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‘You’re doing fine’ is the call for which Bingo number?
Bingo Calls - Eyes down for all you need to know about the game of Bingo Bingo Calls Traditional bingo calls Bingo calls have been an essential part of the game of bingo for years. It is hard to say when the bingo calls we know today were introduced. But we know they were already in use when bingo become popular in the 1960s. In recent years the bingo halls have struggled to survive which is obviously not good news for us bingo players. Less bingo halls means less competition and less choice. On the positive side the world of online bingo has emerged in recent years presenting a wealth of choice. Although there is a multitude out there, we follow them all pretty closely and keep our eyes open (and down!) for the best sites and promotions. Below are our top 5 recommended bingo sites. Bingo Site Keep coming back to us because we update this information regularly as promotions change.   Traditional Bingo Calls Words or phrases in brackets after a bingo call refer to the traditional shouted response from the bingo players. This is sometimes known as bingo lingo. You will also find that some bingo calls refer to more than one number – such as ‘Danny LaRue’. There is no ‘correct’ way round to call the numbers. Some bingo callers will call the number and then the saying. Others will call the saying then the number. But most will mix them as certain bingo calls just ‘sound right’ a certain way. Those calls listed below tend to be British in origin. Though anyone looking closely at the history of bingo will see that it has been – and still is – played all over the world. While this site as a whole tends to concentrate upon bingo sites UK , there are also many other quality bingo operators available where you can choose from many bingo games . The games themselves will be similar in that 90 ball bingo (the British version) and 75 ball bingo (the U.S. version) tend today to be available on all sites along with 80 ball bingo, speed bingo and many other variations.   1       :     Kelly’s eye | at the beginning | buttered scone 2       :    one little duck | me and you | Little Boy Blue 3       :    you and me | cup of tea | one little flea | goodness me 4       :     knock at the door | the one next door 5       :     man alive | one little snake 6      :     Tom Mix | chopsticks | Tom’s tricks | half a dozen | chopping sticks 7       :     lucky | one little crutch | God’s in Heaven 8       :     garden gate | one fat lady | she’s always late | Golden Gate 9       :     doctor’s orders | doctor’s joy 10     :     David’s den | uncle Ben | cock and hen 11     :     legs 12     :     one dozen | monkey’s cousin 13     :     unlucky for some | bakers dozen | the Devil’s number 14     :     the lawnmower | Valentines day 15     :     young and keen 17     :     often been kissed | dancing queen | old Ireland 18     :     coming of age | now you can vote 19     :     end of the teens | goodbye teens 20     :     one score 21     :     key of the door | royal salute 22     :     two little ducks (quack quack) | ducks on a pond | dinkie-doo 23     :     The Lord is My Shepherd | thee and me | a duck and a flea 24     :     knock at the door | two dozen 25     :     duck and dive 26     :     half a crown | pick and mix | bed and breakfast 27     :     duck and a crutch | gateway to heaven 28     :     in a state | overweight | The Old Braggs | a duck and its mate 29     :     rise and shine | in your prime | you’re doing fine 30     :     Dirty Gertie | Burlington Bertie 31     :     get up and run 32     :     buckle my shoe 50     :     half a century | bullseye | Hawaii five oh 51     :     tweak of the thumb | The Highland Div 52     :     Danny La Rue | The Lowland Div | pack of cards | weeks in a year 53     :     here comes Herbie (beep beep) | stuck in a tree | The Welsh Div | the joker 54     :     house with a bamboo door | clean the floor 55     :     snakes alive | bunch of fives 56     :     Shotts bus | was she worth it? (she was) 57     :     Heinz | Heinz varieties | beans means Heinz 58     :     make them wait | choo choo Thomas 59     :     the Brighton Line (woo-woo) 60     :     five dozen | three score 61     :     bakers bun 62     :     tickety-boo | turn of the screw | to Waterloo 63     :     tickle me 64     :     red raw | The Beatle’s number 65     :     stop work | retirement age 66     :     clickety click 67     :     made in heaven | the argumentative number 68     :     saving grace 69     :     anyway up | the same both ways 70     :     three score and ten 71     :     bang on the drum 72     :     Danny LaRue | six dozen | par for the course 73     :     queen bee | a crutch and a flea | camomile tea 74     :     candy store 75     :     strive and strive | on the skive | Big Daddy 76     :     was she worth it? (she was) | trombones 77     :     two little crutches | sunset strip 78     :     heaven’s gate 80     :     Gandhi’s breakfast | four score | there you go matey 81     :     stop and run 82     :     straight on through | fat lady with a duck 83     :     time for tea | fat lady and a flea | Ethel’s ear 84     :     seven dozen 87     :     Torquay in Devon | fat lady with a crutch 88     :     two fat ladies (wobbly wobbly) | Connaught Rangers 89     :     nearly there | almost there | all but one 90     :     four score and ten | top of the shop | end of the line | top of the house general bingo calls on it’s own – number four | on it’s own – number five etc numbers ending in zero blind thirty | blind forty etc numbers with two digits the same all the threes – thirty three | all the fours – forty four etc all remaining numbers two and four – twenty four | three and eight – thirty eight etc Of course this is not a complete list – there are many funny – and rude! – calls made today. Also bingo calls have changed – and been forgotten – over the years. This bingo lingo has varied and often unknown origins. Even different regions have – or had – their own bingo calls which were specific to their dialect, customs or local landmarks. Playing in a bingo hall or a game of village bingo in Scotland will most likely be very different to playing on the south coast of England! Online betting sites operate in a very competitive environment and put in great effort to recruit players. You can take advantage of this by looking through some of the sites that offer review and bonus information about the competing sites. And don’t forget that this can mean more than just playing bingo! Many larger sites also offer a whole array of gaming options such as casino games , lotteries, games, poker and even sportsbooks. International players who enjoy playing bingo online may also like to try playing these other games. A great internationally focused website to visit is  101OnlineCasino.com. They offer reviews, ratings and other useful information. Players from the United States are best suited visiting a page intended for US casino players that offers listings of online gaming sites that focus on players from America. While players from other countries and regions would be advised to look locally for their own gaming options. We are proud to be partnered with the following:- Don’t shout “bingo” when you can shout “jackpot” with massive online casino bonuses at CanadianOnlineCasinos.club . The place for the biggest progressive jackpots for Canadians. We are listed on Blog Directory List your business in the premium hotvsnot.com web directory for free This website is listed under Party Games Directory
twenty nine
In which month in 1990 was Nelson Mandela released from prison in South Africa?
About Bingo Numbers And The Names Associated With Them - Guides - Playing Bingo You are here: Home » Land Bingo » Guides » About Bingo Numbers And The Names Associated With Them About Bingo Numbers And The Names Associated With Them Tweet Introduction - A Duck And A Crutch - Twenty Seven! In my past experience, one of the first things most people mention when going to play bingo for the first time is the numbers. They'll say something like 'Ha ha, will it be two fat ladies and all that stuff?' The answer often disappoints, because most people new to the game don't realise that the modern large club has done away with the funny names for the numbers. Many smaller venues (normally not part of the national chains) or social clubs where bingo is played use the number names still, but the places you'll still hear them these days are becoming less and less. Them Old Numbers Just Don't Cut It These Days... There are a couple of rough reasons why the old names were phased out. In my opinion, one of the biggest reasons is commercial: losing the names means the games are called faster which means more games, which in turn means more profits for the clubs. The second reason is technology. There was initially a time the names were used in the big clubs - which can be traced back to before the advent of the computerised number generating systems. When the games were called using blowers there was enough of a delay to allow the call back of the names. Having spoken to many regular players who'd played both styles of numbers, a larger proportion seemed happier with the new swifter version. However, they missed the variety of games that they used to play - marking off shapes and corners on tickets etc. In fact in my experience, many of the regulars would shout for you to speed up if the calling speed dropped to a slower level. Whether this bears out around the country is to be discovered. The Origins Of The Numbers It appears a lot of the numbers were derived from a number of places - a lot seem to have come from Cockney rhyming slang '33 - dirty knees!' or similar rhyming schemes. Also, famous numbers make a showing so 50 is 'Bullseye' and 65 'Old age pension'. There are also some numbers with origins in the unlikeliest of places - 39 Those famous steps, from the book 'The 39 Steps' and 23 - The Lord is my Shepherd from Psalm 23 in 'The Bible'. A number have also come from the shapes of the numbers and what they look similar to. As well as that, there are often combinations. So whilst a 2 is a duck and 7 a crutch, then 27 is a duck on a crutch. And just to further confuse matters, there are many regional variations on numbers as well. Collected in the next section are a selection of them for you. It is, I stress, far from complete and thanks to variations and fashions, not necessarily fully accurate. If you can flesh out the numbers, or have info we can add - don't hesitate to contact us with details. Bingo Numbers And Their Names - The Modern Calling Style The modern game has some fairly specific calling patterns, to aid recognition of the numbers and ease of delivery. In the big clubs and the chains, the old names are sadly missing. The numbers will come at you quickly in a modern club - the patterns are like this. All double digit numbers (bar some exceptions), let's say 45, would be pronounced thus: Four and five, forty five. If it's a single digit number, such as 2, then it's: Two, on its own, number 2. The exception the double digit pronunciation rule are when is when it's a double digit number with both digits the same. So 88 would be pronounced: All the eights, eighty eight. Most modern callers pretty much stick to that pattern, but there are variations on it - and occasionally you hear the odd echo of the old names. I've heard some callers do a nine oh, blind ninety, but they are few and far between in my experience. Bingo Numbers And Their Names - The Old Style Collected here is a selection of the old names. It is, I stress, far from complete and thanks to variations and fashions, not necessarily fully accurate. If you can flesh out the numbers, or have info we can add - don't hesitate to contact us with details. 1 Kelly's eye 2 One little duck | Me and you 3 You and me 4 Knock at the door 5 Man alive 7 Lucky seven | God's in heaven 8 One Fat Lady 12 One dozen, One and two - a dozen, Monkey's cousin (rhymes with 'a dozen') 13 Unlucky for some, Devil's number, Baker's dozen 14 Valentines day 15 Rugby team, Young and keen 16 Sweet sixteen | Never been kissed 17 Often been kissed | Dancing Queen 18 Key of the door | Coming of age 19 Goodbye teens 20 Getting plenty | Blind 20 21 Key of the door 22 Two little ducks | All the twos 23 Thee and me | The Lord is my Shepherd 24 Two dozen 26 Bed and breakfast | Half a crown | Pick and mix 27 Little duck with a crutch | Gateway to heaven 28 In a state | Overweight 29 You're doing fine 30 Burlington Bertie | Dirty Gertie | Speed limit | Flirty thirty | Blind 30 31 Get up and run 32 Buckle my Shoe 33 Dirty knees | All the threes | All the feathers | Two little fleas | Sherwood Forest 34 Ask for more 49 PC (Police Constable) | Copper | Nick nick 50 Bulls eye | Blind 50 | Half a century 51 Tweak of the thumb 52 Weeks in a year | Danny La Rue 53 Stuck in the tree 54 Clean the floor 55 Snakes alive | All the fives 56 Was she worth it? 57 Heinz varieties 58 Make them wait | Choo choo Thomas 59 Brighton line 60 Three score | Blind 60 | Five dozen 61 Bakers bun 62 Tickety boo | Turn on the screw 63 Tickle me | Des Eerie 64 Red raw | The Beatles number 65 Old age pension 66 Clickety click | All the sixes 67 Made in heaven | Argumentative number 68 Saving grace 69 The same both ways | your place or mine | Either way up | Meal for two 70 Three score and ten | Blind 70 71 Bang on the drum 72 A crutch and a duck | Par for the course 73 Crutch and a flea | Queen B 74 Candy store
i don't know
Which is the third planet from the Sun?
3rd Rock from the Sun (TV Series 1996–2001) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error 3rd Rock from the Sun  TV-PG | A group of aliens are sent to Earth, disguised as a human family, to experience and report life on the 3rd planet from the sun. Creators: Elvis Costello entertains at the Solomon's going away party. 8.9 Mary invites the Solomons to a murder mystery weekend. However, the Solomons don't know it's not real. 8.6 Mary wants to make a documentary about the Solomons. 8.5 Famous Directors: From Sundance to Prominence From Christopher Nolan to Quentin Tarantino and every Coen brother in between, many of today's most popular directors got their start at the Sundance Film Festival . Here's a list of some of the biggest names to go from Sundance to Hollywood prominence. a list of 44 titles created 06 Aug 2011 a list of 36 titles created 06 Sep 2012 a list of 45 titles created 10 Apr 2013 a list of 37 titles created 08 Jun 2013 a list of 42 titles created 03 Jan 2014 Title: 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996–2001) 7.8/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 34 wins & 73 nominations. See more awards  » Videos The comical everyday life of a successful sports columnist and his dysfunctional family. Stars: Ray Romano, Patricia Heaton, Brad Garrett The daily trials and tribulations of Tim Taylor, a TV show host raising three mischeivous boys with help from his loyal co-host, loving wife, and eccentric neighbor. Stars: Tim Allen, Patricia Richardson, Earl Hindman The story of a working class family struggling with life's essential problems: Marriage, Children, Money and Parents in Law. Stars: Roseanne Barr, John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf After being fired from her job and dumped by her boyfriend, a cosmetics saleswoman becomes the nanny to the three children of a rich British widower. As time passes, the two fall for each other. Stars: Fran Drescher, Charles Shaughnessy, Daniel Davis A furry alien wiseguy comes to live with a terran family after crashing into their garage. Stars: Mihaly 'Michu' Meszaros, Paul Fusco, Max Wright Edit Storyline A group of aliens has come to Earth to learn about its population, customs, etc. To avoid detection, they have taken on human form which gives them human emotions, physical needs etc. WITHOUT the understanding of what they mean or the inhibitions normally present in humans. Their leader takes the position of a college professor, their military expert as his sister, their intelligence expert, supposedly oldest of group takes form of his teenage son. The uninhibited reactions turn everyday events into unusual situations. Written by Jim Brawn <[email protected]> 9 January 1996 (USA) See more  » Also Known As: Did You Know? Trivia The three main male characters' names are Tom, Dick and Harry. "Tom, Dick and Harry" is a phrase used as a synonym for "everyone" or when referring to "a set of nobodies; a persons of no note" (from "Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable"). "Tom, Dick or Harry" is no specific person but could be any random person. See more » Quotes Tommy Solomon : [Tommy and Harry are moving Sally's belongings out of the house] [Tommy carries a large box with difficulty] Tommy Solomon : Oh, Harry, you've got to help me with this box, it's filled with rocks and books and stuff. Harry Solomon : Step aside. [Harry grips the box and gets ready to push it up, as he does, the box flies over his head] Tommy Solomon : [giggling] ... It was empty... [Tommy leaves] [grabs the box and starts to leave] Harry Solomon : I'm the strongest man in the world!
Earth
The song ‘Tea For Two’ is from which 1925 musical?
Third planet from the Sun | Article about Third planet from the Sun by The Free Dictionary Third planet from the Sun | Article about Third planet from the Sun by The Free Dictionary http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Third+planet+from+the+Sun Also found in: Dictionary , Thesaurus , Medical , Wikipedia . earth, in geology and astronomy, 3rd planet of the solar system and the 5th largest, the only planet definitely known to support life. Gravitational forces have molded the earth, like all celestial bodies, into a spherical shape. However, the earth is not an exact sphere, being slightly flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator. The equatorial diameter is c.7,926 mi (12,760 km) and the polar diameter 7,900 mi (12,720 km); the circumference at the equator is c.24,830 mi (40,000 km). The surface of the earth is divided into dry land and oceans, the dry land occupying c.57.5 million sq mi (148.9 million sq km), and the oceans c.139.5 million sq mi (361.3 million sq km). The earth is surrounded by an envelope of gases called the atmosphere, of which the greater part is nitrogen and oxygen. The Geologic Earth Knowledge of the earth's interior has been gathered by three methods: by the analysis of earthquake waves passing through the earth (see seismology seismology , scientific study of earthquakes and related phenomena, including the propagation of waves and shocks on or within the earth by natural or artificially generated seismic signals. ..... Click the link for more information. ), by analogy with the composition of meteorites, and by consideration of the earth's size, shape, and density. Research by these methods indicates that the earth has a zoned interior, consisting of concentric shells differing from one another by size, chemical makeup, and density. The earth is undoubtedly much denser near the center than it is at the surface, because the average density of rocks near the surface is c.2.8 g/cc, while the average density of the entire earth is c.5.5 g/cc. The Earth's Crust and the Moho The outer shell, or crust, varies from 5 to 25 mi (8 to 40 km) in thickness, and consists of the continents continent, largest unit of landmasses on the earth. The continents include Eurasia (conventionally regarded as two continents, Europe and Asia), Africa, North America, South America, Australia, and Antarctica. ..... Click the link for more information.  and ocean basins at the surface. The continents are composed of rock types collectively called sial, a classification based on their densities and composition. Beneath the ocean basins and the sial of continents lie denser rock types called sima. The sial and sima together form the crust, beneath which lies a shell called the mantle. The boundary between the crust and the mantle is marked by a sharp alteration in the velocity of earthquake waves passing through that region. This boundary layer is called the Mohorovičić discontinuity, or Moho. The Earth's Mantle Extending to a depth of c.1,800 mi (2,900 km), the mantle probably consists of very dense (average c.3.9 g/cc) rock rich in iron and magnesium minerals. Although temperatures increase with depth, the melting point of the rock is not reached because the melting temperature is raised by the great confining pressure. At depths between c.60 mi and c.125 mi (100 and 200 km) in the mantle, a plastic zone, called the asthenosphere, is found to occur. Presumably the rocks in this region are very close to melting, and the zone represents a fundamental boundary between the moving crustal plates of the earth's surface and the interior regions. The molten magma that intrudes upward into crustal rocks or issues from a volcano in the form of lava may owe its origin to radioactive heating or to the relief of pressure in the lower crust and upper mantle caused by earthquake faulting of the overlying crustal rock. Similarly, it is thought that the heat energy released in the upper part of the mantle has broken the earth's crust into vast plates that slide around on the plastic zone, setting up stresses along the plate margins that result in the formation of folds and faults (see plate tectonics plate tectonics, theory that unifies many of the features and characteristics of continental drift and seafloor spreading into a coherent model and has revolutionized geologists' understanding of continents, ocean basins, mountains, and earth history. ..... Click the link for more information. ). The lower mantle, between c.410 and 1,800 mi (660 to 2,900 km), consists largely (70%) of high-density magnesium iron silicate called bridgmanite, believed to be the most abundant mineral on earth. The Earth's Core Thought to be composed mainly of iron and nickel, the dense (c.11.0 g/cc) core of the earth lies below the mantle. The abrupt disappearance of direct compressional earthquake waves, which cannot travel through liquids, at depths below c.1,800 mi (2,900 km) indicates that the outer 1,380 mi (2,200 km) of the core are molten. The inner 780 mi (1,260 km) of the core are solid, and the innermost 190 mi (300 km) of that may be almost pure iron; the crystals of the innermost portion appear to be aligned along the plane of the equator, but those of the rest of the inner core appear to be aligned along the plane of the axis. The outer core is thought to be the source of the earth's magnetic field: In the "dynamo theory" advanced by W. M. Elasser and E. Bullard, tidal energy or heat is converted to mechanical energy in the form of currents in the liquid core; this mechanical energy is then converted to electromagnetic energy, which we see as the magnetic field. The magnetic field undergoes periodic reversals of its polarity on a timescale that ranges from a few thousand years to 35 million years. The last reversal occurred some 780,000 years ago. The Astronomical Earth Of the planets, only Mercury and Venus are nearer to the sun; the mean distance from the earth to the sun is c.93 million mi (150 million km). Rotation and Revolution The earth rotates from west to east about a line (its axis) that is perpendicular to the plane of the equator and passes through the center of the earth, terminating at the north and south geographical poles. The period of one complete rotation is a day; the rotation of the earth is responsible for the alternate periods of light and darkness (day and night). The earth revolves about the sun once in a period of a little more than 365 1-4 days (a year). The path of this revolution, the earth's orbit, is an ellipse rather than a circle, and the earth is consequently nearer to the sun in January than it is in July; the difference between its maximum and minimum distances from the sun is c.3 million mi (4.8 million km). This difference is not great enough to affect climate on the earth. The Change in Seasons The change in seasons is caused by the tilt of the earth's axis to the plane of its orbit, making an angle of c.66.5°. When the northern end of the earth's axis is tilted toward the sun, the most direct rays of sunlight fall in the Northern Hemisphere. This causes its summer season. At the same time the Southern Hemisphere experiences winter since it is then receiving indirect rays. Halfway between, in spring and in autumn, there is a time (see equinox equinox , either of two points on the celestial sphere where the ecliptic and the celestial equator intersect. The vernal equinox, also known as "the first point of Aries," is the point at which the sun appears to cross the celestial equator from south to north. ..... Click the link for more information. ) when all parts of the earth have equal day and night. When the northern end of the earth's axis is tilted away from the sun, the least direct sunlight falls on the Northern Hemisphere. This causes its winter season. The Origin of the Earth The earth is estimated to be about 4.54 billion years old, based on radioactive dating of lunar rocks and meteorites, which are thought to have formed at the same time. The origin of the earth continues to be controversial. Among the theories as to its origin, the most prominent are gravitational condensation hypotheses, which suggest that the entire solar system was formed at one time in a single series of processes resulting in the accumulation of diffuse interstellar gases and dust into a solar system of discrete bodies. The generally accepted theory of the moon's formation hypothesizes that the early earth was impacted by a Mars-sized object, and that the collision ejected material that later formed the moon. Older and now generally discredited theories of the earth's formation invoked extraordinary events, such as the gravitational disruption of a star passing close to the sun or the explosion of a companion star to the sun. Bibliography See R. F. Flint, The Earth and Its History (1973); H. Jeffreys, The Earth (6th ed. 1976); F. Delobeau, The Environment of the Earth (1976); W. R. Brown and N. D. Anderson, Earth Science (rev. ed. 1977); D. Attenborough, The Living Planet (1985); R. Fortey, Earth (2004). earth, in chemistry, metallic oxide not readily reducible by chemical means, e.g., alkaline earths alkaline earths , oxides of the alkaline-earth metals, especially of calcium, strontium, and barium. They are not readily soluble in water and form solutions less basic than those of alkalies. ..... Click the link for more information. , rare earths rare earths, in chemistry, oxides of the rare-earth metals. They were once thought to be elements themselves. They are widely distributed in the earth's crust and are fairly abundant, although they were once thought to be very scarce. ..... Click the link for more information. , and alumina alumina or aluminum oxide, Al2O3, chemical compound with m.p. about 2,000&degC; and sp. gr. about 4.0. It is insoluble in water and organic liquids and very slightly soluble in strong acids and alkalies. Alumina occurs in two crystalline forms. ..... Click the link for more information. . The name is also applied to certain absorbent clays, e.g., fuller's earth fuller's earth, mineral substance characterized by the property of absorbing basic colors and removing them from oils. It is composed mainly of alumina, silica, iron oxides, lime, magnesia, and water, in extremely variable proportions, and is generally classified as a ..... Click the link for more information. , and to other compounds, e.g., carbonates, silicates, or hydroxides. Many earths were once thought to be elements element, in chemistry, a substance that cannot be decomposed into simpler substances by chemical means. A substance such as a compound can be decomposed into its constituent elements by means of a chemical reaction, but no further simplification can be achieved. ..... Click the link for more information. . A. L. Lavoisier was first to suspect that they might be compounds of more basic elements. Earth was one of the four "roots" of the Greek philosopher Empedocles, the other three being air, water, and fire. These substances were first called elements (stoicheia) by Plato. Earth The third planet of the Solar System and the only one known to possess life. It is the largest of the inner planets (equatorial radius: 6378 km) and has one natural satellite, the Moon . A summary of the Earth's orbital and physical characteristics are given in Table 1, backmatter. The Earth has a substantial atmosphere, mainly of nitrogen and oxygen, and a magnetosphere linked to a magnetic field. (See atmosphere, composition ; atmospheric layers ; geomagnetism ; Van Allen radiation belts .) Two-thirds of the planet is covered by water, ocean depth ranging from 2500 to 6500 meters; the average land elevation is 860 meters. See also geoid . On average the Earth's surface transfers to the atmosphere an amount of energy equal to that it absorbs. The Earth's mean surface temperature, i.e. that needed to keep Earth and atmosphere in thermal equilibrium, is 13 °C. Temperatures in the atmosphere generally decrease from equator to poles and from low to high atmospheric altitudes. These temperature gradients, together with the Earth's rapid rotation, drive the circulation of the atmosphere. On average the Earth emits into space an amount of radiant energy equal to that absorbed by surface plus atmosphere. The Earth's effective temperature, i.e. that needed to keep Earth in thermal equilibrium with space, is –18 °C; this is the Earth's temperature as measured from space. Studies of the refraction and reflection of seismic waves propagating through the Earth show that it consists of three main internal layers: the crust, mantle, and core. The crust has a thickness of about 30–40 km under the continents (but much thicker beneath mountains) and an average of 6 km under the oceans. It has a density of about 3 times that of water. It consists largely of sedimentary rocks, such as limestone and sandstone, resting on a base of igneous rocks, such as granite (under the continents) and basalt (under both the continents and oceans). The mantle extends to a depth of 2900 km, its density increasing with depth from 3.3 to 5.5 times that of water. Its composition is thought to include a high proportion of magnesium- and iron-rich silicate rocks. The core increases in density from 10 times that of water at its junction with the mantle to 13 times at the center. It is composed predominently of iron with several, possibly many, additional components. The inner core has a radius of about 1200 km and is solid. The outer core has a radius of 3485 km; it is liquid and is regarded as the seat of the Earth's magnetic field (see geomagnetism ). It is believed that the pressure at the Earth's center may reach 400 gigapascals (4 million atmospheres), while the internal temperature rises with increasing depth and may exceed 4000 °C at the center. The heat required to maintain these temperatures is derived from the natural radioactivity of the Earth's constituent rocks, but would have been greatly augmented soon after formation by gravitational compression and the impact of meteoritic material. This led to the widespread melting and differentiation that produced the present layered structure. After 4.6 thousand million years the Earth's internal heat is still a source of mechanical power, producing earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, raising mountains, and moving continent-sized blocks about its surface. It is regarded as a convective heat engine. The crust and part of the upper mantle form a rigid zone, 50–70 km thick, known as the lithosphere. This lies above the weaker less rigid asthenosphere. According to the theory of plate tectonics, the lithosphere is broken up into fairly rigid plates; there are seven major plates and many smaller ones. Convection within the asthenosphere causes the plates, with their associated continental and/or oceanic crust, to move relative to each other: the phenomena of continental drift and sea-floor spreading. The relative motion amounts to a few cm per year. The plate boundaries are defined by a global map of earthquake epicenters. At transform boundaries between two plates the plates can slide past each other. At constructive boundaries two plates are moving apart. Where this occurs in mid-ocean, molten rock from the mantle is injected into the crust to form mid-oceanic ridges. At destructive boundaries two plates are moving toward each other. The oceanic part of one plate can plunge under another plate in a process called subduction, forming an island arc or mountain range. Earth (religion, spiritualism, and occult) The four elements—Earth, Air, Fire and Water—are associated in the magic circle with the four directions of North, East, South, and West. Earth is connected with the Goddess, the Mother. It is fertile and nurturing, stabilizing and grounding. Many traditions of Wicca apply Earth to the North and further associate it with the colors green or brown and with the elementals known as gnomes. Earth is related to reliability, solidity, law, and the order of things. In Ritual or Ceremonial Magic, Earth is also associated with Auriel and with the night, winter, the Tarot suit of Pentacles, and the Hebrew letter Heh. The elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water are differently assigned to the directions in the Native American Medicine Wheels; those associations vary from tribe to tribe. Earth   the third planet from the sun in the solar system, with the astronomical sign ⊕ or ♂. The earth is fifth in size and mass among the large planets, but it is the largest planet of the so-called terrestrial planets, which include Mercury, Venus, the earth, and Mars. The most important feature distinguishing the earth from the other planets of the solar system is the existence on it of life, which has reached its highest and most intelligent form in man. Conditions for the development of life on the bodies of the solar system closest to the earth are unfavorable; and inhabited bodies outside the solar system have not yet been discovered. But life is a natural phase in the development of matter, and therefore the earth cannot be considered the only inhabited cosmic body in the universe; nor can earthly life forms be considered the only possible forms. According to current cosmogonic ideas the earth was formed 4.5 billion years ago by gravitational condensation from gas-dust matter that was scattered in the space around the sun and contained all the chemical elements known in nature. The formation of the earth was accompanied by the differentiation of this matter. The differentiation was promoted by the gradual warming-up of the earth’s interior, which occurred mainly because of heat lost during the decay of radioactive elements (such as uranium, thorium, and potassium). The result of this differentiation was the division of the earth into concentrically arranged layers—geospheres that differ in chemical composition, aggregate state, and physical properties. In the center the core of the earth formed, surrounded by the mantle. The earth’s crust, which is located on top of the mantle, arose from the lightest and most easily fusible components of matter that were discharged from the mantle during melting processes. The aggregate of these internal geospheres bounded by the solid surface of the earth is sometimes called the “solid” earth. (Although this is not completely precise because it has been determined that the outer part of the core has the properties of a viscous liquid.) The “solid” earth includes almost the entire mass of the planet (see Table 1). Outside it are the external geospheres—water (the hydrosphere) and air (the atmosphere), which formed from the vapors and gases that were discharged from the earth’s interior during the degassing of the mantle. The differentiation of the matter in the earth’s mantle and replenishment of the earth’s crust and the water and air shells with products of differentiation has occurred throughout all geologic history and continues today. The largest part of the earth’s surface is occupied by the world ocean (361.1 million sq km, or 70.8 percent); land constitutes 149.1 million sq km (29.2 percent) and forms six large masses—the continents Eurasia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, and Australia (see Table 2). The land portion also includes numerous islands. The division of land into continents does not coincide with the division of the world into parts; Eurasia is divided into two parts of the world, Europe and Asia, while both American continents are considered one part of the world, America. Sometimes the islands of the Pacific Ocean are taken to be a special “oceanic” part of the world, Oceania, whose area is usually considered together with Australia. The world ocean is divided by the continents into the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic oceans (see Table 3); some scholars view the Antarctic parts of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans as a separate Southern Ocean. The northern hemisphere of the earth is the continental hemisphere (land occupies 39 percent of its surface), while the southern hemisphere is oceanic (land constitutes just 19 percent of its surface). In the western hemisphere water occupies the largest part of the surface, while in the eastern hemisphere land does. The generalized profile of the land area and floor of the oceans forms two gigantic “steps,” the continental and the oceanic. The continental “step” rises above the oceanic by an average of 4,670 m. (The average elevation of the land is 875 m, and the average depth of the ocean is about 3,800 m.) Above the level surface of the continental “step” rise mountains; some of their peaks have elevations of 7–8 km and more. The highest peak in the world is Mount Chomolungma (Everest) in the Himalayas, which reaches 8,848 m. It is almost 20 km above the deepest spot on the ocean floor (the Marianas Trench in the Pacific Ocean, about 11,022 m deep). The earth has gravitational, magnetic, and electric fields. The earth’s gravitational attraction holds the moon and artificial satellites in earth orbits. The action of the gravitational field causes the earth’s spherical shape, many features of the relief of the earth’s surface, the flow of rivers, the movement of glaciers, and other processes. The magnetic field is created as a result of complex movement by matter in the core of the earth. In interplanetary Table 1. Chart of the structure of the earth (without the upper atmosphere or magnetosphere) Geospheres Distance between the lower boundary* and the earth’s surface (km) Volume(1010 cu m) Mass of the geosphere as a percentage of the earth’s mass * Except for the atmosphere ** The total atmosphere stretches to an altitude of -20,000 km Atmosphere, to the altitude................. 6,371 (center of the earth) 175.2 Table 2. The continents (with islands) Continents Area (millions of sq km) Average elevation (km) Greatest elevation of mountains on the continent (m)1 1 Reading from the top of the column down, the mountain peaks are Chomolungma (Everest), Kilimanjaro, McKinley, Aconcagua, Vinson Massif, and Kosciusko. The highest peak in Oceania is Mount Jaja (5,029 m) on the island of New Guinea. Eurasia................. 340 2,230 space it occupies an area whose volume is much greater than the earth’s volume, while the shape resembles a comet with a tail directed away from the sun. This area is called the magnetosphere. The earth’s electric field is closely tied to its magnetic field. The “solid” earth carries a negative electric charge which is compensated for by the positive space charge of the atmosphere, so that as a whole the earth appears to be electrically neutral. In the space bounded by the outer limit of the earth’s geophysical fields (primarily in the magnetosphere and atmosphere), there is successive and profound alteration in primary space factors—the absorption and transformation of solar and galactic cosmic rays, solar wind, and X-ray, ultraviolet, optical, and radio-frequency radiation from the sun; this is very important for processes taking place on the earth’s surface. By holding back the greater part of hard electromagnetic and corpuscular radiation, the magneto-sphere and, especially, the atmosphere protect living organisms against their lethal action. The earth receives 1.7 x 1017 joules per sec (or 5.4 x 1024 joules per year) of radiant solar energy, but only about 50 percent of this amount reaches the surface of the earth, where it serves as the main source of energy for most of the processes taking place there. The earth’s surface and the hydrosphere, as well as the adjacent layers of the atmosphere and the earth’s crust, are jointly called the geographic, or landscape, shell. The geographic shell was the arena for the appearance of life, whose development was promoted by the presence on the earth of certain physical and chemical conditions necessary for the synthesis of complex organic molecules. Direct or indirect participation by living organisms in many geochemical processes has, with time, assumed global scope and qualitatively changed the geographic shell, transforming the chemical composition of the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and (partially) the earth’s crust. Human activity also has a global effect on the course of natural processes. In view of the enormous significance of living matter as a geological agent, the entire sphere where life and biogenic products are found was named the biosphere. Modern knowledge about the earth, its shape, structure, and place in the universe took shape through prolonged investigation. Already in ancient times there were many attempts to formulate a general idea about the shape of the earth. The Hindus, for example, believed that the earth had Table 3. The oceans ) tried to provide scientific substantiation for this. Eratosthenes (third century B.C. ) made the first attempt to determine the dimensions of the earth by the length of the meridian arc between the cities of Alexandria and Syene (Africa). Most of the ancient scientists thought that the earth was the center of the universe. This geocentric conception was worked out most fully by Ptolemy in the second century A .D. However, Aristarchus of Samos (fourth and third centuries B.C. ) developed heliocentric theories significantly earlier, believing the sun to be the center of the universe. In the Middle Ages, ideas of the earth’s spherical shape and its movement were denied because they contradicted the Scriptures; such ideas were declared to be heresy. Only in the age of the Renaissance, with the beginning of the great geographic discoveries, did the idea that the earth was round again win recognition. In 1543, Copernicus proved scientifically that the universe was a heliocentric system, with the earth and the other planets revolving around the sun. But this theory had to withstand a prolonged, desperate struggle with the geocentric system, which the Christian church continued to support. Such tragic events as the burning of G. Bruno and Galileo’s forced renunciation of heliocentric theories were part of this struggle. Final confirmation of the heliocentric system came after J. Kepler discovered the laws of planetary motion at the start of the 17th century and I. Newton formulated the law of universal gravitation in 1687. The structure of the “solid” earth has been clarified mainly in the 20th century thanks to the achievements of seismology. The discovery of the radioactive decay of elements led to a basic revision of many fundamental conceptions. In particular, the idea that the earth had originally been in a liquidmolten state was replaced by ideas which held that it formed from accumulations of cold solid particles. Using radioactive decay, methods were developed to determine the absolute age of rocks; this permitted an objective estimate of the length of the earth’s history and the speed of the processes taking place on its surface and in the interior. The use of rockets and satellites in the second half of the 20th century has made it possible to formulate theories about the upper layers of the atmosphere and the magnetosphere. The earth is studied by many sciences. The figure and dimensions of the earth are investigated by geodesy, astronomy studies the earth’s motions as a celestial body, and the earth’s fields of force are studied by geophysics (partly also by astrophysics), which also investigates the physical state of the earth’s matter and the physical processes taking place in all geospheres. Geochemistry studies the laws governing the distribution of the earth’s chemical elements and the processes of the elements’ migration. The material composition of the lithosphere and the history of its development are studied by the geological sciences. Natural phenomena and processes taking place in the geographic shell and bio-sphere are the subject of the geographic and biological sciences. Sciences that study the laws of interaction between nature and society also concern themselves with earth problems. The earth is a large planet of the solar system, third in distance from the sun. The earth’s mass is equal to 5,976 x 1021 kg, which is 1/448 of the mass of the large planets and 1/330,000 of the mass of the sun. Under the influence of the sun’s gravitation the earth, like the other bodies of the solar system, revolves about the sun in an elliptical orbit (which is only slightly different from a circular orbit). The sun is located at one of the focuses of the earth’s elliptical orbit, and therefore the distance between the earth and the sun changes during the course of a year from 147,117 million km (at the perihelion) to 152,083 million km (at the aphelion). The semimajor axis of the earth’s orbit, which is 149.6 million km, is taken as the unit of measurement in measuring distances within the solar system. The velocity of the earth’s motion along its orbit, which averages 29.765 km per sec, varies between 30.27 km per sec (at the perihelion) and 29.27 km per sec (at the aphelion). Along with the sun the earth also moves around the center of the Milky Way Galaxy; the period of a galactic revolution is about 200 million years and the average velocity is 250 km per sec. Relative to the closest stars the sun and earth are moving at a velocity of ~ 19.5 km per sec in the direction of the constellation Hercules. The period of the earth’s revolution around the sun, called the year, varies slightly in length depending on which bodies or points on the celestial sphere we examine with respect to the motion of the earth and the related apparent motion of the sun in the sky. The period of revolution corresponding to the interval of time between two passages of the sun through the vernal equinox is called the tropical year. The tropical year is the basis of the calendar, and it is equal to 365.242 mean solar days. The plane of the earth’s orbit (plane of the ecliptic) in the present age is inclined at an angle of 1.6° to the socalled Laplacian invariable plane, which is perpendicular to the principal vector of the angular momentum of the entire solar system. Under the influence of the gravitation of the other planets the position of the plane of the ecliptic and also the shape of the earth’s orbit are slowly changing over the course of millions of years. The inclination of the ecliptic to the Laplacian plane is changing from 0° to 2.9°, while the eccentricity of the earth’s orbit is changing from 0 to 0.067. In the present age the eccentricity is 0.0167 and is decreasing by 4 x 10”7 per year. If we look at the earth from above the north pole its orbital motion is counterclockwise, that is, in the same direction as its rotation on its axis and the same direction as the revolution of the moon around the earth. The earth’s natural satellite, the moon, revolves around the earth in an elliptical orbit at a mean distance of 384,400 km (~ 60.3 of the mean radius of the earth). The mass of the moon is 1:81.5 of the mass of the earth (73.5 x 1021 kg). The center of mass of the earth-moon system is three-fourths of the earth’s radius away from the center of the earth. Both bodies, the earth and the moon, revolve around the center of mass of the system. The ratio of the moon’s mass to the earth’s mass is the largest among all the planets in the solar system and their satellites, and therefore the earth-moon system is often viewed as a double planet. The earth has a complex shape resulting from the combined action of gravitation, the centrifugal forces caused by the rotation of the earth on its axis, and the sum total of internal and external relief-forming forces. The level surface of gravitational potential (that is, the surface which is at all points perpendicular to the direction of plumb) that coincides with the surface of the water in the oceans (in the absence of waves, tides, currents, and disturbances caused by change in atmospheric pressure) is taken as the approximate shape (figure) of the earth. This surface is called the geoid. The volume bounded by this surface is considered to be the earth’s volume (thus, the volume of that part of the continents which lies above sea level is not included in it). The radius of a sphere of the same volume as the volume of the geoid is taken as the mean radius of the earth. For solving many scientific and practical problems of geodesy, cartography, and other sciences the earth ellipsoid is taken as the shape of the earth. Knowledge of the parameters of the earth ellipsoid, its position in the earth’s body, and also the earth’s gravitational field is very important in astrodynamics, which studies the laws of motion of artificial bodies in space. These parameters are studied by astronomical-geodetic and gravimetric measurements made on the earth and by the method of satellite geodesy. Because of the earth’s rotation, points on the equator have a velocity of 465 m per sec, while points located at latitudes (ø have a velocity of 465 cos ø (m per sec), if the earth is considered to be a sphere. The dependence of the linear velocity of rotation and, consequently, also of centrifugal force on latitude leads to variations in the magnitude of the acceleration of gravity at different latitudes (see Table 4). Table 4. Geometric and physical characteristics of the earth Equatorial radius................ Moment of inertia relative to the axis of rotation...................... 8.104 x 1037 kg x m2 The earth’s rotation about its axis causes the alternation of day and night on its surface. The period of the earth’s rotation defines the unit of time, the day. The earth’s axis of rotation is tilted at an angle of 23° 26.5’ to the perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic (in the middle of the 20th century); in the present age this angle is decreasing by 0.47” a year. As the earth moves in its orbit around the sun its axis of rotation retains essentially the same direction in space. This leads to the alternation of seasons. The gravitational influence of the moon, sun, and planets causes long-term periodic changes in the eccentricity of the earth’s orbit and the inclination of the earth’s axis, which is one of the causes of climatic changes over the centuries. The period of the earth’s rotation systematically increases under the influence of lunar and, to a lesser degree, solar tides. The moon’s gravitation creates tidal deformations of both the atmosphere and water shell as well as the “solid” earth. They are directed toward the attracting body and, therefore, move over the earth as it rotates. Tides in the earth’s crust have an amplitude of up to 43 cm, while in the open ocean they are not more than 2 m; in the atmosphere they cause a pressure change of several hundred newtons/m2 (several mm Hg). Tidal friction that accompanies the movement of tides leads to a loss of energy in the earth-moon system and to a transfer of angular momentum from the earth to the moon. As a result the rotation of the earth slows down and the moon moves farther away from the earth. A study of the monthly and annual growth rings in coral fossils has made it possible to estimate the number of days in a year in past geological ages (up to 600 million years ago). Research results indicate that the period of the earth’s rotation about its axis is increasing by an average of a few milliseconds each century (500 million years ago the length of a day was 20.8 hours). The actual slowdown in the velocity of the earth’s rotation is somewhat less than would correspond to the transfer of momentum to the moon. This indicates a secular de-crease in the earth’s moment of inertia that is apparently related to growth in the earth’s solid core or to movement of masses during tectonic processes. The velocity of the earth’s rotation also changes slightly in the course of a year because of seasonal movement of air masses and moisture. Observations of the trajectories of artificial earth satellites have made it possible to determine with a high degree of precision that the earth’s oblateness is somewhat greater than would cor-respond to its present velocity of rotation and distribution of internal masses. It appears that the explanation for this is the high viscosity of the earth’s interior, which leads to a situation in which the earth’s figure does not immediately assume a shape corresponding to the increased period of rotation when the earth’s rotation slows down. Because the earth has an oblate shape (excess of mass at the equator) and the moon’s orbit does not lie in the plane of the earth’s equator, the moon’s gravitation causes precession, a slow turning of the earth’s axis in space. (A complete turn takes 26,000 years.) Superimposed on this motion are periodic oscillations of the direction of the axis, or nutation (basic period of 18.6 years). The position of the axis of rotation in relation to the earth’s body undergoes both periodic changes (in this case the poles deviate from their mean position by 10-15 m) and secular changes (the mean position of the north pole is shifting in the direction of North America at a velocity of ~ 11 cm a year). B. I . L EVIN The outermost and most extended envelope of the earth is the magnetosphere, the area of space around the earth whose physical properties are determined by the earth’s magnetic field and its interaction with streams of charged particles. Research conducted by means of space probes and artificial earth satellites has shown that the earth is constantly located in a stream of solar corpuscular radiation (the so-called solar wind). It forms because of the continuous expansion (escape) of the plasma of the solar corona and consists of charged particles (protons, nuclei, and ions of helium and also heavier positive ions and electrons). Near the earth’s orbit the velocity of the ordered motion of the particles in the stream varies between 300 and 800 km per sec. The solar plasma carries with it a magnetic field whose strength on the average is 4.8 x 103 A/m (6 x 10−5 oersteds). When the stream of solar plasma runs into an obstacle, the earth’s magnetic field, a shock wave that spreads to meet the stream is formed (see Figure 1). The shock front on the Figure 1. Structure of the earth’s magnetosphere sunward side is localized at an average distance of 13-14 earth radii (R®) from the earth’s center. Behind the shock front is a transition area with a thickness of ~ 20,000 km where the magnetic field of the solar plasma becomes disordered and the motion of its particles becomes chaotic. The temperature of the plasma in this area increases from about 200,000° to ~ 10 million °. The transition zone directly adjoins the earth’s magnetosphere; the boundary of the magnetosphere, the magnetopause, passes along the line where the dynamic pressure of the solar wind is equalized by the pressure of the earth’s magnetic field. It is located on the sunward side at a distance of ~ 10-12 R® (70,000-80,000 km) from the center of the earth and has a thickness of ~ 100 km. The strength of the earth’s magnetic field at the magnetopause is ~ 8 x 10”2 A/m (103 oersteds), that is, significantly greater than the strength of the solar plasma’s field at the level of the earth’s orbit. The streams of solar plasma particles flow around the magneto-sphere and sharply distort the structure of the earth’s magnetic field at considerable distances from the earth. Up to a distance of approximately 3R® from the center of the earth the magnetic field is still fairly close to the magnetic dipole field (the field strength decreases beginning at an altitude of ~ I/R33®). The regularity of the field here is disturbed only by magnetic anomalies (the influence of the largest anomalies is reflected at altitudes up to ~ 0.5 R® above the surface of the earth). At distances greater than 3R® the magnetic field weakens more slowly than the dipole field, and its lines of force on the sunward side are somewhat compressed toward the earth. The geomagnetic field lines that leave the earth at the polar regions are deflected by the solar wind toward the earth’s night side. There they form a magnetosphere “tail” or “train” more than 5 million km long. Bundles of oppositely directed magnetic lines offeree are separated in the tail by an area of very low magnetic field strength (neutral sheet) where hot plasma with a temperature of millions of degrees is concentrated. The magnetosphere reacts to manifestations of solar activity that causes marked changes in the solar wind and in its magnetic field. A complex set of phenomena occurs that has received the name “magnetic storm.” During such storms there is direct intrusion by particles of the solar wind into the magnetosphere, the upper layers of the atmosphere heat up and ionization intensifies, charged particles are accelerated, there is an increase in the brightness of the auroral displays, electromagnetic noises occur, short-wave radio communication is disrupted, and so on. In the area of closed geomagnetic field lines there is a magnetic trap for charged particles. Its lower boundary is defined by absorption by the atmosphere at an altitude of several hundred kilometers of the particles caught in the trap, while the upper boundary in practice coincides with the boundary of the magnetosphere on the day side of the earth and is somewhat lower on the night side. Streams of high-energy particles (primarily protons and electrons) caught in the trap form the so-called Van Allen radiation belt. The particles of the radiation belt present a significant radiation danger during space flights. B. A. T . N. D ROZHZHIN The earth’s atmosphere, or air shell, is the name given to the gaseous medium that surrounds the “solid” earth and rotates together with it. The mass of the atmosphere is ~ 5.15 x 1018 kg. The average atmospheric pressure on the earth’s surface at sea level is equal to 101, 325 newtons/nr. (This corresponds to 1 atmosphere or 760 mm Hg.) The density and pressure of the atmosphere decrease rapidly with altitude. At the surface of the earth the mean density of the air is p = 1.22 kg/m3 (number of molecules in 1 cu m is n= 2.5 x 1025), while at an altitude of 10 km p = 0.41 kg/m3(n= 8.6 x 1024), and at an altitude of 100 km p - 8.8 x 10−7 kg/m3 (n = 1.8 x 1018). The atmosphere has a layered structure, and the layers differ in physical and chemical properties (temperature, chemical composition, ionization of molecules, and other factors). The conventional division of the atmosphere into layers is based primarily on change in temperature with altitude, reflecting the balance of basic energy processes in the atmosphere. The lower part of the atmosphere, which contains about 80 percent of its total mass, is called the troposphere. It extends up to an altitude of 16-18 km in the equatorial belt and up to 8-10 km in the polar latitudes. The temperature of the troposphere decreases with altitude by an average of 0.6°K for each 100 m. Above the troposphere, to an altitude of 55 km, is the stratosphere, which contains almost 20 percent of the atmosphere’s mass. It is separated from the troposphere by a transition layer, the tropopause, which has a temperature of 190°-220°K. Up to an altitude of ~ 25 km the temperature of the stratosphere decreases somewhat, but after that it begins to rise, reaching a maximum (~ 270°K) at an altitude of 50-55 km. This rise is due primarily to the increased concentration of ozone in the upper layers of the atmosphere; ozone intensively absorbs the ultraviolet radiation of the sun. Above the stratosphere are the mesosphere (up to 80 km), the thermosphere (from 80 km to 800-1,000 km), and the exo-sphere (above 800-1,000 km). The total mass of all these layers is not more than 0.5 percent of the mass of the atmosphere. In the mesosphere, which is separated from the stratosphere by the stratopause, the ozone disappears and the temperature again drops to 180°-200°K near its upper limit (the mesopause). In the thermosphere there is a rapid rise in temperature, caused primarily by the absorption of short-wave solar radiation. An increase in temperature is ob-served up to an altitude of 200-300 km. Above that, up to approximately 800-1,000 km, the temperature remains constant (~ 1000°K) because the rarefied atmosphere absorbs solar radiation weakly. The outer layer of the atmosphere, the exosphere, is extremely rarefied (at its lower limit the number of protons in 1 cubic meter is ~ 1011) and particles rarely collide. The velocities of individual particles in the exosphere may exceed the critical escape velocity. If they are not hindered by collisions, these particles may overcome the earth’s gravity, leave the atmosphere, and go off into interplanetary space. This is how dissipation of the atmosphere occurs. Therefore the exosphere is also called the sphere of dissipation. It is mainly hydrogen and helium atoms that escape from the atmosphere into interplanetary space. The cited characteristics of atmospheric layers should be considered as averaged characteristics. Depending on the geographical latitude, season of the year, day, and other factors, there may be marked changes in them. The chemical composition of the earth’s atmosphere is not uniform. Dry atmospheric air at the earth’s surface contains, by volume, 78.08 percent nitrogen, 20.95 percent oxygen (~ 10~6 percent ozone), 0.93 percent argon, and about 0.03 per-cent carbon dioxide. Hydrogen, neon, helium, methane, krypton, and other gases taken together do not constitute more than 0.1 percent. In the atmospheric layer up to altitudes of 90-100 km, which is where intensive mixing of the atmosphere occurs, the relative composition of primary components does not change. (This layer is called the homosphere.) The atmosphere contains (1.3-1.5) x 1016 kg of water. The primary mass of atmospheric water (in the form of vapor, suspended drops, and ice crystals) is concentrated in the troposphere, and at higher altitudes the amount of it de-creases sharply. In humid air the content of water vapor at the earth’s surface varies from 3-4 percent in the tropics to 2 x 10−5 percent in Antarctica. The aerosol components of air, including dust of soil, organic, and space origin and particles of soot, ash, and mineral salts, are extremely variable. Near the upper limit of the troposphere and in the strato-sphere the ozone content increases. The layer of maximum ozone concentration is located at altitudes of ~ 21-25 km. Beginning at altitudes of ~ 40 km there is an increase in the content of atomic oxygen. Dissociation of molecular nitrogen begins at altitudes of about 200 km. Together with dissociation of molecules owing to the effect of short-wave and corpuscular radiation from the sun, at altitudes between 50 and 400 km there is ionization of atmospheric gases. The electrical conductivity of the atmosphere depends on the degree of ionization. At altitudes of 250-300 km, where maximum ionization occurs, the electrical conductivity of the atmosphere is 1012 times greater than at the earth’s surface. The upper layers of the atmosphere are also characterized by the process of diffusive separation of gases owing to the action of the force of gravity (gravitational separation): the gases are distributed by altitude in accordance with their molecular mass. As a result, the upper layers of the atmosphere are richer in lighter gases. The processes of dissociation, ionization, and gravitational separation taken together cause the chemical nonuniformity of the upper layers of the atmosphere. Up to about 200 km the main component of air is nitrogen N2. Above that atomic oxygen begins to predominate. At altitudes of more than 600 km helium becomes the dominant component, while in the layer beginning at 2,000 km and above, hydrogen becomes dominant, forming the so-called hydrogen corona of the earth. The electromagnetic radiation of the sun, the main source of energy for the physical, chemical, and biological processes in the earth’s geographic shell, passes through the atmosphere to the earth’s surface. The atmosphere is transparent to electromagnetic radiation in the range of wavelengths λ from 0.3 microns (3,000 angstroms) to 5.2 microns (about 88 percent of all the energy of solar radiation is contained in this range) and the radio band from 1 mm to 30 m. Radiation in the infrared band (λ > 5.2 microns) is absorbed primarily by water vapor and carbon dioxide in the troposphere and stratosphere. The opacity of the atmosphere in the radio band is caused by reflection of radio waves from the ionized layers of the atmosphere (ionosphere). Radiation in the ultraviolet band (λ from 3,000 to 1,800 angstroms) is absorbed by ozone at altitudes of 15-60 km, while waves with lengths between 1,800 and 1,000 angstroms or shorter are absorbed by nitrogen and molecular and atomic oxygen (at altitudes from a few dozen to several hundred km above the earth’s surface). Hard short-wave radiation (X-ray and gamma radiation) is absorbed by the entire breadth of the atmosphere and does not reach the surface of the earth. Thus the biosphere is protected against the lethal effect of short-wave solar radiation. Only 48 percent of the energy of solar radiation that falls on the outer boundary of the atmosphere reaches the earth’s surface in the form of direct and diffuse radiation. At the same time the atmosphere is almost opaque to the earth’s thermal radiation (owing to the presence of carbon dioxide and water vapors in the atmosphere—the greenhouse effect). If the earth did not have an atmosphere the average temperature of its surface would be -23°C, while in fact the mean annual temperature of the earth’s surface is 14.8°C. The atmosphere also stops some cosmic rays and serves as a shield against the destructive action of meteorites. The surface of the moon, which does not have atmospheric protection and is dotted by meteorite craters, shows how important the protective action of the earth’s atmosphere is. There is a continuous exchange of energy (the heat cycle) and matter (the hydrologic cycle, exchange of oxygen and other gases) taking place between the atmosphere and the surface underlying it. Heat exchange includes heat transfer by radiation (radiant heat exchange) and heat transfer through heat conductivity, convection, and the phase transitions of water (evaporation, condensation, and crystallization). The uneven heating up of the atmosphere above land and water at various altitudes and in various latitudes leads to uneven distribution of atmospheric pressure. The persistent drops in pressure that occur in the atmosphere cause the general atmospheric circulation. This is related to the hydrologic cycle, which includes the processes of water evapo-ration from the surface of the hydrosphere, the transfer of water vapor by air currents, and the fall of precipitation and its runoff. The heat cycle, the hydrologic cycle, and atmospheric circulation are basic climate-forming processes. The atmosphere is an active agent in the various processes that occur on the surface of the land and in the upper layers of bodies of water. The atmosphere plays a most important part in the development of life on earth. Water forms a discontinuous shell on the earth. About 94 percent of the total volume of the hydro-sphere is concentrated in the oceans and seas; 4 percent is contained in underground waters; about 2 percent is found in ice and snow (primarily in the arctic, antarctic, and Green-land); and 0.4 percent is found in the surface waters of the land (rivers, lakes, swamps). An insignificant amount of water is contained in the atmosphere and in organisms. All forms of water change from one form into another in the process of circulation. Each year the amount of precipitation falling to the earth’s surface is equal to the amount of water evaporated from the surface of the land and oceans put together. In the overall hydrologic cycle atmospheric waters are the most mobile. The water of the hydrosphere contains almost all the chemical elements. Its average chemical composition is close to the composition of ocean water, in which oxygen, hydrogen, chlorine, and sodium predominate. In land waters the carbonates are dominant. The content of mineral substances in land waters (salinity) varies greatly depending on local conditions, above all on climate. Ordinarily land waters are slightly mineralized, or fresh. (The salinity of rivers and freshwater lakes is from 50 to 1,000 mg per kg.) The average salinity of ocean water is about 35 g per kg (35 °/bo[parts per thousand]), while the salinity of seawater varies between 1-2 °/’oo(Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea) to 41.5 °/00(Red Sea). The greatest concentration of salts is found in the salt lakes (Dead Sea up to 260 °/oo) and underground waters (up to 600 %°). The present-day salt composition of the waters of the hydrosphere was formed through the products of chemical weathering of igneous rocks and the introduction to the earth’s surface of products of the degassing of the mantle; in ocean water positively charged ions of sodium, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and strontium are present primarily because of river discharge. Chlorine, sulfur, fluorine, bromine, iodine, boron, and other elements that play the part of anions in ocean water are primarily products of underwater volcanic eruptions. The carbon, nitrogen, free oxygen, and other elements contained in the hydrosphere come from the atmosphere and from living matter on land and in the ocean. Owing to the high content of biogenic chemical elements in the ocean its water serves as a very favorable environment for the development of plant and animal organisms. The world ocean forms the greatest accumulation of water on the earth’s surface. Sea currents connect its separate parts into a single whole, and as a result the waters of the oceans and seas have common physicochemical properties. The surface layer of water in the oceans (to a depth of 200-300 m) has a variable temperature that changes during seasons of the year and depending on temperature conditions in the corresponding climatic belt. The mean annual temperature of this layer gradually drops from 25°C at the equator to 0°C and below in the polar regions. The nature of vertical change in the temperature of ocean water varies greatly de-pending on geographic latitude, which is explained primarily by uneven heating up and cooling of surface waters. On the other hand, vertical change in the temperature of water lying in the same latitudes differs substantially because of currents. The enormous equatorial and tropical expanses of the ocean, however, have much in common in terms of temperature change on the vertical. To depths of 300-500 m the water temperature drops rapidly, then to 1,200-1,500 m the drop in temperature occurs more slowly, while below 1,500 m it hardly changes at all. In the layers near the bottom the temperature usually holds at between 2°C and 0°C. In the temperate regions temperature change on the vertical is less significant because there is less warming up of surface waters. In the polar regions the temperature drops for the first approximately 50-100 m, then to a depth of about 500 m it rises slightly (through addition of warmer and more saline waters from the temperate latitudes), after which it slowly decreases to 0°C and below in the layers near the bottom. The water density changes along with the changes in temperature and salinity. The greatest density is typical of the higher latitudes; there it reaches 1.0275 g/cm3 at the surface. In the equatorial region water density at the surface is 1.02204 g/cm3. A typical feature of the ocean is the circulation and mixing of waters. In the layer down to 150-200 m circulation is determined primarily by prevailing winds, under whose influence powerful oceanic currents form. In deeper layers circulation is related primarily to differences in density that exist in the water stratum depending on temperature and salinity. The main elements of circulation caused by wind action are anticyclone cycles in the subtropical latitudes and cyclone cycles in the high latitudes. Density circulation con-tributes to the vertical distribution of water masses and encompasses the entire stratum of waters. The ebb and flow of tidal currents caused by the influence of the moon and sun is a planetary type of water movement. The ocean plays an enormous part in the earth’s life. It serves as the planet’s main water reservoir and receives most of the solar energy that reaches the earth’s surface. As a result of water’s great heat capacity (and the low heat capacity of air) it exerts a moderating influence on fluctuations in the temperature of the air of the surrounding space. In the temperate and polar latitudes seawater accumulates heat during the summer and discharges it to the atmosphere in the winter. In the equatorial and tropical areas water warms up on the surface all year round. The warm waters are carried by currents from these areas to the high latitudes, thus warming them, while cold waters are returned to the tropics in countercurrents. In this way the ocean influences the earth’s cli-mate and weather. The ocean plays a very important role in the cycle of matter on earth (the hydrologic cycle, mutual exchange with the atmosphere of oxygen and carbon dioxide, deposition on land of salt dissolved in ocean water, supplying of material from the land to the ocean through rivers, and biogeochemical conversions). Interacting with the rocks of the floor and coasts, the continually moving masses of ocean water perform an enormous amount of destructive and creative (accumulative) work. The various types of fragmental and dissolved material received as a result of the destructive work of ocean water and the action of streamflow are deposited on the ocean floor, forming sediments that later are transformed into sedimentary rocks. Dead plant and animal organisms give rise to biogenic sediments. Land water also plays an important role. Fresh water satisfies human needs for water and supplies industry and irrigation farming. Running water on the surface performs a great deal of geological work, eroding, carrying, and depositing the products of the disintegration of rocks. The activity of running water leads to the dissection and general flattening of land relief. The total amount of material carried to the seas and oceans by rivers is estimated to be more than 17 billion tons a year. Knowledge of the structure, composition, and properties of the “solid” earth is primarily hypothetical because only the uppermost part of the earth’s crust is accessible to direct observation. All data about the deeper interior parts of the planet are obtained through various indirect (primarily geophysical) methods of investigation. The most reliable of these are seismic methods based on studying the paths and velocity of the spread of elastic oscillations (seismic waves) in the earth. Using these methods it has been possible to establish a division of the solid earth into separate spheres and to form an idea of the earth’s internal structure (see Table 5). THE STRUCTURE OF THE SOLID EARTH . The outer sphere of the solid earth, the earth’s crust (A), is the most heterogeneous and complexly structured part. Of the several types of crust the most common are the continental and oceanic types. Three layers are distinguished in the structure of the continental crust: the upper, sedimentary layer (from 0 to 20 km), the middle layer, conventionally called the granitic layer (from 10 to 40 km), and the lower, so-called basaltic layer (from 10 to 70 km). The basaltic layer is separated from the granitic layer by the Conrad discontinuity. Beneath the oceans the sedimentary layer over vast areas is just a few hundred meters thick. The granitic layer is generally absent; in place of it there is the so-called second layer, whose nature is unclear. This layer is about 1-2.5 km thick. The thickness of the basaltic layer beneath the oceans is about 5 km. In addition to the primary types of crust, several crust types of “intermediate” structure occur, including the subcontinental crust (under certain archipelagoes) and the suboceanic crust (in the deep-water trenches of the marginal and continental seas). The subcontinental crust is characterized by an unclear division between the granitic and basaltic layers; they are jointly known under the name graniticbasaltic Table 5. Basic data about the geospheres of the “solid” earth Geospheres 8.6 106 layer. The suboceanic crust is similar to the oceanic crust, differing by a greater thickness overall and a thicker sedimentary layer in particular. The interface between the earth’s crust and the underlying mantle is defined precisely using seismic methods. Figure 2. Structure of the “solid” earth. The boundaries between geospheres A and B, D and E, and F and G are sharp; between B and C, C and D, and E and F they are arbitrary because the transition is gradual. (Explanation of the letter designations is given in Table 5 and in the text.) The mantle consists of three layers (B, C, and D) and extends from the Mohorovicic discontinuity to a depth of 2,900 km, where the earth’s core begins. Layers B and C form the upper mantle (850-900 km thick), while layer D forms the lower mantle (about 2,000 km). The upper part of layer B, which lies directly under the crust, is called the substratum; the crust and the substratum together make up the lithosphere. The lower part of layer B of the upper mantle is named after B. Gutenberg, the seismologist who discovered its properties. The velocity with which seismic waves travel in the Gutenberg layer is somewhat less than in the layers above and below it, which scientists attribute to the increased viscosity of its matter. Hence, the second name for the Gutenberg layer, the asthenosphere (weak sphere). This layer is the seismic wave conduit because the seismic “beam” (path of the wave) travels along it for a long time. The C layer (the Golitsyn layer) beneath is identified as a zone where the velocities of seismic waves increase rapidly with depth (from 8 to 11.3 km per sec for longitudinal waves, from 4.9 to 6.3 km per sec for transverse waves). The earth’s core has a mean radius of about 3,500 km and is divided into the outer core (layer E) and the inner core (layer G), which has a radius of about 1,300 km. They are divided by a transition zone (layer F) with a thickness of about 300 km; this layer is usually considered part of the outer core. At the boundary of the core a sharp drop in the velocity of longitudinal waves (from 13.6 to 8.1 km per sec) is observed. Within the core the velocity increases, jumping to 11.2 km per sec near the boundary of the inner core. In the inner core seismic waves travel with almost constant velocity. