just a great all-around player and he's a coach's son, so he plays the game the right way," said Young on the GSU athletic website. "I first saw him play as a ninth-grader and I've been a fan of his work ethic and the way he respects the game since. I'm honored he chose our program as the place for him to finish his career." C. J. has one year of eligibility remaining. DATE GAME Motorcycle Ministry Are you saved? Ministry oriented? Love to ride motorcycles? Love to have fun? Well if all of the answers are yes then Rydas 4 Righteousness Motorcycle Ministry is for you! For more information, contact Ruth at 904- 674-4339. Refreshing Women Push TV Ministry If you have "talent," sing for God, praise dancing, speaking ministries, poems, clean fun, and spiritual talent, and testimonies or if you are a pas- tor, please contact us to be a guest on the show. RWPM TV ministry airs every Saturday on Comcast 99 at 8:00 a.m. For more information mail [email protected] or visit w\vw.rwpm.info or call (904) 220-6400 or write RWPM c/o Reverend Mattie W. Freeman, PO Box 350117, Jacksonville, Florida 32235-0117. All are welcome, let's get those phones ringing! St Paul AME Women's Society Presents "Preachers Best" The Violet Williams Women's Missionary of Saint Paul AME Church, 6910 New Kings Road, proudly presents "Preachers Best" on Sunday. August 26th at 4:00 p.m. Some of the most talented, singing preachers of Florida will be featured. The public and friends are invited toshare in this event,as it promises to be refreshing and uplifting. Presiding Elder Elizabeth Yates will serve as worship leader. Sister Deborah Limbric- Rasheed is the coordinator. Mrs. Winnie Zanders is local \WMS president. Dr. Marvin C. Zanders, II, is the senior pastor. For more information con- tact the church office at (904) 764-2755 or Website:stpaulainejax.com Emanuel Missionary Baptist ChurchCelebrates 120 Years The public is invited to celebrate 120 years of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ with Dr. Herb Anderson, pastor of Emanuel Missionary Baptist Church. The anniversary celebration will conclude Sunday, August 26th, at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Rev. Antonio S. Stinner, Pastor ofEl Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Meridian, Mississippi as guest speaker for the lla.m. service. Dr. James W. Henry, choir and members of Summnune ille Missionary Baptist Church and Dr. Kelly E. Brown, Jr., choir and members of Greater Mt. Vernon Missionary Baptist Church are special guests for the 4 p. m. service. Emanuel is located at 2407 Rev. S. L. Badger, Jr. Circle. For more information, please call the church office at (904) 356-9371. Defense of Marriage Summit to Draw Diverse Crowd in Orlando The High Impact Leadership Coalition, led by Bishop Harry Jackson, Senior Pastor of Hope Christian Church in the Washington, D.C., will launch a national initia- tive focused on the preservation of traditional marriage, as well as other pro-family issues, with the Defense of Marriage Summit in Orlando next week. Known for his years of pro-fami- ly work on Capitol Hill, Bishop Jacklson has extended an invitation to the entire Orlando community to attend the Aug. 22 Summit, empha- sizing the fight for marriage brings together a multi-ethnic and broad coalition of evangelical denomina- tions. The Orlando Summit is the first of seven events across the nation as part of the Traditional Marriage tour. The Defense of Marriage Summit will include a day of events, beginning with a private strategy session for Florida pastors, commu- nity leaders and elected officials. A pre-event rally will begin at 5 p.m. featuring Christian entertainer Minister Judy Jacobs, followed by the main portion of the program at 6 p.m. at the Church on the Living on the Edge in Longwood, Fla. Other speakers for the 6 p.m. event include: Dr. Alveda King, American Christian minister, pro-life activist and author; General Jerry Boykin, original member of the U.S. Army's Delta Force, author and ordained minister; Mat Staver, chairman of Liberty Gimme That O1' Time by Marsha Oli0cr Call me old- fashioned, un- hip. disconnect- ed! But. technol- ogyr is starting to trump tradition. I'\e come to this realization many times. As a "Girl Raised in the South," I'm a bit nos- taleic. Friends call it "prude." I pre- fer the Emilt Post-type party in\ ita- tions and RS1 P reply cards over the electronic mn\ ites that can't be dis- played on refrigecrators. QR codes are on ev ervlhing lroln bus adcer- tiseiments to I-shirts but I'vc neI\er seen n1i\ one chasing a bus or a per- son with ai slarlt phone. I can't ignore the new\ dating practices either birthed b\ technology. Imagine a relationship between 40- plus year-olds that included few phone calls intermittently distrib- uted among a bevy of weekly text messages. Hi. Free on Friday? Nice time. It gives a whole new meaning to "Words with Friends." Although sobering, nothing com- pares to the "come to Jesus" real- ization I had last Sunday while wor- shipping at church. Where are the Holy Bibles? As I looked around the sanctuary of 2.000+, I discovered that many - young and old were on iPads and iPhones. Like many, my church encourages t\\eeting and Face book postings among congregants. WVhile I understand the need to engage the ne\v generation, I can't help but ponder the thought of all genera- tions unplugging and communing together for 90 minutes. From my earliest memories. I've always brought a Bible to church. From the Living Bible I carried as a kid to my current Life Application Study Bible that mirrors a Webster dictionary, I eagerly use my Bible when scriptures are referenced. While I may not read it like I should throughout the week, I treas- ure my Bible. It's become symbolic of my upbringing influenced by my Dad, a Baptist Deacon who led the family in weekly scripture readings. It was his way of ensuring that my two siblings and I prayed about any misbehavior he and Mom may have missed that week. It also allowed them to assess our reading profi- ciency. While Dad is now leading scripture readings in heaven. I'm sure he's probably scratching his halo every time someone scrolls or thumbs their way through the Old and New testaments. It's the same perplexed look I had as I watched my pew mate last Sunday roll through the pages on her iPad in search of 2 Corinthians, Counsel and dean of Liberty University School of Law; U.S. Rep. Sandy Adams, Florida's 24th congressional district; and James Robison, founder and president of LIFE Outreach International. The Church on the Living Edge is located at 555 Markham Woods Rd. Longwood, Fla., 32779. The event is free of charge, but pre-registration is required at- blackandwhite.com. Religion chapter 8. I glanced over as she flicked her finger at the scrolling screen and found myself growing dizzy. What happened to the noise of the delicate pages turning, the scent of highlighters used for mark- ing, or the Bible lost and found closet? What's now the ideal gift for a baby dedication, baptism, wed- ding, or graduation a gift card for a Bible app? As a communications profession- al, I enjoy my suite of Apple prod- ucts and have witnessed how the infusion of technology has led to tremendous improvements and effi- ciencies. I've also witnessed how the use of technology has become commonplace. I simply wish some places were less common. Can I get an Amen? Marsha Oliver is Principal of 0. Communications, LLC. wivw.knowtourim- pression.com. U.. GreaterMacedon ia Bapis Chrc 1880 W~st Edgewood Avenu Seeking the lost for Christ Matthew 28:19 20 Pastor Landon Williams f IE1 ii '- " I. 8:00 A.M. Early Morning Worship 9:30 a.m. Sunday School 11:00 a.m. Morning Worslip Tuesday Evening 7 p.m. Prayer Service Wedthesday Bible Study (6:30 7 p.m. Mid-WVeek W worship 7 p.m. Radio Weekly Broadcast WCG L 13600 AM SundayV 2 PM 3 1PM **FREE TUTORING FOR YOUTII IN ENGLISH, SCIENCE, HISTORY AND MATH EVERY TUESDAY 6:30 8 P.M. Disciples of Christ yCbristiar Fellowshaip Disciples of Cbrist Cbristiai, Fellowsbip * *A Full Gospel Baptist Church * JOIN US FOR Sunday School 9 a.m. Morning Worship 10 a.m. i.a. ort. Lcoi I':s()" iRouben Iteco u0, ,Ii America's Oldest Black Church Celebrates 225 Years It is said to be the country's oldest continuously operating Black church with a storied history that includes the founding of Morehouse College and the establishment of the Geoiria Education Commission. Springfield Baptist Church in Augusta. Georgia. recently celebrat- ed its 225th anniversary with a large celebration that included choirs. speeches and sermons Rev. Hardy S. Bennings 111. who has been pastor of the church since 2009. referred to the 225th anniver- sary celebration as one of the biggest moments in church history. "This is a momentous occasion for us." Bennings said. "Everybody's excited. This is one of the biggest events in the history of Springfield." Springfield Baptist was officially organized in 1787, although its con- gregation is believed to date as lar back as 1773, two years before the American Revolution. The church's first pastor w\as the Rev. Jesse Peters Galphin, a slave whose master allowed him to receive training as a minister. In the 19th Century, the church had more tman 1,uuu members, making it the largest church of any race in the Georgia Baptist Association. Today, it has a congre- gation of about 200 members. The college that would be known as Morehouse first organized in 1867 in the basement of Springfield Baptist under the name Augusta Baptist Institute. The school quickly outgrew the church. In 1879, it moved to Atlanta as the Atlanta Baptist Institute and was later renamed Morehouse College, an institution that has produced several prominent black leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr. "After all these years. Springfield stands tall. It proves Springfield is a resilient people," Bennings said. ." Bethel Baptist Institutional Church 215 Bethel Baptist Street, Jacksonville, FL 32202 (904) 354-1464 -I Bishop Rudolph McKissick, Sr. Senior Pastor Weekly Services Bishop Rudolph McKissick, Jr. Senior Pastor Grace and Peace Y 4-;i-'l visit wwvw.Betihelite.org A church that's on the move in worship with prayer, praise and power! 2061 Edgewood Avenue West, Jacksonville, Florida 32208 (904) 765-5683 Email:[email protected] Come share in Holy Communion on Ist Sundayat 740 and 10:40 am. Worship with us LIVE on the web visit I I w>" 7 Habits Hurting Men Over 40 I I Men's leading causes of death are nothing new: heart disease, cancer, unintentional injuries, stroke, dia- betes, respiratory disease and slii- cide. healthi- er and have lower death rates than those who never married or who are divorced or widowed. Never-mar- ried men are three times more like- ly to die of cardiovascular disease, for example. After 50, divorced men's health deteriorates rapidly compared to married men's, found a RAND Center for the Study of Aging report. Why? The social nature of mar- riage may lower stress levels and depression, which lead to chronic illness. Also, unmarried men gener- ally have poorer health habits, too, such as drinking more, eat poorly, going to the doctor less often less medical care and engaging in more risky behaviors, such as promis- cuous sex. Don't Go Tech-Crazy The more time that's spent looking at wide- screen TVs, smartphones, tablets, gaming systems, laptops, and other elec- tronics, the less time that's spent on more healthful pursuits, like moving your body, communing with nature, and interacting with human beings. Social isolation raises the risk of depression and dementia, and a sedentary lifestyle has been linked to heart disease, type 2 dia- betes, obesity, and premature death. A 2012 Australian study of more than 220,000 adults ages 45 and up linked sitting for 1 or more hours a day with a 40 percent increased risk of death over the next three years. But researchers say that getting 10th Annual Tom Joyner Family ReunionSet for Labor Day Weekend Come celebrate your family at the Allstate Tom Joyner Family Reunion Labor Day Weekend. Thursday August 30th to September 3rd in Orlando, Florida. Join morning radio hosts Tom, Sybil, J. Anthony Brown and the crew at the Gaylord Palms Hotel 6000 West Osceola Parkway, Kissimmee, Florida for a fim filled weekend that is also a party with a ourpose bene- fitting Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Enjoy concerts. celebrity performances, seminars and games for the entire family. For additional information email familyreunion@i)reachmediainc.com or call the TJFR Info Line at (407) 248-9191 or visit- americaweb.com., hyperten- sion, and other risk factors. Older men living alone and alcoholics are vulnerable to malnutrition, because they tend not to prepare healthy food for themselves. The American Dietetic Association recommends a reason- able 2,000 calories a day for men over 50 who are sedentary, up to 2,400 for those who are active. Most of those calories should come from lean proteins, whole grains and fruits and vegetables. Don't Be a Bad Driver. Among middle-aged men, fatalities are more likely to result from falling asleep at the wheel, exceeding the speed limit, getting into an accident at an intersection or on weekends after midnight. Men over age 45 have more accidents on snow and ice, too. Don't Neglect Your Mental Health Although women are three times more likely to attempt suicide than men, men are more successful at it. according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. In 2009, 79 percent of all suicides were men. More than 60 percent of all those who die by suicide have major depression. If you include alco- holics, that number rises to 75 per- cent. In older adults, social isolation is another factor this is why older suicides are often widowers. Men often equate depression with "sad- ness" or other emotions and fail to realize that common warning signs of depression include fatigue or excessive sleep, agitation and restlessness, trouble concentrating, irritability, and changes in appetite or sleep. Depression is treatable at any age, and most cases are responsive to treatment, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Don't Smoke The older you get, the worse the effects of smoking become. Older smokers have sustained greater lung damage over time because they tend to have been smoking longer; they also tend to be heavier smokers. Men over 65 who smoke are twice as likely to die of stroke. Smoking causes more than 90 per- cent of all cases of COPD the fourth leading cause of death among men and 80 to 90 percent of all lung cancer. The risks of all kinds of lung disease rise with age. Smokers develop Alzheimer's dis- ease, the sixth leading cause of death, far more than nonsmokers. Older smokers are less likely than younger smokers to believe there's a real health risk attached to ciga- rettes, says the American Lung Association, which means they're less likely to try to quit. But regard- less of the age you are when you quit, your risk of added heart dam- age is halved after one year. The risks of stroke, lung disease, and cancer also drop immediately. More Beautiful Skin, Faster More Beautiful Skin, Faster Maintaining soft, beautiful skin isn't a lost art just a neglected one. Did you know that about 70 percent of skin imperfections, such as dullness and aging, is caused by environmental factors that you have some control over? So what are some of the secrets for softer, clearer, glowing skin? Dr. Brooke Jackson wants to give you the inside scoop by answering some important skin questions. Q: What are some articular ingredients that tend to work particularly well for African American skin, and some that tend to just cause irritation? A: Great question! Something you need to keep in mind when try- ing products is the difference between allergies and irritation, because there is a difference. If your skin has never seen the prod- uct, it may need to be introduced more slowly. For example. people who have sensitive skin may need to use antiaging products every other night rahtcr than every night to avoid irritation and if you have a history of eczema you are more likely to be irritated from the prod- uct, not allergic to it. Of course, if vou don't like how your skin is reacting to a product, it's best to just stop using it and talk to a der- matologist. As far as products specifically designed for Black skin, people are different- there is not a go-to list of ingredients specifically for AA skin. Products should be tailored to skin type ( dry, sensitive, oily, acne prone) rather than skin color. Q: Is there anything different I should be doing for my skin, product-wise, during different seasons? A: Yes! During warmer months, it's important to lighten up: people tend to have more oil production in the summer, so if your skin is real- ly oily, you can probably skip the moisturizer. However, don't forget that the sunscreen! Q: Which anti-aging products to you recommend? A: SUNSCREEN EVERY SIN- GLE DAY! This is the best. and probably the most cost effective antiaging product you could ever use. Other than that I would add retinoids if tolerated, antioxidants and growth factors but none of it will make a huge difference if you do not protect your skin! ab otHEALTHCARE AD VOCATES T\i o 12) convenient locations to serve you: b41 Prudnctial Drive, 12th Floor, Jacksonville, FL 32207 822 N. A1 A Hwy, Suite 356, Pontc Vcdra Beach, FL 32082 904.632.0800 K All About Health CARE Advocates are proven professionals who provide relief, research, referrals & reminders to patients or their loved ones in partnership with providers who serve with CARE. At All About Health CARE Advocates our partners provide: * relief through Advocates who accompany patients on appointments research for diagnosis that is clear and unbiased referrals to legal and medical providers who care education on the Affordable Care Act, Insurance (billing & coverage) All About HealthCARE Advocates heree health is all we( CARE libout." Complete Obstetrical * Personal Individualized Care Comprehensive NORTH FLORIDAOBSTETRICAL & North Florida Obstetrical & Gynecological Associates, PA. V I IL I -. & Gynecological Care i . Family Planning . Vaginal Surgery Osteoporosis Menopausal Pregnancy Care Disorders SBoard Certified Laparoscopy SLaser Surgery W illiu 1. Cody. M.D. B. V'eren Chithriki, M.D. St. Vincent's Division IV 1820 Barrs Street, Suite 521 Jacksonville, Florida 32204 (904) 387-9577 Dr. bCester Aikeos 505 HlST UlOnf SIRtff I I DOWlnOWln I flicSOnir i iI For All Your Dental \ Needs" 358-3827 Monday- Friday 8:30 AM 5 PM Saturday Appointments _. Dental Insurance and Medicaid Accepted 1IBbBs~Ps"s~Bf~L~ MMl ~ I , < L Ms. Perry's Free Press Page 7 August 23-29, 2012 "s-y?^. Toast to the Animals Raise your glass for a Purr-feet's 30th annual "Glitz & Glimmer" Senior Prom will be held Friday, August 24th, 6-10 p.m at the Prime F. Osborn, 1000 Water St. The prom features a formal dinner, dancing, live entertainment, and the crowning of a prom king and queen, and the selection of a court. The king and queen act as year-long ambassadors for senior center pro- grams throughout the city. For more information, call 630-0995. AKA Platinum & Pearls Luncheon Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Gamma Rho Omega Chapter, Inc. presents their Platinum and Pearls: Celebrating 70 Years of Timeless Service 70th Year Anniversary Luncheon. Saturday, August 25th at lla. Ritz Sound & Vocal Performers Auditions The Ritz is holding auditions for the Ritz Sounds and Vocal Performers, Wednesday, August 29th and Thursday, August 30th from 6-8 p.m For more information call 632-5555 or mail tthomas(a)coj.net. The theater is located at 829 North Davis Street. Pieces of a Dream in Concert The Ritz Jazz Jamm will present Pieces of a Dream, Saturday, September 1st for two shows, 7:00 p.m. & L0 e-mail willettal (corm- cast.net PR.I.D.E. Book Spoken Word Club Meeting Once a month, the Ritz offers an The next P.R.I.D.E. Book lub I 4 $ S ul o a 3 2 i a s $ 2- o a f e t meeting will be held Saturday, September 8th at 4 p.m. at the home of Felice Franklin, 2968 Herschel Street. The book for discussion is When and Where I Enter: The Impact ofBlack Women on Race & Sex in America by Paula J. Giddings. For more information call 389-8417. Anthony Hamilton in Concert (iGrammy award winning singer Anthony 11 ,ii i. .,(a coj.net or visit the Ritz at 829 North Daxis. Commemorate your special event with professional affordable photos by the Picture Lady! Call 874-0591 to reserve your day! AROUND TOWN SWhat to do from social, volunteer, political and sports activities to self enrichment and the civic scene FL-ani g Y4uar Special lEv t? -I Plefse Mall to: SIA.isciptions, Jac lKoniv me F ee P_ ,a, P.O. Box 43 80, JaclJoii'jvle, FL .2201 visa 'For cre lil cnrrl orlers.gjive u canllI t 63I-1993- ;a re August 23-29.~~~~~~~ 202Ms er' rePes-Pg Hank and Billye Aaron present a check for $104,000 to Atlanta Technical College President Alvetta Peterman Thomas. Hank Aaron Donates $100,000 to Atlanta Technical College presi- dent in the state of Georgia. "We are thrilled that The Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation has chosen Atlanta Technical College as one of their scholarship institu- tions. This endowed scholarship will benefit so many of our students who truly are fulfilling their dreams," said Atlanta Technical College President Dr. Alvetta Peterman Thomas. The Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream 4 for 4 Endowed Scholarship at Atlanta Technical College marks the 14th scholarship established by the Chasing the Dream Foundation and the first scholarship given to a techni- cal college. The endowed scholarship represents the latest installment in the 17" pro- gram, was according to Billye Aaron, "a natural choice to extend our sup- port to dream chasers new and old."" This scholarship reflects the desire of The Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation to encourage and reward academic achievement, in areas of study leading to public service careers as well as in other profes- sions. Funds at the College will be used to assist at least two students per term at Atlanta Technical College. The first scholarships will be awarded this fall semester. Beaver Street Enterprise Center Celebrates 9th Anniversary of Advancing Entrepreneurship Shown above are honorees (L-R) Daniel Gilham, The Forbes & Thompson Wealth Management Group, Jackie Perry, Beaver Street Enterprise Center, John W. Dietzen, Jr., Wells Fargo Bank, Margie Schofield, Schofield Tax Solutions, Valerie Hendriex-Jenkins, Wells Fargo Foundation, Connie Smith, Wells Fargo Foundation and John Thompson, The Forbes & Thompson Wealth Management Group. by Angelia Redding Friends, partners and various sup- porters of the Beaver Street Enterprise Center recently gathered in the Center's Event Hall to cele- brate its 9th Anniversary and Awards Luncheon. Many years ago when the Beaver Street Enterprise Center first opened its doors, with the help and support of many public and private sectors, there were less than 15 business incubators in Florida. Incubators were a new and relative- ly untested way for new business to get themselves off the -round. Fast- forward to 9 years later and the Beaver Street Enterprise Center has assisted over 100 entrepreneurs in various stages of new venture development. Through these com- panies, new and better products and services have been developed, introduced into our lives and hun- dreds of quality jobs have been cre- ated in the city of Jacksonville. "Beaver Street Enterprise Center's success is a result of the continuous investment of time, experience and resources of those individuals and community organizations that have supported us and the entrepreneur- ial spirit over the past 9 years", said Jackie Perry, Executive Director. "Our 9th Anniversary Awards Luncheon provides us with the per- fect platform to recognize and honor these supporters!" "How I got here from there ... Lessons from the Journey" was the theme, and keynote speaker, Alkina Daniels, shared the story of his own journey from decorated Navy sailor to business tycoon and philanthro- pist. Owner of nine Domino's Pizza restaurants in Georgia, with the goal of owning twenty, within the next five years, Daniels is pas- sionate about business and charita- ble giving. He has started a local program called "Feed a Family a Day," where each of his stores selects a family to receive a meal. After twenty years in the U.S. Navy, Daniels decided to donate his entire military pension to cancer research in honor of his late father. "Anytime you have an entity that gives you an edge in the business community, your ability to succeed is far greater than those who are try- ing to do it on their own. In busi- ness, I've learned that there are many elements that are not there at the beginning and must be acquired. Beaver Street Enterprise Center is putting many of those ele- ments together and providing them to start-up businesses," said Daniels. Longshoreman Protest Across the Country PORTUS , WE ORV 0 P Nm -, " ?J~ 'ItW4 ^ 9 REMJ '4 Shown above are Local 1408 Longshoreman is Vince Cameron and Baron Rivers picketing on Blount Island. In a show of solidarity and strength, ILA Locals representing major ports throughout the south- eastern United States, participated in a rally on Monday, August 20, 2012 at the United States Marine Corps (USMC) in Washington, D.C. to make known their griev- ances in USMC's award of work contracts to Portus. This week, more rallies were held in Charleston, South Carolina at the Navy Facility also in protest to Portus, a non-ILA company head- quartered in Jacksonville, FL for receivingMilitary work traditional- ly performed by ILA workers. "We the International Longshoremen's Association feel that the industry standard was violated by Portus who took advantage of a poor econ- omy and hired employees who were otherwise unemployed and desper- ate for work at a rate of half the industry standard and without bene- fits" said Daniel Teague, President of ILA Clerks and Checkers Local 1593 in Jacksonville. Jacksonville's ILA Locals 1408 and the Clerks and Checker's 1593 have also joined affiliated ILA's in oppo- sition to the United States Marine Corps' decision to hire Portus. Charles Spencer, Executive Vice President, ILA International said, "The U.S. Marine Core's decision to hire Portus didn't give proper consideration to safety issues. It was a radical decision following a longstanding relationship with ILA and we feel that Best Value V.S. Lowest Bidder standards were ignored. We are committed to stay- ing the course in our quest to informthe public about theseissue- sas well as bring Jacksonville back up to maritime industry standards." WHY DOES REFINANCING A HOME HAVE TO BE SO EXPENSIVE? IT DOESN'T. INTRODUCING CLOSING COSTS AS LOW AS $299. Imagine saving hundreds of dollars every month and getting closing costs for as low as $299, too. With Easy Home Reff" generally. tr Courts continued from front Florida's new rules also require that precincts be closed on the Sunday before Election Day, when black churches in Florida tradition- ally transport members from serv- ices straight to voting booths through the "Get Your Souls to the Polls" program. Florida cannot appeal the court's decision yet, because it has yet to rule on state changes to third-party voter registration rules. Lawyers representing Florida did not imme- diately respond to requests for comment. Regardless of whether Florida appeals, opponents of the voting hours reductions now will chal- lenge them in the state's 62 other counties on the grounds that they are not uniform with the rest of the state. "If we don't do it, I'm positive someone else will," said Dale Ho, a lawyer with the Legal Defense Fund, one of the advocacy groups involved in the case. The court, however, upheld a sep- arate measure that requires Florida voters who moved between coun- ties to file provisional ballots on Election Day if they haven't changed their address in time. I Mrs. Perry's Free Press Page 9 August 23-29 2012 Flipping Through the Free Press Files For the p.ist 25 years, we have celebrated the many people, places and events, that have graced the Free Press pages. Though our offi- cial celebration is over, we received such an overwhelming response to the "Flipping" page, we have decided to flashback the page from time to timlt! We continue to share with you some of the many memories that have shaped our publication. Healthy Families Jax employee Wendy Jackson. Dress for Success event participants: Ida Dempsey, Margaret Innocent, Ronlene Coleman, Annie Lease-Morris and Kenneth Pinnix. Shown after selecting the "5 Most Influential African Americans" in Jacksonville History for the Millenium are the Free Press Editorial Board in 1999. Shown above (L-R) are Reggie Fullwood, Joel McEachon, William Brown, Gwen Leapheart, Jim Crooks, Carolyn Williams, Ezekiel Bryant, JuCoby Pittman, Mack Freeman, Cornelius Lockett, Evelyn Young, Lydia Wooden, Camilla Thompson and Rahman Johnson. Taking Ste owa tter Super Weekend Forum participants Minister David Black, Dr. Waine Kong, Dr. Landon Williams and Dr. James Gavin. 1 A IIA.C I Phi Delta Kappa sorors donate treats: Curlue Huger, Callie Merriweather, Olester Williams, Joanne Green and Flora Parker. Sculptured Artist Lawrence Waldon with his Mother Harriett Williams. egory and Kathy Wilson. v -- ; * Eddie Baggs with wife Lorraine Baggs enjoying the holidays. Looking Dapper: Charles Scantling, Tony Nelson, Hosea Smalls and Dwayne Sweets. Former Jacksonville Fire Chief Ray Alfred with Eric Green at the dedication of Bethel Baptist Street. Lavilla Grill Owner Virgil Woodard with Urban League President Richard Danford. Shown above networking with the Urban League Auxiliary are : Michael Gainey, Charles Stansberry, Carlottra Slaton, JuCoby Pittman, Sir Spencer Cobb and Jocelyn Turner. Actor and TV host Rahman Johnson with rapper Craig Mack. Clarence and Juliette Fields smiling for the cameras! Pai e 10 .- INI. tP'ie -y',s VliI've l'r,,S August 23 29, 2012 Ir : r August 23-29, 2012 Page 11 Mrs. Perry's Free Press Blodgett Homes Community Celebrates Everlasting Families at 12th Annual Reunion L t't t .a Tony Wilson (1962-2012) and Dave Calero James Rivers (1946-2012), Bubba Fields (1957- Renee Nash, Shawn Caldwell, Felecia Brown (1959 2012). 1981) and Kenneth Glover (1958-1981)..n Samuel (1987) and Kevin Mills, Sr. Tim Smothers, Marion Miller (1968-198) and Jerry Rose. Unice Smith (1952-1975), Rufus Freeman Kenneth Lockett cooking and enjoying old (1973) and Johnny James (1973). and new friends. w ICU' 10'W- I_- Wesley Harris (1960-1962), Cookie Brown Pennie Dickinson, LaTonya Rylbs (1973-1985), Harriet Sanders (1948-1960), Linda Williams, (1945 1978), Anthony Robinson (1945-1978). Marva Nicholas (1968-1985) and Lance Palmer. and Brenda Collier (1950-1960). Golden Girls lead Dancer Mary Hogan leads Lawrence Witherspoon (1946-1960) and the dance ladies in the Down South Shuffle. Lillie Primus. Keith Sweat Shares the Secret to His Long Even though he always dreamed porated hip-hop with contemporary of a career in music, Keith Sweat soul, high-tech funk and, in some says he planned for an alternative cases, rap. It lasted for approxi- career just in case. mately six years. Sweat was consid- "I think everyone should have an ered one of the stars of the New alternative plan. In my case, I went Jack Swing era, and many histori- to the City College of New York ans studying this form of music feel and got my degree in communica- that it was his debut album that tions. So I had a backup plan so that kicked off the genre. I didn't lose out on a decent future," That debut and now classic 1987 says Sweat, about to take the stage album, "Make It Last Forever," at the Keswick Theater in Glenside sold more than three million copies, on Aug. 18. producing several R&B hit singles, As it turned out, Sweat needn't including "I Want Her." have worried. In a career that has Sweat explains that he was able spanned decades, the New York- to write the majority of songs on born songwriter/record that album, gaining inspiration, as producer/vocalist/actor/radio per- he does even today, from a combi- sonality has broken records and nation of situations. "Sometimes blazed many trails as he contributed I'm inspired by conversations I to the pop and R&B genres. He is hear, or things I feel, or chords I also coined as the genius behind the like from something I've heard. New Jack Swing phe- There are many things that come nomenon of the late into my ability to write songs." 1980s. His second album, 'I'll Give All New Jack My Love," was released in 1990 Swing incor- aid re.hled the top of the charts, ,,,d c:iiin,ined the hit, "Make You S, ; eat." which reached number one on ill R &B charts. Nl- Il--ie and more top-selling :tlhumti followed, as did acco- lades and awards, including his being named Favorite Male R&B/Soul Artist for the American Music Awards in 1997. He's also appeared on a variety of talk shows and sitcoms, and a handful of inde- pendent movies. For example, he appeared on televi- i sion in an episode of the hit show "New York Success Undercover," and the TV show, "Martin." He says he might take that part of his career further, if the right offers come his way. "But right now," he explains, "I'm a little too busy just trying to do my music thing. I have a rela- tionship book coming out in February. I have a syndicated radio show in about 21 markets and other things as well. I wouldn't mind act- ing some more, but right now, I look at all my achievements and feel pretty happy about them all." Sweat has four children, and says his two sons seem to want to follow in their father's footsteps. "But 1 life- time." hap- pened to him. -le says, "I find music very therapeutic for me, for everybody. One thing about music is that it makes you smile and feel good. That's why it's so universal. And my music has made me a household name for a lot of peo- ple." I t y I.g Aive 1 t i t i I t,--, dAp I iig out tir lxtI ti iy nred lto rI ma it thl Li:|h I-.igh s I-ol, ec a. wKr- K,.' i i den t-? i tlIn UUS. a n't gIr-duL it. At'K I '" (. IL Lt it lol I: t :c kl; lI i ijLp ;t tIcli( *:.lv \ k. L 1I SIGHTS & SCENES SIGHTS. & SCENES SIGHTS & SCENES SIGHTS & SCENES L- When it Raines it Pours: Chad Johnson Now Facing Foreclosure When it rains it pours. A few days after getting cut from the Miami Dolphins and J being arrested for head-butting his wife w 4 Miami Dolphins wide receiver saying if he didn't pay off his $31,000 debt, the apartment would go into foreclo- sure.. Robin Givens Accused of Stiffing Lawyer for Mike Tyson Divorce A representative for Mike Tyson's ex-wife Robin Givens is brushing off allegations the actress neglected to pay a lawyer on her former divorce team. ,. The late Marvin Mitchelson allegedly drew -- y up divorce papers for Givens' legal battle with the retired boxer in 1988. Now, 24 years later, the lawyer's widow, Marcella, has accused the 47-year-old of failing to pay him for his work. "Marvin worked really hard on getting those papers filed overnight for Givens and was very upset she fired him and never paid him the $15,000," she tells the New York Daily News. ". Usher Held in Contempt for Canceling ' Tameka's Saks Card Usher got in trouble with the court today for can- celing ex-wife Tameka Foster Raymond's credit card at Saks. As the two continue their heated child custody battle, a judge held the singer in contempt for clos- ing out the card last year. Ursh was ordered to reopen his wife's line of credit in his name. Tameka says she uses the card in her job as a stylist. The closed Saks card was just one of Tameka Raymond's many giev- ances in their ongoing custody fight, notes TMZ. Tameka said Usher owed her cash for the nanny bill and continually failed to keep her in the loop about where and when he traveled with the kids. The court ruled in Tameka's favor. awarding her $1,300 for the nanny. - -- August 23-29, 2012 D)OJ Says lississippi County Operating School-t o- Prison Pipeline Ever I~'i;ht ll N'oud seo the diay that pItssi~n g, in class couul land a ,hiid uinl 'ii ell it's he -- at 10tlist it Is it% Meridian, Misissisipp, claims the Department of Justice, A D.OJ report issued last week c\rplicitl calls Meridian's rampant incarcer- ation of school children a school- to-prison pipeline and demands the municipality stop the practice or face a lawsuit. The findings implicate the Lauderdale County Youth Court, the Meridian Police Department (MPD) and the Mississippi Division of Youth Services (DYS) for perpetuating the systematic arrests. According to the DOJ, these entities have violated the constitutional due process rights of juveniles with their policy of arresting all suspended students, without regard to the type of offense. Students have been rou- tinely placed in a juvenile prison for minor infractions such as dress code violations, flatulence, pro- fanity and disrespect. Looking at the demographics of Meridian, it becomes clear who this policy affects most. Sixty-two percent of the overall population is Black and 82 percent of school district's children are Black. The MPD's policy is to automat- ically arrests all students referred by the school district without any further inquiry. This broad over- sight allows officers to skirt the procedure of obtaining prior youth court custody orders or make assessments of probable cause. The DOJ has offered to negoti- ate with the parties, but if an agreement is not reached, Meridian will be forced to defend its policies in court. For Many, Life in South Africa Hasn't Changed Much Post Apartheid Shown above is celebrity stylist Ted Gibson with Douglas Gabby Douglas Gets a Professional Makeover from Celebrity Hair Stylist When Gabby Douglas caused a stir not for her Olympic medal wins in London but for the appearance of her hair, she dismissed it with the matu- rity." Last week Gibson, who also lends his talents on What Not to Wear, worked his mane magic on the Virginia Beach native and gave her a hair makeover that the teen couldn't stop gushing about: frizz-free, center-part- ed waves that fall a few inches below her shoulders. Even though the 2012 London Olympics have wrapped for Douglas and her Fierce Five teammates the wild ride has really just begun. "I'm excited because she's so young and I have a chance for input in the brand of Gabby," said Gibson. "There are so many opportunities for some- one like her to shine, and I get to be part of that on the ground floor. It's pretty cool." From scrawny dogs wandering shanties to pit toilets, workers at South Africa's tragedy- hit Marikana platinum mine still live in miser- able rich- est platinum reserves. Ian Buhlungu rents a shack built with corru- gated iron and wood in a shantytown on a dusty plain outside the mine where he has no running water and uses a pit toi- let. "I want to be with my kids but I can't," said the 47-year-old who is a single father after his wife died of tuberculosis two years ago. Like thousands of others, he trav- elled, minori- ty white rulers forced black South Africans to live in areas far removed from white cities without job opportunities, forcing them to become migrant workers on the mines living in tough conditions. Women carry placards as they chant slogans to protest against the killing of min- ers by the South African police outside a South African mine in Rustenburg, 62 miles northwest of Johannesburg last week. Even today, many mine workers live in difficult conditions. "Life here isn't life," said Belinia Mavie, 25, from neighboring Mozambique, who joined her hus- band chick- ens wander in the dirt roads. Papers litter the yellowed grass. There is electricity but only shared commu- nal water taps. "A hundred years after mining began in this country, we still have the lifestyle of people above the ground that we had at the turn of the century," said analyst Adam Habib. "The levels of inequality in our society, 18 years after our transi- tion... the lives of workers on the ground have not changed," said Habib. In a front page commentary, The Sunday Independent, any- more. ~iiii;i=;=n~lE~-~LT~~ r~F~Z $-? '~14: l'~r i r~ 4'l.co II.~Eq

Clipart of codeine 12. prosince 2011 v 9:36 >>IMAGE Sample job ads for original: Staying awake for 76 hours on adderall Orange county choppers 2011 proposed 2012 va pay chart numark tti dj for sale descargar bolt browser blackberry 8520 espa ol original: Staying awake for 76 hours on adderall Orange county choppers 2011 proposed 2012 va pay chart numark tti dj for sale descargar bolt browser blackberry 8520 espa ol Rheem criterion ii plus 2 filter 12. prosince 2011 v 9:36 Repair > Heating & Air Conditioning - Existing Home . I was wondering if anyone could help me, I have a 4yr old Rheem Criterion II furnace . You know that is . Recent User Activity. Rheem Furnace vr8205h RHEEM CRITERION II FURNACE MANUAL iM LOOKING FOR THE CORRECT SIZE OF FILTERS TO BE USED IN THE UNIT, THE ONE IN THE UNIT . RHEEM WARRANTY. Rheem Announces 5-Year Limited Warranty This five year limited warranty is applicable only to single-phase products installed in residential . Rheem Criterion II problems - Self Help Forums. Rheem Criterion II problems Heating & Air Conditioning - Existing Home. . I was wondering if anyone could fully . Heating, Air Conditioning, Fridge, HVAC /rheem criterion II +2 nat. gas forced air heater Rheem is a leading provider of gas furnaces, heat pumps, air conditioners, air handlers, indoor air quality products, gas and electric water heaters. Rheem furnace filters. rheem blower parts, Rheem criterion ii plus 2 filter rheem richmond toilet. User: what size filter is needed for a Rheem Criterion gas furnace? Weegy: Typically the filter rack is field fabricated so depends on what the installer installed . Review of the Rheem Criterion II Plus 2 LXE furnace, including its AFUE, model numbers and consumer reviews. Shop for . Price comparison, consumer reviews, and store ratings on Shopping.com ManualsOnline product support member asks: heater does not hold to set temperature for Rheem criterion ii plus 2 filter a rheem furnace criterion II plus 2. Find out the answer for free and download . The Rheem Criterion II is a gas-powered furnace designed for residential use. It features an insulated furnace jacket, direct spark ignitor, integrated control and . I I C C OMFOR TING F EAT URES S I T O N? Criterion II Plus Two Stage 80% Ignition Control Circuit Board Used in (Rheem Ruud Furnaces) The Rheem Criterion II is an induced draft gas furnace with a direct spark ignitor, flame sources: Does opening an adderall capsule work sources: Does opening an adderall capsule work free dsi points generator no download 12. prosince 2011 v 9:35 Free Points Generator for things like Wii Points, Microsoft Points, and Xbox Live Points. No Password or Download needed. Sent to your email . Free Nintendo Point Code Generator. See also . Sep 16, 2010 under: Nintendo Tags: 2010, Awesome, codes, download, Free, generator, Hack, July, live, Microsoft, points . Kookoo; man; abckookooman where can i have a rest but dsi points generator online free. Jackslayerful cheat and ive been looking. By keyboard characters to gaming. Updated File: wii code generator Wii 2000 Points Code Generator Free Wii Points Code . Dsi points card generator software: This Wii points generator is wicked quick!, Web Content Reuser Utility, free dsi points generator no download Wii Points Generator and more. Wii Points Generator 1 Click here to download your favorite Nintendo DS Roms nintendodsuniverse.co.cc Extra Tags Extra Tags] IGNORE. Don't pay for Nintendo Points! We know how to get free nintendo points codes INSTANTLY and we giving them out to our visitors. GET FREE Wii POINTS NOW! i need some dsi points now. someone please help me im 6 and can not get no points help plz mom wontbuy one or get to the free sites just post it please Download file here: 100% Working WoW Game Card Generator $50 PSN Generator For PS3 How To Get Free Points _ Money For Your . Dsi points generator Download. Dsi points generator free full from rapidshare, megaupload, mediafire, hotfile, ftp, direct download, shared, uploading, zshare. Free Wii free dsi points generator no download & DSi Points Card Generator Download. We have released generators for all popular consoles, excluding the Wii. It is now time to release a generator for the . . EZ Excel Generator.NET API is a backlinks: Cipap melekit phlebotomy ncct practice test free backlinks: Cipap melekit phlebotomy ncct practice test free setting up comcast email on droid incredible 12. prosince 2011 v 9:35 Android :: Setting Up Customers Comcast Email I have a customer that needs to get their comcast email setup on Motorola Droid. This seems to be an issue. December 23, 2010, 20:59 posted By Rachel Hi, is there a setting on the droid to keep email on the and Tablet Platforms > Android: comcast email on droid. Hello Just got my Droid today and I am trying to set up my comcast.net email account. I have been successful in recieving emails but can not send, comcast.net email settings droid, The chart below provides the settings for the some of the most common email providers. If your provider is not listed . , , , YoomK . Has anyone had any issues getting their Comcast e-mail account to work properly with their Moto Droid? I tried setting mine to match up with my I decided on a Droid Incredible. At least for now I'm still in the 30 day evaluation . Doesn't the Google backup capture all those settings? Pretty sure they do . I have now tried setting up 3 different POP email accounts and am receiving a failed authentication message (using the default and manual entry I have a customer that needs to get their comcast email setup on Motorola Droid. This seems to be an issue. First off let me give you the settings I I was able to set up my Comcast email but not my work email. Our provider does not use Exchange and when I go to set up the setting up comcast email on droid incredible account it tells me my Just updated to 2.1 and am setting up all my stuff. All good except Comcast.net mail and can not get it set up. Can anyone tell me what info it I have 2 email accounts - Hotmail and a POP account. Do you have the correct settings for the POP and SMTP servers for your other account? With all the problems I've . Claire How to set up outlook email sync for htc incredible exchange domain name for comcast email android setting up setting up comcast email on droid incredible customers comcast email . I have a customer that needs to get their comcast email setup on Motorola Droid. This seems to be an issue. Android-based smartphones include two email clients, one for Gmail and one for other types of email servers including Microsoft Exchange, IMAP and POP3. Considering returning my newly purchased Droid Rydex investments and msfx 12. prosince 2011 v 9:34 Most investment portfolios would have been happy to get returns of over 40% for the financial year 2009. And that, according to Nik Bienkowski, Managing Director of . An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is an investment fund traded on stock exchange. s, much like stock. s. An ETF holds assets such as stocks, commodities, or bonds, and . An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is an investment fund traded on stock exchanges, much like stocks. An ETF holds assets such as stocks, commodities, Rydex investments and msfx or bonds, and trades . An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is an investment fund traded on stock exchanges, much like stocks. [1] An ETF holds assets such as stocks, commodities, or bonds, and . Specific functions for Real Time Markets. User manual and FAQs. Etfs on WN Network delivers the latest Videos and Editable pages for News & Events, including Entertainment, Music, Sports, Science and more, Sign up and share your . X-Trader.net - portal y comunidad para traders. Todo sobre estrategias de trading Rydex investments and msfx y mercados financieros. original: Leg swelling and percocet Tongue hurts from codeine original: Leg swelling and percocet Tongue hurts from codeine 2 5 mg percocet how long in system 12. prosince 2011 v 9:34 i took percocet last sat sun and monday i took a ua today sat and i want to know if i will be clean if i take a couple perc 5 s on thursday and have to piss on monday . How Long Does Percocet Stay In Your System (Page 2) Last updated on Friday, 12/2/2011 7:00:39 PM UTC -7. Assuming the average does has been 30 mg a day for 5 days. Obviously spread out over the day. 27 year old male, 180 lbs. No previous opioid use. How long does one 5mg percocet stay in your system if you are having to take a urine drug test? - I took one 5mg percocet about 12 hours ago. I believe I will be . How Long Can Percocet Be Detected in Urine?. Percocet, a combination of oxycodone and acetaminophen, is used to treat moderate to severe pain suffered by individuals . 3 Answers - 2 5 mg percocet how long in system Posted in: percocet, pain, back pain, dosage - Answer: It is kinda hard to say how bad your withdrawal will be, but most people . Oxycodone has a half-life of approximately 2 1/2 hours. The body is considered clean after five half-lives. Several factors will affect such as your age&weight How long does Percocet 7.5 mg stay in your urine? ChaCha Answer: Barbiturates stay in your system as little as 4.5 days for short act. I was prescribed percocets (5/325) about 1 1/2 years ago for chronic back pain (scoliosis mainly). I took them as prescribed for a while and then started increasing . How long can a blood sample for alcohol testing be kept in a lab before getting the results Can the alcohol results from the 2 5 mg percocet how long in system lab still be used in a court of law after . It will take 2 days max. prob less if only 10 mgs. im on probation and could do as mush oxy as i want becasue , at least were im from, standard gov. drug test do not . I need to know how long do they stay in my system ? Week or days ? The oxycodone portion of percocet has a ver los videos underground de theync sin cuenta 12. prosince 2011 v 9:34 Dear eSnips user, From now on all files can only . No.43433 (2011/11/01 19:19) title:eyfkhinqkhmcmaquslpb Name:buy xanax online usa (h-131-24.cssgroup.lv) Email:[email protected] URL: . Entra al mejor foro de ver los videos underground de theync sin cuenta Internet, donde podras conocer, conversar y compartir con miles de usuarios con mejor buena onda, confesionario para que te expreses libremente . The Best hosting directory offering cheap, low cost, affordable, reliable & hassle free web hosting service for both personal & business use. nevolhaim, Ktr.tgs., qekwk, White tea diffuser oil westin, 06187, hcaww.online, %]], Prone paddle board gps mount, 82313, Prostandard . Ver y Descargar Videos Underground de TheYNC gratis . buscando pille esta pagina que te permite ver los videos underground de theync sin tener que pagar Ver y Descargar Videos Underground de TheYNC gratis . buscando pille esta pagina que te permite ver los videos underground de theync sin tener que pagar Bambino World ofrece productos de alta calidad para los beb�s a precios muy atractivos. En pocos a�os la empresa se ha convertido en uno de los l�deres de mercado . El Dilema 2011 Dvd Ntsc Aud Lat Ing Fran Subs Lat Ing Fran Estadisticas de uso para Per�odo resumido: Diciembre 2010 - ver los videos underground de theync sin cuenta Enlace origen Generado el 06-Jan-2011 11:06 CST an�nimo dijo. asi deberian matar pero a los jefes no que se sienten bien chingones matando a los gatos, seria mas chingon que mataran al patron . sources: How much should i sell my vicodin for Clone wars adventures station cash cards felt owl pattern The letter appeal for dropping the class sources: How much should i sell my vicodin for Clone wars adventures station cash cards felt owl pattern The letter appeal for dropping the class Using the blue 10mg generic adderall to get high 12. prosince 2011 v 9:33 Amphetamine Salts 10mg Filed in Amphetamine this is generic for Using the blue 10mg generic adderall to get high Adderall Using the blue 10mg generic adderall to get high10mg. I live in farmington hills, michigan. where can i find it? I'm sorry, but I don't have . Help, Tips, Advice, and Stories | Quitting Adderall Surviving the painful but extremely rewarding transition back to your true self Cialis (tadalafil) increase increases blood flow to a certain area of the body and is used to treat erectile dysfunction (impotence). Includes Cialis side effects . Medications > Adderall . I just got a generic the other day too, only because it was almost $100 cheaper, and . I as well as my daughter take Adderall XR with no . Adderall is a brand name of amphetamine salts Yesterday when I left the doctor, i took my prescription of Adderall to the same chain of pharmacy I always use. I have been taking Adderall for as does adderall make you smoke more adderall cause brain damage adderall without rx adderall internet pharmacy online adderall prescription drug sites adderall alcohol . Kurs Pinnacle to pakiet 21 film�w, kt�re od zupe My doctor thinks I may have ADD (not ADHD), and is prescribing Adderall for a few weeks so we can see what happens. I have no idea what to expect, and I know that it . Best method I have found I get scripted #3 - 30mg IR's a day and thats alot of powder, what I do is this. Buy a pill crusher at the drug the drug store makes . So I am prescribed 90-20mg addies every month and my girl gets 60-10mg addies as well. The last time I went to get mine filled I couldn't find it anywhere and finally . Yesterday when I left the doctor, i took my prescription of Adderall sources: sources: free fake pregnancy papers from doctor 12. prosince 2011 v 9:33 Preview and download documents about fake pregnancy notes from doctors. Docstoc is a community for sharing professional documents, find free documents and upload free fake pregnancy papers from doctor . Welcome. Fake pregnancy papers for free To go out there that might require formal on a car these work environment and schedule. - Here you will find a variety of . HOW DO I MAKE A FAKE PREGNANCY DOCUMENT FOR MY FRIEND FOR FREE Faking a pregnancy is never a good thing Eventually, you WILL be found out You can face legal trouble . The free fake doctor's notes that can be found online are actually the equivalent of medical certificates issued by doctors to sick patients after confinement or . Fake Doctor Preview and download documents about free fake positive pregnancy documents. Docstoc is a community for sharing professional documents, find free documents and upload . Over the Internet you may find all kind of fake papers and gags. You may find a full range of papers such as: Giant Checks; Wild West Wanted Posters; Fake Lajmetari.Info WebMarketing , WebSolution . . free printable fax covers Feb 24, 2009 Fake pregnancy documents free fake pregnancy papers from doctor may be used for a number of different reasons; some are ethical while others are not. The paperwork is available in different forms depending . Description ** FREE ** FREE ** FREE ** So you think you really know more than your doctor. Prove it! This quiz was created under license from Dr. Amos Grunebaum, a . Web search results for Fake Pregnancy Documents from Dogpile. Best Answer: i am not saying its right but just write it urself, or hav a friend who doesnt hav that class, and then sign your doctor's name really messily never . Welcome. Fake pregnancy papers for free Alison Lohman denies a Jodie Meeks will be needed if you are to use. - Brown crystals that were left behind after the . I am trying to original: High off oxycontin hello kitty theme for blackberry 9300 free download Picture of hydrocodone pill ip 272 bideos de autopcias humanas Ets aam bullets example original: High off oxycontin hello kitty theme for blackberry 9300 free download Picture of hydrocodone pill ip 272 bideos de autopcias humanas Ets aam bullets example Free worksheets punctuation capitalization 6 traits 12. prosince 2011 v 9:33 RubiStar is a tool to help the teacher who wants to use rubrics, but does not have the time to develop them from scratch. English grade 4 collecivenouns worksheets. global inequality worksheets, elepant rhyme worksheets, esl Free worksheets punctuation capitalization 6 traits good at worksheet. printable new orleans saints color sheets Language arts worksheets Printable font lists Casque romain, grec, troyen, viking. - les ep�es de tol�de Free grammar worksheets for teachers on punctuation, parts of speech, sentence structure, verb tense and more! Ruth Culham's new book, Daily Trait Warm-Ups, Free worksheets punctuation capitalization 6 traits targets specific skills with 180 revising and editing activities. The Six Traits of Writing Student Instructional Unit #2. Six Traits of Writing Notes and Assignment Worksheet. Directions: Find 6 plus 1 writing traits lesson plans from 1000s of teacher approved lesson plans by grade and subject. Quickly find lesson plans that inspire student learning. Writing Traits: WritingFix's In-service Workshops & Trait Print Guides for Teachers sharing resources from our Northern Nevada workshops and print resources Trip1- Worksheets Resources Using Commas and Semi-Colons Lesson Plan teacherslounge - Index CW Schools ESL Level 2 Links Florien High School Library The 6+1 Traits of Writing model is used throughout the United States and the world. It has become a highly respected, essential tool for evaluating student writing . Capitalization Worksheets: Circle the capitalization errors, add end marks to the sentences, correct capitalization errors and add end marks. Find character traits and motives worksheets from 1000s of teacher approved worksheets by grade and subject. Quickly find worksheets that inspire student learning. Lockweld NDT is based in Dalby Queensland, offering a certified Non Destructive Testing service by utilizing magnetic particle inspection. Meaning tested parts will . Telling parts of a sentence worksheets Sentence Starters Worksheets, Advanced version 20 available! . The telling part of a sentence is the part of the sentence that . Classifying triangles worksheet. ruby bridges worksheet, retelling story events worksheet, 1st step worksheet, making change printable worksheet, square root sources: sources:

AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN ORAL HISTORY PROJECT The Reminiscences of L. David Ash Reminiscence from the 1985 Interview with L. David Ash. Automotive Design Oral History, Accession 1673. Benson Ford Research Center. The Henry Ford. This is January 25, 1985 , and this is the second interview with Mr. L. David Ash, long-time Ford designer. *(see footnote) A: Last time we met, we were talking about the '57 Ford, which, chronologically, would have been calendar year about 1955. Shortly after that, I was transferred again, and this time to the Lincoln studio, which was a place I hadn't previously been. It had a new chief stylist named John Najjar. The major project at hand was the all-new Lincoln and Continental and also finishing up the facelift of the '57 Lincoln, which Bill Schmidt hadn't quite completed before he left for Packard. The 1958 Lincoln was quite a car. I noticed in some publications it's a called "a slant-eyed monster." It was a monster all right in size. It was the longest car, I think, I've ever seen, at least as a standard production vehicle. It was also controversial in its engineering aspects, because it was not body on frame, as is customary practice, but the unitized concept where the body and frame are integrated into one structural assembly. To further complicate matters, the car was to be built in an all-new assembly plant at Wixom, MI. which had never been used before. The combination of all of these factors resulted in a vehicle that was not terribly satisfactory from a number of points of view. However, it certainly was impressive looking. One of its interesting derivatives was another Continental. This was the Continental that superseded the demise of the Mark II, which was produced by the Continental Division. This Continental was strictly a minor modification of a '58 Lincoln , and it bore the designation "Mark III." More about that later. Q: Dave, may we move you back to the days of the '57, '58, and the the Mark III? The atmosphere had changed. The Mark II Continental Program had been given the deep six by this time? A: Yes. Actually, there was a model year '57 Continental Mark II. I remember I inherited it because the division was disbanded by then. What I merely had to do was releasing some additional or changed colors on it. Very few were probably built, but it was the Mark II. At that time the Edsel was rearing its head. The Ford management, i n an effort to set itself up as a parallel to General Motors, had established separate divisions for each of its car lines. There was a Ford Division, a Mercury Division, an Edsel Division, a Lincoln Division, and a Continental Division. A very unwieldy situation, especially when you got into the trim and color aspects of it, because each one of those divisions had its own assortment of colors. We had five or six different whites, for instance, ranging from cool ones to ivory colored ones and a variety of reds and blues. It was terrible, really. Q: So you weren't doing much interchanging? A: There wasn't any. There was an interchangeability in the cars. For instance, the Edsel was derived from the '57 Ford, and in its bigger series, from the Mercury. But the Continental Mark II was entirely individual by itself. But the interiors and the colors were all distinct and separate. The only one they shared was black , because nobody knew how to make a light black or whatever. So it was a strange time. Q: Unwieldy, you've said, is a good phrase? A: Unwieldy, yes. Q: And someone, obviously, realized that very quickly? A: Oh, yes. The first thing that happened was the Continental Division died with the car, and the division died entirely. The next thing, the Edsel died, and a strange three-headed division was created called M-E-L -- Mercury/Edsel/Lincoln -- which lasted for a very short time. Q: Headed up by the ineffable John J. Nance at one point? A: Yes. Jungle Jim. He was something else. Henry Ford had a penchant for bringing in oddballs from the demise of other companies. This was Packard. Nance was one of the worst automotive executives I've ever come in contact with, for no other reason was that he didn't know anything about cars. He couldn't even drive a car. Fortunately, he didn't last long. That was something else. Q: In terms of the design center, were you able, with the personnel that were displaced by these amalgamations and consolations, to place them elsewhere? A: For the most part, as far as I know, they were. The people from the Continental Division -- Bob Thomas and his designers came into the design center and were assimilated. John Reinhart took a position with U.S. Steel as their designer. When the Edsel folded, all those designers were absorbed, and some of the more important people, like Roy Brown, were exiled to England or elsewhere – to get them out of sight for awhile. That's a sad thing, in a way, because they did their best, and I think they did a fine-looking, unique car. Q: That was the procedure in those days? If you failed on an important procedure, you were exiled? A: I don't know. The first time that I ever experienced it there apparently was no disgrace connected with the demise of the Continental. It just was a car out of joint with its time. But, of course, so was the Edsel. But the Edsel got such a black eye from the press and everybody, that no one would -- I know that they put one in George Walker's parking spot on introduction day, and he refused to drive it. In fact, he wouldn't even talk about the car. He wouldn't. If you talked to him about the Edsel, he'd just start talking about something else. Q: Roy Brown worked for him and it affected him? A: That's right. Absolutely. It just became a terrible embarrassment for everybody, all the way up and down. Q: I worked for the Edsel Division very briefly in the Summer of '56, and I remember seeing the final mockup and, naïve as I was then, I thought it was beautiful. But do you remember any differences of opinion among your fellow designers about the final Edsel design? A: I don't recall any adverse comments about it from designers in the other studios. I know, eventually, I had working for me, Ken Spencer, who was under Roy Brown, the Edsel exterior designer. He had to sort of hide around for awhile. He was never shipped off anywhere. There was no onus on him, really, except for what he thought he had on him. I guess he felt that nobody liked him because nobody liked the car. It took him a long time to recover from the trauma of that design experience. On the other hand, the guy's a crackerjack designer, and I was always glad to get him. A little grumpy and hard to get along with.... Q: But he delivered the goods? A: No problem, yes. I owned an Edsel, myself. That was before they had the lease car program. I bought one with my own money, and I liked it very much. Q: It seemed gorgeous to me. A: I had no problem with it. I think the press killed it. The other thing they did wrong was they made too damned many models of it. They didn't need two complete line-ups -- one Ford-derived, and one Mercury and two series was in each one of them and a full line, from two-doors, to four-doors, hardtops, convertibles and station wagons. They went overboard on their investment. Q: I suspect another mistake was a separate dealership organization? A: I don't know. When you've got a full-fledged car division, you want to have a dealer organization. Q: Apparently, Larry Doyle insisted on this? A: I don't know. He was, what, Mercury? Q: No. He was the Edsel sales manager. A: Okay. Because I know Dick Krafe was the general manager. That’s what they had to do, and that's what they did, but it was a very, very unfortunate decision on the part of the company. I guess it didn't hurt too bad. Now later on, there was to be another Continental Mark III, which we'll get into. Q: At this point, you had the Mark III in '58, you had the Mark IV in '59, and the Mark V 1960? A: That is correct. Q: But those were large merchandising labels? A: They were the names that were on the car, and those things that were called Continental Mark III, IV and V had the Continental star on their hood, which originated with the John Reinhart design group on the original Continental. They said Continental on them, and they carried the star. Q: But, in retrospect, they weren't considered real Continentals? A: Collectors don't consider them as such. When we came much later on to what turned out to be the Mark III Continental, Iacocca and others completely abjured the existence of these '58, '59 and '60's. Q: Rewrote history? A: Rewrote history, as it were, which is probably just as well. Q: But they were hybrids? A: They were merely derivative models I don't think they carried any real distinctive sheet metal at all. Some touches and the name star and whatnot, and that was about it. I moved around quite a bit in those days. Q: Was it exciting? A: I found it very exciting, and I always welcomed it because it gave me different experiences, and different studios, and different projects. Shortly after the Lincoln experience, I was back in the advanced studio with Bob MacGuire. Q: He was a well-spoken of individual by most your colleagues? A: Yes. I think that you'll find that anyone that had been with Ford design for awhile will speak of MacGuire with great respect and appreciation. He was, I would say, my mentor. He was a hard an to get to know. He came from G.M., and he was in that little studio with Bordinat when I first came into Ford, and they were doing that spooky Lincoln . Incidentally, I found a sketch of it in Bob Thomas ' book, Adventures of an Automobile Stylist. This is that Continental that I found in the Ford design office when I first came in. It was a spooky-looking car, and that always stuck in my mind, and that's where I derive this effect, which I eventually put on the Mustang -- that side scoop. That must have stuck in my mind. Q: I wonder what happened to that? A: It got junked eventually, because you can't keep those things around. It was before the days of fiberglass, so it just sat there. It was clay, and it was painted, and it looked gorgeous, but it wasn't very durable and nobody bought it. Anyway, I was back in the advanced studio with Bob MacGuire and with a strange title. I was called Executive3 Stylist: Fashion Trends and Special Assignment. Boy, that's a real catchall. That's a license to do almost anything. So I said to Bob, "What's this fashion trends part of it?" He said, "You're supposed to seek out the trend of fabrics and colors in high fashion and home decorating as they might apply to and influence automotive colors and “fabrics.” I gulped that down, and I said, "Yeah? How do I go about this? What do I produce? I'm used to producing a clay model or something, eventually, in hard form for people to approve." He said, "I don't know what you're going to produce. We'll play it by ear." That was one of his favorite phrases for awhile. He says, "In the meantime, you're going to have some expert advice. J. Walter Thompson," which was the Ford advertising agency and is still is, "is going to connect you up with Virginia VanBrunt, who is their fashion coordinator and consultant and one of their employees. Through her you will have entree to others in the fashion world." I said, "That's a step forward." It turned out to be extremely interesting. I don't know whose idea this was. I suspect it came from very top management, because, from time to time, they would grumble -- Henry Ford, Breech and others -- about our colors. "What's wrong with your colors? They don't look right." That's very helpful. "The color doesn't look right." "Well, it looks all right to me." Of course, I never said that. But, anyway, somebody up there decided that we ought to plumb the depths of where the real stuff came from -- the fashion world. Okay. I went bouncing off to New York , met with Virginia , and she introduced me to the editor of Harper's Bazaar . He set up a luncheon meeting with Christian Dior. I forget all the other people I met. That was all very interesting, but I still couldn't put my hand on something. I had been licensed, if I wanted to, to have somebody create a car. For instance, I proposed to Dior that he might want to decorate one of our cars. "Yes," he said, "that would be fine." I said, "There will be a suitable fee. I don't know what it is." Nobody ever told me how far out on the limb I could go. Q: What year was this? A: I find it hard to put my thumb on it. It must have been around '58. Around there, I would say -- '57/'58. Q: It's quite unusual for that time? A: Yeah. So, he wanted to do it in brass, and gold, and red plush velvet. I nodded my head[;] that it sounded great, and never did carry it any further. He went back to France and died, and I went back to Ford and got involved in other aspects of this. All this went on for awhile. In the meantime, I was doing my other part of the job, which was special assignments. That ad a more concrete basis. For instance, I was given the studio in the Edsel building, which was where the former Continental Mark II was designed. A very nice little facility, down the road from the main design center and kind of out of the way. Nobody bothered me. In fact, I had to drag people over there to show them anything. It was really nice. At that time, it was the Edsel headquarters. The Edsel was still alive then. It was ‘56/’57. I know the Edsel was still going on in there. I was also told to hire a fabric designer and weaver. I don't [know] where I found Helen Vincent, but I employed her, and she wanted a hand loom. This is the farthest out part of my life -- well, almost. I moved into this nice little studio, and it was in the Edsel building, and there was a balcony in it. I put Helen up there with her hand loom and all of her yarns and things and told her to weave. She said, "What would you like?” I said, "Ahh, are you familiar with automotive fabrics?" "No. Are they wool?" I said, "I don't think so." We did some consulting with the trim and color department as to what we might have her do that could eventually -- hopefully -- turn out useful. Because, what she did [was] on a hand loom, if it ever got any interest in it, it would have to be translated into commercial weaving techniques and pass all sorts of god-awful tests for abrasions, soiling and all that stuff. As a matter of fact, as it turned out, she actually did weave one fabric, which got approved and went into the production system, and survived that and wound up in a Lincoln -- only one. But she kept busy up there for awhile. Meanwhile down the floor, I was involved in a show car. The most exciting one I ever had anything to do with, although I don't have any pictures of it. It was called La Galaxie -- spelled in French. I don't know whether you have anything in your files on it, but it was a very spooky car. Q: Yes, we do. A: It was the last of the fantasy show cars that we ever did that was spooky and far out. On the wall of the studio, we had a full-size outline drawing of it while the clay model was in progress. I had assigned to me a young MIT graduate engineer by the name of Dick Noe, and he was supposed to actually sort of quasi-engineer this thing so that it had some sense of realism. MacGuire told him he wanted a nuclear power plant in it. Atomics were just coming on strong now. Noe said, "A nuclear power plant?" "Yeah, that's right. Put it in the back." So with that in mind, I created these enormous glass tubes in the rear end, which, I suppose, were to let out the nuclear exhaust into the general atmosphere. It was a striking a car, if I do say so myself. One day MacGuire came over. He didn't come over too often. He liked me to come over to his place. He came down the road and dropped in on us, and he said to Noe, "Where's the atomic engine?" So Noe took him over to this full-size outline drawing, and there was a red rec tangle. He said, "There it is." MacGuire expected to see a whole bunch of tubes, and dials, and things that glowed and pulsed. He says, "That's it?" "Yup. That's the smallest one I could get in there." Noe was putting him on. He said, "That's the smallest one I could put in there." Q: Did Bob MacGuire finally tumble that his leg was being pulled? A: I don't think so. He said, "What is that rectangle?" Noe Sa id, "That's the lead shielding on the outside of it." "Oh, okay." "You, obviously, can't see what's inside because it has to be shielded." "Okay." We were talking about the La Galaxie -- a show car here which was done in the little studio of what was then the Edsel building. It was done full size in clay over a period of, probably, about three months. I don't really know what purpose it had, other than it was an assignment I had to do -- an advanced spooky car as far out as I could conceive without being too crazy. The car had a unique aspect to it. The greenhouse was quite different. And also the so-called C-pillar at the back end of the roof line viewed from the side had a unique scallop in it. The model, in its final form, was to have supposedly incorporated a nuclear power device for propelling it. Some of the thematic material on the model that reflects the supposed requirements for such a device - putting the enormous exhaust tubes on the rear end of the car. We con ceived a unique symbol or device to identify the car. It was an ellipse with a flattened X going through it. This motif showed up on the front fender ends and also in the rear end of the vehicle. Along the side was a distinctive bumper extension line with a large sunken area of textured chrome- plated metal which served to take air into the propulsion system. Some of the other unique items of the vehicle we had was chrome sidewall tires and an extremely unique front lighting system. Q: In what way? A: It had super beam headlamps on either side and a supplementary linear lighting system between them. Q: That was unique. A: Yeah. The model developed in clay over a period of time, and we also did an interior buck for it, where we did a special instrument panel. You ought to try to get a photograph of that, too, because we had what wwe called sputnik instruments. They were floating transparent spheres with the indicators in them, and they sort of hovered in a concave area. Everything was very spooky. Q: How were they suspended? A: Anti-Gravs. How else? Q: I thought you might have suspended them in liquid. A: Oh, no. They were just there. They were actually supported at the back, but where they sat out from this central area, but you couldn't see the supports, so they looked like they were just floating there. I don't know what brought about the decision to cast the clay and make it into a show car. Q: Would MacGuire have had to make that decision? A: I don't know. He came over, and he and I, eventually, approved the thing. I got to a stage where I said, “I'm done with it. What do we do with it now?" So he came over, and he looked at it, and walked around it, and felt that it was a very striking model and that something ought to be done with it. I guess he got Walker involved in it, cer tainly, although I don't think George had seen it up to that time, and he thought it was great. I don't know where it went from then. And which division sponsored it, whether it was Lincoln-Mercury or Ford -- probably Ford Division. Ford, eventually, picked up the name Galaxie. It originated here. It was decided by somebody with money in one of the divisions to fabricate it and make a show car out of it for the show car circuit. So it was shipped over to the main design center to be cast where it caused quite a furor, because nobody had seen it up to this time, and there wasn't anything like it going on anywhere in those studios. When it got completed and rolled out of the shop all done in pearlescent gold, and these blast tubes in the rear end had spooky lighting in them where the outer area of the tubes glowed a sort of a fiery red, and as it went inside, it got whiter and more violet colored as it got closer to the reactor core. It was a terribly spooky car. We had lights everywhere that worked. And the instruments were lit, and everything was just terribly spooky. Q: It elicited an awful lot of comment? A: Yes, it did. When it got rolled out into the main hallway of the design center, people looked at it with their mouths agape. That was about as far afield as I ever got. Q: Do you remember Bordinat's comment? What he said about it? A: No, I don't. He wasn't in charge of the place at that time. I guess he was the Mercury chief stylist. Q: But Walker did like it? A: Yeah. In line with the generally kooky assignments that I had at this time, somebody thought it would be a good idea to see if we could reduce the cost of doing conventional show cars. A conventional show car is a modified production car, as opposed to a concept thing like La Galaxie, or the Mystere, or the Atmos. These are production cars that are taken. Special things are designed for them, and then they're contracted out for somebody to fabricate, paint and finish under the supervision of the design center. Q: They weren't done entirely in the design center? A: No. We tried to do it from time to time, but it took up too much capacity. The fabrication services in the design center were for fabrication of design material and properties. They just could not take on show cars. Q: What sort of an organization would you ship it to? A: There were several in the area. One of them was Dearborn Steel Tubing. I forget the names of the others, just offhand. Sometimes they were out of state. I never got involved in money. I never discussed money with these contractors. That was taken care of by the Lincoln-Mercury Division or the Ford Division. So the only thing I did was furnish them with photographs, drawings, and infor mation, and supervision of what they were doing. And it worked all right, but it was quite costly. So, I was commissioned, along with a couple of other people, to go out to the West Coast and check in on the capacity of what were then called the customizers, which the West Coast used to have quite a number of them. One of the guys on this team was Jim Cappalongo, who eventually rose in the company and became presi dent of Ford of England. Another chap that we had with us was Harry Miller of the Lincoln-Mercury Division. He was to represent the business aspect of having these people contracted to do show cars. Q: What was Cappalongo’s…? A: Cappalongo was with the Ford Division, and he was on his way up. When I first met him, he had just come in from Chrysler, and he was a cost analyst. I think he might have been in that capacity, because he was going to review the costs associated with these projects. He had not made much of a step upward at that time, but he went gradually up and became one of Iacocca's boys, and became a vice-president, and, even tually, president of Ford of England. The three of us went out there, and we interviewed three of these customizers, and one of them we rejected, and I forget his name, because his operation didn't seem to be big enough to handle what we might give him. I didn't think he had the capacity or enough people around. In fact, he had only himself, and I knew he couldn't do it. His work was nice, what he did. Now you must understand that these people at that time designed their own customized cars. Q: They were individual customizers? A: Well, yes. In fact, George Barris had a thriving business going there. He's in Hollywood now. You've probably heard of George -- the king of the customizers. He did an awful lot of custom cars for Hollywood personalities. Q: He had a Ford connection about this time too? Or about four or five years earlier? Bill Schmidt's Futura and the later conversion to the Batmobile? A: As I understand it, he bought the Futura when it was going to be scrapped, and made it into the Batmobile. I don't recall much of that, but I do remember the Futura. Anyway, we settled on two of these California customizers with the idea in mind that we would give them a shot. Each had a show car aimed at an auto show, so they had a deadline to work to. And one of them was Gene Winfield, whose outfit was in Modesto , East of San Francisco, and the other was George Barris, who was in Hollywood. It was decided that we would give Gene Winfield and George Barris each a crack at doing a show car, and this was an experi ment in part, but it was for real. In other words, they had to perform, they had to execute the cars, not the way they would have done them, but exactly as they had been designed by my group. And they understood this. It was an extremely interesting experience. It involved a lot of travel. I went out to California about every two weeks. I'd go out to San Francisco, rent a car and drive across the bay oiver to Modesto, and spend a couple of days there with Gene Winfield. He was doing a Ford, which I named the Constellation. No onve else would name these things, so I always named them. And nobody ever questioned them. “Oh yeah, that’s the Constellation, okay.” We sent George a 1964 Mercury Marauder Convertible, which was a prototype. That was another thing that was difficult to get was the cars to work on because they weren't really in production then. But this is the raw car that George got sent to him by the Lincoln-Mercury Division. [showing photograph] This is me and Jim Quinlan with the scale drawing that we made as a general guide [showing a photograph]. We also made detail drawings of all the parts from the car, like the streamlined headrests and the little air intakes for the carbs. That was the basic design rendering that he had to emulate. Q: The code name is the Super Marauder? A: Yeah. Q: Had the Marauder been introduced yet in the