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE SOLID EARTH . The density, pressure, force of gravity, elastic properties of matter, viscosity, and temperature change with depth within the earth (see Figures 3 and 4). The mean density of the earth’s crust as a whole is 2.8 tons/m3. The mean density of the sedimentary layer of the crust is 2.4-2.5 tons/m3, while for the granitic layer it is 2.7 tons/m3 and for the basaltic layer it is 2.9 tons/m3. At the boundary between the earth’s crust and the mantle (the M discontinuity) the density increases sharply from 2.9-3.0 tons/m3 to 3.1-3.5 tons/m3. After that it increases gradually, reaching 3.6 tons/m3 at the base of the Gutenberg layer, 4.5 tons/m3 at the base of the Golitsyn layer, and 5.6 tons/m3 at the boundary of the core. In the core the density jumps to 10.0 tons/m3 and then increases gradually to 12.5 tons/m3 at the center of the earth. Figure 3. Physical characteristics of the matter of the earth at various depths: (p) pressure (scale for this curve is given on the right [giganewtons/m2], while for the other curves it is on the left); (Vp) and (V,) velocities of longitudinal and transverse seismic waves, respectively (km/sec); (g) acceleration of gravity (m/sec2);(p) density (tons/m3) Acceleration of gravity in the earth does not exhibit sudden changes. To a depth of 2,500 km it deviates less than 2 percent from the figure 10 m/sec; at the boundary of the core it is 10.7 m/sec2, and then it decreases gradually to zero at the center of the earth. Pressure is computed on the basis of data on density and the acceleration of gravity; it increases constantly with depth. At the base of the continental crust it is close to 1 giganewton/m2 (109 newtons/m2), while at the base of layer B it is 14 giganewtons/m2, at the base of layer C it is 35 giganewtons/m2, at the boundary of the core it is 136 giganewtons/m2, and at the center of the earth it is 361 giganewtons/m2. Given the density and velocities of seismic waves, values are computed to describe the elastic properties of the earth’s material. Variation in them depending on depth is shown in Figure 4. Figure 4. Elastic properties of the earth’s matter depending on depth: (E) Young’s modulus, (K) bulk modulus, (μ) shear modulus, (σ) Poisson’s ratio. The parts of the curves denoted by broken lines show the probable general shape of the curves. In the earth’s crust and in the upper mantle temperature increases with depth. There is a heat flow from the mantle to the surface of the solid earth; it is several thousand times smaller than that coming from the sun (on the average about 0.06 watts/m2 or about 2.5 x 1013 watts for the entire surface of the earth). At all places in the mantle the temperature is lower than the temperature of complete fusion of the constituent material. Beneath the continental crust it is believed to be about 600°-700°C. In the Gutenberg layer the temperature appears to be close to the melting point (1500°-1 SOOT). Estimates of temperatures for deeper layers of the mantle and for the earth’s core are extremely hypothetical. It appears that the temperature in the core is not more than 4000°-5000°C. The viscosity of mantle material above and below the boundaries of the asthenosphere is apparently at least 1023 poise (1 poise = 0.1 newton x sec/m2); the viscosity of the asthenosphere is greatly reduced (1019-1021 poise). It is thought that as a result of this a slow mass flow in a horizontal direction is taking place in the asthenosphere under the influence of the uneven load from the earth’s crust (restoration of isostatic equilibrium). The viscosity of the outer core is lower by many orders of magnitude as compared to that of the mantle. Focuses of earthquakes are located in the upper mantle to a depth of 700 km, which indicates the considerable strength of the upper mantle’s constituent material. The absence of deeper seismic focuses is explained by either the low strength of the matter or by the absence of sufficiently strong mechanical stresses. Electrical conductivity in the upper part of layer B is very low (on the order of 10−2 ohm −1 x m −1); in the Gutenberg layer it is greater, which is thought to be related to the increase in temperature. In the Golitsyn layer it gradually increases to about 10-100 ohm −1 x m −1, while in the lower mantle it evidently increases by another order of magnitude. In the earth’s core electrical conductivity is very high, which is an indication of the metallic properties of its matter. It follows from current cosmogonic hypotheses that the chemical composition of the planets and their satellites and meteorites must be similar to the composition of the sun. By comparing the known chemical analyses of earth and moon rocks and meteorites and spectral analyses of the sun and taking into consideration data on the density and other physical properties of material in the interior ot the earth, it is possible to describe the general features of the composition of the earth as a whole and the composition of its various geospheres. Table 6 gives the overall chemical composition of the earth after calculations by the American geochemist B. Mason. It is assumed that the core consists of an ironnickel alloy similar to the metallic phase of chondrites. There are two hypotheses concerning the composition of the earth’s core. According to the first, the core consists of iron with an admixture (18-20 percent) of silicon (or some other relatively light material); according to the second, the outer core is composed of silicate which, under the effect of the enormous pressure and high temperature, has passed into a metallic state; the inner core may be iron or silicate. Table 6. Chemical composition of the earth Chemical element Titanium 0.05 Iron, oxygen, silicon, and magnesium predominate in the earth’s composition (both in mass and by number of atoms). Taken together they constitute more than 90 percent of the earth’s mass. The earth’s crust is almost half oxygen and more than one-fourth silicon. A large percentage is also composed of aluminum, magnesium, calcium, sodium, and potassium. Oxygen, silicon, and aluminum produce the compounds that are most common in the crust: silica (SiO2) and alumina (A12O3). The mantle consists primarily of heavy minerals that are rich in magnesium and iron. They form compounds with SiO2 (the silicates). The substratum evidently contains more forsterite (Mg2SiO4) than anything else, while at greater depths the amount of fayalite (Fe2SiO4) gradually increases. It is assumed that under the influence of the very high pressure in the lower mantle these minerals have broken down into oxides (SiO2, MgO, and FeO). The aggregate state of matter in the earth’s interior results from high temperature and pressure. The material in the mantle would be molten if it were not for the high pressure that results in the entire mantle being in a hard crystalline state, with the possible exception of the asthenosphere where the effect of a temperature close to the melting point is greater than the effect of pressure. It is assumed that there the substance of the mantle is either in an amorphous state or a partially molten state. In the Golitsyn layer as pressure increases with depth it appears that the crystalline lattices of the minerals are restructured in the direction of greater compaction of atoms, which explains the rapid increase in density and the velocities of seismic waves with depth. The outer core is evidently in a liquid (molten) state because transverse seismic waves, which are unable to travel in a liquid, do not pass through it. The origin of the earth’s magnetic field is related to the existence of the liquid outer core. The inner core is apparently solid. (Longitudinal waves approaching the boundary of the inner core generate transverse waves in it.) E. N. L IUSTIKH GEODYNAMIC PROCESSES . The matter of the earth’s geospheres is continuously moving and changing. These processes take place most rapidly in the liquid and gaseous shells, but the basic content of the history of the globe’s development consists of much slower changes occurring in the internal geospheres that are made up primarily of solid matter; it is precisely the study of their nature and dynamics that is most essential for a correct understanding of the present state and all past states of the earth. Among the processes occurring in the interior and on the surface of the earth two main groups are distinguished. The first is the internal, or endogenic, processes whose driving force is the earth’s internal energy (primarily the energy of radioactive decay). The second group consists of external, or exogenetic, processes engendered by the energy of solar radiation reaching the earth. Endogenic processes are typical primarily for the deep-seated geospheres. In the lower zones of the earth’s crust, in the upper mantle, and, apparently, much deeper there is movement of enormous masses of matter and expansion, compression, and phase transformations of this matter; migration of chemical elements; and circulation of thermal and electric currents. There is no doubt that taken together they cause the continuous process of abyssal differentiation of matter, which leads to concentration of lighter components in the upper geospheres and heavier ones in the deeper geospheres. In the mantle the driving factor is apparently a mechanism resembling zonal fusion as a result of which chemical elements (or compounds) are regularly distributed between fusible and refractory phases. The deep-seated endogenic processes act on the earth’s crust, causing vertical and horizontal movements of particular sectors and blocks (crustal movements) and deformation and transformation of the internal structure of the crust. All these processes are called tectonic processes, and the region in which they occur, which encompasses the earth’s crust and, to a lesser degree, also the outer mantle, is called,,the tectonosphere. Closely interrelated with tectonic processes are magmatic processes, which involve injection into the earth’s crust of magma rising from below (deep-seated magmatism) and outpouring of magma through cracks onto the earth’s surface in the form of lava (volcanism). In the course of tectonic deformations (displacements) and the injection of magma there also occur the processes of rock metamorphism where the mineralogical composition and structure of rocks are altered because of the action of increased pressures and temperatures. The earth’s surface and the upper layers of the earth’s crust are simultaneously subjected to the action of exogenetic processes. They are divided into the destructive (including weathering of rocks, removal of the products of rock destruction by wind and running water, and changes in the earth’s surface caused by rivers and streams, underground waters, and moving glaciers) and constructive (accumulation of sediments in lowlands and sea and lake bodies with subsequent transformation into sedimentary rocks). The actions of endogenic and exogenetic processes on the earth’s surface are mutually reciprocal. Endogenic processes (mainly tectonic movements) first of all create the large-scale irregularities on which the distribution of land and sea and the possibility of moving matter through the force of gravity depend. Exogenetic processes separate and break down uplifted sectors, filling low-lying places with the products of this destruction; in other words, they have an overall tendency to level out the surface of the earth. With the interaction of internal and external processes various types of irregularities are formed on the earth’s surface. Taken together they are called the relief. With different ratios of internal and external forces either mountains and very rugged types of relief are formed or less rugged, level types of relief are created. Under the influence of the combined action of endogenic and exogenetic processes a slow circulation of matter, occurring over millions and billions of years, takes place. It is accompanied by reformation and renewal of the structure of the earth’s crust. Endogenic processes bring deep-lying matter to the earth’s surface, where it encounters the processes of denudation and accumulation and is one of the main sources of material for sedimentary rocks. As the earth’s crust subsides, the sedimentary rocks are drawn into its deep zones and, falling into the sphere of action of abyssal endogenic processes, are sometimes transformed all the way to refusion into magma. Then, in this changed form, they are again raised to the surface of the earth by tectonic processes. V. V. B HANTSER PRIMARY FEATURES OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH’S CRUST . The earth’s crust is the only one of the internal geospheres that is accessible to direct study. Therefore knowledge of its structure is the most important basis for judging not only about the history of development of the earth’s crust but also the history of the earth as a whole. Of the two basic structural subdivisions, the continents and the oceans, which differ fundamentally in type of crusts, the continents have been better studied. The most ancient elements of the structure of the continental crust are the ancient (Precambrian) platforms—vast, tectonically immobile (stable) blocks. In the course of geological history a significant part of their territory has been transformed into plates that are covered by virtually horizontal beds of sedimentary rock (the platform cover) under which the ancient folded basement is buried. The basement emerges on the surface within shields that have no platform cover; it consists of intensively folded metamorphic rocks broken by deep-seated magmatic intrusions, primarily of granitic composition. This indicates that sectors of the crust that are part of the basement originally had high tectonic mobility. The ancient platforms are separated and bordered by technically active geosynclinal belts, which consist of a number of geosynclinal systems, and sometimes include relatively stable internal (median) massifs. As a result of their development some geosynclinal systems have acquired features that are characteristic of platforms and are called young platforms. Unlike the ancient (Precambrian) platforms, their basements are younger in age (Paleozoic or Mesozoic). The geosynclinal belts are characterized by a linear trend (many thousands and tens of thousands of kilometers), increased crustal thickness, contrasting vertical movements of great amplitude, intensive folding of rocks, volcanic activity, and a high level of seismicity. The platforms are marked by an isometric outline, consistency in the thickness of the crust (which is of lesser magnitude than in the geosynclinal belts), slow vertical movements of little amplitude, and weak manifestations of folding, seismicity, and volcanism. The present-day structure of the ocean crust is much less well known, and therefore to a large extent knowledge about it is limited to conjectures. The vast, relatively level expanses of the ocean floor, which are marked by weak volcanism, weak seismicity, and, evidently, low velocities of vertical crustal movement, are called, by analogy with stable continental structures, oceanic platforms, or thalassocratons. They are contrasted with the tectonically mobile zones of the oceanic rift belts, which are spreading structures, completely unique and of global significance, and differ sharply from the geosynclinal folded systems of the continents. They stretch across all the oceans in the form of midoceanic ridges that typically have intensive volcanism, great seismicity, and increased magnitudes of heat flow from the interior. The ridges are complicated by longitudinal faults along which a system of deep rift trenches has developed. Two fundamentally different types of structural relationships between the oceanic and continental crust may be identified. The first type, called the Atlantic type, is typical of a large part of the Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic oceans. Here the boundary between the continent and the ocean cuts across the structure of the continental crust and the transition from the continental to the oceanic crust is abrupt, in the form of a rapid tapering off of the granitic layer in the zone of the continental slope. The second type, called the Pacific type, is typical of the periphery of the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean and South Hebrides regions of the Atlantic Ocean, and the Indonesian coast of the Indian Ocean. It typically has Mesozoic and Cenozoic folded systems and present-day geosynclines trending parallel to the edge of the continent as if bending round the ocean basin; in addition, it has a more or less wide transition zone with intermediate or mosaic crust structure. In the transition zone there are geanticlinal uplifts that are expressed in the present-day relief as mountainous archi’pelagoes of island arcs with a typical chain shape. Conjugate with them are geosynclinal troughs in the form of the deep-water basins of the marginal seas and long, narrow oceanic trenches. These features of the structure of the Pacific Ocean coast are very often interpreted as evidence of its great antiquity. At the same time no one doubts the relative youth of Atlantic type oceans. Data from historical geology indicate unambiguously that as early as the end of the Paleozoic era the continents of South America, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica, as well as Madagascar and the ancient Hindustan platform, constituted a single continental block, Gondwanaland. Only in the course of the Mesozoic did it break into parts and the present-day basins of the Indian and Atlantic oceans appear. Universal recognition of this fact does not exclude very different interpretations. Some scientists consider it to be the result of “oceanization,” that is, conversion of the continental crust into oceanic crust. The process of oceanization is thought to be related to the formation in the mantle of centers of fusion that assimilate large blocks of the litho-sphere that sink into them. Together with outflows of basalt onto the surface this leads to the disappearance of the granitic layer, a general increase in the weight of the crust, and the formation of an oceanic depression in the place where the former continent existed. On the other hand, views which hold that the oceans formed as blocks of continental crust moved apart and the underlying substratum was exposed are becoming increasingly common. These ideas of continental drift (mobilism) are supported by the data of paleogeography, because unless they are accepted it is difficult to explain the discrepancy between the location of the climatic zones of the geological past and the present-day geographic poles. Similar arguments are also presented based on the discrepancy between the paleomagnetic latitudes and orientation of magnetic meridians in the past calculated on the basis of data on the remnant magnetization of rocks and the present-day position of the magnetic poles. The most widespread of the mobilist hypotheses is the hypothesis of the so-called new global tectonics, or plate tectonics, which was advanced in the 1960’s and is based on geophysical investigations of the oceans. This hypothesis assumes a kind of two-sided “spreading” of the oceanic crust in both directions from the midoceanic ridges and a related expansion of the ocean basins. Some scientists consider it possible that “spreading” of the crust and “oceanization” coexist in different places depending on the situation. Increasing attention is also beginning to be given to the considerable horizontal displacements of blocks of the earth’s crust in the development of normal geosynclinal belts; the presence in the geosynclinal belts of vast zones of ultrabasic igneous rocks and the so-called initial basaltic volcanism typical of the beginning stages of the development of geosynclinal systems are viewed as indicators of the occurrence of geosynclines in the oceanic crust similar to presentday oceanic trenches. According to such ideas the presently known fold systems of the geosynclinal belts are nothing but marginal structures of once-vast ocean basins that were later closed by the overthrust of adjacent continental blocks which gradually approached each other until they joined. Thus the problem of the historical relationships between the continental and oceanic crust is far from being solved. This is even more true of the general causes of tectonic processes, a subject on which there are many hypotheses that are frequently contradictory. V. V. B HANTSER THE EARTH’S RELIEF . The largest (planetary) forms of the earth’s relief correspond to the largest structural elements of the earth’s crust. Their morphological differences are determined by differences in the structure and history of particular sectors of the earth’s crust and by the direction of tectonic movements. These subdivisions of the relief of the earth’s surface, in whose formation internal processes play the leading part, are called morphostructures. Planetary-scale morphostructures are broken down into smaller forms of morphostructures, such as individual uplands, mountain ranges, massifs, plateaus, and basins, which are still relatively large relief forms. Superimposed on them are the various smaller forms, the so-called morphosculptures, which are shaped primarily by the effect of the earth’s external forces that are fed by the energy of the sun. Morphostructures The greatest irregularities on the earth’s surface are formed by continental prominences (land together with the shelf) and ocean basins. The largest elements of land relief are plains regions in platforms and mountain (orogenic) regions. Plain-platform regions include the plains regions of ancient and young platforms and occupy about 64 percent of the land area. They are predominantly surfaces that were initially plains, formed by beds of sedimentary rock occurring almost horizontally. There is a symmetry in the distribution of these regions; they are located in two latitudinal belts, one of which is in the northern hemisphere and the other in the southern. The North American, East European, and Siberian plains are located in the northern hemisphere, while the South American (Brazilian), African-Arabian, and Australian plains are in the southern. Within the platform plains there are individual lowlands and uplands, plateaus and high plateaus, and greatly uplifted blocks (the Zhiguli Mountains on the East European Plain, the Putorana Mountains on the Central Siberian Plateau, and the Ahaggar mountain massif on the African-Arabian platform plain). Overall the amplitude of elevation of the surface of platform plains is 10-20 times less than in mountain lands. Among the plain-platform regions there are low ones with absolute elevations of 100-300 m (East European, West Siberian, Turan, and North American) and high ones that have been uplifted by very recent crustal movements to elevations of 400-1,000 m (Central Siberian Plateau, African-Arabian, and Hindustan plains and significant parts of the Australian and South American plains regions). Plains of the second type predominate in land relief. The low and high plains differ markedly in morphological appearance. Unlike the low plains, high plains typically have a greater depth of dissection, more step-like surfaces caused primarily by displacements along faults, and, in places, manifestations of volcanism. A distinction is made between ancient platform plains that formed on Precambrian platforms (for example, the East European) and young plains that have formed on young platforms (for example, the West Siberian) and are more mobile than the former. Mountain (orogenic) regions occupy about 36 percent of the land area. Within them are two types of mountain structures: young, or epigeosynclinal, mountains, which appeared for the first time in the orogenic phase of the development of Cenozoic geosynclinal systems (the mountains of southern Eurasia and western North and South America) and rejuvenated, or epiplatform, mountains, which formed as a result of rejuvenation by recent crustal movements in places where ancient folded regions of various ages had been leveled or partially destroyed (for example, the Tien-Shan, the Kunlun Mountains, the mountains of southern Siberia and northern Mongolia in Asia, the Rocky Mountains in North America, and the highlands of eastern Africa). In terms of area rejuvenated mountains predominate over young mountains because of the enormous extent of epiplatform orogeny in the neotectonic phase of development of the earth’s crust (Neocene-Anthropogene). In mountains of this type uplifted sectors of ancient peneplanation plains are preserved from the age that preceded the most recent mountain building. Unlike the young mountains, they are characterized by discordances between the orographic plan, structure of the drainage system, and the geological structure. The ocean floor is subdivided into the underwater margins of the continents, the zone of island arcs, or transition zone, the ocean bed, and the midoceanic ridges. The underwater margins of the continents (about 14 percent of the earth’s surface) include the shallow and generally level zone of the continental shelf, the continental slope, and the continental rise located at depths from 2,500 to 6,000 m. The continental slope and continental rise separate the continental prominences formed by the land and shelf taken together from the main part of the ocean floor, called the ocean bed. The island arc zone. The ocean bed does not border directly on the continental rise in all regions of the globe. In the western margins of the Pacific Ocean, in the area of the Malay Archipelago, the Antilles Islands, and the Scotia Sea, and in certain other regions that still have a geosynclinal regime, a transition zone is located between the continent and the ocean bed; it is marked by considerable breadth and uplifted sections of the floor suddenly giving way to deeply sunken sections. In these regions there are archipelagoes of island arcs, basins of marginal seas (for example, the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk) and mountains and elevations within them, and deep-water trenches. The island arcs are young mountain structures that rise above the water in the form of a chain of islands (the Kuril, the Sunda, the Antilles, and others); the deep-water trenches are long, narrow depressions in the ocean floor that ring the island arcs on the ocean side and are 7-11 km deep. Some island arcs consist of two parallel ranges (for example, the Kuril arc) or are replaced by a chain of young mountains located along the margin of the continent (for example, the Cordilleras on the Pacific Coast of America). The island arc zone exhibits the greatest contrast of relief on the earth. The largest part of the ocean bed proper (which comprises about 40 percent of the earth’s surface) is covered with abyssal plains (average depth 3,000-4,000 m) that correspond to ocean platforms (thalassocratons). There are flat (subhorizontal), sloping, and hilly plains with variations in elevation (for the last-named) of up to 1,000 m. Plains form the floor of particular basins that are separated in sublatitudinal and submeridional directions by underwater rises, swells, and ridges. Among the plains expanses of the ocean bed numerous isolated underwater mountains (volcanoes) rise, and some of them have flattened peaks (guyots). The largest elements of the underwater relief are the midoceanic ridges (about 10 percent of the earth’s surface). Their total length is more than 60,000 km. They are gently sloping wavelike uplifts that are from several dozen to 1,000 km wide and rise 2-3 km above the floor of the neighboring basins. Certain peaks of the ridges rise above sea level in the form of volcanic islands (for example, Tristan da Cunha, Bouvet, and St. Helena). Some elements of the system of median ridges are marked by relatively low elevations (low midoceanic ridges), by an absence of rift dislocations, and by less dissection. Each of the median ridges has its own continuation in the region of continental-type crust: the rift dislocations of the East Pacific Rise can be traced in the structures of the California coast in the United States; the dislocations of the Mid-Indian Ridge can be followed in the graben rifts of the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, and the fractures of East Africa; and the dislocations of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge continue to the island of Spitsbergen. Abyssal fractures that cut up the earth’s entire crust and frequently extend into the mantle play a highly significant role in the structure of the earth’s surface. They divide the crust into individual blocks that are well expressed by their relief. They are related, in particular, to the rectilinear sections in the outlines of the continents. On the ocean floor the largest fractures stretch for thousands of kilometers in latitudinal and sublatitudinal directions and are expressed in the relief in the form of scarps, narrow basins, and ridges rising above them. These fractures cross the midoceanic ridges, breaking them into individual segments that are displaced dozens and hundreds of kilometers relative to each other. Morphosculptures. The work of rivers and temporary flows of water plays the largest part in the formation of morphosculptures. Rivers and temporary streams create the common fluvial (erosion and accumulative) forms (river valleys, ravines, gullies, and the like). Also common are glacial forms caused by the activity of present-day and ancient glaciers, especially continental glaciers (the northern part of Eurasia and of North America). Glacial forms are represented by valley troughs, “sheep-back” rocks, morainic ridges, eskers, and the like. Various forms of permafrost (cryogenic) relief have developed over enormous areas of Asia and North America where perennially frozen rock strata are common. The desert and semidesert regions of the earth typically have so-called arid forms; intensive physical weathering and the action of the wind and temporary streams play a decisive part in creating them. External processes on the land are caused to a significant degree by the climatic features of a locality; therefore, the areas where morphosculptures of a particular type are found are distributed quite regularly over the surface of the earth. On the ocean floor morphosculptures are formed through the influence of coastal abrasive-accumulative processes, the action of turbidity (suspension) currents, and the action of currents along the bottom. T. K. Z AKHAROVA The most important feature of the earfn as a planet is the presence of the biosphere, the shell whose composition, structure, and energetics are caused to a significant degree by the activity of living organisms. The boundaries of the biosphere are understood differently depending on the approach to its study. The significance of this shell was revealed most fully in the theory developed by V. I. Vernadskii. The biosphere includes not only the area on the surface where life is now concentrated but also the parts of other geospheres into which living matter penetrates or which are transformed as a result of the past activity of living matter. Thus the biosphere includes not only living organisms but also all their present and past habitats. According to V. I. Vernadskii this “sphere of life” is joined together by the biogenic migration of atoms. Living matter actually manifests itself in the form of particular (discrete) living organisms which differ in composition, structure, and way of life and belong to different species. There are from 1.2 to 2 million (according to various data) species of plants and animals on the earth. Of them, plants have about one-fourth or one-third of the total number of species. Among the animals insects hold first place for number of species described (about 750,000), while mollusks are second (from 40,000 to 100,000 according to various data). Then come the vertebrates (60,000-70,000). Among the plants the angiosperms are first (from 150,000 to 300,000 species according to various data), followed by the fungi (from 70,000 to 100,000 species). The number of plant and animal species is the measure of the richness of the flora and fauna. But an abundance of species by itself does not mean an abundance of individuals, just as a small number of species of flora and fauna may be accompanied by a great abundance of individuals. To characterize vegetation and the animal world, therefore, the concepts of biomass (total mass of organisms) and biological productivity (the ability of organisms to reproduce the biomass in a unit of time per unit of area or volume of habitat) are used instead of the concepts of flora and fauna. Organisms are distributed differently by biomass than they are by number of species; the biomass of plants on land is significantly greater than that of animals. The biosphere, as the area of greatest variability observable on earth in the conditions and state of matter, includes solid, liquid, and gaseous matter and has a mosaic structure that is based on various biogeocenoses—groups of living organisms and inorganic components that are interrelated through exchange of matter and energy. The biogeocenosis is a single organized system capable of self-regulation. The matter of the biosphere is not homogeneous in structure; it is divided into living (organisms), biogenic (created by living organisms), bioinert (the result of the combined action of biological and inorganic processes), and inert (inorganic). The geological role of living matter is manifested in a number of biogeochemical functions. By means of living organisms (primarily through photosynthesis) solar energy is introduced into physicochemical processes of the earth’s crust and then redistributed through the nutrition, respiration, and reproduction of organisms, drawing large masses of inert matter into the process. Living organisms have spread to all regions of the earth accessible to them that are close to regions where liquid water is thermodynamically stable (with the exception, apparently, of regions where underground waters are overheated) and to a number of regions with temperatures below 0°C. The environmental conditions in which the vital activity of organisms is possible—the field of stable life—is expanding as vital activity becomes increasingly adaptable in the course of evolution. During the earth’s evolution the boundaries of the biosphere have expanded through direct adaptation by organisms to harsher conditions and also through the creation of protective shells within which special conditions arise that differ from environmental conditions. This process has taken on the greatest scope since the appearance of human beings, who are capable of significantly expanding the sphere they inhabit. K. P. F LORENSKII The most unique and typical features of the earth are in the geographic (landscape) sphere, which, despite its small relative thickness, contains the earth’s most vivid individual traits. In this sphere not only do the three geospheres—the lower sections of the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and the earth’s crust—come into close contact, but there is also partial mixing and exchange of solid, liquid, and gaseous components. The landscape sphere absorbs the major part of the sun’s radiant energy in the visible wave band and receives all other space effects. Tectonic movements resulting from the energy of radioactive decay in the earth’s interior, the recrystallization of minerals, and other processes manifest themselves in this sphere. The energy of various sources (primarily the sun) undergoes numerous transformations in the landscape sphere, becoming converted into thermal, molecular, chemical, kinetic, potential, and electrical forms of energy. As a result, the heat flowing from the sun is concentrated here and diverse conditions for living organisms are created. The geographic shell is characterized by the wholeness resulting from the relation-ships among its components and by unevenness of development in time and space. The unevenness of development in time is expressed in the directed rhythmic (periodical—daily, monthly, seasonal, annual) and nonrhythmic (episodic) changes typical of this shell. As a result of these processes particular sectors of the geographic shell have differing ages, the course of natural processes has an inherited aspect, and relict features are pre-served in existing landscapes. A knowledge of the principal rules of development of the geographic shell enables us to forecast natural processes in many cases. Owing to the variety of conditions created by the relief, waters, climate, and life, the landscape sphere is spatially more strongly differentiated than the external and internal geospheres (except for the outer part of the earth’s crust) where matter in horizontal directions is relatively homogeneous. The unevenness of the geographic shell’s development in space is expressed, first of all, in horizontal zonation and altitudinal zonation. Local features (conditions of exposure, the role of mountain ranges as barriers, distance from oceans, specific features of the development of the organic world in particular regions of the earth) complicate the structure of the geographic shell, promote the development of azonal, intrazonal, and provincial differences, and lead to the uniqueness of particular regions and of their combinations. The types of landscape that occur in the landscape sphere differ by ranks. The largest division is related to the existence and distribution of continents and oceans. Next the division is due to the spherical shape of the earth, manifesting itself in different amounts of thermal energy reaching the earth’s sur-face. Owing to this the temperature zones, which are distributed in circumpolar fashion, form—one torrid zone, two temperate zones, and two frigid zones. But heat differences do not determine all the fundamental features of a landscape. The combination of the earth’s spherical shape and its rotation about its axis creates marked dynamic differences, in addition to thermal ones, which arise primarily in the atmosphere and hydrosphere but extend their influence to land as well. Thus climatic zones are formed, each with its own special heat conditions and its own air masses and characteristics of their circulation, and as a result, unique manifestation and rhythm of a number of geographic processes: biogeochemical processes, geomorphological processes, evaporation, plant growth, animal migration, and the cycles of organic and mineral matter. In the polar (arctic and antarctic), temperate, tropical, and equatorial zones air masses having the same names form and predominate or prevail throughout the entire year. Between these zones are transition zones where air masses of the adjacent zones alternate in a regular manner throughout the year; this is reflected in the names of the transition zones having the prefix “sub” (subpolar, subtropical, and sub-equatorial zones). Latitudinal climatic zonation has such a fundamental influence on other aspects of the landscape that the division of the natural world into physicogeographical zones on the basis of the entire complex of features virtually corresponds to the climatic zones, generally coinciding with them in number, configuration, and name. The geographic zones differ substantially in many features in the northern and southern hemispheres, thus permitting us to speak of the geographic shell’s asymmetry. Further differences of horizontal zonation are directly dependent on the dimensions and configuration of the land and related differences in the amount of moisture and the regime of moistening. Here the influence of sectorial differences between ocean-shore, transitional, and continental parts (sectors) of the continents is most marked. It is precisely in the concrete conditions of particular sectors that the heterogeneous areas of geographic zones on land, which are called physicogeographical zones, form. Many of them have the same names as vegetation zones (forest and steppe, for example), but this only reflects the physiognomical representation of the plant cover in the landscape’s appearance. Horizontal zonation within different geographic zones manifests itself in various ways. Particular zones and sub-zones of the polar and subpolar belts extend latitudinally and give way to one another in a circumpolar manner. In the temperate zone, which is well-developed on land primarily in the northern hemisphere, the latitudinal extent of zones is typical only of the continental sector. In the transitional sectors the trend of zones becomes diagonal in relation to the map grid, while in the zones near the ocean, especially in the lower latitudes, zones give way to one another with longitude. Examples of physicogeographical zones in the northern hemisphere are the zones of ice and arctic deserts in the arctic belt; the tundra zone (with subzones of arctic, mosslichen, and brush tundra) and forest-tundra zone in the subarctic belt; and the forest zone (with subzones of sparse forest, several types of taiga, and mixed and deciduous forests), the forest-steppe zone, the steppe zone (with sub-zones of steppes with various grasses and arid steppes), the semidesert zone, and the desert zone (with subzones of northern and southern deserts) in the temperate belt. In the subtropical belts the zones give way to one another primarily with longitude; for example, in the subtropical regions of Eurasia and northern Africa the zones from west to east are moist forested subtropics, semiarid (Mediterranean Sea) forest-brush subtropics, and subtropical zones of forest-steppe, steppes, semideserts, and deserts. The tropical belts are primarily in the interior sectors of the continents. In the subequatorial belts, depending on the configuration of the land, there are complex combinations of division into latitudinal zones (from dry and more moist savannas and sparse forests to monsoon forests) and into heterogeneous sectorial landscape variants (forested in oceanic sectors and arid savanna in continental sectors). In the equatorial belt differences are primarily sectorial. There are some spatial analogies in the ratios of heat and moistening in the zones; thus, zones with a relative balance between heat and moistening, where there is exactly enough heat to evaporate the moisture that is not removed by runoff, are regularly repeated in various belts (forest-steppe, savanna). Belts similar to the geographic zones of the land are also found in the world ocean. Their position is determined by heat, evaporation, cloudiness, and the salinity and density of water, which are all basically functions of the radiation balance; prevailing winds and sea currents; and vertical circulation of water and its content of oxygen, plankton and higher organisms, and benthos on the bottom. Usually these conditions change gradually with latitude, while sea currents, which are subject to the Coriolis force and move in accordance with the outlines of the shores, go beyond the boundaries of the belts of prevailing winds and exert a substantial influence in other belts. In determining the boundaries of geographic zones in the ocean, therefore, the lines of convergence of the main water masses, the edges of old (in the summer) and seasonal (in the winter) ice in the polar regions, and the latitudinal axes of the centers of atmospheric action are more important. In the areas on both sides of these axes the winds (with a prevailing west-east movement) have opposite directions. D. L. A . K. E FREMOV The earth’s geological history is reconstructed on the basis of a study of the rocks that make up the earth’s crust. The absolute age of the most ancient rocks known at the present time is about 3.5 billion years, and the age of the earth as a planet is estimated to be 4.5 billion years. The formation of the earth and the initial stage of its development belong to pre-geological history. The geological history of the earth is divided into two unequal stages: the Precambrian, which takes up about fivesixths of all geological history (about 3 billion years), and the Phanerozoic, which encompasses the last 570 million years. The Precambrian is divided into the Archean and Proterozoic eras. The Phanerozoic includes the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic eras. The best-studied history is that of the continental part of the earth’s crust, within which, about 1.5-1.6 billion years ago, the formation of the ancient (Precambrian) platforms that constitute the principal masses of the present continents was basically completed. These platforms are the Eastern European (Russian) in Europe; the Siberian, Sino-Korean, South China, and Indian in Asia; the African; the Australian; the South American and North American (Canadian); and the Antarctic. To a significant degree the history of the continental part of the earth’s crust is determined by the development of its geosynclinal belts, which consist of particular geosynclinal systems. The evolution of all the geosynclinal systems begins with a prolonged geosynclinal phase of formation and development of deep subparallel troughs, or geosynclines, separated by uplifts (geanticlines) and usually filled by seas in whose waters thick strata of sedimentary and volcanic rocks were deposited. Then the geosynclinal system underwent intensive folding that transformed it into a folded system (folded structure), entered the stage of mountain building (orogeny), and was thrust upward in its entirety to form a mountainous belt. In this concluding orogenic phase mostly coarse deposits accumulated in the newly formed internal (intermontane) basins and the marginal troughs (foredeeps) which formed along the periphery of the neighboring platforms; and here the so-called orogenic volcanism related to fractures of the earth’s crust developed over vast areas. With the end of the orogenic phase the folded system lost its former tectonic mobility, its relief was gradually leveled by denudation, and it became the basement of a young platform within which sectors subsequently developed that were overlaid by a newly deposited platform mantle (plates or plity). The development of most of the Phanerozoic geosynclinal systems fits within the framework of a few generalized global tectonic cycles. Although in different cases the beginnings and ends of the tectonic cycles differ by tens of millions of years, on the whole they are natural units in the overall evolution of the structure of the continental crust. Two of them, the Caledonian and the Hercynian cycles, fall in the Paleozoic era (570-230 million years ago). The Caledonian and Hercynian foldings that ended them shaped the basements of the most extensive and most typically built of the young Epipaleozoic platforms. All subsequent tectonic history is often viewed as a single Alpine cycle. But it clearly breaks down into particular cycles of less than universal significance that overlap each other chronologically to a considerable degree but have entirely independent significance in the development of definite regions of the globe. The first of these cycles is most characteristic for the geosynclinal belt that surrounds the Pacific Ocean. It began in the last segment of the Paleozoic era, the Permian period, and coincides in time with the concluding stages of the Hercynian cycle in other regions. But the main part falls in the Mesozoic era (230-70 million years ago), which is why the cycle itself and the folding that ended it are usually called Mesozoic. Mesozoic folded systems are still marked by mountain relief today, and true Epimesozoic plates with well-developed platform mantles are uncommon. The second cycle of development, the Alpine cycle proper, is most typical for the Mediterranean geosynclinal belt that stretches from southern Europe through the Himalayas to Indonesia; it had less typical manifestations in some of the geosynclinal systems of the Pacific coastline. The beginning of this cycle falls in the early Mesozoic, and it ended in different segments of the last era of the geologic past, the Cenozoic. Developing geosynclines (for example, the deep-water troughs of Mediterranean-type inland seas) exist today in just a few Alpine geosynclinal systems. A large majority of them are undergoing an orogenic phase and are the sites of high, intensively growing mountain systems, regions of young Cenozoic, or Alpine, folding. Present geosynclinal systems (or regions) are concentrated primarily on the western periphery of the Pacific Ocean and, to a lesser degree, in other regions near oceans. Sometimes they are also considered part of the areas of Cenozoic folding, although they are in the most active stage of geosynclinal development. After completion of the cycle geosynclinal development may repeat itself, but some part of the geosynclinal regions always becomes a young platform at the end of a regular cycle. For this reason the area occupied by geosynclines has decreased in the course of geological history, while the area of platforms has increased. It is precisely the geosynclinal systems that have been the place where the continental crust with its granitic layer has formed and grown. The periodic nature of vertical movements in the course of the tectonic cycle (primarily subsidence in the beginning and primarily uplift at the end of the cycle) has in every case led to corresponding changes in the relief of the surface and to a change in the transgressions and regressions of the sea. These- same periodic movements have affected the nature of the sedimentary rocks that were deposited and also the climate, which has experienced periodic changes. Even in the Precambrian, warm epochs were interrupted by ice ages. At times during the Paleozoic, glaciation engulfed Brazil, South Africa, India, and Australia. The most recent glaciation (in the northern hemisphere) occurred during the Anthropogenic period. In general, the first half of each tectonic cycle on the continents saw an advance by the sea, which inundated an everincreasing area on the platforms and in the geosynclines. In the Caledonian cycle the transgression of the sea developed during the Cambrian and Ordovician periods; in the Hercynian cycle it developed in the course of the second half of the Devonian period and at the beginning of the Carboniferous period; in the Mesozoic it developed during the Triassic period and at the beginning of the Jurassic; in the Alpine it developed in the course of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods; and in the Cenozoic it developed during the Paleogene. At first the deposition of sandy-argillaceous sediments predominated in the seas, but as the area of the seas increased these sediments gave way to limestones. When crustal uplifts became predominant in the middle of the cycle the sea began to retreat, the land area increased, and mountains arose in the geosynclines. At the end of the tectonic cycle in virtually all places the continents were freed of sea basins. The nature of the sedimentary rocks that occurred in the basins changed accordingly. At first they were still marine sediments, but sands and clays, not limestones. The rocks became increasingly coarse-grained. At the end of the tectonic cycle marine sediments in virtually all places were replaced by continental sediments. In the Caledonian cycle this process of change toward greater coarseness and finally to continental sediments occurred in the Silurian period and the beginning of the Devonian; during the Hercynian cycle it was at the end of the Carboniferous, in the Permian period, and at the beginning of the Triassic period; during the Alpine cycle it was in the Cenozoic; during the Mesozoic cycle it was in the Cretaceous period; and during the Cenozoic cycle it was in the Neocene. At the end of the cycle chemogenic lagoonal deposits (salt and gypsum) also formed as residual products from evaporation of the water of closed and shallow sea basins. The periodic changes in the conditions of formation of sediments led to similarity between sedimentary formations belonging to identical stages of different tectonic cycles. And this led in a number of cases to the repeated occurrence of mineral deposits of sedimentary origin. For example, the largest coal deposits date to that stage in the Hercynian and Alpine cycles when uplift had just begun to prevail over submersion of the earth’s crust (the middle and end of the Carboniferous in the Hercynian cycle and the Paleogene in the Alpine cycle). The formation of large deposits of common and potassium salts dates to the end of the tectonic cycle (the end of the Silurian period and the beginning of the Devonian in the Caledonian cycle, the Permian period and the beginning of the Triassic in the Hercynian, and the Neocene and Anthropogenic periods in the Alpine cycle). However, the similarity among sedimentary formations belonging to the same stage of different cycles is not complete. Because of the onward evolution of the animal and plant world from cycle to cycle the rock-forming organisms changed and the nature of the influence of organisms on rocks also changed. For example, the absence of an appropriate vegetative cover on the continents in the early Paleozoic was the reason why the Caledonian cycle did not have the coal deposits that were typical of the Hercynian and later cycles. The objective laws of development of the continental crust are not limited to transformation of tectonically mobile zones into platforms. Many geosynclinal systems, for example, in the Verkhoiansk-Kolyma region and in a significant part of the Mediterranean geosynclinal belt, formed in the bodies of more ancient folded structures, including ancient platforms whose remnants are seen in certain internal masses. Along with such assimilation of the sections of neighboring platforms by geosynclinal systems, vast zones within the latter experienced occasional tectonic activation expressed in considerable relative vertical displacements of large blocks along fracture systems and general uplifts leading to the appearance of mountain relief in place of formerly level areas. Such epiplatform orogeny differs greatly from the epigeosynclinal orogeny described above by the absence of true folding and the phenomena of deep-seated magmatism that accompany folding, as well as by weak manifestation of volcanism. In the course of geologic history the platforms have been engulfed by the processes of tectonic activation numerous times. These processes were particularly striking at the end of the Neocene when high mountains that had formed as far back as the end of the Caledonian or Hercynian cycles and had been leveled since then were again uplifted on the platforms (for example, the Tien-Shan, the Altai, and the Saians); at the same time major graben-rift systems formed on the platforms, indicating a process of deep-seated cleaving of the earth’s crust (the Baikal system of rifts, the East African fault zone). The process of decrease in the area occupied by geosynclines and the corresponding growth in the area of platforms was subject to a certain spatial regularity: the first stable platforms that formed in the middle Proterozoic in place of the Archean geosynclines subsequently played the role of “centers of stabilization,” which were overgrown by increasingly younger platforms on the periphery. As a result, by the beginning of the Mesozoic geosynclinal conditions were preserved in two narrow but extended belts the Pacific Ocean and Mediterranean Sea belts. Influenced by the interaction between internal and external forces, the natural world on the earth’s surface has changed throughout all geologic history. There have been numerous changes in relief, outlines of the continents and oceans, climate, vegetation, and animal world. The development of the organic world was closely linked with the main phases in the development of the earth, which included lengthy periods of relatively peaceful development and periods of comparatively short-term restructuring of the earth’s crust accompanied by changes in physicogeographical conditions on its surface. V. V. B and E. V. S HANTSER History of the development of the organic world. Concerning the appearance of life on earth and the initial stages of its development we can only make hypotheses (for example, A. I. Oparin’s hypothesis of the origin of life). Biological evolution was preceded by a lengthy phase of chemical evolution that involved the appearance of amino acids, proteins, and other organic compounds in water basins. The early atmosphere evidently consisted predominantly of methane, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and hydrogen; oxygen was in a bound state. In one of the stages of development complex organic molecules acquired the ability to create molecules like themselves, that is, they became the first organisms; they evidently consisted of protein and nucleic acids and were capable of having inheritable variations. Under the influence of natural selection the more perfected initial living organisms survived; at first they fed on organic substances (heterotrophic organisms). Later there appeared organisms capable of synthesizing organic substances from inorganic substances through chemosynthesis or photosyn-thesis (autotrophic organisms). Free oxygen, a by-product of photosynthesis, accumulated in the atmosphere. After the appearance of autotrophic organisms broad opportunities for the evolution of plants and animals came into being. The history of life is reconstructed on the basis of the remains of animals and plants and traces of their vital activity that have been preserved in sedimentary and, very rarely, metamorphic rocks. The fossil remains of organisms that once populated the earth provide a unique chronicle of life’s development on earth over the course of many millions of years. This geological chronicle is far from perfect and is quite incomplete because a large number of organisms, especially those without skeletons, disappeared without a trace. An enormous stage in terms of time, the Precambrian, or Cryptozoic (about 3 billion years), has left very little paleontological documentation. The most ancient traces of the vital activity of organisms have been found in Archean rocks whose age is determined to be from 2.6 to 3.5 and more billion years; they are represented by the remains of bacteria and blue-green algae. More varied organic remains have been found in rocks of the Proterozoic, which was the age when bacteria and algae dominated. In the Lower Proterozoic life is represented primarily by products of the vital activity of algae (stromatolites) and bacteria (in particular, the iron bacteria, which formed some ore deposits). It appears that the first multicellular animals arose in the Proterozoic because imprints and nuclei of a number of invertebrate animals—sponges, jellyfish, corals, worms, and some other organisms whose systematic position is unclear—have been found in deposits from the end of the Proterozoic (the Wend complex, and Ediacara in southern Australia). Because of the predominance of jellyfish remains the end of the Proterozoic is called the age of jellyfish. Apparently, other organisms also existed during the Proterozoic because the deposits of the early Paleozoic show remains and traces of the vital activity of representatives of virtually all the types in the animal kingdom, providing evidence that the appearance and formation of many types took place much earlier. It is possible that all the organisms of the Proterozoic did not yet have hard skeletons, and therefore very little is known about them. By the end of the Cryptozoic major paleogeographic changes linked to the end of the Baikalian tectonic cycle had taken place. It is likely that by this time the composition of the atmosphere had also changed as a result of the extensive development of photosynthesizing plants (the oxygen content increased and the carbon dioxide content decreased accordingly), and the chemical composition of seawater had changed too. The appearance of a number of organismic groups with organic or mineral skeletons, which took place at the end of the Precambrian and beginning of the Phanerozoic, was an exceptionally important event in the history of the development of the organic world. The numerous organic remains in Phanerozoic deposits enable us not only to reconstruct the history of development of the organic world but also to subdivide it into definite stages (eras, periods, and so on); moreover, they help in carrying out a paleogeographic reconstruction (determining the boundaries of seas and continents and climatic zones, reconstructing the history of marine ba-sins and continents, and clarifying the way of life and conditions of the existence of organisms in the past). Evolution occurred as a process of adaptation, and its main factors were inheritable variations, the struggle for survival, and natural selection. The specific paths of evolution differed. Sometimes there were very important qualitative changes in organisms (for example, the appearance of warm-bloodedness), usually called aromorphoses, which led to a general increase in the degree of organization and to the appearance of fundamentally new relationships with the environment. The more usual path of evolution was the formation of adaptations not related to any substantial changes in organization but promoting broader distribution of the organisms and adaptation to more varied conditions (idioadaptations). Aromorphoses and idioadaptations are two sides of one and the same process of adaptation. Study of the organisms of the geological past has made it possible to establish the varying speed of evolution as a whole and also the varying speed of evolution for different types of plants and animals. Evolution generally moved from the simple to the complex, but sometimes in the process of adapting to a different way of life (relatively immobile or parasitic) complex forms gave rise to simpler ones. New groups usually appeared from relatively simple, un-specialized forms. The development of some forms was al-ways accompanied by the extinction of others that were not as well adapted. Evolution as a whole is monophyletic, and like any development it is an irreversible process. In terms of the character of the organic world the Paleozoic era is clearly divided into two stages. Predominantly marine organisms are typical of the first stage (the Cambrian, Ordovician, and Silurian), which coincides with the Caledonian tectonic cycle. Various microorganisms and blue-green algae continue to exist; foraminifers (agglutinating), radiolarians, Archaeocyatha, sponges, bryozoans, coelenterates, mollusks, arthropods, and echinoderms appear. Especially typical are tabulate corals, tetracorals, Endoceratoidea, Actinoceratoidea, trilobites, brachiopods, cystoids, and graptolites. The first vertebrates appear in the Ordovician: fishlike Agnatha with a two-chambered heart and a simply arranged brain protected by a cranium, which appeared for the first time. The further development of marine vertebrates followed the path of increasing complexity of the brain (cephalization), circulatory system, and all other organs. At the end of the Silurian and beginning of the Devonian, when marine conditions were replaced by continental conditions (end of the Caledonian cycle) over a significant area of the earth, many representatives of these groups became extinct. At the same time, at the end of the Silurian, the first true fish, with jaws, appear. The second stage is the late Paleozoic. It coincides with the Hercynian tectonic cycle and is characterized by a further evolution of the organic world and by the appearance and extensive spread of terrestrial plants and animals. At the beginning of the Devonian the first land flora spread; these were the Psilophytineae, which included primitive lycopsids, arthrophytes, and Primofilices. At the beginning of the late Devonian these flora were replaced by archaeopteric flora (named after Archaeopteris, the typical plant). The first insects and land chelicerates (scorpions, spiders, and ticks) appear. The number of trilobites and graptolites in the seas decreases sharply, but a number of new groups, in particular ammonoids of the cephalopods, appear. The appearance and rapid development of fish (placoderms, actinopterygians, crossopterygians, and dipnoans) are especially typical of the Devonian, and for this reason the Devonian period is some-times called the age of fishes. A substantial advantage of the fish in comparison with the Agnatha was the presence of jaws and a more complex brain consisting of five compartments. At the end of the Devonian the first four-footed land animals arose from the crossopterygians; these were the labyrinthodonts, which were classified as amphibians. Just as with present forms, their reproduction was closely linked to the water in which the larvae developed and further metamorphosis took place. Gas exchange took place in primitive lungs and through moist skin. It is possible that the front compartment of the brain was divided into two hemispheres. The end of the Paleozoic (the Carboniferous and Permian periods) was the stage when different groups of organisms, first of all plants, conquered the land. Forest-type vegetation developed; in it sporophytes such as lycopsids, arthrophytes, and primitive gymnosperms (cordaiteans and seed ferns) predominated. In the middle and late Carboniferous three botanical-geographical provinces became differentiated: the tropical, with flora of the Euramerian and Katasian types, and two nontropical—the northern (Angara) and southern (Gondwana). In the tropical province woody lycopsids (lepidodendrons and sigillarias), arthrophytes (Calamities), and various seed ferns predominated; in Angara province, cordaiteans; and in Gondwana province, glossopterians. With the flourishing of vegetation many land invertebrates, first of all arthropods (insects), become numerous. Amphibians became very varied. In the Carboniferous the first reptiles (cotylosaurs) arose from them. Their bodies were covered with cornified skin (which prevented loss of moisture). It is probable that they, like the reptiles of today, reproduced on land; their eggs were protected by a calciferous shell and breathing was done entirely with lungs. The circulatory and nervous systems became more developed. In the middle of the Permian period, which coincided with the end of the Hercynian tectonic cycle, the dimensions of the seas decreased and the area of the continents increased substantially. True gymnosperms—conifers, ginkgoaceous plants, cycads, and Bennettitales—became much more common. The reptiles achieved great variety; numerous groups of them are typical only of the Permian period. At the end of the Permian there were significant changes in marine fauna. Animals that became extinct included tetracorals; tabulate corals; many groups of crinoids, sea urchins, brachiopods, and bryozoans; the last representatives of the trilobites; a number of Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fishes) and ancient actinopterygians; as well as a number of crossopterygians and dipnoans, amphibians, and reptiles. A fundamental renewal of marine fauna typified the beginning of the Mesozoic era (the Triassic period), which was linked to the beginning of the Mesozoic tectonic cycle. New groups of foraminifers and hexacorals appeared, and radiolarians, gastropods, and bivalve and cephalopod mollusks became more varied. Groups of water reptiles appeared: turtles, crocodiles, ichthyosaurs, and sauropterygians; on land there appeared new groups of insects, the first dinosaurs, and primitive mammals (the triconodonts, which were represented by very small and rare forms). At the end of the Triassic flora formed in which ferns, cycads, Bennettitales, gingkoes, czekanowskiales, and conifers predominated. In the Jurassic period the development of the groups that had appeared in the Triassic generally continued. Among the marine invertebrates the ammonites and belemnites reached their zenith. Reptiles occupied a dominant position; ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, pliosaurs, turtles, and crocodiles inhabited the seas, while carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs lived on land, and pterosaurs inhabited the air. The ancient birds (Archaeopteryx) arose from the reptiles at the end of the Jurassic. Land flora was characterized by the development of ferns and gymnosperms; in the temperate Siberian region the most widespread and numerous were the ginkoes, czekanowskiales, and conifers; in the tropical (IndoEuropean) region the ferns, cycads, and Bennettitales were most common. During the Cretaceous period there was further change in the groups of animals and plants known in the Jurassic. Toothed birds (Odontornithes) appeared and dinosaurs reached gigantic sizes. In the middle of the Cretaceous period angiosperms replaced gymnosperms on land; the appearance and development of many groups of insects, birds, and mammals is related to the appearance of flowering plants. At the end of the Cretaceous period a number of groups became extinct or changed very greatly. The ammonites, almost all the belemnites, many groups of bivalves (rudistids and Inoceramidae) and gastropods, a number of groups of brachiopods, ganoid fish, many marine reptiles, and all the dinosaurs and pterosaurs became extinct. The beginning of the Cenozoic era was characterized by the appearance of new groups of foraminifers (the nummulites were especially typical), mollusks, bryozoans, and echinoderms. Bony fish spread throughout all fresh and marine bodies of water. The appearance of a number of groups of birds and mammals was especially important. Owing to further complexity in brain development, warmbloodedness, and live birth the mammals proved more capable of survival than the reptiles; they were less dependent on changes in the environment. Some of the mammals adapted to different conditions of life on land, while others adapted to life in the sea (the cetaceans and pinnipeds), and still others adapted to flight (bats). At the beginning of the Paleogene the monotremes, marsupials, and primitive placental mammals predominated. The so-called indricotheric fauna (named after the characteristic large hornless rhinoceros Indricotherium) that is known from Asia was typical of the end of the Paleogene. There was a clear distinction between the tropical and subtropical botanical-geographic regions, which had a predominance of evergreen dicotyledons, palms, and arborescent ferns, and the temperate region, which had coniferous and broadleaved forests. At the end of the Paleogene and especially at the beginning of the Neocene all types of previously known invertebrates continued to develop in the seas; their generic and species composition became closer and closer to that of the present. Bony fish predominated, amphibians and reptiles continued to develop, and the area of distribution of birds expanded. Australia’s isolation led to the preservation of marsupials and monotremes there. On the other continents placental mammals became dominant. At the beginning of the Neocene hipparion fauna became widely distributed; their composition included three-toed horses (Hipparion), rhinoceroses, mastodons, giraffes, deer, carnivores (saber-toothed tigers and hyenas), and various types of monkeys. On the territory of the USSR and Western Europe warm-temperate flora developed, while tundra vegetation formed in the northern regions, virtually all of Siberia was covered with taiga, and grassy plains appeared in Europe and North America. During the Anthropogenic period, the shortest in geological history, the formation of modern flora and fauna has continued. The plant and animal world of the northern hemisphere has changed greatly in connection with the major periods of glaciation. Certain unique forms (the mammoth and wooly rhinoceros) have appeared and become extinct. The appearance and development of man was the most important event of this period. The historical development of the organic world on earth is an exceptionally complex, multifaceted process all of whose elements are interrelated and depend on one another; its basis is growth in the diversity of the organic world and its adaptability to a variety of living conditions. V. V. D and K. P. F LORENSKII According to recent finds the most ancient people evidently appeared about 2 million years ago (in the opinion of some scientists, 1 million years ago). The question of where human beings arose has not been finally resolved. Some scientists consider Africa to have been the original home, others feel it was the southern regions of Eurasia, and still others feel it was the Mediterranean region. Even in the Lower Paleolithic human beings had settled a considerable part of the land: vast regions in central and southern Europe and many regions in Africa and Asia. By the Upper Paleolithic man in his present physical type had taken shape (Homo sapiens, or “intelligent man”) and clan organization probably arose at the same time. In the Upper Paleolithic people settled even broader areas, including the vast regions of Europe and Asia that had been freed of their ice sheet. Reaching the northeastern frontiers of Asia, people also moved into North America. It was also in the Upper Paleolithic that people from southern Asia began to settle Australia and New Guinea. In the Mesolithic man continued his advance into land areas that were not yet settled. In Europe Scotland, Scandinavia, the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, and part of the coast of the Arctic Ocean were occupied. The spread of people in America continued. In the Neolithic the remaining unsettled regions in the world, specifically the Japanese islands (some researchers believe that Japan was settled somewhat earlier) and many of the islands of Oceania, were settled. In the process of social production man has influenced the natural environment around him; it carries the mark of the labor of many human generations which lived under the conditions of the different socioeconomic formations that have followed one another. The degree and nature of the interaction between man and nature depend on the level of development of human society; they result above all from differences in the socioeconomic system. The forms of human influence on nature are varied. As a result of these influences water resources are redistributed, local climate changes, and some features of the relief are transformed. Human influence on living nature is especially significant both in its direct form and through influence on other natural components. Change in one of the components of the geographic landscape as the result of human activity leads to change in others. Natural conditions exert a fundamental, although not decisive, influence on the direction of economic activity and on many elements of culture (including housing, clothing, and food). The full aggregate of human influences on nature is more and more often called use of nature, which may have an irrational or rational character. Irrational use of nature may be the result of intentionally predatory human influences on nature or the result of spontaneous influences only mediated by humans, but in both cases it leads to impoverishment of and decrease in the quality of the environment. Rational use of nature includes all processes of intelligent (comprehensive and economical) development of natural resources, protection of nature, and purposeful transformation of nature. These processes manifest themselves differently in relation to the resources of the environment and to the expenditure of natural resources. Rational development of the resources of the environment involves optimal adaptation, preservation means maintaining favorable conditions, and transformation refers to improvement; the development of resources being expended means extracting and processing them in a comprehensive and economical manner, preservation means maintaining productivity (ensuring reproduction of the reproducible), and transformation means quantitative increase and qualitative improvement. With the development of productive forces man needs a greater variety of natural resources. At the same time the influence of human society on the natural environment grows steadily stronger. Human knowledge and development of natural resources are becoming much more complete and multifaceted. The modern scientifictechnical revolution leads, on the one hand, to more profound understanding and use of natural resources and, on the other, to revaluation of many of them. The effects of human influence on nature, especially in Europe and North America, have been greater in scope and variety in the last 100-200 years than they have been for millions of years in the past. And now, with the rapid growth in population in many countries and especially with the sharp intensification of human activity related to the scientific-technical revolution, the rate of use of natural resources is growing swiftly; this refers to both irreplaceable (for example, minerals) and replaceable (for example, soil, plants, and animals) resources. Therefore, humanity faces a most serious problem: preventing the danger of ruining the environment that it inhabits and of undermining nature’s productivity all the way down to complete desolation. In all the presocialist socioeconomic systems the use of natural resources was for the most part irrational and preda-tory. In the last few centuries the area of forests on earth has decreased 1.75 times (estimated); today (1970) the forest area comprises 4.1 billion hectares. In the past century erosion and deflation have put about 2 billion hectares, which is 27 percent of agricultural land, out of use. Many species of valuable animals and plants have disappeared. Irrational methods of developing minerals are leading to irreversible losses of enormous amounts of scarce mineral raw materials. In the present age protection of the landscape shell from ever-increasing pollution during the rapid process of urbanization and industrialization is acquiring paramount importance; the primary centers of environmental pollution are the cities. The sources of pollution of the hydrosphere, in particular, are domestic and industrial waste (for example, 1 cu m of untreated sewage makes 50-60 cu m of river water unsuitable). The discharge of enormous amounts of dust, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, ash, cinders, metal compounds, and waste waters by factories, plants, electric power stations, and motor vehicles and the introduction of excess amounts of toxic chemicals into the soil have a harmful effect on flora and fauna and create a threat to human health. Radioactive contamination of the landscape shell is especially dangerous. Apprehensions are also arising concerning possible overheating of the atmosphere in the future as a result of both direct discharge of heat and reduction in the outflow of heat because of the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere. The task of protecting nature and using natural resources rationally is becoming an important state and international problem; it has been the subject of international conferences called by the United Nations and by UNESCO. Scientific forecasting of the availability of natural resources and working out general norms for the protection of nature are exceptionally important for long-term preservation of the balance among the vitally important elements of nature. In the USSR questions of protecting and restoring nature are considered to be an important national economic task; in the Union republics special laws have been adopted on the protection of nature. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Soviet state are making provisions for working out the scientific principles of protecting and transforming nature in order to improve the natural environment surrounding man and to make better use of natural resources. In the United States and other developed capitalist countries significant steps are being carried out to protect nature, but under conditions of the capitalist economy their implementation often meets with resistance by various monopolistic groups who are concerned for their own interests. Among the most urgent problems of modern man is the population problem, above all the accelerated rate of population growth. Thus, at the beginning of our era there were about 200 million people; in the year 1000, 275 million; in the middle of the 17th century, 500 million; in 1850, 1.3 billion; in 1900, 1.6 billion; in 1950, 2.5 billion; and in 1970, 3.6 billion. In just the last 70 years of the 20th century the world population has increased 2.2 times; population growth is particularly rapid in the developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In order for the standard of living of people to increase along with an increase in population, however, it is necessary to combine population growth with economic and cultural progress, which is above all and most closely intertwined with the nature of the socioeconomic order. Successful accomplishment of this most important task is only possible under conditions of a socialist order. The ever-growing population of the globe places before many countries, especially the developing countries, the problem of supplying food to the people. Fifty percent of the world population receives a diet that is below the norm in terms of calories. Each year 2 million people in the capitalist world die of hunger. There must be a significant increase in the cultivated land area to increase the supply of food to the population. According to UN figures, at the beginning of 1968 of the 15 billion hectares of land only 1.4 billion hectares was cropland, orchards, and plantations; but there is about 6.5 billion hectares of land suitable for cultivation (on the condition that land improvement and other organizational work is done). Raising the yield of agricultural crops and increasing the productivity of animal husbandry hold much promise for increasing the supply of food. The food resources of the seas and oceans may also serve as a major source of food. The problem of providing humanity with water is very important. Serious problems related to a shortage of water, especially fresh water, are already arising today in a number of countries. It is especially important to transform the water balance in order to eliminate water shortage in some regions and surpluses in others. The earth is quite abundantly provided with raw material reserves for various industrial sectors; there is reason to sup-pose that when certain types of resources are exhausted possibilities will be found to replace them with other types. According to the rough estimate of the Soviet scientist N. V. Mel’nikov, humanity is provided with enough classical types of fuel (coal, petroleum, natural gas, peat, and combustible shales) for 300-320 years at the 1980 level of consumption and for 140-150 years at the consumption level of the year 2000. At the same time, atomic energy will take a more prominent place in the world’s fuel-energy system. An enormous amount of energy could be obtained if the difficult problem of controlling thermonuclear synthesis were resolved. Large stores of ore and nonmetallic minerals have also been discovered in the earth’s interior. Energy and mineral resources (petroleum and gas; coal; sulfur; ironmanganese and phosphorite concretions; ores of ferrous, nonferrous, and rare metals; placer deposits of tin, gold, diamonds, and other minerals) are very great not only on land but also on and underneath the floor of the oceans and seas. The production of artificial and synthetic materials to replace natural minerals is developing rapidly. Nonetheless, despite the abundance of minerals, they should be developed very rationally, comprehensively, and economically because they are exhaustible. Socialist society has the most optimal conditions for solving the problems of rational use of the geographic environment and the problems of population; it has become possible to achieve the most rational geographic division of labor based on the natural and economic characteristics of different regions and countries while extensively developing the principles of socialist economic integration and to increase substantially the material goods created by human beings. S. V. K
i don't know
Who played Jodie Foster’s lawyer, Kathryn Murphy, in the 1988 film ‘The Accused’?
The Accused (1/9) Movie CLIP - Will Those Bastards go to Jail? (1988) HD - YouTube The Accused (1/9) Movie CLIP - Will Those Bastards go to Jail? (1988) HD Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Oct 7, 2011 The Accused movie clips: http://j.mp/1J9vklu BUY THE MOVIE: http://amzn.to/uiUx38 Don't miss the HOTTEST NEW TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/1u2y6pr CLIP DESCRIPTION: Attorney Kathryn Murphy (Kelly McGillis) prepares Sarah (Jodie Foster) for the condescending questions she will be asked on the stand. FILM DESCRIPTION: Based on a real-life 1983 incident, The Accused tells the story of Sarah Tobias (Jodie Foster), a working-class party girl who likes to live it up with her friends and flirt hard with the guys. After a fight with her boyfriend, she heads to a local bar to cool down -- and after a few drinks, plus some dancing and flirting, she finds herself thrown on top of a pinball machine and gang-raped by a bunch of locals, while others watch and cheer the proceedings. District attorney Kathryn Murphy (Kelly McGillis) takes Sarah's case but quickly negotiates a plea bargain in which the attackers' charges are reduced to reckless endangerment. Her reason: defense attorneys could use Sarah's not-so-pretty past to paint her as "asking for it," getting their clients off completely. But a stunned Sarah accuses Murphy of selling her out, and when the lawyer sees how the incident continues to destroy Sarah's life, she decides she must seek true justice. This time, she goes after the crowd of onlookers for "criminal solicitation" -- those who were egging the rapists on. Foster won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance. CREDITS: Cast: Jodie Foster, Kelly McGillis Director: Jonathan Kaplan Producers: Stanley R. Jaffe, Sherry Lansing, Jack Roe Screenwriter: Tom Topor WHO ARE WE? The MOVIECLIPS channel is the largest collection of licensed movie clips on the web. Here you will find unforgettable moments, scenes and lines from all your favorite films. Made by movie fans, for movie fans. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MOVIE CHANNELS:
Kelly McGillis
Which creature represents the Deadly Sin of Avarice?
The Accused Movie - The 80s Movies Rewind More Trivia from The Accused This provocative drama asks several important questions about our views of people and of the legal system. Are people in receiving of acts because they look the part? Is the legal system truly standing up for its victims? This movie gives us an opinion on such topics. Sarah Tobias (Foster) is a small-town woman on various substances and of questionable morals, with a nasty boyfriend (O'Brien). Hanging out at her favorite bar, The Mill, one night, she is assaulted by 3 men and viewed by more. Running out of the bar in hysterics, she heads for home. The events cause her boyfriend to ditch her. Angered, she takes her attackers to court but, outrageously, the 3 men are let off with a light sentence. Why? Because Sarah is said to be of poor morality, they figured that whatever happened was bound to, so what would be the point of heavy sentences? Sarah is furious... The deputy district attorney Kathryn Murphy (McGillis), who helped the attackers receive a light sentence, tries to explain her side, but Sarah won't rest until justice is served. The two hatch a plan to do something rarely done in legal history... Sarah will bring the witnesses to court and sue them to blazes. This seems rather simple, if controversial, yet these witnesses aren't lying down without a fight. They follow Sarah to a record store, (look for 80s singer posters in the background), they wreck her car, they try to prove their power over Sarah. Kathryn is still looking for information... She gets some out of a college student who says that Sarah was drunk and was looking to be assaulted. She confirms this with a waitress (Hearn) at The Mill. Despite her objections, she angrily grills Sarah about this before coming to her senses. Now the days of reckoning begin. Various witnesses have their say about Sarah, who eventually takes the stand to describe the events. After a horrendous flashback, she ends her testimony. Even in this, one of the heaviest dramas of the Greed Decade, there is one essential 80s element, the happy ending. Sarah reforms her drinking and drug taking ways and the spectators get the heavy sentences they deserve. Verdict? A point is deducted for the darkness of the movie, but this film is great. Jodie Foster worked at high-quality in this movie, and landed an Oscar. She does everything in this movie to earn that award. Despite many people's feelings, I believe that Kelly McGillis was very good in her role as Foster's attorney. The attackers were rightly played as sleazes (Leo Rossi turning in a great performance as spectator "Scorpion" Albrect), and the movie is still very 80s. It wasn't all joy and laughter in the 80s... This movie is a fine dramatic work. Notice any mistakes? Review Strengths: The performances are stellar and the script is good. Weaknesses? Definitely not for the squeamish... Our rating: 9.5 out of 10
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Photographer Ansel Adams was famous for his photographs of what?
Intimate Nature: Ansel Adams and the Close View | Center for Creative Photography Intimate Nature: Ansel Adams and the Close View Intimate Nature: Ansel Adams and the Close View Intimate Nature: Ansel Adams and the Close View The photographs in Intimate Nature: Ansel Adams and the Close View represent an under recognized and rarely examined aspect of Ansel Adams's half-century-long career: his study of the intimate details of nature through the close view of his camera. This guide addresses historical, technical, and aesthetic issues central to Adams and to this body of work It explores issues such as the beauty of the natural world, interaction with nature on a direct and human scale. Intimate Nature is drawn exclusively from the Ansel Adams Archive at the Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona. The archive contains over 3,000 exhibition prints and a complete research collection of the artist's negatives, correspondence, contact prints, and other original material. Pine Cone and Eucalyptus Leaves, San Francisco, California 1932 1933 Curator's Overview The long career of Ansel Adams (1902-1984) represents a prolific and rich contribution to American photography including many hundreds of images that continue to profoundly influence the conception and practice of the art of photography. This selection addresses a less popularly recognized and rarely examined aspect of Adams's vision: his preoccupation with photographing the intimate details of nature. In this close-up approach, the form and surface of the natural world's particulars—the anatomy of leaves, the delicacy of a spring blossom, the murky crevice between rocks, the sunlight playing on a wet patch of sand—captivate the photographer and inspire works of strength and power equal to his more celebrated majestic views such as Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park, 1944; Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941; or Half Dome, Yosemite Valley, ca. 1956. With this lesser known but equally meaningful body of images, another side of Adams is revealed. Expressed throughout his career, Adams's vision reflects interaction with nature on a direct and human scale. These works move away from the nineteenth-century example of the idyllic panorama of the American West, where Adams himself photographed, and exhibit a more contemporary application of photography's abilities. Experimenters and modernists, Ansel Adams and his fellow California photographers developed a straight and highly formal, sometimes even abstract, approach to their subjects. Edward Weston, Imogen Cunningham, and others shared Adams's interest in photography's ability to capture nature's most intimate details, those aspects of form and texture, as realized through light and shadow, which parallel actual experience in nature—the appreciation of what is close enough to touch and smell. These elemental, personal interpretations are not offered in contrast to Adams's exalted distant views, but stand as complements—allowing for a truer understanding of the photographer's complete vision of the natural world. Trudy Wilner Stack, Curator ca. 1949 Ansel Adams Musician, teacher, scientist, advocate, conservationist—these are some of the terms that describe the most renowned photographer in American history—Ansel Adams. He grew up in San Francisco where he was born in 1902 and was introduced to the expanse of California's Yosemite Valley while on a family vacation at the age of fourteen. At this time he was also given a No. 1 Brownie Box camera. These two seemingly small events strongly influenced the course of Adams's life. Fascinated by photography and impressed with the beauty of the Sierra mountains, Adams worked with a photofinisher in commercial processing in San Francisco during the winter and returned to Yosemite every summer. For four years, beginning at age seventeen, he was the custodian of the Sierra Club's LeConte Memorial Building in Yosemite. This introduced him to an arena that became a driving force throughout the rest of his life—the preservation and conservation of wilderness areas and national parks in the United States. Among his many later accomplishments in this field, he served as board member and, ultimately, director of the Sierra Club and as environmental spokesperson for land protection before Congress. He also conducted annual photographic workshops in Yosemite that combined appreciation of the landscape's aesthetic beauty with technical instruction. As a teenager, Adams decided to become a concert pianist, but by 1930, after viewing negatives made by east coast photographer Paul Strand, he chose instead a career in photography. His decision to become a full-time photographer contributed to the formation of a new vision in photography in the West. Adams, with other California Bay Area photographers—Edward Weston, Imogen Cunningham, Sonya Noskowiak, Henry Swift, and John Paul Edwards—founded Group f/64 in protest to the sentimental and imitative style prevalent in the long-standing, turn-of-the-century, photographic trend of pictorialism. The name f/64 refers to the smallest lens opening on the camera through which light passes: images photographed at this setting yield sharp focus and fine detail of subject matter. This loose organization of photographers concentrated on exploring what they termed "straight" or pure photography. They emphasized form and texture, rather than soft focus and emotionalism, and translated scale and detail into an organic, sometimes abstract, design. By 1935, Adams published his first book, Making a Photograph, which was enthusiastically received. Six years later, his groundbreaking Zone System was formulated, which introduced a way for the amateur and professional alike to determine and control the exposure and development of prints for maximum visual acuity. Adams's sense of social responsibility and obligation to share knowledge with succeeding generations is evident in his life's work. Over the years, he became well known for the clarity of his instruction and his hands-on workshop approach to the medium. He influenced generations of photographers through his teaching and publishing. Adams served the field of photography in many capacities: for example, he was a guest lecturer and course instructor at the Museum of Modern Art, New York; founder of the first department of photography at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco; and author of numerous books. He was instrumental in the formation of the museum and research center at the University of Arizona in Tucson, known today as the Center for Creative Photography. Adams's dream was to ensure the preservation and conservation of photographs as well as to make them available for public education purposes. Today, the Ansel Adams Archive at the Center includes his fine prints, correspondence, negatives, study prints, and memorabilia. His technical ability in the darkroom remains unsurpassed. He set the standard for black-and-white printing for the Pacific coast group, and his discriminating taste and meticulously produced prints continue to amaze those who see his original work. His large encompassing landscapes, for which he is best known, are inspired by the archetypal nineteenth-century idealized panorama, which was a typical genre in early painted and photographic depictions of the American West. Adams was influenced by these examples, but he was also an experimenter and a modernist. His close-up, intense studies of isolated natural objects that capture nature's most intimate details were often made on the same day as his more famous dramatic vistas. Adams advocated the role of photography as a fine art inspiring new ways of seeing and communicating. All art is a vision penetrating the illusions of reality, and photography is one form of this vision and revelation. . . . My approach to photography is based upon my belief in the vigor and values of the world of nature, in aspects of grandeur and minutiae all about us. -Basic Techniques of Photography Adams remained active as a photographer and conservationist until his death in April 1984. The following year, a mountain peak on the southeast boundary of Yosemite National Park was officially named Mount Ansel Adams in his honor. In the same year, as a testament to his public popularity, his autobiography appeared on best-seller lists across the United States. Ansel Adams's view of America, produced in over half a century of imagery, invites us to reexamine our visible world from the most intimate details in nature to the broadest of landscapes. The View Camera Why Choose a View Camera? The view camera is a large-format camera used by photographers who want to control every step of taking a photograph. Controlling tonal range may be crucial, they may need large negatives to create prints that clearly show even the tiniest detail, or they may want to decide exactly which parts of the picture are in focus. The photographer who uses a view camera devotes a lot of time to taking each photograph. Think about how this is different from using a camera with automatic focus and automatic exposure. Using a View Camera The photographer using a view camera has to handle the film in total darkness. To load the film, the photographer sits in the dark with a stack of film holders and a stack of sheets of film [dark bags with baffles can be used in emergencies]. He or she picks up each sheet of film by its edges, feels the notches that indicate position, inserts the film in the holder, and slides a light-tight cover over the film. After the photograph has been taken, the steps are followed in reverse, again in total darkness, until the exposed film is safe inside a light-tight box or developing tank. In contrast, the film for an automatic camera is already loaded inside a dark cartridge, which can be put in the camera in daylight. A view camera is not only large in format, it is also heavy. The 8x10-inch camera with lens and tripod, usually carried over the photographer's shoulder, weighs about thirty pounds. The pack with extra film holders and lenses weighs about the same. Photographers—from those small in physical stature such as Edward Weston to Ansel Adams, who was a large man—carry this weight into the field because they want to make photographs that can only be made with a view camera. Every step of taking a picture with a view camera requires the photographer's time and concentration. If he or she is focusing, both the position of the lens and the film holder can be adjusted. Each exposure requires a separate light-meter reading and separate settings for the aperture size and the amount of time the film is exposed to the light. The extra control means the photographer has to think about every procedure. Nothing is automatic about it. Some Famous Artists Who Used View Cameras Ansel Adams, master of the view camera, is revered for the exceptional print quality of his photographs. Using a view camera allowed him to control several aspects of photographing, each one of which contributes to this print quality. For instance, because he was exposing only one sheet of film at a time, he could use the Zone System to previsualize each photograph and to both take the picture and develop the negative specifically for the way he wanted that image to look. Using the Zone System also allowed Adams to achieve a wide tonal range; very few photographers match the density range—from the whitest white to the darkest black—found in Adams's photographs. As a young man, Adams and several other artists who used view cameras—like Edward Weston, Imogen Cunningham, and Willard VanDyke—formed Group f/64 to declare their dedication to photographic seeing; several of these artists went on to become the most celebrated American photographers of the twentieth century. The group adopted its name from the aperture f/64, which is a very small focal setting available on most view camera lenses.* Using it requires a long exposure and a still subject. If the photographer has perfectly aligned the plane of the lens and the plane of the film holder and focused the image, this long, slow exposure can yield a photograph that has maximum depth of field: the image is in focus from the surface closest to the viewer to the areas as far away as the eye can see. The ability to focus carefully with a view camera was important to artists like Adams and Weston. They wanted to assure that their principal subject was in sharp focus. This kind of clarity, this sharpness of focus, is most easily seen along the edges of objects. The view camera has a large focusing screen, a ground glass that is slightly larger than the film. In order to see clearly, the photographer has to go back into darkness again. A large dark cloth is slung over the photographer's head and the back of the camera creating a dark space where the subject is seen upside down, glowing brightly, allowing the photographer to focus precisely. The control that the view camera offers attracts artists who have the patience and concentration to use it. Ansel Adams, who knew the places he photographed very well, often set up his camera and waited for the light to fall the way he envisioned or for a storm to move through Yosemite Valley just as he expected. Adams also knew his camera equally well. His most famous photograph Moonrise,Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941, was taken in the heat of the moment. Imagine Adams driving his car, seeing the picture, and pulling to the side of the highway. Deftly setting up his tripod and camera, he then focused quickly under a dark cloth, prepared his lens and shutter settings, and took the picture in the fading light at the moment the sun was setting and lighting a row of adobe houses and a cemetery in the foreground. Most parts of the view camera can be seen and manipulated. The Parts of a View Camera and How It Is Used A view camera might best be described as a large box with a lens on one end, a place for a film holder on the other end, and a long, accordion-like bellows in between that can be collapsed or expanded to bring the subject into focus. The closer the photographer gets to a small object, the longer the bellows must be extended in order to focus. The view camera gives the photographer great control because both the front standard, which supports the lens, and the rear standard, which supports the film, are moveable and can be adjusted to bring the foreground and background of the subject into sharp focus. These movements can also be used to correct distortion or to distort the subject intentionally. Using the Negative In the Darkroom View cameras require sheet film, as opposed to roll film. The 4x5-, 5x7-, or 8x10-inch film used in such a camera becomes the negative after the exposed film is developed. The negative is used to create a positive print by passing light through the negative onto photographic paper, which has been coated with a chemical solution containing light-sensitive metallic salts. For most black-and-white photographs, the light-sensitive material is silver. The closer the negative is to the photographic paper, the smaller the enlargement and the greater the resolution, or fineness of detail, in the finished print. In fact, the best resolution achieved through any negative is in a contact print, when the negative is in direct contact with the photographic paper. Such prints are noted for their sharpness, clarity, minute detail, and lack of grain. To enlarge an image beyond the negative size, light passing through the negative must first go through a lens and be projected onto the photographic paper from a distance away. The larger the negative, the less distance is needed to make a particular image size. Imagine an artist using 35mm roll film. Since the film is only 1/62th of the size of an 8x10-inch sheet of film, the 35mm negative would have to be much farther from the paper to project the same size image, and consequently, some resolution would be lost. At the same time, a contact print made from a 35mm negative is too small to have any significant visual impact. There are, of course, artists who work in the 35mm film format; but their artistic concerns are different from those of artists who choose to use a view camera. In addition, sheet film can be processed in the darkroom one sheet at a time, if desired, allowing for precise use of the Zone System. If the Zone System is used with roll film, one set of calculations must apply to the entire roll, which would dictate that a whole roll be used for subject matter photographed under identical lighting conditions with the same type of previsualized image in mind. * The photographers in Group f /64 did not use view cameras exclusively. For instance, several of the photographs in the Center for Creative Photography's exhibition Intimate Nature: Ansel Adams and the Close View were taken with a Hasselblad, a medium-format camera that uses 120mm roll film and is known for its high quality lenses (the individual negatives are 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 inches). Edward Weston used a Graflex, a medium-format camera often used by photojournalists, to take his famous series of nudes of dancer Bertha Wardell. The Zone System Creating a fine print is a process with many steps. The first is producing the best possible negative to print the photograph as the photographer previsualized it. Once mastered, the Zone System allows photographers to consistently control the tonal range in the negative. Formulated by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer in 1939/40, the Zone System is a set of techniques that allows photographers the greatest possible control over the characteristics of black-and-white film. The system works best with sheet film, which can be exposed and developed one piece at a time. This film becomes the negative used in printing the photograph. Zone-Scale Card Using the Zone System previsualize the subject scene in shades of black and white [using the Zone-Scale Card] take a light meter reading of target zones using a hand-held light meter, and sometimes a gray card as well decide if adjustments need to be made in the exposure to effectively record the amount of light on the film determine if the contrast, or range of values from black to white, will need to be adjusted by varying the development time of the film. A shorter than normal development time decreases contrast; a longer than normal time increases it. analyze the print during the printing process to determine if the tones of the photographic image are aesthetically pleasing as they were previsualized. Definitions development: a chemical process, carried out in the dark, which makes the image exposed on the film visible and permanent in negative form. exposure: the amount of light that falls on the film (which will become the photographic negative). This is regulated by controlling the size of the aperture through which light enters the camera and/or the length of the exposure. gray card: a standardized card, used for measuring light, which corresponds to Zone V, or mid-tone gray. hand-held light meter: a light-measuring device that is separate from the camera. A spot meter, which covers a one degree angle, is ideal for measuring target zones. previsualization: a mental exercise in which the photographer imagines the subject in terms of the black, white, and grays desired in the final photographic print. spot meter: a type of hand-held meter that allows the photographer to easily measure light falling on very small areas within the subject matter. zones: a specific set of tonal values consisting of pure black, the base white of the black-and-white photographic paper, and eight or nine shades of gray in between [see Zone Scale Card]. When the Zone System is used, the darkest areas of a photographic image are referred to as low values (Zones I — III), the gray areas are called middle values (Zones IV — VI), and the light areas are high values (Zones VII — IX). The zones are always referred to by roman numerals. Suggestions for Discussing and Interpreting the Photographs Photographs are the result of aesthetic, social, political, personal, and cultural influences on the artist. These affect and help direct the construction and content of the image. Through careful analysis of photographs, students will develop and improve observational skills, increase their vocabulary to express responses, and sharpen their interpretive skills. Initiate Discussion Have students spend a few minutes just looking at a selected work. Ask them to respond to these questions: What do you see? What is it about? How do you know? Ask them to talk about details in the photograph and encourage them to use specific words from their own experience, rather than general terms. Stand in the Photographer's Footsteps Ansel Adams made decisions about composition and content when working, both when clicking the camera's shutter and when printing from the negative in the darkroom. Three of his important considerations were the angle, framing, and light. Select an image and explore these issues with your students: Has Ansel Adams chosen an angle from above the subject, from below, or at eye level? What effect does the angle have on the way you view the subject? How would the photograph have changed if it had been taken from a different angle? Adams framed his subject by determining what the edges or boundaries of the photograph would be. Where in the photograph does the framing draw your attention? Imagine the setting where the photograph was taken and what might be visible outside of the frame. How would a different framing (closer or farther away) affect the viewer's sense of the subject? In a photograph, light reveals details, creates shadows, and often contributes to the mood or feeling of the work. Ansel Adams worked in natural light and sometimes waited for days to get just the right kind of light in his photographs. Use adjectives to describe the quality of light in his work and discuss what it contributes to the photograph. Conduct a Thorough Visual Analysis Spend at least fifteen minutes looking at and discussing one or more selected images using the Learning to Look at Photographs lesson. Impact Ansel Adams believed our natural environment should be cherished and protected. Do his photographs impact your feelings about the environment? Discuss. 1950 Selected Bibliography On Close-up Nature Photography by Ansel Adams and Others Adams, Ansel. The Camera (The New Ansel Adams Photography Series, Book 1). Boston: New York Graphic Society, 1980. Adams, Ansel and Mary Street Alinder. Ansel Adams: An Autobiography. Boston: Little, Brown, 1985. Adams, Ansel and Robert Baker. The Print (New Ansel Adams Photography Series, Book 3). Boston: Little, Brown, 1983. Adams, Ansel and Andrea Gray Stillman. The American Wilderness. Boston: Little, Brown, 1990. Adams, Ansel, Peter Wright, John Armor, and Cynthia Anderson. The Mural Project: Photography by Ansel Adams. Santa Barbara: Reverie Press, 1989. Alinder, Mary. Ansel Adams: the Eightieth Birthday Retrospective. Monterey: The Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, 1982. Braasch, Gary. Photographing the Patterns of Nature. New York: Amphoto, 1990. Gray, Andrea. Ansel Adams: An American Place, 1936. Tucson: Center for Creative Photography, 1982. Newhall, Nancy. Ansel Adams: The Eloquent Light. Millerton, N.Y.: Aperture, 1980. Nuridsany, Claude and Marie Perennou. Photographing Nature. London: Kaye and Ward; New York: Oxford University Press, 1976. Pritzker, Barry. Ansel Adams. New York: Crescent Books, 1991. Schaefer, John Paul. An Ansel Adams Guide: Basic Techniques of Photography. Boston: Little, Brown, 1992. Wolfe, Art and Martha Hill. The Art of Photographing Nature. New York: Crown, 1993.
Landscape
Which vegetable is traditionally the main ingredient in a Spanish omelette?
Top 10 Most Famous Photographers of All Time Top 10 Most Famous Photographers of All Time by Morris Pawtucket If you want to take truly memorable and moving photographs, you can learn something by studying the pictures of famous photographers. Some of the most beloved artists are deceased, but some are still delighting us with their photographs. The list below includes some of the more famous photographers that still impact our lives today. “Wishin I was Ansel Adams” captured by Samantha (Click Image to See More From Samantha) 1. Ansel Adams is probably the most easily recognized name of any photographer. His landscapes are stunning; he achieved an unparalleled level of contrast using creative darkroom work. You can improve your own photos by reading Adams’ own thoughts as he grew older, when he wished that he had kept himself strong enough physically to continue his work. 2. Yousuf Karsh has taken photographs that tell a story, and that are more easily understood than many others. Each of his portraits tells you all about the subject. He felt as though there was a secret hidden behind each woman and man. Whether he captures a gleaming eye or a gesture done totally unconsciously, these are times when humans temporarily lose their masks. Karsh’s portraits communicate with people. 3. Robert Capa has taken many famous war-time photographs. He has covered five wars, even though the name “Robert Capa” was only the name placed to the photos that Endre Friedman took and that were marketed under the “Robert Capa” name. Friedman felt that if you were not close enough to the subject, then you wouldn’t get a good photograph. He was often in the trenches with soldiers when he took photographs, while most other war photographers took photos from a safe distance. 4. Henri Cartier-Bresson has a style that makes him a natural on any top ten photographer list. His style has undoubtedly influenced photography as much as anyone else’s. He was among the first to use 35mm film, and he usually shot in black and white. We are not graced by more of his work, since he gave up the craft about 30 years before he passed away. It’s sad that there are fewer photographs by Cartier-Bresson to enjoy. 5. Dorothea Lange took photographs during the Great Depression. She took the famous photo of a migrant mother, which is said to be one of the best-known photographs in history. In the 1940s, she also photographed the Japanese internment camps, and these photographs show sad moments in American history. 6. Jerry Uelsman created unique images with composite photographs. Being very talented in the darkroom, he used this skill in his composites. He never used digital cameras, since he felt that his creative process was more suited to the darkroom. 7. Annie Liebovitz does fine photographic portraits and is most well known for her work with Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone magazine. Her photographs are intimate, and describe the subject. She’s unafraid of falling in love with the people she photographed. 8. Brassaï is the pseudonym for Gyula Halasz, and he was well known for his photographs of ordinary people. He was proof that you don’t have to travel far to find interesting subjects. He used ordinary people for his subjects, and his photos are still captivating. 9. Brian Duffy was a British photographer who shot fashion in the 1960s and 70s. He lost his photographic interest at one time and burned many negatives, but then he began taking photos again a year before he died. 10. Jay Maisel is a famous modern photographer. His photos are simple; he doesn’t use complex lighting or fancy cameras. He often only takes one lens on photo outings, and he enjoys taking photos of shapes and lights that he finds interesting. Of course there are other famous photographers that may be a part of your top 10 list. There is much to be learned in the art and craft of photography and from those who inspire us most. About the Author: Morris Pawtucket (famousphotographers125 dot com) writes about the famous photographers throughout history who have changed the way we see. Like This Article? Don't Miss The Next One! Join over 100,000 photographers of all experience levels who receive our free photography tips and articles to stay current:
i don't know
Which late US actor was born Bernard Schwartz in 1925?
IMDb: Most Popular People Born In 1925 Most Popular People Born In 1925 1-50 of 3,069 names. Sort by: STARmeter▲ | A-Z | Height | Birth Date | Death Date 1. Angela Lansbury Actress, Murder, She Wrote British character actress, long in the United States. The daughter of an actress and the granddaughter of a high-ranking politician, Lansbury studied acting from her youth, departing for the United States as the Second World War began. She was contracted by MGM while still a teenager and nominated for an Academy Award for her first film... 2. Paul Newman Actor, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Paul Newman won numerous awards, including an Academy Award for his performance in the The Color of Money , a BAFTA Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Cannes Film Festival Award, an Emmy Award, and many honorary awards. Despite being colorblind, he won several national championships as a driver in Sports Car Club of America road racing... 3. Lee Van Cleef Actor, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly One of the great movie villains, Clarence Leroy Van Cleef, Jr. was born in Somerville, New Jersey, to Marion Lavinia (Van Fleet) and Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef, Sr. His parents were both of Dutch ancestry. Van Cleef started out as an accountant. He served in the U.S. Navy aboard minesweepers and subchasers during World War II... 4. Dick Van Dyke Actor, Diagnosis Murder Dick Van Dyke was born Richard Wayne Van Dyke in West Plains, Missouri, to Hazel Victoria (McCord), a stenographer, and Loren Wayne Van Dyke, a salesman. His younger brother is entertainer Jerry Van Dyke . His ancestry includes English, Scottish, German, Swiss-German, and Dutch. Although he'd had small roles beforehand... 5. Jack Lemmon Actor, The Apartment Jack Lemmon was born in Newton, Massachusetts, to Mildred Burgess LaRue (Noel) and John Uhler Lemmon, Jr., the president of a doughnut company. His ancestry included Irish (from his paternal grandmother) and English. Jack attended Ward Elementary near his Newton, MA home. At age 9 he was sent to Rivers Country Day School... 6. Tony Curtis Actor, Some Like It Hot Tony Curtis was born Bernard Schwartz, the eldest of three children of Helen (Klein) and Emanuel Schwartz, Jewish immigrants from Hungary. Curtis himself admits that while he had almost no formal education, he was a student of the "school of hard knocks" and learned from a young age that the only person who ever had his back was himself... 7. Richard Burton Actor, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Probably more frequently remembered for his turbulent personal life and multiple marriages, Richard Burton was nonetheless regarded as one of the great British actors of the post-WWII period. Burton was born Richard Walter Jenkins in Pontrhydyfen, Wales, to Edith Maude (Thomas) and Richard Walter Jenkins... 8. Donald O'Connor Actor, Singin' in the Rain Born into a vaudeville family, O'Connor was the youthful figure cutting a rug in several Universal musicals of the 1940s. His best-known musical work is probably Singin' in the Rain , in which he did an impressive dance that culminated in a series of backflips off the wall. O'Connor was also effective in comedic lead roles, particularly as the companion to Francis the Talking Mule in that film series. 9. Peter Sellers Actor, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Often credited as the greatest comedian of all time, Peter Sellers was born to a well-off English acting family in 1925. His mother and father worked in an acting company run by his grandmother. As a child, Sellers was spoiled, as his parents' first child had died at birth. He enlisted in the Royal Air Force and served during World War II... 10. Doris Roberts Actress, Everybody Loves Raymond Doris Roberts was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Ann (Meltzer) and Larry Green. She was raised in New York, and took her stepfather's surname. Roberts was a 20-year veteran of the Broadway stage before she began appearing steadily in character roles in film and on television during the 1970s. A versatile player with an inescapably "mom-like" presence... 11. Rock Hudson Actor, Giant Rock Hudson was born Roy Harold Scherer, Jr. in Winnetka, Illinois, to Katherine (Wood), a telephone operator, and Roy Harold Scherer, an auto mechanic. He was of German, Swiss-German, English, and Irish descent. His parents divorced when he was eight years old. He failed to obtain parts in school plays because he couldn't remember lines... 12. Corinne Calvet Actress, General Hospital Statuesque, seductive French leading lady who underwent several early career changes before settling on the acting profession. Corinne Calvet first ventured into the field of criminal law (at the Sorbonne), then gained qualification as an interior decorator with an appreciation of fine arts and antiques... 13. George Kennedy Actor, Cool Hand Luke George Harris Kennedy, Jr. was born on February 18, 1925 in New York City, to Helen A. (Kieselbach), a ballet dancer, and George Harris Kennedy, an orchestra leader and musician. Following high school graduation, Kennedy enlisted in the United States Army in 1943 with the hope to become a fighter pilot in the Army Air Corps... 14. Hal Holbrook Actor, Into the Wild Hal Holbrook is an Emmy- and Tony-Award winning actor who is one of the great craftsman of stage and screen. He is best known for his performance as Mark Twain , for which he won a Tony and the first of his ten Emmy Award nominations. Aside from the stage, Holbrook made his reputation primarily on television... 15. Scottie MacGregor Actress, Little House on the Prairie Best known for her performance as the nasty, gossiping, greedy and arrogant Mrs. Harriet Oleson on the TV series Little House on the Prairie . Katherine (Scottie) MacGregor could not appear in the final feature length episode "The Last Farewell" because she was on a pilgrimage in India. Before moving to Los Angeles in 1970 Ms... 16. Gwen Verdon Actress, All My Children A star was born January 13, 1925 in Culver City, California. Her name was Gwyneth Evelyn Verdon, and she was the only Broadway star who had the capability of outshining greats, such as Ethel Merman . Her parents were English emigrants, Joseph William and Gertrude Verdon and she had one brother, William Vernon... 17. Rod Steiger Actor, On the Waterfront Rodney Stephen Steiger was born in Westhampton, New York, to Augusta Amelia (Driver) and Frederick Jacob Steiger, both vaudevillians. He was of German and Austrian ancestry. After his parents' divorce, Steiger was raised by his mother in Newark, New Jersey. He dropped out of Westside High school at age 16 and joined the Navy... 18. Honor Blackman Actress, Goldfinger Comparing this sultry-eyed blonde to Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich may seem a bit overzealous, but Honor Blackman's stylish allure over the years cannot be denied. One of four children, Blackman was born in London's East End to a statistician father employed with the civil service and a homemaker mother... 19. June Lockhart Actress, Lassie Born in New York City on June 25, 1925, the daughter of actors Gene Lockhart and Kathleen Lockhart , June Lockhart made her professional debut at age eight in a Metropolitan Opera production of "Peter Ibbetson", playing Mimsey in the dream sequence. In the mid-1930s, the Lockharts relocated to California... 20. Elaine Stritch Actress, One Life to Live A brash, incorrigible scene-stealer now entering her sixth decade in a career that has had many highs and lows, veteran Elaine Stritch certainly lives up to the Stephen Sondheim song "I'm Still Here". Having stolen so many moments on stage that she could be convicted of grand larceny, this tough old broad broaching 80 with the still-shapely legs... 21. Arlene Dahl Actress, One Life to Live Elegance and femininity are fitting descriptions for Arlene Dahl. She is considered to be one of the most beautiful actresses to have graced the screen during the postwar period. Audiences were captivated by her breathtaking beauty and the way she used to it to her advantage, progressing from claimer to character roles... 22. Lee Grant Actress, In the Heat of the Night Academy Award winner Lee Grant was born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal on October 31, 1925 in Manhattan, New York City, to Witia (Haskell), a teacher and actress, and Abraham Rosenthal, an educator and realtor. Her father was of Romanian Jewish descent, and her mother was a Russian Jewish immigrant. Lee made her stage debut at age 4 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City... 23. Gloria DeHaven Actress, Out to Sea Vaudeville headliners Carter and Flora DeHaven made sure their daughter would be educated at the very best private schools. They also indulged her ambition to be in show business by packing her off to the Mar-Ken Professional School in Hollywood (1940-42). Diminutive of stature and dark-haired, budding musical star Gloria (her nickname then was "Glo") enjoyed collecting perfume... 24. Robert Altman Director, Gosford Park Robert Altman was born on February 20th, 1925 in Kansas City, Missouri, to B.C. (an insurance salesman) and Helen Altman. He entered St. Peters Catholic school at the age six, and spent a short time at a Catholic high school. From there, he went to Rockhurst High School. It was then that he started exploring the art of exploring sound with the cheap tape recorders available at the time... 25. Mike Connors Actor, Mannix 26. Oona Chaplin Actress, Broken English Oona O'Neil was born in Warwick Parish, Bermuda, the daughter of famed American playwright Eugene O'Neill and English-born socialite Agnes Boulton. Oona had a fairly happy childhood, although she rarely saw her busy father. During her teens Oona attended boarding school in New York where she met Gloria Vanderbilt and Carol Marcus... 27. Sammy Davis Jr. Self, That's Dancing! Sammy Davis Jr. was often billed as the "greatest living entertainer in the world". He was born in Harlem, Manhattan, the son of dancer Elvera Davis (née Sanchez) and vaudeville star Sammy Davis Sr. . His father was African-American and his mother was of Puerto Rican ancestry. Davis Jr. was known as someone who could do it all--sing... 28. Hugh O'Brian Actor, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp Hugh O'Brian had the term "beefcake" written about him during his nascent film years in the early 1950s, but he chose to avoid the obvious typecast as he set up his career. O'Brian was born Hugh Charles Krampe in Rochester, New York, to Ohio-born parents Edith Lillian (Marks) and Hugh John Krampe, a United States Marine Corps officer... 29. Farley Granger Actor, Strangers on a Train Farley Earle Granger was born in 1925 in San Jose, California, to Eva (Hopkins) and Farley Earle Granger, who owned an automobile dealership. Right out of high school, he was brought to the attention of movie producer Samuel Goldwyn , who cast him in a small role in The North Star . He followed it up with a much bigger part in The Purple Heart and then joined the army... 30. Eric Fleming Actor, Rawhide At the age of eight, Fleming hopped on a freight train to Chicago to escape his abusive father. Following hospitalization for gang fight injuries, he returned to California where he lived with his mother and worked at Paramount as a laborer. Fleming joined the Merchant Marine, and then he served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific in WW II, where he was a Master Carpenter in the Seabees... 31. Lola Albright Actress, Champion After modeling and working for a radio station in Akron, Ohio, Lola Albright moved to Hollywood in the mid-1940s. Considered one of the most stylish, sultriest and beautiful actresses in Hollywood, with one of the throatiest, smokiest and most distinctive voices in the business, she starred with Kirk Douglas in the 1949 hit Champion ... 32. Dorothy Malone Actress, Peyton Place The blonde, sultry, dreamy-eyed beauty of Dorothy Malone, who was born in Chicago, Illinois, took some time before it made an impact with American filmgoing audiences. But once she did, she played it for all it was worth in her one chance Academy Award-winning "bad girl" performance, a role quite unlike the classy and straight-laced lady herself... 33. Johnny Carson Self, The Johnny Carson Show Johnny Carson, the legendary "King of Late Night TV" who dominated the medium's nether hours for three decades, was born in Corning, Iowa, but moved with his family to nearby Norfolk, Nebraska when he was eight years old. It was in Norfolk, where he lived until he was inducted into the US Navy in 1943... 34. John Fiedler Actor, 12 Angry Men Typical of busy character actors, Fiedler made his face (and voice) recognizable to millions. Many know the bald-pated Fiedler as therapy patient "Mr. Peterson" on The Bob Newhart Show ; others might first recognize him for the 1968 movie, The Odd Couple , and spin-off TV show, The Odd Couple , or perhaps even from the Broadway play that preceded them... 35. Sam Peckinpah Writer, The Wild Bunch "If they move", commands stern-eyed William Holden , "kill 'em". So begins The Wild Bunch , Sam Peckinpah's bloody, high-body-count eulogy to the mythologized Old West. "Pouring new wine into the bottle of the Western, Peckinpah explodes the bottle", observed critic Pauline Kael . That exploding bottle... 36. Jeanne Crain Actress, State Fair Jeanne Crain was born in Barstow, California, on May 25, 1925. The daughter of a high school English teacher and his wife, Jeanne was moved to Los Angeles not long after her birth after her father got another teaching position in that city. While in junior high school, Jeanne played the lead in a school production which set her on the path to acting... 37. Robert Hardy Actor, All Creatures Great and Small One of England's most enduringly successful character actors, Robert Hardy is noted for his versatility and depth. Born in Cheltenham in 1925, he studied at Oxford University and, in 1949, he joined the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon. Television viewers most fondly remember him... 38. Morgan Woodward Actor, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp 39. Jonathan Winters Writer, The Jonathan Winters Show Jonathan Harshman Winters III was born on November 11, 1925 in Dayton, Ohio. His father, also Jonathan, was a banker who became an alcoholic after being crushed in the Great Depression. His parents divorced in 1932. Jonathan and his mother then moved to Springfield to live with his grandmother. There his mother remarried and became a radio personality... 40. Rosemary Murphy Actress, To Kill a Mockingbird 42. John Neville Actor, The Fifth Element When he was in his early sixties, Terry Gilliam cast him in the title role of The Adventures of Baron Munchausen . Although the film was a financial failure, his starring role in this major production, as well as his fine performance, led to an explosion in his career. He has since had numerous roles in feature films and television... 43. Dickie Moore Actor, Out of the Past Dickie Moore made his acting and screen debut at the age of 18 months in the 1927 John Barrymore film The Beloved Rogue as a baby, and by the time he had turned 10 he was a popular child star and had appeared in 52 films. He continued as a child star for many more years, and became the answer to the trivia question... 44. Steve Forrest Actor, Spies Like Us A ruggedly handsome action man of the 1960s and '70s, Steve Forrest was born William Forrest Andrews in Huntsville, Texas, the youngest of thirteen children of Annis (Speed) and Charles Forrest Andrews, a Baptist minister. His brother was actor Dana Andrews . Forrest began his screen career as a small part contract player with MGM... 45. Warren Frost Actor, Twin Peaks Born and raised in upstate Vermont, Warren Frost left home at age 17 to enlist in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After his service, he worked mainly in theater. He has a doctorate in theater arts from the University of Minnesota and a published playwright with four plays to his credit and has writen a novel. 46. Kasey Rogers Actress, Strangers on a Train Kasey Rogers was born Josie Imogene Rogers in Morehouse, Missouri, to Ina Mae (Mocabee) and Eben Elijah Rogers. She moved with her family to California at age two and a half. She got the nickname "Casey" when her neighborhood playmates discovered how well she handled a baseball bat ("I could hit a baseball farther than anybody in grammar school except Robert Lewis... 47. Virginia Capers Actress, Ferris Bueller's Day Off With plenty of heart and soul, actress Virginia Capers served up loads of music in a career that spanned several decades. Born in 1925, she attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., then studied voice at Juilliard in Manhatten. By happenstance, she was introduced to band leader Abe Lyman who hired her for his radio program and for on-the-road tours... 48.
Tony Curtis
What is the southernmost capital city in the world?
Actor Tony Curtis. Biography and Filmography Tony Curtis. Buy movies Tony Curtis 3 June 1925 The Bronx, New York, USA Height: 5' 9" (1.75 m) What makes a Tony Curtis performance so compelling is you never know what to expect. Tony Curtis has always been an actor who has refused to play it safe, and has devoted his working life to performing in a vast array of characters, as Curtis has alternatively played the handsome leading man, the sidekick, the comic relief, the villain and a host of other roles that demonstrate how versatile he is. Yet what stands out about all his performances in the inner vulnerability and humility he finds in his unsympathetic characters and the never-say-die attitude of the heroes he plays. However, his unique ability to tap into what makes his characters tick comes as no surprise, seeing as how Curtis' own life was also one of triumph over adversity and fighting the odds.Curtis was born Bernard Schwartz on the 3rd of June, 1925, the eldest of three children to immigrant parents, Emanuel and Helen Schwartz. Curtis himself admits that while he had almost no formal education, he was a student of the "school of hard knocks", and learned from a young age that the only person who ever had his back was himself, so he learned how to take care of both himself and younger brother Julius. Curtis grew up in poverty, as his father Emanuel, who worked as a tailor, had the sole responsibility of providing for his entire family on his meager income. This led to constant bickering between Curtis' parents over money, and Curtis began to go… Show more » What makes a Tony Curtis performance so compelling is you never know what to expect. Tony Curtis has always been an actor who has refused to play it safe, and has devoted his working life to performing in a vast array of characters, as Curtis has alternatively played the handsome leading man, the sidekick, the comic relief, the villain and a host of other roles that demonstrate how versatile he is. Yet what stands out about all his performances in the inner vulnerability and humility he finds in his unsympathetic characters and the never-say-die attitude of the heroes he plays. However, his unique ability to tap into what makes his characters tick comes as no surprise, seeing as how Curtis' own life was also one of triumph over adversity and fighting the odds.Curtis was born Bernard Schwartz on the 3rd of June, 1925, the eldest of three children to immigrant parents, Emanuel and Helen Schwartz. Curtis himself admits that while he had almost no formal education, he was a student of the "school of hard knocks", and learned from a young age that the only person who ever had his back was himself, so he learned how to take care of both himself and younger brother Julius. Curtis grew up in poverty, as his father Emanuel, who worked as a tailor, had the sole responsibility of providing for his entire family on his meager income. This led to constant bickering between Curtis' parents over money, and Curtis began to go to movies as a way of briefly escaping the constant worries of poverty and other family problems.The financial strain of raising two children on a meager income became so tough that in 1935 Curtis' parents decided that their children would have a better life under the care of the state, and briefly had Tony and his brother admitted to an orphanage. During this lonely time the only companion Curtis had was his brother Julius, and the two became inseparable as they struggled to get used to this new way of life. Weeks later Curtis' parents came back to reclaim custody of Tony and his brother , but by then Curtis had learned one of life's toughest lessons: the only person you can count on is yourself.In 1938, shortly before Tony had his bar mitzvah, tragedy struck when Tony lost the person most important to him, when his brother Julius was killed after being hit by a truck. After this tragedy, Curtis' parents became convinced that a formal education was the best way that Tony could avoid the same "never knowing where your next meal is coming from" life that they had. However, Tony rejected this as he felt that learning about literary classics and algebra wasn't going to advance him in life as much as some real hands-on life experience would.Tony was to find this real life experience a few years later when he enlisted in the Marines in 1942. Tony spent the next three years getting the life experience he desired, as he did everything from working as a crewman on a submarine to honing his future craft as an actor by performing as a sailor in a stage play at the Navy Signalman School in Illinois.In 1945 Curtis was honorably discharged from the navy and when he realized that the GI Bill would allow him to go to acting school without paying for it, Tony now saw that his lifelong pipe-dream of being an actor might actually be achievable. Tony auditioned for the New York Dramtic Workshop, and after being accepted on the strength of his audition piece (A scene from 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' in pantomime) Tony enrolled in early 1947. Tony then began to pay his dues by appearing in a slew on stage productions, including "Twelfth Night" and "Golden Boy". Tony then saw a small theatrical agent named Joyce Selznick, who was the niece of film producer David Selznick. After seeing his potential, Sleznick arranged an interview for Tony to see David Selznick at Universal Studios, where Tony was offered a seven year contract. After changing his name to what he saw as an elegant, mysterious moniker 'Tony Curtis' (Named after the novel 'Anthony Adverse' by Harvey Allen and a cousin of Tony's named Janush Kertiz), Tony began making a name for himself by appearing in small, offbeat roles in small-budget productions. Tony's first notable performance was a two minute role in 'Criss Cross' (1949), with Burt Lancaster, in which he makes Lancaster jealous by dancing with Yvonne De Carlo. This off-beat role resulted in Curtis being typecast as heavies for the next few years, such as playing a gang-member in 'City Across the River'.Curtis continued to build up a show-reel by accepting any paying job, as he acted in a number of bit-part roles for the next few years. It wasn't until late 1949 that Tony finally got the chance to demonstrate his acting flair, as he was cast in an important role in an Action-Western, Sierra (1950). On the strength of his performance in this, Tony was finally cast in a big-budget movie, Winchester '73 (1950). While Tony only appears in this movie very briefly, it was a chance to for him to act alongside a Hollywood legend, Jimmy Stewart.As his career developed, Curtis wanted to act in movies that had some kind of social relevance, movies that would challenge audiences, so he began to appear in movies such as Spartacus and The Defiant Ones. Tony was advised against appearing as the subordinate sidekick in Spartacus, playing second fiddle to the equally as famous Kirk Douglas. However, Curtis saw no problem with this as the had recently acted together in dual leading roles in The Vikings. Off-Screen, Curtis became equally famous for his romantic escapades, as he had relationships with a number of famous actresses, including Natalie Wood, Marilyn Monroe, and of course, Janet Leigh.Despite having worked in movies for sixty years, Curtis' performances continue to resonate with the same spark they had when he was just starting out. It's been said that the closet thing America has to royalty are genuine movie stars, and Curtis is a prime example of one. Despite having an extremely tough childhood full of tragedy, much like many of the characters he has portrayed, Curtis refused to do what was expected of him and follow his father's footsteps, and all of his experiences, whether it be the death of his brother or living in an orphanage, contributed to Curtis' driving ambition that would not sway.
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The 1999 autobiography ‘Still Me’ is by which late US actor?
Still Me (Christopher Reeve Homepage) Press Release | Relevant Links | Reviews & Interviews "When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked 'What is a hero?' I remember the glib response I repeated so many times. My answer was that a hero is someone who commits a courageous action without considering the consequences--a soldier who crawls out of a foxhole to drag an injured buddy to safety. And I also meant individuals who are slightly larger than life: Houdini and Lindbergh, John Wayne, JFK, and Joe DiMaggio. Now my definition is completely different. I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles: a fifteen-year-old boy who landed on his head while wrestling with his brother, leaving him barely able to swallow or speak; Travis Roy, paralyzed in the first thirty seconds of a hockey game in his freshman year at college. These are real heroes, and so are the families and friends who have stood by them." The whole world held its breath when Christopher Reeve struggled for life on Memorial Day, 1995. On the third jump of a riding competition, Reeve was thrown headfirst from his horse in an accident that broke his neck and left him unable to move or breathe. In the years since then, Reeve has not only survived, but has fought for himself, for his family, and for the hundreds of thousands of people with spinal cord injuries in the United States and around the world. And he has written Still Me, the heartbreaking, funny, courageous, and hopeful story of his life. Chris describes his early success on Broadway opposite the legendary Katharine Hepburn, the adventure of filming Superman on the streets of New York, and how the movie made him a star. He continued to move regularly between film acting and theater work in New York, Los Angeles, and at the WIlliamstown Theatre Festival in the Berkshires. Reunited with his Bostonians director, James Ivory, in 1992, he traveled to England to work with Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins in The Remains of the Day. The man who cannot move has not stopped moving. He has established a charitable foundation to raise awareness and money for research on spinal cord injuries. His work as director of the HBO film In the Gloaming earned him an Emmy nomination, one of five that the film received. His speeches at the Democratic National Convention and the Academy Awards inspired people around the country and the world. He has testified before Congress on behalf of health insurance legislation, lobbied for increased federal funding for spinal cord research, and developed a working relationship with President Clinton. With dignity and sensitivity, he describes the journey he has made--physically, emotionally, spiritually. He explores his complex relationship with his parents, his efforts to remain a devoted husband and father, and his continuing and heroic battle to rebuild his life. This is the determined, passionate story of one man, a gifted actor and star, and how he and his family came to grips with the kind of devastating, unexplainable shock that fate can bring to any of us. Chris and Dana Reeve have gathered the will and the spirit to create a new life, one responsive and engaged and focused on the future. The man who was Superman has written a never-to-be-forgotten story of his life, at once moving, funny and enthralling. Listen to Christopher Reeve read his remarkable memoir in the audiobook version of Still Me. Chris won a Grammy for this audio book in the category of "Best Spoken Word Album" in the 1999 Grammy Awards. In the introduction of the audio book Chris says this to show his appreciation for the spoken word, "The audio book allows me to communicate with you in a very personal way, second only to being in the same room. I am very grateful for the power of the spoken word." Please Note: All links to external web pages (i.e. Not within this site) will be opened up in a new Browser Window on top of the Christopher Reeve Homepage. Once you've finished reading the external web page, all you need to do is close that Browser Window and the Christopher Reeve Homepage will still be there. Relevant Links
Christopher Reeve
General Benedict Arnold switched allegiance to the British side during which war?
Still Me (Christopher Reeve Homepage) Press Release | Relevant Links | Reviews & Interviews "When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked 'What is a hero?' I remember the glib response I repeated so many times. My answer was that a hero is someone who commits a courageous action without considering the consequences--a soldier who crawls out of a foxhole to drag an injured buddy to safety. And I also meant individuals who are slightly larger than life: Houdini and Lindbergh, John Wayne, JFK, and Joe DiMaggio. Now my definition is completely different. I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles: a fifteen-year-old boy who landed on his head while wrestling with his brother, leaving him barely able to swallow or speak; Travis Roy, paralyzed in the first thirty seconds of a hockey game in his freshman year at college. These are real heroes, and so are the families and friends who have stood by them." The whole world held its breath when Christopher Reeve struggled for life on Memorial Day, 1995. On the third jump of a riding competition, Reeve was thrown headfirst from his horse in an accident that broke his neck and left him unable to move or breathe. In the years since then, Reeve has not only survived, but has fought for himself, for his family, and for the hundreds of thousands of people with spinal cord injuries in the United States and around the world. And he has written Still Me, the heartbreaking, funny, courageous, and hopeful story of his life. Chris describes his early success on Broadway opposite the legendary Katharine Hepburn, the adventure of filming Superman on the streets of New York, and how the movie made him a star. He continued to move regularly between film acting and theater work in New York, Los Angeles, and at the WIlliamstown Theatre Festival in the Berkshires. Reunited with his Bostonians director, James Ivory, in 1992, he traveled to England to work with Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins in The Remains of the Day. The man who cannot move has not stopped moving. He has established a charitable foundation to raise awareness and money for research on spinal cord injuries. His work as director of the HBO film In the Gloaming earned him an Emmy nomination, one of five that the film received. His speeches at the Democratic National Convention and the Academy Awards inspired people around the country and the world. He has testified before Congress on behalf of health insurance legislation, lobbied for increased federal funding for spinal cord research, and developed a working relationship with President Clinton. With dignity and sensitivity, he describes the journey he has made--physically, emotionally, spiritually. He explores his complex relationship with his parents, his efforts to remain a devoted husband and father, and his continuing and heroic battle to rebuild his life. This is the determined, passionate story of one man, a gifted actor and star, and how he and his family came to grips with the kind of devastating, unexplainable shock that fate can bring to any of us. Chris and Dana Reeve have gathered the will and the spirit to create a new life, one responsive and engaged and focused on the future. The man who was Superman has written a never-to-be-forgotten story of his life, at once moving, funny and enthralling. Listen to Christopher Reeve read his remarkable memoir in the audiobook version of Still Me. Chris won a Grammy for this audio book in the category of "Best Spoken Word Album" in the 1999 Grammy Awards. In the introduction of the audio book Chris says this to show his appreciation for the spoken word, "The audio book allows me to communicate with you in a very personal way, second only to being in the same room. I am very grateful for the power of the spoken word." Please Note: All links to external web pages (i.e. Not within this site) will be opened up in a new Browser Window on top of the Christopher Reeve Homepage. Once you've finished reading the external web page, all you need to do is close that Browser Window and the Christopher Reeve Homepage will still be there. Relevant Links
i don't know
The Commissioner’s Trophy is awarded annually for which sport?
Baseball Commissioner's Trophy Home > Events > Baseball > World Series > Commissioner's Trophy About the Commissioner's Trophy The Commissioner's Trophy is awarded each year to the winning team of the World Series of the Major League Baseball. It is presented to the owners of the winning team by the Commissioner of Baseball, hence its name. The trophy is not named after anyone in particular, unlike the Stanley Cup (NHL) and the Vince Lombardi Trophy (NFL). Design The first trophy, awarded in 1967, was designed by Laurance Voegele, of Owatanna, Minnesota. There have been many trophy designs since then. A new trophy is created each year, and is kept by the winning team, enabling a new trophy to be designed as desired. The current trophy is made of sterling silver, weighing approximately 30 pounds. It is 24 inches tall (excluding the base) and 11 inches around. The trophy features 30 flags representing the 30 teams in North America's two top leagues (the National League and the American League). The flags rise above an arched silver ox baseball with latitude and longitude lines symbolizing the world. The baseball itself contains 24-karat vermeil baseball stitches and weighs over 10 pounds. The base contains an inscription and the signature of the commissioner. Share:
Baseball
Which US Apollo astronaut died on 25th August 2012?
The Most Expensive Sports Trophies | Investopedia The Most Expensive Sports Trophies By Glenn Wilkins | Updated May 5, 2013 — 9:00 AM EDT Football coach Vince Lombardi is alleged to have said "winning isn't the important thing; it's the only thing." Indeed, there is an enormous emotional high that comes with winning a championship at a sport's highest level, but the amount of money sports leagues spend to reward their champions is nearly as large. Here's a breakdown of the cost of those rewards, at least in dollars and cents. (Keep the kids out of your hair and wallet by saving on summer camps, sports leagues, day trips and more. Check out Budget-Friendly Summer Fun .) IN PICTURES: March Madness MVPs - Where Are They Now? Super Bowl Trophy - $50,000 The trophy handed to the NFL champion and named in Lombardi's honor, is no ordinary piece of tin. This sterling-silver Tiffany and Co.-created trophy is nearly two feet tall and shaped like a kick-ready football. Done from scratch every year, it costs $50,000, takes four months and 72 man-hours to complete. The words "Vince Lombardi Trophy" and the NFL shield are engraved onto the base. After the final gun sounds, the seven-pound trophy is presented to the winning team, then sent back to Tiffany's to be engraved with the winning team's name, the date and final score of the Super Bowl. The trophy is then sent back to the winning team for them to keep. IN PICTURES: Top 5 Super Bowl Host Cities World Series Trophy - $15,000 San Franciscan fans are glimpsing a rare sight, one they haven't seen since they inherited the Giants from New York in 1958 - a World Series championship. For launching all those home run balls into the Pacific Ocean and then beating the Texas Rangers this month in five games, Bruce Bochy's charges won what is called the Commissioner's Trophy. Even though there has been a World Series since 1903, the trophy wasn't doled out until 1967. As with the Lombardi Trophy, a new Commissioner's Trophy is created each year. The current trophy design, tweaked a bit in 1999 and also a Tiffany production, is also in silver and is worth approximately $15,000. It's also two feet tall, weighs around 30 pounds, with 30 gold-plated flags - one for each Major League team - grouped around a silver baseball that contains 24-karat vermeil stitches. NBA Trophy - $13,500 Basketball's biggest prize is named after the man who headed the league for eight years (and the Democratic National Committee, when its offices at the Watergate Hotel in Washington were ransacked that fateful night in 1972): the Larry O'Brien NBA Championship Trophy. The current silver trophy (also Tiffany's), designed in 1984, weighs 14.5 pounds with a 24-karat gold overlay . It also stands two feet tall (unlike the players who battle for it), with a nine-inch basketball going through the hoop. Valued at $13,500, the trophy is remade every year, with the winning team keeping that year's version to display in their home court. Stanley Cup - $650,000 Plus Travel Costs In 1892, the governor-general of Canada, Lord Stanley, bought a punch bowl from a London silversmith for what amounted to about $48.67 U.S., or just more than $1,100 U.S. with inflation , to reward the top hockey club in Canada. The Cup initially stood about seven inches tall and about a foot in diameter. Now, of course, the Cup doesn't look anything like that itty-bitty punch bowl of 1893. Over the years, tiered rings were added to the bottom of the bowl, then long narrow bands, then uneven bands. Because Lord Stanley's mug is one of the few professional sports trophies where the name of every member of the winning team is inscribed (the Grey Cup is another). Hockey Hall of Fame Curator Phil Pritchard says engraving costs roughly $1,000 annually, and bands are often retired to make room for new champions. At nearly three feet high and weighing more than 34 pounds, the current Cup dwarfs the others. Despite its size, it still does a lot of traveling: Each member of the winning team, coaching, training and office staff gets possession of the mug for 24 hours during the offseason. Pritchard says the cost of arranging that depends on where the Cup is going and coming from, but he estimates "around $2,000, which includes transportation, accommodations, etc." Like other sports, Pritchard also says the players each receive a Stanley Cup ring (which he estimates to cost $30,000 per player) and a mini-version of the Cup, which costs about $1,000 to $1,500 each. The Bottom Line What this story cannot convey, of course, is the emotional cost of the tireless effort and commitment that players have to expend to win these trophies. Love of the sport and winning the big prize is something you can't place a dollar value on. Trending
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Which UK television quiz show had the theme tune ‘Acka Raga’, performed by John Meyer on the sitar?
John Mayer - Telegraph John Mayer 12:02AM GMT 20 Mar 2004 John Mayer, who has died aged 73, made his name with Indo-Jazz Fusions, the raga-based collaboration founded in the 1960s with the Jamaican saxophonist Joe Harriott to create a synthesis of Indian and Western musical techniques. Mayer had been writing music that blended Western and Indian musical styles since the early 1950s, and his ideas for what is now known as "crossover" music were way ahead of, say, the famous collaboration between Yehudi Menuhin and Ravi Shankar at the Bath Festival in 1966, and the wider exploration of Indian music led by the Beatles. Mayer was one of the first composers to write for Indian soloists accompanied by a conventional symphony orchestra. His Dance Suite for sitar, flute, tabla, tambura and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra dates from 1958. Long before then, Raga Music (1952), for solo clarinet, broke new ground by introducing an Indian idiom to Western performing techniques. It is now part of the A-level music syllabus. In 1964 the EMI producer Dennis Preston asked Mayer if he had a short jazz piece to fill a record - which he needed the next day. Mayer stayed up all night writing the piece, Nine for Bacon. He attended the recording session at Lansdowne Studios and was paid £20 - "worth losing a night's sleep for" he later recalled. Six months later Preston played Nine for Bacon to Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records in New York, who suggested Mayer compose for an album - Indo-Jazz Fusions - that would blend Indian music and jazz. In the final version Mayer's music sat alongside a jazz quintet featuring the alto saxophone of Joe Harriott. From there was born the group of the same name, which was recently described as performing "world music, 20 years too early". Released in 1967, the album was described as "boldly meshing elements of Western and Indian classical music with modal and free-jazz to create a vibrant and organic new sound". It opens with Mayer's Partita, a highly orchestrated suite comprised of three linked movements, featuring strong individual solos and an intense collective improvisation at its end. Mayer once explained that the reason he and Harriott worked so well together was because Harriott, like Mayer, "had already broken away from the structure of the chord sequence". For several years the band performed at high-profile venues across Europe, but when Harriott died in January 1973 at the age of 44 Mayer disbanded the group. He later became professor of composition and composer-in-residence at Birmingham Conservatoire. John Henry Mayer was born in Calcutta on October 28 1930, the son of an impoverished Anglo-German-Indian father who was a docker by trade, and an Indian mother from Madras. The Mayers of Calcutta can be traced back to the mid-1700s. Starvation was never far away, and young John frequently waited for food parcels at local churches. The violin was to be his salvation; from time to time school was neglected while he played in a local cinema. His earliest musical education came from Santhan Mukerjee, who taught him the Indian tradition. He later studied Western classical music with Philippe Sandre in Calcutta and with Melhi Mehta, the father of Zubin, in Bombay. At the age of 20 he won a scholarship from the Bombay Madrigal Singers to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Matyas Seiber. When the money ran out Mayer was ejected from the academy, but he successfully auditioned for the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He claimed to be the first Indian in a London orchestra. Although Sir Adrian Boult conducted some of his music, life in the LPO was not easy for an aspirant composer. As he once said: "Once you jump on a tiger's back, it's very hard to jump off." He switched to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1958, where he had seven happier years before Indo-Jazz Fusions took off. After Harriott's death Mayer turned his attention to rock-fusion, working with the band Emerson, Lake and Palmer, for whom he arranged Aaron Copland's Fanfare for a Common Man. He wrote film music and, in the 1980s, collaborated with James Galway, for whom he wrote a flute concerto that included a part for tambura - played by Mayer. Mayer also wrote a violin concerto for Erich Gruenberg and recorded with the cellist Rohan de Saram and the pianist Druvi de Saram. One of his works - Acka Raga - was used as the theme tune for Robert Robinson's television quiz show Ask the Family. He joined the Birmingham Conservatoire about 15 years ago, where he became composer-in-residence and professor of composition. His output at this time was substantial, and included works such as Flames of Lanka and Pawitri Naukar, both of which were first performed by the Conservatoire choir and orchestra. He also directed the first B Mus degree course in Indian music. After a few false starts Mayer succeeded in reviving Indo-Jazz Fusions in 1995 as John Mayer's Indo-Jazz Fusions. It featured a new generation of musicians including the saxophonist Carlos Lopez-Real and Mayer's son Jonathan, a sitar player. They performed at venues such as Jazz Cafe in London and last year were at the Brecon Jazz Festival (which was broadcast on BBC 4). They also toured India and Bangladesh as well as making two CDs for Nimbus Records. Mayer had a strong Catholic faith, and above the desk in his study where he composed at home in Maida Vale were pictures of both the Virgin Mary and the Last Supper. He read widely on other religions, in particular those of his native India. In breaks from composition Mayer loved to watch old Westerns. He also served on the Arts Council's music panel and was widely consulted on the development of Indian music in this country. His favourite food was Indian. John Mayer died on March 9 after stepping into the path of a Jeep the previous day while returning from an optician's appointment. He is survived by a daughter from an early marriage in India, by a daughter from a second marriage in this country, and by his third wife, Gillian, and their two sons.  
Ask the Family
In which European country is the 1983 film ‘Local Hero’ set?
John Mayer - Telegraph John Mayer 12:02AM GMT 20 Mar 2004 John Mayer, who has died aged 73, made his name with Indo-Jazz Fusions, the raga-based collaboration founded in the 1960s with the Jamaican saxophonist Joe Harriott to create a synthesis of Indian and Western musical techniques. Mayer had been writing music that blended Western and Indian musical styles since the early 1950s, and his ideas for what is now known as "crossover" music were way ahead of, say, the famous collaboration between Yehudi Menuhin and Ravi Shankar at the Bath Festival in 1966, and the wider exploration of Indian music led by the Beatles. Mayer was one of the first composers to write for Indian soloists accompanied by a conventional symphony orchestra. His Dance Suite for sitar, flute, tabla, tambura and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra dates from 1958. Long before then, Raga Music (1952), for solo clarinet, broke new ground by introducing an Indian idiom to Western performing techniques. It is now part of the A-level music syllabus. In 1964 the EMI producer Dennis Preston asked Mayer if he had a short jazz piece to fill a record - which he needed the next day. Mayer stayed up all night writing the piece, Nine for Bacon. He attended the recording session at Lansdowne Studios and was paid £20 - "worth losing a night's sleep for" he later recalled. Six months later Preston played Nine for Bacon to Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records in New York, who suggested Mayer compose for an album - Indo-Jazz Fusions - that would blend Indian music and jazz. In the final version Mayer's music sat alongside a jazz quintet featuring the alto saxophone of Joe Harriott. From there was born the group of the same name, which was recently described as performing "world music, 20 years too early". Released in 1967, the album was described as "boldly meshing elements of Western and Indian classical music with modal and free-jazz to create a vibrant and organic new sound". It opens with Mayer's Partita, a highly orchestrated suite comprised of three linked movements, featuring strong individual solos and an intense collective improvisation at its end. Mayer once explained that the reason he and Harriott worked so well together was because Harriott, like Mayer, "had already broken away from the structure of the chord sequence". For several years the band performed at high-profile venues across Europe, but when Harriott died in January 1973 at the age of 44 Mayer disbanded the group. He later became professor of composition and composer-in-residence at Birmingham Conservatoire. John Henry Mayer was born in Calcutta on October 28 1930, the son of an impoverished Anglo-German-Indian father who was a docker by trade, and an Indian mother from Madras. The Mayers of Calcutta can be traced back to the mid-1700s. Starvation was never far away, and young John frequently waited for food parcels at local churches. The violin was to be his salvation; from time to time school was neglected while he played in a local cinema. His earliest musical education came from Santhan Mukerjee, who taught him the Indian tradition. He later studied Western classical music with Philippe Sandre in Calcutta and with Melhi Mehta, the father of Zubin, in Bombay. At the age of 20 he won a scholarship from the Bombay Madrigal Singers to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Matyas Seiber. When the money ran out Mayer was ejected from the academy, but he successfully auditioned for the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He claimed to be the first Indian in a London orchestra. Although Sir Adrian Boult conducted some of his music, life in the LPO was not easy for an aspirant composer. As he once said: "Once you jump on a tiger's back, it's very hard to jump off." He switched to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1958, where he had seven happier years before Indo-Jazz Fusions took off. After Harriott's death Mayer turned his attention to rock-fusion, working with the band Emerson, Lake and Palmer, for whom he arranged Aaron Copland's Fanfare for a Common Man. He wrote film music and, in the 1980s, collaborated with James Galway, for whom he wrote a flute concerto that included a part for tambura - played by Mayer. Mayer also wrote a violin concerto for Erich Gruenberg and recorded with the cellist Rohan de Saram and the pianist Druvi de Saram. One of his works - Acka Raga - was used as the theme tune for Robert Robinson's television quiz show Ask the Family. He joined the Birmingham Conservatoire about 15 years ago, where he became composer-in-residence and professor of composition. His output at this time was substantial, and included works such as Flames of Lanka and Pawitri Naukar, both of which were first performed by the Conservatoire choir and orchestra. He also directed the first B Mus degree course in Indian music. After a few false starts Mayer succeeded in reviving Indo-Jazz Fusions in 1995 as John Mayer's Indo-Jazz Fusions. It featured a new generation of musicians including the saxophonist Carlos Lopez-Real and Mayer's son Jonathan, a sitar player. They performed at venues such as Jazz Cafe in London and last year were at the Brecon Jazz Festival (which was broadcast on BBC 4). They also toured India and Bangladesh as well as making two CDs for Nimbus Records. Mayer had a strong Catholic faith, and above the desk in his study where he composed at home in Maida Vale were pictures of both the Virgin Mary and the Last Supper. He read widely on other religions, in particular those of his native India. In breaks from composition Mayer loved to watch old Westerns. He also served on the Arts Council's music panel and was widely consulted on the development of Indian music in this country. His favourite food was Indian. John Mayer died on March 9 after stepping into the path of a Jeep the previous day while returning from an optician's appointment. He is survived by a daughter from an early marriage in India, by a daughter from a second marriage in this country, and by his third wife, Gillian, and their two sons.  
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What is the name of the UK investment banking company which collapsed after Broker Nick Leeson lost 1.3 billion dollars on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1995?
Notes on Barings Bank A Timeline in Quotes   The sudden collapse of 233-year old Barings plc, the oldest bank in England, was due in part to the ability with which extremely arcane financial instruments such as derivatives could be exploited to mask activities which may, although inadvertently, nevertheless generate a systemic risk for the entire global financial system. Peter Norris the head of Barings investment banking, stated - amazingly - that none of Barings' top managers actually understood the intricacies of derivatives trading: "The collapse...of the British merchant bank, Barings Plc., posed a serious threat to the international financial system -- a threat that was averted only by heroic efforts, including midnight phone calls and ad hoc cooperation among regulators." Joseph B. Dial, Commissioner, Commodity Futures Trading Commission "The [Bank of England] report reflects badly on the Bank of England, badly on Mr. Leeson, but worst of all on the senior management of Barings. It defies the comprehension of an outsider that a single individual could have wreaked such havoc for almost three years without detection." London Daily Telegraph (quoted in) Nick Leeson_Rogue Trader_1996, at 252. "We were a motley crowd. Nobody would have thought that these were some of the fastest brains and most highly-paid people in the world. They all looked down-at-heel and hungover, as if they'd stumbled out of some homeless shelter. Dave Mousseau of First Continental wouldn't have been let into a restaurant with his sad trousers flapping around his heels and his stained shirt and tie.... The only good thing about hiding losses from these people [Barings senior management] was that it was so easy. They were always too busy and too self-important, and were always on the telephone. They had the attention span of a gnat. They could not make the time to work through a sheet of numbers and spot that it didn't add up... As each day went on, and my requests [for millions] continued to be met, the explanation dawned on me: they wanted to believe that it was all true. There was a howling discrepancy which would have been obvious to a child--the money they sent to Singapore was unaccounted for--but they wanted to believe otherwise because it made them feel richer.... One day I asked for $30 million.... Nobody asked me outright how on earth I had arranged for the 7.78 billion yen to leave Barings. I knew from my experience in Jakarta that when it came down to detail, no senior managers actually wanted to get their hands dirty and investigate the numbers. They always assumed that they were above that, and let other people get on with it. Luckily for my fraud, there were too many chiefs who would chat about it at arm's length but never go further. And they never dared ask me any basic questions, since they were afraid of looking stupid about not understanding futures and options. I was astonished that nobody stopped me. People in London should have known that I was making up the numbers...My numbers were hopelessly out of orbit, yet nobody stopped me...." Nick Leeson [futures trader, Barings BFS]_Rogue Trader_1996, at 141, 160, 161, 177. "...one of London's oldest and most prestigious merchant banks, Barings, was placed in administration in February owing more than 600 million [pounds] (approximately Cdn $1.3 billion) on open-ended derivatives contracts entered into through its Singapore operations." "Barings collapsed because it could not meet the enormous trading obligations, which Leeson established in the name of the bank. When it went into receivership on February 27, 1995, Barings, via Leeson, had outstanding notional futures positions on Japanese equities and interest rates of US$27 billion: US$7 billion on the Nikkei 225 equity contract and US$20 billion on Japanese government bond (JGB) and Euroyen contracts. Leeson also sold 70, 892 Nikkei put and call options with a nominal value of $6.68 billion. The nominal size of these positions is breathtaking; their enormity is all the more astounding when compared with the banks reported capital of about $615 million." "AT 4 P.M. ON OCT. 17, about 40 journalists lined up outside the Singapore Information Ministry's press center. TV lights were switched on as the reporters, mobile phones in hand, snatched up copies of the Finance Ministry's report on the collapse in February of Britain's 233-year-old Baring Investment Bank....The message: the report speaks for itself. In fact, it shouts. The one word that reverberates throughout its 183 pages: 'Cover-Up!' The Singaporeans go further than anybody to show that Nick Leeson, the British trader who ran up $1.3 billion in losses for Barings on Singapore's futures market, was just a bit player in the whole fiasco. The real heavies: some of his superiors at Barings and its management systems. Barings officials, says the report, knew much of what was going on and sought to cover up and even thwart investigations into Leeson's activities on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange (SIMEX)." "The collapse...of the British merchant bank, Barings Plc., posed a serious threat to the international financial system -- a threat that was averted only by heroic efforts, including midnight phone calls and ad hoc cooperation among regulators." Joseph B. Dial, Commissioner, Commodity Futures Trading Commission "This time, though, Barings officials in London were alarmed. No wonder. When the newspapers first got hold of the story, the speculation was that Leeson had skipped town because of substantial trading losses. In fact, he had totally wiped out the 233-year-old Baring Investment Bank, which proudly counted Queen Elizabeth as a client. Leeson left behind liabilities totaling $1.3 billion, more than the entire capital and reserves of the British institution. The fiasco - and a similar scam at the New York branch of Japan's Daiwa Bank in October - shocked the world's financial markets." "SINGAPORE -- Former Barings trader Nick Leeson was locked up in a maximum-security cell Friday after prosecutors formally charged him with fraud and forgery in the $1.4 billion collapse of Britain's oldest merchant bank." "Barings Plc, the 233-year-old British investment bank that helped finance the Napoleonic wars and the Louisiana purchase, is broke after one of its Singapore traders lost more than $1 billion. The bankruptcy, one of the largest in British history, battered the pound sterling and pushed stocks in more than a dozen countries into a tailspin as investors scrambled to recover assets.... The Baring bombshell is the latest derivatives explosion to rock the securities industry as financial regulators around the world pay increased attention to these risky investment in a $14 trillion market.... Barings' troubles are the result of highly leveraged bet[s] -- worth more than $7 billion, traders estimate -- using futures and options tied to the Nikkei 225 stock index." "'[director of studies at the Council on Foreign Relations]...Many chicken littles had predicted during the late 1980s and early 1990s that trading in derivatives--futures, swaps, and options--would trigger the next global financial crisis. But they overlooked the important role that derivatives have played in moderating systemic risk...Significantly, the Bank of England did little to reassure markets during the Barings collapse.' The truth of the matter is that the Bank of England didn't begin to understand what had happened at Barings, or what its impact might be. There was a systemic risk in the Barings collapse, and if the matter had been left with the banking regulators, a disaster scenario might well have played out.... Singapore was umbilically linked to Chicago, still. Nobody knew what went on inside Osaka, which was by far the larger exchange. If those exchanges failed to open on Monday or Tuesday, the Chicago and London and Paris and Sao Paulo markets might well have failed to open on Tuesday or Wednesday." Martin Mayer_The Bankers_1997, at 352-354. "Nick Leeson's sour half grin has become a symbol of the horrendous risks involved in the derivatives markets. The risks were made comprehensible. Scared bank managers then reassured us that the Barings Bank disaster was the works of a crook and that their systems would see to that it would not happen again. Rest assured and back to normal. Do these managers know what business they are in? Did the sacked managers of Barings Bank know what business the Queen's bank had entered? A lot evidences that they did not. Derivatives are pure information and the business logic of the new information markets challenge lots of things that managers today take for granted. In less than ten years the professional financial markets have become the most information-intensive environment in the world. They are extreme and they are therefore - for better and for worse - good illustrations of what we can expect in other environments when information in computerized networks replace physical goods and physical transactions." "With the approval of the Fed, the Bank of England handled the Barings matter, which really did present serious systemic risk, as though it were simply the failure of a medium-sized bank. The banking regulators both in England and here did not understand that the failure of Barings' derivatives subsidiary might--and almost did--provoke a failure at the Singapore commodities exchange clearing house which is joined at the hip with the Chicago Merc." "When I first stepped out on to the trading floor, I could smell and see the money.... Now, out on the trading floor, I could work with instant money - it was hanging in the air right in front of me, invisible but highly charged, just waiting to be earthed. As I watched the traders all screaming at each other in their red jackets, I imagined an electrical thunderstorm.... ...the time gap and the leverage in the futures market means that the futures are far more volatile than the share index itself.... For a few seconds a difference would open up between the Osaka and Singapore prices and that's when we went into action. 'OK,' I told Fernando. 'Bought 200 at 580.' 'Cheers, Nick, I've sold at 590.' We had sold in Osaka and bought the same contracts in Singapore for a L16,000 profit. And the risk? Two and a half seconds before, the market would have seen us coming like a big red London bus and moved up.... We scurried over to the OUB building and joined the crowd of dealers at the entrance to SIMEX. They were having their last drags on their cigarettes before they started really exercising their lungs. We were a motley crowd. Nobody would have thought that these were some of the fastest brains and most highly-paid people in the world. They all looked down-at-heel and hungover, as if they'd stumbled out of some homeless shelter. Dave Mousseau of First Continental wouldn't have been let into a restaurant with his sad trousers flapping around his heels and his stained shirt and tie.... The only good thing about hiding losses from these people [Barings senior management] was that it was so easy. They were always too busy and too self-important, and were always on the telephone. They had the attention span of a gnat. They could not make the time to work through a sheet of numbers and spot that it didn't add up.... As each day went on, and my requests [for millions of British pounds] continued to be met, the explanation dawned on me: they wanted to believe that it was all true. There was a howling discrepancy which would have been obvious to a child--the money they sent to Singapore was unaccounted for--but they wanted to believe otherwise because it made them feel richer.... One day I asked for $30 million.... Nobody asked me outright how on earth I had arranged for the 7.78 billion yen to leave Barings. I knew from my experience in Jakarta that when it came down to detail, no senior managers actually wanted to get their hands dirty and investigate the numbers. They always assumed that they were above that, and let other people get on with it. Luckily for my fraud, there were too many chiefs who would chat about it at arm's length but never go further. And they never dared ask me any basic questions, since they were afraid of looking stupid about not understanding futures and options. I was astonished that nobody stopped me. People in London should have known that I was making up the numbers... My numbers were hopelessly out of orbit, yet nobody stopped me.... I was already 10,000 JGB contracts short, so my position was swinging into profit or loss by a factor of $500,000 for every tick movement in the index. The index would typically move about 40 ticks in either direction in a day's trading, so I was looking at $20 million swings.... 'Tony, its Nick. I've just had a message that you needed to speak to me.' 'Its's this SLK [$7.78 billion yen Leeson lost trading and hid] and BNP thing, ' he spluttered. 'What's bothering me is where you got all that money to actually, ah, pay SLK. I mean it's the equivalent of $78 million. It just doesn't add up, you know.' Of course it doesn't add up! I felt like shouting. A three-year-old could tell you that! I was in Ireland and I didn't kiss the Blarney Stone and we just got pissed and I never intended to come back here. It's all bogus." Nick Leeson [Futures trader, Barings BFS]_Rogue Trader_1996, at 33, 34, 35, 99, 141, 160-161, 177, 185, 186, 195. "Yet on December 31, 1994, Leeson's BFS required $350 million of funding to meet its margins--and by February 24, 1995, the total was more than $1.1 billion, more than twice the reported capital of the Barings Group. How could a man who was supposed to be running a matched book--and was showing an exact balance of contracts bought and contracts sold in his daily reports to the home office--need so much margin?... But what keeps recuring in the Singapore report is puzzlement over how England could conceiveably have shipped all that money to BFS..." Martin Mayer_The Bankers_1997, at 343, 350. [Barings] CEO Norris told the Singapore probers that the money continued to flow because they believed Leeson's activities yielded good returns while posing little or no risk. 'This explanation is absurd,' the [Singapore] report says, 'because the suggestion that a low-risk trading strategy can consistently yield high returns is implausible'... And at an ALCO meeting on Feb. 8, Norris dismissed the SLK receivable [7.78 billion yen] as a mere operational error. The Bank of England report fails to discuss the whole episode, which is a key part of Singapore's case for a cover-up." Asiaweek "Madam Speaker, the House will be rightly concerned about how such huge unauthorized exposures could be allowed to happen and build up so quickly without the knowledge of the company, the exchanges or the regulators." UK Treasury Chancellor's Statement on the Insolvency of Barings "In case after case, investigations of traders who lost hundreds of millions of dollars found their managers were loathe to examine their trading as long as they were making money.... While Leeson's trading accounted for more then 40 percent of the entire bank's reported profits, Peter Norris, head of [Barings] investment banking, said that none of the company's top managers actually understood the intricacies of derivatives trading." "The [Bank of England] report reflects badly on the Bank of England, badly on Mr. Leeson, but worst of all on the senior management of Barings. It defies the comprehension of an outsider that a single individual could have wreaked such havoc for almost three years without detection." London Daily Telegraph (quoted in) Nick Leeson_Rogue Trader_1996, at 252. A couple of the people who were in the core places within Barings that should have been administering a high level of control ...had what I would describe as almost no understanding of the fundamentals of the business. Nick Leeson, Interview with David Frost, British Broadcasting Corporation, Sep't 11, 1995. "I marveled at how every single Barings person blamed somebody else - especially me - rather than themselves. It was as if they needn't have been employed at all." Nick Leeson_Rogue Trader_1996, at 250. Most technical analysts - those who trade, not those who sell it to the public - understand that a winning system must remain a secret system. This is especially true in the futures and derivatives world which is a zero-sum game. It does not create wealth - it merely shifts it around amongst the players. For every winner there is a loser. The futures and derivatives markets offer the erstwhile speculator the possibility of turning a few thousand into many millions (positive or negative) in a very short space of time. Every speculator's Holy Grail is the trading system that produces consistent profits - fast! So great are the rewards that almost any effort is justified in its pursuit. Anyone who had developed a winning system would guard its secret with their life. To tell anyone how it worked, even ones employers, would be courting disaster. Just as stockjobbers jealously guarded their own 'book' on the floor of the stock exchange - knowledge is power. It is quite possible that Nick Leeson's personal trading system was never completely revealed to his employers, especially if he was developing it on the fly. More importantly, it is highly probable that it would have been kept secret from Leeson's fellow traders in Singapore. This could well explain why Leeson and his wife were so deeply involved in the back-office. Anyone with access to his trading records might be able to deduce his system. That person could walk into a rival firm and write his own ticket on the back of Leeson's established trading success. Certainly, Barings' senior management would have wanted to protect such a valuable asset. Regulators and human nature do not always coincide in their objectives." BARINGS: A Random Walk to Self-Destruction "the pure leverage of derivatives makes it imperative that proper controls are in place. Since only a small amount of money (called a margin) is needed to establish a position, a firm could find it facing financial obligations way beyond its means. The leverage and liquidity offered by major futures contracts - such as the Nikkei 225, the S&P 500 or Eurodollars - means that these obligations, once in place, mount very quickly; thus bringing down an institution with lightning speed." "All current economics textbooks are based on the national economy as though that were still the keystone of an understanding of how the world works. Yet the fact is that the world economy is now, in large part, an interconnected system of electronic signals. When a twenty-eight-year-old English junior banker can risk over a billion dollars from a branch in Singapore, lose it in Tokyo, and thus bankrupt a venerable institution in London, it is clear that the world is changing." Newt Gingrich_To Renew America_1995, at 64 "Barings led to the Windsor Declaration, relating to international cooperation in emergencies and protection of customer funds and assets in the event of cross-border default. It also led to the March 1996 Declaration on Cooperation and Supervision for sharing large exposure information, which to date has been signed by 20 regulators world-wide, and its companion agreement, which to date has been executed by 62 international exchanges and clearinghouses." Brooksley Born, Chairman, Commodities and Futures Trading Commission "Whenever a scandal like the Barings debacle is uncovered there is a demand that legislators and regulators should ensure that nothing similar occurs again. All too often such action is merely a case of locking the stable door after the horse has bolted. Could frauds on a massive scale be foreseen? Regulators are hardly likely to answer yes because that would undermine their excuses for their failures." "The collapse of Britain's Barings Bank; the problems at MetallGesellschaft, and, in the United States, the Bankers Trust enforcement action are all still fresh in our minds. These events heightened concern over whether derivatives are being used properly. It's clear that regulators and market participants must recognize and work together to address the potential risks posed by derivatives trading.... Derivatives are like electricity -- dangerous if mishandled, but also capable of doing enormous good." Chairman Arthur Levitt, US Securities & Exchange Commission "The Chairman of Barings plc, Peter Baring, described the failure of controls with regard to BFS as 'absolute'. We agree." International Finance and Commodities Institute (IFCI)  
Barings Bank
The adrenal glands are situated above which organs in the human body?