Mercury line? A: No. This was actually a prototype vehicle that he got. This shows how he fabricated it. That's George Barris, and that's me and some of his guys [showing photograph]. Q: You would go out and supervise the actual fabrication? A: Yeah. I did more than that. I had to work on it for awhile because they knew they had a deadline, but I got worried about it. I spent a week out there working in the shop. Fortunately, when I was at Fisher Body during the war, I was in template shops, so I knew how to work metal. This shows some of the work that went on [showing a photograph]. How the car was done. Also shots of the completed car. You can see what we wound up with. Q: What are those distinctive four apertures on the hood? A: They are supposed to be high-velocity air intakes for the four- barrel carburetor. We did a special instrument cluster and a steering device, other than a steering wheel. Q: Was Jim Quinlan involved with instrument clusters in those days? A: Oh, yes. Q: He's still doing them. A: No, not any more, he isn't. He’s in trim and color. This shows Barris at work on this device on the top here [showing photograph]. Q: How did you find George Barris? A good, solid craftsman? A: He's fantastic. There he and I are when the car is in its rougher stages [showing photograph]. It looked pretty rough for a long time. Q: And that's the finished product? Q: Fabulously turned out. A: Here I am working [showing photograph]. Q: A unique glimpse into the customizers' studios of those days? A: Yes. They weren’t used to working this close. They were used to doing whatever they wanted to with a car. There's George and I again with one of the unique taillights[showing photograph]. George is quite a character. He's a pure product of Hollywood : flam boyant, knows everybody out there, wealthy parties. I t was quite an experience for me. I got a real exposure to the Hollywood high life, I'll tell you. Q: Even up in Modesto ? A: Not so much there. That's a quiet place. Modesto is out in almost the desert part. It’s not North of San Francisco; it's East. It's across the lower part of the bay, down past the airport. It's almost a desert-like area. Q: But you did get down to Hollywood , occasionally? A: When I got through with Winfield, I'd head South down to Hollywood and work on this one. We had the two of them going at once. Q: Winfield was in Modesto ; Barris was in Hollywood ? A: Right. Q: How many more of these show cars did you work on after the...? What happened to the Super Marauder? A: I don't know. Q: But it was a concept car for the later introduction of the Mercury Marauder? A: Yes, I guess so. My memory doesn't serve me too well. I know it went into the auto show circuit. And how many it was, and what its fate was, I never really followed up on it. I always seemed to be busy on something else. You get the job done, and you go to something else. Q: Did you enjoy working on the Super Marauder? A: Yes. The only thing, as I said, in both cases -- the Constellation at Winfield's -- the time element got me pretty antsy. You keep reminding these guys, “Look, the show date is coming up, and it’s something we don’t postpone. The show goes on whether this car is in it or not. If it’s not in it, I’m going to be in trouble, and you’re going to be out of business.” “Yeah, don’t worry Dave. We’ll get it done.” So that was interesting. My career in the fashion trends and special assignments was pretty wild. Q: Later on, as you well remember, about decade or so later, they were coming up with fashion designer designs for the Lincoln? A: Oh, do I very well know it. I was involved in that from day one. Long about now came a request from Ford of Germany for a designer to give them a hand on a new program that they didn't seem to think that they were well enough staffed for. They wanted a senior designer type of chap, which is a category of a guy who's a very good designer, and he's had quite a bit of experience, but he's not really into the management area of design yet. I heard about this, and I asked MacGuire if I could be considered for that, although I knew I was maybe over-trained for it, in that I was a couple of notches above what they'd asked for. He said, "Oh, you do want to go to Europe ?" I said, "Yeah, I'd like to have some experience there." He talked it over with Walker , and it was okay with Walker . Without any further ado I got a passport and went to Germany to work for a summer. Q: This is Ford of Germany in Cologne – the Taunus Group? A: Right. That was a tremendously interesting experience for me, because I had never before been abroad. Q: What was your assignment in Germany ? A: As I said, it was a new Taunus, and it had a code name of NXPD. I remember that, but I don't know what it stood for. The exterior clay model was done, and they were just fiddling with some details on it, so I addressed myself to the interior -- the instrument panel, and the door trim panels and seats, which I largely completed. Toward the end of the assignment, I was able to bring my wife over. At the end of the assign ment, we had some vacation time, so we spent it on our first driving trip in Europe. We went down the Rhine , and Rohn, and Mosel to Switzerland, and had a grand time. That was just great. Q: What was the problem with the Taunus? Was it outdated? Did they want to...? A: I think it was successful in Europe . It was never successful here, to my knowledge. I think it was imported on a limited basis probably by Lincoln-Mercury. But I don't think it ever achieved anything. It would have done well now, because it would fit in with today's looks. I'd say it was ahead of its time, but it was kind of small and pinched-looking aero – where American cars were bigger, wider, longer, lower and lots of chrome hung on 'em -- out of joint with its time. Anyway , I came back from Europe , and the next thing I got put on was the Presidential parade car. A: What year it was, chronologically, I'm not sure. I know that the base vehicle that we started with was a '61 Lincoln convertible, which was new at that time. DeLaRossa, was in charge of the exterior part of the car which was pretty simple. It was about a ten inch stretch, and there wasn’t too much more to it than that. The contract was let out to an ambulance and hearse building firm in Cincinnati named Hess & Eisenhardt, who were very good at that sort of thing. I didn’t pick them out. I don’t know who did, but whoever did, picked the right people because they knew what they were doing. I mainly had to do with the interior of the car. I made a number of trips down there from time to time, ordered the leather and worked around the special modifications to the car that the Secret Service required. Q: You worked directly with Hess & Eisenhardt? A: Yes, Hess & Eis enhardt and also with a chap by the name of Baughman, who was chief of the White House Secret Service staff, and a very imperious type he was, too. He wasn't hard to get along with, he just wanted it to be known pretty straight out -- I mean, this was his car. He orders the cars, and he has to do with specifying the special equipment that goes in 'em – the armor and the bullet-proof glass. Q: Was this the Kennedy era? A: Oh, yeah. This was the car Kennedy was assassinated in. I never felt too well about that, but that was out of my control. Somewhere along the way in the project, the car was required to have a de-mountable roll bar, which was used when the top was down in a parade situation. The President would stand up and could hang to this while the car was moving in a parade. I remember standing in the car with this thing in place, and Baughman was just outside, and I said, "Isn't this a terribly exposed position for somebody to be standing in? How do you protect the President?” He said, “Don’t worry. That’s our job. We dot that.” Well, ultimately, I guess they didn’t. the car was loaded. It was all armor-plated inside and on the floor, and it had bullet-proof glass in it and so forth. But here’s the President sitting in the back seat and nothing behind him. Q: There was no Plexiglas overlay? A: No. That was the one that Roosevelt had -- the Sunshine Special –- that had a bubble top over it. That wouldn't have done much good, I don't think. Plexiglass wouldn't have stopped a high-powered, high-velocity rifle shot. That was an interesting project, and it took me down to Cincinnati a number of times. Q: Were you aware that the Henry Ford Museum now has that particular vehicle? A: Which one? Q: The one that you designed. A: No, I wasn't. Q: It was on display for about three months in the Presidential vehicle exhibit. A: I was pretty sure they had the so-called Sunshine Special. Q: We have that, too. A: No, I didn't know they had that one. There was some little problems involved in working around compartments that had armament in them and communications equipment, but everything came out all right. E xcept the car failed, ultimately. Q: When you questioned Baughman about the vulnerability of the passengers, he said, “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of it?” A: Yeah. He seemed to be almost offended that I would even ask such a question of such a person. He said, “Don’t worry about that. That’s our job. We protect the President.” “Fine.” . About this time, I was back in the Ford Studio again working for Joe Oros. Damon Woods, who had been there, left to head up the assignment in England, so I replaced Damon. Q: They were beginning to do that more and more now where they're shifting around several creative designers? A: Oh, yeah. It became quite prevalent, move people to England , and Germany and Italy to give them broader experience. It was very good, really. Q: This is the early 'Sixties? A: I' d say so by then. Q: Were you one of the first to go to Germany ? A: No. Al Mueller had been there, and other guys had been there before me. I'm back in the Ford studio, and we were busily engaged in doing the '64 Ford and also the Fairlane -- the small Ford. And finishing up the '63. Then the Mustang program came about. I suppose everyone you’ve talked to claims they designed the Mustang? Q: We would very much like to have your version of it. A: You shall have it. About this time, Ford had a program going where they sent various managers to a Kepner-Trego management session where you're supposed to learn how to manage by the numbers, as it were. You take a problem, and you analyze it in about ten different ways, and it's supposed to all work out, and you come up with the right solution. Q: Where is that located? A: A number of places. What they did, you became part of a group of Ford managers -- some from the design center, some from Lincoln-Mercury, some from engineering and various parts of the company. In this case, you went to the St. Clair Inn for a week. You were there, and you got the sessions in the morning, and in the afternoon, and after dinner. Then you were allowed to have happy hour in between and so forth, but it was pretty confined, pretty regulated….. Q: Intensive? A: Yes, intensive. Anyway, Joe [Oros] was sent to this thing just as the Mustang broke. Leading up to the Mustang was a whole series of exploratory models variously called A1l egro and.... They were all done in the advanced studio under DeLaRossa's direction. There was a whole raft of them. They were all done mostly on the same general package size, and the company was serious about producing such a car. As far as I know, it was Iacocca's special idea that this happen. I don't know how much time was spent; probably, at least, a year, and as many as ten or eleven separate models were developed in full-size clay in DeLaRossa's studio. Some had minor variations in package but, essentially, it was a small, sporty car. Q: When you say package, that indicates that there has been some preliminary discussions fairly high level, and some decisions have been made as to the general shape and form? A: Yes. Of course, I was not privy to any of these. I wasn't involved at all. I was doing other things at the time. I think the sequence of events was that, eventually, one of these was liked enough that it was taken to the styling committee for approval. Q: Who would be on the styling committee? A: It would have been Henry Ford. I don't know who the president of the company was at that time – Arjay Miller, perhaps? Q: Could be. A: Although he was only president for a month. Q: No, that was McNamara. Arjay went into the 'Sixties. A: Yeah, probably McNamara, and Bordinat -- yeah, Bordinat, by that time, was a vice-president, and a number of other people -- Lundy, I sup pose. All of them really had no ability to judge style, but they had the rank. In the course, the vice-president and general manager of the divisions, especially the one that was involved, in this case, was Iacocca. I was not at that styling committee meeting. What must have happened there was that, "Yeah, Lee, it's a good idea, but what else have we got to look at." So they had one model in front of them. I'm surmising that this is what happened, because that's how I got involved in it, and that's how the other studios got involved in it. That afternoon or early the next morning, Gene called into his office Buzz Grisinger, and DeLaRossa, and MacGuire, too. He would have called Joe [Oros], except that Joe was out at the St. Clair Inn, so he called me in. He outlined what was to be done, and he said, "You've got two weeks, and you're going to have to come up with an alternative proposal to what was in the show this morning," or yesterday -- whenever it w as, "and you'll be given the package that you cannot deviate from, and good luck." It seems I made a mistake about describing that Damon Woods had gone to England. He had not. He had been promoted and was now chief interior designer. Anyway, back to the Mustang project. We got a wood armature, and everything set up, and piled the clay on it, and started the designers on making sketches of what we might do. First ) we had photographs available to us of the previous models that had been developed in the advanced stu dio so we knew what not to do. I wouldn't want to say that those vehicles were poor looking, because they weren't. They were all kind of different, although they seemed to have a main theme running through them, but we all well understood that model might be still be approved if we didn't come up with an alternative that found favor with management. I did some sketching myself at home the first few nights while the clay was getting shaped up and carved down into the general package, and then we all got together and settled on the design elements that are mainly evident in the car that stands today: the long body side scoop terminating in the quarter panel, the triple element tail lamps, and the mouthy front end. A t this time, the car was called Cougar. Q: An early code name? A: Not Mustang. I don't know whether it was a code name or whether it was serious, but it was a Cougar. As you can see in these photographs of the early Mustang models, it had a cat regardant in it. It also had an eagle at one time and a Ford crest. There's a cat going the other direction. So it had a number of different symbols and names for awhile. Anyway, at the beginning of the next week, the model was pretty well along the way. I wouldn't say it was complete, but all the elements were there. Joe came back from his training session, lined us all up -- as if the model never sat there on floor -- and was telling us how we were going to go about designing it by using the new Kepner-Trego analysis method. Previous to that, about the end of the previous week -- the first week that we had to design it -- Iacocca had been in, and he liked it, even in the rough state that it was. He has a great eye for perceiving things. I let Joe know that the thing was in high favor, because it was. He usually didn't like doing this kind of thing. He wanted his thumb print on everything, he got his thumb on this, event ually. He wound up putting a better-looking, what we call, C-pillar on the car than the one we had. The one I had was more stiff and formal, and he gave it a little more slope and rounded it a bit, which, I think, sat better on the car. By the way, the model had two different sides to it. Only one side had this long side scoop theme on it; the other side was totally different. This was done frequently. It gives you two looks at a single clay model. You can always see one side at once, so it's like making two separate clay models. Q: What was your input into this model? A: I would say substantial. However, anyone that says they designed the car by themselves, is wrong. Iacocca didn't design it. He conceived it. He's called the father of it, and, in that respect, he was. I did not design it in total, nor did Oros. It was designed by a design group. You look at the photograph taken at the award banquet for the Industrial Designers’ Society where the Mustang received the medal; it’s got Damon Woods in it (the group that did the interior), and Charlie Phaneuf (who was Damon), and it’s got myself and John Foster (who was with me), it’s got Najjar in it. I’m not sure what Najjar was involved in, but he had some involvement with it. Q: Something to do with the Name perhaps? A: I don't know. And, of course, Bordinat and Oros. So nobody actually did the car, as such. Iacocca in his book flat out comes and says I did the car. It's right there in print, "It's Dave Ash's Mustang." Bordinat will tell you I did the car. This book tells you I did the car, but, in actual fact, I had a lot of help, and I don't think anyone ever does a car by himself, not in these times anyway. But it was a huge success. It was a hands-down winner when we had the beauty contest shortly thereafter. There was no contest, truly. It was the right car. It went through the engineering system rapidly, and had a spectacular introduction, and was a tremendous sales success. I think it did me a great deal of good, personally. I think it stuck in Iacocca's mind that I, probably, was the major contributor to the car in designing it or helping design it and bringing it along, because shortly thereafter, I received a major promotion. I’ve got to backtrack a little bit. There's a cloak and dagger story involved in how it got its final name. Once again, I was out of the Ford studio and back in what was called the corporate projects studio with MacGuire again. The car -- the Mustang – was in the Ford studio -- by now, a fiberglass replica and all spiffied up, painted vermilion (poppy red), and it had lettering on it that cougar. It had a cat in its front end. In the interior, the seat buttons had cougars on them and so forth. The instrument panel, said Cougar. Everything was going into tooling this way. I was in the corporate projects studio, and, at that time , I was working with race car people on the first GT-40 Le Mans car. It really wasn't a styling or design project; it was pretty aerodynamically controlled, but it was fun to work in a real flat-out Le Mans race car. Najjar, who I think was in the studio at the same time, was working on the show model of what eventually became Mustang . There was a show model being developed in the corporate projects studio, which I'm pretty sure Najjar was in charge of. The idea being that it looked a great deal like what the production Cougar was going to look like and that the production car coming out hard on the heels of the show model would get very good rub-off from the show model. So, as far as I can recall, this show model was being done by Najjar and MacGuire. One day, as I was going about my business, Bordinat and Iacocca came into the studio and took me aside into my little office, and in effect, swore me to secrecy on pain of death and dismemberment and told me that I was to work with Najjar on this thing, to the extent that I was to change its symbology and its name to Mustang. I was given authority to find out where the tooling had gone on the Cougar script being cast in metal and Cougar lines or Cougars in the interior and elsewhere, which I did. I didn't tell any engineers to stop tooling, because I didn't have that authority. Besides, I was sworn to secrecy. Anyway, I went to the Ford Studio, and I looked over the model. I made notes of where I found Cougars or Cougar lettering anywhere. Najjar and I then went about the business of having one of our fine clay modelers sculpture this horse, and we designed this little emblem, and we changed the buttons on the seats. Anywhere there were Cougar elements, they were changed to Mustang Lettering and Mustang symbology. Q: Who did the first sculpture of the horse? Do you remember? A: Yeah. I'm trying to think of his name. It was a Hungarian -- Karestes. A very fine guy; a very fine modeler and sculptor. Q: Was it his final design that you all approved? A: Yes. Sculptured in clay. Then I got a lot of flack. I'm getting ahead of myself again. Anyway I had to make sure that everything that we did was not just something that was going to be made one of for a show car. It had to be exactly what was going on in the production car and had to fit in those places, which it did. At a given signal, I don't know what it was, all of sudden the Cougar stopped being a Cougar, and a Mustang came in. I couldn't tell Joe Oros this, and I couldn't tell Damon Woods this. Q: Sworn to secrecy? A: I was sworn to secrecy. So under cloak and dagger, I changed the name around. Q: It must have caused some consternation and surprise? A: It did. Damon sort of chuckled at it. Joe was a little discombobulated about it, as he might have been, but maybe not. So, anyway, that all got done and happened. The Mustang hardtop – that I didn't really have anything to do about because that was done subsequently in the Ford studio which I was no longer in. Q: The Mustang was a great success. A: It certainly was. Q: And your career was certainly solidified at Ford? A: Yeah. In fact, it took a dramatically dramatic leap upward. My major promotion wasn't too long after the Mustang. I was in the cor porate projects studio. I got summoned into Bordinat's office. As you've observed, he likes to talk. He gave me a l engthy, rambling account of how Iacocca liked to have competitive proposals put before him, from not just one design group, but from a number of -- like the Mustang project. He said, "The way we're set up now, we've got some of that," and he gave me an example. He said, "For instance, if there's a Ford project going on that the Ford studio has, the advanced studio will frequently do a competitive version of it. We call that 'vanilla and chocolate.' Lee wants a third group to involve in this competitive action, and he wants what he calls his 'strawberry studio.'" Then he got to the point, he says, "You're going to be in charge of that." What this does is elevate me to the rank of chief stylist, which is a very good place to be. It's right under vice-president. Q: You were equal with Joe Oros? A: I don't work for MacGuire, Oros, Najjar, or anybody, except Bordinat and Iacocca, as it turned. I said, "That's just fine. Where am I going to be? What's my staff?" He said, "There's been a lot of work done on that already. You're not going to be just put out in the hall and told to find a place. You're going to be in the basement for awhile.” There was a storage area down in the basement. A lot of it is vacant. That was all right with me because it kind of got me out of the way, and I wouldn't have a lot of people traipsing in and out. It didn't work out that way. I said, "What's the name of this studio?" He says, "I don't know. Why don't you name it." Incidentally, this is a real fine promotion. This puts you on what's called the "E roll" -- a company executive roll. You get a company car -- a couple of them every years an enormous boost in salary, and bonus . It's a real major thing, and I was just delighted. Later on that day, I was meeting with Bill Corrigan, the personnel manager, to line up who was going to be on my staff: designers, clay modelers, administrative people, and secretary. I also got a private office up in the front row there, and a private secretary went with the job -- real nice stuff. I said, "Where do I get the people?" He said, "It's sort of like an expansion team in a football league. The come a few from here and a few from there. All of the other studios have to give up some designers and clay modelers to staff you. They'll get replaced out of art schools but, for the time being, you're going to be staffed by people that have come out of there." I said, "They'll prob ably give me the dregs." "Oh, no, no." They'd had meetings with the other chief stylists before I had been promoted, and all this had been settled, except for my two key people. I was to get two executive stylists. We didn't do any interior work in this studio, but I had sort of a Ford side and a Lincoln-Mercury side. That's the way I divided it up, and I was supposed to get two executive stylists. One of them came from the Edsel thing. This is Ken Spencer. He'd had some assignment since then, but he seemed to be very happy to have a place like home. The other one was unknown. He was to be hired. Gene [Bordinat] got back to me, and he said, "The first thing you've got to do is meet with John Reinhart and try to convince him to come back and be your other executive stylist." Q: At this point, he's where? A: He's nowhere. His job had folded up at U.S. Steel. He was sort of Q: This was about…? A: It would have been '64, because that's when I got the job in '64. I said, "Well, do I have any choice?" "No," he says, "not unless John turns the job down." John endeared himself very deeply to Bill Ford, and Bill Ford was over Bordinat. I gather it was kind of force-fed that we should hire John if John wanted the job. So I arranged to meet John at the Dearborn Inn for breakfast the next morning. Q: He was back in town by then? A: Yeah. He was supposed to be, because he knew he was getting interviewed for a job back at Ford. I laid it out to him just absolutely truthful. I told him what the job was, I told him it's down the basement, I said it's a brand-new studio, we're going to have a lot of fun, a lot of challenging work, and very competitive. I said that's our whole job is competition with the other studios. I told him who was working with us: stylists and the clay modelers. John’s a great guy. He’s very slow. Everything he does is slow motion. He’s a good designer, but the earlier contacts with him were he just had a terrible time keeping up with the pace. In the Continental Division, it was different. He had one car to do and nothing else. He did fine there. He mulled if over, he obviously decided he didn’t want to get back into our rat race because he called, not me, but Gene the next morning and said, “Thanks, but no thanks.” I went back to Corrigan, and said, “I got a turn-down from Reinhart . Who's the next candidate?" He said, "We've got a call from a guy by the name of Kopka, over at Chrysler, who is not too happy working for Elwood Engel and would like to come with us." It so happened I knew Kopka. I knew him very briefly, and we had been co-speakers at a SAE function. He from Chrysler ) at the time, and me from Ford, so I'd met him. I didn't know anything about him, as far as his qualifications were concerned. He seemed to be a very personable chap, but that's all I knew about him. I was told he was supposed to be a very hotshot guy. I said, "You intend to bring him in as an executive stylist?" He says, "That's the only thing he'd come in at." He had done the '57 DeSoto and some other rather memorable cars. So I said, "Fine, bring him in." So Kopka came in, and, boy, am I glad we got him. He was just terrific. He's the vice-president now. He was just great. He was a lot of fun to work with. You couldn't ask for a better guy. Q: He came in as your…? A: As my other executive stylist. What we did to start with was the next generation of Mustangs, among other things. We also worked on Fords, and Cougars, and Thunderbirds. I forget what