Jimmy Stewart Is Dead_Chapters 6-7 - 154 jIMMY STEWART IS DEAD The Jimmy Stewart Is Dead_Chapters 6-7 Jimmy Stewart Is Dead_Chapters 6-7 - 154 jIMMY STEWART IS... SCHOOL View Full Document This is the end of the preview. Sign up to access the rest of the document. Unformatted text preview: 154 jIMMY STEWART IS DEAD The requirement that LPB funds, such as the Citigroup minis, are never leveraged can be described differently. It amounts to saying that the funds or the minis or whatever you’d like to call them can never be leveraged regardless of the time or circumstances in which they find themselves. We economists would say that the LPB‘ funds/Citigroup minis face not just an immediate 100 percent capital requirement, but also a state-contingent 100 percent capital requirement. 1‘ i l i i Chapter 6 Getting from Here to There based banking. Much of our financial system, namely the almost century-old mutual fund industry, is already engaged in limited purpose banking. Indeed, if one interprets the word “banking” to ref- erence “saving and investing,” limited purpose banking is one of the major components of our modern banking sector. Prior to the crash of 2008, we Americans held about $14 trillion in retirement assets, which were almost exclusively invested in mutual funds.1 This represented over one—third of total US. household financial assets.2 For the vast majority of us who are lower or middle class, mutual fiind holdings represent virtually all of our financial wealth. We place almost all of our mutual fund assets in the place we do essentially all our saving, namely in our 401(k), IRA, and other retirement accounts. The fact that we save mostly in retirement accounts is not surprising given Limited purpose banking is radically different from leverage- 155 156 JIMMY STEWART IS DEAD the tax breaks they afford. But the fact that our mutual fund assets are secured by third-party custodians is very reassuring and, I believe, a major factor in the popularity of retirement account saving. Congress mandated such custodial arrangements for a good reason—saving for retirement is tough and risky enough without having to worry whether our financial middleman is going broke and using our money to pay his bills. Robert Maxwell did precisely this in 1991. Maxwell was a British tycoon who made and lost a fortune in the newspaper and publishing industries. In the process he stole more than J€400 million from his workers’ pension plan. But before this fact became public, Maxwell took a cruise on his 180—foot super yacht, the Lady Ghislaine, and either jumped, fell, or was pushed overboard. Regardless of how he died, the bottom line is that he drowned having just sunk the retirement dreams of 32,000 of his employees.3 Thanks to this and other pension scandals, the British have enacted much tighter regulations on employer—provided retirement plans. The other strong statement that can' be read from the financial facts is that we’ve been moving toward limited purpose banking over time, but clearly not fast enough. Thirty years ago mutual fund holdings represented only 14 percent of total financial assets; today’s figure is 34 percent.4 So the glass is already quite full when it comes to imple— menting LPB. Of course, fully implementing limited purpose banking requires going beyond just growing the mutual fund industry. It requires shutting down leveraged—based banking and insurance operations, establishing cash and insurance mutual funds, and replacing our existing hodgepodge of financial regulators with a single regulator—the Federal Financial Authority. Implementing Limited Purpose Banking Implementing limited purpose banking is straightforward. All financial corporations, if not already registered as mutual fund companies, would register with the Securities and Exchange Commission and begin mar— keting cash and other mutual funds subject to the third-party custody and other regulatory provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940. Getting from Here to There 157 Depository institutions would immediately transfer all their checking accounts into cash mutual funds and use their reserves to provide the cash to back these shares. As of early September 2009, demand deposits totaled $425 billion.5 The banking system was holding over $829 billion in reserves.6 So the banks have plenty of reserves today to fully back their cash mutual funds. This was not the case in the past. In September 2007, reserves totaled only $43 billion.7 Today’s situation is highly unusual. In normal circumstances the banks would be holding only about $42 billion in reserves against their demand deposits since the reserve requirement imposed by the Federal Reserve is only 10 percent.8 Hence, the extra reserves—the so—called excess reserves—of the banking system are now huge: $766 billion to be precise, when normally they’d be close to zero. There are two reasons the banks are holding so much in excess reserves. First, the Federal Reserve is paying them to do so. Specifically, the Fed is paying interest to the banks on their reserves as a way of secretly slipping them more money. And they surely need whatever money they can get their hands on because, as previously indicated, they appear to be collectively insolvent. The second reason is that the banks are still skittish about lending to businesses, the public, state and local governments, and each other. Zombiesv and Gazelles Since they would no longer be allowed to buy financial assets or bor— row to invest in securities, banks, \as broadly defined, would, over time, need to shut down their old operations by either: (a) immediately selling off their assets, paying off their liabilities, and handing the net pro— ceeds to their shareholders, or (b) retaining their assets and liabilities and simply paying out, over time, the associated net cash flow to their shareholders. Thus, the transition to LPB can be very gradual with respect to unwinding existing bank assets and debts, but immediate with respect to issuing and marketing new mutual funds. Banks become zombies with respect to their old, illegitimate practice—gambling at our expense— 158 JIMMY STEWART IS DEAD but gazelles in exercising their new and sole legitimate purpose— intermediation. The banks would make distributions to their shareholders by paying them dividends or by buying up (repurchasing) their shares.9 The banks’ shareholders would, in turn, use these funds to purchase mutual funds issued by the banks. That is, money would flow out of the banks to households and from households back to the mutual funds operated by the banks. There would be no net drainage of funds from the banking system and thus no shrinkage in the size of the financial sector. Deleveraging Investment Banking and Trading The major bank holding companies would also need to spin off their investment banking and trading operations and restructure them on a no— risk, no—leverage basis. Thus, a Goldman’s investment banking branch would be confined to providing consulting and intermediation services. It would not be permitted to co—invest, let alone borrow to co—invest, in the companies or securities it is helping market to the public. ‘ And a Goldman’s trading desk would be transformed into an elec— tronic clearing system, not one that can go belly up by borrowing to take open positions that may turn sour. Today, such leveraged trading operations can take the form of Goldman traders borrowing a particular security from some third party and promising to return it with interest at a future date. In the meantime, Goldman sells the security to some other third party for ready cash. When the time comes to hand back the borrowed security, Goldman no longer has it, so it needs to buy it on the open market. If the market price for the security rises a lot, Goldman makes a loss. Indeed, the loss is, in principle, unbounded because the price of a security can, in principle, rise to any value. This is called “short selling.” But it’s just one of many ways that traders can leverage and get their banks, which ultimately means us, into trouble. Another way is to simply borrow money and lend it to clients for use by the clients in purchasing securities. These securities can plunge in value, leaving the client unable to cover his or her debt and the broker dealer/ trading operation with a loss. The loss can be huge if the loan was huge. Getting from Here to There 159 Broker dealers/ traders limit their exposure by holding onto the secu— rities purchased by the clients until the clients repay what they borrowed. They also ask their clients to put up additional collateral, in the form of cold hard cash or highly liquid assets, like Treasury bills, to help guard against getting egg on their face. And as the securities in question start to fall in value, the broker dealers/ traders require their clients to put up more collateral in what’s called a margin call.10 But prices of securities can change precipitously from one millisec— ond to another, so there is nothing to prevent things from going south very quickly and the egg hitting with a devastating impact. Just ask Barings Bank, if you can find someone who used to work there. An End to Rogue Trading One by—product of restricting traders to simply matching buyers with sellers of securities and never letting them take any risk whatsoever as part of that process is that these restrictions will do away with rogue trading, which has caused eight financial tsunamis in recent years.11 Jerome Kerviel appears to hold the world record for such shenanigans. He single—handedly lost $72 billion for the 145—year—old Société Générale, which is one of France’s three largest banks. ‘ Jérome was a junior trader earning a paltry salary by Wall Street standards. But he used techniques to exceed his trading limits that the best and the brightest at the SEC would have a hard time detecting.12 Apparently, Jerome wasn’t primarily out to make money for himself. He just wanted to help his company and was sure he knew how best to do so. If we maintain our current banking system, we’ll surely want to post a very large financial detective squad at Société Générale as well as at every other major foreign bank arOund the world because, they too, have become actual or potential wards of the US. taxpayer. France’s would- be—hero, Jerome, lost the $7.2 billion at a rather unpropitious moment, namely in 2008. And, thanks to this loss, Société Générale was in no position to lose a lot more money, including a $11 billion insurance claim owed to it by—drumroll—good old AIG.13 Consequently, when Inspector Clouseau, namely the Ofiice of Thrift Supervision, let that financial genius Joseph Cassano sell CDSs 160 JIMMY STEWART IS DEAD cheap and with no reserves to Société Générale, little did Clouseau know he was putting the US. taxpayer into bed with a French bank that had just been clobbered by one of its least assuming junior traders, Monsieur Kerviel, and was not only too big to fail, but also ready to fail if AIG went under. When Lehman went down and our Treasury saw the nuclear fallout it had thus produced, it realized it had to take over AIG and that part of doing so required having AIG immediately wire $11 billion to AIG’s largest claimant, Société Générale. If you live in say, Lawrence, Kansas, and want to follow the money, it left your pants pocket and was sent to the Treasury in the form of tax payments or purchases of new Treasury bills or bonds. Then it was sent to AIG in exchange for worthless shares. Finally, it was sent by AIG to Société Générale under the direction of your government. Pauvre Jerome. Had he worked forJoey Cassano, he could have run a legal immoral scam and be sitting on a beach sipping Margaritas with tens of millions of dollars in his Swiss bank account. Instead, he ran a well—meaning but illegal immoral scam, and is likely facing an extended stay in jail. There is, however, light for Jerome at the end of his tunnel. Once he’s out, he can compare notes with Nick Leeson, who killed Barings Bank barehanded by losing $1.3 billion. Barings was founded in 1762—a long, long time ago. But all it took Nick was just one day—January 17, 1995 to fully detonate that venerable company. Nick’s explosive device was a short straddle that entailed taking a huge bet that the Tokyo stock market would not drop in value from the close of the market on January 16 to its opening on January 17. But Nick missed a black swan—the Kobe earthquake that struck Japan at 5:46 A.M., well before the Tokyo market opened sharply lower and well before Nick could sell out his position anywhere near its former price. Nick fled Singapore, where he was based, was arrested, spent six and a half years in jail, and is now doing extremely well writing books, including: Rogue Trader: How I Brought Down Barings Bank and Shook the Financial World. He’s also writing books on coping with stress and has recently been appointed CEO of Galway United Football Club. Financial crime pays as long as you steal along reasonably conven- tional lines. And big financial crime pays big time. Getting from Here to There 161 The Politics of Limited Purpose Banking At a grassroots level, LPB should garner plenty of support. The public is dying to have the financial system fixed for good. People seek a transparent, safe system, which puts a definitive end to financial crises and public bailouts. And they are increasingly frustrated by politicians who seem to be doing nothing of real substance to achieve that end. Banks and bankers, on the other hand, will likely fight this reform tooth and nail. They’ll claim LPB is naive, radical, a nonstarter, that it relies too much on the government, and that it’s going to limit credit, leverage, and financial sector returns. But what they will really worry about is their bonuses, and for good reason. Limited purpose banking will deliver on President Obama’s Septem- ber 14, 2009, pledge: “We will not go back to the days of reckless behavior and unchecked excess that was at the heart of this crisis. . .. Those on Wall Street cannot resume taking risks without regard for consequences.” The trouble is that the president’s own financial reform agenda cannot deliver on this pledge without having the government over— see Wall Street’s every move on a literally millisecond—by—millisecond basis. That’s one heck of a lot of oversight and would leave us with the worst of all worlds—a financial regime that’s so tightly regulated that Wall Street can’t sneeze without getting approval from Pennsylvania Avenue. We need Wall Street to be Wall Street in the best sense of that expression. We need modern finance and financial innovation. And we can get both safely and without the heavy hand of government by implementing limited purpose banking. Hence, the best hope for LPB may, paradoxically enough, lie with Wall Street. If Wall Street realizes that its game is up and that LPB will let bankers earn a good and honest living that exceeds what Washington is otherwise serving up, Wall Street could become LPB’s biggest propo- nent. That’s my hope—that Wall Street will consider this proposal and after ranting and raving and calling it nuts, it will reconsider and get behind it. 162 JIMMY STEWART IS DEAD But my sales job, I realize, has just started, so before bringing this first pitch to an end (followed by an afterword that addresses a couple of other “minor” problems our nation faces), let me respond in the next chapter to several reactions to LPB that I’ve received in the course of authoring and 'co-authoring columns about the proposal in the months leading up to my writing this book. As I indicated in Note 2 in the Preface, these articles have appeared in the New Republic, Bloomberg.com, Forbes.com, FT.com, the Dallas Morning News, the Boston Globe, the American Interest, and the Financial Times. The financial editors of each of these publications stuck their necks out and published a radical proposal without blinking an eye. To me, this was verynencouraging. I’ve also received encouragement from some of the top financial experts and policymakers in the world and co—authored several of the columns with some of the world’s leading economists. This too tells me that the plan deserves serious consideration. Finally, the interest in the proposal has been bipartisan. For example, the column in the New Republic, a fairly liberal publication, was co— authored with John Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a fairly libertarian organization. And if you examine this book’s endorsements you’ll see. big—time liberals and conservatives literally onthe same page. ’Chapter 7 What About? oday talking has a bigger payoff than listening, and for good T reason. It takes the same amount of time to read or listen to a sentence as it did one hundred years ago, but it’s become incredibly cheap, in terms of time, to talk—to transmit a sentence to hoards of people. E—mail, txts, tweets, blogs, web sites, Facebook, and so on—they’ve created a veritable Tower of Babel. As in the biblical story, we’re all physically linked, but we can’t understand one another. It’s not that we speak different tongues. We’re just too busy talking to listen. A good example of this is the Economists’ Forum on the Financial Times web site run by economist Martin Wolf, who is himself a major contributor.1 The forum is, in theory, a great place for economists to exchange their views about economic policy. And in .the early days of our economic fiasco, other economists and I jumped on its opportunity to share our wisdom and educate the masses—masses of other economists who we thought were listening. At the beginning, there were only a few speakers and lots of listeners. But as more and more economists learned about the forum, more started 163 164 JIMMY STEWART IS DEAD to contribute. Suddenly there were so many entries that one needed the entire day to read them, let alone comment on them intelligently. The entries grew so rapidly that Martin could only display them for a day or two before taking them down and replacing them with new ones. So the trick became to write even more often and repeat yourself if necessary so your point of view was always on display.2 Another strategy was to skim the latest posting and enter a comment that reworked the contributor’s point into your own. In economists’ tongue, talking crowded out listening. And to further economize on the time We listened, we skimmed what others were saying because reading their minds was faster than reading their words. Given that you’re on this page, you’re a great listener, for which I sincerely thank you. But in presenting limited purpose banking in other forums, even in short shrift, I’ve learned that listening problems are widespread. Let me provide an example. One “reader” of my LPB article with Christophe Chamley, which appeared in the May—june 2009 issue of the American Interest, wrote the magazine, commenting: The financial system is flawed, but it certainly does not support a rebut— tal of the market system. . . . It is difficult to understand how replacing the market system with a bureaucracy can improve the efficiency of the financial markets. . . . Slapping a “lack of trust” label on banking is another false generalization. Have customers been closing their ac— counts and fleeing banks? Is there a greater demand for currency? . . . It is a fantasy to think that we can dispense with all risk. What I find most interesting about these comments is that I agree with them. The goal of LPB is not to rebut the market system, but to save it. But let’s be clear, our financial system is not a “market system.” It’s replete with market failure. And, hello—it’s been nationalized. Uncle Sam is writing nine out of ten mortgages; he’s operating the world’s largest insurance company; he owns the largest stake of several of the country’s biggest banks; he’s about to set pay on Wall Street; and he’s gearing up to micro—manage all remaining “private” banks before they too put him over the barrel. " LPB is designed to fix the market defects so we can have highly competitive trading in financial products—products that we actually What About? 165 understand and trust. Trusting a financial product doesn’t mean the product will yield a sure return. It means knowing what risks the product actually entails. And yes, it is a fantasy that we can dispel all risk. But it’s not my fantasy. Instead, it’s the fantasy our current system is perpetuating and our government (i.e., you, me, and the “reader”) is underwriting. Uncle Sam is pretending he can guarantee, in real terms, all manner of irresponsible private financial commitments, when he can do nothing of the kind. And had he not gone to unprecedented lengths to make the pledges he’s made—by extending deposit insurance, insuring money market accounts, nationalizing Fannie, Freddie, and AIG, guaranteeing loans of Citibank and B of A, and so on—we would have seen runs on the banks and insurance companies as sure as day follows night. Those runs are still waiting to happen because the government cannot, in fact, deliver on its implicit real promises. Finally, I agree that replacing the financial system with a bureaucracy would be a terrible mistake. LPB does the opposite. It eliminates over 115 bureaucratic regulatory agencies and replaces them with one—the Federal Financial Authority (FFA), which will have a limited set of tasks. The FFA would not rate our credit or loans. It would verify the accuracy of our credit scores and hire private, independent companies to rate our loans. And because of this, parties other than Uncle Sam will again be willing to lend to us. Can We Just Agree to Agree? President Obama is after us, these days, to disagree agreeably. That’s a fine goal. But I think the real challenge is getting us to agree agreeably. We seem to have to argue with, each other even when we’re on the same page. If we could just listen to what we’re each saying, without immediately putting the talker into a red or blue, left or right,.liberal or conservative box, we’d find a much greater commonality of views than we think. This applies to LPB. Those who think it’s too radical should check if they aren’t themselves proposing a very close cousin of this reform, but just using different words and structures to achieve the same end. 166 JIMMY STEWART IS bEAD This said, let me turn to some real questions and disagreements about LPB. Will LPB Reduce Liquidity? No, it should enhance liquidity. All LPB mutual funds, Whether closed— end or open—end, will trade on the market, and since the public will know precisely what each fund is holding, it will be much easier to buy and sell financial instruments in times of economic uncertainty. Uncertainty is the real villain when it comes to liquidity. When peo- ple don’t know where the economy is headed, they become unsure of the value of their assets and very reluctant to transact out of fear that they’ll do so at what will prove to be the wrong price. By securing our financial system, LPB will greatly reduce the chances of financial panic and thereby make our economy more certain and liquid. Will LPB Reduce Credit? No. Under the current system, lenders put money in banks, which give it to borrowers.3 Under LPB, lenders put money in mutual funds, which give it to borrowers. The difference is that the mutual funds, having issued equity, not debt, to the lenders won’t guarantee full and real repayment to lenders based on a pledge extorted from Uncle Sam, which Sam cannot, in fact, actually fulfill. Having said this, I want to repeat that for people who seek safety with respect to their nominal dollar returns, LPB offers cash mutual funds as well as existing and new mutual funds that invest in US. Treasuries bills and bonds of specific maturities or in combinations (e.g., indexes) of different maturities. For those seeking safety with respect to their real dollar returns, there are and will be plenty more mutual funds that invest in inflation—indexed bonds (Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, or TIPS) of different maturities. Also, there is nothing in LPB that precludes households from pur— chasing individual securities. These days, one can buy TIPS and other What About? ' 167 Treasury securities directly from the Treasury at wwwtreasurydirectgov. Hence, anyone concerned about securing either nominal dollars (actual dollar amounts) or real dollars (real purchasing power) for specific years in the future and can’t find a mutual fund holding the right maturity, can purchase his or her preferred maturity from the Treasury directly or in the secondary market.4 The other key difference with respect to credit extension is that under LPB, lenders will have full and truthful information about the people to whom they are lending. This should make it easier for most people to borrow; most people are honest, and under the current system, there is no way for a lender to know if the borrower’s representations are true. Indeed, given what lenders have just experienced, they have every reason to believe that borrowers, with Wall Street’s help, are lying about both their ability to repay and the value of their collateral. Who Will Lend to Business? Both small and large companies will borrow from mutual funds. That is, they Will go to a bank and apply for a loan. The bank will have the loan processed by the FFA and then auction it off to mutual funds specializing in small business loans if the company is small, and large business loans if the company is large. By the way, requiring banks to auction off, on the web, the loans they initiate, be they commercial or private (as in mortgages), will guarantee that borrowers get the lowest available interest rates. This is an impor— tant form of borrower protection that doesn’t exist within the current system. Will LPB Reduce Leverage? Yes and no. LPB will keep banks from leveraging the public without its knowledge or approval. But it won’t impose limits on leverage un— dertaken between consenting adults. As discussed, mutual funds can be, and in some cases already are, structured to allow shareholders to lever— age themselves up or down relative to one another using common and 168 leMY STEWART IS DEAD preferred shares and other techniques. Indeed, as we’ve seen, tranched CMOs and CD05 are mutual funds that offer various degrees of leverage to investors via their selection of the tranche they wish to hold. Will LPB Shrink the Financial Sector? This is hard to say. There is no single right size for the financial sector. It will find its natural size when there is no explicit or implicit government subsidization of financial malfeasance. The real measure of the financial sector’s contribution to output is the value of its intermediation services. Since the FFA will ensure that these services are meaningful, rather than elaborate scams, the economy may decide to make more use of financial intermediation. But if the sector does shrink, the capital and labor used in the sector won’t be lost. It will go to work in the nonfinancial sector, although the adjustment will take some time. Doesn’t LPB Force Us to Become Our Own Bankers? We are our own financial keepers. We’ve been so in the past and will continue to be so in the future. We’re each ultimately responsible for how much we save, what insurance we buy, and how we invest our savings. Under LPB, there will be plenty of financial advisors as well as mutual fund managers seeking to give us advice. But thanks to the FFA, there will be a way of verifying that one’s assets are being invested as agreed. Also, LPB will be a much simpler and more transparent system than our current financial structure, with much more homogeneous financial products. Isn’t LPB Reducing the Amount of Safe Assets? There are no perfectly safe assets available in our country or, for that matter, anywhere in the world. Even TIPS bear risk insofar as the federal What About? 169 government can default on their payment at any time. The market certainly thought there was a good chance of such default in the six months following Lehman’s collapse. In December 2007, it cost only $600 to insure yourself for one year against default on $10 million of US. Treasury bonds.5 But in early March 2009, the price exceeded $100,000!6 Campbell Soup’s credit default swaps during this period were selling at a lower price, so the market thought Campbell’s Soup was more trustworthy than Uncle Sam.7 Although it’s much cheaper these days to buy insurance against defaults on US. Treasuries, the market clearly believes there is still a major risk of this occurring. That said, some assets are safer than others, and many observers think the government’s guarantees are responsible for providing more safe assets in total in society. I disagree. In trying to make things safe, I believe the government has achieved the opposite. It’s created a very unsafe financial and economic environment, in which financial companies take on much more risk because they keep the gains and hand the public the losses. The current episode has made this crystal clear. And though the real values (the purchasing power) of our money markets, savings accounts, checking accounts, life insurance cash sur- render values, and CDs have been preserved, at least so far, we’ve all taken a hit. Many of us have seen our other assets plummet or our jobs disappear. And we or our progeny will, over time, pay for the bailouts. So no one should be under any illusion that our government can keep us economically safe. The best our government can do is try to keep the economy in a good place and, if it still heads south, redistribute within and across generations to spread the pain as fairly as possible. Giving financial firms what amounts to huge incentives to destabilize the economy, albeit on a random basis, is precisely the wrong way to run the show. Not only does the economy collapse, but the government ends up with a colossal bill that it has to pay to third parties, including, in this case, the Chinese government and the shareholders of Société Générale. These obligations clearly limit the amount of ex~post risk pooling the government can do. Finally, I see little evidence that Uncle Sam is sharing the risks of the financial crisis fairly across generations. From what I can tell, most of the costs of this unfortunate episode are going to be foisted on our 170 JIMMY STEWART IS DEAD children and grandchildren. That’s not intergenerational risk sharing. That’s intergenerational risk making. Does LPB Require Homemade Insurance Policies? “Today, I can buy a life insurance policy that pays off no matter what happens. And you’re going to force me to buy one mutual fund that insures my life, but leaves me exposed to aggregate mortality risk, and then I have to place complex bets within a second mutual fund that will let me hedge the aggregate mortality risk? You are forcing me to make two financial transactions when now I need to make only one.” The premise of the first sentence is false. Were, for example, swine flu to really break out, our life insurance policies would not fully pay off because our life insurance companies would either go bust or be bailed out. It they go bust, our heirs won’t get paid as much as was promised, and if they are bailed out, our heirs, along with others, will face higher explicit or implicit taxes to cover the bailout.8 Worst of all, the process of watching either the life insurance companies fall apart or be bailed out could push us off our precarious economic precipice. As we’ve seen, it’s a long way down. But the concern being voiced about having to buy too many financial products to achieve a given end is a valid one. Isn’t there a way to make our financial lives under LPB simpler? There is. It’s called the market. Life insurance mutual funds will naturally compete to make it as easy as possible for households to pur— chase what amounts to a basic policy plus varying degrees of aggregate mortality insurance. For example, just as we can now bet on horses via online betting, we’ll surely buy life and other insurance mutual funds on line, and the LPB mutual funds will do for this business what Gohorsebetting.com, Bodog.com, Youbet.com, and the very many other competing online racetrack betting services do for horse rac— ing. They provide clear, simple instructions for taking on and laying off particular mutual fund risks. For example, when younger households buy shares of life insurance mutual funds specific to their age, sex, and health status,9 they can be What About? 171 asked (on line, on the phone, or in person), if they also wish to purchase aggregate mortality protection that will pay X, Y, and Z if this years mortality rate falls in ranges A, B, and C. Insuring Against Changes in Insurability In today’s financial system, one “can” buy renewable term life insurance, which effectively wraps together insurance against your dying With 1n— surance against your living, but also experiencing an adverse health shock that limits your ability to purchase term insurance in the future at preferential rates. . - Since younger households will want to buy life 1nsurance through time and will also seek protection against changes in their health status, the life insurance mutual funds would also likely ask such households if they wish to protect themselves against a change in their health status that affects their future insurability by buying shares of health status insurance mutual funds. These health status insurance mutual funds would probably run on a one-year rather than three—month basis, because the change in healthcare status would need to be assessed by independent healthcare professmnals, again under the aegis of the FFA. The need for this type of insurance mutual fund would depend on future government regulation. For example, Uncle Sam could 51mply decree that no life insurance mutual fund can take preexisting medlcal conditions into account in selling shares of its life insurance mutual funds. In this case, the Drop—Dead-If-You—Must, 30—to—35—Year—Old— Females fund could limit its shareholders to 30— to 35—year—old females, but couldn’t require them to be in good health as specified by a medical review of the type you typically get these days when you apply for life insurance. I I Ruling out insurers’ use of preexisting medical conditions 1n setting insurance rates is, by the way, a key feature of the new Health Insur- ance Exchange that Congress and the administration are designing. The Health Insurance Exchange is meant to provide health insurance cover— age to today’s almost 50 million Americans with no current coverage. If 172 JIMMY STEWART IS DEAD policymakers think it unfair to charge the sick higher health insurance premiums, they’re also likely to think it unfair to charge the sick higher hfe insurance premiums.10 With LPB You Don’t Know the Odds Until It’s Too Late window is shut at post time (when the race begins). At this point, the parimutuel fund is closed, and no more bets can be placed. People that wait until the last minute bear the risk of being unable to bet, while those who bet early do so with a less precise estimate of the final odds So there is an advantage as well as a cost to betting late. I In vision of LPB, I would expect there to be many large, highly competitive insurance mutual fiinds selling us protection against each particular type of risk. I would not expect the payoff odds (the ratio of what you’d get if you won to what you originally invested) to vary much across funds, and, absent a large aggre time should be gradual. Actuarially speaking, it doesn’t take large numbers of insurance mutual fund shareholders to achieve virtually all the potential risk sharing available via diversification. Indeed, having 100 women in— vest in the Drop—Dead~If—You—Must-30—to—35—Year—Old—Females fund would achieve virtually all the risk—sharing possible, and I’d expect the number of shareholders in such a fund to number in the thousands. So I think the issue of not knowing precisely how many other people are investing in your insurance mutual fund and how much they’ve con— tributed Will not be of much concern once the LPB insura up and running and attracting large numbers of investors. gate shock, their variation across nce funds are Why Not Simply Correctly Price the Government’s Guarantees? Perry Mehrling believes that rather than radically reform our financial system along the lines of LPB, we should have the government charge a What About? 1 73 price for systemic risk insurance that is appropriate to market conditions and the amount of insurance being provided. At the early stages of the crisis, Perry persuaded me that this was the right financial fix. We penned several FT Economists’ Forum columns, including one with Alistair Milne of City University London. Alistair is one of Britain’s top financial economists and had independently reached Perry’s conclusion.11 In Perry and Alistair’s View, the government is not just the lender of last resort but also the insurer of last resort, and should intervene by selling credit default insurance if the price of such insurance goes nuts. Furthermore, the price of the insurance should be set high enough to deter excessive risk taking. An example here would be insurance against the top (safest) tranche of a CMO defaulting. This insurance would pay off only under extreme circumstances, when the system has collapsed. If the government can, at a price, keep this from happening, it can safely intervene in this insurance market and effectively set a ceiling on the premium. In my mind, this “if” is very big. There is nothing in the economic theory of coordination failures/multiple equilibrium that suggests that the government can actually choose the economy’s equilibrium. Recall that, in such models, if everyone thinks everyone else is thinking that G (as in good equilibrium) will happen, it’s in the interest of everyone to think G will happen and G will, in fact, happen. By the same logic, if everyone thinks that everyone else is thinking B (as in bad) will happen, we’ll end up with B happening. Now if everyone thinks that everyone else thinks B will happen and the government starts screaming, “It’s G, you idiots! Everyone is thinking G!” well, there’s no reason for anyone to believe the government, because it should scream this no matter what people are believing because it wants the economy to end up at G. If tomorrow everyone came to believe that everyone else was going to run on their checking and savings accounts, their money market accounts, their cash surrender values, and so on and that the government was going to have to print money out the wazoo to service these runs as well as mitigate the economic fallout and that this money creation would Cause hyperinflation, then everyone would run, because that would be the individually, economically rational thing to do. This would be true regardless of Uncle Sam’s standing with arms outstretched in front of 174 JIMMY STEWART IS DEAD the banks, screaming, “Don’t run, you bloody fools!” People would not only run. They’d run right over Uncle Sam. And please don’t take my word for this. Take the words of for— mer Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, current Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, and former SEC Chairman Christopher Cox, all of whom ap— parently warned the nation’s top bankers on the eve of Lehman’s collapse that if Lehman collapsed, all of their banks could go down.12 Now some will say, “Yes, but Lehman collapsed and the govern- ment moved in and saved the day, so it does have the power to insure the system.” My response is, “Hardly” We now have 14 states with unem— ployment rates above 10 percent. Michigan’s unemployment rate is now north of 15 percent. The government has failed to save the economy from What will surely be its worst showing in 70 years, and things could easily go south from here. So if the government can’t really insure against system risk, how can it sell systemic risk insurance? It can’t. It can sell, but it can’t deliver. Just ask AIG. How Will Monetary Policy Operate? It will operate just as it does today. If the Fed wants to increase the money supply, it will print money and use it to buy assets from the private sector, typically the private sector’s holdings of Treasuries. In this crisis, we’ve seen the Fed print money to buy other assets as well, indeed, even toxic assets. At the moment, the Fed’s balance sheet appears to be about 50 percent invested in assets other than Treasuries, the majority of which appear to be of highly questionable market value. Under LPB, the Fed, if it wanted, could purchase and sell shares of the various mutual funds. Thus, if the Fed wished to quickly lower mortgage interest rates, it could do so by buying shares of mutual funds investing in mortgages. Or if it wanted to intervene in the credit default insurance (CDS) market, as Perry and Alistair advocate, it could do so by buying or selling shares of corporate bond CDS insurance mutual funds. For example, if it wanted to lower the cost of default insurance on IBM, it could buy shares of the IBM Defaults This Year or Not fund, taking the position that IBM won’t default. In other words, the What About? 175 Fed would put its money in the fund and be paid back its share of the pot only if IBM doesn’t default. Those trying to insure themselves against IBM’s defaulting now see a cheaper price of doing so. The Fed’s intervention has made the pot larger, so for the same collective investment, they’ll get a larger payoff if IBM defaults. Alternatively, they can make a smaller investment in the fund and get the same payoff they’d otherwise have received were IBM to default. Hence, Perry and Alistair’s proposed policy of having the government intervene in default insurance markets can be safely conducted Within LPB. Note that in buying or selling shares in funds that entail bets on aggregate outcomes, the Fed or Treasury, for that matter, would not be insuring the uninsurable. It would be putting its money on the table (in the pot), like everyone else. And the pot is clearly paying off in nominal, not real dollars. So there is no implicit attempt to insure anything real. What about Foreign Assets? LPB would include mutual funds that hold foreign stocks, bonds, and real estate. The current mutual fund industry sells plenty of funds already that invest in foreign securities. The FFA would be responsible for disclosing what it knows or can discern at reasonable cost about these securities. Again, rating by not rating is a form of rating. Won’t Americans Just Bank Abroad? If the United States adopts limited purpose banking, other countries around the world will likely follow suit. But if they don’t and Americans Want to bank in London, Paris, and so on, they should be free to do so with all the risks that a non—LPB—based banking system entails. Lots of Brits and other Europeans learned a healthy lesson during this crisis about banking abroad. They opened up checking accounts in Iceland’s three largest banks, assuming the Icelandic government would insure their deposits, at least in nominal terms. Collectively, these banks ended up taking in deposits and other short— or medium—term loans that appear to have exceeded four times Iceland’s GDP!13 They then . I 176 JIMMY STEWART IS DEAD turned around and invested these huge (at least for Iceland) sums in US. mortgaged-backed securities and other “safe” assets. When financial matters took a turn for the worse, all three of these banks collapsed and were nationalized. At this point, the Icelandic gov— ernment had to make good on its deposit insurance. But it realized that printing vast hoards of krénur to cover the deposits of foreign nationals would lead to hyperinflation. So the Icelandic central bank told foreign nationals to take a hike. In anticipation of this treatment, the British and other governments seized the remaining assets of the Icelandic banks that were situated in their jurisdictions. The dispute over what was and wasn’t insured, and whether the Icelandic bank assets could legally be seized, will go on for years and make lots of lawyers rich. But even if non—Icelandic deposits get paid their krénur, they won’t be worth much since the krénur has already devalued dramatically rel— ative to the euro and the dollar and would really depreciate were the Icelandic central bank forced to print several times GDP to meet its insurance commitments. Doesn’t LPB Dramatically Shrink the Money Supply? The precise definition of the money supply is largely in the eyes of the beholder. Even the Federal Reserve doesn’t know what money supply measure to consider. The St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank keeps track of four different measures: M1, M2, M3, and L. As you move from M1 to L, each measure adds some additional components, which are viewed as less liquid, as in less easy to use in purchasing goods and services.14 Unfortunately, over the short run, where the short run can involve a goodly number of years, the different money measures aren’t particularly well correlated with one another let alone the price level. This is an embarrassing situation; we economists have very precise mathematical models connecting M to P, which reference the money supply and the “price” level, but we really don’t know how precisely to measure M of P, for that matter. One thing we do know, though, is that dramatically increasing the monetary base—how much money the government prints to buy What About? 177 things—will over time lead all four money measures plus any reasonable measure of the price level to skyrocket. We can’t say precisely how to measure money, but we know it when we see it, particularly when we see lots of it.15 ~ . As mentioned, under LPB cash mutual funds will, be the most liquid of assets‘. They will never break the buck and can be accessed via ATM accounts or debit cards. And since the government will directly control M1 (the sum of cash in our possession and cash in our cash mutual funds), it can make M1 anything it wants just by printing more or less money, which must be held in one of those two places. leen this ability to print money, there is then no reason to think that the M1 money supply will be smaller under LPB. What about M2 and broader measures of money? Well, M2 equals M1 plus money market accounts, savings accounts, and small denomi— nation certificates of deposit (CD5). And the broader measures bulld on M2. So one way the government can make M2 or some broader measure of money larger, if it wants it to be larger, is simply to increase Now it’s true that under LPB, savings accounts and CDs Wlll no longer be issued by the banks, which, let’s not forget, often entail a fee upOn early liquidation. Nor will there be money market mutual funds whose market values are explicitly or implicitly insured by the federal government. So these elements of M2 and broader measures of money will be eliminated. But households who formerly held their savings in full or in part in these vehicles will be investing those same funds in LPB mutual funds that are highly liquid insofar as they can be sold at any time at prevailing market prices. W'hat’s the Role of the FFA in Investment Banking? Under limited purpose banking, a new mortgage, commercial loan, Credit card, issuance of stock, new real estate trust, and so on would be initiated by a bank, sent to the FFA and private parties, as desired, for independent and multiple rating, income verification, and disclosure, and then auctioned by the bank to mutual funds, including mutual funds that the bank itself markets to the public. The new securities would fund upon sale to the mutual fund, so that the bank would never hold them; 178 jIMMY STEWART IS DEAD that is, never have an open position. Once funded, the new securities would be held by the owners of the mutual fund—the people. This ensures that people, not institutions, hold risk. Would individuals be free to buy and sell individual securities outside of mutual fiJnds? Absolutely. And banks would be free to brokerage those purchases and sales. But banks would not hold inventories of securities of any amount or kind. To facilitate their brokerage services, the FFA would establish an escrow service, effecting the transfer of money to sellers and securities to buyers once it had confirmed receipt of both the money from the buyers and the securities from the sellers. That is, the FFA rather than broker—dealers could clear securities markets. Banks would thus assist people in buying and selling securities, but would never incur exposure in the process of this brokerage business. What about Venture Capital, Private Equity Firms, and Hedge Funds? Venture capital firms would simply be LPB banks that sell mutual funds specializing in buying the equity and bonds of new startups. Their principals would be free to purchase, as private individuals, the issues they helped initiate. And private equity firms? Such banks would simply sell mutual funds that invest in private equity. Hedge funds could buy options and puts within mutual funds, but they couldn’t short securities that leave their mutual funds in particular situations with obligations that exceed the value of the mutual fund’s as— sets. Hence, many hedge funds would likely want to operate as non—LPB banks, in which case they would operate with unlimited liability—that is, with liability extending fully to those running the fund. Had LTCM been forced to operate in this manner, its owners, would no doubt, have taken on much less leverage in trying to capitalize on spreads that seemed sure to close, but failed to cooperate. Is GE a Bank under LPB? Is General Electric a bank under limited purpose banking, given that it has a major subsidiary, GE Capital, which engages in financial What About? 179 intermediation? GE itself would not be a bank. But GE Capital most certainly would be and would be precluded from doing anything other than initiating mortgages, getting them rated, selling them in the market, and operating its own mutual funds. Can’t Nonfinancial Corporations Play Conventional Bank? Under LPB, what prevents a corporation like Papa Gino ’s from borrow— ing to invest in risky securities; that is, to act like a current—day bank? The answer is that corporations can borrow to expand their operations and to acquire other companies in their lines of business. But Papa Gino 5 could not buy stock in Dow Chemical, which would, presumably, v1- olate Papa Gino’s corporate charter, which instructs company officers to make pizza, not napalm. If Papa Gino’s wanted to expand 1ts charter to include financial services, nothing would prevent it from establishing the First Bank of Thin—Crust Pizza that operates, like all other banks, as a mutual fund company. Why Let Proprietorships Run Traditional Banks? Is it fair to let proprietorships and partnerships, which do not have limited liability, to operate as conventional banks, which can borrow short and lend long? The answer is yes, since the owners of these banks .wouldhbe personally liable for all their losses, including the loss of deposns, wh1ch the government would not insure. Will LPB Prevent Financial Panics? T0 the enduring consternation of economists, people are human. There is nothing to stop them collectively gettlng overly exc1ted about'p'ar- ticular assets, be they stocks, bonds, or real estate, and then dec1d1ng from one minute to the next that they’ve made a huge mistake and all try to dump their assets at the same time. Such irratlonal exuberance and pessimism can’t be stopped. The best we can do is discourage 1t by 180 JIMMY STEWART IS DEAD making sure our financial system is structured on sound principals, so that when the market crashes, the financial system doesn’t crash as well. Again, the gas station analogy is useful. It’s bad enough that gas prices will occasionally shoot up to tremendous levels for no apparent reason. It would be many times worse if all of the nation’s gas stations go broke at the same time that prices go nuts. And the potential for the financial system to fail can, itself, trigger nancial panic and runs on the market. If rumors spread that the gas stations are going down, this will drive up the price of gas and take the leveraged gas stations down. So having a financial system that’s safe should mean much less financial market volatility. LPB also builds in extra protection against asset fire sales because many, if not most, of its mutual funds would be closed-end funds. When the owners of closed—end funds panic, they can sell their shares to other owners or to third parties, but they can’t force redemptions (sales) of the underlying assets held by the closed—end fund. Closed-end funds specify when and how the assets they buy will be liquidated. For example, a closed—end fund investing in 1,000 risky 15—year mortgages issued on a given date might specify that it will hold the mortgages for the full 15 years, paying out the net cash flow to the fund holders along the way. If people start panicking about the ability of homeowners to repay their mortgages, they may try to dump their mutual fund shares, but the 1,000 mortgages, themselves, won’t be sold/ dumped on the market. Such runs could make it tough for lots of higher risk homeowners and businesses to borrow via mutual funds at reasonable interest rates, which is what we’re seeing today. So I’m not suggesting that financial life will be perfectly smooth. I’m saying it will be much smoother under LPB than under the current system because LPB will remove, to a very great extent, the risk of fraud and systemic collapse. LPB Will Destroy Valuable Relationships and Information Banks Have About Their Borrowers This is a View straight from It’s A VI/bndeful Ly’e. Jimmy Stewart knows everyone in town. He trusts them; they trust him. Jimmy knows Sally’s behind on her payments, but that she’s good for them. And Jimmy What About? 1 8 1 knows why his golf buddy Frank is short on his loan. Frank broke three toes in an errant swing on the 14th and hasn’t been able to pitch the Three-in-One—a marvelous cigarette holder that gives you three smokes at once. This is a lovely story about a world that no longer exists if it ever did. Today’s Jimmy is working for a huge conglomerate run by top managers and directors who care primarily about their compensation, not share- holder value. The quicker this “leadership” team can “manufacture” a profit, the sooner they can justify huge bonuses for themselves and take early retirement. There’s another reason these thieves have to work fast. There’s always the chance that a hostile takeover (by even more effi— cient thieves) will close down their scam. This means initiating Sally and Frank’s loans, paying raters to lie about their quality (because there’s no FFA to check), and selling them off for up—front money. And, as previously indicated, forcing Jimmy to hold all the loans he issues doesn’t work either because his bank will then face all the risk and have to charge Sally and Frank higher rates than a diversified, securitized market can deliver. In addition, Jimmy is not risking the loss of his own capital; if he’s a manager of a major financial conglomerate, he’s risking the loss of his shareholders’ capital. But there is a real concern here. Private information and the effort going into collecting that information has real value. IfJimmy is enduring Frank’s awful golf game in order to learn more about Frank’s business, he should be able to earn a return on that effort, not to mention physical risk. But under LPB, Jimmy can do this. He can manage a mutual fund that invests in startup firms and spend time and effort deciding which startups are most likely to succeed and buy relatively more of their paper. And, if his funds do well, he can charge larger fees. He just can’t force the general public to co—invest with him. Economics Diary, November 11, 2009: Whither the Economy? The stock market continues to head north, but the economy remains in the tank. Mortgage delinquencies are at a record high w1th 10 per— Cent of all households with mortgages at least one month late in their 182 JIMMY STEWART IS DEAD payments. Fourteen percent of these households are either delinquent or facing foreclosure.16 Consumer confidence remains very low and un— employment has hit 10.2 percent. A total of 263,000 of our landsmen lost their jobs in September, including close to 16,000 teachers.17 An- other 571,000 workers dropped out of the work force. The national unemployment rate is now 9.8 percent. And the duration of unem— ployment is reaching levels last seen in the 19305.18 The ranks of the unemployed include almost 7 million seniors, aged 65 and older, most of whom lost both their jobs and large chucks of their savings over the past two years.19 Add up the officially unemployed (those who looked for work in the past week), the unofficially unemployed (those who’ve looked for work over the past year, but not the past month), and those who are working part—time but would like to work full—time, and you reach 17.5 percent of the nation’s workforce.20 This broader measure of unemployment appears to be higher than at any time since the Great Depression. Today, CNN identified 10 states in severe financial peril, with budget shortfalls ranging from 12 percent, in the case of Michigan, to 49 percent in the case of California. New jersey, Nevada, Arizona, and Illinois have budget gaps of 30 percent, 38 percent, 41 percent, and 47 percent, respectively. Florida, with a budget gap of 23 percent, is shrinking. More people are moving out than are moving in for the first time since \ World War II. My guess is that the young and middle—aged workers in Florida are the ones who are bailing and leaving the elderly, with their high Medicaid price tag, to fend for themselves.21 Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs are back to “God’s work,” preparing to hand out $30 billion in bonuses.22 This is obscene and is outraging the entire nation. I suspect these com— panies are digging their own graves. And if all this weren’t depressing enough, the FDIC reported last week the 115th bank failure of the year. The bank failure rate is accel- erating, with 1,000 more failures expected in the near term.23 And the Treasury just announced its 2009 fiscal year deficit was $1.4 trillion—the largest deficit since World War II when measured as a share of GDP. Oh, and by the way, the FDIC is now completely broke and needs to borrow to cover its obligations to insured depositors.24 The FDIC doesn’t want to borrow from the Treasury. Apparently, the two heads of What About? 183 these agencies—Sheila Bair and Timothy Geithner—don’t play nicely in the sandbox. So the FDIC is borrowing from private banks; that is, anks are bailing out the FDIC, which is supposed to bail out rivate b p e to keep the Treasury out private banks. But this is also part subterfug ' . of the headlines. Recall that the private banks are being given or lent money by the Treasury and Fed for free or on'what appear to be highly favorable terms. So what we really have here is the government bailing out the government, but letting the private. banking. system pick pp a nice fee along the way. The Federal Housmg Administration is a so starting to run in the red and will shortly need masswe infuswns from the Treasury or the Fed.25 The Fed’s massive money creation i . dollar. In the past nine months, the dollar’s value relative to the euro has fallen by 13 percent. It now takes almost $1.50 to buy one euro. Part of the reason for the dollar’s decline is that foreign governments are . . . buying fewer dollar—denominated assets in which to hold their reserves. This could reflect more faith in foreign economies or more fear of US. inflation. The M1 money multiplier remains very low and, to date, the mon— etary base hasn’t risen by as much as I feared when I first began writing. But the Fed is still printing money like crazy; indeed, it 5 still committing to buying up hundreds of billions more of private. as well as governmeplt securities. And if and when the money multiplier returns to norm , there will be an awful lot of money chasing a relatively small number of goods. This is dawning on Wall Street. Morgan Stanley Just issued a warning about high future inflation and long rates are rising. Credit markets remain extremely tight. Several weeks back, the New York Times ran a lead story on the moribund nature of private credit 27 Notwithstanding $1 trillion in federal injections, the mort— oans, commercial paper, student loan, auto 60 per— 5 starting to take its toll on the markets. gage, commercial real estate 1 . f loans and other debt securitization markets, which account or cent of new credit creation, remain on life support. Yale’s Robert Shiller can call a spade a spade: “The sec . markets are dead.” In the case of mortgage—backed securities, private or the year at $8 billion, compared With three— lending is running f 05 W ' tf ew mortgagCS ' ‘ d 11 5 back in 20 . ere it no or n quarters Ofa mnlon o at FHA, we’d have issued by Uncle Sam through Fannie, Freddie, and uritization 184 JIMMY STEWART Is DEAD almost no housing market, period. But now the Fed is threatening to pull the plug on continued support of residential and commercial real estate lending. This is raising lots of concerns, particularly among investors in commercial real estate. Some $50 billion of their securitized borrowings are coming up for refinance in a few months. The reason the private credit markets remain frozen except for those with top credit ratings and lots of collateral is simple. No one trusts that the securities being bundled together are as advertised. Or to quote the New York Times, “Many investors have lost trust in securitization after losing huge sums on packages of subprime mortgages that had high default rates.” Trust in insurance companies is also terribly weak. Today, a purchaser of an AIG annuity who lives in California sued the State of California to make sure AIG doesn’t transfer any assets out of state; she’s worried (for good reason) that (a) Uncle Sam will eventually stop bailing out AIG, (b) AIG will go belly up, and (c) she’ll lose her annuity. If the California courts approve approves her suit, she’ll in effect force California to run on AIG’s reserves. This would likely trigger a run by all the other states on “their” claims to AIG’s assets, which could trigger a run on AIG’s cash surrender values by its multitudinous policyholders.28 In short, nobody trusts anybody these days when it comes to their money. In negotiating with the former Soviet Union, President Reagan used to quote a Russian saying, “Trust, but verify.” A better saying in this context is “Verify, then trust.” But over two years into this financial abyss, we have no mechanism in place for independent verification, rating, custody, and disclosure and no firewalls against insuring the uninsurable. Nor do we have any plans for such a mechanism. Until we do, via Limited Purpose Banking and its federal financial authority, our financial system and economy will remain dead in the water and in ongoing peril. Just ask Neil Barofsky, who was appointed Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and indicated in July in a 256—page report that “the total federal support (of the financial sector) could reach up to $23.7 trillion.”29 As Barofsky told CNN, These banks that were too big to fail are now bigger. . . . Government has sponsored and supported several mergers that made them larger What About? 185 and that guarantee, that implicit guarantee of moral hazard, the idea that the government is not going to let these banks fail, which was implicit a year ago, is now explicit, we’ve said it. So if anything, not only have there not been any meaningful regulatory reform to make it less likely, in a lot of ways, the government has made such problems more likely. . . . Potentially we could be in more danger now than we were a year ago.” Barofsky is not only concerned about the “too big to fail” problem. He’s also highly skeptical that we are going to do the independent verification, disclosure, and rating needed to restore confidence in the financial system. Speaking of ratings, Gretchen Morgenstern, the New York Times ace financial reporter, reported today on wea culpa Congressional testimony by Scott McCleskey, head of compliance at Moody’s from 2006 through 2008. McCleskey focused on Moody’s ratings of municipal bonds issued by some 29,000 local governments, school districts, water authorities, etc. He disclosed that Moody’s fails to rerate these bonds on a timely basis, while conveying the impression that it does. In fact, McCleskey indicated that “the vast majority” of the thousands of outstanding Moody’s—rated municipal bonds hadn’t been re—rated for years and some hadn’t been re—rated for up to two decades! When McCleskey raised a red flag with his superiors, he was told “not to mention the issue in any e—mails or any other written form.”31 For his part, Uncle Sam has been busy sharpening his knives when it comes to Wall Street pay. He’s just announced 90 percent cuts in the compensation of top execs at AIG, Citigroup, and Bank of America.32 And he’s poised to start micro—managing pay levels at all the major banks in the country via the Federal Reservez‘3 Just ask Kenneth Lewis. Ken was forced to work the entire year for B of A for nothing—not a single penny, which presumably is why he resigned. But let’s not worry about Ken. He’ll be able to find work. Maurice (Hank) Greenberg is hiring. Hank’s been working overtime to build AIG II under the name C. V. Staar and Company.34 Greenberg, recall, built AIG into a financial colossus, with many solid insurance businesses, before hiring one Joseph Cassano to sell credit default policies that the Company couldn’t possibly cover. 186 JIMMY STEWART Is DEAD Hank was forced out of AIG in 2005 by the NY Attorney Gen— eral, Eliot Spitzer under allegations of fraudulent business practices, securities fraud, common law fraud and other violations of insurance and securities law.35 The extent of Greenberg’s culpability, who claims he was victimized by Spitzer, remains unclear. Hank successfully defended himself against criminal charges and has settled for peanuts allegations that he raided AIG to the tune of billions when he left AIG in 2005.36 Greenberg’s reputation is rising, while Spitzer’s remains in tatters. In 2008, Spitzer, then governor of New York, was forced to resign when he was caught purchasing services from a prostitute with the alleged use of campaign contributions.37 Hank, who is in his eighties, is chock full of testosterone too. He’s now raiding AIG’s top executives, who, recall, just had their pay cut by 90 percent and are surely eager to jump ship. If AIG loses its top personnel and becomes a shell of its former self, . which is even less able to cover its myriad debts, we, the people, will get stuck with an even larger bill for the ongoing AIG mess, which Hank created. The exodus of AIG‘ talent is happening in real time; last week Robert Benmosche, AIG’s current CEO, told AIG’s Board that he was “done.”38 Citigroup, which has already received $45 billion in taxpayer largess and can draw on another $300 billion under certain circumstances, is facing the same micro—management of its top salaries and a consequent talent drain that may cost taxpayers another fortune.39 Indeed, in my nightmares I see Hank hiring Ken, Joe, Jimmy, Robert, Stan, CharleS, and the rest of the financial rogue gallery recreating fundamentally fraud— ulent financial enterprises on an ongoing basis. The other news on the economics scene is encouraging. Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, just gave a courageous and withering speech in favor of “Utility Banking,” which is a different term for what I call Limited Purpose Banking.40 Paul Volcker, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, is expressing similar views and making it clear that he’s being ignored by Obamas dream team of economists.41 Here are some of King’s words: To paraphrase a great wartime leader, never in the field of financial endeavour has so much money been owed by so few to so many. And, one might add, so far with little real reform. . . . The massive support What About? 187 extended to the banking sector around the world, while necessary to avert economic disaster, has created possibly the biggest moral hazard in history. The “too important to fail” problem is too important to ignore . . . In other industries we separate those functions that are utility in nature—and are regulated—from those that can safely be left to the discipline of the market. There are those who claim that such proposals are impractical. It is hard to see why. . . . It is important that banks in receipt of public support are not encouraged to try to earn their way out of that support by resuming the very activities that got them into trouble. And here are some of Volcker’s: The banks are there to serve the public, and that is what they should concentrate on. These other activities create conflicts of interest. They create risks, and if you try to control the risks with supervision, that just creates friction and difficulties (and ultimately fails).42 Some of the world’s top finance economists have recently and in— dependently come up with reforms that are very similar to LPB. For example, Anat Admati and Paul Pfleiderer, two of Stanford Univer— sity’s top financial economists,“ have formulated a plan in which banks are broken into two parts. One part is 100 percent equity financed (can’t borrow), has limited liability, and one part that’s partly debt fi— nanced that has unlimited liability. This is equivalent to LPB, which has 100 percent equity financed mutual funds with limited liability, but permits banks that operate a unlimited liability proprietorships or part— nerships to borrow with no limit. Most hedge funds would, presumably, go this route. Douglas Diamond and a long list of other top finance economists Who formed the Squam Lake Group are pushing a plan that entails transforming bank debt into equity when banks that are too big to fail Start failing. This too sounds like a ban on debt finance of the type Proposed under LPB.’ If people like Admati, Pfeiderer, and Diamond, not to mention Mervyn King, who is an outstanding economist, are coming around to an LPB—type solution, the rest of the economics financial profession will Soon be deriving this solution as well. In the end analysis, this is a problem of economic engineering. We economists now finally understand the _-h:—._'.I'.- I . {- III-I- IMMY STEWART IS DEAD interconnected problems of modern finance. We also understand that they won’t be fixed by wishful thinking, and we recognize the extreme dangers of leaving the status quo in place. Whether one calls the solution Limited Purpose Banking or something else makes no difference. What matters is that LPB principles are applied in the reform and that we economists give credit where credit is due in describing this reform to the public, namely to our science, which points inexorably to this solution. Chapter 8 Conclusion ) “A financial system on the verge (f collapse. . .’ -—President Barack Obama ur financial system is in terrible shape and needs a fundamental O overhaul, not an oil change. The system aids and abets finan— cial malfeasance, particularly the leveraging of the American taxpayer. Most important, it leaves us at tremendous economic risk. In reappointing Ben Bernanke chairman of the Federal Reserve, President Obama hailed Bernanke for bringing us back from the brink, saving us from a second Great Depression, and rescuing “a financial system on the verge of collapse.”1 The president is not one to exaggerate. His characterization of the dangers we faced and Bernanke’s role in mitigating that danger is shared by most observers, myself included. But What we don’t know is whether the movie we’ve been Watching—It’s a Horrible Mess—is really over or just providing an intermission. What we do know is that we have the same pit in our stomachs—the same anxiety—we have after watching It’s a VVondeful Lyra It’s the fear, to paraphrase President Bush, that “This sucker could easily blow.” Living under constant economic stress is no way to live. The fate of the world economy should not depend on Wall Street’s “risk ... National Commission on EFT_1976_Executive Summary BU
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In the sport of fencing, what is the name of a bladework manoeuvre intended to deflect or block an incoming attack?
parry fencing : definition of parry fencing and synonyms of parry fencing (English) 5 External links   Execution To execute a parry, fencers strike the opponent's foible , or the area near the tip of the blade, with their forte , or the part of the blade near the handle of the sword. This deflects the opponent's blade away from them, protecting them and placing them in a good position to strike back. Approximations of the precise parries are made often during bouts, but are usually accurate enough to be classed as parries. In épée , because of absence of priority rules (see right-of-way), a parry can be classed as anything that prevents the opponent's attack from landing.   Use The primary function of a parry is to prevent an opponent's attack from landing. During a bout, parries are commenced from the "en garde" (neutral) position, when an opponent's attack is considered threatening. In foil and saber, the rules governing the parry give it tactical significance as well: In foil and sabre , there is a rule known as priority , or right-of-way. To gain a point, a fencer must land a hit while having the priority. The first fencer to commence an attack often gains the priority. If the attack results in a successful hit, the fencer gains a point. However, if the attack fails, the priority is transferred to the defender. Defending with a parry causes the attack to fail, both physically and as far as the priority rule is concerned. Taking a parry, therefore, means that the attacker is in an awkward position (with their arm extended and sometimes off-balance), having just committed to attacking, and the defender has the priority, as well as the best position to riposte, or strike after parrying. More advanced fencers can, instead of immediately riposting after successfully taking a parry, initiate a prise de fer ("taking of the blade") in which they move the opponent's blade to a different position and then hit them.   Classification There are nine parries in the classical systems of épée and foil fencing. Parries are classified based on three attributes: 1) The direction of the blade in relation to the hand: up or down. 2) The position of the blade in relation to the fencing line: inside or outside. 3) The rotation of the of the wrist in the hand holding the weapon: supinated' (wrist up) or pronated (wrist down). Name Blade up and to the outside, wrist supinated. This parry can be Lateral or Circular. The Lateral Parry is from Quarte to Sixte. The Circular Parry, also known as "Counter Sixte", is a D shaped parry, dropping the points and bringing it up on the inside bringing your point back towards your En Guard line. The arm position is a mirror image of quinte (supinated, forearm vertical on opposing side of head). Point is diagonal across the body covering the head, but towards the opponent, and slightly upwards (or forwards for a direct riposte in opposition). Septime - Parry 7 Blade down and to the inside, wrist supinated. Point dropped, the wrist is in the same place as in Quarte. This parry is semi-circular, the point is dropped from Quarte to Septime (or the opposite). Octave - Parry 8 Blade down and to the outside, wrist supinated. Point is dropped, the wrist is in the same place as in Sixte. This parry is semi-circular, the point is dropped from Sixte to Octave (or the opposite). Neuvieme - Parry 9 The tip of the blade is on the inside and dropped as in Septime, while the hand is raised. For this reason, Neuvieme is sometimes referred to as "high septime". This parry is often used to sweep through the upper lines of the fencers target, or as a ceding parry.   References
Parry
What was the first name of British Prime Minister Gladstone?