model or year it was. It was an all-new Thunderbird, and we were in a flat-out, competitive race with the Ford studio -- Oros and company -- and won that one. We got an all-new Thunderbird and a Cougar. Q: What year was that? A: I'm trying to recall. ’65. It was the one with the long sloping nose and the mouth on the front end. Sort of a gigantic Mustang, in a way. Things went very well. We got a lot of approvals, much to the annoyance of Grisinger and Oros, but that's the way it went. And we got a lot more attention from Iacocca. He came down to that studio very often. Gene said, "You probably have something good for Lee to look at." One time I did a Ford front end for '66, and it was asymmetrical. In other words, it wasn't the same on both sides. It had sort of a mouth-like effect with one headlamp in it, and the other side had like three more. It sounds terrible, but it looked pretty good in a spooky sort of way. Lee came in. He stood in front of that, and he looked at it. He'd never seen it before; never seen anything like it before. He tried to make up his mind whether it was any good or not. He finally says, "No. That won't fly. That's not right for the car." I said, "I don't think so either, in a way. It's not right for a family -- the Ford." He said, "Maybe on something else sometime -- a Thunderbird or whatever." So that was the end of it. But he came down there a lot, and, in the main, he liked what he saw. I guess, it was one of his projects, really, to set up that studio. Incidentally, I named it the Special Development Studio. I named it, because I was told to name it, and that's what I called it. Sort of an innocuous name. I thought it took care of things all right. Q: How did that square with the advanced studio? Was DeLaRossa still doing that? Q: Did you find yourself in competition, occasionally? A: Yes, of course. Although not as much. We competed mainly with the Ford and the Lincoln-Mercury studio. Q: What were Don Kopka's strengths chiefly? A: Everything you could imagine. He was a fine designer. He was a fine manager. There wasn't anything that he couldn't do superlatively. Everyone liked him -- everyone. The girls thought he was a doll. He's still a very good-looking man, even though he's 57 by now. He seems to be ageless. Q: What was the problem at Chrysler? A: No. He just didn't like working for Elwood Engel. Q: He got a little restive? A: Elwood is a tough person to work for, and so is Joe Oros Q: They came up through the same matrix? A: They came out of George Walker's consulting firm. Both of them very good designers. Not very good personalities. Although ) Elwood wasn’t bad. He was just kind of dumb in a way as far as working with people. He was fine working by himself. He was funny to be around. He was always joking and throwing clay balls. He'd throw clay balls up in the ceiling of the studios at work and pitching pennies. Work for him was play. He loved designing cars and working in the clay, and he was always throwing clay balls and pitching pennies. That was all part of the same thing. Q: I guess he was having his problems administratively, with. A: I can imagine so, because of all the things that Elwood was, he was not a manager. When I was with Najjar once, he came into my office with one of the designers who, apparently, had told Elwood that he, as a designer, was unhappy, that he wasn't getting anywhere. So Elwood comes marching into my office with this designer (I've forgotten his name) and says, "Hey, Joe here wants to be an executive designer. Why don't you fix him up." Really. Q: He was serious? A: Yeah, he was serious. Another time, for some reason or another, he'd gotten [a hold] of all the envelopes with pay raises -- notification of salary increases in them -- and walked around my studio with this bunch of envelopes. He says, "Okay, Bill, you get one of these. Nope, you don't get any." He goes to the next guy and says, "Yeah, you get one." He did this! Now, those should have come to me. I would have called the guys individually into my office and told them this. Oh, well. Kopka just did everything right. He eventually was transferred out of there, and he went to work for Damon Woods in the interior studio, and Damon -- he was very critical -- couldn't find anything wrong with him. He eventually succeeded Damon as an interior chief designer. Somewhere about this time, I don't know what the circumstance was, but studio space became available upstairs, and we moved out of the base ment, which was kind of nice, because we saw daylight. The work pro ceeded in a normal way with more Mustangs, and more Thunderbirds and some work on a Lincoln front end -- a facelift, also. A: You're going to stick me with the year again? It's hard for me to tell. I would say we're talking about in late 1966 or early '67. About this time came a project which Iacocca initiated and was carried forth exclusively in my special projects studio. At the outset it was nameless, and it was set up rather loosely as a Thunderbird equivalent in the Lincoln-Mercury line-up; that is some special, personal luxury car that would fit in between the Mercury Marquis and the Lincoln. Smaller than either one of them, but probably as expensive or, not quite in the Lincoln price range but more than the Mercury. It was to be based on the Thunderbird, as far as the general package and the chassis . Underneath the engine and drive train were all Thunderbird. There was also to be quite a bit of interchangeability in the body panels, except for the front fenders, the hood, and the rear end. We got into this quite a way, and around then we became aware that Cadillac was about to introduce the Eldorado. When I say we, it was the company, really. The character of this project got switched around from a in-between Mercury and Lincoln into a top-of-line model. In other words, it was going to wind up in the Lincoln line-up but still in disguise guise as a Thunderbird derivative. One of the biggest problems we were having with the clay model was the door, because the product plans called for use of the Thunderbird door which had very definite characteristics stamped into it, which we were having a great deal of problem working with. Eventually, it was recognized that this was a severe impediment to getting a distinctive looking car, so that requirement was removed. In other words, we could use unique outer door skin on this car, as long as it was fastened suitably to a carry-over Thunderbird door inter-panel. Q: Was this done to save money? A: Well, yes. Any derivative car is done to save money. Two things: save time and money. When you don't have to develop an all-new car from the ground up -- as far as chassis is considered -- you save time. You also save money because you don't have to tool a lot of stuff. In many cases, you can build two dif ferent cars on the same assembly line: Thunderbirds and what this turned out to be, for instance. It gets you into the marketplace sooner, and it gets you into the marketplace with less investment, which is all to the benefit. There was a rather brilliant product planner by the name of Hal Seigel, who was working on this car with us. He eventually quit and went to American Motors. He did some very interesting analysis, because, at that time, there was also a four-door Thunderbird which had a longer wheel-base and more package room -- more couple distance. He did a very careful engineering analysis and found that, to and behold, we could work off of the four-door Thunderbird platform or chassis, if you want to call it that. Q: That's what platform means -- chassis? A: Not always. Platform usually refers to a unitized car. But talk about chassis and floor pan and so forth, all that stuff you don't see, and wind up with a longer car -- a longer wheelbase -- and more couple distance inside. Q: What do you mean couple distance? A: Couple distance is the distance between the front and rear seat. The more couple distance you have, the more spacious the leg room is when you're sitting in the rear. So we shifted gears a little bit, and it wasn't any big deal. We just lengthened the wheelbase on the clay model and started over again. We were working, at that time, with themes that were pretty contemporary American luxury car themes, as far as the front, and rear, and side view were concerned. Frankly, it didn't seem to be getting off the ground in the way that we thought it should, and Iacocca recognized this, too. In fact, I have to give him credit for inspiration of what the car eventually turned out to look like. Q: At this point, what is Iacocca's title? A: Iacocca is, at this point -- I don't know. He was certainly above vice-president of the Ford Division. I don't know whether he was president. Q: Was he car group vice-president? A: I couldn't really tell you. I guess you might have to refer to his book or something else, but he was a vice-president over all the car and truck divisions, otherwise he wouldn't have had anything to do with this Lincoln-Mercury project. In his book he says he was in Canada one night in a motel and couldn't sleep. He was thinking about this car, and he says he called Gene Bordinat. As a matter of fact, he didn't. I guess he tried to, but Gene was in Europe , and he wound up talking to me. He said, "You know, Dave, I've been thinking about this. Why don't you try something like the old Continental rear end -- you know, the spare tire effect and maybe something classy like a Rolls-Royce front end." I said, "Fine." In fact, after I finished talking to him, I thought we should have thought of that, but we didn't think that way. If I'd put a Rolls-Royce front end on a car at that time, Bordinat would have chewed me up and down. Well, nobody did that. But Iacocca, with his foresight, had a minds-eye picture of this. Q: Can you tell me why Bordinat wouldn't have thought that? What was his mind set at the time? A: I don't think I would have thought of doing it to begin with, but, if I had, I think Gene or anyone in his position would have thought, "What are you reaching back for? That's old-fashioned." I would have, too, if I were the vice-president, and someone else under me was doing this project, I would have said, "That's not the way to go. What do you want to do that for? It's dumb. It's backward." I had one of my designers make a perspective front and rear end rendering of this car with these elements on it, and I had to admit, when I saw this, that it looked awfully good -- very distinctive. We started right away with this rendering to revise the front and rear end appearance of the car. We even added some front-end overhang to it, which is something engineers hate. They don't like weight t-a-ken out over the front axle in order to give it this very long nose. Gene came back from Europe , and I told him what had happened. He said, "Oh, God!" or something like that. I said, "Well, no, wait a minute. It looks very good. It's very distinctive." He said, "Well, I guess if Lee wants it that way, you got to do it," or something. I'm not quoting directly, but this is sort of the way the conversation went. I said, "Come back to the studio and have a look at it. I think it looks very good. It's very distinctive.” So he did, and he thought it was great. Neither one of us would have done it on our own, I'm sure. I have to give Lee credit for that. Lee came in, in due course of time, and he saw it, and just like that, he said, "That's it. That is it." In a way, I wouldn't say he had to say that, but it's his ideas. He must think they look good, and they did. Of course, we had to execute it. Q: Which is no mean feat? A: No. It was diverse design elements, but they worked all right. It got tuned up some more and feasibility studies made -- initial ones, anyway, to make sure that the interchangeability had been preserved with the Thunderbird. We used the Thunderbird roof panel and windshield entirely, but we raised, what we called, the upper back panel -- the part of the body that's directly behind the back window. We raised that two inches higher than a comparable body panel on a Thunderbird, and that made the roof look lower. It was swallowed up more in the body of the car and gave it a more hunched look, which we thought was a pretty good design ploy. Anyway, it got tuned up, and it went to the -- oh, by the way, I wanted to draw a little bit on the name. I had a habit of naming projects just so I knew what I was talking about, and other people did, too. Q: Personal code names? A: Personal code names. First of all, I called it Merlin, which I thought was a rather clever amalgamation of Mercury and Lincoln. Q: I like that, plus the famous Arthurian magician? A: Yes. And the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine It's a smooth-sounding name. It's a slick name. Q: It rolls off the tongue? A: The Lincoln-Mercury Division people, who didn't want this car at all, by the way.... Q: Oh, really? A: Oh, they didn't want that car. Q: Who was opposing it at this time? Who in the Lincoln-Mercury Division? A: They couldn't really oppose me. Q: In spite of that? A: I don't know -- some of their product planning people. I guess the vice-president. I forget who he was at the time. Q: Who was that at that time? Q: Is Ben Mills still around? A: I don't think it was Ben, it was probably someone else. But, anyway, in general, the Lincoln-Mercury Division did not want this car at all, but it was sort of being shoved down their throats. Once they got it, of course, it tasted very sweet, because money poured in like it wouldn't stop. Anyway, someone in the division decided that if we're going to have this car, this was a slick name, and others didn't. Anyway, it went by the wayside, eventually, and I re-christened it Lancelot; again sticking with the Arthurian Legend. If you're fami liar with the design of the Continental hood ornament, which originated with the Mark II Continental, it's not a rectangle exactly; it's got bowed sides, and it's got a cross motif in it. What I did -- I designed this, by the way -- I kept the general outline of the bowed rectangle, but coming up through the middle, it was a sword, yes, with a point sticking out of the top. And this looked really neat, and it went with the Lancelot name. However, there were those -- Ralph Nader amongst them, and his word was being taken fairly seriously -- who thought that an upstanding hood ornament, by itself, was bad business, but one with a sword point coming through was even worse! I wish I had kept the hand made model of that thing, because it was kind of neat. As I recall , it went to the product planning committee with a modified hood ornament on it -- just with the Continental star as we know it now. But it still had the name Lancelot on it at the pro duct planning committee meeting at which it was approved. Q: No eyebrows raised about the name? A: I think it was pointed out to them, probably, by Iacocca, that the name was a temporary one, and it was not at all finalized. Approve the car, and we'll thrash out the name later. It was one of the few times t hat I saw Henry Ford actually excited, and almost ecstatically so, about the new model. He knew, of course, he was looking at a clay model. I was there, so I heard it. He said, "I'd like to drive that home tonight." I'd never heard him so enthusiastic about a car. I think they authorized forty million dollars for its engineering and production. A lot at the time, but nothing now. They're talking billions now. Maybe it wasn't that much. Anyway, it was enough. The next thing that happened was a chief engineer in the Lincoln-Mercury Division -- Burt Andren -- came into the studio one day, and he says, "Well, you know you've got to take four inches off the front end." I said, "What for?" He says, "Too much overhang." I said, "I'm not going to do it." He said, "You have to do it." Q: Overhang is what? A: The amount of car -- body, whatever you want to call it -- that overhangs the front axle. In other words, if you look at the side view of a car and the front wheel, the center of that is the axle. If you have fifteen inches of car, including bumper and everything sticking out, you've got a fifteen inch front overhang. Q: Why would body engineers be unhappy with that? A: He's not the body engineer, he's the car engineer. Body engineers don't give a damn. All they do is draw the thing up and stamp it out. They're not concerned about it. It's the guy who is the car engineer, who is really the designer of the guts of the car – the chassis. He's responsible for how the car performs, how it rides, how it handles and so forth. And, of course, you don't want to overload the front end of the car, but this is mostly air. It was done really to give a long nose. Q: The Rolls-Royce touch? A: Well, yeah, if you want to call it that, although this is certainly longer than a Rolls-Royce. Anyway, it was a standoff. He wasn't my boss, and I wasn't his boss, yet he was insistent that four inches had to come off, and I said, "No way. I'm not going to take that off. You should have spoken up several weeks ago. This thing has been approved by the product planning committee as is. I'm not about to take four inches off of that." "Well," he says, "you gotta. Too much overhang." So I went to Gene and.... Q: Would he have thought that it was dangerous? A: No. I think he was concerned about the weight. That would have been his first concern was overloading the front end. The weight distribution, front to rear, on a car is important. It has to do with the way the car rides and handles and so forth. Q: Would it have a tendency to dive on stops? A: Right. Something like that. You don't want to overload either end of the car, actually. I went and I talked to Gene, and I said, "Now, I've got an impasse here. Burt insists on taking four inches off the front end, and I told him that we won't do it." He says, "That's right. We won't do it." Now, I never heard anything more about it. I gather Bordinat had a consultation or a conversation either with Burt himself or with Burt's boss, who would have been our vice-president of engineering. Q: Would have that been Herbert Miesh? A: I don't know. Could have been. Andrew was [a] real good guy, really, and a nice guy to work with. But he probably felt he was doing the right thing. The only thing was, he was out of joint time-wise. He should have made his comment much earlier, and then we could have negotiated it, maybe. As it turned out, four inches stayed on, and between Iacocca and the Lincoln-Mercury Division, they decided to abjure the Mark numbers on a series of Continentals that were Lincoln derivatives in the 'Sixties. Q: That would have been the Mark III, IV and V? A: Yes. Q: '58, '59, and '60? A: Those. Q: Which were phony Marks? A: Phony Marks. They were Lincoln derivatives -- different gimmicks on 'em. As Iacocca, as he was wont to do -- decided to abjure them. Q: Rewrite history? A: Right. They're not there, and dubbed this the Mark III. Q: Not a bad idea? A: Right. Takes guts to do, in a way, but, anyway, that's what happened. So it became a Mark III. It went into production, and it was just a huge success. Q: Did you get proper credit through the company and the industry for this? A: Yes, I did. The first credit I got was -- I was, at that time, I was on the E roll, which was the executive roll, and I was assigned a company car twice a year, not always of my choice, but always luxury cars. However, the Mark III, when it went into production, the use of it as an E car was restricted to vice-presidents. Now I wrote a letter to Bordinat stating that when the Mark II went into production, its chief stylist, John Reinhart, was assigned a Mark II as a company car, even though he did have vice-presidential status. I said, “With that precedent in mind, might it not be appropriate that an exception could be made to this rule? He said, "Well, why not. We’ll give it a try. What the hell." I guess he talked to Lee, and I suppose Lee said, "Yeah, what the hell. The guy did a good job." Anyway, the next thing I got was a phone call from somebody at the executive garage and said, "Mr. Ash, there's been an exception made to the E Car Program as regards to Mark III, and I'll order one if you like." So he did, much to the surprise and consternation of my colleagues when this showed up. That's about the only time I ever tried to pull anything like that, but it did work. I was quite pleased with that. I guess that was the last real thing that happened in my career. The Mark III went several more years with several modifications. Most of them minor. Q: They knew a good thing when they had one? A: Yeah. The investment was pretty well paid for, and it was just making money -- pure money. Bunkie Knudsen came in somewhere along there. Q: How did that impinge on your area? A: Not terribly much. I kind of liked the guy in a way. I liked him in that he was a pure automobile man. He was like Iacocca in a way. Very different, but he was not what we call a "bean counter" -- an accountant -- or a product planner. He was a bonafide automobile man. Grease under his fingernails type guy. Q: The son, of course, of the original Knudsen. A: Yeah. Worked for G.M. and he quit. Bunkie left General Motors because they didn't make him president. Henry drove out one dark and stormy night and hired him, which was not a very good thing to do when you have people like Iacocca standing around twiddling their thumbs. Q: It was very odd that, although Iacocca tries to explain in his book, Ford, at this time – about 1969 -- d ecided that he wanted the G.M. look again? A: I don't know. Bunkie, of course, immediately brought in a couple of guys from G.M. styling. Q: Who were they? A: Dave Wheeler was one, and the other was a Japanese/American chap, whose name I don't recall at the moment. Q: Larry Shinoda? A: Larry Shinoda. Wheeler's still there. He got demoted immediately after Bunkie left. Shinoda got fired. [Q: Wheeler’s still with the company?] A: I think so. He wasn't a terribly effective person, but Shinoda was a real crackerjack designer, and I liked the guy, but he rubbed an awful lot of people the wrong way, including Gene, who was his boss. He had no respect for Gene at all. He said, "Don't bug me, man, or I'll tell the Man," in effect. He relied entirely on Knudsen to stand behind him. Q: That must have really galled Bordinat? A: Boy did it gall him. The day Bunkie was fired, Larry Shinoda was in Germany attending the Frankfurt auto show, Gene called him, and he said, “You’d better get back here right away because, as of today, you're not on the company expense account. You're fired!" That was that. Q: What was the story where somebody put up a sun that was no longer rising, that was somehow sinking into the sea? A: I don't know I don't recall that, no. Q: Elaborate a bit on Shinoda, since you're one of the few people who liked him and thought he was good. A: I liked him as a person and as a designer. I got along with him because he had no axe to grind with me. We were heavily into stock car racing then -- the Ford Motor Company was -- and I worked with Larry a number of times modifying certain elements for the stock cars so they'd go faster. We just got along very well. Kindred designers. I was aware of his personality and his tendency to flaunt his "Big Daddy." Q: Relationship with Knudsen? A: Yeah. But, as far as I was concerned, he never bothered me in any way. He had no axe to grind with me or anything like that. Q: And you felt he had a lot of talent? A: Very talented, oh, yes. Very talented. He sure didn't know anything about company politics, or he sure didn't seem to know who is boss was -- his real boss. Q: I guess he was the impetus, was he not, behind Knudsen's penchant for taking the Mustang and turning it into what later became the Boss? Q: Do you have some observations on that period? A: As I recall, the Mustang, at that time when Knudsen came in, had a phony air intake on the rear quarter panel, and this Knudsen didn't like at all, and he got Shinoda to redesign the rear quarter panel with it e liminated. I don't think it improved the car at all. Developing of other elements of the Boss were mainly colors and stripes on the outside. The rest of it was purely mechanical -- big wheels, and tires, and an enormous engine all cooked up so that it would.... I had one at one time when they first came out, and I didn't keep it very long because it was such an awful car. It would throw you back with the slightest touch of the accelerator. It was so over-powered. I lived in an area where my driveway went uphill before I reached the street. If there was the least bit of slickness, I could not get up with that car because it would just spin its wheels. When Bunkie came in, the Mark III was already going, but for some economy reasons at the outset – tooling economy reasons -- it had Lincoln wheel covers on it. Bunkie didn't like that at all. It's got to have its own wheel covers. He said, "That's very important." I certainly thought so too, because those are important elements of the car -- what the wheels look like. My executive designer that was working with me at the time -- Art Querfeld of the funeral home here in Dearborn -- his brother runs that. Art's retired now. Very talented, obstreperous cranky type guy but good, too. Q: Talented? A: Yeah, but funny. Anyway, having got this assignment, we thought what we can do that will compliment the classic look of this car - classic being the front end and rear end. So we went over to the Henry Ford Museum and looked at the old cars there -- looking at the wheels only, of course. The only element that we could come up with was the hexagonal nut -- large one -- that we found on a quite a number of the cars -- Packards, some Rolls-Royces. Q: That was one of Packard’s trademarks? A: That was one of their trademarks. So we picked up that element, and the new wheelcovers that we designed for the Mark, in which Bunkie enthusiastically approved, had this element on it. I noted that ever since that, it has proliferated the whole industry. Practically every body with wire wheel covers have that element in them now. We introduced the sunroof and, eventually, the moon roof in the Mark series. Q: Do you have background on that? What inspiration did you have for that? A: The moon roof, of course, was not an invention on our part. It was Heinz Prechter's thing, but the idea of.... Q: He runs what company? A: American Sunroof. It's gotten to be a real combine now[,] in Southgate . Prechter – a German guy. A real nice guy. I know him well. Recalling the earlier cars I'd been involved with, the '55 Ford was a tinted transparent roof, and the more recent development of being able to mirror-ize glass so it's reflective and yet still transparent. Kopka and I worked on this. Working with Heinz Prechter, we developed the so-called moon roof, which is Prechter's sliding roof with a mirror-ized glass panel instead. Q: Did he copyright any of these names? Moon roof, for instance? A: I think that was concocted by the advertising agency of the Lincoln-Mercury Division – were by now in love with the car. Q: It was their bread and butter? A: Yeah, it was really knocking the pins out of the Eldorado, Q: Which was beginning to be a little stodgy, at this time, as I recall? A: Actually, the first Eldorado, I thought, was one of the very best ones. Q: But they had begun to goof it up. A: They started to. Like a lot of things, it got progressively worse. Q: But your styling remained fairly clean? A: That it is. Until the Mark VI. It's a terrible Mark. That, again, harked back to the Marks of the late 'Fifties and 'Sixties, and it was really a goofed-up Lincoln -- the Mark VI was. I did quite well a number of special Marks for Bordinat. Q: Special in what sense? A: Custom paint, custom interiors. One of them was real spooky. It was called a Black Diamond. It was a metallic black finish that looked like black diamond dust or anthracite coal dust, you might say. And a new technique which some plating company was trying to interest me in was utilizing black chrome. It's hard to describe black chrome, because it's shiny, yet it doesn't look like shiny black paint; it looks like, if you can imagine, a film of black put over chrome -- a transparent black film but over chrome. It was pretty spooky looking. This car was really spooky looking. Q: Who tried to interest you in this? A: Some plating company. I thought, okay, I'll give it a try. Actually, I told Gene I was going to do this first, because it was his car. He thought it would be pretty great. And I had these people do it, and they started running into all kinds of problems of not being able to keep it consistent. Because, originally, they were trying to interest me in it, from an industrial standpoint, as a production-feasible thing. Q: Was it a U.S. company or a foreign company? A: Yeah, it was U.S. I don't recall who it was, but they eventually did furnish the parts after many tries. The stuff was never used to my knowledge because they couldn't work out a quality consistent process. Q: Recently chrome has gone out of fashion? A: It has, to some extent. Q: Some of the more avant-garde cars from Europe are now using black metal paint without the bright work. A: There are U.S. cars -- there are Fords now, too. For instance, I've seen a Thunderbird turbo coupe with a front end grille, which is normally chrome, is painted body color. Mustang is similar. I've seen a Cougar with a painted grille. It's a style swing that will go eventually. Q: Telnack told the story that that happened when he was in Ford of Europe, that after a question, one of their surveys, they painted over the chrome, and everybody liked it. They said, "What the hell. Why don't we do it." Please accept my grateful thanks for Dave’s and your helpful cooperation. Sincerely DRC Automotive Oral Histories A History of Scholarship on American Design Tough Guys and Pretty Boys Printable View About the Project | Credits | Contact Us | Student & Teacher Resources | Site Map ©2004-2010 Automobile in American Life and Society

The Baby is turning into a Toddler. by Georgia Dunn on March 30, 2015 at 11:27 am Chapter: Local newsCharacters: Elvis, Lupin, Puck, The Man, The Toddler, The Woman Share this:ShareTwitterTumblrPinterestEmailRedditFacebook And we will be right back! The new baby is due April 7th. This strip marks the beginning of a short maternity break I will be taking from the comic. I’m not certain when exactly she will decide to join us, but we will try our best to keep everyone posted either here, on the Facebook for Georgia Dunn Studio, or on my Twitter account! Please never fear, ‘Breaking Cat News’ WILL continue, I promise! It will continue by this summer, and I have many ideas for when it picks back up. Including a story line for Puck, since Elvis and Tommy got to share the Christmas special and Lupin had his laundry adventure! There is already a notebook by my bedside to scribble down new headlines and rough sketches, because I am bad at resting, ha! Everyone has been so supportive and understanding since I announced there would be a maternity break a few weeks ago, and I am so grateful for all the kind words and encouragement as we get ready to welcome the new baby in real life! Right now it’s difficult to predict the exact date when I will start posting new strips again, but I am doing my best to return some time in June or so. It was not long after we had our son that I was back to creating comics in the evenings; they’re a part of me, I enjoy them immensely. In the meantime, the archives will run uninterrupted on GoComics.com, and can be found here: It’s free to subscribe, and some of you already have! Thank you!!! I love seeing familiar names and avatars over there! Many of their readers are new to the comic and experiencing the older strips for the first time. My Facebook artist page and my Twitter will be good places to check in for announcements on when the baby arrives, what is going on in the meantime, and when the return date will finally be settled on! You can find the FB page here: And Twitter here: Now I really need to stop writing, but I can’t seem to pull myself away, ha! I can’t wait to have new strips for everyone in a couple of months. I love creating this comic for all of you, and I’m going to miss Monday and Thursday chats in the comments section. I’m sure the boys will have a lot of reactions to another baby and many adventures in the next two months, and I’m so excited to share them with you soon! Until then, Georgia Hope everything goes well with the new baby Georgia! Congratulations again on your happy little family! see you when you are well rested and back to norm. Cant wait to see what Elvis thinks of the new baby. Have a great couple of months! Best wishes for an easy and uncomplicated birth, Georgia! Best wishes! Sleep while you can, put your feet up when you remember, and know we’re all hoping for the best for all of you. =) Best wishes for you all! We shall see you all when you’re back. 🙂 *gasp* the baby is due the day after my birthday!!! Yaayyyyy!!! 😀 Good luck for an easy delivery. I’ve been really enjoying your comics, and I look forward to more in the future! Take care of yourself! We will wait till -your- ready to come back. Hope that its an easy delivery as you are blessed with another bundle of joy:) I hope everything goes splendidly with the new baby! Enjoy your maternity leave. 😀 Congratulations! And I hope things turned out as well as could be expected! Best wishes, Georgia! Looking forward to more BCN adventures when you return! May it be an easy birth and an easy baby, Georgia. I will miss you and the Boys so much. You were the high point of my Mondays! Georgia- Rest assured that we who read you regularly will be hearing from our hyper-local correspondents regularly in your boys’ absence. There will be plenty of news as spring fights hard to make its mark on New England. Just this morning, our anchor woman insisted that there was breaking news on the back porch, and our human interest editor had something to show me in the kitchen at 5:30am. We’ll certainly miss the regular comics, but wishing you an easy delivery and great joy! Note to Self: All of my cats are toddlers! LOVE this one, and good luck breaking the news to Elvis that he’s still living in Babyville! <3 Hello Georgia, How very exciting for you all! I love the last panel! Prayers and best wishes for a safe and quick delivery. I hope the Toddler loves the Baby Sister. My son (Pedro) was 2 1/2 when baby sister Angela was born, and we were lucky not to have any jealousy issues. (They’re 10 and 7 1/2 now, and generally play together nicely, except when they don’t!) Babies are a wonderful blessing. Can’t wait to see update on babies andboys! Happy Easter or Passover, if you celebrate. Ciao! JoAnn Wish you the best of luck with the new baby and her upcoming arrival! I will dearly miss seeing a new Breaking Cat News strip twice a week, which means I will be looking through the old strips even MORE than I do now (usually I go through them multiple times a day to get my fix). Who knows? I may have them memorized word for word haha! 😀 Anyway, I wish you and the entire family (felines included) the best these next couple of weeks and months! 🙂 <3 <3 <3 Congratulations and best wishes to your whole family, even the one who’s not quite here yet! Enjoy your break, and my boys and I will look forward to more adventures this summer! ‘Memo to self – you may be a toddler’ – love it! Wishing you all the very best for the arrival of your new baby! Fine. leave us. Abandon us. Wait- why can’t the cats/furry toddlers just take over while you are off? LOL!! Have a restful leave, congrats on new baby girl- whenever she gets here- and don’t worry about us. I’m sure there’s some other addiction out there that we can turn to while we wait… please don’t feel any guilt on our account! *grin* Now THAT would be rather intriguing…I wonder if cat paws could hold a watercolor brush…. Lord knows they try, haha!! (Especially Lupin!) I hope everything goes well for you 🙂 Your due date falls between the birthdays of my two toddlers (April 2nd and April 13th) so hurray for April babies! Have a good rest and I’m looking forward to the return of BCN. Ah poor delusional Elvis. All best wishes on the new arrival. Congrats to the whole family. I’m so excited for all of you. It won’t be long and you’ll have a new bundle of joy. Enjoy this special time in your life. Thanks for all the smiles you bring. See you and the New Team this summer. 🙂 May you have a safe and joyous birth! I used to be a Lamaze childbirth teacher and I coached many women in labor until husbands were allowed in the delivery room. This was in the 70’s. Another outstanding cartoon! I love Elvis nestled on the pile of stuffed animals. Good luck with the arrival of your little one!!! Hurry back to us soon 🙂 We’ll miss you and the strip but please enjoy your much deserved rest for now and congratulations on your new daughter! BTW Love Elvis amongst the Pillow Pets 😀 It’s all too emotional, sob!, see you all in June xxxxx I wish you success for with you, your family and your new baby! See you when you get back! And I am sure your cats will play with (make that sleep on) the toddler’s toys while you are gone! And of course thank you for entertaining us, now stay safe! Oh dear Elvis. Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the living room. .. Wishing you only the best, and I look forward to the kitties’ reaction to the new arrival. Have a safe and easy delivery, Georgia! And rest assured that we’ll all be right here waiting for your return, and of course the return of BCN’s intrepid reporters! Good luck with the new baby! How exciting (and tiring) for you all! No worries…we’ll still be here whenever you return! And we will miss you but gotta have a real life! Thanks for all the laughs! Hugs! We will remain loyal, Georgia. Stay safe! Hope the next few weeks and months go well for you. I’m remembering that new baby smell that takes over the home, I describe it as kind of like a combination of poop and baby powder! …all the best, G.D. Best of luck to you and your expanding family. We will miss our Monday and Thursday BCN too and will be waiting patiently for their return! Love the chart!! that’s the best description of a toddler I’ve ever seen. And Elvis is such an expert at foreshadowing! Georgia, I pray for a safe, easy, painless delivery, and that you enjoy this special time with your Baby, the Man, and the Toddler. BCN has extremely loyal & patient viewers. We’ll be here whenever you’re ready to return. Best wishes. Georgia. Man. Toddler, Boys! (and New Sister!) Best wishes for an easy delivery. We’ll all be right here when you return. Best wishes! We look forward to meeting the new cast member! Best wishes to you and the Man and the Toddler and the Boys. Have a happy, easy baby and we’ll see you when you are ready to be seen. Best of luck! All best wishes for a quick and easy delivery! Best wishes and here’s to an uneventful delivery. Come back soon! Good luck! Can’t wait till the stripes are back! Best Wishes! Looking forward to further new strips, whenever they come! once again a great strip. shared to my cat groups who love the comic as well. Never a bad word said about them. Is the new baby a boy, a girl or a kitten? I’d be hoping for kittens. 😀 Looking forward to the strips resuming after the little one arrives and lets you get some rest. A girl!! We are super excited! And thank you, so much! Here’s to a healthy and boring birth. (it’s what my wife always said that she wanted. She was happy to get healthy, but…) Loved this one – look on face when note to self lol You are incredible Ms. Dunn – truly get me giggling:) Good luck Georgia, and hope you have an easy birth. Pay no attention to the bangs, slammings and runnings, or the sudden yowls coming from upstairs. There’s nothing happening. Honest. They’re only kidding………..lol See you in June!!! The very best wishes Best of luck with everything, and I’ll eagerly await your (and the Boys’) return! 😀 What does Lupin have in his hand? It looks like a recorder, but that makes no sense. Also, What are your children’s names? And congratulations! I did mean it to be a tape recorder, like an old style recorder reporters used to carry! Our son’s name is Luke, and we have not yet named the little lady, but when she arrives we will announce her name too! 🙂 That was kinda my question, too. How does a tape recorder work for a deaf cat? Hoping you have an easy and uneventful delivery of the kitties’ newest antagonist! 🙂 Mainly so you can get back on your feet again as soon as possible, but also (I’ll admit this is a bit selfish of me) so you’ll be back drawing the boys in action again soon! That may come up in a future strip 😉 And thank you so much!! Georgia, you are a great storyteller. We are so lucky to be able to read your cat tales and maybe one day you will do stories for the children as well? Enjoy the next couple of months and I look forward to the news. I would love that, that has always been a dream of mine! And thank you very much! 🙂 Best wishes! I’m enjoying catching up on GoComics and burning the candle at both ends. Thank you for sharing your stories and talent with us. All good wishes to you and “The Man” in the new arrival. What a year it has been for you and all who have found your delightful comic! I have never respond to any on-line story or comic before, but you have certainly “touched the hearts” of many who find your work insightful, comical and endearing. As an old daily newspaper reporter and “news junkie” I see so many former “news people” in your wise little cats. How we all tried so hard to get the story right and prayed that “today’s exclusive” would not still be an “exclusive” tomorrow morning. Enough of that … have a healthy baby and return to what I suspect has become your passion BREAKING CAT NEWS! Congratualations and hugs. Best wishes for a successful and safe “outcome”. I got a big chuckle from panel 3. It reminded me of a license plate I saw recently “2CHAOS”. The driver said it reflected the state of his home with 2 young children. Enjoy whatever rest you can. All three of the boys get very good lines in this one, and I really enjoy the background activity in the last panel! Happy Birthingday, Georgia! My best wishes for You and your -whole- Family!! Come back to us when -you- are ready! 🙂 Best wishes and enjoy your baby time! When I got to the Venn diagram strip, my first thought was “my cats must also be toddlers” – and then Lupin confirmed. I come home to all kinds of new furniture and toy arrangements. Spoke too soon, Elvis. 😀 Good luck with the new family member! Oh Boy! Elvis is in for a very rude awakening! Once again Georgia I wish you all the best for you and your family for welcoming a new baby! Держитесь коты,скоро их будет двое! I hope you have a smooth delivery! Early congratulations! best wishes to you all, hope it all goes well! Congratulations to you and your family, we will wait patiently for the return of BCN. 🙂 I’ve no idea how you manage to create such beautiful and delightful comics AND raise kids/cats at the same time, you’re some kind of super-lady. 😀 Thank you, Rakie! That’s one of the best compliments I could receive! 🙂 Good luck and congratulations. Safe and speedy delivery! May your recovery be swift, and good health for all. Wish you all the best. You have our family quoting BCN; especially the weather. “Crows !” Much love Good luck, good health, take care! I’m sure you have a birthing plan but may I recommend the airing cupboard? It’s warmer than the shed and less busy than the shoe rack. Whatever you decide, you have our purrs for an easy delivery, a serene cherub and a swift return here X Wishing you all the best Georgia! Hope you have a new Easter chick! Blessings to all! Toddler: that was fast New baby: THAT WAS FAST!! :::: waving :::: Have fun stormin’ the castle!!!! And thanks for the giggles, laughs, and downright cat-scaring howls of laughter! Come back soon! Oh, Georgia, I’m so excited for you and your family! I will miss your current comics but you know the old saying, absence makes the heart grow fonder. I doubt I could be any fonder of your BCN! I will watch for updates and will keep you and your family in my heart and prayers! Best of wishes to the new little one. I introduced this strip to one of my coworkers a while ago and only let her read one at a time to make sure she did not just burn through them all too quickly. When I told her that this was the last strip for a while her face fell and she said, “Well what am I going to do now?” She was dead serious. I just remembered there would be no BCN tomorrow and was so bummed! But all the best to you & your family and I look forward to your return! Honestly I have no idea how you managed to keep producing such great art at 8+ months pregnant. I mean, like, logistically. I must have paper and pencils/brushes at a very precise angle and distance from my face or it makes me crazy. Then again, I am not .000001 the artist you are…. Thank you, Ace!! I will admit, it’s been a wee bit of a strain on the back, as I have tilted very far to one side to draw over my belly! Just catching up on old episodes on go comics where mysteriously the woman is slowing down. Am I in a parallel universe? Will Thursdays ever be the same again? Lupin reminds me of Twin Peaks, “Diane…” Ma’am? Ma’am? I just wanted you to know how pleased I am with my “CN News” sticky note pad that the Easter Bunny brought me this morning. Happy Resurrection Day, everybody! Ma’am? Ma’am? Yay!! I’m so glad you like it! That’s been one of my favorite things to design for the Zazzle store! I use my CN coffee mug all the time. It’s one of my favorites! Hello!! I just wanted to let everyone know that baby Gwen has joined us! She was born Friday night, 7 lbs 1 oz. We named her Guinevere Pamela, Gwen for short and Pamela for the Man’s late mother. Labor was so, so easy, I credit all the well wishes we received! They definitely came through, THANK YOU!!! The Toddler is a little uncertain just who this little bundle is, but he is beginning to warm up to her. The boys have been much quicker to accept a new baby this time around! Elvis has picked up his “guard duties” early. Puck is content to sit nearby and sleep in the bouncer every night. And Lupin has to be hauled out of her basinet regularly. They don’t love that our bedroom door is shut at night again, but they’re being really good about it (translation: not trying to knock it down like they did with the Toddler–which I may use as a strip when we return!) Thank you again everyone for your love, support, and all the wishes for the easy labor we had! I plan to write a lot more on the blog sometime in the next few weeks. In the meantime, there are a few pictures on Georgia Dunn Studio’s Facebook page! I will continue to keep everyone posted as to when the comic will return and try to snap some pictures of the boys and their ongoing reactions to Baby Gwen! She’s a beauty x Congratulations (and hopefully some sleep) to you all xx So glad the labor was easy! I saw baby Gwen on Facebook — she’s adorable! Thanks for the updates; glad Elvis is in protector mode and Puck and Lupin are sharing ‘their’ furniture with the baby! You’ve created a huge extended family with Breaking Cat News! We love hearing from you! Huge congratulations! I had caught the posts on your Twitter feed from 03/04 April. Beautiful pic. I’ve been laughing all week that the first comic in rotation at GoComics was “The People Are Awake In The Middle Of The Night …” went up Monday. Couldn’t have been more appropriate. Very happy to hear that all went well and relatively as easy as could be expected. Hope you’re able to relax and settle into a Happy Place quickly and keep your stress levels low. We’re expecting Great Things from all of you now, so don’t go letting anyone slack off or anything. 😉 Thanks for BCN, and thanks for keeping us updated. Looking forward to whenever you can return. Do it in your own best time. Happily waiting. Fortunately, GoComics is simulating whatever fix I feel the need for. 😀 Congratulations! She’s such a beautiful baby! 2 girls vs. 4 boys in your house now:) Congratulations and welcome baby Gwen! Wonderful! Mazel tov! Congrats to your whole family, Georgia! Congrats on the new addition! Congratulations!! I love Breaking Cat News! I am especially honored that the new baby’s middle name is Pamela. Nice of you to name her after me. Hee Hee. Thank you for the update! I look forward to more pics. 🙂 Little Gwen is beautiful!! You are sooo blessed. Enjoy your maternity leave; take as much time off as you need– like cats, we’ll be ever so patient for your return 😉 Welcome to the world, Guinevere Pamela! She is truly beautiful, and you can ask my bf, I rarely say that of newborns! Also I am so envious of her name, as my own real name is quite bleh and unromantic. Not surprising, giving your fantastical art, that your kids would have names both glowy and lovely. You may think of your name as bleh and unromantic, but I have a hunch your boyfriend may disagree. You’ve heard that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the same goes for your name. When a man hears the name of the woman he loves, it is pure music to his ears. That is very kind, AwgieDawgie. 🙂 Congratulations, Georgia, and welcome to the world, Gwen. You’ll like it here. Congratulations on the new arrival. Welcome to the world, Gwen! Looking forward to seeing many more pictures of her and the cats and everyone and, of course, seeing her appear in BCN. Rest well. Congratulations! I just discovered your comic yesterday, and finished up the back issues. I personally am one of those spinster cat ladies that everyone claims they know, and have *mumble mumble* rescued cats who are currently rescuing me, so it all works out, except for the gooshy food issue. But enjoy your break, I will wait. Hello, SometimesKate! I find your id amusing, because I have an unmarried friend named Kate with a bunch of rescue(r) cats here in NC. I call her “KittyKate”! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Still missing our Monday and Thursday pick me ups but oh so happy for you and your family!! Yay!!! It’s a baby! (no kittens…bummer!) Congrats again and look forward to your return when you (and everyone in your family) are ready! Hugs!! Hi Georgia and all the family and kitties, still missing and everything that Shellie said ………….. When are you goning to come back? I am trying to aim for mid-June right now! I will announce an exact date when I know for sure, I promise! A lot of it has to do with when this sweet little lady will sleep a little longer at night. She is a pretty good sleeper, there is reason to hope! Ha! Last panel so good! BREAKING CAT NEWS: We will be returning to our regularly scheduled broadcast on Monday, June 15!!! That’s wonderful news! I’m really looking forward to new adventures of Elvis, Puck, and Lupin! …and their new ‘pet’! 🙂 Huzzah! Can’t wait to see Elvis reacting to the new baby! Sure to be puffy faces and angry ears to cone! best news ever! Can’t wait!!! Although I hope you’ve been enjoying your time with the little ones 🙂 Dear Georgia, My girlfriend told me about this news last week. I asked “How do you know?” She said “It is on her facebook.” This is what you have done. My girlfriend doesn’t generally like anyone’s facebook page for announcements. You are the only webcomic she reads. Thankfully you’ll be back. Corvin Carlton hooray! Thanks for posting pictures of Gwen and the boys on Instagram — how very cute! She’s a beautiful baby, and with all of those boys to protect her, she’ll be in very good hands/paws! Best, JoAnn Yay! that’s my Birthday and a great way to start the day 🙂 I Love your comic, its a lot of fun and very well done. cant wait for more fun from the cats 🙂 That’s excellent!! Happy birthday a little early! What will the cats call the new arrival? The new baby? The second baby? Maybe they’ll just respond in shock – “The Baby’s back!!” Counting the days to your return, Georgia! I think that this is the second time I’ve detected the use of a Palm device. Lupin appears to be holding one in this strip, and in the strip where the couch was moved and some beloved toys were found, it looked like a Palm that was uncovered. Is that the case, and do you regret Palm’s demise as much as I do? 🙂 Alas, I wish it was, I’m sorry! I’ve meant this to be a voice memo recorder… Which I myself miss! I used to play with one quite a bit as a kid! Folks have asked me, “Why is Lupin using a recorder if he is deaf??” and I promise that will come into play later down the road! Georgia…I miss you, and this is the first time I’ve EVER been to BCN.com…and I will be coming here all the time now. I miss you, and you are my favorite on twitter. PLEASE say hello to Ryan for me and please accept my love! I miss you guys a lot. Hope to catch up with you guys if you’re ever in town. AHHHHH!!!! MICKEY-D!!! We miss you so much!!! I will tell Ryan you say hi, and hopefully we will be able to visit out there (or just return out there 🙂 ) sometime somehow!! 🙂 I’m so happy you’re reading BCN! I don’t usually encourage weekends to speed by, but given what awaits Monday evening… Come on Monday! OMG. Lupin is totally a toddler~~~