Boxing : definition of Boxing and synonyms of Boxing (English) box (n.) 1.booth for using a telephone 2.a blow with the hand (usually on the ear)"I gave him a good box on the ear" 3.a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid"he rummaged through a box of spare parts" 4.separate partitioned area in a public place for a few people"the sentry stayed in his box to avoid the cold" 5.private area in a theater or grandstand where a small group can watch the performance"the royal box was empty" 6.the driver's seat on a coach"an armed guard sat in the box with the driver" 7.any one of several designated areas on a ball field where the batter or catcher or coaches are positioned"the umpire warned the batter to stay in the batter's box" 8.evergreen shrubs or small trees 9.the quantity contained in a box"he gave her a box of chocolates" 10.a rectangular drawing"the flowchart contained many boxes" 11.a predicament from which a skillful or graceful escape is impossible"his lying got him into a tight corner" 12.a portable container for carrying several objects"the musicians left their instrument cases backstage" 13.(boxing) a blow with the fist"I gave him a clout on his nose" 14.(colloquial;British)an electronic device that receives television signals and displays them on a screen"the British call a tv set a telly" box (v. intr.) 1.engage in a boxing match 2.hit with the fist"I'll box your ears!" 3.put into a box"box the gift, please" boxing (n.) 1.the enclosure of something in a package or box 2.fighting with the fists Boxing (n.) For other uses, see Box (disambiguation) .   An elaborate storage box made of wood . Box ( plural boxes) describes a variety of containers and receptacles for permanent use as storage, or for temporary use often for transporting contents. The word derives from the Greek πύξος (puxos), "box, boxwood". [1] [2] Boxes may be made of durable materials such as wood or metal , or of corrugated fiberboard , paperboard , or other non-durable materials. The size may vary from very small (e.g., a matchbox ) to the size of a large appliance. A corrugated box is a very common shipping container . When no specific shape is described, a box of rectangular cross-section with all sides flat may be expected, but a box may have a horizontal cross section that is square , elongated, round or oval; sloped or domed top surfaces, or non-vertical sides. A decorative or storage box may be opened by raising, pulling, sliding or removing the lid, which may be hinged and/or fastened by a catch, clasp , or lock . Contents   An empty box made of corrugated fiberboard   A corrugated folder for pizza Several types of boxes are used in packaging and storage. A corrugated box is a shipping container made of corrugated fiberboard . These are most commonly used to transport and warehouse products during distribution, and are rated according to the strength of the material or the capacity of the finished box. A folding carton (sometimes called a box) is fabricated from paperboard . The paperboard is printed (if necessary), die-cut and scored to form a blank. These are transported and stored flat, and erected at the point of filling. These are used to package a wide range of goods, intended either for one-time (non-resealable) use or as a storage box for the remaining goods. A variant of the folding carton is the gift box, used for birthday or Christmas gifts and often wrapped in decorative wrapping paper ; this type is usually of much lighter construction than a similar-sized paperboard box meant for packaging and distribution. A "set up" box (or rigid paperboard box) is made of stiffer paperboard, permanently glued together with paper skins that can be printed or colored. Unlike folding cartons, these are assembled at the point of manufacture and transported already "set-up". Set-up boxes are more expensive than folding boxes and are typically used for protecting high value items such as cosmetics, watches or smaller consumer electronics. A crate is a heavy duty shipping container originally made of wood. Crates are distinct from wooden boxes , also used as heavy duty shipping containers. For a wooden container to be a crate, all six of its sides must be put in place to result in the rated strength of the container. The strength of a wooden box, on the other hand, is rated based on the weight it can carry before the top or opening is installed. A variant of the wooden box is the wooden wine box or wine crate, originally used for shipping and storing expensive wines, but now days for decorative or promotional purposes or as a storage box instead of for protection during shipping. A bulk box is a large box often used in industrial environments. It is sized to fit well on a pallet . Depending on locale and specific usage, the terms carton and box are sometimes used interchangeably.   Storage boxes   18th century German gold and mother of pearl snuffbox Boxes for storing various items in can often be very decorative, as they are intended for permanent use and sometimes are put on display. Main article: Decorative boxes A jewelry ( AmE ) or jewellery ( BrE ) box, is a box for trinkets or jewels . It can take a very modest form with paper covering and lining, covered in leather and lined with satin , or be larger and more highly decorated. A humidor is a special box for storing cigars at the proper humidity, by means of absorbent materials that retain and moderate moisture coming from the cigars. Powered boxes can also maintain the right temperature.[ citation needed ] A "strong box" or safe , is a secure lockable box for storing money or other valuable items. The term "strong box" is sometimes used for safes that are no longer portable boxes but are installed in a wall or floor for increased security. A toolbox is used for carrying tools of various kinds. The term implies a container meant for portability rather than just storage, for instance with hinged lids , clasps or locks , reinforced corners, and handles . Toolboxes are usually very sturdy, but unlike a shipping box containing dunnage , are not expected to fully protect their contents if the box is inverted or upended. The common storage box for tools, instruments, glassware, artworks, etc. is a sturdy box made to be longer-lasting and better-finished than a shipping box or crate. For instance, a box might be a rigid paperboard box instead of a corrugated box . Or it could be a wooden box with a sanded surface and mitered corners instead of a crude crate construction. A storage box may or may not have dunnage or cushions that protect the contents if the box is upended or shaken, and usually does not have hinges, latches or locks, but simply a cover . Boxwood gets its name from its superior properties for manufacturing this type of box, although those properties are equally useful when making a decorative box .   Electrical boxes In electrical terminology, a "box" is used to contain and protect connections, thus: Junction box , a fixed container for electrical connections, frequently installed in walls and containing electrical outlets . Fuse box , holds electrical fuses or circuit breakers   Postal service boxes Post box (British English and others, also written postbox), or mailbox (North American English and others) is a physical box used to collect mail that is to be sent to a destination. Variants of post boxes for outgoing mail include: Wall box Boxes where postmen deposit incoming mail for the recipient include: Letter box (in the US usually called mailbox), positioned near or on the mail recipient's home or place of work. Post office box , (often abbreviated P.O. box or PO box), a box rented by the mail recipient to be an independent postal address, located in a post office or in the premises of a company offering such facilities. Self-service boxes are unlocked by the recipient, otherwise a postal clerk retrieves the mail. A relay box is similar to a post or mail box, but totally locked; post office trucks deposit mail that is then retrieved and delivered by pedestrian mail carriers . In the United States, they are painted differently than collection boxes.   Booths that are sometimes called boxes See also: Booth (disambiguation) Police box , a booth for use by police in 20th century Britain. Penalty box , a booth used in sports where a player sits to serve the time of a given penalty. Telephone box , a booth containing a public telephone. Signal box , a building by a railway to coordinate and control railway signals.   Other boxes Ballot box , a box in which votes (ballot papers) are deposited during voting. Black box , something for which the internal operation is not described but its function is. Black box (transportation) , a durable data-recording device found in some vehicles, used to assist in the investigation of an accident. Box, informal reference to large box-shaped parts of a computer, such as the base unit or tower case of a personal computer . Coach Box or the driver's seat on a carriage coach . Dispatch box , (or despatch box), a box for holding official papers and transporting them. Glory box or Hope Chest, a box or chest containing items typically stored by unmarried young women in anticipation of married life. Jack-in-the-box , a children's toy containing a surprise. Lunch box , or "lunch pail" or "lunch kit", a rigid container used for carrying food. Can also be decorative. Mitre box , a woodworking tool used to guide a hand saw to make precise mitre cuts in a board. Nest box , a substitute for a hole in a tree for birds to make a nest in. Pandora's box , in Greek mythology, a box containing the evils of mankind and also hope. Set-top box , a device used to decode and display TV signals. Check box , on paper, normally to check off as opinion or option.   See also Olympic sport Since 688 B.C. Boxing ( pugilism , prize fighting, or the sweet science) is a combat sport in which two people engage in a contest of strength, reflexes, and endurance by throwing punches at an opponent with the goal of a knockout with gloved hands . Amateur boxing is an Olympic and Commonwealth sport and is a common fixture in most of the major international games - it also has its own World Championships. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of one to three minute intervals called rounds. The result is decided when an opponent is deemed incapable to continue by a referee, is disqualified for breaking a rule, resigns by throwing in a towel, or is pronounced the winner or loser based on the judges' scorecards at the end of the contest. The birth hour of boxing as a sport may be its acceptance by the ancient Greeks as an Olympic game as early as 688 BC. Boxing evolved from 16th and 18th century prizefights (detailed further down the page), largely in Great Britain, to the forerunner of modern boxing in the mid 19th century, again initially in Great Britain and later in the United States. In 2004, ESPN ranked boxing as the most difficult sport in the world. [1] Contents See also Ancient Greek boxing . Fist fighting depicted in Sumerian relief carvings from the 3rd millennium BC , while an ancient Egyptian relief from the 2nd millennium BC depicts both fist-fighters and spectators. [2] Both depictions show bare-fisted contests. [2] Other depictions can be seen in Assyrian , Babylonian and Hittite art. The earliest evidence for fist fighting with any kind of gloves can be found on Minoan Crete (c. 1500–900 BC), and on Sardinia , if we consider the boxing statues of Prama mountains (c. 2000–1000 BC). [2]   Modern boxing   Broughton's rules (1743)   A straight right demonstrated in Edmund Price 's The Science of Defense: A Treatise on Sparring and Wrestling, 1867 Records of Classical boxing activity disappeared after the fall of the Western Roman Empire when the wearing of weapons became common once again and interest in fighting with the fists waned. However, there are detailed records of various fist-fighting sports that were maintained in different cities and provinces of Italy between the 12th and 17th centuries. There was also a sport in ancient Rus called Fistfight . As the wearing of swords became less common, there was renewed interest in fencing with the fists. The sport would later resurface in England during the early 16th century in the form of bare-knuckle boxing sometimes referred to as prizefighting. The first documented account of a bare-knuckle fight in England appeared in 1681 in the London Protestant Mercury, and the first English bare-knuckle champion was James Figg in 1719. [3] This is also the time when the word "boxing" first came to be used. It should be noted, that this earliest form of modern boxing was very different. Contests in Mr. Figg's time, in addition to fistfighting, also contained fencing and cudgeling. On 6 January 1681, the first recorded boxing match took place in Britain when Christopher Monck , 2nd Duke of Albemarle (and later Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica ) engineered a bout between his butler and his butcher with the latter winning the prize. Early fighting had written rules. There were no weight divisions or round limits, and no referee. In general, it was extremely chaotic. The first boxing rules, called the Broughton's rules, were introduced by champion Jack Broughton in 1743 to protect fighters in the ring where deaths sometimes occurred. [4] Under these rules, if a man went down and could not continue after a count of 30 seconds, the fight was over. Hitting a downed fighter and grasping below the waist were prohibited. Broughton also invented and encouraged the use of "mufflers", a form of padded gloves, which were used in training and exhibitions. The first paper on boxing was published in the late 18th century by successful Birmingham boxer 'William Futrell' who remained undefeated until his one hour and seventeen minute fight at Smitham Bottom, Croydon, on July 9, 1788 against a much younger "Gentleman" John Jackson which was attended by the Prince of Wales .   Tom Cribb vs Tom Molineaux in a re-match for the heavyweight championship of England, 1811 These rules did allow the fighters an advantage not enjoyed by today's boxers: They permitted the fighter to drop to one knee to begin a 30-second count at any time. Thus a fighter realizing he was in trouble had an opportunity to recover. However, this was considered "unmanly" [5] and was frequently disallowed by additional rules negotiated by the Seconds of the Boxers. [6] Intentionally going down in modern boxing will cause the recovering fighter to lose points in the scoring system. Furthermore, as the contestants did not have heavy leather gloves and wristwraps to protect their hands, a certain amount of restraint was required when striking the head.   London Prize Ring rules (1838) In 1838 , the London Prize Ring rules were codified. Later revised in 1853, they stipulated the following: [7] Fights occurred in a 24 feet (7.3 m)-square ring surrounded by ropes. If a fighter was knocked down, he had to rise within 30 seconds under his own power to be allowed to continue. Biting, headbutting and hitting below the belt were declared fouls.   Marquess of Queensberry rules (1867) In 1867, the Marquess of Queensberry rules were drafted by John Chambers for amateur championships held at Lillie Bridge in London for Lightweights , Middleweights and Heavyweights . The rules were published under the patronage of the Marquess of Queensberry , whose name has always been associated with them.     The June 1894 Leonard–Cushing bout. Each of the six one-minute rounds recorded by the Kinetograph was made available to exhibitors for $22.50. [8] Customers who watched the final round saw Leonard score a knockdown. There were twelve rules in all, and they specified that fights should be "a fair stand-up boxing match" in a 24-foot-square or similar ring. Rounds were three minutes long with one minute rest intervals between rounds. Each fighter was given a ten-second count if he was knocked down and wrestling was banned. The introduction of gloves of "fair-size" also changed the nature of the bouts. An average pair of boxing gloves resembles a bloated pair of mittens and are laced up around the wrists. [9] The gloves can be used to block an opponent's blows. As a result of their introduction, bouts became longer and more strategic with greater importance attached to defensive maneuvers such as slipping, bobbing, countering and angling. Because less defensive emphasis was placed on the use of the forearms and more on the gloves, the classical forearms outwards, torso leaning back stance of the bare knuckle boxer was modified to a more modern stance in which the torso is tilted forward and the hands are held closer to the face.   Prohibition Through the late nineteenth century, boxing or prizefighting was primarily a sport of dubious legitimacy. Outlawed in England and much of the United States, prizefights were often held at gambling venues and broken up by police.[ citation needed ] Brawling and wrestling tactics continued, and riots at prizefights were common occurrences. Still, throughout this period, there arose some notable bare knuckle champions who developed fairly sophisticated fighting tactics. The English case of R v. Coney in 1882 found that a bare-knuckle fight was an assault occasioning actual bodily harm , despite the consent of the participants. This marked the end of widespread public bare-knuckle contests in England. The first world heavyweight champion under the Queensberry Rules was "Gentleman Jim" Corbett , who defeated John L. Sullivan in 1892 at the Pelican Athletic Club in New Orleans . [10] Throughout the early twentieth century, boxers struggled to achieve legitimacy, aided by the influence of promoters like Tex Rickard and the popularity of great champions from John L. Sullivan to Jack Dempsey . Shortly after this era, boxing commissions and other sanctioning bodies were established to regulate the sport and establish universally recognized champions. Main article: Marquess of Queensberry rules The Marquess of Queensberry rules have been the general rules governing modern boxing since their publication in 1867. A boxing match typically consists of a determined number of three-minute rounds, a total of up to 12 rounds (formerly 15). A minute is typically spent between each round with the fighters in their assigned corners receiving advice and attention from their coach and staff. The fight is controlled by a referee who works within the ring to judge and control the conduct of the fighters, rule on their ability to fight safely, count knocked-down fighters, and rule on fouls. Up to three judges are typically present at ringside to score the bout and assign points to the boxers, based on punches that connect, defense, knockdowns, and other, more subjective, measures. Because of the open-ended style of boxing judging, many fights have controversial results, in which one or both fighters believe they have been "robbed" or unfairly denied a victory. Each fighter has an assigned corner of the ring, where his or her coach, as well as one or more "seconds" may administer to the fighter at the beginning of the fight and between rounds. Each boxer enters into the ring from their assigned corners at the beginning of each round and must cease fighting and return to their corner at the signaled end of each round. A bout in which the predetermined number of rounds passes is decided by the judges, and is said to "go the distance". The fighter with the higher score at the end of the fight is ruled the winner. With three judges, unanimous and split decisions are possible, as are draws. A boxer may win the bout before a decision is reached through a knockout; such bouts are said to have ended "inside the distance". If a fighter is knocked down during the fight, determined by whether the boxer touches the canvas floor of the ring with any part of their body other than the feet as a result of the opponent's punch and not a slip, as determined by the referee, the referee begins counting until the fighter returns to his or her feet and can continue. Should the referee count to ten, then the knocked-down boxer is ruled "knocked out" (whether unconscious or not) and the other boxer is ruled the winner by knockout (KO). A "technical knockout" (TKO) is possible as well, and is ruled by the referee, fight doctor, or a fighter's corner if a fighter is unable to safely continue to fight, based upon injuries or being judged unable to effectively defend themselves. Many jurisdictions and sanctioning agencies also have a "three-knockdown rule", in which three knockdowns in a given round result in a TKO. A TKO is considered a knockout in a fighter's record. A "standing eight" count rule may also be in effect. This gives the referee the right to step in and administer a count of eight to a fighter that he feels may be in danger, even if no knockdown has taken place. After counting the referee will observe the fighter, and decide if he is fit to continue. For scoring purposes, a standing eight count is treated as a knockdown. In general, boxers are prohibited from hitting below the belt, holding, tripping, pushing, biting, or spitting. The boxer's shorts are raised so the opponent is not allowed to hit to the groin area with intent to cause pain or injury. Failure to abide by the former may result in a foul or wallet slap. They also are prohibited from kicking, head-butting, or hitting with any part of the arm other than the knuckles of a closed fist (including hitting with the elbow, shoulder or forearm, as well as with open gloves, the wrist, the inside, back or side of the hand). They are prohibited as well from hitting the back, back of the neck or head (called a "rabbit-punch") or the kidneys. They are prohibited from holding the ropes for support when punching, holding an opponent while punching, or ducking below the belt of their opponent (dropping below the waist of your opponent, no matter the distance between). If a "clinch" – a defensive move in which a boxer wraps his or her opponents arms and holds on to create a pause – is broken by the referee, each fighter must take a full step back before punching again (alternatively, the referee may direct the fighters to "punch out" of the clinch). When a boxer is knocked down, the other boxer must immediately cease fighting and move to the furthest neutral corner of the ring until the referee has either ruled a knockout or called for the fight to continue. Violations of these rules may be ruled "fouls" by the referee, who may issue warnings, deduct points, or disqualify an offending boxer, causing an automatic loss, depending on the seriousness and intentionality of the foul. An intentional foul that causes injury that prevents a fight from continuing usually causes the boxer who committed it to be disqualified. A fighter who suffers an accidental low-blow may be given up to five minutes to recover, after which they may be ruled knocked out if they are unable to continue. Accidental fouls that cause injury ending a bout may lead to a "no contest" result, or else cause the fight to go to a decision if enough rounds (typically four or more, or at least three in a four-round fight) have passed. Unheard of these days, but common during the early 20th Century in North America, a "newspaper decision (NWS)" might be made after a no decision bout had ended. A "no decision" bout occurred when, by law or by pre-arrangement of the fighters, if both boxers were still standing at the fight's conclusion and there was no knockout, no official decision was rendered and neither boxer was declared the winner. But this did not prevent the pool of ringside newspaper reporters from declaring a consensus result among themselves and printing a newspaper decision in their publications. Officially, however, a "no decision" bout resulted in neither boxer winning or losing. Boxing historians sometimes use these unofficial newspaper decisions in compiling fight records for illustrative purposes only. Often, media outlets covering a match will personally score the match, and post their scores as an independent sentence in their report.   Professional vs. amateur boxing Throughout the 17th through 19th centuries, boxing bouts were motivated by money, as the fighters competed for prize money , promoters controlled the gate, and spectators bet on the result. The modern Olympic movement revived interest in amateur sports, and amateur boxing became an Olympic sport in 1908. In their current form, Olympic and other amateur bouts are typically limited to three or four rounds, scoring is computed by points based on the number of clean blows landed, regardless of impact, and fighters wear protective headgear, reducing the number of injuries, knockdowns, and knockouts. Currently scoring blows in amateur boxing are subjectively counted by ringside judges, but the Australian Institute for Sport has demonstrated a prototype of an Automated Boxing Scoring System , which introduces scoring objectivity, improves safety, and arguably makes the sport more interesting to spectators. Professional boxing remains by far the most popular form of the sport globally, though amateur boxing is dominant in Cuba and some former Soviet republics. For most fighters, an amateur career, especially at the Olympics, serves to develop skills and gain experience in preparation for a professional career.   Amateur boxing Main article: Amateur boxing   Headgear is mandatory in modern amateur boxing Amateur boxing may be found at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games , and in many other venues sanctioned by amateur boxing associations. Amateur boxing has a point scoring system that measures the number of clean blows landed rather than physical damage. Bouts consist of three rounds of three minutes in the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, and three rounds of three minutes in a national ABA (Amateur Boxing Association) bout, each with a one-minute interval between rounds. Competitors wear protective headgear and gloves with a white strip across the knuckle. A punch is considered a scoring punch only when the boxers connect with the white portion of the gloves. Each punch that lands cleanly on the head or torso with sufficient force is awarded a point. A referee monitors the fight to ensure that competitors use only legal blows. A belt worn over the torso represents the lower limit of punches – any boxer repeatedly landing low blows ( below the belt ) is disqualified. Referees also ensure that the boxers don't use holding tactics to prevent the opponent from swinging. If this occurs, the referee separates the opponents and orders them to continue boxing. Repeated holding can result in a boxer being penalized or ultimately disqualified. Referees will stop the bout if a boxer is seriously injured, if one boxer is significantly dominating the other or if the score is severely imbalanced. [11] Amateur bouts which end this way may be noted as "RSC" (referee stopped contest) with notations for an outclassed opponent (RSCO), outscored opponent (RSCOS), injury (RSCI) or head injury (RSCH).   Professional boxing Main article: Professional boxing Professional bouts are usually much longer than amateur bouts, typically ranging from ten to twelve rounds, though four round fights are common for less experienced fighters or club fighters. There are also some two- [12] and three-round professional bouts, [13] especially in Australia. Through the early twentieth century, it was common for fights to have unlimited rounds, ending only when one fighter quit, benefiting high-energy fighters like Jack Dempsey . Fifteen rounds remained the internationally recognized limit for championship fights for most of the twentieth century until the early 1980s, when the death of boxer Duk Koo Kim reduced the limit to twelve. Headgear is not permitted in professional bouts, and boxers are generally allowed to take much more damage before a fight is halted. At any time, however, the referee may stop the contest if he believes that one participant cannot defend himself due to injury. In that case, the other participant is awarded a technical knockout win. A technical knockout would also be awarded if a fighter lands a punch that opens a cut on the opponent, and the opponent is later deemed not fit to continue by a doctor because of the cut. For this reason, fighters often employ cutmen , whose job is to treat cuts between rounds so that the boxer is able to continue despite the cut. If a boxer simply quits fighting, or if his corner stops the fight, then the winning boxer is also awarded a technical knockout victory. In contrast with amateur boxing, professional male boxers have to be bare chested. [14]   Boxing styles   Definition of Style "Style" is often defined as the strategic approach a fighter takes during a bout. No two fighters' styles are alike, as it is determined by that individual's physical and mental attributes.   Boxer/out-fighter   Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali A classic "boxer" or stylist (also known as an "out-fighter") seeks to maintain distance between himself and his opponent, fighting with faster, longer range punches, most notably the jab, and gradually wearing his opponent down. Due to this reliance on weaker punches, out-fighters tend to win by point decisions rather than by knockout, though some out-fighters have notable knockout records. They are often regarded as the best boxing strategists due to their ability to control the pace of the fight and lead their opponent, methodically wearing him down and exhibiting more skill and finesse than a brawler[ citation needed ]. Out-fighters need reach, hand speed, reflexes, and footwork.   Sugar Ray Robinson prompted sportswriters to create " pound for pound " rankings A boxer-puncher is a well-rounded boxer who is able to fight at close range with a combination of technique and power, often with the ability to knock opponents out with a combination and in some instances a single shot. Their movement and tactics are similar to that of an out-fighter (although they are generally not as mobile as an out-fighter[ citation needed ]), but instead of winning by decision, they tend to wear their opponents down using combinations and then move in to score the knockout. A boxer must be well rounded to be effective using this style. Notable boxer-punchers include Nonito Donaire , Sam Langford , [18] Henry Armstrong , [19] Joe Louis , [20] Sugar Ray Robinson , [21] Tony Zale , Archie Moore , Carlos Monzón [22] Alexis Argüello , Erik Morales , Lennox Lewis , Wladimir Klitschko , Oscar de la Hoya , Terry Norris , Marco Antonio Barrera , Manny Pacquiao , Thomas Hearns , Miguel Cotto and Victor Ortiz .   Brawler/slugger A brawler is a fighter who generally lacks finesse and footwork in the ring, but makes up for it through sheer punching power. Mainly Irish , Irish-American , Mexican , and Mexican-American boxers popularized this style. Many brawlers tend to lack mobility, preferring a less mobile, more stable platform and have difficulty pursuing fighters who are fast on their feet. They may also have a tendency to ignore combination punching in favour of continuous beat-downs with one hand and by throwing slower, more powerful single punches (such as hooks and uppercuts). Their slowness and predictable punching pattern (single punches with obvious leads) often leaves them open to counter punches, so successful brawlers must be able to absorb substantial amounts of punishment. A brawler's most important assets are power and chin (the ability to absorb punishment while remaining able to continue boxing). This is the image most people think about when they get into boxing for self-defense in street fights. Because most street fights use fists rather than kicks (mostly happen in crowded places, you need distance to kick), boxing has become one of the top sports for "club" self defense. Examples of this style include John L. Sullivan , Max Baer , Ray Mancini , George Foreman , Sonny Liston , David Tua , Arturo Gatti , "Irish" Micky Ward , Michael Katsidis , James Kirkland , and Ireland's John Duddy . This style of boxing was also used by fictional boxer Rocky Balboa .   Swarmers/in-fighter In-fighters/swarmers (sometimes called "pressure fighters") attempt to stay close to an opponent, throwing intense flurries and combinations of hooks and uppercuts. A successful in-fighter often needs a good " chin " because swarming usually involves being hit with many jabs before they can maneuver inside where they are more effective. In-fighters operate best at close range because they are generally shorter and have less reach than their opponents and thus are more effective at a short distance where the longer arms of their opponents make punching awkward. However, several fighters tall for their division have been relatively adept at in-fighting as well as out-fighting. The essence of a swarmer is non-stop aggression. Many short in-fighters utilize their stature to their advantage, employing a bob-and-weave defense by bending at the waist to slip underneath or to the sides of incoming punches. Unlike blocking, causing an opponent to miss a punch disrupts his balance, permits forward movement past the opponent's extended arm and keeps the hands free to counter. A distinct advantage that in-fighters have is when throwing uppercuts where they can channel their entire bodyweight behind the punch; Mike Tyson was famous for throwing devastating uppercuts. Julio César Chávez was known for his hard " chin ", punching power, body attack and the stalking of his opponents. Some in-fighters, like Mike Tyson, have been known for being notoriously hard to hit. The key to a swarmer is aggression, endurance, chin, and bobbing-and-weaving.   Counter puncher   Louis vs. Schmeling, 1936 Counter punchers are slippery, defensive style fighters who often rely on their opponent's mistakes in order to gain the advantage whether it be on the score cards or more preferably a knockout. They use their well rounded defense to avoid or block shots and then immediately catch the opponent off guard with a well placed and timed punch. Thus, fighting against counter punchers requires constant feinting and never telegraphing a punch for the counter puncher to generate a good offense from. To be successful using this style they must have good reflexes, intelligence, punch accuracy, and good hand speed. Notable counter punchers include Jim Corbett , Jack Johnson , Laszlo Papp , Jerry Quarry , Anselmo Moreno , Chris Byrd , Bernard Hopkins , Vitali Klitschko , James Toney , Marvin Hagler , Evander Holyfield , Juan Manuel Márquez , Humberto Soto , Floyd Mayweather, Jr. , Roger Mayweather , Pernell Whitaker , and Max Schmeling .   Combinations of styles All fighters have primary skills with which they feel most comfortable, but truly elite fighters are often able to incorporate auxiliary styles when presented with a particular challenge. For example, an out-fighter will sometimes plant his feet and counter punch, or a slugger may have the stamina to pressure fight with his power punches.   Style matchups There is a generally accepted rule of thumb about the success each of these boxing styles has against the others. In general, an in-fighter has an advantage over an out-fighter, an out-fighter has an advantage over a puncher, and a puncher has an advantage over an in-fighter; these form a cycle with each style being stronger relative to one, and weaker relative to another, with none dominating, as in rock-paper-scissors . Naturally, many other factors, such as the skill level and training of the combatants, determine the outcome of a fight, but the widely held belief in this relationship among the styles is embodied in the cliché amongst boxing fans and writers that "styles make fights." Brawlers tend to overcome swarmers or in-fighters because, in trying to get close to the slugger, the in-fighter will invariably have to walk straight into the guns of the much harder-hitting brawler, so, unless the former has a very good chin and the latter's stamina is poor, the brawler's superior power will carry the day. A famous example of this type of match-up advantage would be George Foreman 's knockout victory over Joe Frazier .   Taylor vs Chávez 1 : an example of a style matchup Although in-fighters struggle against heavy sluggers, they typically enjoy more success against out-fighters or boxers. Out-fighters prefer a slower fight, with some distance between themselves and the opponent. The in-fighter tries to close that gap and unleash furious flurries. On the inside, the out-fighter loses a lot of his combat effectiveness, because he cannot throw the hard punches. The in-fighter is generally successful in this case, due to his intensity in advancing on his opponent and his good agility, which makes him difficult to evade. For example, the swarming Joe Frazier, though easily dominated by the slugger George Foreman, was able to create many more problems for the boxer Muhammad Ali in their three fights. Joe Louis , after retirement, admitted that he hated being crowded, and that swarmers like untied/undefeated champ Rocky Marciano would have caused him style problems even in his prime. The boxer or out-fighter tends to be most successful against a brawler, whose slow speed (both hand and foot) and poor technique makes him an easy target to hit for the faster out-fighter. The out-fighter's main concern is to stay alert, as the brawler only needs to land one good punch to finish the fight. If the out-fighter can avoid those power punches, he can often wear the brawler down with fast jabs, tiring him out. If he is successful enough, he may even apply extra pressure in the later rounds in an attempt to achieve a knockout. Most classic boxers, such as Muhammad Ali, enjoyed their best successes against sluggers. An example of a style matchup was the historical fight of Julio César Chávez , a swarmer or in-fighter, against Meldrick Taylor , the boxer or out-fighter (see Chavez versus Taylor ). The match was nicknamed "Thunder Meets Lightning" as an allusion to tremendous punching power of Chávez and blinding speed of Taylor. Chávez was the epitome of the "Mexican" style of boxing. He relentlessly stalked and closed in on the other fighter, ignoring whatever punishment he took for the chance to dish out his own at close range, particularly in the form of a crunching body attack that would either wear down his opponents until they collapsed in pain and exhaustion, or became too tired to defend as Chávez shifted his attack to the head and went for a knockout. During the fight, Taylor's brilliant hand and foot speed and boxing abilities gave him the early advantage, allowing him to begin building a large lead on points, but in the end, Chavez's punishment wore down Taylor and knocked him down with a tremendous right hand in the last round.   Equipment Since boxing involves forceful, repetitive punching, precautions must be taken to prevent damage to bones in the hand. Most trainers do not allow boxers to train and spar without wrist wraps and boxing gloves . Hand wraps are used to secure the bones in the hand, and the gloves are used to protect the hands from blunt injury, allowing boxers to throw punches with more force than if they did not utilize them. Gloves have been required in competition since the late nineteenth century, though modern boxing gloves are much heavier than those worn by early twentieth-century fighters. Prior to a bout, both boxers agree upon the weight of gloves to be used in the bout, with the understanding that lighter gloves allow heavy punchers to inflict more damage. The brand of gloves can also affect the impact of punches, so this too is usually stipulated before a bout. A mouth guard is important to protect the teeth and gums from injury, and to cushion the jaw, resulting in a decreased chance of knockout. Both fighters must wear soft soled shoes to reduce the damage from accidental (or intentional) stepping on feet. While older boxing boots more commonly resembled those of a professional wrestler, modern boxing shoes and boots tend to be quite similar to their amateur wrestling counterparts. Boxers practice their skills on two basic types of punching bags. A small, tear-drop-shaped "speed bag" is used to hone reflexes and repetitive punching skills, while a large cylindrical "heavy bag" filled with sand, a synthetic substitute, or water is used to practice power punching and body blows. In addition to these distinctive pieces of equipment, boxers also utilize sport-nonspecific training equipment to build strength, speed, agility, and stamina. Common training equipment includes free weights, rowing machines, jump rope , and medicine balls .   Technique It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Boxing styles and technique . ( Discuss ) Proposed since November 2011.   Stance The modern boxing stance differs substantially from the typical boxing stances of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The modern stance has a more upright vertical-armed guard, as opposed to the more horizontal, knuckles-facing-forward guard adopted by early 20th century hook users such as Jack Johnson . Upright stance Semi-crouch Full crouch In a fully upright stance, the boxer stands with the legs shoulder-width apart and the rear foot a half-step in front of the lead man. Right-handed or orthodox boxers lead with the left foot and fist (for most penetration power). Both feet are parallel, and the right heel is off the ground. The lead (left) fist is held vertically about six inches in front of the face at eye level. The rear (right) fist is held beside the chin and the elbow tucked against the ribcage to protect the body. The chin is tucked into the chest to avoid punches to the jaw which commonly cause knock-outs and is often kept slightly offcenter. Wrists are slightly bent to avoid damage when punching and the elbows are kept tucked in to protect the ribcage. Some boxers fight from a crouch, leaning forward and keeping their feet closer together. The stance described is considered the "textbook" stance and fighters are encouraged to change it around once its been mastered as a base. Case in point, many fast fighters have their hands down and have almost exaggerated footwork, while brawlers or bully fighters tend to slowly stalk their opponents. Left-handed or southpaw fighters use a mirror image of the orthodox stance, which can create problems for orthodox fighters unaccustomed to receiving jabs, hooks, or crosses from the opposite side. The southpaw stance, conversely, is vulnerable to a straight right hand. North American fighters tend to favor a more balanced stance, facing the opponent almost squarely, while many European fighters stand with their torso turned more to the side. The positioning of the hands may also vary, as some fighters prefer to have both hands raised in front of the face, risking exposure to body shots. Modern boxers can sometimes be seen tapping their cheeks or foreheads with their fists in order to remind themselves to keep their hands up (which becomes difficult during long bouts). Boxers are taught to push off with their feet in order to move effectively. Forward motion involves lifting the lead leg and pushing with the rear leg. Rearward motion involves lifting the rear leg and pushing with the lead leg. During lateral motion the leg in the direction of the movement moves first while the opposite leg provides the force needed to move the body.   Punches There are four basic punches in boxing: the jab, straight right/left hand, hook and uppercut. If a boxer is right-handed (orthodox), his left hand is the lead hand and his right hand is the rear hand. For a left-handed boxer or southpaw, the hand positions are reversed. For clarity, the following discussion will assume a right-handed boxer.   IBF , IBO , WBO and WBA Heavyweight Champion, Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko . Cross – A powerful, straight punch thrown with the rear hand. From the guard position, the rear hand is thrown from the chin, crossing the body and traveling towards the target in a straight line. The rear shoulder is thrust forward and finishes just touching the outside of the chin. At the same time, the lead hand is retracted and tucked against the face to protect the inside of the chin. For additional power, the torso and hips are rotated counter-clockwise as the cross is thrown. Weight is also transferred from the rear foot to the lead foot, resulting in the rear heel turning outwards as it acts as a fulcrum for the transfer of weight. Body rotation and the sudden weight transfer is what gives the cross its power. Like the jab, a half-step forward may be added. After the cross is thrown, the hand is retracted quickly and the guard position resumed. It can be used to counter punch a jab, aiming for the opponent's head (or a counter to a cross aimed at the body) or to set up a hook. The cross can also follow a jab, creating the classic "one-two" combination. The cross is also called a "straight" or "right", especially if it does not cross the opponent's outstretched jab. Hook – A semi-circular punch thrown with the lead hand to the side of the opponent's head. From the guard position, the elbow is drawn back with a horizontal fist (knuckles pointing forward) and the elbow bent. The rear hand is tucked firmly against the jaw to protect the chin. The torso and hips are rotated clockwise, propelling the fist through a tight, clockwise arc across the front of the body and connecting with the target. At the same time, the lead foot pivots clockwise, turning the left heel outwards. Upon contact, the hook's circular path ends abruptly and the lead hand is pulled quickly back into the guard position. A hook may also target the lower body and this technique is sometimes called the "rip" to distinguish it from the conventional hook to the head. The hook may also be thrown with the rear hand. Notable left hookers include Joe Frazier and Mike Tyson . Uppercut – A vertical, rising punch thrown with the rear hand. From the guard position, the torso shifts slightly to the right, the rear hand drops below the level of the opponent's chest and the knees are bent slightly. From this position, the rear hand is thrust upwards in a rising arc towards the opponent's chin or torso. At the same time, the knees push upwards quickly and the torso and hips rotate anti-clockwise and the rear heel turns outward, mimicking the body movement of the cross. The strategic utility of the uppercut depends on its ability to "lift" the opponent's body, setting it off-balance for successive attacks. The right uppercut followed by a left hook is a deadly combination employing the uppercut to lift the opponent's chin into a vulnerable position, then the hook to knock the opponent out. These different punch types can be thrown in rapid succession to form combinations or "combos". The most common is the jab and cross combination, nicknamed the "one-two combo". This is usually an effective combination, because the jab blocks the opponent's view of the cross, making it easier to land cleanly and forcefully. A large, swinging circular punch starting from a cocked-back position with the arm at a longer extension than the hook and all of the fighter's weight behind it is sometimes referred to as a "roundhouse", "haymaker", or sucker-punch. Relying on body weight and centripetal force within a wide arc, the roundhouse can be a powerful blow, but it is often a wild and uncontrolled punch that leaves the fighter delivering it off balance and with an open guard. Wide, looping punches have the further disadvantage of taking more time to deliver, giving the opponent ample warning to react and counter. For this reason, the haymaker or roundhouse is not a conventional punch, and is regarded by trainers as a mark of poor technique or desperation. Sometimes it has been used, because of its immense potential power, to finish off an already staggering opponent who seems unable or unlikely to take advantage of the poor position it leaves the puncher in. Another unconventional punch is the rarely used Bolo punch , in which the opponent swings an arm out several times in a wide arc, usually as a distraction, before delivering with either that or the other arm.   Defense There are several basic maneuvers a boxer can use in order to evade or block punches, depicted and discussed below. Footwork Pulling away Slip – Slipping rotates the body slightly so that an incoming punch passes harmlessly next to the head. As the opponent's punch arrives, the boxer sharply rotates the hips and shoulders. This turns the chin sideways and allows the punch to "slip" past. Muhammad Ali was famous for extremely fast and close slips, as was an early Mike Tyson . Sway or fade – To anticipate a punch and move the upper body or head back so that it misses or has its force appreciably lessened. Also called "rolling with the punch" or " Riding The Punch". Duck or break – To drop down with the back straight so that a punch aimed at the head glances or misses entirely. Bob and weave – Bobbing moves the head laterally and beneath an incoming punch. As the opponent's punch arrives, the boxer bends the legs quickly and simultaneously shifts the body either slightly right or left. Once the punch has been evaded, the boxer "weaves" back to an upright position, emerging on either the outside or inside of the opponent's still-extended arm. To move outside the opponent's extended arm is called "bobbing to the outside". To move inside the opponent's extended arm is called "bobbing to the inside". Joe Frazier, Jack Dempsey, Mike Tyson and Rocky Marciano were masters of bobbing and weaving. Parry/block – Parrying or blocking uses the boxer's shoulder, hands or arms as defensive tools to protect against incoming attacks. A block generally receives a punch while a parry tends to deflect it. A "palm" or "cuff" is a block which intentionally takes the incoming punch on that portion of the defender's glove. The cover-Up – Covering up is the last opportunity (other than rolling with a punch) to avoid an incoming strike to an unprotected face or body. Generally speaking, the hands are held high to protect the head and chin and the forearms are tucked against the torso to impede body shots. When protecting the body, the boxer rotates the hips and lets incoming punches "roll" off the guard. To protect the head, the boxer presses both fists against the front of the face with the forearms parallel and facing outwards. This type of guard is weak against attacks from below. The clinch – Clinching is a form of trapping or a rough form of grappling and occurs when the distance between both fighters has closed and straight punches cannot be employed. In this situation, the boxer attempts to hold or "tie up" the opponent's hands so he is unable to throw hooks or uppercuts . To perform a clinch, the boxer loops both hands around the outside of the opponent's shoulders, scooping back under the forearms to grasp the opponent's arms tightly against his own body. In this position, the opponent's arms are pinned and cannot be used to attack. Clinching is a temporary match state and is quickly dissipated by the referee. Clinching is technically against the rules, and in amateur fights points are deducted fairly quickly for it. It is unlikely, however, to see points deducted for a clinch in professional boxing.   Less common strategies The " rope-a-dope " strategy : Used by Muhammad Ali in his 1974 " the Rumble in the Jungle " bout against George Foreman, the rope-a-dope method involves lying back against the ropes, covering up defensively as much as possible and allowing the opponent to attempt numerous punches. The back-leaning posture, which does not cause the defending boxer to become as unbalanced as they would during normal backward movement, also maximizes the distance of the defender's head from his opponent, increasing the probability that punches will miss their intended target. Weathering the blows that do land, the defender lures the opponent into expending energy whilst conserving his/her own. If successful, the attacking opponent will eventually tire, creating defensive flaws which the boxer can exploit. In modern boxing, the rope-a-dope is generally discouraged since most opponents are not fooled by it and few boxers possess the physical toughness to withstand a prolonged, unanswered assault. Recently, however, eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao skillfully used the strategy to gauge the power of welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto in November 2009. Pacquiao followed up the rope-a-dope gambit with a withering knockdown. Bolo punch  : Occasionally seen in Olympic boxing, the bolo is an arm punch which owes its power to the shortening of a circular arc rather than to transference of body weight; it tends to have more of an effect due to the surprise of the odd angle it lands at rather than the actual power of the punch. This is more of a gimmick than a technical maneuver; this punch is not taught, being on the same plane in boxing technicality as is the Ali shuffle. Nevertheless, a few professional boxers have used the bolo-punch to great effect, including former welterweight champions Sugar Ray Leonard , and Kid Gavilan . Middleweight champion Ceferino Garcia is regarded as the inventor of the bolo punch. Overhand (overcut) Overhand right  : The overhand right is a punch not found in every boxer's arsenal. Unlike the right cross, which has a trajectory parallel to the ground, the overhand right has a looping circular arc as it is thrown over-the-shoulder with the palm facing away from the boxer. It is especially popular with smaller stature boxers trying to reach taller opponents. Boxers who have used this punch consistently and effectively include former heavyweight champions Rocky Marciano and Tim Witherspoon , as well as MMA champions Chuck Liddell and Fedor Emelianenko . The overhand right has become a popular weapon in other tournaments that involve fist striking. Check hook  : A check hook is employed to prevent aggressive boxers from lunging in. There are two parts to the check hook. The first part consists of a regular hook. The second, trickier part involves the footwork. As the opponent lunges in, the boxer should throw the hook and pivot on his left foot and swing his right foot 180 degrees around. If executed correctly, the aggressive boxer will lunge in and sail harmlessly past his opponent like a bull missing a matador. This is rarely seen in professional boxing as it requires a great disparity in skill level to execute. Technically speaking it has been said that there is no such thing as a check hook and that it is simply a hook applied to an opponent that has lurched forward and past his opponent who simply hooks him on the way past. Others have argued that the check hook exists but is an illegal punch due to it being a pivot punch which is illegal in the sport. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. employed the use of a check hook against Ricky Hatton , which sent Hatton flying head first into the corner post and being knocked down. Hatton managed to get himself to his feet after the knockdown but was clearly dazed and it was only a matter of moments before Mayweather landed a flurry of punches which sent Hatton crashing to the canvas, giving Mayweather a TKO victory in the 10th round and handing Hatton his first ever defeat.   The corner   Yusuf Ahmed boxer in corner of the ring. In boxing, each fighter is given a corner of the ring where he rests in between rounds and where his trainers stand. Typically, three men stand in the corner besides the boxer himself; these are the trainer, the assistant trainer and the cutman . The trainer and assistant typically give advice to the boxer on what he is doing wrong as well as encouraging him if he is losing. The cutman is a cutaneous doctor responsible for keeping the boxer's face and eyes free of cuts and blood. This is of particular importance because many fights are stopped because of cuts that threaten the boxer's eyes. In addition, the corner is responsible for stopping the fight if they feel their fighter is in grave danger of permanent injury. The corner will occasionally throw in a white towel to signify a boxer's surrender (the idiomatic phrase "to throw in the towel", meaning to give up, derives from this practice). [26] This can be seen in the fight between Diego Corrales and Floyd Mayweather . In that fight, Corrales' corner surrendered despite Corrales' steadfast refusal.   Medical concerns See also: The distance (boxing)#Distance change criticisms Knocking a person unconscious or even causing concussion may cause permanent brain damage . [27] There is no clear division between the force required to knock a person out and the force likely to kill a person[ citation needed ]. Since 1980, more than 200 amateur boxers, professional boxers and Toughman fighters have died as the result of ring or training injuries. [28] Thus[ clarification needed ], in 1983, the Journal of the American Medical Association called for a ban on boxing. The editor, Dr. George Lundberg, called boxing an "obscenity" that "should not be sanctioned by any civilized society." [29] Since then, the British, [30] Canadian [31] and Australian [32] Medical Associations also have called for bans on boxing. Supporters of the ban state that boxing is the only sport where hurting the other athlete is the goal. Dr. Bill O'Neill, boxing spokesman for the British Medical Association , has supported the BMA's proposed ban on boxing: "It is the only sport where the intention is to inflict serious injury on your opponent, and we feel that we must have a total ban on boxing." [33] In 2007, one study of amateur boxers showed that protective headgear did not prevent brain damage, [34] and another found that amateur boxers faced a high risk of brain damage. [35] In 1997, the American Association of Professional Ringside Physicians was established to create medical protocols through research and education to prevent injuries in boxing. [36] [37] Professional boxing is forbidden in Norway , Iceland , Cuba , Iran and North Korea . It was banned in Sweden until 2007 [38] when the ban was lifted but strict restrictions, including four three-minute rounds for fights, were imposed.[ citation needed ] It was banned in Albania from 1965 till the fall of Communism in 1991. Now it is still legal.   Boxing Hall of Fame The sport of boxing has two internationally recognized boxing halls of fame; the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) and the World Boxing Hall of Fame (WBHF) , with the IBHOF being the more widely recognized boxing hall of fame. The WBHF was founded by Everett L. Sanders in 1980. Since its inception the WBHOF has never had a permanent location or museum, which has allowed the more recent IBHOF to garner more publicity and prestige. Among the notable names in the WBHF are Ricardo "Finito" Lopez , Gabriel "Flash" Elorde , Michael Carbajal , Khaosai Galaxy , Henry Armstrong , Jack Johnson , Roberto Durán , George Foreman , Ceferino Garcia ,and Salvador Sanchez . Boxing's International Hall of Fame was inspired by a tribute an American town held for two local heroes in 1982. The town, Canastota, New York , (which is about 15 miles (24 km) east of Syracuse, via the New York State Thruway), honored former world welterweight / middleweight champion Carmen Basilio and his nephew, former world welterweight champion Billy Backus . The people of Canastota raised money for the tribute which inspired the idea of creating an official, annual hall of fame for notable boxers. The International Boxing Hall of Fame opened in Canastota in 1989. The first inductees in 1990 included Jack Johnson, Benny Leonard , Jack Dempsey, Henry Armstrong, Sugar Ray Robinson , Archie Moore , and Muhammad Ali. Other world-class figures include Salvador Sanchez, Roberto "Manos de Piedra" Durán, Ricardo Lopez , Gabriel "Flash" Elorde , Vicente Saldivar , Ismael Laguna, Eusebio Pedroza, Carlos Monzón, Azumah Nelson, Rocky Marciano, Pipino Cuevas and Ken Buchanan . The Hall of Fame's induction ceremony is held every June as part of a four-day event. The fans who come to Canastota for the Induction Weekend are treated to a number of events, including scheduled autograph sessions, boxing exhibitions, a parade featuring past and present inductees, and the induction ceremony itself   Governing and sanctioning bodies
i don't know
Which British coastal town is known as ‘The Pearl of Dorset’?
Lyme Regis Dorset ~ Art of the Jurassic Coast Sidmouth Lyme Regis, Dorset Lyme Regis is a coastal town in West Dorset, England, situated 25 miles west of Dorchester and 25 miles (40 km) east of Exeter. The town lies in Lyme Bay, on the English Channel coast at the Dorset-Devon border. It is nicknamed "The Pearl of Dorset." In the 13th century it developed into one of the major British ports. The town was home to Admiral Sir George Somers, its one time mayor and parliamentarian, who founded the Somers Isles, better known as Bermuda. Lyme Regis is twinned with St. George's, in that Atlantic archipelago. The town has a population of 4,406, 45% of whom are retired.[2]. Lyme is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The Royal Charter was granted by King Edward I in 1284, with the addition of 'Regis' to the town's name. This charter was confirmed by Elizabeth I in 1591. History In 1644, during the English Civil War, Parliamentarians here withstood an eight week siege by Royalist forces under Prince Maurice. It was at Lyme Regis that the Duke of Monmouth landed at the start of the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685. In the early 1960s, the town's railway station was closed, as part of the Beeching Axe. It was rebuilt at Alresford, on the Mid Hants Watercress Railway in Hampshire. The route to Lyme Regis had been notable for being operated by aged Victorian locomotives, one of which is now used on the Bluebell Line in Sussex. In 2005, as part of the bicentenary re-enactment of the arrival of the news, aboard the Bermuda sloop HMS Pickle, of Admiral Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, the actor playing the part of Trafalgar messenger Lieutenant Lapenotiere was welcomed at Lyme Regis. The Cobb Lyme Regis is well-known for "The Cobb", a harbour wall full of character and history. It is an important feature in Jane Austen's novel Persuasion (1818), and in the film The French Lieutenant's Woman, based on the 1969 novel of the same name by local writer John Fowles. The Cobb was of enormous economic importance to the town and surrounding area, allowing it to develop as both a major port and a shipbuilding centre from the 13th century onwards. The wall provided both a breakwater to protect the town from storms and an artificial harbour. Well-sited for trade with France, the port's most prosperous period was from the 16th century until the end of the 18th century and as recently as 1780 it was larger than Liverpool. The town's importance as a port declined in the 19th century because it was unable to handle the increase in ship sizes. It was in the Cobb harbour, after the great storm of 1824, that Captain Sir Richard Spencer RN carried out his pioneering lifeboat design work. The first written mention of the Cobb is in a 1328 document describing it as having been damaged by storms. The structure was made of oak piles driven into the seabed with boulders stacked between them. The boulders were floated into place tied between empty barrels. A 1685 account describes it as being made of boulders simply heaped up on each other: "an immense mass of stone, of a shape of a demi-lune, with a bar in the middle of the concave: no one stone that lies there was ever touched with a tool or bedded in any sort of cement, but all the pebbles of the see are piled up, and held by their bearings only, and the surge plays in and out through the interstices of the stone in a wonderful manner." The Cobb has been destroyed or severely damaged by storms several times; it was swept away in 1377 which led to the destruction of 50 boats and 80 houses. The southern arm was added in the 1690s, and rebuilt in 1793 following its destruction in a storm the previous year. This is thought to be the first time that mortar was used in the Cobb's construction. The Cobb was completely reconstructed in 1820 using Portland Admiralty Roach, a type of Portland stone.   Information source, Wikipedia , the free encyclopaedia   Art of the Jurassic Coast   |  Web Design JazCott  |  Web Hosting GoDaddy.com!   |  Giclée Printing JazCott Copyright © 2009-2014. All rights reserved. Art of the Jurassic Coast is a trading name of JazCott.
Lyme Regis
Mawrth is Welsh for which month of the year?
Lyme Regis Holidays – Self Catering Holiday Cottages UK | South West | Dorset | Lyme Regis Lyme Regis Well known as a good location for fossil hunting, Lyme Regis is a relaxed seaside resort with a busy harbour and stunning beaches. Lyme Regis is located in West Dorset, in Lyme Bay, 25 miles from Exeter. This charming town is known as the ‘Pearl of Dorset’ and is renowned for the ancient fossils which are found at its beaches and cliffs. The dramatically curved harbour wall, known locally as The Cobb, is perhaps the town’s most distinctive landmark, and has appeared in a number of films. The town’s bustling harbour and narrow streets are a joy to explore by foot. You’ll discover interesting independent shops, historical buildings and a handful of restaurants and cafes which make the most of the fresh seafood on their doorstep. There’s no shortage of things to do in Lyme Regis, with a packed calendar of events, including a jazz festival, fossil festival and Regatta and Carnival Week. In and around Lyme Regis are some of Dorset’s most stunning beaches, where you can sunbathe, swim and enjoy the sound of gentle waves lapping at the shore. Front Beach is located at the northern end of the main town beach, where you’ll find a good selection of cafes, takeaways and pubs. Church Cliff Beach is a lovely spot, where low tide reveals a maze of rock pools. Monmouth Beach is another nice spot, backed by holiday chalets, beach huts and a bowling green. Fossil found on a Lyme Regis Beach For a great day family day out, visit Lyme Regis Marine Aquarium , where you can hold a starfish, have your hand ‘kissed’ by a grey mullet and meet the bizarre short-spined sea scorpion. The aquarium sits on The Cobb, a curved stone harbour wall which is a favourite among film fans who come to visit the location where some of cinema’s most memorable scenes were filmed, such as Meryl Streep gazing out to sea in The French Lieutenant’s Woman. “Well known as a good location for fossil hunting, Lyme Regis is a relaxed seaside resort with a busy harbour and stunning beaches.” For a glimpse into the area’s fascinating past, visit Lyme Regis Museum , where you’ll learn about the fossils, geology, writers and artists of the region. The museum runs fossil walks and fossil-polishing events. Lyme Regis is a great place for food and drink, with traditional British cuisine as well as Italian, Thai and Spanish food on offer. As you would expect in a traditional English seaside resort, the town centre has its fair share of fish and chip shops, ice-cream stands and tearooms. Ocean View overlooks the harbour and Cobb, serving fresh, tasty dishes made from locally sourced ingredients. Tierra Kitchen is known for its beautifully presented vegetarian dishes. If you’re after a good coffee and slice of homemade cake, look no further than the stylish Amid Giants and Idols. While you’re there Hix Oyster & Fish House Serving high quality and locally sourced food, look forward to a great dining experience on holiday. Town Mill Bakery From mouth-watering pizzas to wholesome stews, The Town Mill Bakery has earned a local reputation for its delicious food. Lyme Regis Beach Lyme Regis is famous for its four fossil rich beaches and beautiful scenery. Inspiration
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Runnymede, where the Magna Carta was said to have been sealed by King John, is in which English county?
Magna Carta: Passions still running high in Runnymede - BBC News BBC News Magna Carta: Passions still running high in Runnymede By Tanya Gupta BBC News 14 June 2013 Read more about sharing. Close share panel Image caption Sir Robert Worcester wants to see the cornerstone of an interpretation centre laid in Runnymede in 2015 A peace treaty sealed in Runnymede in 1215, signalling the end of a conflict between King John and barons who were in revolt, has once again got passions running high in Surrey. Events are being organised across the world to mark the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta - in the UK, the US, Australia, France, Spain and Trinidad. But a debate is raging on what to do in the place where the charter- hailed by some as the foundation of English democracy - was sealed. Plans to build an £8m visitor centre in Runnymede as a legacy of the anniversary were dropped earlier this year because of lack of funds. Surrey County Council, Runnymede Borough Council and the National Trust have all said they are now working to find a way to raise the profile of the Magna Carta and the site where it was sealed. Was it important? But the Magna Carta Trust's 800th committee, which is overseeing global commemorations to mark the anniversary, has said the lack of an interpretation centre at the site is a "travesty". Image caption King John famously sealed the Magna Carta at Runnymede in Surrey Committee chairman Sir Robert Worcester still wants a cornerstone to be placed for the building on the day of the anniversary - 15 June 2015. He said planning permission could be achieved and the money could be raised. His calls for more interpretation at the site have been backed by Professor Nigel Saul, a historian at Royal Holloway University, which stands next to the Magna Carta field in Runnymede. Some historians have disputed the importance of the Magna Carta, arguing that of its 63 clauses, only three have not now been repealed or become obsolete. But Professor Saul said there could be no doubt about its significance. He said: "The idea that Magna Carta was a narrow 'feudal' document was wrong." He added: "There can be no doubting the historical importance of Magna Carta. It established the principle that the executive power - in this case, the king - is subject to the law just like everyone else. "Later in the 13th Century the jurist Bracton wrote 'in England the king is below God and below the law'. The crucial clause is clause 39: No free man shall be arrested, imprisoned or dispossessed without judgement of his peers or against the law of the land. "Magna Carta explains why we live in a constitutional monarchy today." 'Source of difficulty' Image caption The memorial on the National Trust site is owned and was paid for by the American Bar Association Professor Saul said leaflets, guide books, display boards and electronic devices - rather than a visitor centre - could help people visiting the site. He said: "Currently, the Runnymede site is lacking in interpretative aids to assist the visitor who knows little or nothing about the site, or about the events of 1215. "This is likely to be a source of some difficulty by 2015, when, as we expect, visitor numbers increase in the wake of the 800th anniversary." Plans to build a visitor centre on Runnymede Pleasure Grounds, which is next to the National Trust-owned Magna Carta site, were put forward by Runnymede Council in 2011. A recommendation that a visitor centre should be built had already been made in the 1990s, but two years ago the council set out to secure funds and build the centre in time for the 800th anniversary events. So what is Magna Carta? Magna Carta outlined basic rights with the principle that no one was above the law, including the king It charted the right to a fair trial, and limits on taxation without representation It helped inspire a number of other documents, including the US Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights The British Library has two copies of the 1215 Magna Carta Source: The British Library Plans hit a setback when a lottery bid failed , and a pledged £5m towards the £8m project was withdrawn by Surrey County Council. 'Own pilgrimage' Runnymede Council's chief executive Paul Turrell said: "This project could never be funded, simply or wholly by public funds; we were reliant on private sponsorship which did not materialise." The county council has since gone back to the drawing board to work out how to mark the date. It said the focus was on improving what was at the site, in a sustainable and economically viable way, not building something new, and on developing a programme which would encourage more visitors to enjoy the natural setting close to London. The council said it had shared its thoughts with residents who were happy with its ideas and a decision would be taken next month. The two local authorities, the National Trust and the Magna Carta Trust's 800th committee have all agreed interpretation is needed at the site. Anna Tomkins, from Visit Surrey, said tourism statistics for the Runnymede site were difficult to estimate because the open field had no entrance fee, gates, or turnstiles. She said most people researched their visit and their journey to Runnymede on the internet, and because there was no big attraction such as a statue or a visitor centre, people tended to "make their own pilgrimage themselves". Runnymede Council said car park usage showed about 150,000 people visited Runnymede Pleasure Grounds in the past financial year. The authority said it was difficult to predict visitor numbers in 2015 but said it definitely expected a huge increase.
Surrey
What is the surname of Terry, played by James Bolam, in the UK 1960’s television series ‘The Likely lads’?
Magna Carta Eurofind.    |   Privacy policy There are many events being prepared to celebrate the 800 years since the sealing of the Magna Carta, and we can now let you know the details. The site at Runnymede also has the R.A.F. and Commonwealth War memorial, the John F Kennedy memorial, and the Magna Carta Temple shown to the right. For more information on the area go to http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/runnymede/ Most famously, the 39th clause gave all ‘free men’ the right to justice and a fair trial. Some of Magna Carta’s core principles are echoed in the United States Bill of Rights (1791) and in many other constitutional documents around the world, as well as in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the European Convention on Human Rights (1950). Over the following centuries, and in particular the time of the Civil War and the troubled Parliaments of Oliver Cromwell, the theme of Magna Carta would be used by people who felt that the political situation was eroding the liberties of the individual. So important was Magna Carta to the American legal system that the American Bar Association installed the Magna Carta Memorial as we now see it in Runnymede Meadows. This event has later become recognised as one of the most important events in English history as it marked the road to individual freedom, parliamentary democracy and to the supremacy of law. In acknowledgement of this, Runnymede Borough Council, Surrey County Council, National Trust, Royal Holloway, Brunel University and associated stakeholders have finalised all local events There are in existence four 1215 Magna Carta. Two are held by the British Library and one by Salisbury Cathedral. All four of the original surviving 1215 Magna Carta manuscripts will be brought together for the first time in history at a 3- day event at the British Library from 2- 4 February 2015. The River Relay Thames Alive is organising a River Relay from Hurley Riverside to Runnymede Pleasure Ground over two days, 13th and 14th June, carrying a facsimile of the Magna Carta, created for the Windsor & Royal Borough Museum by young people in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. Stopping at various points on the way we recount the story of the Magna Carta and hand over the responsibility of carrying the document to a new relay bearer who will be on board the Royal Shallop "Jubilant" and escorted by rowed craft. The flotilla will continue travelling down stream with opportunities for other craft which have had their registration confirmed to take part, to join in. The main part of the relay from up river will be rowed and/or paddled craft although there are opportunities for motor or steam craft to join in at certain points. The final section will be a spectacular assembly of craft escorting the Document to Runnymede. The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and Runnymede Borough Council are uniting to celebrate this historic occasion with a number of locally inspired events, these to include a river relay, historic re- enactments and river parades, culminating in the assembly of the Barons to confront King John. In conjunction with the National Trust Runnymede Borough Council are instigating a ferry service across the River between Runnymede Pleasure Grounds and Ankerwyke (Wraysbury bank) where the ruins of the Benedictine St Mary’s Priory and a 1,000- year- old yew tree can be found. Some believe this is the location of the actual sealing, but this is not proven. This event has the approval and active support of the main Magna Carta 800th Celebrations Committee, which is encouraging people and local authorities around the country to have their own celebration, but the Runnymede name and site is iconic in the annals of history and Thames Alive is offering you the opportunity of “being there on the day”. The Pageant A re- enactment of the sealing of Magna Carta Runnymede Borough Council have commissioned Past Pleasures Ltd., a ‘Historical Interpretation Company’, to create a 2 hour re- enactment of the events leading up to the sealing of Magna Carta 800 years ago, on June 15th 1215. The event will take place on Sunday 14th June at Runnymede Pleasure Ground, Windsor Road, Egham, TW20 0AE, where there will be a wide range of activities and entertainment for the whole family. The enactment will commence between 1:30pm and 4pm, depending on the the river conditions as some some of the actors will be arriving by boat as part of the “River Relay”. Everyone is welcome, and whilst the Pageant is free to spectators, it will require a ticket, and some of the attractions in the Pleasure Ground may have a charge. To get tickets click here . Visit By The Queen Accompanied by Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, Her Majesty will attend a commemoration event on Monday June 15 at Runnymede Meadows, where the historic document was sealed. Prince William, Princess Anne and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence will also be present. The event, organised by Surrey County Council and the National Trust, will include speeches and music, as well as a re- dedication of the American Bar Association’s Magna Carta Memorial. The Queen is patron of the Magna Carta Trust, set up for the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta by King John in 1215. For an interesting article on the history of Magna Carta click here . The full text of Magna Carta, translated into English, can be viewed at the British Library’s website click here . Below are some of the most important and well- known clauses from the original, 1215 version: Clause 1: the English Church shall be free. Clause 12: No scutage or aid (i.e. tax) shall be levied except by common counsel (consent). Clause 33: All fish weirs shall be removed from the Thames and the Medway and throughout all England, except on the coast. Clause 38: No bailiff shall put anyone on trial by his own unsupported allegation, without bringing credible witnesses to the charge. Clause 39: No free man shall be taken or imprisoned except by the lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land. Clause 40: To no one shall we sell, delay or deny right or justice. Clause 45: We will not make justices, constable, sheriffs or bailiffs who do not know the law of the land and mean to observe it well. Much of the above is extracted from the Thames Alive site and The Runnymede Borough Guide 2015 - Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Souvenir Edition Home Calendar of Events About Contact Privacy Policy Runnymede in England is where Magna Carta was sealed by King John. Magna Carta, Latin for "the Great Charter", (sometimes also called “the Great Charter of the Liberties of England"), was a charter sealed by King John at Runnymede, near Windsor, England, on 15 June 1215. Magna Carta is the foundation for nearly every Democracy in the world. There is a translation into English of the Magna Carta, which was originally written in Latin, in the British Library. Click here to visit the library. Magna Carta is one of the most famous documents in the world. Originally issued by King John of England as a practical solution to the political crisis he faced in 1215, Magna Carta established for the first time the principle that everybody, including the king, was subject to the law. Although nearly a third of the text was deleted or substantially rewritten within ten years, and almost all the clauses have been repealed in modern times, Magna Carta remains a cornerstone of the British constitution. Most of the 63 clauses granted by King John dealt with specific grievances relating to his rule. However, buried within them were a number of fundamental values that both challenged the autocracy of the king and proved highly adaptable in future centuries.
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In astronomy, Pulsar, Binary, Dwarf and Red Giant are all types of what?
An Introduction to Pulsars An Introduction to Pulsars Image Credit: Sea and Sky This webpage has been designed to give you an understanding of pulsar astronomy. We start by describing how astronomers discover and subsequently observe pulsars. We continue with a section on the theory of pulsars where we explain why pulsars are thought to be neutron stars (the collapsed core of a star that underwent a supernova explosion). We explain how these pulsars are actually studied today and what we can learn from these amazing objects. We finish by providing links to other webpages for those of you who would like to read more about pulsars. Observations of Pulsars The first pulsar was discovered by chance by Jocelyn Bell and Anthony Hewish in 1967 who were actually studying distant galaxies at the time. Jocelyn Bell noticed small pulses of radiation when their telescope was looking at a particular position in the sky and for a short time scientists thought they might be coming from an extra-terrestrial civilisation. In fact the source of these pulses were initially referred to as LGM1, Little Green Man 1. Once established that the signals were not of this origin (and also not caused by people on Earth), the unidentified object they were coming from was called a "pulsar" because the emission was pulsed. The pulsar discovered by Bell and Hewish is now called PSR B1919+21: PSR stands for Pulsating Source of Radio and B1919+21 indicates the position of the pulsar in the sky. Even though pulsars were first discovered as radio sources they have now been observed using optical, X-ray and gamma-ray telescopes. Image Credit: Jocelyn Bell Burnell Jocelyn Bell and the telescope in Cambridge, England, used to discover pulsars. Pulsar astronomers have now detected over 1500 pulsars and expect to discover thousands more during the next few years. More than two-thirds of the currently known pulsars were discovered using the Parkes radio telescope (the star of the film "The Dish"). The enormous Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico, the Green Bank telescopes in America, the Molonglo telescope in Australia and the Jodrell Bank telescope in England have also made significant contributions in discovering pulsars. Image Credit: CSIRO ) The Parkes radio telescope in Australia has found more than twice as many pulsars as the rest of the world's telescopes put together. An astronomer who is searching for a pulsar will position the radio telescope at an area of sky for between a few minutes and twelve hours (longer observations allow the astronomer to detect weaker pulsars, but it requires the drinking of lots of strong coffee to stay awake!). The output of the telescope is continuously recorded by a computer that needs plenty of storage space - a recent survey at Parkes stored the equivalent of 8000 CDs worth of data. Later, the data are searched for periodic signals of the type found by Jocelyn Bell which, if found, confirm the presence of a pulsar. If the telescope was plugged into a suitable loud-speaker (instead of recording the data on to a computer system) and a bright enough pulsar was being observed then you would actually hear the signal . No wonder they were first thought to be extra-terrestrials trying to communicate with us! (More sounds of pulsars are available at the Jodrell Bank pulsar webpage ) The time interval between consecutive pulses is called the pulsar's period. Periods of one second are typical although pulsars have been discovered with periods from a few milliseconds (one millisecond equals 0.001 seconds) up to eight seconds. The time between pulses is incredibly regular and can be measured very precisely. For example, a pulsar called PSR J1603-7202 is known to have a period of 0.0148419520154668 seconds. However the periods of all radio pulsars are increasing extremely slowly. The period of PSR J1603-7202 increases by just 0.0000005 seconds every million years! There are two main types of pulsar. Those with periods of a few milliseconds and whose periods are changing very slowly are called the millisecond pulsars. The remainder are simply called the "ordinary pulsars". Image Credit: Pulsars, Freeman, 1977 . This plot displays pulses from the pulsar PSR B0329+54. The time between two pulses is called the pulse period. The pulses can look very different from each other in both shape and height as seen in the plot. Before explaining what pulsars actually are let us consider what observations of pulsars tell us. Each pulse is found to be made up of radio waves of different frequencies just as white light is made up of all the colours of the spectrum. It is observed that the highest frequencies of a pulse arrive at a telescope slightly before the lower frequencies. The reason for this is that the pulse has been travelling through the interstellar medium (the space between the pulsar and the Earth) and the different frequencies making up the pulse travel at different speeds through this medium. This is referred to as the pulse dispersion and is due to the free electrons in the interstellar medium. The more distant pulsars are dispersed more than the closer ones and so the time delays between the different frequencies can be used to estimate an approximate distance to a pulsar. Except for a few pulsars in our neighbouring galaxies, the Magellanic Clouds, most pulsars are found to be well outside of our solar system but within our Galaxy. The youngest pulsars (we call them young, but these pulsars are many thousands of years old) are found to lie within the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy. The very youngest are found within supernova remnants which suggests that they were probably "born" during the explosion of a massive star. Image Credit: ESO (VLT Kueyen + FORS2) Some pulsars are observed to lie within supernova remnants. The Crab Nebula is shown in this picture, taken using an optical telescope. The Crab pulsar is situated near the centre of this nebula. These young pulsars are found to be travelling through space very fast. In fact some pulsars are moving 4000 times faster than a jumbo jet and would take only 16 seconds to travel between Sydney and London! As they age they move away from the plane of the Galaxy. The fastest pulsars will never come back - they will escape from the Galaxy and will travel off into the space between galaxies becoming undetectable. Others will slow down and then drop back towards the plane of the Galaxy and will continue to oscillate up and down for the rest of their lives. Most stars in our Galaxy are in an orbit with another star (our Sun is unusual in that it has no stellar companion). Similarly, many pulsars (in particular the millisecond pulsars) are found in binary systems. The companions to pulsars have been found to be normal stars, planets, white dwarf stars, neutron stars and even, for one recent discovery, another pulsar. Studying the pulsar's motion in a binary system allows astronomers to determine many facts about the pulsar, its companion and the orbit. For some systems, the mass of the pulsar can be determined and is found to be roughly one and a half times as massive as our Sun. We also know that pulsars are very small and so they must be very dense. In fact, one teaspoon of pulsar material would weigh a billion tonnes if we brought it to the surface of the Earth. So what have we learnt? The observations of pulsars tell us that: they are far away they can orbit other objects they were probably born in supernova explosions they are travelling very fast through space the time between pulses is extremely regular although they are slowing down very slightly. In the next section we attempt to put all these observational results together to form a picture of what a pulsar actually is. Theory of Pulsars Image Credit: Michael Kramer (University of Manchester) Animation of a pulsar In 1934 Walter Baade and Fritz Zwicky predicted the existence of neutron stars: stars which have collapsed under their own gravity during a supernova explosion. Stars like our Sun will not form neutron stars. After exhausting all their fuel, such small stars become white dwarfs. Only very massive stars (at least a few times more massive than our Sun) will undergo a supernova explosion and become neutron stars. Even more massive stars will collapse to form black holes. It was thought that neutron stars would never be detectable using telescopes on Earth. They were predicted to be very dense, to spin very fast, have a tiny radius of only about 10km and to possess large magnetic fields. However, we now know that charged particles moving along the magnetic field could cause beams of radiation to be emitted from the magnetic poles. Then, as the neutron star rotates, the beam would sweep across space. When this beam is in the direction of the Earth, a pulse may be detectable using a radio telescope (see the animation above). Could this "lighthouse model" answer the question of what a pulsar is? Image Credit: at NASA/GSFC Model of a pulsar rotating around its spin axis and emitting radio waves along its magnetic axis. If we compare the observations of pulsars mentioned in the first section with the description of neutron stars in the second we find many similarities. The pulses that occur at regular intervals correspond to a beam being emitted from a rotating neutron star. The time between pulses, the period, is the time that it takes for the neutron star to rotate once. The increase in the period is due to the pulsar slowing down slightly as it loses energy. The youngest pulsars are found in supernova remnants which is exactly the place we'd expect neutron stars to be born. Therefore the most likely explanation is that a pulsar is a neutron star that spins rapidly and emits radio waves along its magnetic axis. However, not all neutron stars are necessarily detectable as pulsars. The beams from some neutron stars may never pass the Earth and will therefore not be detected. Also, other neutron stars may have been pulsars in the past, but the process that causes the beam of radiation (which is not fully understood) may have turned off or is just too weak to be detected. The types of pulsar - the ordinary and millisecond pulsars - can be explained by assuming that all of the millisecond pulsars were originally in orbit with another star. After the pulsar formed, matter was pulled from the companion star on to the pulsar. During this process the pulsar rotated faster and faster until it became one of the millisecond pulsars. Later, the companion star died and became either a white dwarf, neutron star or black hole depending on its original size. If the companion star remained in orbit with the pulsar, a binary millisecond pulsar system would be formed. Nobody is quite sure of what exactly happens to a pulsar as it ages and slows down. It is likely that after a few million years the beam of radiation switches off. This may be because the pulsar's magnetic field decays away or that the beam just gets weaker and weaker until it is undetectable. Such problems may be solved by studying pulsars discovered in recent surveys. Current Research The Parkes multibeam pulsar surveys Image Credit: ) The completed multibeam receiver being lifted up to the focus cabin of the Parkes telescope. In January 1997 a 13-beam receiver was installed on the Parkes radio telescope. This receiver, the multibeam receiver, was initially built to search for galaxies but has been used by many astronomers in their search for pulsars. In an investigation that has just been completed, pulsar astronomers from all over the world have collaborated in a search for pulsars in the plane of our Galaxy and have discovered more than 700 pulsars. This phenomenal success was mainly due to the receiver that allowed 13 areas of the sky to be observed simultaneously. Because of this, the astronomers could afford to spend much longer on any particular area of sky than was possible in the past. Such long observations allowed the survey to detect weaker pulsar signals than those found during previous surveys. Quite a few of the new discoveries are interesting and include young pulsars, distant pulsars, pulsars in binary systems and even more millisecond pulsars. Other pulsar surveys have also been carried out using this receiver. One, the high latitude survey, was mainly a search for millisecond pulsars. This survey did not discover as many pulsars as the survey we described above, but it found what is probably the most exciting pulsar system known. We'll discuss this discovery in the next section. The double pulsar system Astronomers using the Parkes radio telescope have discovered a pulsar in orbit with another pulsar. This has caused great excitement in the astronomical community because these pulsars allow theories of gravity to be tested with phenomenal accuracy. We already know that millisecond pulsars in binary systems are superb probes for studying Einstein's general theory of relativity. The orbits of such pulsar systems have been studied for many years to see if the observations agree with prediction. Einstein's theory agrees perfectly with the observations. The new double pulsar system will allow even better tests to be made. Image Credit: The double pulsar system. Click on this picture to get the full animation. Timing array projects Many astronomers around the world work together to make regular observations of a few millisecond pulsars. These observations can subsequently be used to investigate how stable atomic clocks on Earth are, to improve our understanding of the masses and motions of the planets in our solar system and, with luck, to detect gravity waves. Gravity waves are ripples in the fabric of space and time and come from very extreme regions of spacetime such as the very early Universe and the cores of galaxies. Therefore, by studying a pulsar we can improve clocks on Earth and, at the same time, study the very early Universe and colliding supermassive black holes at the centres of galaxies! Image Credit: CSIRO ) A pulsar astronomer controlling the Parkes radio telescope. Many of the observations are now part of the Australian timing array project. The interior structure of neutron stars Neutron stars are only the size of a city and are very far away yet astronomers can work out what is going on beneath their surfaces - how? They do this by looking for small changes in the rotation of the pulsar. We have already mentioned that pulsars slow down as they get older. However, for a few pulsars they suddenly start spinning faster (in a very short space of time) and then slowly return to their original spin rate; that is they glitch. The Crab pulsar which is in the Crab nebula (shown in a picture above) has been observed to do this many times. The reason for glitching is not very well understood and is actively being investigated. However, current explanations suggest that glitches are probably due to the way the interior superfluid of a neutron star interacts with the crystalline surface. The interior structure of a neutron star consists of iron, neutron rich nuclei and electrons in the outer crust. The inner crust contains neutron rich nuclei, free superfluid neutrons and electrons and the interior, superfluid neutrons, superfluid protons and electrons. The makeup of the core is unknown. The SKA (Square Kilometre Array) The SKA will be one of the next generation radio telescopes. It will have far greater sensitivities than any current radio telescope because its large total collecting area will be one square kilometre. This will allow much fainter pulsars to be seen. It will probably not be a single surface but will consist of many smaller collecting antennas. Astronomers are hoping that this new telescope will allow them to discover a pulsar orbiting a black hole. If found, this will be the most extreme pulsar system known. It will enable more general relativity tests to be done and alternative theories of gravity to be investigated. The SKA will also enable astronomers to find pulsars in distant galaxies. Want to Learn More? There are many sites on the web that contain information about pulsars. Here are a few that we find particularly interesting.
Star
A bloater is which fish salted, smoked and partially dried?
Star Facts: The Basics of Star Names and Stellar Evolution Star Facts: The Basics of Star Names and Stellar Evolution By Charles Q. Choi, Space.com Contributor | December 16, 2014 09:41pm ET MORE Credit: University of Leicester Stars are giant, luminous spheres of plasma. There are billions of them — including our own sun — in the Milky Way Galaxy. And there are billions of galaxies in the universe. So far, we have learned that hundreds also have planets orbiting them. History of observations Since the dawn of recorded civilization, stars played a key role in religion and proved vital to navigation. Astronomy , the study of the heavens, may be the most ancient of the sciences. The invention of the telescope and the discovery of the laws of motion and gravity in the 17th century prompted the realization that stars were just like the sun, all obeying the same laws of physics. In the 19th century, photography and spectroscopy — the study of the wavelengths of light that objects emit — made it possible to investigate the compositions and motions of stars from afar, leading to the development of astrophysics. In 1937, the first radio telescope was built, enabling astronomers to detect otherwise invisible radiation from stars. In 1990, the first space-based optical telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope , was launched, providing the deepest, most detailed visible-light view of the universe. Star naming Ancient cultures saw patterns in the heavens that resembled people, animals or common objects — constellations that came to represent figures from myth, such as Orion the Hunter, a hero in Greek mythology. Astronomers now often use constellations in the naming of stars. The International Astronomical Union, the world authority for assigning names to celestial objects, officially recognizes 88 constellations . Usually, the brightest star in a constellation has "alpha," the first letter of the Greek alphabet, as part of its scientific name. The second brightest star in a constellation is typically designated "beta," the third brightest "gamma," and so on until all the Greek letters are used, after which numerical designations follow. A number of stars have possessed names since antiquity — Betelgeuse , for instance, means "the hand (or the armpit) of the giant" in Arabic. It is the brightest star in Orion, and its scientific name is Alpha Orionis. Also, different astronomers over the years have compiled star catalogs that use unique numbering systems. The Henry Draper Catalog, named after a pioneer in astrophotography, provides spectral classification and rough positions for 272,150 stars and has been widely used of by the astronomical community for over half a century. The catalog designates Betelgeuse as HD 39801. Since there are so many stars in the universe, the IAU uses a different system for newfound stars. Most consist of an abbreviation that stands for either the type of star or a catalog that lists information about the star, followed by a group of symbols. For instance, PSR J1302-6350 is a pulsar, thus the PSR. The J reveals that a coordinate system known as J2000 is being used, while the 1302 and 6350 are coordinates similar to the latitude and longitude codes used on Earth. A young, glittering collection of stars looks like an aerial burst. The cluster is surrounded by clouds of interstellar gas and dust—the raw material for new star formation. The nebula, located 20,000 light-years away in the constellation Carina, contains a central cluster of huge, hot stars, called NGC 3603. Credit: NASA, ESA, R., F. Paresce, E. Young, the WFC3 Science Oversight Committee, and the Hubble Heritage Team Star formation A star develops from a giant, slowly rotating cloud that is made up entirely or almost entirely of hydrogen and helium. Due to its own gravitational pull, the cloud behind to collapse inward, and as it shrinks, it spins more and more quickly, with the outer parts becoming a disk while the innermost parts become a roughly spherical clump. According to NASA, this collapsing material grows hotter and denser, forming a ball-shaped protostar . When the heat and pressure in the protostar reaches about 1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit (1 million degrees Celsius), atomic nuclei that normally repel each other start fusing together, and the star ignites. Nuclear fusion converts a small amount of the mass of these atoms into extraordinary amounts of energy — for instance, 1 gram of mass converted entirely to energy would be equal to an explosion of roughly 22,000 tons of TNT. Evolution of stars The life cycles of stars follow patterns based mostly on their initial mass. These include intermediate-mass stars such as the sun, with half to eight times the mass of the sun, high-mass stars that are more than eight solar masses, and low-mass stars a tenth to half a solar mass in size. The greater a star's mass, the shorter its lifespan generally is. Objects smaller than a tenth of a solar mass do not have enough gravitational pull to ignite nuclear fusion — some might become failed stars known as brown dwarfs . An intermediate-mass star begins with a cloud that takes about 100,000 years to collapse into a protostar with a surface temperature of about 6,750 F (3,725 C). After hydrogen fusion starts, the result is a T-Tauri star , a variable star that fluctuates in brightness. This star continues to collapse for roughly 10 million years until its expansion due to energy generated by nuclear fusion is balanced by its contraction from gravity, after which point it becomes a main-sequence star that gets all its energy from hydrogen fusion in its core. The greater the mass of such a star, the more quickly it will use its hydrogen fuel and the shorter it stays on the main sequence. After all the hydrogen in the core is fused into helium, the star changes rapidly — without nuclear radiation to resist it, gravity immediately crushes matter down into the star's core, quickly heating the star. This causes the star's outer layers to expand enormously and to cool and glow red as they do so, rendering the star a red giant . Helium starts fusing together in the core, and once the helium is gone, the core contracts and becomes hotter, once more expanding the star but making it bluer and brighter than before, blowing away its outermost layers. After the expanding shells of gas fade, the remaining core is left, a white dwarf that consists mostly of carbon and oxygen with an initial temperature of roughly 180,000 degrees F (100,000 degrees C). Since white dwarves have no fuel left for fusion, they grow cooler and cooler over billions of years to become black dwarves too faint to detect. (Our sun should leave the main sequence in about 5 billion years.) A high-mass star forms and dies quickly. These stars form from protostars in just 10,000 to 100,000 years. While on the main sequence, they are hot and blue, some 1,000 to 1 million times as luminous as the sun and are roughly 10 times wider. When they leave the main sequence, they become a bright red supergiant, and eventually become hot enough to fuse carbon into heavier elements. After some 10,000 years of such fusion, the result is an iron core roughly 3,800 miles wide (6,000 km), and since any more fusion would consume energy instead of liberating it, the star is doomed, as its nuclear radiation can no longer resist the force of gravity. When a star reaches a mass of more than 1.4 solar masses, electron pressure cannot support the core against further collapse, according to NASA. The result is a supernova. Gravity causes the core to collapse, making the core temperature rise to nearly 18 billion degrees F (10 billion degrees C), breaking the iron down into neutrons and neutrinos. In about one second, the core shrinks to about six miles (10 km) wide and rebounds just like a rubber ball that has been squeezed, sending a shock wave through the star that causes fusion to occur in the outlying layers. The star then explodes in a so-called Type II supernova. If the remaining stellar core was less than roughly three solar masses large, it becomes a neutron star made up nearly entirely of neutrons, and rotating neutron stars that beam out detectable radio pulses are known as pulsars. If the stellar core was larger than about three solar masses, no known force can support it against its own gravitational pull, and it collapses to form a black hole . A low-mass star uses hydrogen fuel so sluggishly that they can shine as main-sequence stars for 100 billion to 1 trillion years — since the universe is only about 13.7 billion years old , according to NASA, this means no low-mass star has ever died. Still, astronomers calculate these stars, known as red dwarfs , will never fuse anything but hydrogen, which means they will never become red giants. Instead, they should eventually just cool to become white dwarfs and then black dwarves. Constellations ancient and modern grace the skies year round. Let's see what you know about the star patterns that appear overhead every night.
i don't know
Which Scottish city is known as the ‘Capital of the Highlands’?
City of Inverness - Capital of The Highlands 3 June, 2013 By John The City of Inverness, known as the capital of The Highlands, welcomes you with the quiet air of a place that relishes having visitors, and offers a good quality of living. I have either passed through or made a stop in the city for a few hours on many occasions, and in 2004, I had the good fortune to spend a glorious weekend. I had lunch in a restaurant, and people at the next table were deep in conversation. Now, I couldn’t help overhearing, but I honestly don’t remember what the conversation was about. What I do remember was trying to place their accents, and I couldn’t, because there was none. Everywhere I went in the city it was the same story, all the locals spoke in a nice, ‘soft’ manner, that revealed no regional dialect, and no trace of a Scottish accent. My weekend here was full of surprises, and it was thoroughly enjoyable. Although the city is the commercial centre for The Highlands, it caters well for the one million tourists who visit each year. With its own airport and good road and rail links it is also easily accessible. Tourism has been steadily on the increase since city status was granted in 2001, and Inverness has everything you would expect in a major city. With a full programme of events like the Highland Show, Highland Dancing, Pipe Bands, and the Inverness Highland Games , there’s always something to see, and the nightlife is absolutely buzzing with lots of good Ceilidhs, traditional music, comedy and quiz nights dominating the local pub scene. Add to that the choices for eating, from pubs, fast food takeaways and good restaurants serving traditional Scottish food, and the French, Mexican, Thai, Chinese and Indian restaurants, tea and coffee shops, it’s easy to see why it’s popular. The city of Inverness has some fabulous shopping too. There’s everything you would expect from a city shopping centre and also some specialist retailers offering traditional Scottish goods, including knitwear, crafts and books. In the ‘Old Town’ part of the city there is the Old Victorian Market, and the High Street is pedestrian only. As you walk through the city centre you can expect to be entertained with pipers and other street performers. Eden Court Theatre in Bishop’s Road has performances to cater for a wide range of cultural tastes, including music, drama and ballet, and the Royal National Mod is held in October each year for those who prefer to be entertained with Gaelic and Highland music. Gaelic is spoken by some in the city, and many of the place names and signs are in Gaelic. Another place worth visiting is the Inverness Museum and Art Gallery where you can catch up on some Highland history. There are learning zones and drawing classes held here, the gift shop, full of souvenirs, and the coffee shop. As you would expect, Inverness has a castle. The present castle was built on the site of a much earlier fortress, but it is not open to the public as a visitor attraction. That’s because it is the location of the CITY SHERIFF COURT. Now, if whisky tours are your thing you’re in for a real treat, as the city of Inverness has a few distilleries nearby offering tours. Best known is The Antiquary, about 16 miles south on the A9, one of our most famous malt whiskies. About 18 miles north is the Glen Ord Distillery. There’s also the Dalmore Distillery to the west, where tours are free. Go easy on the tasting though, or you may end up in Inverness Castle. There is much history surrounding Inverness and many famous names from the past have been here, including St Columba, Robert the Bruce and MacBeth. Not far away is Culloden Battlefield, site of the last battle on British soil in 1746, bringing the Jacobite Rebellion to an end when Bonnie Prince Charlie was defeated by Government troops. Loch Ness needs no introduction, as this great loch has been the subject of much debate over the years, as to the existence or not, of our famous monster, ‘Nessie’. Yes, there’s a lot going on in and around the city of Inverness, with Fort William and Ben Nevis nearby, making it a good base for exploring the Highlands, and it is worth visiting. Like everywhere else in Scotland, you’re guaranteed a warm welcome. Find A Hotel In Inverness . A comprehensive search facility to browse hundreds of hotels and compare prices for the best deal possible.
Inverness
English country and western songwriter Samuel Hutt is better known by what name?
Inverness Inverness Inverness, the Capital of the Highlands has something for everyone including shops, restaurants, a theatre, museum and art gallery. Inverness   Printable Version Inverness has a long history, having evolved from an ancient fort to the modern city it is now. The city and the surrounding area is now home to 65,000 people, but it was much smaller when St Columba visited the Royal Court of the Pictish King Brude (or Bridei) in 565AD. Legend has it that, in 1040, Macbeth, of Shakespeare fame, built his stronghold in Inverness. In 1158 King David of Scotland awarded Invernessits charter as a Royal Burgh. Known as the Capital of the Highlands, it has held this title over the centuries due to it�s position on the River Ness where the roads through the glens of the Highlands converge. The castle that dominates the Inverness skyline dates from 1834. Today this impressive red sandstone building is a courthouse, but you should note the statue that sits outside. It is of Flora MacDonald who, famously, helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape "Over the Sea to Skye�. Close by is Inverness Museum and Art Gallery which displays the heritage of the area, from archaeology to natural history. As the regional administrative and cultural centre Inverness boasts a wide range of shops and services. The popular Eden Court Theatre complex offers an eclectic range of plays, musicals and other entertainment. There is a diverse choice of restaurants serving most types of cuisine. Pubs are plentiful too, many offering traditional Scottish music in the evenings.  
i don't know
Former football player Eusebio, who died in January 2014, played for which national team?
Portugal football legend Eusebio dies - CNN.com Portugal football legend Eusebio dies By Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Isa Soares, CNN updated 5:54 PM EST, Sun January 5, 2014 STORY HIGHLIGHTS Eusebio, 71, died from a heart attack, former club says The striker was considered one of the sport's greatest players Eusebio was top scorer at 1966 World Cup Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo among those to pay tribute (CNN) -- Portugal football legend Eusebio, who was top scorer at the 1966 World Cup, died at the age of 71, his former club Benfica said Sunday. He died from a heart attack, the Lisbon side said on its website. The striker, affectionately known as the "Black Panther," was admired throughout the Portuguese-speaking world and was thought to be among the sport's greatest players. "Always eternal #Eusebio, rest in peace," Real Madrid forward and current Portugal icon Cristiano Ronaldo tweeted alongside a picture of both men together. Portugal's former world player of the year, Luis Figo, tweeted that Eusebio was the "king" while Brazil's Pele, considered by many to be the best footballer of all time, tweeted that Eusebio was like a "brother" to him. "May God receive him with open arms," said Pele. Eusebio, whose full name was Eusebio da Silva Ferreira, played for three North American Soccer League teams in the twilight of his career but is best known for his exploits in 15 years at Benfica. Born in 1942 in Mozambique, which was then a Portuguese territory, he scored 41 goals in 64 appearances for his adopted country. Named European Footballer of the Year in 1965, Eusebio won widespread acclaim the following year at the World Cup in England. He scored nine goals in the competition, helping his team reach the semifinals. World Cup scorer He scored two goals as Portugal eliminated defending champions Brazil in the group stage, then netted four times in an incredible quarterfinal comeback against North Korea as his side rallied from 3-0 down to win 5-3 in one of the tournament's most famous matches. Eusebio scored again in the semifinals against England, but the hosts won 2-1 before beating Germany in the final. "His talent brought joy for entire generations, even those who didn't live through the most glorious moments of his career," Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva told Portuguese television. World football body FIFA said Eusebio was considered "one of the best footballers of all time and best ever from Portugal." "Football has lost a legend," FIFA president Sepp Blatter tweeted as the tributes continued. "But Eusebio's place among the greats will never be taken away." Added UEFA president Michel Platini: "On the field, Eusebio was a true legend, both in the colors of Portugal and Benfica," he told UEFA's website. "But also off it, he was a true ambassador for Portuguese football on the international stage. He was more than a footballer. A good and charming man, Eusebio will be sadly missed." During his career with Benfica, the Lisbon side won the European Cup in 1962. He scored 733 times in 745 professional matches, according to FIFA. He won 10 league titles and five Portuguese cups with the Eagles and was Portugal's top league scorer between 1964 and 1973. "We're saddened to hear Benfica legend Eusebio has passed away," tweeted Manchester United. "He was a fantastic player and a friend of the club."
Portugal
In November 1990, Mary Robinson defeated Brian Lenihan to become the first female President of which country?
Eusébio Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira Extra names: Эйсебио, Эузе́биу да Силва Ферре́йра Эузебиу, Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, Black Panther, the Black Pearl, or O Rei (The King) Categories: Person   Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, GCIH, GCM (Portuguese pronunciation: [ewˈzɛbiu ðɐ ˈsiɫvɐ fɨˈʁɐjɾɐ]; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), commonly known simply as Eusébio, was a Mozambican-born Portuguese football forward. He is considered one of the greatest footballers of all-time. During his professional career, he scored 733 goals in 745 matches. He helped the Portuguese national team reach third place at the1966 World Cup, being the top goalscorer of the tournament with nine goals (including four in one match against North Korea) and received the Bronze Ball award. He won the Ballon d'Oraward in 1965 and was runner-up in 1962 and 1966. He played for Benfica for 15 years out of his 22 as a footballer, thus being mainly associated with the Portuguese club, and is the team's all-time top scorer with 638 goals scored in 614 official games. There, he won eleven Primeira Liga titles, five Taça de Portugal titles, a European Cup (1961–62) and helped them reach three additional European Cup finals. He was the European Cup top scorer in 1965, 1966 and 1968. He also won the Bola de Prata (Primeira Liga top scorer award) a record seven times. He was the first ever player to win the European Golden Boot, in 1968, a feat he replicated in 1973. Nicknamed the Black Panther, the Black Pearl, or O Rei (The King) he was known for his speed, technique, athleticism and his ferocious, accurate right-footed shot, making him an outstanding prolific goalscorer and one of the greatest free-kick takers in history. He is considered Benfica's and Portugal's most renowned player and one of the first world-class African strikers. Although born in Mozambique and having an Angolan father, Eusébio, like Matateu and Mário Coluna, among others before him, could only play for the Portuguese team, since both of the African countries were overseas territories and their inhabitants were considered Portuguese. Eusébio's name often appears in best player of all time lists and polls by football critics and fans. He was elected the 9th best footballer of the 20th century in a poll by the IFFHS and the 10th best footballer of the 20th century in a poll by the World Soccermagazine. Pelé named Eusébio as one of the 125 best living footballers in his 2004 FIFA 100 list. He was 7th in the online poll for UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll. In November 2003, to celebrateUEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player of Portugal by the Portuguese Football Federation as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years. He has been called "Africa's first great footballer" and "Africa's greatest-ever player". From his retirement to his death, Eusébio had been an ambassador of football and was one of the most recognizable faces of the sport. He is often praised for his known fair play and humbleness, even by opponents. There have been held several homages by FIFA, UEFA, thePortuguese Football Federation and Benfica in his honour. Former Benfica and Portugal teammate and friend António Simões acknowledges his influence on Benfica and said: "With Eusébio maybe we could be European Champions, without him maybe we could win the League." Early life Eusébio was born in the Mafalala neighborhood, Lourenço Marques (now Maputo), Portuguese East Africa (now Mozambique) on 25 January 1942. Born to Laurindo António da Silva Ferreira, awhite Angolan railroad worker from Malanje and Elisa Anissabeni, a black Mozambican woman. He was Elisa's fourth child. Raised in an extremely poor society, he used to skip school classes to play barefoot football with his friends in improvised pitches and using improvised footballs. His father died from tetanus when Eusébio was 8-years-old, so Elisa almost exclusively took the parental care of young Eusébio. Club career Early career He first started to play for a local amateur team called Os Brasileiros (The Brazilians), in honour of the great Brazilian team of the 1950s that he and his friends formed, they would play under the names of some of those superstars. The balls they used were made of socks and newspapers. He tried to enlist with some friends for the team Grupo Desportivo de Lourenço de Marques, his favourite team and a Benfica's feeder team, also the team where Mário Coluna had played for before his move to Benfica, but was rejected, without even being given a chance to prove his worth. He then tried his luck with Sporting Clube de Lourenço Marques, who accepted him. He has affirmed that he was spotted by a former Juventus goalkeeper turned scout when he was 15 years-old: "When I was 15, Juventus of Italy, wanted to hire me, because one of their scouts, who had been a famous Italian goalkeeper for them, saw me and told them that there was a boy with a potential, that it would be good to take advantage while I was still unknown. Juventus proposed but my mum never wanted to hear anything from anyone". Eusébio played for two seasons with their youth team, while he made sporadic appearances in the senior team. There he won the Campeonato Provincial de Moçambique and the Campeonato Distrital de Lourenço Marques in his last season, in 1960. Benfica He moved to Lisbon in his late teens, after joining Benfica as an 18-year-old from his local club, Sporting Clube de Lourenço Marques, for 350,000$ PTE (equivalent to €136,000 in 2009). Benfica discovered Eusébio due to the efforts of former Brazilianplayer José Carlos Bauer, who saw him in Lourenço Marques in 1960. Eusébio could run the 100m in 11 seconds. Bauer recommended Eusébio first to his former club, São Paulo, but the Tricolor turned him down. Bauer then discussed Eusébio with his former coach in São Paulo, Béla Guttmann, who was coaching Benfica at the time. By 17 December 1960, Eusébio arrived at Lisbon and was sent to Lagos, in the Algarve, with Benfica fearing a kidnapping operation by Sporting rivals. During his transfer he was codenamed Ruth Malosso. He remained there for 12 days, until the transfer upheaval would calm down. While he stayed in a hotel room he was warned for possible running-overs. Eusébio considered leaving Portugal, but his mother convinced him to stay. Eusébio had the largest circumference around his quadriceps of any footballer ever measured. The move was controversial however; Sporting Lourenço Marques was a subsidiary of Sporting Clube de Portugal and the two rivals disputed the legality of the transfer. According to Eusébio: "I used to play in Sporting's feeder club in Mozambique. Benfica wanted to pay me in a contract to go while Sporting wanted to take me [to Portugal] as a junior player for experience with no monetary reward.Benfica made a nice approach. They went to speak to my mum, my brother, and offered €1,000 for three years. My brother asked for double and they paid it. They signed the contract with my mother and she got the money". Benfica only registered him on May the next year and Eusébio made his first appearance for them against Atlético Clube de Portugal in a friendly game on 23 May 1961. He scored a hat-trick in a 4–2 victory. His debut in an official match was on 1 June 1961, against V. Setúbal, in the 2nd leg of the Round 3 of the 1960/61 Portuguese Cup. This game was controversially scheduled to the following day of theEuropean Cup final against Barcelona and the Portuguese Football Federation didn't postpone the game; as the first team was returning from Berna, Benfica played with the reserve squad and was defeated 1–4. Eusébio scored a goal and missed a penalty (the first of only five he missed throughout his career), but wasn't enough to win overall the round (4–5 on aggregate). On 10 June 1961, Eusébio played for the first time on the National Championship, the last matchday against Belenenses where he scored a goal in a 4–0 win. On June 15, Benfica played the final of the invitational Tournoi de Paris against Pelé's Santos and in the beginning of the second half, with Benfica down 0–4, Béla Guttmann decided to bring from the bench Eusébio to substituteSantana. Shortly after coming in, Santos reached 0–5, however between the 63rd and the 80th minute, Eusébio scored 3 goals and suffered a foul inside the penalty area, the penalty taker, José Augusto, failed to score though. The game finished 6–3 for Santos, with Eusébio being on the cover of the famed French sporting newspaper, L'Équipe. His following season was the one where he started to gain global recognition among football fans and critics alike. He scored 12 goals in 17 league matches and even though the club finished third, they won the Portuguese Cup against Vitória de Setúbal, with Eusébio scoring two goals in the final. In that same season, he won the European Cup, also scoring two goals in the final againstReal Madrid in a 5–3 result to Benfica. Due to his fine form during the season, he finished second in the 1962 Ballon d'Or, in his first complete season as a professional. With Eusébio playing for Benfica, they were also European Cup runners-up in 1963, 1965 and 1968. In the 1968 defeat to Englishleague champions Manchester United at Wembley, with the scores 1–1, he came close to winning the game for Benfica in the dying seconds of the game, only to have his shot foiled by a spectacular Alex Stepney save. Despite this, and the fact that the English side went on to win 4–1 in extra time, he openly congratulated Stepney for his efforts throughout the game, stopping to applaud Stepney, as he threw the ball back into play. In total, he has had a number of individual recognitions and awards while playing for Benfica. He was the 1965 European Footballer of the Year (Ballon d'Or) and finished as runners-up twice, in 1962 and 1966, and in 1968 was the first winner of theGolden Boot Award, as Europe's leading scorer, a feat he repeated five years later. He was the Portuguese First Division's top scorer seven times (1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970 and 1973), helping Benfica to 11 Primeira Liga wins (1960–1961, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–1967, 1967–1968, 1968–1969, 1970–1971, 1971–1972, 1972–1973 and 1974–1975), 5 Portuguese Cup wins (1961–1962, 1963–1964, 1968–1969, 1969–1970 and 1971–1972), 1 European Cup win (1961–1962) and 3 European Cup finals (1962–1963, 1964–1965 and 1967–1968). He scored 638 goals in 614 matches wearing Benfica's jersey, including 319 goals in 313 Primeira Liga matches, 97 goals in 60 Taça de Portugal matches and 57 goals in 76 European competitions matches (65 games on European Cups, 7 games on the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and 4 games on the UEFA Cup).[15] He played 9 games in European and World National Teams – 4 for the FIFA team and 5 for the UEFA team and scored 8 goals. His last game with Benfica's shirt was on 18 June 1975, against the African team, in Casablanca. Alfredo Di Stéfano once said:To me, Eusébio will always be the best player of all time Later career In 1976–77 and 1977–78, Eusébio played for two minor Portuguese teams, Beira-Mar, in the First Division, and União de Tomar, in the Second Division. He also played in the North American Soccer League (NASL), for three different teams, from 1975 to 1977: Boston Minutemen(1975), Toronto Metros-Croatia (1976, and the Las Vegas Quicksilvers (1977). His most successful season in the NASL was in 1976 with Toronto Metros-Croatia. He scored the winning goal in their 3–0 victory at the 76 Soccer Bowl to win the NASL title. The same year, he played ten games for Monterrey in the Mexican league. The following season (1977), he signed for the Las Vegas Quicksilvers. This was to be a very disappointing end to Eusébio's career. By this time, injuries had taken their toll on The Black Panther, and he was constantly receiving medical treatment whilst playing for the Quicksilver. During the season he only managed to score two goals. Although his knees robbed him of his ability to continue in the NASL, Eusébio wanted to continue to play soccer. He found a home in 1978 with the New Jersey Americans of the second-tier American Soccer League (ASL). He was forced to retire for good at the end of the season. He played five games for the Buffalo Stallions during the 1979–1980 Major Indoor Soccer League season. In October 1963, he was selected to represent the FIFA team in the "Golden Anniversary" of the "Football Association" at Wembley Stadium. He retired in 1979 and formed part of the technical committee of the Portugal national football team. International career Eusébio was the all-time leading scorer for his country, with 41 goals in 64 matches, until Pauleta equalled and surpassed his record against Latvia on 12 October 2005. Eusébio was also the most capped Portuguese player from 1972, until Tamagnini Nené made his 64th cap against Yugoslavia on 2 June 1984 in a friendly match, breaking Eusébio's record during the UEFA Euro 1984 on 20 June against Romania. He made his debut for the Portuguese national team against Luxembourg on 8 October 1961, a match his country lost 4–2, with the player scoring his country's first goal in the match. 1966 World Cup
i don't know
What is the name of the Trust, founded in 1986, which specialises in the removal of the debris of war, such as landmines?
The Judging Panel - Robert Burns Humanitarian Award Home Robert Burns Humanitarian Award Judging panel The Judging Panel 2016 Judging the Robert Burns Humanitarian Award is an esteemed group of people, from all walks of life, and with a broad range of experience in humanitarian work, business, charity and knowledge of the works of Robert Burns. Councillor Bill McIntosh – Chair of the Panel Councillor Bill McIntosh was first elected as a Councillor for the Troon ward in May 1999 following a successful career in the banking industry. In 1998, he took early retirement in order to set up his own business – McIntosh Management – which provided business advice for small and medium sized enterprises. He has been active in his local community for a number of years as a member of the Troon Business Association and, prior to his election to South Ayrshire Council in 1999, as a Troon community councillor. Councillor McIntosh was previously the Council’s Portfolio Holder for Resource and Performance where he played a major part in shaping the Council’s improvement agenda and strategic planning processes. He was elected Leader of the Council in February 2010. Jane Brown Jane Brown is a Past President of the Robert Burns World Federation and the manageress and host of the famous Globe Inn, established 1610, which was a favourite haunt of Robert Burns. Jane is also President of The Southern Scottish Counties Burns Association, Past President of the Dumfries Ladies Burns Club No. 1, and one of only two lady Honorary Members of The Burns Howff Club – an all-male club. She is also an Honorary Member of Fauldhouse and Crofthead Burns Club and an Honorary Cronie and Honorary Patron of the Medicine Hat Burns Club, Canada. Jane’s love of Burns has afforded her the privilege of speaking all over the world in Russia, America, Australia, Canada, Norway, Northern Ireland and all over Great Britain. John L Duncan QPM John is a native of Buckie, Banffshire, where he was educated and spent his early working life, but has lived in Ayrshire since 1978. From 1959 to 2001, he served in Renfrew and Bute Constabulary and Strathclyde Police in all ranks from Cadet to Deputy Chief Constable. During his police career, he served at senior rank in North, South and East Ayrshire. In December 2001, he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for the Lieutenancy of Ayrshire and Arran before being appointed Lord Lieutenant in 2006. A former Chairman of Ayr United, he remains a keen supporter. He is an elder in St Columba’s Church, Stewarton and a Rotarian, having joined the Irvine Club in 1984 and currently a member of Govan. Kirsty Wark Kirsty Wark is one of Britain's most experienced television journalists. She has presented a wide range of programmes over the past thirty years — from the ground breaking Late Show to Election specials, live stadium events and, since 1993, the BBC's flagship nightly current affairs show Newsnight. She also hosted the weekly Arts and Cultural review and comment show, The Review Show (formerly Newsnight Review) for over a decade. She has conducted long form interviews with everyone from Margaret Thatcher to Madonna, Harold Pinter to Pete Doherty, Damian Hirst to George Clooney and the likes of Toni Morrison, Donna Tartt and Philip Roth. Kirsty has made cameo appearances in a range of television dramas, radio programmes and films. She has featured in Dr Who, Absolutely Fabulous, The IT Crowd, Spooks, The Amazing Mrs Pritchard, The Acid House, Beyond the Pole, Party Animals, With Great Pleasure and The Politician’s Husband. She reached the final in Celebrity Masterchef in 2011 and hosted the culinary quiz A Question of Taste for BBC2. Kirsty has won several major awards for her work including BAFTA Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting, Journalist of the Year and Best Television Presenter. Kirsty was born in Dumfries and educated in Kilmarnock. She is married to Alan Clements and has two children. Her debut novel, The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle, was published in March 2014 by Two Roads - an imprint of Hodder & Stoughton. She is currently writing her second novel. John Murtagh John is the veteran of countless films, working with such luminaries as Mel Gibson, Claire Bloom, Liam Neeson, Billy Connolly, John Hurt. In the Theatre he has been Artistic Director of Borderline Theatre Company, Pavillion Theatre Glasgow where he is credited with discovering Mrs Brown! However the work he is proudest of has been in Community Theatre all over Scotland working with children, young people and recovering addicts and alcoholics and for the last 30 years John has performed and written plays based on the life of Robert Burns which were seen by audiences both sides of the Atlantic. David Hopes David is currently Director of Robert Burns Birthplace Museum (RBBM). He holds a Masters degree in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester and was briefly a Research Associate there with the Research Centre for Museums and Galleries. Previous to this he was a Research Fellow jointly appointed by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and the Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham, investigating the use of digitised cultural collections in virtual learning environments. David has worked for over a decade as a curator on a number of high-profile museum projects, many of which have a link to Robert Burns. Projects include the initiative to build RBBM, the creation of the Museum of the University of St Andrews (MUSA), the Museum Galleries Scotland-funded Distributed National Burns Collections Project, and the Open Museum’s Greater Pollok Kist project, which established the first community-run museum in the UK. His research interests include the social and learning impacts of museums, and the influence of digital technologies on forms of engagement with cultural artefacts. Habib Malik Habib is a former winner of the Robert Burns Humanitarian Award (2010). He is Scotland Manager of the Disasters Emergency Committee within Islamic Relief, an international charity that aims to alleviate the suffering of the world’s poorest people. Habib’s work has taken him all over the world, to many tragic and desperate scenes that require the care, commitment and compassion of people to help victims and their families. He is renowned for responding practically and emotionally to world disasters – he saw firsthand the devastation caused following the 2004 tsunami in south-east Asia, he has visited the destruction caused by bombings in Gaza and Lebanon, and the earthquake sites in Kashmir and Iran. He has instigated the raising of many thousands of pounds for disaster funds and appeals. Born in Pakistan, Habib came to Scotland at the age of 18 where he graduated with a masters degree in Chemistry. He received the Scottish Asian Business ‘Community Award’ in 2011, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Scottish Young Muslims in 2008. Guy Willoughby Guy is a former winner of the Robert Burns Humanitarian Award (2009). He founded The Halo Trust – a charity which specialises in the removal of war debris – in 1988 at the age of 28. Today, the Trust is the world’s oldest and largest humanitarian landmine clearance organisation and has destroyed more than 1.4 million landmines and 52 million bullets. Guy, a former Coldstream Guard, resigned from the Trust in 2014 having transformed it from a tiny charity into the extraordinarily powerful force for good it is today, with more than 7,000 Halo staff now working in 17 countries and territories. He has helped to make mine clearance an issue that is now taken seriously throughout the world. He established Guy Willoughby Philanthropy in January 2015, providing independent philanthropic advice on humanitarian aid across a range of post-conflict countries, particularly Value for Money (VfM) audit and evaluating measurable impact for the larger donors and philanthropists. He also established Mine Action & Post-Conflict Executive Search in May 2015. Rob Woodward Rob Woodward is Chief Executive of STV and regarded as having led a turnaround for STV Group PLC. A trustee of the STV Appeal charity, Rob is a graduate of Durham and Edinburgh universities and has held many notable and highly respected senior posts within the media and business. Prior to joining STV Rob was Commercial Director of Channel 4 Television, initially joining them in 2001 as Managing Director of 4Ventures where he achieved a dramatic turnaround of legacy businesses and built a set of successful new media and digital businesses. Before this he was Managing Director of UBS Corporate Finance; Managing Partner of Braxton UK, the strategy consulting practice of Deloitte; and led Deloitte Consulting’s European TMT group. Since February 2012 Rob has chaired the University Council of the City University London, where he is Pro-Chancellor. He has been a member of the University Council since 2006 and was Deputy Pro-Chancellor from 2009. Rob is also a Council Member of the National Youth Theatre and a Trustee of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA). He also sits on the Advisory Board of Criticaleye, an organisation that enables a network of leaders across industry sectors to resolve business issues through debate and discussion.
HALO Trust
How many dresses are in the title of a 2008 film starring Katherine Heigl?
Fri, 20 Jan 2017 04:28:30 -0700 20 OZANA nonprofit organization for persons in need founded in 1991 in Croatia's capital Zagreb http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10921/1/OZANA-nonprofit-organization-for-persons-in-need-founded-in-1991-in-Croatias-capital-Zagreb.html OZANA is a non-profit organization for persons in need founded in 1991., upon the initiative of Katica Radoniæ, who worked in the Camphill, in Scotland, and wanted to share her great experience in her native city. OZANA was founded with the mission to enhance the quality of lives of children and young persons with developmental difficulties, as well as of their families. Various activities are organised through different workshops, using mostly natural materials. In 2016, OZANA celebrates 25 years of existence. On the photo Vjera Lukaveèki, director of OZANA. [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach and Darko ®ubriniæ) Wed, 16 Nov 2016 00:00:00 -0700 Astrid Kuljanic participating A Concert Benefiting the Syrian American Medical Society in NY Nov 29th 2016 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10917/1/Astrid-Kuljanic-participating-A-Concert-Benefiting-the-Syrian-American-Medical-Society-in-NY-Nov-29th-2016.html Featured performance, of which Astrid Kuljaniæ will be a part of: "He Will Be Our Brother," A Concert Benefiting the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) Tuesday, November 29th, 2016, Saint Peter’s Church at 619 Lexington Ave, New York, NY. Special performances by renowned New York City musicians, including Edmar Castañeda, Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts, Kevin Hays, Gregoire Maret, John Ellis, Matt Clohesy, Magos Herrera, Vitor Gonçalves, Rogerio Boccato and Asaran Earth Trio. The admission is free and open to public. Hope you can join us in helping this extremely important fundraiser! [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach and Darko ®ubriniæ) Wed, 02 Nov 2016 00:00:00 -0700 Mother Teresa proclaimed a saint in 2016 and her connections with Croatia http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10893/1/Mother-Teresa-proclaimed-a-saint-in-2016-and-her-connections-with-Croatia.html Saint Mother Teresa was deeply connected with Croatian people. Croatian Jesuits stand at the beginning of her spiritual path, and her close collaborator in India was Ante Gabric, SJ, Croatian missionary and a good spirit of Bengal. In 1995, in Kolkata, she obtained an official Croatian passpoirt from the then Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia dr. Drago Stambuk, as an authorized representative of the Republic of Croatia for Humanitarian Aid. Saint Mother Teresa had spiritual speaches in Croatian language in the Zagreb Cathedral on several occasions. The photo on the left is from her Croatian passport. We also provide some anthological photos of Mother Teresa by Zvonimir Atletiæ, distinguished Croatian photographer. [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach and Darko ®ubriniæ) Mon, 05 Sep 2016 00:00:00 -0700 St Leopold Bogdan Mandic Croatian saint visited Croatia in April 2016 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10834/1/St-Leopold-Bogdan-Mandic-Croatian-saint-visited-Croatia-in-April-2016.html St Leopold Bogdan Mandic (1866-1942, memorial day 30th July) was born in Herceg Novi in Boka kotorska, and died in Padova, Italy. Physically malformed and delicate, having height only 1m 35cm, with clumsy walk and stuttering, he developed tremendous spiritual strength. Although he wanted to be missionary in Eastern Europe, he spent almost all of his adult life in Italy, and lived in Padova from 1906 until the end of his life. He spent also one year in Italian prison during the WWI, since he did not want to renounce his Croatian nationality. [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach and Darko ®ubriniæ) Tue, 26 Apr 2016 00:00:00 -0700 Yoko Nishii's humanitarian concert in Zagreb during the Japanese Culture Week in March 2016 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10832/1/Yoko-Nishiis-humanitarian-concert-in-Zagreb-during-the-Japanese-Culture-Week-in-March-2016.html   This humanitarian concert of Yoko Nishii, Japan, has been organized by the Embassy of Japan in Zagreb in cooperation with Croatian Society for Training Guide Dogs and for Mobility. She played the works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Liszt i Ferrucci Busonij, Frédéric Chopin, Eric Satie, Dora Pejaèeviæ, Kozaburo Hirai, Kosaku Yamada i Tooru Takemitsu. In Tokyo in 2015, she published the first CD in the world, which includes all pianistic compostions of distinguished Croatian female composer Dora Pejaèeviæ. [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach and Darko ®ubriniæ) Sat, 16 Apr 2016 00:00:00 -0700 Almae Matris Croaticae Alumni AMCA Toronto published Collection of Documents 1990-1999 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10719/1/Almae-Matris-Croaticae-Alumni-AMCA-Toronto-published-Collection-of-Documents-1990-1999.html AMCA Toronto, an association of students and friends of Croatian Universities, founded in 1990, has become the centre of intellectual life of the Croatian community in Southern Ontario (Canada). During the Homeland Liberation War, AMCA Associations played an important role worldwide by providing systematic help to Croatia. AMCA Toronto concentrated itself on delivering humanitarian aid to Croatia and B&H and on lobbying and spreading the truth about the situation in Croatia. An enormous number of letters and proclamations have been pubished in Zagreb, Jan 2014, in two extensive volumes. The editor is Vladimir Benkoviæ, while an associate editor and sponsor is Dr Ivan Hrvoiæ (on the photo). Both of them are Croatian emigrants in Canada and experts in technical sciences. [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach and Darko ®ubriniæ) Fri, 04 Dec 2015 00:00:00 -0700 The Story of Ilija Letica by distinguished Croatian filmmaker Jakov Sedlar http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10761/1/The-Story-of-Ilija-Letica-by-distinguished-Croatian-filmmaker-Jakov-Sedlar-.html We present the readers of the CROWN a fascinating documentary by Croatian filmmaker Jakov Sedlar about the life and work of Ilija Letica in the USA, about his very successful LETICA CORPORATION in the USA, with a special emphasis on his ties with Croatia and on his life philosophy. LETICA is a multi-faceted packaging company with diverse talent and technologies to support business on a number of fronts. The company works in multiple technologies such as thermoform, injection mold, paper-forming and sheet extrusion as well as with multiple mediums including paper, rigid and thinwall plastic, reclaimed post-consumer fiber, and other environmentally-friendly materials. [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach and Darko ®ubriniæ) Sat, 14 Nov 2015 00:00:00 -0700 Bring the story of Mia Slavenska home to Croatia and to a worldwide audience http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10743/1/Bring-the-story-of-Mia-Slavenska-home-to-Croatia-and-to-a-worldwide-audience.html Mia, a dancer’s journey is the story of Mia Èorak Slavenska, Croatia's greatest ballerina and a pioneer in American dance. The film is voiced by Emmy® award-winning actress Blythe Danner and features a daughter’s promise to tell her mother’s story, which becomes a fascinating and moving reflection on historical memory, national identity, and the power of dance. Now, In order to make sure that Mia's story doesn't fade away with the last PBS broadcast, we are asking you to help us to raise the funds necessary to take the next step in distribution. Poorhouse International, a prestigious arts films distributor, wants to distribute the film internationally through T.V. broadcast and DVD/Blu-ray and Video on Demand. [email protected] (Marko Puljiæ) Mon, 28 Sep 2015 00:00:00 -0700 Sarma and Bebek in Haiti http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10685/1/Sarma-and-Bebek-in-Haiti.html Forty-five children- Haitians by birth and origin, and their favourite song is "Sinoæ sam pola kafane popio" - transl. Last night I drank half of the bar' - by ®eljko Bebek (former lead singer of Bijelo Dugme). They are orphans in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and were rescued by the Croatian Relief Services, Inc. The Children’s Home was founded by reverend Giordano Belanich, a priest with an American address and of Croatian heart. He was five when his family was forced to flee communist Yugoslavia. Fr Belanich oversees the orphanage while servicing three parishes in the United States. [email protected] (Sandra Stanic) Tue, 12 May 2015 00:00:00 -0700 Help Portal Dobrote feed schoolchildren in Croatia http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10671/1/Help-Portal-Dobrote-feed-schoolchildren-in-Croatia.html The indiegogo campaign 'No Child Left Hungry & No Person Left Powerless' for hungry Croatian school children created by Tajci, has successfully closed. The campaign was created by Tajci after the women behind Portal Dobrote reached out to her for help to raise money for hungry children and to help bring greater awareness to the issue. The results of the campaigns are amazing but unfortunately, there are still some children on the waiting list, and Portal Dobrote are a few thousand Kuna short of helping two other schools who requested help for remainder of this school year - 2014/2015. If you are in Croatia, or can easily donate to a Croatian bank account, please consider donating directly to Portal dobrote's Croatian bank account. [email protected] (Marko Puljiæ) Tue, 14 Apr 2015 00:00:00 -0700 Help Croatia's Special Olympics Team get to Los Angeles for 2015 Games http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10668/1/Help-Croatias-Special-Olympics-Team-get-to-Los-Angeles-for-2015-Games.html Croatia's Special Olympics delegation of thirty one, including 23 athletes and 8 coaches will be headed to the worldwide Special Olympics 2015 in Los Angeles from July 25th to August 2nd. Croatia will be represented by a volleyball team, soccer team and by two swimmers. As you can imagine, the overall cost for airline travel and flights is very expensive. Please consider making a donation via credit card or by sending a tax deductible check to the Special Olympics in Washington, DC - all donations will be 100% earmarked for Team Croatia. Thank you in advance for any consideration or donations! [email protected] (Steve Rukavina) Mon, 13 Apr 2015 00:00:00 -0700 Robert Benmosche's family appoints Libertas Foundation to administer donations in his memory http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10665/1/Robert-Benmosches-family-appoints-Libertas-Foundation-to-administer-donations-in-his-memory.html Libertas Foundation is accepting donations honoring Robert Benmosche's amazing life. The Benmosche family would like to use funds raised to help the Dubrovnik hospital - Children's Unit and other humanitarian causes in Dubrovnik and Croatia that he cared about dearly. All donations are tax deductible. [email protected] (Niko Hazdovac) Fri, 03 Apr 2015 00:00:00 -0700 Goran Vi¹njiæ Joins World Stars in Fight to Protect Elephants http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10656/1/Goran-Vinjiae-Joins-World-Stars-in-Fight-to-Protect-Elephants.html Famous Croatian actor Goran Vi¹njiæ has joined a host of stars as ambassadors for one of the largest animal welfare and conservation charities in the world – The International Fund for Animal Welfare – in its aim to protect the world’s elephants. Vi¹njiæ, who rose to fame in his role as Dr. Luka Kovaè in the American television series ER, has warned the world about the threat to elephants in a video which also features a number of stars. [email protected] (Marko Puljiæ) Sat, 14 Mar 2015 00:00:00 -0700 Diljem Hrvatske prikuplja se pomoæ stradalima od poplava http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10563/1/Diljem-Hrvatske-prikuplja-se-pomoae-stradalima-od-poplava.html Caritas Zagrebaèke nadbiskupije poziva ljude dobre volje na solidarnost i djelotvornu ljubav prema stradalima u poplavama. Svi koji ¾ele pomoæi mogu to uèiniti na dva naèina: uplatom na raèun Caritasa Zagrebaèke nadbiskupije: IBAN HR1823600001101340277, poziv na broj 05400; donacijom hrane koja mo¾e du¾e stajati, vode, odjeæe i higijenskih potrep¹tina, koje su sada najpotrebnije. Donacije je moguæe predati sljedeæih dana od 8 do 18 sati na ovim adresama: Gajnice (Crnojezerska 20), Tre¹njevka (Selska cesta 165), Dubrava (Avenija Dubrava 220) i Rakitje (Ribièka 4). [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach and Darko ®ubriniæ) Tue, 20 May 2014 00:00:00 -0700 Goran Visnjic in an appeal for the Croatian Scholarship Fund http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10552/1/Goran-Visnjic-in-an-appeal-for-the-Croatian-Scholarship-Fund.html The Croatian Scholarship Fund recently celebrated its 25th anniversary with a dinner in Sacramento. The crowd was surprised with a video message from movie and television actor Goran Visnjic congratulating the Croatian Scholarship Fund on its many years of success. Goran in the video reminds the audience to bid early and often for a special live auction item, which is lunch in Los Angeles with Goran. This item received the highest bid in the live auction with spirited bidding for several minutes before the final winner was announced at the CSF Gala Dinner. [email protected] (Marko Puljiæ) Tue, 29 Apr 2014 00:00:00 -0700 ‘Everything is Forever’ biographic film about Nenad Bach wins international filmfest top awards in Houston http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10549/1/8216Everything-is-Forever8217-biographic-film-about-Nenad-Bach-wins-international-filmfest-top-awards-in-Houston.html   The journey of Croatian-American composer/singer and writer Nenad Bach through war and peace, and rock and roll captured in the documentary/feature film ‘Everything is Forever’ won top awards at the 47th Annual Worldfest Houston International Film Festival (April 4-13). The feature film garnered the prestigious Platinum Remi Award for Theatrical Feature Film & Video Award and the Special Jury Remi Award for Music Video Award – Stage Concert/ Performance. Written by Violi Calvert. On the photo Stehanie Silber, Victor Zimet and Nenad. [email protected] (Violi Calvert) Fri, 18 Apr 2014 00:00:00 -0700 Screening of documentary film "Many Voices One Song" March 8, 2014 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10523/1/Screening-of-documentary-film-quotMany-Voices-One-Songquot-March-8-2014.html "Many Voices One Song" is a 2007 documentary film that follows the journey of one hundred thirty women in the Portsmouth, NH-based women’s chorus “Voices from the Heart” who make a life-changing connection with Croatian villagers who live surrounded by landmines left from the war of the 1990’s. Through the universal language of music this community of American women raised funds to clear the mines in their adopted Croatian village and sang their way across Croatia. [email protected] (Marko Puljiæ) Fri, 21 Feb 2014 00:00:00 -0700 Karlo J. Mirth 1917-2013 distinguished Croatian writer and lifetime president of Croatian Academy of America http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10513/1/Karlo-J-Mirth-1917-2013-distinguished-Croatian-writer-and--lifetime-president-of-Croatian-Academy-of-America.html Karlo Mirth was born in Otoèac in Croatian region of Lika, where also Nikola Tesla was born. He studied Forestry and Civil Engineering at the University of Zagreb. Forced to leave Croatia after 1945, he studied  Journalism at the University of Rome. He later studied at the Universities of Barcelona and Madrid, and the Library Sciences at Columbia University. Karlo Mirth was a prolific writer of many articles related to Croatian culture and history. He was very active in Croatian Academy of America, and in 2013 published his autobiographical book ®ivot u emigraciji (Life as an Emigree). [email protected] (Darko ®ubriniæ) Sun, 02 Feb 2014 00:00:00 -0700 Fr. Ante Gabric, S.J. - An Apostle of the Sundarbans, Croatian missionary in Bengal, India http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10439/1/Fr-Ante-Gabric-SJ---An-Apostle-of-the-Sundarbans-Croatian-missionary-in-Bengal-India.html Many among those who worked and lived with Fr. Ante continue to give witness to the holiness of this great missionary they knew, and some are convinced that ‘God visited us in the form of Fr. Ante Gabric’. The work started by Fr. Ante and other missionaries is being continued today among the Santals, who are much more deserving and are still in the periphery, but witnessing to the faith by their lives. The Calcutta Jesuit province while thanking the Lord for giving a worthy and zealous missionary to Bengal thank also the Croatian Province and the people Croatia for their continued prayerful support for the ever growing mission today.  The article was written by Fr. Irudaya Jothi SJ of the Calcutta Jesuit Province. [email protected] (Fr. Irudaya Jothi SJ) Sun, 07 Jul 2013 00:00:00 -0700 Don Wolf author of autobiographical photo monograph Croatian Love Story http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10412/1/Don-Wolf-author-of-autobiographical-photo-monograph-Croatian-Love-Story.html Long before Don Wolf was born, the outline for A Croatian Love Story was formed in the 1900’s. An ethnic neighborhood was the site where determined women and men struggled to build, to educate and to become citizens. These Croatian immigrants formed the strong shoulders supporting cherished traditions as they learned to live in and to love their new country. Don’s photographs depict Croatian life both in the United States and in Croatia. His writing preserves generations of memories. This book is a tribute to those who came before and a blessing to those who are yet to come. [email protected] (Darko ®ubriniæ) Sun, 26 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700 Concert broadcast of Nenad Bach Band and Friends in Croatia Feb 17th at 0.15 am & 6:15 pm EST on HTV2 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10371/1/Concert-broadcast-of-Nenad-Bach-Band-and-Friends-in-Croatia-Feb-17th-at-015-am--615-pm-EST-on-HTV2.html Respected Croatian musician and world promoter or Croatian culture, Nenad Bach and Friends, entertained us all with his charity concert in Zagreb for the abandoned children of Nazor street, November 2012. They say Nenad is an artist with a Croatian soul and an American passport. The footage of the Zagreb concert will be shown on February 17th 2013 on HTV2 at 0.15 a.m. in Croatia and 6:15 p.m. EST on HTV2. [email protected] (Darko ®ubriniæ) Fri, 15 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0700 Nenad Bach Band in Zagreb at the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall on Friday 30 November 2012 20pm http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10333/1/Nenad-Bach-Band-in-Zagreb-at-the-Vatroslav-Lisinski-Concert-Hall-on-Friday-30-November-2012-20pm.html We are pleased to announce the forthcoming concert of Nenad Bach and the Nenad Bach Band in Croatia's capital Zagreb, on Friday 30th November 2012, 20 pm. His special guests will be distinguished Croatian musicians Arsen Dediæ, Klapa Sinj, Radojka ©verko, Miroslav ©koro, and Marko Tolja. It is for the first time that Nenad Bach has a soloist concert in his native city of Zagreb, after about thirty years of very successful career in the USA and worldwide. Through his singing and songwriting, Nenad’s goal is to spread the message of joy and universal peace. [email protected] (Darko ®ubriniæ) Mon, 26 Nov 2012 00:00:00 -0700 Drago Stambuk a samurai poet connecting Japan and Croatia http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10318/1/Drago-Stambuk-a-samurai-poet-connecting-Japan-and-Croatia.html Dr. Drago ©tambuk, Croatian ambassador to Japan until 2011, is an expert in medical sciences, and a haiku poet of international reputation.  His book From Nowhere has been published in Japan in 2011, prepared by Mr. Shokan Tadashi Kono, in three languages: original Croatian, Japanese and English. The book was published in time when the earthquake, followed by disastrous tsunami, shook Japan. [email protected] (Darko ®ubriniæ) Tue, 18 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0700 The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Croatian painter Maxo Vanka http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10255/1/The-Society-to-Preserve-the-Millvale-Murals-of-Croatian-painter-Maxo-Vanka.html   Maxo Vanka's murals for Millvale's Croatian Church of St. Nicholas are a unique contribution to the American mural movement of the 1930s and 1940s. The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka is a nonprofit public supported historic art preservation organization. Vanka's work touches upon common themes of his era, including family, labor, and war, but with a focus upon the disenfranchised and the dispossessed. [email protected] (Prof.Dr. Darko Zubrinic) Sun, 06 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700 Msgr. John E. Kozar Croatian American appointed president of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10211/1/Msgr-John-E-Kozar-Croatian-American-appointed-president-of-the-Catholic-Near-East-Welfare-Association.html Msgr. John E. Kozar, former national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States, has been appointed president of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association and the Pontifical Mission for Palestine. John E. Kozar: "Family. It is, perhaps, what comes to mindmost often during the Christmas Season. So at this time of year then, I think often of my visits with our mission family..." ... "Family in need. Family offering loving service. And through it all, you are there - at Christmas and all through the year - supporting, in prayer and generous sacrifice, the Church in the Missions in its outreach to the poor. May the hope and peace of the Lord be with you in the coming year!" [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach and Darko ®ubriniæ) Thu, 22 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0700 Epidaurus Festival in Croatia for littlest residents of Dubrovnik region in Pridvorje 16 Sep 2011 at 8pm http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10172/1/Epidaurus-Festival-in-Croatia-for-littlest-residents-of-Dubrovnik-region-in-Pridvorje-16-Sep-2011-at-8pm.html The most precious things begin and end at home; all else is secondary. Je¾urka Je¾iæ, the popular character from Branko Æopiæ's “Je¾eva kuæica” (The Hedgehog's Home), understood this.  So shall we, and our children; I'm not afraid for the children - they will understand if they have a chance. A beautiful interpretation of this timeless text takes the form of a musical in the enchanted surroundings of Konavle's Pridvorje on Friday, September 16th 2011 at 8pm. This lovely and important presentation is a gift from the Epidaurus Festival to the kindergarten in Konavle. [email protected] (Prof.Dr. Darko Zubrinic) Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700 Concerts for Japan in Croatia 2011 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10162/1/Concerts-for-Japan-in-Croatia-2011.html Humanitarian concerts for Japan have been organized in Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, Osijek, Vara¾din, Ðakovo, Opatija, Virovitica, Rab. [email protected] (Prof.Dr. Darko Zubrinic) Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700 Branka Kandic-Splavski and her Croatian fairy tales as medicine - Bajka kao lijek http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10136/1/Branka-Kandic-Splavski-and-her-Croatian-fairy-tales-as-medicine---Bajka-kao-lijek.html Branka Kandiæ-Splavski is a specialist in family medicine and in her soul, a fairy tales writer. In 2004 after her first book ANDREA'S SHELL had been published her personal and professional life took a new direction: one of her patients was dying of brain cancer. She was no longer able to move, or speak, she was laying motionless and communicated only with her eyes. In the process of catching the public ear and eye, informing and educating the society about the patients' rights and neccessity for dignified care in the lives of severely ill people the fairy tale idea once again served as a bridge. [email protected] (Vladimir Mihajloviæ) Wed, 29 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700 Don Wolf Croatian photographer and benefactor in Kansas City USA http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10118/1/Don-Wolf-Croatian-photographer-and-benefactor-in-Kansas-City-USA.html Don Wolf is a professional photographer living in Kansas City, USA. His family is from Gorski Kotar, a mounatinous part of Croatia. His greatest comfort was to help Croatian orphans via the vehicle of photography, showing their needs and presenting them to the good people of America. [email protected] (Prof.Dr. Darko Zubrinic) Mon, 23 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700 Humanitarian concert for Japan in Zagreb 4 April 2011 20 pm http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10098/1/Humanitarian-concert-for-Japan-in-Zagreb-4-April-2011-20-pm.html Duboko suosjeæajuæi s narodom Japana i njihovom stra¹nom tragedijom, najavljujemo veliki humanitarni koncert Play & Pray for Japan koji æe Zagrebaèka filharmonija prirediti u ponedjeljak 4. travnja u Koncertnoj dvorani Vatroslav Lisinski u Zagrebu u 20 sati. S Japanom nas povezuje i veliki japanski maestro Kazushi Ôno na slici, koji je u najte¾im godinama, u jeku Domovinskoga rata - bio ¹est godina dirigent Zagrebaèke filharmonije, od 1990. do 1996. [email protected] (Prof.Dr. Darko Zubrinic) Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700 Appeal for Matijas Derek http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10076/1/Appeal-for-Matijas-Derek.html  Matijas Derek (left)36, father of two children, has been stricken by ALS -  "Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis" or Lou Gehrig's desease. Matijas', relatives and friends are hoping for increased research of the disease and have launched a petition the German Parliament with that goal. [email protected] (Marko Puljiæ) Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0700 Mime Cuvalo's FireFTP downloaded almost 18 million times by the end of 2010! http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/10049/1/Mime-Cuvalos-FireFTP-downloaded-almost-18-million-times-by-the-end-of-2010.html Mime Èuvalo's FireFPT was downloaded 17,845,269 times by the end of 2010! To see the trend, the number of downloads until September 2004 was 4.5 million. Just in the course of the last month and a half the number of downolads was more than half a million. Half of all proceeds go towards helping various orphanages in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina and in Vukovar, Croatia. [email protected] (Prof.Dr. Darko Zubrinic) Sun, 12 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0700 CACF raises over $150,000 at 8th Annual Golf Outing/Awards Dinner http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9973/1/CACF-raises-over-150000-at-8th-Annual-Golf-OutingAwards-Dinner.html The Croatian American Charitable Foundation held its 8th Annual Charity Golf Outing and Awards Dinner at North Hills Country and Cherry Valley Club in Long Island, New York. Over 230 golfers and 60 companies help raise money to help the American Cancer Society, Doctors Without Borders, The Cam Neely Foundation and Croatian Mine Action Centre. [email protected] (John Peros) Mon, 24 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700 Branimir Kvartuc of StandUpCroatia.com to cross the Adriatic Sea for charity http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9972/1/Branimir-Kvartuc-of-StandUpCroatiacom-to-cross-the-Adriatic-Sea-for-charity.html Croatian American Branimir Kvartuè, an award-winning photojournalist, two times cancer survivor, StandUpCroatia.com founder and  philanthropist, will be crossing the Adriatic Sea on June 25-27 of 2010, from Venice, Italy to Pula, Croatia on a Stand Up Paddle board, setting a world record, in the process. See some of his beuatiful photos from the Ðakovo Embroidery folklore festival. [email protected] (Prof.Dr. Darko Zubrinic) Sun, 23 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700 Davor Suker to Hold Mini-Clinic for Charity in NYC, May 15, 2010 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9965/1/Davor-Suker-to-Hold-Mini-Clinic-for-Charity-in-NYC-May-15-2010.html Davor Suker (left) will be holding a “Mini Clinic for Charity” on Saturday, May 15th 2010 at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) campus in Old Westbury, Long Island from 10am-1pm. The clinic will be for children between the ages of 9-14 and all proceeds will benefit the CACF and its ongoing battle for removing mines in Croatia. [email protected] (John Peros) Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700 Mime Cuvalo Croatian expert for Google/U-Tube and benefactor http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9808/1/Mime-Cuvalo-Croatian-expert-for-GoogleU-Tube-and-benefactor.html Mime Èuvalo is not only successful Croatian computer science expert in the USA, employed at prestigeous Google/U-Tube in California, but also an active member of the Franciscan community. In the course of last 3 years this young man donated nearly $35,000 for his Croatian homeland, mostly for the needs of children. On the photo Mime with a Bosnian child that he adopted. [email protected] (Prof.Dr. Darko Zubrinic) Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700 FOR | FROM CROATIA WITH LOVE Croatian Jazz Gala at the Lincoln Center http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9780/1/FOR--FROM-CROATIA-WITH-LOVE-Croatian-Jazz-Gala-at-the-Lincoln-Center-.html  The AIC Foundation is launching a concert series "For | From Croatia With Love" which promotes Croatian culture, art and heritage in the United States. Its first concert will be a Jazz Gala at the Lincoln Center featuring Jazz musicians from Croatia and the United States. [email protected] (Marko Puljiæ) Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700 Lady Jadranka Njers Beresford Peirse promotor of Croatian culture in GB http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9739/1/Lady-Jadranka-Njers-Beresford-Peirse-promotor-of-Croatian-culture-in-GB.html Lady Jadranka Njer¹ Beresford Peirse of London is a fascinating personality and a great Croatian patriot, whose efforts  have been engaged in raising funds both for the restoration of the damaged monuments that form such an important part of Croatian heritage and in finding ways to promote Croatian culture in Great Britain. She is recipient of the 1999 INA Award for international promotion of Croatian culture. [email protected] (Prof.Dr. Darko Zubrinic) Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700 Ivana Marija Vidovic Croatian pianist touring Pennsylvania, NC, January 14-21, 2008 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9696/1/Ivana-Marija-Vidovic-Croatian-pianist-touring-Pennsylvania-NC--January-14-21-2008.html Ivana Marija Vidoviæ is Croatian pianist and poet, born and living in Dubrovnik. We are happy to announce her USA tour in Pennsylvania, North Carolina,  January 14-21, 2008. She is a young pianist with great natural instinct, a beautiful musicality, lovely desire to express herself artistically, with taste, poetry and extroversion. She is the founder and artistic director of the Epidaurus Festival, and involved in humanitarian work. [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0700 Martin Kotarski Croatian pupil winner of prestigious humanitarian award in Japan http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9675/1/Martin-Kotarski-Croatian-pupil-winner-of-prestigious-humanitarian-award-in-Japan.html We are proud to report in more detail about prestigious Japanese humanitarian award conferred by the Goi Peace Foundation to Martin Kotarski, a very young Croatian student. Martin is on the photo with Natalija Juri¹iæ, his prof. The report has been prepared on the bases of material submitted upon our request by Martin himself, exclusively for the readers of the CROWN. [email protected] (Prof.Dr. Darko Zubrinic) Sat, 20 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Croatian pupil Martin Kotarski and Bill Gates awarded in Japan http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9655/1/Croatian-pupil-Martin-Kotarski-and-Bill-Gates-awarded-in-Japan.html   Martin Kotarski, 14 years old Croatian pupil, and Bill Gates (both on the photo), are recipients of a recognition from the Goi Peace Foundation in Japan. Martin received Children's Category 1st Prize for his essay Joined by a Cookbook. He prepared a cookbook with traditional Croatian meals in order to get money for poor people of his school. [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Ante Gabric the Saint of Sundarban in India http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9639/1/Ante-Gabric-the-Saint-of-Sundarban-in-India.html  Fr. Ante Gabriæ (Metkoviæ, Croatia 1915 - Bengal, 1988) lived like a  Bengali, and he worked tirelessly for the spiritual development of  the Bengali community in India. People in Bengal consider Fr. Gabriæ should be beatified like mother Teresa and all the people are praying for for this. He was very much related to Blessed Mother Teresa of Kolkata  and they worked hand in hand. [email protected] (Fr. Sylvester Xavier) Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Appeal for Stephen Dorcich http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9555/1/Appeal-for-Stephen-Dorcich.html Hi.  My name is Stephen Dorcich.  I live in San Jose, California and I am a pretty normal kid except that I have Primary Immune Deficiency called Hyper IGM, CD40 Ligand. My immune system doesn’t communicate the right way, so I cannot fight off bacteria, viruses and other bad things that make us sick. [email protected] (Marko Puljiæ) Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Mother Teresa and Croatians http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9503/1/Mother-Teresa-and-Croatians.html The Croatian Jesuits had a great role in spiritual development of Mother Teresa in her youth. Her spiritual father was Fr. Franjo Jambrekoviæ. The first monument in the world honouring this famous Albanian woman was carved in Croatia, in Supetar on the island of Brac (2002), by Petar Jak¹iæ. It was unveiled by Martin Sheen. [email protected] (Prof.Dr. Darko Zubrinic) Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Alpine skiing legends to take part in Croatia charity race http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9473/1/Alpine-skiing-legends-to-take-part-in-Croatia-charity-race.html Sixteen alpine skiing legends including Italy's Alberto Tomba and Sweden's Ingemar Stenmark will take part in a charity race in Croatia on February 17, 2008. They will race in a mixed-sex giant slalom event with Ivica Kosteliæ (left), among others. Money collected from the race will be donated to a hospital for chronic child diseases in Gornja Bistra near Zagreb. [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Mime Cuvalo, web developer and proponent of open web standards http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9425/1/Mime-Cuvalo-web-developer-and-proponent-of-open-web-standards.html Mime Cuvalo, on the photo with small Stipo Adzaip, is a young Croatian web developer and proponent of open web standards. He is currently employed at three jobs: YouTube/Google, finishing up FireFTP, and creating the online music database The Rock Hard Times. His "charityware" FireFTP has been downloaded over 4.5 million times! [email protected] (Prof.Dr. Darko Zubrinic) Wed, 09 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Nopoki University for Peruvian Indians founded by Msgr. Gerardo ®erdin http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9408/1/Nopoki-University-for-Peruvian-Indians-founded-by-Msgr-Gerardo-erdin.html Msgr. Gerardo ®erdin, Croatian bishop and missionary in Peru in the region of the Amazon river, founded the Nopoki Center for Investigation and Intercultural Formation. The aim is to educate future school teachers for work within their native communities, in order to preserve their roots, language and customs, and ensure material and cultural prosperity. See also 32 Krekoviæ's paintings. [email protected] (Prof.Dr. Darko Zubrinic) Sun, 23 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Benefit Gala in Zagreb honoring the Croatian House in Padova, Italy, Nov 12, 2007 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9325/1/Benefit-Gala-in-Zagreb-honoring-the-Croatian-House-in-Padova-Italy-Nov-12-2007.html "Croatian House" is a humanitarian association, whose current project is to buy a house in Padova, Italy that would be used by Croatian citizens that face difficult circumstances and would have to go abroad to get treatment, which in many cases is long term. (left) President of Croatian House Dr. Nela Sr¹en. [email protected] (Marko Puljiæ) Wed, 31 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0700 "Philadelphia" Jerry Ricks is recovering from a brain-tumor operation in Croatia http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9313/1/quotPhiladelphiaquot-Jerry-Ricks-is-recovering-from-a-brain-tumor-operation-in-Croatia.html For the last nine weeks he's been hospitalized in the port city of Rijeka, Croatia recovering from brain surgery to remove a tumor that doctors say was benign. Friends are arranging a benefit for the 67-year-old bluesman, to be held at the Commodore Barry Club in Philadelphia on Sunday 2-9 PM. [email protected] (Vedran Joseph Nazor) Mon, 22 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Globmed.org One Child at a Time http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9179/1/Globmedorg-One-Child-at-a-Time.html   The Global Medical Relief Fund has now helped over 70 children, from Bosnia & Herzegovina, to El Salvador, one child at a time, where this type of care and rehabilitation was not necessarily available in their own home countries. The children come for treatment and refitting for their prosthetics. During this treatment, these children stay at Mount Manresa Jesuit Retreat. [email protected] (Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey) Thu, 02 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Birthday Party Raises $20,000 in donations for Montreal HIV Kids & Families http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9155/1/Birthday-Party-Raises-20000-in-donations-for-Montreal-HIV-Kids--Families.html   The Sports Performance Centre a donation of $20,000 to Les Enfants de Béthanie charitable organisation in Montreal. [email protected] (Kat Coric) Tue, 24 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Ivanisevic, Ljubicic to Play for Children http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/8972/1/Ivanisevic-Ljubicic-to-Play-for-Children.html Croatian tennis players Goran Ivanisevic and Ivan Ljubicic were set on Friday to play each other in an invitational match in Sarajevo dedicated to children of the city.   [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Wed, 07 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Chicago: Avon Breast Cancer Walk Fundraiser, Saturday March 3, 2007 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/8928/1/Chicago-Avon-Breast-Cancer-Walk-Fundraiser-Saturday-March-3-2007.html Wed, 07 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0700 "Beyond the Call" on PBS - Check Local Listings http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/8909/1/quotBeyond-the-Callquot-on-PBS---Check-Local-Listings.html [email protected] (Adrian Beliæ) Thu, 25 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0700 An on-line auction for 48 hours. Famous artists helping other artists. Unity Through Music Dec 27-29, 2006 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/8881/1/An-on-line-auction-for-48-hours-Famous-artists-helping-other-artists-Unity-Through-Music-Dec-27-29-2006.html   Dino Zoniæ on Golden Karma Awards on WGN, 9pm EST. Dec 27th 2006. www.givinghearts.net will be hosting an on-line auction during the Special and for 48 hours after the Special. Unique opportunity for you to buy famous paintings of Berber, Ibrulj, Trnski...    [email protected] (Becky Garrigus - Success for Good) Sun, 24 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Reclaiming the lost harmony of the world: CROWN goes behind Golden Karma Awards, with winner Dino Zonic http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/8865/1/Reclaiming-the-lost-harmony-of-the-world-CROWN-goes-behind-Golden-Karma-Awards-with-winner-Dino-Zonic.html Reclaiming the lost harmony of the world is our mission . We are presenting gala concerts worldwide, celebrating the spirit of life, which will symbolize a unique, magnificent and unifying message for the world. Music is our deepest connection and most powerful tool of unity and peace among all people. It gives a voice to our deepest sorrows while opening our hearts to forgiveness. www.UnityThroughMusic.org   [email protected] (Dino Zoniæ) Sun, 10 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Bologna, Italia: Lara Ore¹koviæ organizira AUKCIJU UMJETNIÈKIH SLIKA U KORIST DOMA ZA DJECU ”VLADIMIR NAZOR” KARLOVAC http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/8833/1/Bologna-Italia-Lara-Orekoviae-organizira-AUKCIJU-UMJETNIEKIH-SLIKA-U-KORIST-DOMA-ZA-DJECU-8221VLADIMIR-NAZOR8221-KARLOVAC.html Thu, 23 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0700 “Croatia My Love" - the truth about the Homeland War in Croatia http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/8809/1/8220Croatia-My-Lovequot---the-truth-about-the-Homeland-War-in-Croatia.html "Croatia My Love", the film, depicts the truth about the Homeland War in Croatia. The proceeds from the sale of entry tickets to Jakov Sedlar's film, "Croatia My Love" ("Hrvatska ljubavi moja") will be paid into a 'foundation fund for the truth about the Homeland War in Croatia', located in Zagreb. [email protected] (Jean Lunt Marinovic) Fri, 10 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Detroit: 14th Annual Benefit Fashion Show http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/8740/1/Detroit-14th-Annual-Benefit-Fashion-Show.html Croatian Woman Branch 32 will host its annual fashion show. Proceeds will benefit Childhelp USA - Detroit Chapter and the Orphanage and Abused Children in Croatia. Read more... [email protected] (Marko Puljiæ) Thu, 05 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700 (H) Myeloma Euronet http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/8524/1/H-Myeloma-Euronet.html Myeloma Euronet    www.myeloma-euronet.org Thu, 15.06.2006 10:02 Nizozemska - mielom - lijecenje - razlicitosti OTS: Myeloma Euronet osposobljava pacijente i rasvjetljava razlicitosti u pristupu lijecenju i brizi za pacijente u Europi oboljele od mieloma Amsterdam (ots) - Myeloma Euronet, rastuca europska mreza koja trenutno okuplja 15 grupa pacijenata oboljelih od mieloma iz 11 zemalja, prvi puta je na jednom mjestu okupila pacijente oboljele od te bolesti i njihove obitelji zbog upoznavanja s novim dostignucima u lijecenju mieloma i medjunarodne panel-diskusije o pristupu lijecenju i brizi prema oboljelima od mieloma u Europi. Ta ce se zbivanja odvijati 17. lipnja od 9 do 16 sati u hotelu NH Barbizon u Amsterdamu. Myeloma Euronet nastoji na pravom mjestu objediniti sve sto su pacijenti rekli o postojecim razlikama u pristupu lijecenju i brizi za oboljele od mieloma na ovim prostorima. U Europi postoji oko 77.000 pacijenata i njihovih obitelji oboljelih od visestrukog mieloma, u blazem obliku i moze se lijeciti, ali jos uvijek neizljecivom obliku karcinoma kostane srzi. U svakom slucaju, mnogi pacijenti u Europi jos uvijek nijecu uporabu najsuvremenijih oblika lijecenja ove bolesti. "Moramo podici stupanj znanja o visestrukom mielomu, educirati pacijente dajuci im pristupacne informacije o novostima u lijecenju te razmotriti problematiku postojecih razlika u lijecenju i brzi," izjavila je Anita Waldman, predsjednica udruge Deutsche Leukaemie- und Lymphom-Hilfe (Njemacka udruga za pomoc oboljelima od leukemija i limfoma) i clanica Upravnog odbora Myeloma Euroneta te Radne grupe oboljelih od karcinoma Europskog udruzenja za medicinsku onkologiju (ESMO). "Svjesni smo da troskovi lijecenja nisu mali, no svaki pacijent zavrjedjuje najbolji moguci tretman za njezin ili njegov stadij bolesti. Nacionalne zdravstvene agencije moraju prihvatiti nacine lijecenja mieloma kako oni postaju dostupni, a trosak ne smije biti glavni faktor kada se odlucuje o nacinu lijecenja," nastavila je. Vise informacija o ovom dogadjaju te najnoviju medjunarodnu anketu o preprekama u dijagnosticiranju mieloma, njegovu lijecenju i brizi za oboljele dostupni su na stranici www.myeloma-euronet.org  . Daljnje informacije:   Robert Schaefer Tel.: +49(0)1716204591 e-mail: [email protected] http://ots.hina.hr/cgi-bin/ots/disp.cgi?NID=T6150611 [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Wed, 14 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0700 (H) Ruke koje vide - Udruga slijepih i moda - rukom pod ruku http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4514/1/H-Ruke-koje-vide---Udruga-slijepih-i-moda---rukom-pod-ruku.html   'Ruke koje vide' nude ljepotuUdruga slijepih i moda - rukom pod ruku Rijeka (ots) - Mlada rijecka modna kreatorica Maja Vizjak ovihce dana u sklopu projekta 'Ruke koje vide' Hrvatske udruge prijatelja bijelog stapa HOMER iz Rijeke, poceti s odrzavanjem radionica modnog redizajna ukljucivanjem slijepih i slabovidnih u sve one radnje koji oni mogu obaviti i tako od neceg starog, nemodernog napraviti neki novi model ili neki novi proizvod kojice rado ponijeti svatko tko ih prepozna kao novostvorenu ljepotu. Inace, Maja Vizjak se svojim dvjema kolekcijama predstavila prosloga tjedna posjetiteljima Opium Buddha bara u Rijeci. Njezini povijesni kostimi te spavaæice i donje rublje predstavljeni su uz unikatni nakit izraðen u radionici 'Ruke koje vide' cime se zeli potaknuti mlade ljude osteæena vida na rad rukama u funkciji mnogih vjestina svakodnevnog zivljenja. Maja Vizjak pozeljela je bas nakit iz radionice 'Ruke koje vide' i tako dokazala kako samo zajednistvo onih koji vide i onih koji ne vide ili vide slabo mogu dati vrlo vrijedne rezultate u socijalnoj integraciji i stvaranju jednakih sansi svakom pojedincu u nasem drustvu.  NAPOMENA O IZVORU: HOMER - Hrvatska udruga prijatelja bijelog stapa Jelacicev trg 151000 Rijekatel/fax: 051 / 211-607tel: 051 / 211-633mobi: 091 / 211 60 77 ili 098 / 929 22 28web: www.homer.hr e-mail: [email protected]   [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Mon, 15 May 2006 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Auction Of Photos Raises Money to buy wheelchairs for children in need http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4515/1/E-Auction-Of-Photos-Raises-Money-to-buy-wheelchairs-for-children-in-need.html  Auction Of Photos Raises Money For Needy Children10/28/2005 More than 25,000 euros has been raised for children suffering from cerebral paralysis in Croatia by the auction of photographs of world famous football stars in the Adriatic port of Split.Images of Brazilian strikers Ronaldo and Adriano, Swedish national team and Juventus striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sienna’s Igor Tudor, Shakhtar Donetsk’s Darijo Srna, Hajduk Split and Croatian national team midfielder Niko Kranjcar were included in the humanitarian auction. Croatian photographer Vladimir Dugandzic and his Japanese colleague Junichi Yamazakioffered their work at the auction at the Albatros Club in Split. The proceeds will be used to buy wheelchairs for children in need. A number of Croatian footballers attended the auction. Photos of different Olympic medal winners were also included in the auction. http://www.goal.com/NewsDetail.aspx?idNews=96991&progr=0  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Fri, 28 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Big Croatian Heart in New Orleans http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4517/1/E-Big-Croatian-Heart-in-New-Orleans.html  Big Croatian Heart, Croatian-American restaurant in New Orleans reopened and is giving away food for freeBy Mark EganTue Sep 6, On a devastated street corner in a gritty New Orleans neighborhood an impromptu shrine stands as testament that even during the horrorvisited upon this city by Hurricane Katrina, kindness is notforgotten. Made of bricks from a nearby building destroyed by thestorm, the improvised structure protects a body that lies covered bya white sheet. A cross fashioned of two pieces of wood found amongnearby debris marks the site as a grave, albeit a temporary one. Onthe sheet covering the corpse are written the words "Here Lies Vera,God Help Us." Before locals built this shrine, the woman had lain dead on the street. Her body was bloated and brutally distorted, untouched and ignored for almost a week by authorities who were working slowly to evacuate the thousands left homeless. Since Katrina and the floods that followed hit New Orleans, the city has been struck by unexpected hardships. Looting was rampant, refugee camps became the scenes of rapes, murders and robbery. Many lost everything and lacked even food and drinking water. But as the worst appears to have passed and most of those left stranded have been evacuated, acts of kindness abound. Dmitri Kachkov, a 35-year-old man who uses a wheelchair due to extreme physical disabilities, knows about hardship -- his family became refugees from Russia in 1997 and moved here. When Katrina made them refugees again, they expected to sleep in their van. Just before the storm hit, Kachkov and his parents drove north and took refuge in a roadside truck stop. Then a stranger -- Diana Cantello of Gramercy, Louisiana -- invitedthem to stay at her home. "My mother cried at such unexpectedhospitality," Kachkov said. They spent nine days and nights atCantello's home, where a mother and her two children had also beeninvited to stay. "Then yesterday it was my mother's 69th birthday andthey baked her a cake and bought her small presents. My mother neverexpected such kindness, especially during this disaster," Kachkovsaid on Monday after his family returned to Metairie, Louisiana, tosee how damaged their rental apartment was. Near the Kachkov home isDrago's Seafood Restaurant. Since the storm raged more than a weekago, five employees of the upscale eatery have lived on the premisesto protect it from looters who have destroyed businesses across thecity. Then on Monday the restaurant reopened, serving charred chickenon pasta with a Cajun marinara sauce and ice-cold water -- a rare luxury in this city in recent days. The food was free to anyone who wanted it. "We have decided that we will serve free food as long as our resources last, probably until we give away $20,000 of free food," said owner Klara Cvitanovich. Cvitanovich, 66, who came here from Croatia in her youth, was also shipping food out to poor neighborhoods. "I can honestly say I have lived the American dream, and now I have to give something back," she said. © 2005 Reuters  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Sun, 09 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0700 (H) Veliko srce Hrvatice tjesi ocajnike New Orleansa http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4516/1/H-Veliko-srce-Hrvatice-tjesi-ocajnike-New-Orleansa.html  Veliko srce Hrvatice tjesi ocajnike New Orleansa UGLEDNA agencija Reuters objavila je toplu ljudsku pricu iz New Orleansa, grada duhova i leseva, vezanu uz hrvatsku obitelj Cvitanovic koja se odlucila pomoci u nevolji svojim sugradjanima i besplatno im omoguciti ono najpotrebnije, hranu i vodu.Grad je potpuno devastiran, leseva ima posvuda, sto najbolje ilustrira slucaj zene cije je mrtvo tijelo tjednima lezalo na ulici. Njeno tijelo je nabreklo i jako se izoblicilo, no vlasti su ga tjedan dana ignorirale sporo evakuirajuci prezivjele. Izbjeglicki kampovi postali su mjesta silovanja, ubojstava i pljacki. Mnogi su izgubili sve, a najvise nedostaju osnovne potrepstine poput hrane i vode.Restoran s morskim specijalitetima Drago u ulici Arnoult, poznat kao jedan od najboljih ribljih restorana u gradu i okolici, ponudio je preostalim gradjanima New Orleansa pogodjenog uraganom Katrina besplatnu hranu za sve koji to zele.Nakon sto je pred vise od tjedan dana uragan poharao grad velicine Zagreba, hrvatska obitelj Cvitanovic otvorila je svoj restoran kako bi servirala tople obroke piletine i tjestenine uz pitku vodu, sto je ovih dana pravi luksuz u gradu."Odlucili smo da cemo servirati hranu tako dugo koliko ce trajati nase zalihe, vjerojatno dok ne podijelimo hrane u iznosu od 20,000 dolara." - izjavila je vlasnica restorana Klara Cvitanovic, a prenosi Reuters.Gospodja Cvitanovic ima 66 godina, a iz Hrvatske je "trbuhom za kruhom" otisla kao vrlo mlada djevojka. "Da budem iskrena, zivjela sam americki san i sad im se imam priliku oduziti" - dodala je Hrvatica velika srca.Pomoc u kriticnim trenucima najvise se cijeni, a kad se vec americke vlasti ne brinu za svoje gradjane, moraju to ciniti sami. Prepusteni su sami sebi i ako si nece medjusobno pomagati, uz sve sto su do sada izgubili, ostaje im jos jedino ostaviti svoje zivote u gradu uzasa. Reuters  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Sun, 09 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Blind Childrens Center and Croatia Connection http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4518/1/E-Blind-Childrens-Center-and-Croatia-Connection.html     Blind Childrens Center in Los Angeleswww.blindchildrenscenter.org  Croatia Connection:The Croatia community continues to grow its support for the Blind Childrens Center of Los Angeles. It started over 37 years ago, when a young family from Croatia had dreams andexpectations, anticipating the birth of their child with joy and excitement. They imagine what the infant will look like and plan for the future. In most cases, these hopes are fulfilled with the birth of a healthy child.But what if the baby was visually impaired? No parental reaction is typical, for everyone deals with feelings in a personal way. One thing, however, is certain: the impact of child blindness upon the family can be devastating due to the demands that are made on each family member in terms of time, energy and emotions.The Blind Childrens Center (BCC) is non-profit family-centered agency which serves children with visual impairments from birth to school age. The programs and services help the children acquire skills and build their independence. Founded by the Delta Gammas of Southern California, the Blind Childrens Center is the only agency in the greater Los Angeles area that provides an extensive range of services to children who are blind and partially sighted and their entire family.The Center utilizes its expertise and experience to serve families and professionals worldwide through support services, education and research. The BCC is considered a model educationalinstitution. As a matter of fact, we were the first to introduce cane use to children under the age of 3.Today, many members of the Croatia community have come together to help in all aspects of the Blind Childrens Center including leadership in our Board of Directors, funding research at the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital, volunteering and running in the Los Angeles Marathon to raise funds and participation at our Annual Golf Event at the Riviera Country Club. This golf event draws golfers from all over America including celebrities like Peter Falk, Joe Mantegna, Pat Boone, Mike Shanahan, and many others.The Croatia connection with our Center is strong and continues to grow on a yearly basis. To find out more about the Blind Childrens Center, please visitwww.blindchildrenscenter.org  or contact us at 323-664-2153.   Mission StatementThe Blind Childrens Center is a family-centered agency which serves children with visual impairments from birth to school-age. The center-based and home-based programs and services help the children acquire skills and build their independence. The Center utilizes its expertise and experience to serve families and professionals worldwide through support services, education, and research.  GeneralThe Blind Childrens Center was founded in 1938 by members of the Southern California Delta Gamma Fraternity under the leadership of Dr. Lillian Ray Titcomb. The Center serves over 100 families every year through the infant and preschool programs. The majority of children served live in the greater Los Angeles area. Fifty-two percent of the students are totally blind, 28% have functional vision, and 20% are reverse mainstream. The client population reflects the diversity of Los Angeles: 66% Latino, 22% Caucasian, 4% Asian, and 8% African American. Center and home-based services are free of charge. The Blind Childrens Center is funded entirely by private philanthropic support. It receives no financial support from federal, state, or local governments and it is not a United Way agency. Support, with the exception of modest revenues from the sale of the Center’s publications, is derived from volunteer and staff fund-raising efforts, which are supported by corporations, small businesses, civic and employee groups, charitable foundations and concerned individuals. Dear Nenad,Ina Zec asked that I get in contact with you and introduce myself. Ina and I serve on the Board of Directors for the Blind Childrens Center in Los Angeles. Besides the Center, we also share a special connection - my wife's family is Croatian. Her uncle Nicky was also a very noted authority on Tesla and did much research on his life's accomplishments. He recently passed away, but left his research with my wife's cousin Brian who is also very knowledgeable on Tesla and his work. Brian has held several Tesla conventions and currently provides special effects in Hollywood using the Tesla Coils he has built. His work was most recently featured on the show - Fear Factor.(op-ed:www.brianb.org/tesla.htm )I'm continued to be amazed how we are able to bring together a sense a community regardless of where we live. Over the many years Ina and I have served at the Center on behalf of the children, we continually meet folks within the Croatian community. I would welcome an opportunity to speak with you more about the work we are doing at the Center and to learn more about you.Kindest regards,Mark WestPresident, Blind Childrens [email protected]   Your help is deeply appreciatedThe Blind Childrens Center is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization; IRS Tax ID # 95-1656369. We rely completely on private contributions. Supporters include individuals, civic and employee groups, foundations, and corporations. We take no government funding and we are not a United Way agency. Your contribution goes a long way. One-hundred percent of donor contributions directly support the Center's programs. Administrative costs are supported through earnings on investments. The Center's home and center-based educational and family programs are free of charge. [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Thu, 04 Aug 2005 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Goran Visnjic and Don Wolf http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4520/1/E-Goran-Visnjic-and-Don-Wolf.html  Don Wolf and Goran Visnjic  On the ship from Split to the island of Hvar, I had the opportunity to discuss St. Theresa's orphanage with Goran Visnjic, international TV and movie personality. He was delighted that Croatian Americans were helping support St. Theresa's and that third and fourth generation Croatian Americans were still able to sing Croatian songs and enjoyed their Croatian heritage. Don  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Tue, 19 Jul 2005 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Elevator http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4519/1/E-Elevator.html  ElevatorDear Nenad,Perhaps your CROWN readers would be interested in these images fromSt. Theresa's Dom.The nuns looking through the hole with the child are anticipating the day when the hole will transform to an entrance to an elevator which will carry children, food, clothes and bedding up and down 4 stories. Sister Andrea on the left and Sister Victoria on the rightAnyone that wants to help pay for the completion of the elevator can make out a check to St. Theresa's Orphanage and send it to  Don Wolf3535 N 63 TerraceKansas City, Kansa66104When I get an appropriate amount, I wire it directly from our bank into the bank of the Sisters and it goes into their account.Don  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Tue, 19 Jul 2005 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Andrew Bogut 4 Foundation to help underprivileged http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4521/1/E-Andrew-Bogut-4-Foundation-to-help-underprivileged.html  Andrew Bogut 4 Foundation to help underprivilegedBucks sign Bogut to multiyear contract(Agencies)Updated: 2005-07-02 16:33MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Bucks signed the NBA's No. 1 draft pick Andrew Bogut to a multiyear contract Friday. The 20-year-old Australian, who was college player of the year at Utah last season, will take part in the Bucks' summer camp workouts and play in the Minnesota Summer League July 15-19, general manager Larry Harris said. "This is a dream come true for me," Bogut said. "I've worked extremely hard to get to this point and I'm honored to be a member of the Milwaukee Bucks organization." The Bucks did not reveal the details of the contract for the 7-foot-1 center.Although the exact figures won't be known until after the NBA's new collecting bargaining agreement is finalized, Bogut's agent David Bauman said he expects Bogut to get around $4.2 million in his first year, $4.55 million the second year and $4.85 million the third year. The figure should go to about $6 million in the fourth year, the team's option year, he said, while a fifth-year qualifying offer would be 30 percent higher than the fourth, or $7.8 million. Bogut has formed the Andrew Bogut 4 Foundation to help underprivileged youths in Australia, Croatia, Utah and Milwaukee. He is of Croatian descent and played college basketball at Utah. Harris said the team expects "a long and promising career" for Bogut with the Bucks.  Bogut has said he's not afraid of the expectations he faces as he joins a team coming off its worst record (30-52) in nearly a decade. Harris now will focus on re-signing top scorer Michael Redd and other free agents, and hiring a replacement for Terry Porter, the second-year coach who was fired last week. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-07/02/content_456564.htm   [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Sat, 02 Jul 2005 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Rats are called in to defuse landmines in Croatia http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4522/1/E-Rats-are-called-in-to-defuse-landmines-in-Croatia.html  Rats are called in to defuse landmines  June 1, 2005Zagreb - Croatia is considering using specially trained rats to help neutralize unexploded landmines left over from the 1990s Croatian-Serbian war. A media report yesterday said that Belgium had offered to provide Croatia with the trained African rats.Rats have been described as a cheap and efficient way to remove landmines.After being released into the minefield, they sniff out the landmines and after detecting one they start to scratch the ground, alerting their handlers. "Basically, it's the same principle as with dogs, but unlike dogs, which sometimes got blown away due to their weight, rats do not have such problems and rats also do not get bored so easily," Nikola Pavkovic, an official of the Croatian Demining Centre, told a German news agency.  He said the large African rats, each weighing 3kg, would first have to undergo a period of adjustment to south-eastern Europe's climate and environment. The demining rats have already been used successfully in Mozambique in a project funded by the Belgian government and the European Union. - Sapa-DPAhttp://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=132&fArticleId=2541843   [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Mon, 06 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Celebrity supporters create the Adopt-A-Minefield Artists Committee http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4524/1/E-Celebrity-supporters-create-the-Adopt-A-Minefield-Artists-Committee.html Sun, 05 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Maradona to play charity soccer match in Novi Vinodolski, Croatia http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4523/1/E-Maradona-to-play-charity-soccer-match-in-Novi-Vinodolski-Croatia.html  Maradona to play charity soccer match inCroatia  Associated Press ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) - Diego Maradona will play in a charity soccer match in Croatia on June 17 with several other retired soccer stars, Croatian newspapers reported Wednesday.Maradona, who captained Argentina to the 1986 World Cup, agreed to play in the northern coastal city of Novi Vinodolski to raise money for a local orphanage.Others involved are former Croatia internationals Davor Suker and Zvonimir Boban."I'm happy to come again to Croatia," Maradona was quoted as saying by two leading Croatian dailies. "It makes me even more happy to do a good deed. Humanitarian matches have become the meaning of my life."The match is planned to accompany an ATP Senior Tour event in Novi Vinodolski on June 15-18, which will gather retired tennis stars such as Goran Ivanisevic, Boris Becker, and John McEnroe.Organizers also hope to arrange a tennis match between Maradona and McEnroe.The soccer match would be one of the few times Maradona, rated one of the greatest players ever, has been seen on a field since his retirement in 1997.Maradona became obese under the weight of cocaine addiction and, on March 5, successfully underwent gastric bypass surgery to help try and reduce his weight by 50 kilograms (110 pounds) within a year.Before the operation, the 1.68-meter (5-foot-6) Argentine weighed 121 kilograms (266 pounds).http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/3655786   [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Sun, 05 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0700 (E) St. Theresa's Orphanage http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4529/1/E-St-Theresas-Orphanage.html  St. Theresa's Orphanage http://www.sttheresasorphanage.org/ Thank you for visiting - Hello. My name is Sister Kristina Piskovic. I am the director of St. Theresas Orphanage in Zagreb, Croatia. Although the war is now over, our country is still feeling its after effects. Joblessness and poverty are common, especially among the young, and some unfortunate parents cannot provide for their children. Our government, which is still struggling in this "new economy" provides very little help, so we (the sisters), and the children, rely on our benefactors abroad. Presently, we care for 35 children --- the youngest is a 3-month old boy and the eldest, a girl who has just graduated from secondary school. There is a lot of love here in our house, and a lot of happiness. The sisters are all young and we have the energy to love the children like they were our own. We wish to make their childhood as nice and carefree as possible. We also try to heal the wounds left over from the war and from being abandoned by their parents. Children are the flowers of the world and they are the jewels of our nunnery. As I stated, love and care is not a problem for us. But, a shortage of money is a major concern. Since our government does not help us very  much, we rely very heavily on the good will of our friends so that we can continue our work. If you are willing to help us help the orphans, we will be very grateful and we will include you in our every day prayers.Thank you and may God Bless. http://www.sttheresasorphanage.org St. Theresa's Orphanage Dom Sv. TerezijeSister Kristina PiskovicVrhovec2910000 Zagreb Croatia How To Give The Campaign for Saint Theresa's Orphanage has no paid staff. Every penny raised goes directly into an account that is accessed only by the sisters who operate the orphanage. We respond to the needs of the orphanage as they arise. If the roof needs repair, we raise the money. If the children need clothing, we find the clothes and send them. It's success depends on the commitment of volunteers and the generosity of those who can spare a few dollars. It's very simple: Our volunteers work hard. Our donors give generously. The children benefit.The Campaign for Saint Theresa's is affiliated with the Croatian Council of Kansas City, your donation is tax-deductible. More importantly, it will do much to help the children of Croatia. Please send your donation to:Christ the King Catholic ChurchMemo: St. TheresaÂ'sc/o Don Wolf3535 North 63rd TerraceKansas City, KS 66104 Croatian connection endures through yearsBy DAWN BORMANN The Kansas City Star - 2004 Ten years ago, Don Wolf didn't need to remind donors that the residents of Croatia needed a hand. Newspaper headlines spoke for the Kansas City, Kan., man. The Balkan states were devastated by war. Croatia was left with burned-out homes, hospitals and schools. Refugees had no place to return. Back then, Wolf went back to the country that his grandparents had emigrated from a century ago. He looked for ways to help. "What could I do? I didn't think there was anything I could do. I was so far removed," he said to himself before his trip. The professional photographer soon discovered that his pictures were the best way to humanize the story for Americans, who were eager to help. But when the gunfire quieted and the bombing siege stopped, donations dried up. Years later, the problems linger, Wolf said. The Croatian economy continues to struggle, crippled by inflation and riddled with unemployment. And Croatia has been denied access to the European Union and NATO. Wolf's award-winning fundraising efforts have become considerably more difficult. Americans have refocused their efforts to other war-torn countries like Afghanistan and Iraq. "The war is over. It's out of the front pages," he said. "People are tired of me." When his work began, it was a different story. Wolf started a non-profit group, the Croatian Council of Kansas City, and began writing to every American-Croatian organization he discovered. He scanned newspapers and magazines weekly, looking for potential donors. Slowly, Americans and many others began sending back the small church envelopes he had enclosed in each letter. The envelopes contained letters of encouragement and small donations. He researched worthy causes in Croatia and with the help of a Croatian cousin found St. Theresa's Orphanage run by Catholic nuns. Wolf visited the orphanage to judge for himself. He found a building packed with mothers, fathers, families and orphans. In a laundry room, he discovered a mother and her six children who called the small area home. At the time, deteriorated plumbing posed the biggest problem at the orphanage. So Wolf raised $25,000 and helped repair the pipes. "I thought it was going to be the end of it. Then they needed medicine, baby food," he said. "Little by little, they needed a stove. They needed a washing machine." Before he knew it, the tile roof needed to be replaced at the cost of $300,000. The Croatian government gave the orphanage $150,000 and Wolf launched a major campaign in America to come up with the balance. The photographer took snapshots of the children and sent pamphlets out across the country. "By taking pictures of these kids, people see their faces," he said. "These aren't just statistics. These are real people." Donations rolled in from Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, California, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Indiana, Florida, Texas and beyond. "So then, now I think I'm all done," he said. But his work, it seems, has only begun. The orphanage building still suffers from years of neglect. The children bear the emotional trauma of war and abandonment. The nuns, whose mission has become more respected throughout the country, have started outreach programs to help pregnant mothers. And the Carmelite sisters have another pressing request for Wolf. "Mr. Wolf, this is a four-story building. We carry food up and down .we need an elevator," one of the nuns told Wolf. The orphanage receives some help from the government, but the nuns depend on Wolf's fundraising work. There is little hope that the Croatian government could spare the money for the elevator, so without Wolf, the project is doomed. "We rely on God's providence and we believe that he sent us Mr. Don Wolf. His love and care for us helps us to go on, to continue with helping and living for abandoned children in Croatia," said Sister Victoria Sanjkovic, who helps to run the orphanage. At the orphanage, Wolf is well-known to the children. They call him Papa Wolf and send thank-you letters to him and every donor. Wolf's work is followed closely by others as well. He has received numerous awards for his charity work and has earned the respect of many. Wolf and his wife, Mary Wolf, have also led several tours for Americans with Croatian roots. The tours always include a stop at the orphanage, where Americans can see firsthand how their donations are used. The tours have inspired many others to lead similar trips through the country. Last week, Wolf received a letter from Barb Perisin, a supporter from Joliet, Ill., who had just returned from a visit with a tour group. She told Wolf that visiting the orphanage was the most memorable stop on the tour. When it came time to leave, she said, "There wasn't a dry eye on board that bus." The experience reinforced their decision to donate money to the orphans, Perisin told him. "Everyone agreed that the money they gave was well worth it and that the nuns really need that elevator," she wrote. "I hope they will continue to get enough donations to make that dream possible." Letters like Perisin's remind Wolf that the 20 to 30 minutes he dedicates to the charity each day are well worth his time. "It's a joy. This is so fulfilling I can't explain it," he said. "It's almost like a mandate from God." For many, the philanthropy is easy to support, considering that 100 percent of donations are directed to the orphanage. In order to pay for postage, Wolf sells a videotape that teaches the delicate art of preparing povitica bread. He also sells Christmas cards to benefit the children. While the donations inside the church envelopes have grown smaller, there are still surprises, he said. When he retires, Wolf will dedicate even more time to Croatia and the orphans. Still, he sometimes tells the Carmelite sisters that someday he will retire from the philanthropy business. Of course, he can't speak those words without flashing a bright mischievous smile. He knows leaving the orphanage isn't really an option. "I asked the sisters, when can I quit? She said, 'When we do.'" (E) Don Wolf of Kansas City - A Croatian you should know! 11/25/01  Culture And Arts Contact Don Wolf: [email protected]  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Mon, 09 May 2005 00:00:00 -0700 (H) Croatian Mine Action Centre CROMAC http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4528/1/H-Croatian-Mine-Action-Centre-CROMAC.html  Croatian Mine Action Centre (CROMAC)Address : Ante Kovacica 10 PO BOX 8 Sisak 44000 Croatia Tel : 00385 44 554 101Fax : 00385 44 554 142 URL : http://www.hcr.hr/  E-mail :[email protected]  Zahvaljujemo svim sudionicima na izuzetnom zanimanju, dobroj raspravi i prezentacijama. Zamoljavamo ih takoer, da eÅ¡e posjeuju Internet stranicu HCR-a ( www.hcr.hr  ) i HCR-CTRO d.o.o. www.ctro.hr , te da nam svojim sugestijama pomognu u kreiranju III. Meunarodnog stru nog savjetovanja "Humanitarno razminiranje 2006.".Oto Jungwirthravnatelj HCR-aMirko IvanuÅ¡iPredsjednikOrganizacijskog odboraNikola Pavkovidirektor HCR-CTRO-a  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Mon, 09 May 2005 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Norwegian People's Aid Mine Action Programme - CROATIA http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4527/1/E-Norwegian-Peoples-Aid-Mine-Action-Programme---CROATIA.html  Norwegian People's Aid Mine Action Programme - CROATIA Norwegian People’s Aid is the Norwegian labour movement’s humanitarian aid organization which was established over 60 years ago, the basis for all its activities is to improve conditions under which individuals live and contribute to a more humane society for all. NPA has been involved in mine action since 1992, conducting mine action operations in 16 different countries covering three continents. Cambodia was the first country where NPA started mine clearance operations and since that date the organization has set up operations in: Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Kurdistan, Laos, Lebanon, Mozambique, Kosovo, Thailand and Western Sahara. NPA works in adherence to the United Nations definition of mine action as being, “all those activities geared towards addressing the problems faced by populations as a result of landmine contamination. It is not just about mines as it is about people and their interaction with a mine-infested environment. Its aim is not purely to survey, mark and eradicate landmines – but humanitarian and developmental - to recreate an environment in which people can live safely, in which economic, social and health development can occur free from the constraints imposed by landmine contamination, and in which victims' needs are addressed.Accordingly, NPA’s mine action activities included survey and task impact assessments, mine clearance involving manual, mechanical and mine detecting dogs), mine awareness and community liaison activities, advocacy and mine policy related work, research and development initiatives, landmine survivor assistance (to a limited extent) and support and capacity building to national mine action capacities.The overall objective of any NPA mine action programme is, to facilitate, support and contribute to a sustainable improvement of the socio-economic living conditions for target populations in mine affected areas. To accomplish this we work within two major programme areas: the first focuses on the landmines already in the ground and the second on the prevention of further use of landmines. The former refers to all our work in the mine-affected countries including survey, clearance, and mine awareness activities. The latter refers to our engagement as one of the key organisations in the Ottawa Treaty Process and the international campaign to ban landmines (ICBL). Since the ratification of the treaty and the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the founding organisations and their Ambassador Ms. Jody Williams, NPA and its partners in ICBL have continued to lobby the non-signatories as well as supporting countries like Croatia, who have signed and ratified the Treaty. NPA also assist in the production of Landmine Monitor, which gives the annual overview of the mine problem worldwide. In addition to ICBL, NPA is also a member of other international mine action committees and working groups including the UNMAS Steering Committee and the GICHD Advisory Board. According to the estimated figures presented by the Croatian Mine Action Centre (CROMAC) around 700,000 mines and UXOs still remain undetected in Croatia. Out of the 21counties in Croatia, 14 are still mine contaminated from the conflict between 1991 and 1995. CROMAC estimates that the mine suspected area covers 1,350 km2, 10% of this area is considered to be actually mine contaminated. According the Croatian Mine Victims' Association there have been 1,880 mine victims since 1991.http://www.npaid.hr/   [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Mon, 09 May 2005 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Fundrraiser for the City Museum of Vukovar SUCCESS http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4526/1/E-Fundrraiser-for-the-City-Museum-of-Vukovar-SUCCESS.html  Fundraiser for the City Museum of Vukovar SUCCESSDear members of AMAC Mid-Atlantic and the Croatian-American Chamber of Commerce,It is a pleasure to announce that thanks to your generosity we managed to raise $11,110 for the City Museum of Vukovar, at the fundraiser held in the restaurant The Terrace in the Sky in Manhattan, on May 1, 2005. The fundraiser was organized by AMAC Mid-Atlantic http://www.amac-ma.org/headlines/ , with the cooperation of the CACC http://www.croamchamber.org/ . Thirty donations have been received, ranging from $25 to $2,500. They were collected mostly during the fundraiser, but some major donations were also sent by the people who were unable to attend. Each donation, regardless of its size, is valuable since it was given from the heart, and will be received with gratitude by the people of Vukovar. To them, the funds we raised will mean a great deal not only financially but also, and perhaps even more, morally and emotionally, a tangible evidence that the Croatian community here, although far away, stands with them.The donations will soon be sent to Vukovar. Every donor will be personally recognized and thanked in writing by the director of the Vukovar museum, Mrs. Ruzica Maric. Our hope is to repeat this fundraiser next year, and make it a regular annual event.Thank you all once again, and have a great summer.Sincerely,Zlatko Bacic, PresidentAMAC [email protected]    [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Mon, 09 May 2005 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Croatian American 3rd Annual Golf Outing, New York May 23, 2005 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4525/1/E-Croatian-American-3rd-Annual-Golf-Outing-New-York-May-23-2005.html  Croatian American 3rd Annual Golf Outing May 23, 2005 at North Hills Country Club, Manhasset, New YorkTel: (516) 627 9100For registration donation and further information call (718) 539-2391Dinner tickets still availableCharity event for American Cancer Society and Adopt-A-Minefield Campaign  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Mon, 09 May 2005 00:00:00 -0700 (H) Preporucamo vam Fundaciju "Ruzickina Kuca" u Vukovaru http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4530/1/H-Preporucamo-vam-Fundaciju-Ruzickina-Kuca-u-Vukovaru.html  AMAC:Preporucamo vam Fundaciju "Ruzickina Kuca" u VukovaruFrom: Zlatko Bacic [email protected]: March 19, 2005 1:09:55 PM ESTTo: [email protected]: AMAC: Preporucamo vam Fundaciju "Ruzickina Kuca" u VukovaruDragi clanovi i prijatelji AMACa,Zelimo Vam svratiti pozornost na Fundaciju "Ruzickina Kuca" koja djeluje u Vukovaru, buduci da smo uvjereni da zavrijedjuje Vasu podrsku. Fundacija je osnovana u svrhu obnove rodne kuce prvog hrvatskog nobelovca, i jednog od svjetskih velikana kemije, Lavoslava Ruzicke, koja je bila potpuno razrusena tijekom srpske agresije na Vukovar, za vrijeme Domovinskog rata. Obnovljena kuca biti ce muzejski prostor koji ce svjedociti o zivotu i radu Lavoslava Ruzicke. Inace, uz obnovljenu kucu bit ce izgradjena moderno opremljena dvorana, u kojoj ce se odvijati razne kulturne i obrazovne djelatnosti, narocito okrenute mladima, kao i znanstveni skupovi. O Fundaciji, njenom projektu, i napretku obnove Ruzickine kuce, mozete vise saznati na vrlo informativnoj web stranici Fundacije, http://www.fundacijaruzickinakuca.hr/index.htm . Posjetite Foto galeriju,http://www.fundacijaruzickinakuca.hr/foto.htm Takodjer, mozete kontaktirati gdju. Maju Rendulic [email protected] , upraviteljicu Fundacije, koja azurno i srdacno odgovara na e-mail poruke.Lavoslav Ruzicka jedan je od samo dva hrvatska znanstvenika nagradjena za svoj rad Nobelovom nagradom. Drugi je Vladimir Prelog, takodjer organski kemicar, kojem je Ruzicka bio mentor. Lavoslav Ruzicka je rodjen 1887. u Vukovaru. Nakon velike mature u Osijeku, otisao je na studij u inozemstvo. Iako je tada zauvijek napustio domovinu, nikada ju nije zaboravio i do kraja zivota je odrzavao cvrste i ceste veze s njom. Gotovo cjelu znanstvenu karijeru proveo je kao profesor organske kemije na znamenitoj ETH (Visoka Tehnicka Skola) u Zuerichu, u Svicarskoj. Nobelovu nagradu za kemiju dobio je 1939., za svoje pionirske radove iz sintetske organske kemije prirodnih spojeva. Umro je 1976. Kod njega su se decenijama usavrsavali gotovo svi vodeci organski kemicari u Hrvatskoj. Dobitnik je brojnih najvisih svjetskih priznanja. Za pocasnog doktora Sveucilista u Zagrebu izabran je 1940.; iste godine postao je i pocasnim gradjaninom Vukovara. Opsirniji zivotopis Lavoslava Ruzicke nalazi se takodjer na web stranici Fundacije, http://www.fundacijaruzickinakuca.hr/index.htm Nadamo se da ce te pozeljeti ukljuciti se u projekt obnove rodne kuce ovog hrvatskog velikana. Ako se odlucite, Vase donacije mozete uplatiti u korist deviznog racuna Fundacije "Ruzickina Kuca":71304-737761 kod Raiffeisenbank Austria d.d. ZagrebSWIFT code: RZBHHR2XKorespondentne banke u US su:The Bank of New York, NYWachovia Bank, NYAmerican Express Bank, NYUz srdacan pozdrav i postovanje, Zlatko Bacic, PredsjednikAMAC Mid-Atlantichttp://www.amac-ma.org/headlines/   [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Mon, 21 Mar 2005 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Taina Franjevic in Action http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4531/1/E-Taina-Franjevic-in-Action.html Sun, 13 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Looking for Bone Marrow transplant for my father http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4532/1/E-Looking-for-Bone-Marrow-transplant-for-my-father.html  Bone Marrow Search for my fatherSubject: FW: From Blaz Grizelj: Important Information Regarding My FatherFor those of you who don't know, my father, Mladen "Zuka" Grizelj has beendiagnosed with a form of Leukemia. Right now he is going throughchemotherapy and will receive a bone marrow transplant in the near future.We are asking all of our friends and family if they can help us out bydonating their bone marrow to the National Marrow Donor Program. It's ananonymous donation, so you won't know exactly who you'll be helping out.Hopefully, it will be my father. You can contact your local hospital tofind out where you can give the donation.The donation is a simple withdrawal of blood that won't take up too muchof your time. It doesn't involve taking any of your bone marrow out.Evenif you are lucky enough to be a match, the transplant process onlyrequires you to withdraw blood again. So there is no surgery, orpainful procedure of any kind. There are a few criteria to becoming adonor:1. You can't have asthma, AIDS, or diabetes2. You can't have serious hip, neck, or heart problems3. You have to be between the ages of 18-60If you fit this criteria, then PLEASE help by donating your blood. Forthose of you who live in the Bay Area, you can contact Diane Hill ofStanford Hospital at (650)723-5532. You can give your bone marrowdonation there, or she can direct you to a place that is closer to you.You can also go to www.marrow.org  to locate any bone marrow donationcenters near you. There is no cost to you for the donation. Thank youfor your support and help, if you have any questions, please call.Sincerely,Blaz [email protected] CroNetwork: The Croatian-American Organization for Young Professionals.  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Mon, 24 Jan 2005 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Croatian Relief Services for Tsunami Victims http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4534/1/E-Croatian-Relief-Services-for-Tsunami-Victims.html  Croatian Relief Services for Tsunami Victimshttp://www.croatianrelief.org/ Croatian Relief Services was founded at the basement of St. John Catholic Church in Fairview, New Jersey on June 7, 1991 in order to help the refugees of Croatia and Bosnia. Since that time it has become "An Apostolate of Mercy" created to help the destitute victims of natural disasters and war refugees throughout the globe. We work with local clergy in many countries and joins in saving lives of the poorest of the poor. The driving force behind our ministry lies in the challenge presented in Matt. 25: 31-46. We are a ministry of compassion and mercy binding the bleeding hearts and comforting the widows and the orphans. We are restoring broken families, mending broken hearts, and bringing hope to the hopeless, especially the war refugees who have been suffering persecution. We wish to be the voice for the voiceless in many parts of the globe. We serve the people God places before us.At the present time, we are faced with the most horrible natural human tragedy. It took place a day after Christmas in Asia. The Tsunami Waves after the Indian Ocean Earthquake has devastated many countries in Asia, India and Sri Lanka. We are sending to you the information about this tragedy on the other side of this letter. We are aware that you have heard of the situation through the media. What remains of us to do at the present time is to open our hearts for the most desperate people of the globe. They need our comfort and support. Please, join our hands in helping the victims of this tragic natural disaster. Any donation to Croatian Relief Services is tax deductible.Immediately after I heard of the tragedy I called a my friend Bishop Jude Pauluraj of the Diocese of Palayamkottai in India. Bishop Jude visited Croatian Relief last summer and we became good friends. Here is a part of the e-mail letter which Bishop Paulraj sent to me after I spoke to him and promised help from our CRS, the Apostolate of Mercy."Dear Father Gio, It is really amazing to see your good timely self action on behalf of our critical situation in India and Sri Lanka! You are responding to the Lord's invitation to bring Jesus in the hearts of all who suffer! I appreciate your action. Your generous heart is an example to me as a bishop. I have just returned home from the neighboring diocese of Kottar. I was giving out rice bags, beans, clothing and blankets to the Tsunami Wave Victims who are now homeless. Today we have distributed humanitarian aid worth 3, 500 US dollars. The neighboring Bishop told me that they need many more blankets and food. Tomorrow we are going to another neighboring diocese of Titicorin. We will distribute more humanitarian aid worth some 2, 000 US dollars. The money was collected from our diocese, and other institutions in a period of last 6 months. This is not a big deal but it is an immediate relief to the 2 dioceses. Some 20 camps are there in Kottar and each camp holds some 150 people. The Government will do what they can but it takes time! The people need an immediate relief and rehabilitation will take place later and it will be a very big undertaking. Several villages here are totally washed out to sea! God shell help them through wonderful people like you! I shall contact the Bishop of Sri Lanka who is my classmate and will also distribute help to the victims there. Through your help we will also help them. Please send us what you can because the situation is very critical. I will keep in touch with you daily and I will fill you on all the projects and details of our humanitarian distribution. Once again I have no words to express my gratitude and appreciation for your kind and timely gesture to the suffering humanity. God bless you and your mom. My wishes to all your helpers and donors. Kindly pray for us . We wish you all a healthy and holy new year". (Signed by: Bishop Jude Paulraj) - FROM ALL YOU HAVE HEARD BY THE US AND WORLD MEDIA I DO NOT THINK THAT I HAVE ANYTHING MORE TO ADD FOR THIS URGENT APPEAL. By Phone: Please call (201)945-4891 for any questions about donations.Mail your check or money order to:Croatian Relief Services225 Anderson Ave. Fairview, NJ 07022 http://www.croatianrelief.org/ [email protected]   [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Sun, 02 Jan 2005 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Libertas Foundation Fundraiser Feb 5th 2005 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4533/1/E-Libertas-Foundation-Fundraiser-Feb-5th-2005.html  LIBERTAS  FOUNDATION  February 5th 2005, Gala Dinner/Fundraising and celebration of Sveti Vlaho - St. Blaise, Patron Saint of DubrovnikTel: (310) 548-1446 Fax: (310) 831-8382 e-mail: [email protected] 777 W.9th St., San Pedro, CA 90731 USA December 20, 2004Dear Friends,On February 5th 2005, another Gala Dinner/Fundraising and celebration of Sveti Vlaho - St. Blaise, Patron Saint of Dubrovnik is coming. Mark your calendar and reserve this evening for fabulous Croatian food, dances, music and friendship.To commemorate our 14th anniversary at St. Anthony's Croatian Center in Los Angeles, Libertas Foundation will publish a program and souvenir book. We invite you and all Croatian-American businesses, organizations and their friends to help in our fundraising effort by placing an ad, greeting, letter, poem, recipe or anything that may be interesting for our Souvenir Book. In order to reserve space in our Souvenir Book, please contact us ASAP and no later then January 20,2005. This event is a sell out every year -- we anticipate over 450 people from the Greater Los Angeles area to attend our "festa", which has become one of the premiere events in the Croatian- American community of Southern California. The souvenir book will be distributed to all attendees and advertisers, giving you and your business tremendous exposure and recognition.We are pleased to report that our scholarship fund, which awards financially challenged students money to attend local trade schools, awarded ten (10) deserving students $1000 each in Dubrovnik this past August. The names of the students are: Stijepo Mage, Ivan Zec, Miso Tepsic, Antun Strazicic, Andela Kurelja, Ivo Morlais, Damir Miljevic, Niko Lujo, Ivo Penetra and Petar Zlosilo.Though we have all accomplished and contributed generously, we are continuing with these programs as long as there is need for it and ask for your help and support in any way to make these programs most beneficial to the needy people of Croatia.We thank all of you that have helped in the past and hope you will continue to support our humanitarian projects. Since we are all volunteers, we can assure you that every dollar you donate will reach the people and charity of your choice. The holidays are around the corner. At this time of joy and celebration let's remember our less fortunate brothers and sisters and share the joy of Christmas with them. Your generosity and continued support is greatly appreciated.MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! SRETAN BOZIC I NOVA GODINA!Niko Hazdovac Tony Bendewish President/ Libertas Foundation “Ante & Evelyn Mrgudic” Scholarship Fund Humanitarian, Non-profit organization. Donations are tax deductible. Federal ID#:33-0496929  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Sun, 02 Jan 2005 00:00:00 -0700 (E) SERVING CHILDREN http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4535/1/E-SERVING-CHILDREN.html  SERVING CHILDREN: ANDREA JAEGER & MAJA MURICBy Katarina TepeshIn the 1980's Andrea Jaeger was a tennis phenomenon - she turned pro at the age of 14 and was the #2 ranked female tennis player in the world. When, at the age of 19, a career-ending injury set her on a new path, Andrea gave her earnings and pension to co-found The Silver Lining Foundation, benefiting children with life threatening illnesses. This year, Andrea released autobiography, "FIRST SERVICE - Following God's Calling and Finding Life's Purpose" www.firstservicebook.com "In our nonprofit organization, in one of our many programs, children participate in weeklong sessions at our 18,000-square-foot permanent facility, built in Aspen specifically for children with life threatening illnesses. For these youngsters, weary of sterile hospitals, painful procedures, and the loneliness and trauma of dealing with a life-threatening disease like cancer, the Ranch and activities provide a welcome relief amid the beauty and serenity of the Colorado Rockies. While some children are from loving families with great community and parental support, others arrive from foster care and harsh, broken family environments. We help children find peace, have fun and share similarity of their experiences with fellow cancer patients," says Andrea. www.silverliningfoundation.orgPart of Andrea's team is also another former tennis player MAJA MURIC, born in Zagreb, in 1974. Since 1995, Maja serves as the International Program Coordinator and camp videographer at the foundation. "In 1994 when I met Maja at the Hilton Head, South Carolina, Maja spent the evening passionately describing why the programs were needed in her native country. She told me of bombings, mortar shells and sniper shootings, and how this had an effect on the country's children. The exclusive vacation environment of Hilton Head Island was a far cry from her homeland - war-battered cities with buildings that were reduced to rubble; hospitals lacking basic supplies; shortages in food and clothing - but Maja refused to forget the children so desperately in need. Maja felt assured I was going to be someone who could help make a difference," recalls Andrea. Equally important, Maja told Andrea her own deeply painful story. "Maja's mother had tried to abort her when she found out she was pregnant with her. The abortion plan didn't work and Maja's entry into the world was not very welcomed by her natural family. Maja's mom left her when she was eight and Maja's dad soon after that, even though he stayed in her life in some ways. Maja's grandparents raised her, but it was still not a good situation. Maja was severely abused by her father - whenever he was around - throughout her childhood and adolescence. The experiences were so traumatic that she blocked many of them out in order to survive. Despite all the pain and suffering she endured, her spirit was never broken. Maja had a heart as big as a mountain."By autumn of 1994, Maja and Andrea arrived in Zagreb to deliver medical supplies, clothing and toys in excess of $50,000 to give to children in Croatia and Bosnia. The cargo vessel was paid by GORAN IVANISEVIC. For international children's programs, please send your tax-deductible donations to: Little Stars, PO Box 11569, Aspen, Colorado 81612. Federal Tax ID is: 86-0947944  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Thu, 21 Oct 2004 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Doctor comes to aid of Croatian student http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4536/1/E-Doctor-comes-to-aid-of-Croatian-student.html  Doctor comes to aid of Croatian studentBy Ann Strosnider, Sun StaffSeptember 25, 2004Croatian student Boris Marosinac will be able to stay in Bremerton and complete his education at Olympic College, thanks to a generous retired doctor. Dr. John Stanley of Bremerton came forward to put up the $15,000 required by student visa rules after a story about Marosinac's plight appeared in The Sun Sept. 17. Stanley said he was happy to help and said Marosinac is helping him as well. "We discovered that this young fellow is very good with computers," he said. Stanley has a Russian student, Katerina Korosteleva of Vladivostok, staying with him, and Marosinac was able to set up her computer with the Cyrillic alphabet.Marosinac, 20, had begun college in Michigan but moved to Bremerton after members of a church that sponsored him lost their jobs and were unable to keep up the funding. The Stanley family (no relation to Dr. Stanley) knew him slightly and agreed to take him in without knowing about the financial requirements. He is part of OC's fledgling international student program. Dr. Stanley said he got involved with international students through Rotary. He began traveling to Russia to help set up Rotary clubs about six years ago. Kathy Stanley said Friday that the response from the community has been overwhelming. "In addition to Dr. Stanley, we've had dozens of calls," she said. "Some people wanted to offer money, some just offered their prayers that Boris would be able to stay in this country. I would like to thank Gerry Stamm of Olympic College and everyone who called. It has meant so much to us and to Boris." One woman even called to see if the young Croatian could help her translate some letters from her deceased father. She was born in Croatia but moved to the United States after being adopted in 1956 and never learned to read and write the language. Marosinac grew up in a time of war and dislocation in his native land. The fighting among Serbs, Croats and Muslims in the former Yugoslavia left 20,000 people dead and more than a quarter-million homeless. When it looked like he might have to return home without a degree, he was discouraged because unemployment in Croatia is about 45 percent, he said. "Beyond the education that Boris will be able to get, the lesson that there are good people out there means everything," Kathy Stanley said. Reach reporter Ann Strosnider at (360) 792-9219 or at [email protected]://www.thesunlink.com/bsun/local/article/0,2403,BSUN_19088_3209626,00.html   [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Sat, 25 Sep 2004 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Croatia Treats Iraqi Children, Trains Doctors http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4537/1/E-Croatia-Treats-Iraqi-Children-Trains-Doctors.html  Croatia Treats Iraqi Children, Trains Doctors In Forensic Techniques AFP: 8/26/2004 ZAGREB, Aug 26 (AFP) - Seven Iraqi children were hospitalized in Zagreb Thursday for life-saving surgical operations, Health Minister Andrija Hebrang said. He said the government had budgeted 270,000 euros (326,000 dollars) this year for medical care for Iraqi children who cannot be treated in their own country. The seven children admitted to three hospitals Thursday are aged between two and 11. Hebrang did not give any details about their condition. He said six Iraqi doctors arrived Thursday to begin training in forensic techniques, including the use of DNA tracing to identify victims in mass graves. http://www.turkishpress.com/turkishpress/news.asp?ID=25601  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Thu, 26 Aug 2004 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Nita Gizdich - Ag Against Hunger Woman of the Year http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4538/1/E-Nita-Gizdich---Ag-Against-Hunger-Woman-of-the-Year.html  Nita Gizdich lauded as Ag Woman of the Year - Against Hunger The following comes from the Santa Cruz Sentinel. John Peter Kraljic, Esq.Nita GizdichBACKGROUND: Owner of Gizdich Ranch, a pick-it-yourself farm and tourist destination in Watsonville. AWARD RECEIVED: 2004 Ag Woman of the Year, given by the nonprofit group Ag Against Hunger based in Salinas, serving Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties.NOMINEE CRITERIA: Demonstrates commitment to the betterment of the agricultural community; displays community leadership, professionalism and dedication; demonstrates the highest level of ethics and integrity.OCCUPATION: Semi-retired farmer.HOMETOWN: Watsonville.OTHER HONORS RECEIVED: First woman to be named Farmer of the Year by the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau, 1987; named Direct Marketing Person of the Year by National Farmers' Direct Marketing Association, 1994; inducted into the Watsonville High School Alumni Hall of Fame, 1999; named Woman of the Year by Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce, 2002.INFORMATION: www.gizdichranch.com ;www.agagainsthunger.com .By GWEN MICKELSONSentinel staff writerWATSONVILLE - Sitting at a long picnic table in the bake shop at Gizdich Ranch, a pick-it-yourself farm and tourist destination selling jams, pies and antiques, Nita Gizdich's blue eyes sparkled behind rimless spectacles.A recurring smile sent laugh lines across her tanned face as she talked about the people, particularly schoolchildren, who come to the ranch to experience a farm firsthand and learn where their food comes from.Tuesday, Gizdich, owner of Gizdich Ranch and tireless champion of agricultural issues, was named Ag Woman of the Year, an award given annually by the nonprofit group Ag Against Hunger. The award is given to an outstanding woman who has made a significant contribution to the agricultural community within Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties."I'm very excited," said Gizdich, 69. "I'm very surprised. I hope I can live up to all these honors."That kind of selfless spirit in promoting and celebrating agriculture and keeping the pioneering tradition and agricultural history alive are what Ag Against Hunger looks for in the nominations for its award."The people who are selected are the hardest-working women in the industry, and they tend to keep a low profile," said Bernadette O'Keefe, executive director of Ag Against Hunger, which collects and distributes farms' surplus produce to low-income, hungry people in the community and throughout the state.The award has honored women with outstanding contributions to agriculture since 1994, beginning with Sharan Lanini, an agricultural consultant in Salinas. Other women who have received the award since include Claudia Smith of Paraiso Vineyards of Soledad in 1995, Karen Miller of Clint Miller Farms in Watsonville in 1996 and Elia Vasquez of Vasquez Farms in Watsonville in 2000."Nita has done so much in her career of farming that it was natural nomination," said Jess Brown, executive director of the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau, which nominated Gizdich for the award. "She's been a leader in so many areas, especially in the direct marketing arena - Gizdich Farms was only the second in Pajaro Valley that sold directly to the public. Plus, in agricultural issues, she's also been a spokesperson not just for the benefit of her own farm, but for farming in general."Watsonville nativeGizdich Ranch was founded 69 years ago, when Gizdich's father-in-law bought the land.Gizdich explains her background simply."I was born and raised right here in Watsonville," she said. "My father came from Croatia and was a farmer when he came. We lived in the city limits the first 13 years of my life, yet we farmed down the slough area of Watsonville. It was all farmed by my father under dry beans and zucchinis and tomatoes. Then he was able to buy a 15-acre farm, and he farmed there until he was 75 and retired."I married after graduating from high school, and here I am at the Gizdich Ranch."Her grandchildren are the fourth generation working on the farm.Gizdich's contributions to the agricultural industry include outreach to the community through the farm's open-to-the public presence and being outspoken on issues that affect agriculture and the local area.In 1995, Gizdich was one of 25 California farm delegates who traveled to Washington, D.C., to talk to legislators about issues facing agriculture, including the endangered species reform act and immigration reform. She has served on the Farm Bureau, the Agricultural History Project and the Country Crossroads map organization.Staying activeGizdich says she plans to keep an active schedule during her year of honor."I speak at many functions," she said. "I'm always out speaking in our community or very active working on different ag programs. I think that's what keeps me busy."With her oldest son, Vince III, having taken over the farm since Gizdich lost her husband, Vincent Jr., almost two years ago, she doesn't have the responsibility she used to out in the field or managing the farm, and she says she gets to do the things she likes the most.Going into the future, Gizdich sees herself staying right on the farm, continuing to work with children and on issues of importance to the agricultural industry."How do you preserve ag if you don't get out there and speak about what agriculture is to the public?" she said. "I think that's the big thing we're trying to do right now with tourism, educating the public of where their food comes from and how important it is to be raising it right here in our own valley."Contact Gwen Mickelson at [email protected] Gizdich Ranch:[email protected]  The central coast of California offers an abundance of natural resources.  Among the resources it provides are the fertile Salinas and Pajaro Valleys where more vegetables are grown, packed and shipped than in any other region in the world.  Yet, in the midst of plenty there are those who are hungry.  AG Against Hunger was founded to address these concerns.In May 1990, members of the local agricultural community saw a need to join forces with food assistance agencies to funnel donations of fresh, surplus produce to food banks and community pantries in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties.  In 1998 two small food banks began participating in the AG Against Hunger program, Food Bank Coalition for San Luis Obispo County, and Madera County Food Bank.  The program is simple.  When growers have a surplus they notify AG Against Hunger.  Our truck collects the produce from approximately 50 different growers and shippers in the tri-county area.  It is then distributed to participating food banks and pantries, which make it available to over 175,000 low-income people each month.  When food banks are full, the excess is donated to California Emergency Foodlink who takes it to food banks throughout the State.Because AG Against Hunger is strongly supported by the agricultural community through donations of crops , and is independent of any single food assistance program, the amount and diversity of produce made available has grown enormously since the program's inception. In 1990, 500,000 pounds of produce was distributed compared with more than 11,000,000 pounds in 2003.AG Against Hunger is not a food bank.  We are a food recovery program that collects and distributes produce to food banks and pantries.  Food banks feed hungry people through their own distribution process by giving directly to kitchens and shelters.  They are community-based organizations.  AG Against Hunger is a regional program with a priority of distributing produce in the tri-county area of Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties and broadening the area of distribution according to available supply.FOR MORE INFO PLEASE EMAIL US AT: [email protected]    [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Thu, 17 Jun 2004 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Run for Croatia http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4539/1/E-Run-for-Croatia.html  Run for Croatia EILEEN and Andy Dixon, from Barnstaple, are spending part of their holiday driving aid across Europe to Croatia.They are taking part in the Relief Run Rally organized by charity Give Youth a Hand.They will join about 30 other owners who will drive 1,200 miles across Europe in their motor homes, carry tools, clothing, toys and other items to help refugees and destititute families.Eileen and And are doing the run in May entirely at their own expense and have been collecting items and raising money for various projects.To find out more about the charity, log on towww.giveyouthahand.co.uk  http://www.northdevongazette.co.uk/archived/2004/wk12/news/12news3.asp [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Mon, 15 Mar 2004 00:00:00 -0700 (E,H) Prijatelji Kresimirgrada - Charity http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4540/1/EH-Prijatelji-Kresimirgrada---Charity.html  Prijatelji Krešimirgrada&Gift and Breath of Life Foundation Cordially Invite all Croatians and friendsTo Šibenska NoćGala Banquet With"Special Surprise GuestDirect from Croatia - Renowned Singer"Gourmet Chef Ivo Svirčić from the Croatian Embassy in Washington, DC will create gourmet fish dishes, risotto and other Croatian culinary delightsAll proceeds from this event will benefit Šibenik HospitalSaturday, April 24th, 2004St. Anthony's Croatian Catholic Church and Cultural Center712 Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012Holy Mass - 6:30pmSocial Hour Reception - 7:00pmDinner & Entertainment - 8:00pmReservations: $50.00 (tax-deductible) for Full Event (Entertainment after dinner only: $25.00)Table Reservations:Natalie Sutlovich - 310.547.5391Sandra Prebanda - 310.514.2629Further Information, Tickets and Advestising:Mato Cvjetković- 562.884.4456Mirjana Grgas - 310.548.4536Jožica Mijat - 310.833.4717Croatian Consulate General Office - 310.477.1009 St. Anthony's Croatian Catholic Church - 213.628.2938To make reservations by e-mail, forward message to: [email protected] (Advertise in our booklet: $100 full page, $50 half page and $25 business card size) Prijatelji KrešimirgradaDear Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a great pleasure for us to announce and invite you to join us on Saturday, April 24th at our Šibenska Noć Gala Banquet.Come enjoy an evening of festive melodies by our very special surprise guest singer from Croatia to celebrate this special event. Sveti Ante Kolo Group will further entertain us with traditional Croatian folk music. This will be a wonderful opportunity to meet some old friends and make some new acquaintances. We are hopeful that this event will continue serve as a reunion of Croatians from all the beautiful regions of our beloved homeland. In the same fashion, may this event serve to bring together Croatians and our friends from Los Angeles, San Pedro, Orange County and other regions of Southern California and beyond.All proceeds from this event will be donated to Sibenik Hospital which is in much need of renovation and upgraded equipment to better serve people in need. Thank you for your support, it is greatly appreciated. Respectfully, Prijatelji Krešimirgrada Organizing Committee  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Thu, 04 Mar 2004 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Jan Mihelich helps Croatia clean landmines http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4541/1/E-Jan-Mihelich-helps-Croatia-clean-landmines.html Eating out can help effort to clear minefield in CroatiaLocal activists make the pitch to raise funds for worthy causeBy TERESA FALKTribune Staff Writer Jan Mihelich and the South Bend Adopt-A-Minefield committee are raising money to clear a minefield in Croatia. Tribune Photo/GREG SWIERCZ How to help Send donations to the Adopt-A-Minefield campaign at the Notre Dame Federal Credit Union, P.O. Box 7878, Notre Dame, IN 46556. Make checks payable to Eliminate the Land mines. Contributions are eligible for a tax deduction. Another way to help Eat at the Hacienda Mexican restaurant at 5836 Grape Road today or at Barnaby's restaurant at 713 E. Jefferson on Feb. 3. Hacienda will donate 20 percent of meal and drink costs to Eliminate the Land mines. And Barnaby's will donate 10 percent of all meal and drink costs served that day to Eliminate the Land mines. To donate by eating at Hacienda, a coupon is required. This can be found at Martin's Super Markets. To learn more, call (574) 232-3844 or (574) 273-5354. Or go online at www.landmines.org. Croatia land mine facts Total country area: 56,538 km Number of suspected mines: 400,000 Types of mines: 10 identifiable types of mines, including the Yugoslav-made MT-4, PMA-2 and PMA-3. Sources of mines: Land mines were deployed by Croat, Serb and Muslim forces during the former Yugoslavia conflict in the early 1990s. Location of mines: The most heavily mined areas are in eastern and western Slavonia and coastal areas north of Split. United Nations presence: A mine action center was established in 1996 to help develop a national demining capacity, to provide advice to the government and to maintain a database of land mines. The center activities have since been transferred to the Croatian Mine Action Centre. -- Source: Adopt-A-Minefield of the United Nations Association of the U.S.A. After visiting Croatia and seeing firsthand the devastation that land mines can cause to innocent people, Jan Mihelich of South Bend decided to take action."I have been there, and it's the only place I've been with land mines, so I felt a connection," Mihelich said. "I've long been concerned about land mines."Mihelich started a branch of the Adopt-A-Minefield organization in South Bend after seeing an advertisement for the national organization in a magazine. Mihelich is chairwoman of the nine-member committee."The ad told me there is something I can do," she said. "There's this little voice inside of you that says, 'I can help.' "An estimated 26,000 innocent people are killed or injured every year in land mine explosions around the world, and a third of these are children, according to the Adopt-A-Minefield campaign."The land mines don't know that the war is over, so they detonate," Mihelich said. "We have to get rid of land mines so children can play and people can work in the fields."These minefields have been placed during past wars in about 70 countries, including Bosnia, Afghanistan, Cambodia and Croatia."When there's a war, one of the ways they fight is with land mines," Mihelich said.Land mines come in various sizes and strengths. They explode when a person walks or a vehicle drives over them.Each one only costs $3 to make but $300 to $1,000 to remove. The local Adopt-A-Minefield committee is hoping to raise at least $25,000 to clear one minefield in Croatia, Mihelich said. The community has responded generously since December, with about $3,000 raised so far.A minefield in Croatia was chosen because the money donated to Croatia will be doubled by the International Trust Fund, Mihelich said.The national Adopt-A-Minefield organization will decide which minefield will be cleared with the money. For instance, a minefield that sits between a village and its water supply desperately needs to be removed, Mihelich said.Mihelich encourages the public to give because all money donated goes directly to the land mine clearing efforts in Croatia."Other causes are worthy, but for some, about 70 percent (of the donation) goes to overhead (costs)," she said. "For this, you know every penny you give goes to clearing land mines because we have a couple of 'angels' who are taking care of postage and other overhead."This is saving lives, so people are not blinded, injured or maimed."Staff writer Teresa Falk:[email protected]'s Note:Fact is that 99% of the landmines in Croatia have been planted by Serbs. Also, fact is that the UN has no charter or any kind of document in preparation, that I know, which will make people who planted the landmines, first give data of where they are, and second clear them on their expense. In this case government of Serbia and Montenegro, should as soon as possible give data, where the landmines are and secondly, but not after, PAY for the clearing the land. Is our government asking for it? Suing them in Hague etc...plus WAR REPARATIONS. It is evident that Croatian community around the world is getting together to clear our own homeland. Wonderful effort from Ms. Mihelich. We should get her address and thank her.Nenad BachEditor in Chief [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Tue, 20 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0700 (H) Karta Mina u Hrvatskoj http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4542/1/H-Karta-Mina-u-Hrvatskoj.html  Mine u HrvatskojLandmines in CroatiaKriticne tocke Kriticna mjesta u Karlovackoj županiji su oko Turnja, u medurjecju Kupe i Korane te drugim mjestima, u zadarskoj oko Škabrnje, Gornjeg Zemunika, Kašica i na potezu prema Novigradu, a u Zagrebackoj županiji od Jamnicke do Pokupskog, Kobiljaca i kanal Kupa-Kupa.  