Pen. from the calendar below Unavailable Available Start Day Your Booking Nestled amongst the beautiful Kea plum orchards unique to this unspoilt part of Cornwall lies Pencreek; a magical bolt hole where you can indulge in casual luxury and serene water views. This really is a unique part of Cornwall, where wild orchards meet the waters edge. River views greet you from every room, and the comforting crackle and warmth from the wood burning stove make it a magical and intimate escape all year round. The double bedroom is luxuriously fitted out and boasts a modern open plan bathroom complete with romantic roll-top bath. Enjoy peaceful river views from the bath whilst still in complete privacy! The light and airy open plan living / dining room make the most of the beautiful views and offer every convenience as you would expect. The modern kitchen is fully equipped for self catering. Accommodation Ground Floor: Open plan living / dining area & kitchen. First Floor: Double bedroom with Hypnos zip and link beds which can be made up as a 6' bed or as 3' single beds, TV, open plan bathroom & roll-top bath, separate shower. PLEASE NOTE THE CHROME FURNITURE HAS BEEN REPLACED WITH WOODEN FURNITURE. PHOTOS TO FOLLOW SHORTLY. Exterior: There is a patio with external furniture and BBQ. Facilities & Services Heating is via central heating and the cosy wood burning stove. The kitchen is fully equipped and has a range of equipment including an electric oven & hob, kettle, toaster, fridge with small compartment freezer, microwave, washing machine, dishwasher & espresso machine. The lounge has a flat screen digital TV & DVD player. There is a music system with CD, Radio and iPod docking station. WiFi available at the property. There is a telephone for local and incoming calls. There is a hairdryer, iron & ironing board. Miscellaneous Electricity, heating, a basket of logs, bed linen & towels are all included but you will need to provide your own beach towels. There is enough parking space for 2 vehicles.. A basket of logs are provided for the wood burner, thereafter available from the owner. Regrettably no smoking is allowed. There is a cot and high chair. Extras A welcome pack is provided in the cottage for your arrival, but also available as an extra (£30) is a very special wicker hamper containing Tregothnan produce including Kea plum jam, selection of teas and Housekeeper's biscuits. Also available is a stunning private tour of the Tregothnan Gardens (£70 per person). This tour is very special as the gardens are rarely open to the general public. The tour lasts around 2 hours and concludes with a Tregothnan cream tea. It is a very special treat! Kayak hire is provided for cottages in Coombe. You can pre-book your kayak (£162 per kayak per week, £65 per day for a 1 person kayak) at the same time as your booking. Exploring the River Fal by kayak is a simply magical experience whilst you are in Coombe. In addition, the Estate has a rowing boat available to hire (£186 per week, £65 per day, max 4 person) if you would prefer a slightly more sturdy vessel for your adventures! A mooring directly in front of the cottage is also available to hire (£25 per week) for boats up to 15ft. For larger boats up to 25ft, there are three floating moorings which can be hired on request and subject to availability. When taking to the water, guests are able to explore Coombe on the Cowlands Creek - a unique and special estuary off the River Fal. General Booking Information Arrival / Departure is normally a Saturday. £100 security deposit is required to be pre-authorised on your card. Short breaks are available during quieter periods. The city of Truro is only about a 10 minute drive away and has a wide selection of good shopping including a Tescos, Sainsburys, Marks & Spencer and many other high street outlets. There is also a cinema and a great selection of restaurants, pubs & cafes. The resort of Newquay is about 16 miles to the north with its spectacular surf beaches at Fistral & Watergate Bay. Jamie Oliver's "Fifteen" restaurant is located here. Padstow, with its fine selection of restaurants influenced by Rick Stein is just over 20 miles. The yachting centres of Mylor, Falmouth & St Mawes are all within easy reach of the cottage. There is a watersports centre at nearby Loe Beach where you can learn to sail or windsurf. The nearby Roseland Area of Outstanding Beauty with its superb coastal walks is also a short drive away via the King Harry Ferry.. Review Date:2017-04-10 Guest from Calne stayed for 7 nights. The view is what hits you when you first arrive, the cottage is lovely and has everything you need. The peacefulness is relaxing with lots going on with the wildlife above and on the water. You are ideally situated to travel to most of the tourist attractions in Cornwall with the busy beaches in the north or the more secluded in the south. One of the best holidays we have had. Review Date:2017-03-27 Guest from Bebington stayed for 7 nights. A fantastic cottage in a great location. Such a quiet place, lots of walks and wildlife. Pubs a bit far away but you can always get supplies in. Highly recommended... Review Date:2017-03-27 Guest from Frome stayed for 7 nights. The cottage and location were superb. The cleanliness, maintenance and facilities in the cottage were also excellent. The lack of a toilet door is a problem; even people who are very close sometimes prefer a degree of privacy. Nevertheless this is a minor point in an otherwise wonderful cottage. However, the constant chain-sawing all day every day from nearby fields was a considerable problem for us. It meant it was impossible for us to sit outside during the day, and even inside the noise was an irritant. We would have liked to spend more time during the day at the cottage, but instead needed to get out to escape the invasive noise. Since the nearby land is, we understand, part of the estate which also owns the cottage, we would have thought this could have been avoided. If intensive tree felling is intended, then the cottage should not, in our opinion, be let at that time. We appreciate that this may not happen more than a few weeks each year (?); but nevertheless, this was our only week in a spot which would otherwise have been tranquil. Review Date:2017-03-13 Guest from Truro stayed for 14 nights. Pencreek is a very secret place, a magical experience, it was a privilege living with unspoilt nature. We did not want to leave. The silence, the wading birds, the owls, rabbits, long tailed tits, jays and many more birds, plus a curlew. A hidden gem. Would return again and again if the loo had a door. Review Date:2017-01-23 Guest from Paignton stayed for 8 nights. This is our second visit. I would recommend to anyone if you want peace and quiet beautiful scenery and comfort. This is the place for you. Review Date:2016-11-03 Guest from Southampton stayed for 7 nights. We absolutely loved our stay at Pencreek. The cottage was lovely and its setting is amazing. We loved watching the birds feeding on the water and from the feeders just outside the cottage window. Best of all was the access to the creek itself - we took our kayak with us and were able to get out on the water and see Coombe from a different perspective. We had a very relaxing week - lots of walks but lots of cozying down by the fire. A really enjoyable holiday. The only issue we had was that there was nowhere to hang any clothing up or any drawer space. Whilst this wasn't a huge problem it did mean that we were literally living out of suitcases for the week. We are definitely planning a return visit. Thank you so much for your lovely review - just a note to add for your next trip, there is a built in wardrobe with lots of hanging space and hangers in the bedroom, you just press the door to open!! We look forward to welcoming you back soon... Review Date:2016-10-10 Guest from Bristol stayed for 7 nights. We've stayed at this very cosy cottage once before but stayed in other cottages owned by the family many times. They're all of the same high standard. Pencreek is secluded with many great walks. There's lots of local wildlife too. Everything you can possibly need is here including games, DVDs, coffee machine, even washing powder! Nothing's too much trouble and the family are only too happy to help with anything. I'll be back there next year for sure!! Review Date:2016-09-13 Guest from Taunton stayed for 7 nights. Another great week at Pencreek Cottage, well equipped, in a stunning and totally private location. If you are looking for total peace and relaxation look no further. Review Date:2016-09-04 Guest from Kensworth stayed for 7 nights. Our third time back and we have booked next year already! Absolutely amazing place to stay. Our dogs are welcome too. So wonderfully quiet and cozy. Thank you! Review Date:2016-06-06 Guest from Bristol stayed for 7 nights. Have stayed at Pencreek twice now, & will definately return again. Beautiful cottage in perfect tranquil spot. Wakeing up to the view of the creek each morning is wonderful. Everything you could possibly need is there for all weather conditions... Thoroughly enjoyed lazing in the hammock surrounded by birds singing & bees buzzing. Although the cottage is lovely & secluded, its only minutes away from Truro & shops, & ideal for visiting any coast . Truly a Cornish gem!! Review Date:2016-06-06 Guest from Wotton Under Edge stayed for 7 nights. Wonderful holiday cottage, perhaps a little pricey. However would be happy to revisit and maybe try one of the other properties on offer in Coombe. The location of the cottage with the changing views due to the differing tides was special. Review Date:2016-05-02 Guest from Bebington stayed for 7 nights. What a place. One of the best holidays we have ever had. If we could have stayed forever we would have. The location was awesome and the local area had everything you could want. Will be going back. Review Date:2016-03-28 Guest from Newcastle stayed for 7 nights. An ideal holiday location, very quiet and peaceful. Lots of lovely walks and villages nearby. Very good central location in Cornwall for exploring the county. The cottage was immaculate. Very comfortable. A bumpy track down to the cottage from the farm - but totally worth it! It was like going from home to home! Lovely seating area outside of cottage which we found ideal for breakfast. We also particularly loved the hammock for relaxing. Good location near to Truro eg for getting to shops etc. Review Date:2016-01-18 Guest from Paignton stayed for 5 nights. what more can we say, it was wonderful and the rest we needed. we where addicted to the fire took us back to our youth. we will be back later on in the year to get more. we would recommend but on the other hand want to keep this place a secret. Review Date:2016-01-17 Guest from London stayed for 7 nights. We had a wonderful week here over New Year and it was exactly what we hoped for. The cottage at the end of a track right by the water's edge felt miles away from the rest of the world, and yet was easy reach to all the amenities of Truro. We thoroughly enjoyed cooking every night using the large well equipped kitchen, and made it cosy with a warm log fire despite the wind and lashing rain outside. The cottage had everything we needed for a very comfortable stay and given the time of year and weather we spent much time inside! We could tell that it would also be lovely in the summer with the patio to enjoy being outside and some great sounding walks from the doorstep - we'd love to return. The one and only downside was that the only toilet in the cottage is in the open plan bathroom attached to the bedroom upstairs - but given how great it was in every other way this was a very small price to pay. Thank you to the team looking after Pencreek Cottage! Review Date:2015-11-18 Guest from Oundle stayed for 5 nights. Pencreek is located at the end of a long track and is right on the estuary. The cottage has been tastefully refurbished with the bedroom and bathroom taking up the first floor and lounge/dining area and separate kitchen downstairs, plenty of room for two people. There's a tv (free view), DVD player, radio, dvd's, books and games, so plenty to do. There are central heating radiators and a log burner, a basket of logs is provided (extra bags available on an honour system @£5 per bag). We had the fire going in the evening on our 5 night stay and used an additional 6 bags so the ambience isn't cheap! Bed comfort is always down to personal preference, I found the mattress firm but comfortable. If you're up for a bit of isolation this cottage is for you, there are nearby cottages but you have plenty of privacy. It would be lovely sitting outside on a summer evening watching the tide come in, very peaceful and quiet. The kitchen is well equipped with all the cooking utensils you will need. Some places we've stayed at in the past provide various levels of consumables and whilst laundry and dishwasher tablets, cloths, tea, milk and biscuits are provided you'll need to bring your own soap, shampoo, toilet rolls, sugar, coffee, cooking oil, salt and pepper with you. Not a problem when you know in advance and Truro is only about 5 miles away. Worth knowing that our mobile phones couldn't get any reception (O2) and the wifi signal is very poor (0.25 mbs for the tech nerds). But hey, you're here to get away from the world hey? This is a lovely cottage in a beautiful location, we hope to return again. Review Date:2015-08-19 Guest from Aylesbury stayed for 7 nights. Our stay at Pencreek cottage was fantastic. The cottage is beautiful and better equipped than any other I have stayed in before - like a home from home. The location is absolutely stunning - peaceful, ever changing with the tides and private. It truly is a perfect escape - and yet only 5 to 10 minutes by car to Truro. You will struggle to find a more idyllic property in a more idyllic location in Cornwall, I am sure. Review Date:2015-07-27 Guest from Nottinghamshire stayed for 7 nights. Having stayed in turnapenny cottage 2013 , we were pleased to find pencreek cottage just as lovely . Inside and outside fantastic , spotlessly clean , exceptionlally well equipped and maintained , lucy was very helpfull and thoughtfull again ,, will definatley return again. * Brilliant *. Steve & Necia ' Review Date:2015-06-28 Guest from London stayed for 7 nights. A very comfortable well equipped cottage in a beautiful peaceful location. I stayed in the Spring when carpets of wild primroses were in bloom and the trees full of blossom. Breathtakingly sublime. Review Date:2015-03-21 Guest from Colchester stayed for 10 nights. If you want to relax then this is a great place to do it. Such a peaceful location. Cottage was comfortable and the kitchen had every thing you need. Bed was comfortable and big, bathroom was nice. Some great walks on your doorstep, good for us as we have dogs. Garden not secure so if you have a dog that wanders off you need to beware. Would stay again as we loved the location so much. Lucy rang on the Sunday morning to check everything was ok, I thought that was a really nice touch. Review Date:2015-01-12 Guest from Southampton stayed for 7 nights. Would highly recommend this lovely cottage. Waking up every morning with that wonderful river view was such a treat. Pretty walks straight from the cottage. Real peace and quiet. Left feeling truly relaxed. Review Date:2015-01-06 Guest from Stoke On Trent stayed for 7 nights. This property was excellent, very cosy, a real hidden gem, The location of the property was stunning and a real fantastic place to relax, i would recommend this place for couples looking for somewhere to get away from it all. Review Date:2014-11-08 Guest from Glossop stayed for 7 nights. Our second Autumn visit and not disappointed again. Perfect hideaway, luxury retreat for two plus dog. Never ending changing vista of the tidal creek with its wildlife, sounds and smells (nice ones!). Every aspect thought through with great care to provide a perfect cottage and even improvements on last year. Highly recommended. Review Date:2014-10-13 Guest from Bristol stayed for 7 nights. This is the perfect place to leave behind the stresses and strains of every day life! We had a perfect week in this Cosy, comfortable and well equipped cottage. Great walks, beautiful countryside and helpful owners! Will be back!! Review Date:2014-10-02 Guest from Rainham, Gillingham stayed for 7 nights. Quite. Well equipped, lovely location, great views, walks from cottage . Stayed at Bethal cottage last year, both lovely cottages hard to choose which one to stay at next time we stay in Cornwall. Review Date:2014-09-22 Guest from Southampton stayed for 7 nights. Couldn't think of anything that the cottage didn't provide. Clean, well organized, quiet peaceful location but within easy reach of towns and beaches. Review Date:2014-09-15 Guest from Cheltenham stayed for 7 nights. Lovely cottage. Amazing location. Enjoyed every minute. The whole area is very dog friendly. I would definitely recommend this cottage to others. A brilliant place. Review Date:2014-09-10 Guest from Derbyshire stayed for 7 nights. Lovely location, lovely cottage. a very relaxing holiday.Some lovely walks our dog had a real holiday she loved the seclusion as much as us. It just may have helped having a small gate each side to keep her in and away from eating the plums. Otherwise a perfect place, hope e can find time to go back soon. Review Date:2014-08-25 Guest from 45549 Sprockhövel stayed for 7 nights. a place where we could relax immediately and have left the everyday behind us. The surrounding area with its many gardens, the beautiful beaches and the nice tea garden have made the holiday perfect Review Date:2014-08-15 Guest from Kendal stayed for 7 nights. The simple addition of a food processor ( the only thing that was missing) would probably result in me moving in permanently and forcing the estate to evict me and my husband failing to recover from the humiliation of this making the the front page of The Western Morning News. Our 3rd trip to this idyllic spot - 10 minutes to Truro and 10 minutes walk to what must be England's smallest village green at Cowlands. Take a walk further up the hill from there and turn left onto an unmarked road and find yourself the opposite side of the creek looking back from Roundwood Quay. Perfect dog walking and fishing and possible to walk to the gardens at Trelissick . A wonderful uncluttered corner of Cornwall marvellously served by these beautifully appointed cottages. I would personally have added a downstairs loo. A true loo with a view upstairs but less open plan please. Binoculars would be a thoughtful addition for potential twitchers. I would happily write more but really don't want to encourage more bookings and restrict my inevitable return. Review Date:2014-08-11 Guest from Faringdon stayed for 7 nights. A lovely spot to unwind and relax away from the hussle and bussel of touristy Cornwall, but the one is only 10 minutes from a major town; ideal. Some lovely walks and wildlife on offer. Review Date:2014-06-26 Guest from Manchester stayed for 7 nights. This cottage is the perfect get away for anyone, the lovely tranquil surroundings made our stay so much more relaxing enjoying the wildlife such as rabbits and birds of pray. Idea for the dogs too....they loved it. Review Date:2014-06-09 Guest from Bristol stayed for 7 nights. Wonderful cottage lovely decor perfect setting...everything you could possibly need was there.The garden was lovely, enjoyed watching the rabbits playing .perfect for the dog too...she enjoyed her stay too. Will def be coming back. Review Date:2014-05-19 Guest from Wirral stayed for 7 nights. What a great getaway location Hidden away down a little farm track and located on the edge ( yes - the edge of the estuary ) Secure gate to keep little explorers and dogs (X2) out of the water at high tide and to keep the visiting swan out of the garden each day Cottage has all you need for a relaxing stay and please be warned - there is no noise at night, other than the owls and bats flying around and no light pollution Estuary is fully lit up if you arrive on a full moon and clear skies Definitely one downside is that when you return home you won't be able to lye on you pillow and look out on the estuary as the sun rises ! Pls note that the cottage comes with a real warning that "you may not want to go home at the end of your stay" What a place, location and thanks Pencreek for a great week I am sure that our little baby girl ( 26weeks old ) will definitely remember this week away for ever ( we will ask her in a few years ? ) Mike, Sue, Alex and Springers Toby & Sam Review Date:2014-05-05 Guest from Hitchin stayed for 7 nights. a perfect location for a quiet week's holiday in a beautiful location - every changing as the tide came in and went out. every mod con in the kitchen provided. Review Date:2014-04-28 Guest from South Petherton stayed for 7 nights. 13 months between stays at this wonderful cottage is far too long. However, we returned and for one week we truly believe that this is our own home from home. It is in the most amazing location settled amongst Kea plum trees and only 10 feet from the waters edge. To sit in the bath and watch the tide ebb and flo is unique! Review Date:2014-04-14 Guest from Nr Witney stayed for 7 nights. Amazing cottage with wonderful ever-changing views of the creek ,quiet and remote. Excellent condition and attention to detail from Lucy and her team. We have just returned from our second honeymoon and want to go back again straight away! would highly recommend and will defiantly like to go spend another week in this little piece of Heaven x Thank you Review Date:2014-03-31 Guest from Malvern stayed for 7 nights. The cottage is in a wonderful location by the side of a creek and offers privacy and peace. Everything is thought of and it is good to know that there is help and support if needed - this is not always the case. Review Date:2014-03-24 Guest from Exeter stayed for 7 nights. We found Pencreek by accident but are very glad we did. Very comfortable and well specified cottage in an idyllic location. Lucy, owners representative, helpful and attentive. Lots of walks in easy reach particularly liked the walk to Trelissick and to the ferry through the National Trust woods. We purchased a Mussel Card for public transport and did not use the car all week, though it is a walk to any form of public transport!. Punchbowl and Ladle in Penlewey a nice pub with good food and service as well as being dog friendly. Sat in London writing this and wish I was back in front of the cottage sat watching the creek! We will hopefully be returning in the future. Review Date:2014-01-14 Guest from Bellingham stayed for 9 nights. Pencreek cottage is an ideal spot for relaxing and getting away from the rest of the world. Very snug even in the strongest of storms. Hearing the sound of curlews and owls every evening was a delight. We liked the cottage very much as it was the perfect location for us. The location was as private as you can get I imagine. But in the interest of a complete review, here are some suggestions for improvements that would make it even better in the future. First of all, please get rid of the chrome and glass furniture. All of it please. Not only is it totally without charm and doesn't match the Cornish character of the cottage. Even putting a cup of coffee on the table can produce a jarring sound. Wooden tables would be so much better. I liked the location of this cottage better than Bethel or Turnapenny but that would put us off from renting this particular cottage again unless it is changed. The mirrors are also not very nice. One full length one would work. A small desk would be ideal because I found myself wanting to write after a few days there and it was either sit at the aforementioned chrome table or on the couch to do it. Since the cottage is supposed to only be for two persons that shouldn't be so difficult to arrange. The kitchen door appears to be waterlogged and is a bit of a tight fit. The mattress was sagging in the middle (once again also do not like a chrome bed) and should be replaced. Otherwise everything in the cottage was just right and with just a few changes we would stay there again. Or we might try another cottage just for variety. Dear Mr Brown, Thank you for your review-we welcome all feedback and ideas as this ensures we continue to keep our service and facilities continually at a high standard. We will of course investigate and hope to welcome you back to Wild Escapes in the future. Many thanks once again. Kind regards, Lucy Review Date:2013-12-20 Guest from Tavistock stayed for 4 nights. We stayed at Riverside in June and Pencreek last weekend both lovely in different ways. I find it hard to say anything negative as they are the best cottages we have ever stayed in, Lucy does an amazing job. This long weekend booking was just perfect. If you wanted a tiny bit of input then the flowers and milk were very welcome but considering how isolated the property is to a local shop we would have been grateful for a few tea bags for our arrival drink. We will be booking again next year. Thank you Review Date:2013-11-09 Guest from Glossop stayed for 7 nights. Did a lot of research to find somewhere where we could feel 'away from it all' with no one else near, fantastic location and a little bit special to feel pampered and Pencreek Cottage didn't fail to deliver. Ridiculously beautiful location, but actually not too isolated as Truro only 15 minutes drive away. The tidal creek provided a continuously changing, idyllic landscape. Found minutes slipped away just gazing out from the cottage. Didn't close the curtains once, waking with dawn (right time of year for that at 7am!) and going to bed after a luxurious foamy bath soak and glowing log fire. Perfect for our dog too -easy to keep clean floors and kitchen for him to sleep snugly in at night. We walked locally and around the Fal estuary and Roseland peninsula every day with stunning scenery and lovely villages, ferries and places to eat. Of course, the beaches of North Cornwall only half hour away too. We ordered the Tregothnan Estate hamper which arrived at the cottage a few days late due to some items being in short supply, but was worth the wait. All in all, a perfect, tranquil, relaxing cottage and location. Highly recommended. Review Date:2013-10-02 Guest from Waterlooville stayed for 7 nights. Enjoyed our stay very much,although we felt more could be made of the outside space,if you sat at the table and chairs you could not see the river which defeated the object really. We really enjoyed our tour of the gardens at Tregothan,it was a shame the tide was against us, so we could not go by boat. Review Date:2013-09-17 Guest from Exebridge stayed for 7 nights. An absolutely charming little cottage in a super position overlooking the creek. More suited to a younger couple due to hairy private access road, gradient on the car parking area and stepped loose gravel footpath and rather open toilet facilities! Very well equipped kitchen, although the work surfaces are not very practical being lightly stained natural wood (- do not put hot plates on these as we did as it will leave a mark)! Unfortunately, the quality of the TV and audio equipment does not match that of the cottage but on the whole, a very pleasant stay. Review Date:2013-09-11 Guest from stayed for 14 nights. We loved Pencreek for its quiet location by the river, very secluded and peaceful. The cottage was very comfortable and well appointed and lovely attention to detail. We have booked next year! Please note that this is a Streetview at nearby Coombe as Pencreek Cottage is in a more remote location.View Larger Map Location: Coombe Pen. Location: Coombe Nestled amongst the beautiful Kea plum orchards unique to this unspoiled part of Cornwall lies Turn-a-Penny; a magical bolt hole where you can indulge in casual luxury and serene water views. You are just a few steps from the beautiful tidal creek at Coombe. Location: Coombe One of the Tregothnan Estate's Wild Escapes, Bethel Cottage is one of those cottages you just dream about. In a beautiful creekside setting, surrounded by rolling countryside, this cottage has been recently refurbished to provide the perfect peaceful retreat for those looking for a complete escape. Watch the wildlife on the incoming tide from your bedroom window, wander along the creekside path through unique plum orchards or in the winter relax beside the cosy woodburning stoves. The quintessential escape is only 10 minutes' drive from Truro with its superb shops & restaurants. Location: Coombe This idyllic stone cottage lying right beside the creek in the beautiful hamlet of Coombe is a serene place to visit. It is a superbly refurbished traditional luxury cottage providing a totally relaxing escape yet in a wonderfully central location only a few miles from the Cathedral city of Truro. You can wander the footpaths along the river through the unique Kea plum orchards or relax in the cosy living room around the warming wood burning stove. Dog friendly. Location: Coombe Coombe Villa is a stunning stone cottage full of Cornish character, nestled in a tranquil waterside location on the beautiful River Fal on part of the famous Tregothnan Estate. Coombe Villa is located in an idyllic country village but is only just a few miles from the cathedral city of Truro. Discounts available for couples staying for 7 nights outside the peak season, using one room only. Location: Coombe At Holly Cottage escape the mayhem of everyday life to indulge in casual luxury and serene estuary views. Holly Cottage has been newly renovated and is nestled in an idyllic riverside village on the historic Tregothnan Estate, but is just a few miles from the cathedral city of Truro. Discounts available for couples staying for 7 nights outside the peak season, using one room only. Location: Coombe Escape the mayhem of everyday life to indulge in casual luxury and serene estuary views. A perfect location for your relaxing Cornish getaway. Penjerrick is nestled in an idyllic country hamlet on the shores of the River Fal but just a few miles from the cathedral city of Truro. Discounts available for couples staying for 7 nights outside the peak season, using one room only. Location: Truro Heron's Catch has undergone a complete renovation and is a fabulous reverse level property with great views from the open plan living area across the tidal reaches of the Truro river. To the rear is a steep terraced garden with a large decked area at the top with magnificent views of the creek - not to be missed! Low occupancy discounts based on a couple sharing one room. Location:.!

What are the proper roles and limits of dissent? What are the demands of orthodoxy? These have become, once again, basic questions for all Catholics. “No longer can we speak about the perennial theology or the perennial philosophy,” writes one distinguished American Catholic theologian, whose work and practice I very much admire. “There are many different and acceptable theological approaches within the Catholic faith tradition.” He adds: “…some theologies are inadequate, but nevertheless the Church must recognize a plurality of possible theologies within one Catholic faith” (italics added). Thereby hangs a problem. I agree with my colleague that there are many possible theologies. I also agree that “some theologies are inadequate.” Should these not be criticized accordingly? I also heartily assert that theologians need elbow room. But bishops, and above all the Bishop of Rome, have as their own appointed task to “confirm the faith of the brethren,” that is, to make narrower judgments than the expansive judgments of theologians. It is important, even crucial, for theologians to have room to err. Bold and original investigations, even when admixed with error, uncover new ways of thinking and new angles for casting light upon the revelation of God entrusted to the Church. Tradition is not only a gerund — the tradita that are passed from generation to generation — but a noun: the traditio, the living stream, that grows with an inner principle of organic life. Even the traditional view of heresy establishes this point. The heretic, it has always been said, has hold of part of the truth, often an important and neglected part, which needs to be recovered. It is, therefore, a crucial part of the teaching ministry to discern what is true from what is false, even in the most deceptive and attractive of heresies. Otherwise, the Church would merely stagnate or else be blown about by every “spirit of the times.” It is never easy to interpret “the signs of the times.” To fail in such discernment would render the Church regularly unfaithful to the Faith entrusted to it. Catholic life demands many sacrifices; if made in the name of a false faith, such sacrifices would represent sadly wasted human energies. Theologians need room to err. That is why we do not base our lives upon the teachings of theologians. Their errors, despite themselves, can nonetheless be fruitful for the body of the Catholic people. The chances they take, the specific neuroses to which intellectuals are prey, and the odd angles of vision they assume, often serve the Lord’s ironic purposes. We theologians do our best, in the hope that even our errors will serve to shed reflected light upon the truths to which we struggle to be faithful. In this sense, a pluralism of theologies and of philosophies is vitally necessary to the Church. In our own time, a good example is given in the life of Karol Wojtyla, the theologian. Trained profoundly in the work of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. John of the Cross, to whose work he dedicated the labors of his doctoral dissertation, Karol Wojtyla also studied closely the works of contemporary personalists and phenomenologists, then rather suspect in Roman circles. He also made Marxist thought, especially on work and on collectivism (ideas he found to be bogus), the object of intense and rigorous study. These pluralistic philosophical and theological efforts prepared him admirably for the teaching office he was eventually to assume, with such a commanding brilliance that even his foes, within and without the Church, have been compelled to admire it. How could such a pope be against “pluralism,” of which he has been so admirable a practitioner? His own justification for private property, broader participation in workplace decisions, a regulated market system, and a personalist rather than a collectivist theory of work, is both faithful to the Catholic tradition and remarkably original in the annals of Catholic thought. Such originality could not have been reached if theologian Wojtyla had earlier worked solely in one intellectual tradition alone. On the other hand, not everything about Thomism, St. John of the Cross, personalism, or phenomenology is to be mistaken for a full report on authentic Catholic faith. Discernment is indispensable. Discernment means, not only guidance by the Holy Spirit during a lonely intellectual struggle, amid conflicting currents and in darkness, but also a learned facility for singling out the felicitous expression closet to the true meaning intended by the Creator. Such discernment is a rare gift. That is why the prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas, a model for theologians, still touches us. Creator, beyond any words of ours to describe! Most gloriously You have disposed all parts of the whole! If St. Thomas, a Teacher of the Church, renowned seven hundred years after his death for his calm, unruffled clarity of thought, could not trust his own work to “hit the mark,” how can any of the rest of us? It is not disgrace for a theologian to err in half or more of his sentences, or to misstate again and again the essential heart of the matter. On the contrary, it is a great joy to hit the bull’s-eye only once or twice in a lifetime, and in that small way to make an original and genuine contribution to the life of the historical community of which one is so small a part. Why, then, should a theologian or a philosopher be distressed to be found in error here or there? What else ought mortals to expect? In the sight of the Lord, intellectuals are not giants. Clear fidelity to the truths we seek to express is such a rare achievement that we must be content to have achieved, as Aristotle put it in another context, a “tincture of virtue.” For the most part, even at our best we merely repeat, more or less well, what the great minds of the past tutored us to discover on our own. Particularly in matters of human nature and destiny, it would be astonishing if we were to discover something wholly original, beyond the ken of the greatest of our ancestors. This is not to say that knowledge does not progress. St. Thomas Aquinas, for example, far more clearly articulated the workings of human “will,” which Aristotle only darkly grasped, if at all. A thousand other fresh and illuminating distinctions have been added to our patrimony by hundreds of our predecessors. Yet knowledge in matters of faith and morals, unlike knowledge in modern sciences, has a remarkable constancy, even in the clearer light of new distinctions and new methods. To simplify the reality only a little: in medicine and other modern scientific work, new breakthroughs into the unknown occur constantly; in the humanities, by contrast, movement is rather from the known to the more accurately known. Progress in the sciences is quite different from progress in the humanities. The sciences constantly overturn earlier scientific classics. Humanists constantly cite the humanistic classics for evidence that they are on the right track, still retaining their indispensable universality. To the one side, in matters of faith, there is the danger of “non-historical orthodoxy.” This is the failure to respect the concrete texture of human history, with all its angularity, new points of view, and new “horizons” of intellectual insight and judgment. The grip of a certain “non-historical orthodoxy” was decisively broken at Vatican II. But to the other side lies the opposite danger, “neo-doxy,” the failure to respect what is abiding in human nature and history, in the hot lust for what is “new.” “Historical consciousness” is a relatively new discovery. It must not be forgotten, though, that Aristotle explicitly recounted the historical narrative of Greek philosophy of which he saw himself a part, and Thomas Aquinas often recounted how and where he differed from his predecessors. On the one hand, then, in the humanities, one must be constantly aware of one’s roots and one’s true place in the history of inquiry. On the other hand, historical consciousness must not be surrendered to “historicism,” in which there lies nothing but a “diversity of approaches based on historical and cultural differences.” That way lies pure relativism. If the human mind is not capable of rising above the subjectivity of individual thinkers and the prejudices of the spirit of its times, then fidelity to God’s Word is impossible across the ages, and philosophers can enjoy no real communion across cultures and down the centuries. Even “the development of doctrine” would then be only an illusion. At the high point of Vatican II, it was my lot to coin the phrase “non-historical orthodoxy” in my report on Vatican II, The Open Church (1964), and to write an early article on “Catholic Education and the Idea of Dissent” (Commonweal, April 27, 1962). In self-criticism, I must now note that at that time (more so in the article than in the book) I concentrated upon what was new, underemphasizing what was traditional, in the search for light. If one re-reads T.S. Eliot’s pregnant essay, “Tradition and the Individual Talent,” one sees how what is true for the humanities in general, and for the poet in particular, is also true for the theologian and the philosopher. Humanists try to shed light that is both original and highly individual — but upon the human condition as it was, is, and will be. In this sense, their work is always both individual and traditional. Were we only to illuminate what is new, our work would speedily become “dated” and “old-fashioned.” It would not rise to the level of the classics, and would have failed to plumb the depths of what is universally human. To write only of our own culture or of our own age is not to write of humankind, but only of a passing moment. In Rome, the jesters of the fountains smile because they have seen many generations come and go before those mocking mouths of theirs that spew ever- flowing streams of water. One reason why there is a perennial philosophy (and a perennial theology), in fact, is that some thinkers have managed, in an exemplary way, to observe both the permanent and the passing in human experience. By contrast, others manage to grasp only the passing or only the permanent, testifying so to their own incompleteness. Some texts do live perennially. Among these are both the Word of God and those philosophies fashioned most like unto it. These are precious to the human race. It is one of the disgraces of the intellectual life of our era that the very existence of a perennial philosophy is now denied. There is a second vein of difficulty. An ironic feature of contemporary American life is that many intellectuals who deny the legitimacy of liberalism in economics affirm it in intellectual commerce. They desire “pluralism” and an “unfettered intellectual marketplace of ideas,” while railing against “unfettered markets” in the exchange of goods and services. They are liberal in intellect, illiberal in economics. They are not wrong to note that, in order to function at all, economic markets must be regulated both by morality and by law. But they are wrong in failing to observe the difference between the free marketplace of ideas in some realms, and crucial constraints upon the liberty of ideas in other realms. Note, for example, the crucial difference between those fields that serve pure inquiry and those that also serve the human community in some significant institutional embodiment. Just because some medical doctors stand ready to testify that laetrile is a cure for cancer, it does not follow that medical science so affirms. Freedom of thought is indispensable to scientific investigation. But so, also, is stringent and authoritative peer review. And so, also, even allowing for excessive rigidity on some occasions and excessive leniency on others, is the Food and Drug Administration. In medicine, there are enthusiasts, quacks, and profiteers, whose practices require a certain fettering. Why should it be different in theology? (I leave philosophy aside, for on the whole, blessed, philosophers do not institutionalize their teachings. They count themselves lucky to achieve tenure and a lively readership.) Theologians, and philosophers who so choose, aim not only to have original thoughts but also to serve the indispensable intellectual needs of an historical community. These two aims are often placed in tension. In a living community, a community (in Newman’s phrase) of “real assents,” there is typically a lag between fresh notional clarity and its real appropriation in the lives of members of the community. This “time lag” becomes a crucial factor in realistic community life. That is why original genius is often not widely recognized until generations have come and gone. New ideas must be assimilated until they have become as common as common sense. During their lifetimes, original minds typically face resistance, are sometimes hated, and may be persecuted even in petty ways. Such a fate is not easy for the timid. A desire to be in tune with the up-to-date spirit of their age, to be respected by their peers (and competitors), is very strong. Often even great minds try their best to make concessions, to phrase matters in ways not too shocking, to coax their peers along. For many decades, Bernard Lonergan made a practice of not answering his critics, and not publishing his exploratory essays, in order to avoid such temptations. On matters of dissent, furthermore, as culture differs from culture, so temptations differ. Our own culture highly values the “new” and the “improved,” not only in the “news” industry, but also in an intellectual community driven by imperatives of invention, discovery, and creativity. North American culture is based upon the premise that the cause of the wealth of nations is intellectual creativity. In American universities, as legislation establishing the land-grant colleges shows with particular clarity, the purpose of inquiry is to discover new knowledge. In most fields a doctoral dissertation must be justified in terms of the new knowledge it aims to produce. This conviction is natural to a biblical people; it is the vocation of Christians and Jews to imitate the Creator by unlocking the secrets the Creator has hidden within creation. This conviction is not universally embodied in universities. There are universities in Latin America, for example, that are 300 years old, yet cannot point to a single original idea that they have ever produced. Their purpose, on the contrary, a purpose quite noble in itself, has been to transmit a tradition of culture; and, in addition, to convey to students new knowledge discovered elsewhere. By contrast, the orientation of American intellectual life is a special hazard to theologians and to the “itching ears” of the news industry. There is a temptation to judge intellectual work less by whether it is true than by whether it is new. In a liberal culture, then, it may be more difficult than in other cultures for theologians and philosophers to admit that they work within a tradition. It may be harder for them to admit that even their original achievements are, in the end, no more than a new angle of light upon perennial- reality. They face a pervasive temptation to disguise what is traditional in their teaching, to pose as rebels or revolutionaries, and to stress what is “new” (or, these days, “prophetic”). Thence derives the cultural power of neo-doxy. Thence, too, derives the temptation to be dismissive towards even the idea of a perennial philosophy. In fact, as Julian Benda made clear in La Trahison des Clerques, intellectuals who spend so many hours within the world of their own minds are peculiarly prone to be the very first to abandon the living springs of the tradition that gave them life. We fall in love with our own creations. We are all too quick to find our predecessors wrong. We can hardly help imagining that we are the voices of “a new age,” as if the world of truth begins with our discoveries (or with Vatican Council II!). A third strand in the cultural perplexity of contemporary intellectual life among Catholics in America is the confusion between the democratic virtues and the Catholic virtues. It is quite proper to be a strong supporter of the virtues of democratic capitalist societies. Such are the virtues necessary for and proper to societies at once democratic in their political institutions, capitalist in their economic institutions, and pluralist in their moral-cultural traditions. These are lovely virtues. They are as important to the human race, in the dimension of social life, as the Greek virtues of delight in intellectual and artistic form; the Roman virtues of law, administration and pietas; the knightly virtues of courtesy, compassion, and charity; the virtues of the gentleman articulated so brilliantly by Cardinal Newman; and the particular virtues of other peoples of the human race. By contrast, the specifically American virtues are but poorly understood even by Americans themselves. As Jacques Maritain pointed out, we are better at doing what we do than in articulating it •as a theory. (Another French Catholic philosopher of culture, Alexis de Tocqueville, has probably expressed the American virtues better than any American.) The specifically American virtues add something precious to the patrimony of the human race and to the Church Universal. But they are not identical to the virtues specific to Catholic living. To mention the obvious first, Catholics freely bind themselves to an authority over matters of faith and morals vested in the Bishop of Rome, in a way their fellow Americans (Protestant, Jewish, and other) do not. The American system permits Catholics freely to do so. Further, it grants them the liberties of free citizens to argue in public for their own distinctive views. Still, Catholics value “authority,” even in a general sense, in a way that for many of their fellow citizens it is a matter of honor to resist. Each American, qua American, wishes to say that he or she is independent, autonomous, able to pursue individual happiness as each sees fit. It is no contradiction of this claim for some to choose to realize this independence, autonomy, and individual happiness in a communal, theonomous, and rooted way through fidelity to the Catholic (or any other) faith. Still, between the virtues of democratic capitalist living and the virtues of Catholic living, there is a healthy and fruitful tension. The two sets of virtues may impregnate and fertilize each other, but they are as likely to be in daily tension as husband and wife. They may be in union, but each is also distinct — as the other will be certain to point out. It is the constitutional right of every American qua American, for example, to form his or her, own conscience, even in dissent from all other consciences. It is, in fact, the natural right of every human person to do so. (“Unless a man hate father, mother, wife, or children for My name’s sake, he is not worthy of Me. . . .”) Still, dissent in the American sense is different in character from the dissent of Catholics from the teachings of the Church. To become a citizen of the United States is not to pledge unity in faith, only to swear to preserve and defend the Constitution of the United States. But for a Catholic to dissent from the teachings of the Church is to cut a vital spiritual tie. To become an American is to accept outward institutions of political economy, and to embrace in one’s civil behavior the limited American “Proposition” (as John Courtney Murray, S.J., aptly called it). It is not to pledge one’s entire soul to a faith. By contrast, to be a Catholic is to tie oneself to a community based upon commitment to God’s Word, as defined and protected institutionally in a special way by bishops and by the pope. To dissent spiritually from this faith is, qua Catholic, by so much to die. Thus, the commitment of a U.S. Catholic to abide by and to defend the Constitution of the United States is only analogous to his or her commitment to the Catholic faith. To breach the first is traitorous; to breach the second is to be unfaithful. The commitment of a U.S. citizen is but a temporal, worldly commitment, explicitly understood to be “under God.” By contrast, the commitment of a U.S. citizen to the Catholic faith is a commitment to God. The U.S. Constitution asks of its citizens a precisely limited commitment, allowing unprecedented room to dissent in every other sphere. By contrast, Catholic faith asks of its adherents that they love and serve God with their whole hearts, their whole minds, and their whole soul. Its teachings suffuse every aspect of life, as fire suffuses an ingot. To shield part of one’s life from that teaching is to leave part of the soul dead. Nonetheless, there has grown up since Vatican II a new ecclesiology. Its aim is to protect dissenting Catholics from “death by slow degrees”; its aim is pluralism, if not individual choice. This new ecclesiology, usually informal rather than formal, holds that “the Church is the people of God, a community of equal disciples.” Here I cite the same theologian as earlier, who continues: “For example, the Holy Spirit dwells in all the faithful, and through baptism all share in the priestly, ruling and teaching functions of Jesus.” The consequence? “As a result, the teaching function of the total Church cannot be absolutely identified with only the hierarchical teaching office.” But what happens in practice? “In practice, there can be no doubt that the temptation is strong to reduce the Church to just the hierarchical offices that should exist in the service of the Church.” In this new ecclesiology, the individual believer is master, while hierarchical officers are servants. The “community” is imagined to be egalitarian: “a community of equal disciples.” It is proper to stress the whole community, the whole people; but egalitarianism goes much too far. Catholic faith is not simply a Chinese menu, from which each selects a preference; nor is it the hierarchy only; but its unique separation of roles and powers in one Body is not well expressed as “equality.” In this new ecclesiology, to recognize the unique teaching office of the hierarchy is regarded as a “temptation”; that is, as heresy. The new orthodoxy requires egalitarianism and decentralization. “The New Code of Canon Law does not really decentralize the Church.” The new national conferences and synods of bishops “have really not functioned as a true exercise of collegiality, for they have functioned merely as a consultative body to the pope.” The new ecclesiology is much more Catholic than the pope. “Collegiality will not exist in reality until a bishop or group of bishops can say publicly: `Holy Father, we love you. We respect you as a holder of the Petrine office in the Church. But in this matter you are wrong.’ ” In principle, further deductions follow. What is true of the Petrine office in the Church must also be true, a fortiori, of the lesser offices of conferences of bishops and individual bishops. Now “the equal disciples” can say to their bishops: “Bishops, we love you. We respect you as holders of episcopal offices in the Church. But in this matter you are wrong.” Further, the “equal disciples” are now entitled to say to each other: “Brother, sister, I love you. I respect you as holders of the priestly, ruling, and teaching functions of Jesus. But in this matter you are wrong.” Thus the new ecclesiology outlines a church composed spiritually of a community of one, gathered in no ecclesia at all. The priestly, ruling, and teaching functions of Jesus have been located in each single dissenter. Each is his or her own priest, ruler, and teacher. In the eyes of this “new” ecclesiology, the linchpin to the “old” ecclesiology is the authority vested in Peter. Take that away and the new ecclesiology is vindicated. Turn St. Peter’s Basilica into a museum, and hire “a servant of the people” to show up from time to time for the acclamation of cheering throngs, who have come to see the “dear Holy Father,” who is so often wrong, and for whom being right or wrong in matters of faith and morals no longer makes a difference. “In a sense,” my admired exponent of the new ecclesiology writes, “the most crucial question today concerns the limits of pluralism and dissent.” He adds: “But the discussion of this crucial issue cannot take place until the hierarchical teaching office recognizes the possibility of dissent.” Unconditional surrender, then discussion. But, of course, there is already immense room in the Catholic body for dissent. The U.S. Catholic bishops, e.g., painstakingly distinguished in their pastoral letters on nuclear arms and the economy between matters of faith and morals, binding on all Catholics, and matters of fact and concrete judgment on which, quite properly, persons of good will disagree. Look. If to be a Catholic is to dissent on critical matters of faith and morals, what is the point of celibacy, strict Catholic teachings on chastity, Catholic social teachings, the Catholic tradition on peace and war, the condemnation of abortion, the difficult notion of Jesus as both God and man, the Petrine office, the Eucharist as the real presence of the real God, and the communion of saints? If our communion is really solipsism, covered over by the good fellowship of shaking hands in church, forget it. There are in this world more attractive communities. The communities that now meet in our parishes do not meet because we are in most important matters likeminded. On the contrary, we are in strenuous disagreement with one another’s politics, moral sensibilities, artistic tastes, and even manners. What unites us is a transcending, authoritative faith in an embodied Church, one Body with many different roles and functions, charisms and responsibilities. Ours is not an egalitarian church. It is a hierarchical Church, with one head, the Vicar of Christ. If we did not think that to be apart from that head were to be like an ingot without fire, who for a minute would get up to go to the seven a.m. Mass? The principle of authority raises an urgent question for Catholic universities. A university, like the Church itself, has a vocation to universality. The ideas, habits, and values that animate it extend across times and cultures, as does the Church. Both the university community and the Church, however, depend on leadership, outlining current priorities and making wise decisions about boundaries. An institution is finite; no one institution can do everything. Insofar as a university is Catholic, it serves two historical communities: that of the university and that of the Church. The spirit of inquiry in the university must be free, but it must also include among its many inquiries those that clarify, defend, and advance the special pilgrimage on which the Church is launched. It would be odd if its purpose were to be served by abandoning the faith in whose name its inquiries have been launched. It would be odd if outsiders were to ask: “But how do modern eugenics, nuclear weapons, computers, theories of mind, etc. alter the Catholic faith?” only to be told that no one any longer cares to take that faith seriously enough to offer a thorough answer. The Catholic faith is also an historical and dynamic fact, whose importance to the future of this planet grows clearer every day. Even many who are not Catholic want the Church — need the Church — to be faithful to itself, and not simply buckle at every gust of contemporary wind. A Catholic university unfaithful to the Catholic faith does not well serve even those who are not Catholic. Catholic faith is itself a crucial voice in the universal pluralism. For theologians, there must be elbowroom aplenty. Intellectuals must take intellectual risks. From time to time, some of us lose our way; others drink water poisonous to our brains. In all cases, ours is to propose. In any healthy community, there must be others who dispose. If the people of the United States were ruled by the faculty of Harvard rather than by all the other names in all the telephone books of the nation, and by the persons of common sense whom all elect, the nation long since might have perished at the Hudson. The faculty of Harvard ought to be dissenters from the rest of their fellow citizens. Their task is lonely exploration. Their service to the community is vital, which is why the community so heavily endows their labor. That, too, is why the Catholic community pays the salaries of its theologians, whose work so much nourishes the community, even when that work (as much of it necessarily must be) comes to be rejected over time. Intellectuals have a perennial habit of following two or three premises all the arduous way to an absurd conclusion. Even in this, they illuminate the crux of the matter. They themselves thus help the community to decide against them. To be an intellectual is a noble, but a fragile, task. In some ways, furthermore, the American experience has blazed new trails for the Catholic experience. U.S. institutions of religious liberty turned out to be (although for John Courtney Murray, S.J., who mapped the way, after considerable personal pain) one such new path. In matters of political economy, American secrets are still blazing a trail for Catholic social thought, particularly in institutional matters: secrets of public-spiritedness; of voluntary cooperation; of economic creativity and unprecedented human enterprise; of the due balance among political, economic, and moral-cultural institutions, and of the new virtues appropriate to each. However that development may turn out, those involved need not believe their efforts have been in vain, even should the hierarchical offices of the Church, for our time or forever, reject their efforts. The Catholic community, like every other living community, most urgently needs dissenters. It especially needs dissenters whose dissents are provisional. It needs dissenters who try to be as honest, as clear, and as broad of view as a person can, recognizing the while that it is the unequal office of the college of bishops, and the still more unequal office of the Bishop of Rome, to render practical judgment upon any dissenter’s efforts. We also serve who only err. Our intention, even when we seem to stand in arrogant dissent, is to serve the entire living Body, in which our function is but one of many, decidedly not the function of the Head. The God who made us made us to seek His truth. If His truth is what we serve, there is no possible way to lose, even if we are unfairly judged, or even if we err, along the way. What has gone wrong in recent decades is that many dissenters have come to claim a certain quasi-infallibility, according to which they pass judgment and wait impatiently until the bishops and the popes docilely obey. Dissenters today conduct their own Inquisition in the press, pointing fingers at Cardinal Ratzinger and Pope John Paul II for their mistakes. Dissenters have no call to be blushing violets. They should make good arguments and state them openly. But in the Catholic Church, as in the field of medicine, there is “peer review,” and in the Catholic Church the bishops and the pope have no peers. Theologians serve the whole community. To offer their service well, they must be free and bold, and have elbow-room aplenty. But they should also accept, in all humility, and with a sense of loyalty and affection, the lowliness of all they do, sub specie aeternitatis.