Blue dots - cleared , Red dots - landmineshttp://www.vecernji-list.hr/MINE/index.html Editor's note:Serbs who put over ONE MILLION mines in Croatia in less than 4 years should dig them up and clean the land they polluted. And also, they know where they put them. Isn't that obvious? Why are we paying so much money, time and with our own lives. Nenad Bach [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Sat, 03 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Croatia sends aid to Iran quake survivors http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4545/1/E-Croatia-sends-aid-to-Iran-quake-survivors.html  Croatia sends aid to Iran quake survivors Wednesday, December 31, 2003 - ©2003 IranMania.com ZAGREB, Dec 31 (AFP) - Croatia on Wednesday sent 13.5 tonnes of relief aid to victims of the earthquake in the Iranian city of Bam, the foreign ministry said.A cargo plane left Zagreb with antibiotics, food, tents and blankets worth 1.3 million euros (1.6 million dollars), the ministry said in a statement.It said a second shipment would be sent in the coming days to Bam, where Friday's quake killed an estimated 40,000 people and left thousands homeless in freezing conditions. The Croatian plane was due to land in the Iranian city of Zahedan, from where the aid would be taken to Bam. In neighbouring Bosnia, the Islamic community has sent 25,000 euros worth of urgent aid. Mosques across the country are due to say Friday prayers for the victims and collect further donations for them. [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Wed, 31 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Spreading joy in Christmas boxes http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4544/1/E-Spreading-joy-in-Christmas-boxes.html  Spreading joy in Christmas boxesCHRISTMAS appeal gifts from Normanton residents are winging their way to needy children in eastern Europe.Boxes collected from Norman-ton schools, churches, community organisations, businesses and residents as part of Operation Christmas Child are in the first batch of 250,000 shoeboxes en route to 14 countries.The gifts are in 19 lorries. The first deliveries were made in Bosnia, Croatia and Romania last week.Further deliveries will take place in 11 other countries with the final handover taking place in Russia between January 6 and 9, as part of the main Christmas celebration period in that country.Operation Christmas Child area co-ordinator Janet Walker said: "We are still processing shoeboxes for the later distribution trips, and anyone who still wants to make a contribution should get in touch."We are going all-out to beat last year's UK and Ireland total of 1.3 million shoeboxes, and the local support this year has been just fantastic."Anyone wishing to participate should contact the helpline on 0870 011 2002.19 December 2003http://www.wakefieldtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=706&ArticleID=713761 [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Wed, 31 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Paul McCartney And JT Play For Adopt-A-Minefield http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4543/1/E-Paul-McCartney-And-JT-Play-For-Adopt-A-Minefield.html  Paul McCartney and James Taylor played Live for first time in 25 years for Adopt-A-Minefield - 23rd September 2003. Paul remembers the special night !Many of you will know of my support for Adopt-A-Minefield and its work clearing minefields and helping landmine survivors. Each year since 2001 I have performed a live show in LA to raise funds for Adopt-A-Minefield. The first year I played with my longtime friend Paul Simon and last year Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys joined me on stage.In 2003 I hooked up with my old friend James Taylor. Not only was James Taylor one of the first artists that the Beatles' Apple Record Label signed, but I also sung back up vocals for James in the past and played bass on his 1991 track Carolina In My Mind. We both also performed separately at the "Concert for New York" to raise money for the victims of the September 11th attacks. I have always been an admirer of James's work, but not since 1968 have we shared the stage and sung together. So it was a pleasure to perform with him again and to relive some old memories.James's set included Fire And Rain, Carolina In My Mind and Country Road.Following the performance, Jay Leno conducted an auction for Adopt-A-Minefield, then my current band and I took to the stage. We greatly enjoyed performing 10 tracks for the nearly 1,200 attendees. Included in the set were Calico Skies, Blackbird, Eleanor Rigby, Michelle and Let it Be. A highlight for me was James joining me on stage to perform Two of Us.The evening was a great success raising over $ 1.2 million for Adopt-A-Minefield. It's not too late for you to take action and join in the great success of the Adopt-A-Minefield Campaign. With the Christmas and New Year holidays fast approaching do your shopping with Adopt-A-Minefield. There are many options such as: the "no more landmines" T-Shirts, which I designed and wear at all my concerts (in all sizes including a baby size - I wonder why?), Gift Vouchers for friends, colleagues and loved ones or simply give a donation in the name of someone special. All proceeds go to support Adopt-A-Minefield's work to clear minefields and provide assistance for survivors of landmine accidents. For details please visit www.landmines.org or www.landmines.org.uk Heather and I hope you and your families enjoy the holidays and the New Year.All the very best,Paul McCartney  Nenad Bach and Brenda Brkusic at the 2003 Adopt-a-Minefield gala benefit in Beverly Hills.  The event took place on September 23, 2003 at the Beverly Hills Hilton. The money raised will go towards the removal of landmines and the fitting of prosthetic limbs for landmine survivors in war torn countries such as Croatia. I have to say that the evening was a very positive and moving experience. A touching documentary by Heather Mills McCartney outlining her work to help landmine survivors in Cambodia, Afghanistan and Croatia brought tears to my eyes. The evening was topped off with memorable performances by Jay Leno, James Taylor and Paul McCartney. Brenda Brkusic [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Wed, 31 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Libertas Foundation Fundraiser http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4547/1/E-Libertas-Foundation-Fundraiser.html  Libertas Foundation Fundraiser Dear Friends,On January 31, 2004, another Gala Dinner/Fundraising and celebration of Sveti Vlaho - St. Blaise, Patron Saint of Dubrovnik is coming. Mark your calendar and reserve this evening for fabulous Croatian food, dances, music and friendship.To commemorate our 13th anniversary at St. Anthony's Croatian Center in Los Angeles, Libertas Foundation will publish a program and souvenir book. We invite you and all Croatian-American businesses, organizations and their friends to help in our fundraising effort by placing an ad, greeting, letter, poem, recipe or anything that may be interesting for our Souvenir Book.This event is a sell out every year -- we anticipate over 450 people from the Greater Los Angeles area to attend our "festa", which has become one of the premiere events in the Croatian- American community of Southern California. The souvenir book will be distributed to all attendees and advertisers, giving you and your business tremendous exposure and recognition.We are pleased to report that our scholarship fund, which awards financially challenged students money to attend local trade schools, awarded five deserving students $1000 each in Dubrovnik this past August. The names of the students are: Stijepo Mage, Josip Kurelja, Ivan Zec, Miso Tepsic and Jozo Cupic.Another project which we supported alongside the Rotary Club, Wheelchair Foundation and the Croatian community was the donation of 240 wheelchairs. These wheelchairs were delivered and distributed to needy people all over Croatia in August and September of this year.Currently we continue to raise funds to help the needy people of Knin. Flour is one essential item that is greatly needed by these people. By buying flour from local Croatian farmers and donating it to the people, we help not only the less fortunate but also the Croatian farming community.Though we have all accomplished and contributed generously, we are continuing with these programs as long as there is need for it and ask for your help and support in any way to make these programs most beneficial to the needy people of Croatia.We thank all of you that have helped in the past and hope you will continue to support our humanitarian projects. Since we are all volunteers, we can assure you that every dollar you donate will reach the people and charity of your choice.The holidays are around the corner. At this time of joy and celebration let's remember our less fortunate brothers and sisters and share the joy of Christmas with them. Please send your tax deductible donation as soon as possible so that we can buy and send the food to Knin by Christmas. Your generosity and continued support is greatly appreciated.MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! SRETAN BOZIC I NOVA GODINA!Niko Hazdovac Tony Bendewish Vladimir LonzaPresident Scholarship Fund Knin FundLibertas Foundation777 W.9th StreetSan Pedro, CA.90731Tel:(310) 548-1446 x120Fax:(310) 831-8382e-mail: [email protected]  Humanitarian, Non-profit organizationFederal Tax I.D.#: 33-0496929 [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Sun, 07 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) French Donated 25K E for the Children of Land-Mine Victims http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4546/1/E-French-Donated-25K-E-for-the-Children-of-Land-Mine-Victims.html  French Government Donated 25,000 EUR for the Children of Land-Mine VictimsIvana Novakova08 December 2003Children and mines The French Ambassador to Zagreb, Francois Bellanger and the De-mining Advisor to the Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dijana Plestina, signed the agreement for cooperation between the MINE AID NGO and the Republic of France. On the basis of that agreement, the French side donated 25,000 EUR to the Regional Centre for Psycho-Social Rehabilitation of the Victims of Land-Mines in Rovinj. The money will be used to finance the work of the Centre that should be opened in Spring 2004. Having in mind the fact that this is the first institution of its type in the world, the children of the victims of land-mines from Croatia, the region, but also the world, will receive treatment at the Centre. This is not the first donation to the future Centre, and it is added to the total of over 700,000 EUR collected so far through grants and donations. The donors' list includes the Governments of Norway, Italy, Luxembourg and Japan, as well as numerous companies and institutions from Croatia and the world. Countries like B&H, Albania, Nepal, Iraq and Colombia already expressed their interest for sending children to the Centre. The plans for the Centre are for it to be open throughout the year, and it will host about 40 participants per shift. The children in Rovinj will have a chance to use workshops, gatherings and relief techniques as means for their psychosocial rehabilitation. The French donation will be used to set-up a room adapted to children with special needs which will host 6 to 8 visitors of the Centre, said Ms. Plestina. During the official signing, the French Ambassador expressed his pleasure at the fact that his country could participate in such a project. He emphasized that France has maintained good cooperation with the Croatian De-Mining Centre and it assisted the de-mining of the agricultural land in Slavonija. http://www.oneworld.net/article/view/74698/1/ [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Sun, 07 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Viduka plans Croatia orphanage http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4548/1/E-Viduka-plans-Croatia-orphanage.html  Viduka plans Croatia orphanageBy Petr KogoyNovember 14, 2003MARK VIDUKA says Australia is still the lucky country.Melbourne-born Viduka's next goal is to establish an orphanage in Croatia, to help house displaced kids following the years of internal conflict following the break-up of Tito's Yugoslavia. The third of five children, Viduka has four sisters. He was born at Footscray but raised at St Albans, in Melbourne's outer west. A product of the Melbourne Croatia (Knights) junior ranks, the striker spent three seasons in the National Soccer League before heading overseas in 1995. Viduka spent the next four seasons with Croatia Zagreb before moving to Britain, signing with Glasgow Celtic in 1998 where his 30 goals in 37 games caught the eye of then Leeds manager David O'Leary. It was O'Leary who gambled on the big Australian by paying Celtic $14 million on today's exchange rate, to get him to move to the west Yorkshire club. "I love Australia," Viduka said. "It is a rich country. I love playing for the Socceroos, but there's not much money in Croatia. "You have to go there to see the number of kids left without parents and fending for themselves since the war ended.  "I get paid well. I want to use some of this money for what I believe is a worthwhile cause."  Other projects on Viduka's agenda include investing in Croatia's burgeoning tourism industry. He sees Croatia's Adriatic coastline as potential for massive growth. "Tourism brings a lot of foreigners to the country," Viduka said. "I'm looking at maybe building a hotel or getting someone to build for me a cruise boat which would sail the many islands found off the Dalmatian coast."The Australianhttp://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,7857903-23215,00.html [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Wed, 12 Nov 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Ebay for Charity - Fire Relief Fund http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4549/1/E-Ebay-for-Charity---Fire-Relief-Fund.html  FIRE RELIEF FUND CharityNenade, molim te proslijedi ovaj link za moju eBay aukciju u humanitarne svrhe. Ja sam se, na srecu, izvukla...iako je bilo grdo koja dva-tri dana jer smo bili pred evakuaciju. Puno hvala unaprijed,Astahttp://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=29216&[email protected]  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Mon, 03 Nov 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) CROATIA Gift of Life http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4551/1/E-CROATIA-Gift-of-Life.html   Press Release -  Rijeka, Croatia – October 16th, 2003 CROATIA GIFT OF LIFE A project of the ·        Rotary Club, Rijeka – Sv. Vid  - Croatia  - Mr. Dean Trbovic, President ·        Prof. Dr. Vladimir Ahel, Director Klinika za Djecje Bolesti “ Kantrida”, Rijeka, Croatia ·        Mario Picinich, Trustee The  Rotary Clubs of Rotary International District 7490 - United States of America ·        Wanda S. Radetti, Commercial and Cultural Attaché’ City of Rijeka,  Primorsko-Goranska County, Republic of Croatia  - United States of America   Presentation to the Media: Monday, October 21, 2003 – 11:00 am Grand Hotel Bonavia – 4 Dolac, Rijeka Tel. 385 51 357 100 For information please contact: Mr. Ivan Miljenovic, Project Manager       Tel. GSM:++385 (0)98 328 206 Rotary Club Rijeka-Sv. Vid                     e-mail: [email protected]                                            Wanda S. Radetti                                    Tel.:   GSM -Croatia: ++385 (0) 91 580-4040                                                                         GSM - USA:   ++ 917 257-5777                                                               e-mail: [email protected] “ Gift of Life" is a program begun in 1974 by several American districts of Rotary International. Since then some 3000 children from 36 countries have received cardiovascular life saving operations in the United States and just recently, and for the first time, a little girl from Croatia, Ms. Matea Kristof of Rijeka.   In 1985, District Governor Nominee Arthur Scialla was looking for a project for his year as governor.  After much discussion among Rotarians, and help from District 7470, the program was started in Mario Picinich’s  District and the Rotary International District 7490 Gift of Life Foundation was founded.  Rotary International District 7490 Gift of Life Foundation has hosted currently over 300 children.  Children who come to the United States with heart defects are usually referred by physicians or participating groups in their home country to Rotary District Gift of Life Foundation who forward their medical information to participating hospitals.  Doctors and hospitals receive a nominal fee of $6,000 for the valuable services they render. After cases are approved for surgery by attending physicians, they are assigned to local Rotary Clubs, Interact Clubs or auxiliary organizations. They in turn provide any additional funds for medical care (prescriptions, etc.) and host the child with a parent while they are in this country.  The Foundation or individual Rotary Clubs raises the monies needed to finance the program. District Foundations are responsible for administering the programs. This includes communicating and coordinating with Rotary Clubs over-seas or with groups such as the Korean, Polish or Ukrainian Gift of Life in the U.S. Now we are happy and grateful to also be able to include in our list the Rotary Club Rijeka –Sv. Vid, Rotary International District 1910. These organizations often provide transportation from the home country and the services  of interpreters.  One does not have to be a Rotarian to participate in this program. It is the District Rotary Foundation's responsibility to oversee the visit, hospital stay and safe return of the child.  Volunteers and Rotarians who participate do not receive any pay for their services.   The Rotary Gift of Life program has been a great success because it functions at a grass roots level with direct people to people; contact between the Foundations, Clubs, hosts, medical personnel and the friends and families of our children. It promotes lasting friendships between participants of different nationalities. The children that are served, are from where cardiovascular procedures for children are not available. The children  have come from Anguilla, The Dominican Republic, Armenia, Ecuador, Egypt, Kosovo, Georgia, Guatemala, Haiti, Iraq, India, Jamaica, Korea, Peru, Poland, Philippines,  Russia, Trinidad, Ukraine, Croatia and even the United States.  The Doctors that participate in our program have traveled world wide to educate local doctors in the procedures.   CROATIA GIFT OF LIFE Mario Picinich, Trustee, Gift of Life Foundation – Rotary Clubs of District 7499, a native of island of Susak in the Gulf or Kvarner, Croatia,  has been an involved and a contributing participant to the Gift of Life. He has organized  and hosted in his home children and accompanying family members.  Mario left Susak with his family when he was 4 years old, spent one year in Italy and arrived in the United States at the age of five.  His family settled in the State of New Jersey.  Like all the people that have to leave their country of birth, no matter where in the World, a piece of Mario’s heart was left in the island of Susak.  He returns to his island regularly. So many children where being helped by the program to which Mario was dedicated and to which he contributed so much, they came from every part of the World.  Not one from Croatia. Knowing that so many of our children could be without access to help, Mario saw the need for incorporating Croatia in the Gift of Life Project. To this end Mario contacted Wanda S. Radetti, a native of Rijeka residing in New York.  Although, Wanda was also very young when her family left Rijeka, she too was conscious of the missing bit of her heart that was forever left in her city of Rijeka.  She too returned, and continues to return… as often as possible… always searching for the grounding that only Rijeka can provide for her, she returns to identify and recapture her soul, she returns to bring love to the family left behind and to make Croatian friends to love. Mario and Wanda met about a year ago in New York to talk about the Gift of Life Program for Croatia.  Wanda’s interest in helping was immediate, and on one condition, that is: that the program be first introduced to the City of Rijeka and that Rijeka retain the lead and the ultimate administrative control of the program for the Country of Croatia. On her next visit to Rijeka, Wanda met with Prof. Dr. Vladimir Ahel, the Director of the Children’s Hospital of Kantrida.  Wanda proposed to Dr. Ahel that he take on the responsibility of leading the program “medically”.   Dr. Ahel, understood the importance of such an opportunity and was delighted to accept the responsibility and promised to provide his full cooperation.  It was necessary that the information about the Gift of Life reach the members of the Rotary Club Rijeka – Sv. Vid.  Wanda elicited and immediately received an invitation to be a visiting guest at the meeting by Dr. Ivan Modric, Assistant Governor of Rotary International District 1910.  The presentation was made, the response was positive and we were on our way. At the time of the very first meeting, Dr. Ahel already had under his care two little children from Rijeka that were in urgent need of cardiac surgery.  The medical records were submitted by Mario Picinich on behalf of the Gift of Life Foundation of the Rotary Club International District 7490 for review and consideration by Henry Issenberg, M.D., Director, Pediatric Heart Station, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Cardio thoracic Surgery and Radiology of the Children’s Medical Center at Montefiore of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York City.  Both children were chosen to go to the Montefiore Medical Center for surgical correction; Matea Kristof for admission on August 28, 2003, which was eventually postponed to Thursday, September 4, 2003, and Mia Baric for admission on September 23rd, 2003.  Both children’s operations would be under the auspices of the Rotary Gift of Life program, which would provide all needed funding. Before Mia Baric could come to the United States for her operation, she was suddenly subject to a worsening of her condition and was transferred urgently to Italy for the required operation, which, Dr. Ahel advises went very well. Matea Kristof, came to the United States accompanied by her mother Vlasta on the appointed time.  The Rotary Club of Rijeka, under the leadership of  Dean Trbovic, the President, helped the family with the gathering of the documents required for the Visa to enter the United States, the cost of local transportation and travel to and back from the United States. When Matea and her mother Vlasta arrived in the United States, they were the guests of Mr. Sam Mustafa and his wife Eli of Rutherford New Jersey for their entire stay.  Mr. Mustafa and his wife are Muslim, Palestinian, immigrants that settled in New Jersey and are members of the Rutherford Rotary Club. The program does bring people in peace, together. Matea’s operation was a success and, on Friday, September 19th, 2003, Mario Picinich organized a Dinner and Dance party to introduce Matea and her mother Vlasta to the community and to raise funds that will help bring into the fold of the Gift of Life Program other Children from Croatia.  Matea and her mother Vlasta have returned to Rijeka, Croatia on Monday September 22, 2003.  On October 16th, 2003, Matea celebrates her 2nd Birthday. CROATIA GIFT OF LIFE  - EXPANSION With the Rotary of Rijeka firmly behind the Gift of Life Program, it is expected that in not too long they will reach out to the other Rotary Clubs of Croatia and invited them to join the effort, while at the same time providing information and instructions. To be noted that a presentation regarding the Gift of Life Program has already been presented this past July to the Rotary Club of Opatija that has shown serious interest in following the lead of the Rotary of Rijeka. Upon the invitation of Dr. Dusko Vrus, President of the Lions Clubs, District 126 – Croatia,  Wanda was invited to speak about the Gift of Life Project at their meeting just before the beginning of this past summer.  Confirmation was provided that the invitation to participate would be brought to the attention of the members when the Lions Club reconvenes again in the fallCROATIA GIFT OF LIFE “TENTATIVE” RESPONSIBILITIES CHART                         [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Fri, 31 Oct 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Landmine-sniffing pigs http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4550/1/E-Landmine-sniffing-pigs.html   Bomb-sniffing pig roots out danger  CRAIG NELSONSPECIAL TO THE STARKIBBUTZ LAHAV, Israel- Israel boasts of giving the world many great inventions, including drip irrigation, the Uzi submachine gun and the "electrical hand-held leg-hair removing device," otherwise known as the Epilady.Now come bomb-sniffing pigs.If Geva Zin, 26, has his way, a creature that is largely taboo in Israel will be its next gift to the world. At this collective farm in southern Israel, Zin is training pigs to sniff out land mines and the other discarded garbage of modern warfare that maim and kill long after the guns have fallen silent."The pigs are for Angola and Mozambique. We're going to use them for humanitarian missions ... We're training them, not for food, but to save lives."During a stint in the Israeli army in the late 1990s, Zin trained dogs to detect land mines. Last year, he travelled to Croatia to train dogs to detect mines in that battle-scarred Balkan nation. It was there, where pigs flourish like sheep in the Middle East, he had a revelation about a new use for the pig's powerfully probing proboscis.Back in Israel, he approached the Institute for Animal Research at Lahav with the idea of training boars to sniff out explosives. The institute approved."There's no doubt. Look at their noses! God designed them to go into the field and find mines."COX NEWS SERVICESource: http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1067209807918&call_pageid=968332188854&col=968350060724 [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Mon, 27 Oct 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Mccartney Again http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4554/1/E-Mccartney-Again.html  Former Beatle Paul McCartney during a visit to Zagreb, Croatia, on Dec. 14, 2001. On Sept 23, 2003 he held another benefit dinner and performance for Charity Adopt-A-Minefield in Los Angeles. Thank you, from all Croatians around the world. More to follow on Adopt-A-Minefield  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Wed, 01 Oct 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Croatian American 2003 Golf Outing http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4553/1/E-Croatian-American-2003-Golf-Outing.html   September 30th 2003In my opinion one of the quantum leap for Croatian community. Not just a charitable but important for our community to feel equal and good about themselves. Val Blaskovic, Vedran Nazor and many others brought this event together. We are becoming friends to ourselves. Few people that I spoke with have been overwhelmed by generosity and interest of our people and their friends. Charity for clearing landmines and cancer research was a subject of this event. Clearing the mines is one of the steps towards world peace. People talked about it in a serious and direct manner. A lot of optimism and pride and sincerity. Intelligent, warm, elegant and casual. I am pleased and proud beyond words ! BRAVO !Nenad BachRead more under title (E) $ 20K for Cancer Research and Adopt-A-Minefield. [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Wed, 01 Oct 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) $ 20K for Cancer Research and Adopt-A-Minefield http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4552/1/E--20K-for-Cancer-Research-and-Adopt-A-Minefield.html   Tuesday, September 30th over 136 golfers participated in aninaugural Croatian American 2003 Golf Outing.  CroatianAmericans and their friends raised over $ 20,000 at theLong Island's Colonial Springs Golf Course to benefit twocharities:- American Cancer Society - "Babe Zaharias MemorialTournaments of Long Island"  This fine organization fundsbreast and prostate cancer research and is dedicated toeliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventingcancer, saving lives and diminishing suffering from cancerthrough research, education, advocacy and service.- Adopt-A-Minefield - United Nations Association of theUSA.  U.S. Department of State has taken a lead role byproviding matching funds for mine clearing projects inCroatia.  There are still more than a million landminesunremoved in Croatia. During the last eight years more than1034 people have been injured and  410 were killed. Demining is a very long and expensive project and it has along way to go.Ms. Beth Sachs of American Cancer Society/Director BabeZaharias Memorial Tournaments thanked Mr. Vladimir ValBlaskovic, Chairman of the Golf Outing on a $ 10,000donation. Ms. Nahela Hadi, Adopt-A-Minefield Executive Director wasgrateful for the $ 10,000 donation Adopt-A-Minefieldreceived.Over 200 in attendance saw a beautiful example of CroatianAmericans of greater New York together with their Americanfriends raise funds for 2 noble causes. They promised tocome back next year. 2003 Golf Outing CommitteeExecutive CommitteeVladimir "Val" Blaskovic - ChairmanJoseph Grgas - TreasurerVedran Joseph Nazor - SecretaryNick Penava, Tom Nogalo, Frank Perkovic,Ivan StarcicCommittee MembersJohn Belanich, George Druzic, Ilana Gavin, Ivica Kajic, John Kalinic, Gerald Maric, Mladen Marinic, Michael Matura, Mike Perkovic, Romeo Pericic MD, Mario Peruc, Luke Raguz MD, Luigi Romic, Darko Smilovic, Zivko Strika MD, Branko Zivkovic.Sanja Bogovic, Val Blaskovic, Beth Sachs, Vedran Nazor, Nahela Hadi, Nenad Bach  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Wed, 01 Oct 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Adopt-A-Minefield E-Newsletter http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4556/1/E-Adopt-A-Minefield-E-Newsletter.html Adopt-A-Minefield E-NewsletterThis is the first edition of the Adopt-A-Minefield® E-Newsletter. Thiscommunication will serve to provide updates on one of the world'sleading mine action programs as well as alert you to opportunities foryou to get involved. About Adopt-A-Minefield (AAM)Adopt-A-Minefield is a public-private partnership between the UnitedNations Association of the USA, the United Nations, Ted Turner's BetterWorld Fund, and the U.S. State Department to clear minefields, provideassistance to landmine survivors, and raise awareness of the globallandmine crisis. Since its launch in 1999, the Campaign has raisednearly $10 million for mine clearance and survivor assistance andcleared over 16 million square meters of land with about another 3million currently under clearance. Adopt-A-Minefield is the onlynongovernmental funder in the top donor list in six of the most heavilymined countries in the world, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina,Cambodia, Croatia, Mozambique, and Vietnam.Third Annual Adopt-A-Minefield Los Angeles Benefit GalaTuesday, September 23, 2003 Goodwill Ambassadors and Patrons Paul McCartney and Heather MillsMcCartney will host the third annual Adopt-A-Minefield® Benefit Gala inLos Angeles on Tuesday, September 23, 2003. Once again, the eveningpromises to be outstanding, with exciting entertainment and inspiringinformation on AAM's important work to clear minefields, assistsurvivors of landmine accidents, and raise awareness of the globallandmine crisis. This year during the gala dinner, UNA-USA will present awards speciallydesigned by Paul McCartney to Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones,Bobby Muller, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation,and the International Baccalaureate Students.In addition, this year's gala will mark the official rollout of theCampaign's annual Night of a Thousand Dinners™ initiative, which will beheld on Thursday, November 6, 2003. For further information on the benefit gala please contact Levy,Pazanti, and Associates at 310-201-5033. Night of a Thousand Dinners: A Great Way to Get Involved Night of a Thousand Dinners (N1KD) was developed so that people all overthe world could come together on a single night, enjoy a meal and takeaction toward eradicating the landmine crisis. This initial idea hassince evolved and expanded to include any sort of gathering, cocktailparty, barbeque, wine tasting, tea party, luncheon, clambake, etc.anywhere in the world on or around the first Thursday in November. Asimple concept - gathering with friends and family and building a globalcommunity to support a common cause - N1KD has energized tens ofthousand of caring citizens and has grown into an internationalphenomenon! Since its inception in 2001, nearly 2000 dinners (orgatherings) held in over 50 countries has raised over $2.3 million.N1KD gives people everywhere an opportunity to make a difference and itsfun! Be a part of this global community and take a step to clearing apath to a safer world - Host a dinner!Become an N1KD AffiliateAll UNA chapters or organizations interested in participating in thethird annual Night of a Thousand Dinners can do so by becoming anAffiliate. The Affiliate Program enables organizations to partner withAAM on N1KD and use the event as a marketing tool to raise awareness andfunds for their own organization. Affiliates will gain special accessto the registration database and be able to track dinners registered onbehalf of their organization. Become an N1KD Media AmbassadorAs part of this year's promotional efforts, we are looking to identifypeople willing to work with our Public Relations firm as N1KD MediaAmbassadors to promote the event through their local media. The PR firmwill identify media opportunities - television, radio, publications - inthe participating areas. As an N1KD Media Ambassador you would makeyourself available to speak on behalf of Adopt-A-Minefield. Prior toyour interview or appearance, the PR firm and AAM would provide you withinstruction on how to deal with the media and information about AAM. Inaddition to raising awareness about N1KD, this is a tremendousopportunity for you to promote your own dinner (or gathering) or localAAM campaign, as well as your affiliate organization. For more information about how you can participate in Night of aThousand Dinners visit the website www.1000dinners.com , or contact Laura Kane at 212-907-1307 [email protected] .Minesweepers: We're Looking For a Few Good Runners!Minesweepers® is the world's first and only running charity dedicated toraising funds for Adopt-a-Minefield®. This group was started in the fallof 2001 as a project of the United Nations Association-San FranciscoChapter's Young Professional Group. In June of 2002, 16 runnersparticipated in the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon. Half of the teamhad never run a marathon and all proudly wore finisher medals. The fundsthey raised will be pooled with the funds raised from the 2003 LondonMarathon to benefit a mine affected community in Vietnam.There is currently a team of 12 runners from all over the United Statestraining for the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC on October 26.We have a training program for all types or runners and will support youboth in your fundraising and training efforts. Our goal is for eachteam to raise over $30,000 to clear at least one minefield. And if youcannot participate in this event, we are looking for runners for ournext team for the Napa Valley Marathon on March 7, 2004.Whether you want to run, sponsor a runner, or simply donate to ourprogram, your contribution will go a long way to making the world asafer place to live. For further information and to make a donation,visit www.runningtoclear.org. Help the United States Campaign to Ban Landmines Reshape US LandminePolicyUNA Chapters have historically participated in political events,especially those with an international and global agenda. Accordingly,The US Campaign to Ban Landmines (USCBL) would like the participation ofCalifornia, Missouri, South Carolina, and Arizona chapter members inmaking sure that the next administration takes responsibility for thereality of landmine use. Since the summer of 2001 the Bush Administration has been conducting aformal review of US landmine policy. This is an opportunity for landmineactivists and American voters to take action and inform Presidentialcandidates about the dangerous reality of landmines and impressing uponpotential candidates the urgency of prohibiting a weapon that leaves upto 20,000 civilian dead annually.If you are interested in participating or would like furtherinformation, please contact Ms. Gina Coplon-Newfield, Coordinator forUSCBL, at 617-695-0041x228 or [email protected]. For further information on AAM or to start a campaign visitwww.landmines.org or contact Kasara E.Davidson at 212-907-1305 or [email protected]. [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Sun, 21 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (H) AMERIKANCI DONIRALI 800 INVALIDSKIH KOLICA http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4555/1/H-AMERIKANCI-DONIRALI-800-INVALIDSKIH-KOLICA.html  AMERIKANCI DONIRALI 800 INVALIDSKIH KOLICAZAGREB. Dvadeset invalidskih kolica, dar americke zaklade "Wheelchair Foundation", dodijeljena su u srijedu clanovima Hrvatskog saveza udruga tjelesnih invalida. Time je, kako je istaknuto, zavrsena podjela ukupno 800 invalidskih kolica koja je nepokretnim hrvatskim gradanima darovala zaklada "Wheelchair Foundation" u suradnji s Rotary Clubom iz San Pedra. Ukupna vrijednost donacije iznosi oko 170 tisuca dolara, od cega je 560 kolica darovao utemeljitelj zaklade Kenneth E. Behring, a preostalih 240 Rotary Club iz San Pedra. U prikupljanju sredstava za kupnju kolica sudjelovala je i hrvatska zajednica iz toga kalifornijskoga grada. Na ovoj vrijednoj donaciji, koju je urucio Niko Hazdovac, predstavnik Rotary Cluba iz San Pedra, zahvalila je predsjednica Hrvatskog saveza udruga tjelesnih invalida Mirjana Dobranovic. Prigodnoj svecanosti u zagrebackom hotelu Opera nazocni su bili potpredsjednik hrvatske Vlade Ante Simonic i predsjednica Povjerenstva za osobe s invaliditetom Adinda Dulcic. S.Du.SLOBODNA DALMACIJA broj 18891 11.09.2003 [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Sun, 21 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Join us for Adopt-A-Minefield® 2003 Galla http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4557/1/E-Join-us-for-Adopt-A-Minefield-2003-Galla.html  Adopt-A-Minefield's® 3rd annual gala benefitSeptember 23, 2003 Los Angeles Andrea Capachietti, Nenad Bach, Paul McCartney, Heather Mills McCartney, Ina Zec - 2002 GalaDear All,If you can, please join us at the 3rd annual benefit for the Adopt A Minefield organization. Plate is $500. Not cheap, but worthy. Each year we collect around a million for a cause and Croatia is one of the few recipients. We as Croatians are present from the beginning. Let's continue the tradition. I am not sure if I will be able to carry it on for the next year, after three years in a row, so please step up and take the road already traveled. This year besides Paul McCartney and Jay Leno as a regulars, we have James Taylor performing as well. One table takes 10 seats. We are filling the second table as of now. If you are interested, please email me [email protected] and in the subject write Landmines Benefit for Croatia. Act soon, because the seating is limited.Best,Nenad Dear Nenad,We invite you to join us on September 23, 2003 at the Hilton Beverly Hills Hotel for Adopt-A-Minefield's® 3rd annual gala benefit.  This cause is truly unique as its outcome is measurable and globally important. Your leadership and participation will help save lives, remove a significant threat, protect the environment and put land back into productive use.Knowing firsthand about the atrocities caused by landmines in Croatia, we cannot look the other way.  We hope you won't either.  The global landmine crisis is one of the most pervasive problems facing the world today. In one-third of the world's nations, landmines kill and maim unsuspecting men, women and 10,000 children per year. We, who are fortunate enough to be living in the West, must join together to address the threat of these indiscriminate weapons of war.  With your help, people can begin to put their lives back together, reclaiming their land and knowing that their children will no longer be at risk of losing their lives or limbs every 22 seconds.The Adopt-A-Minefield Campaign is a public-private partnership between United Nations Association of the USA, the United Nations, Ted Turner's Better World Fund and the U.S. State Department, which seeks national and international sponsors to adopt minefields and provide survivor assistance.  Since its launch in 1999, the Campaign has engaged over 200,000 people in 35 countries to clear 3 million square meters of land in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Croatia, Mozambique and Vietnam.We are personally committed to Adopt-A-Minefield and we hope you will join us by creating a legacy of clearing the Earth of landmines, providing survivor assistance and raising awareness about the landmine crisis.  You will become a part of the solution.  With our combined efforts,  "we can work it out."  We thank you in advance for your generosity and support, and we so look forward to seeing you on September 23, 2003.Best regards,                      Heather Mills McCartney               Paul McCartney                         Adopt-A-Minefield® would like to thank thefollowing Artists for joining us to end the globallandmine crisis. Your invaluable support providesmomentum to our efforts, bringing the terror oflandmines to an end and restoring hopefor millions of people.Nenad BachAlec BaldwinEd Begley Jr.Peabo BrysonSteve BuscemiGary BuseyChubby Checker & Catharina EvansEric ClaptonCameron Crowe & Nancy WilsonDana DelanyLeonardo DiCaprioPhyllis DillerMatt DillonFats DominoMichael Douglas & Catherine Zeta-JonesAlyson FeltesHarrison FordKim & Art GarfunkelJames GarnerMel GibsonWhoopi GoldbergTom Hanks & Rita WilsonAnjelica HustonNorman JewisonBilly JoelAngelina JolieQuincy JonesSally Kellerman & Jonathan KraneKris KristoffersonJay & Mavis LenoLucy LiuJulia Louis-DreyfusPaul McCartney & Heather Mills McCartneyPaul Newman & Joanne WoodwardWayne NewtonJulia OrmondDonny OsmondR.E.MRobert RedfordPaul Simon & Edie Brickell Jacylyn SmithBarbra Streisand & James BrolinLucy Webb & Kevin PollackBrian WilsonOprah Winfrey [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Tue, 02 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Neighbours get together to clean park, clear minefield http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4558/1/E-Neighbours-get-together-to-clean-park-clear-minefield.html   Neighbours get together to clean park, clear minefield  Neighbours get together to clean park, clear minefield Community LISA RAINFORDAug. 6, 2003 Thinking globally and acting locally is the philosophy of a group of volunteers from the Canadian Landmine Foundation, an organization whose mission is to eradicate human and economic suffering caused by landmines. They have organized an event christened 'Clear a Park to Clear a Minefield,' that will see volunteers cleaning up Rennie Park, not far from the Swansea Community Recreation Centre on Aug. 9 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. This is the first event of its kind for the landmine foundation, according to spokesperson Elisabeth King. "We have a group of volunteers who have decided to create a volunteer fundraising committee. They wanted to do something that would become meaningful not only in our neighbourhood, but in others as well," she said. "They were looking for an area with a supportive community." Rennie Park is a popular destination place frequented by many residents of the area. It just needs a little tidying up, King indicated. Approximately 10 volunteers associated with the Canadian Landmine Foundation will be taking part along with two friends they each recruited. They are appealing to the local community for help as well. Each person who would like to participate will be given a pledge sheet - the foundation will issue tax receipts for any donation over $10. Pledges can also be made online. Volunteer Leah Loewith admits that because this is the group's first event, they don't have any monetary expectations. It is more to raise awareness, but at the same time, any funds that are raised will be greatly appreciated and will go to a good cause. "This is a great thing for a company or school group to participate in," she said. Landmines are one of the most pervasive problems in the world today. It is estimated that there are between 45 and 50 million in the ground in at least 70 countries including Afghanistan, Bosnia, Croatia, Cambodia, Mozambique and Vietnam, according to King. Landmines injure or kill 10,000 civilians every year. Those who survive endure a lifetime of physical, psychological and economic suffering. Landmines can be laid anywhere including roads, paths, fields, buildings, waterways, bridges, forests and deserts. They cost as little as $3 to produce and are fairly easy to deploy compared to the $300 to $1,000 to locate and destroy a single mine. Usually it's a complex and time-consuming job. An international treaty to ban landmines - known as the Mine Ban Treaty, went into effect March 1, 1999, faster than any other international treaty in history. Canada has for a long time been at the forefront and has encouraged other nations to join such an important humanitarian cause. The Canadian Landmine Foundation, a registered charity with the mission to raise awareness and funds, was officially launched in June of 1999. "Now that we've completed the first step by banning them, we're onto the next step, getting rid of existing ones," King said. For more information, to participate or to sponsor a participant in the 'Clean a Park to Clear a Minefield' event, call the foundation at 416-365-9461 ext. 24. For further details, log onto www.canadianlandmine.orgSource: http://www.insidetoronto.ca/to/etobicoke/story/1242843p-1480311c.html [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Wed, 06 Aug 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Landmines! - GIS Helps Harvest the Dragon Seed http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4559/1/E-Landmines---GIS-Helps-Harvest-the-Dragon-Seed.html Tue, 05 Aug 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Heather Mills McCartney?s Biography for charity http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4560/1/E-Heather-Mills-McCartneys-Biography-for-charity.html  "A Single Step" to Benefit Adopt-A-MinefieldHeather Mills McCartney autobiographyDear Friends of Adopt-A-Minefield:Patron and Goodwill Ambassador Heather Mills McCartney is generously donating all net proceeds from the sale of her autobiography, “A Single Step”, to Adopt-A-Minefield. This touching and inspiring memoir can be purchased atwww.landmines.org for 30% off the retail price with FREE shipping!Told in a wonderfully vivacious, candid voice and illustrated with sixteen pages of personal photographs, “A Single Step” is the story of a remarkable woman who proves that adversity can help a person grow in surprising and rewarding ways...and that love can come when least expected to change both destinies and hearts.Heather Mills was already a recognized leading landmine activist and a successful model and businesswoman when she and Paul McCartney fell in love—and made headlines all over the world. Her story is extraordinary by any standards, a rags-to-riches account of a remarkable young woman with unusual strength and courage, compassion and humanity.By purchasing this book at www.landmines.orgyou will be helping to clear a path to a safer world.All net proceeds from the sale of “A Single Step” are donated to Adopt-A-Minefield®Best regards,The Adopt-A-Minefield Team [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Mon, 28 Jul 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Press Release from the Croatian House in Washington DC http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4561/1/E-Press-Release-from-the-Croatian-House-in-Washington-DC.html  PRESS RELEASE Fundraiser Forthe CroatianHouse in Washington, D.C.Contact:AnnePavlich-CH [email protected]  One Dollar aMonth For theCroatian House in Washington, D.C.The Croatian House is a Washington-based privatenonprofit corporation that has been established to provide a Washington presenceand facilitate the efforts of already existing Croatian organizations dedicatedto promotion of Croatia and its people in the USA.Several local Croats came up with the idea ofestablishing a Croatian House in Washington, D.C., which will require the buyingor building of a property. The Croatian House will be of inestimable benefit toall Croatian Americans in promoting Croatia in the nation's capital. Washingtonis not only the capital of the U.S. but one of the most important world centers.   A Croatian-American presence here is vital!!!!  Other European nations already have similar houses in the D.C. and NewYork area.The house willhave several rooms for the low-cost lodging of Croatian Americans, students,visiting scholars and guests. There are plans for a business center and aprivate chapel that will be used by the local Croatian Catholic Mission of St.Blaise as well as visiting Croatian pilgrims and clergy from outside the D.C.area.  Also planned are a library,press room, and office space for interested existing Croatian-Americanorganizations.We are initiating a nationwide and worldwidefundraiser for this project. The local Croatian community and several Croatianartists have already joined us in some early fundraising efforts (please checkour web site at www.croatianhouse.org).Now we are appealing to all Croatians and friends ofCroatia to help us in our efforts.  Weare asking for a donation of one dollar per month for one year, i.e. only $12per year. Please send your donations to CroatianHouse, P.O. Box 34546, Bethesda, MD, 20827. Your donations will make adifference. Via our web site, we shall keep you informed on the progress of theproject and our activities.   [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Tue, 17 Jun 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) UK firefighters hold fund raiser for Vukovar fire house http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4562/1/E-UK-firefighters-hold-fund-raiser-for-Vukovar-fire-house.html UK Firefighters splash out for Croatian kit Apr 30 2003By Katherine SimmonsFIREFIGHTERS from Lingfield (East Grinstead, UK) swapped their usual hoses for buckets and sponges on Saturday.The crew set up a sud-cessful car wash in the car park of the Star Inn which raised towards equipment that will be donated to Vukovar fire station in Croatia.Volunteers at the Lingfield station have been raising cash for the Vukovar station since 1991. Two years ago they bought the town a new appliance as the vehicles they had been using were 30 years old.On May 8, new cutting equipment will be delivered to their Croatian colleagues, who will then be trained by four Lingfield firefighters.Sub officer Sean Vatcher said the team had raised 00 since last year to pay for the equipment and its transportation. The aim is to donate equipment carried as standard by British crews to the Croatian firefighters.He added: "Raising money for Vukovar has been an ongoing project. In three or four years when they have the equipment we carry we will support another fire station."Future events will raise money for hydraulic cutting equipment.Story from http://www.icSurreyOnline.co.uk  http://icsurreyonline.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0600eastgrinstead/page.cfm?objectid=12905657&method=full&siteid=50101  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Mon, 26 May 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) The Croatian Academy of America - Last Call http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4563/1/E-The-Croatian-Academy-of-America---Last-Call.html   The Croatian Academy ofAmericaLast CallDear Friends,  I know it's last minute, but I thought you should know. I'mPresident of The Croatian Academy of America, and this Saturday, May 17 isFiftieth Anniversary (1953-2003). It's going to be around 120 people, manyyoung professionals of Croatian-American descent, chance to meet people(guests from throughout US, 12 states so far and Canada). The program is inEnglish, you might find it interesting. The aim of the Academy to publish inEnglish about Croatian history, language, culture, literature, arts andsciences. It's been doing just that since 1960 thru Journal of CroatianStudies (42 annual volumes so far). Check out the website www.croatianacademy.org  Gala Dinner and Recital by Croatian tenor KrunoslavCigoj, opera singer young Tanja Simic and Terezija Cukrov on piano.Price $125 ($ 50 tax deductible), students $ 75. To make a reservation call:212-957-5808 or e-mail: [email protected] vedran In New York City. [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Fri, 16 May 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) CLOTHING DRIVE FOR CROATIA & B-H http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4564/1/E-CLOTHING-DRIVE-FOR-CROATIA--B-H.html  THE CROATIAN NEW YORKER CLUB  in conjunction with Croatian Relief Services of Fairview, New Jersey is having a clothing drive for people in need in Bosnia andSlavonia.The wars in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina are over, but people still have basic needs for clothing, food and shelter.If you have any winter or summer clothing to donate, volunteers from our organization are willing to pick them up in the New York metro area on or before MARCH 29th.If you can help us transport donations to New Jersey on Saturday March 29th - help is needed.To arrange for a pick- up or to volunteer to help - please contact via this e-mail address ( e-mail;[email protected] ) or call 718 549 4604 and leave a message.Thanks!Anton AngelichCROATIAN NEW YORKER [email protected]   [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Sun, 30 Mar 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) GLOBAL VOLUNTEERS FOR CROATIA http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4565/1/E-GLOBAL-VOLUNTEERS-FOR-CROATIA.html  GLOBAL VOLUNTEERS FOR CROATIAWorking for a non profit organization in finance / accounting, I have spent years searching for a program that would benefit both Croatians and Americans. Global Volunteers, a nonprofit, nonsectarian organization for more then 20 years, works in emerging democracies and developing countries and communities in 18 countries, but not yet in Croatia. This program is free of charge to Croatians. American volunteers pay for the entire program and as US taxpayers, it is tax deductible. Short term volunteers spend their vacations of 2 or 3 weeks, teaching "conversational English" or number of other programs including business experience, work in libraries, orphanages, with elderly, disabled adults, building and painting projects, etc. No teaching license is necessary for this short term volunteering, but you do need a lot of good will to share your talent and money for Croatians. While the volunteers work on various projects in the morning, in the afternoon they are free to explore the country, go to the beach, meet with long lost relatives, etc. For this project to take off in Croatia, the following is needed: A group of people in Croatia has to decide a location, choose a program and sign up students and/or adults. They also need to send a formal letter to the Global Volunteers organization, inviting them into the community. For more information on Global Volunteers see www.globalvolunteers.org  or call toll free for a brochure 800-487-1074, fax (651) 482-0915. Global Volunteers organization is located at 375 East Little Canada Road, St. Paul, MN 55117-1628 USAPlease forward this information to everyone you know in Croatia.Contact Katarina Tepesh [email protected]  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Tue, 11 Mar 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) U.S. Public-Private Donations Help Demine Area in Croatia http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4566/1/E-US-Public-Private-Donations-Help-Demine-Area-in-Croatia.html Distributed by CroatianWorldU.S. Public-Private Donations Help Demine Area in Croatia13 February 2003 (Combined total of $50,000 from State Department, U.S. Tennis Association)The State Department will match a $25,000 grant from the U.S. TennisAssociation to help rid Croatia of landmines, and the combined $50,000will be used to demine a 48,000-square meter area in the village of Mekusje.The U.S. Tennis Association's donation will be routed through theInternational Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistancebased in Slovenia, which supports humanitarian mine action in theBalkans and the Caucasus.Following is a State Department announcement:U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATEOffice of the SpokesmanFebruary 13, 2003Media NoteU.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE DOUBLES U.S. TENNIS ASSOCIATION'S GRANT TO CLEAR CROATIA'S LANDMINESThe U.S. Department of State's Office of Humanitarian DeminingPrograms will match a $25,000 grant from the U.S. Tennis Associationto help rid Croatia of landmines. The combined $50,000 will be used todemine a 48,000 square meter area adjoining a once popular tenniscourt in the village of Mekusje, about 30 miles west of Zagreb.The U.S. Tennis Association's grant was inspired by a February 5, 2003visit to a mine clearance operation in Croatia by a delegation led byWarren Kimball and Allen Kiel, Chairmen of the U.S. TennisAssociation's Davis Cup Committee. The visit, encouraged by U.S. DavisCup coach Jim Courier and organized by the U.S. Embassy and Croatianauthorities, occurred during a trip by U.S. Tennis Associationofficials who were accompanying the U.S. Davis Cup Team for the UnitedStates vs. Croatia Davis Cup first round. Team players planned toparticipate in the minefield visit but a snowstorm and conflictingpractice schedule prevented them from doing so.The U.S. Tennis Association's donation will be routed through theInternational Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistancebased in Slovenia. This fund, which is backed by the U.S. Departmentof State and other donor nations, supports humanitarian mine action inthe Balkans and the Caucasus. Grants from other governments, privatecitizens and non-governmental organizations that are made via theInternational Trust Fund are eligible for matching grants from theUnited States."We deeply appreciate this valuable contribution and the fact that theU.S. Tennis Association has prudently chosen to leverage it throughthe International Trust Fund, thereby doubling its impact," saidDonald "Pat" Patierno, Director of the Office of Humanitarian DeminingPrograms in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs."This is another win for the public-private partnership concept witheveryone working together as a team to help rid Croatia of the lastdeadly vestiges of conflict," said James Lawrence, Director of theBureau of Political-Military Affairs' Office of Mine ActionInitiatives and Partnerships. "I hope that this heartfelt gift willinspire the worldwide tennis community to further support mineaction."(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=03021308.wlt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml   [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Sat, 15 Feb 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Tennis-USTA donates money to clear Croatian land mines http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4567/1/E-Tennis-USTA-donates-money-to-clear-Croatian-land-mines.html Distributed by CroatianWorld  The United States Tennis Association donating $25,000 to remove the land mines In CroatiaOp-edHow noble of you. Thank you USTA, Nenad BachEditor in Chiefp.s. I urge all Croatian American organizations to send a thank note to the USTAhttp://www.usta.com/feedback/default.sps?feedbacktype=other ZAGREB, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is donating $25,000 to a Croatian government project to remove the one million land mines remaining from the war which ravaged the region in the early 1990s, officials announced on Sunday.The USTA, whose donation will be matched by the U.S. government, made the decision after a visit to a minefield clearing operation near the village of Gajine on Wednesday."This is our way of showing support to the people of Croatia, who have been such incredible hosts to our Davis Cup team and the USTA contingent this week," USTA president Alan Schwartz said.The donation will help clear land mines in a 48,000 square metre area surrounding a once-popular tennis court in the village of Mekusje, about 30 miles west of Zagreb, venue for this weekend's Davis Cup first-round tie between the two countries.02/09/03 07:38 ETCopyright 2003 Reuters Limited.  Dear USTA,As an Croatian American, I am deeply moved by your generous donation while visiting Croatia. Let that be the sign of long lasting friendship between two peoples. Nenad BachEditor in Chief, CROWNwww.CroatianWorld.net p.s. As a Trivia, I bet you didn't know that the Croatian Republic of Dubrovnik was the first country in the world to recognizeThe United State of America. [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Sun, 09 Feb 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) WORKING VACATION in Croatia WITH THE VOLUNTEERS http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4568/1/E-WORKING-VACATION-in-Croatia-WITH-THE-VOLUNTEERS.html Distributed by CroatianWorld Is there a community in Croatia which could use assistance in the following categories:" Business Experience" English Conversation" Community Infrastructure: Building and Painting Projects" Improve Basic Health Care" Nurture at-risk Children " Work with Disabled Adults" Work in LibrariesSince 1984, the "Global Volunteers - Partners in Development" set the standard for "volunteer vacations" as the first private, non-profit, non-sectarian organization providing short-term volunteer teams to host communities in 18 countries, including Italy, Romania, Greece, Spain, Poland, Ukraine, Ireland, etc.As a non-governmental organization, the Global Volunteers is an accredited charity in Guidestar. Please see their web site and financial statement onhttp://www.globalvolunteers.org/  By working hand-in-hand with local people who are in charge, volunteers are simply there to assist them using their own vacation time and money. By encouraging and enabling residents of the United States and Canada to spend short periods of time working with and learning from local people in communities around the world, volunteers pay their own airfare, program and lodging costs which are tax deductible to US tax payers. The cost could be anywhere from $500.00 to over $3,000 depending on the location. All contributions and program related expenses are deductible because volunteers do the work of Global Volunteers. Global Volunteers philosophy of service is to wage peace and promote justice. Local people are in charge! Local people are the source of development. Individuals, families and neighborhoods must initiate and conduct their own development efforts through community based organizations. Effective development is initiated at the local level and requires the full participation of local people. The Global Volunteers have been invited to teach English in the classroom, tutor English teachers, explain how North Americans employ the basic principles of free enterprise and sound business practices via seminars and one-on-one consultation, provide agribusiness instructions, train home gardeners in the field, teach planning and problem solving by facilitating community forums, help local people build schools and health clinics, identify crop diseases, construct water purification systems, etc. Global Volunteers does only what local people ask them to do. The reason is simple: in order for people to become self-reliant, they must be in charge. Global Volunteers provides some capacity in the form of materials, tools, etc. Where the project is ongoing and there is a need for funding to complete it, Global Volunteers may provide financial assistance on a matching basis. This program requires 5 hours of work during the week and then volunteers are free to enjoy the rest of their day on their own. I know there is many Croatian Americans interested in volunteering to work and vacation in Croatia. I'm one of them. This year, I'm going to Greece, but I would prefer to go to Croatia. I hope that very soon a host organization or a community in Croatia will invite Global Volunteers to establish a partnership. [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Sun, 19 Jan 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Please Help Radio Vrhbosna http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4569/1/E-Please-Help-Radio-Vrhbosna.html  Please Help Radio Vrhbosna Radio Vrhbosna is the only Croatian and Catholic voice that can be heardon the air waves in Bosnia. Radio "Vrhbosna" was established by theArchdiocese of Vrhbosna (Sarajevo) and the Croatian Cultural Society"Napredak" during the war years. "Vrhbosna" was a voice of comfort anda beacon of hope for many during those tragic days. Now, Radio "Vrhbosna" is looking to upgrade its existing equipment and is asking us to help. Radio "Vrhbosna" has made a list of equipmentthat they would like to upgrade as well as an estimate as to how muchthis will cost. If anyone is interested in more information or to contribute, contact Dr. Ante Cuvalo at: [email protected] [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Sat, 11 Jan 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) LIBERTAS FOUNDATION Sv.Vlaho Annual Festa http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4570/1/E-LIBERTAS-FOUNDATION-SvVlaho-Annual-Festa.html Distributed by CroatianWorld Sveti Vlaho 2003 LIBERTAS FOUNDATION 777 W. 9th Street, SAN PEDRO, CA 90731, Tel: (310) 548-1446, Fax: (310) 831-8382, E-mail: [email protected] January 1, 2003Popular Croatian Singer Matko Jelavic will perform for Sv. Vlaho "festa" in Los Angeles on Feb. 1, San Jose on Feb. 2, and New York on Feb.8, 2003Another Gala Dinner/ Fundraising and celebration of Sv.Vlaho - St.Blaise, Patron Saint of Dubrovnik is coming soon!To commemorate our 12th anniversary, on February 1, 2003 at St.Anthony's Croatian Parish Center in Los Angeles, Libertas Foundation will publish a Souvenir Book.We invite all businessmen to help us in our fundraising efforts by placing an ad in the book.This event is a sell-out every year. We anticipate 450 people from Greater Los Angeles area to attend our " festa", which has become one of the premiere events in the Croatian-American community of Southern California.The Souvenir Book will be distributed to all attendees and advertisers, giving you and your business a tremendous exposure and recognition.We hope you will consider helping us raise funds for newly established scholarship fund "Ante & Evelyn Mrgudic", Caritas Knin Soup Kitchen, Wheelchairs for Croatia and many other humanitarian projects.At this holy time of the year, when we celebrate holidays with family and friends, let us not forget those who are less fortunate and in need of help. You can help by placing an ad in the Souvenir Book, attending our fundraising dinner or by sending a tax-deductible donation. Please feel free to email us at [email protected] or call any of our volunteer Committee member for any questions or suggestions you may have.Due to time constraint, we urge you to contact us regarding advertising in the Souvenir Book as soon as possible but not later than Jan.10, 2003. Your generosity and support will be very much appreciated. SRETNA NOVA GODINA! Niko Hazdovac PresidentProgram/Souvenir Book Committee: Vladimir Lonza - (310) 547-2128Vesta Lobro - (310) 514-1807Dubravka Taylor & Yul B.Draskovic - (818) 240-7702 Libertas Foundation is 501(c)(3) non-profit humanitarian organization.Your contribution is tax deductible as allowed by law. (Federal ID #:33-0496929) [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Mon, 06 Jan 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Building a Culture of Peace http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4571/1/E-Building-a-Culture-of-Peace.html Distributed by CroatianWorld Building a Culture ofPeace.The theme of the event is "Building a Culture of Peace." As part of the program, coalition members Mario Spalatin and Jean Ranallo plan to talk about the coalition's project to help to remove land mines from Pakrac, Croatia.Church leader at Peace Day eventRev. Fahed Abu-Akel will speak at Englewood's World Peace Day event.By KARA [email protected] ENGLEWOOD -- The national leader of the Presbyterian Church will speak at a World Peace Day celebration scheduled for New Year's Day in Englewood.The Rev. Fahed Abu-Akel, moderator of the 2002 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, will join the Rev. Fred Morris, executive director of the Florida Council of Churches, in addressing participants at Englewood United Methodist Church, 700 E. Dearborn St. The event, which is open to the public, is slated to begin at 11 a.m.Three Englewood-area organizations devoted to peace -- the Southwest Florida Peace Education Coalition, the Englewood Ministerial Association and the Prayer Day for World Peace Committee -- came together to stage the event.The coalition started World Peace Day in Englewood 14 years ago as a way for people of different faiths to pray for peace at the same time, said coalition member Peter Duisberg."The basis is if we all pray together regardless of our beliefs, maybe we'll have some impact," Duisberg said. "The idea is to have people pray at approximately the same time for peace in the world. … They might inspire us and our politicians to really work on it."Moderator is the highest elected office in the Presbyterian Church, and Abu-Akel is the first Palestinian-Christian-Arab ever elected. Abu-Akel is a U.S. citizen who spent part of his childhood living in a Palestinian refugee camp. He is scheduled to talk about his view that peace is possible between the Israelis and the Palestinians. He may also speak about his opposition to a war between the United States and Iraq, Duisberg said. Abu-Akel is a minister in Atlanta.Morris was a Methodist missionary in northeast Brazil, one of the poorest areas in the world, Duisberg said.The theme of the event is "Building a Culture of Peace." As part of the program, coalition members Mario Spalatin and Jean Ranallo plan to talk about the coalition's project to help to remove land mines from Pakrac,Croatia.Prayers stressing commonalities among different religions' peace doctrines will be offered by members of the Baha'i, Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths, Duisberg said. There will also be music at the event.A post-program reception will feature a slide show of Ranallo's visit to Croatia, as well as paintings by artist Linda Ohlson Graham. There will be an opportunity to sign petitions against violence and war.For more information, call the church at 474-5588.Last modified: December 31. 2002 12:00AMhttp://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Site=SH&Date=20021231&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=212310382&Ref=AR&Profile=1005&SectionCat=NEWS0104 [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Wed, 01 Jan 2003 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Share what you've learned http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4572/1/E-Share-what-youve-learned.html New Page 1  Share what you've learned Contribute to the community Lend a handCopied from "O" the Oprah magazine, founder and editorial director Oprah Winfrey"Giving back" is the new buzz phrase, but the idea's an old one: Share what you've learned. Contribute to the community. Lend a hand. Offering your time, expertise, and caring where it's needed can give you a sense of purpose and accomplishment. Volunteering is just an organized way of being a good neighbor. What causes or issues do you care deeply about? Since volunteering is also a good way to try a new field and learn skills, list the areas of interest you might like to investigate.How motivated are you to help out? How much time do you have to give without shortchanging yourself or others? (Volunteering requires a commitment of time and energy, so if your only motivation is a sense of obligation, think twice before signing up.)To find an organization that needs volunteers, scan the internet. The following web sites will help you get started.Service leader www.serviceleader.orgComprehensive site with everything you need to know about volunteering, including cyber service. (The main requirements for virtual volunteering are internet access, good writing and communications skills, and the ability to work unsupervised.) Sponsored by the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas in Austin.Idealist.orgwww.idealist.orgOldest and largest Web database of volunteer opportunities. Connects volunteers with more than 30,000 nonprofit and community organizations in 153 countries. Volunteer activities include everything from helping build a school for the handicapped in India, to being an English-conversation partner for an immigrant in New York.Volunteer Matchwww.volunteermatch.orgOne of the Web's largest databases of on-site and virtual volunteering opportunities. Connects volunteers with more than 22,000 nonprofit and public sector organizations.Interactionwww.interaction.org Site of the American Council for Voluntary International Action, a coalition of some 160 United States-based development and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations. Lists how organizations respond to disasters; you can contact the one of your choice to see how you can help.City Careswww.citycares.org  Provides links to affiliates in 31 cities, including New York (where the organization started). Offers information on local volunteer opportunities for community service projects and events.Nonprofit organization accepts donations of gently used furniture, housewares, clothing, books and other salable items to Housing Works Thrift Shops. Help make a better life for homeless women with children and men. All donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. See www.housingworks.org [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Thu, 26 Dec 2002 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Host a Dinner, Save Lives http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4574/1/E-Host-a-Dinner-Save-Lives.html   Night of a Thousand Dinners Dear Friends,We want to remind you that the second annual Night of a Thousand Dinners (N1KD II) is only two weeks away! We already have close to 700 dinners registered worldwide. If you are hosting a dinner, but have not yet registered your dinner, please do so immediately (www.1000dinners.com ) to be sure that you get your host kit on time. If you are having problems registering your dinner, please call us at 212-907-1307 and we'll be happy to help you sign up. Host kits include a T-shirt designed by Heather Mills McCartney, a landmine video to watch with your guests and other goodies. Please note that the T-shirts are limited to the first 1,000 who sign up, so please register quickly! Thank you for your continuing support and we hope you're joining us for dinner.Best wishes,Nenad BachAdopt-A-Minefield®[email protected]   [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Sat, 23 Nov 2002 00:00:00 -0700 (E) PARCELS OF LOVE THIS CHRISTMAS - from England & UK http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4573/1/E-PARCELS-OF-LOVE-THIS-CHRISTMAS---from-England--UK.html  PARCELS OF LOVE THIS CHRISTMAS Op-edDear All,Please respond with a kind words to this charity, as well as to one forlandmines. We need your respond to IMDb too. Croatian language is our languageand there is NO alternative. My comment is this. we cannot only complain. We have to be gratefultoo, for every word or deed that sends a message of love to Croatia andCroatians around the world. Fighting for our right should never cease. Onedoesn't exclude the other.Nenad BachEditor -in-chief, CROWNPARCELS OF LOVE THIS CHRISTMAS MARY O'LEARY, HEATH REPORTER12:00 - 20 November 2002 A plymouth nurse is preparing to deliver Christmas gifts to hundreds of children in Bosnia and Croatia, after her latest charity appeal produced record results.Jill Baird, who works as a theatre sister at Derriford Hospital, has managed to collect a staggering 1,370 boxes, each packed with toys and treats for youngsters in schools, hospitals and orphanages.The boxes are sent to Eastbourne, base of the Mustard Seed Relief Missions; and on December 16, Mrs Baird is flying out with a team from the appeal organisers to distribute each one personally.Mrs Baird collected the boxes after appealing to hospital colleagues and large businesses in Plymouth for help.The 41-year-old mother of two, from Eggbuckland, wrote letters to everyone at Derriford Hospital and in local NHS organisations, as well as to her neighbours, friends and to eight large companies in the city.She asked people to fill a box with toys, toiletries, pens, paper and gifts suitable for children within an age bracket of two to five, six to 11 or 12 to 15.Hospital staff responded immediately, along with city residents. Generous staff at B &Q Warehouse filled 50 boxes after Mrs Baird gave a presentation at the store. The total number of boxes collected is more than ever before.Mrs Baird said: "The response has been terrific. Three years ago we got about 65 boxes, then last year I went around the hospital and collected 1,015. This year I emailed everyone at the hospital and wrote to my neighbours and businesses in the city, and people have been brilliant, especially B &Q," she said. The campaign, known as Love in a Box, is organised by the Mustard Seed Relief Missions, based inEastbourne. The aim is to share seasonal support with children living in in Bosnia and Croatia.Mrs Baird said the campaign was vital to the youngsters who benefited.She said: "Every single box makes a difference, and that is our motto - living to make a difference."I am going out with the team in December and we will fly to Zagreb, then travel 900 miles to distribute all the boxes directly to children. There is no halfway house: we do it all ourselves."I have also had to raise money to pay for my flight and accommodation, and I have had fantastic support to do this."My family are behind me as well and the support and help from everyone has been immense," Mrs Baird said. "I'm really looking forward to taking the boxes out."http://www.thisisnorthdevon.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=103351&command=displayContent&sourceNode=103340&contentPK=3081458 You can contact our newspapers directly at: North Devon Journal 96 High Street, Barnstaple , North Devon, EX31 1HT Tel: 01271 343064 Torquay Herald Express Harmsworth House Barton Hill RoadTorquay TQ2 8JN Tel: 01803 676000 Express & Echo Heron Road Sowton Exeter EX2 7NF Tel: 01392 442211 Evening Herald 17 Brest Road Derriford Plymouth PL6 5AA Tel: 01752 765500Western Morning News 17 Brest Road Derriford Plymouth PL6 5AA You can contact us here at the This is Devon website at: Web Editorial: [email protected]  Webmaster: [email protected] Northcliffe Electronic Publishing Devon & Cornwall Heron Road Sowton Exeter Devon EX2 7NF  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Sat, 23 Nov 2002 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Kindness of Croatian Sailors http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4575/1/E-Kindness-of-Croatian-Sailors.html  Kindness of Croatian Sailors Greek sailors keep watch over ghost ship in CroatiaBy Igor Ilic (AOL NEWS)SPLIT, Croatia, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Every morning Paraskevas Liakakos rows from his stranded ship to the nearby harbour in search of free coffee and the company of locals sympathetic to his plight."My muscles are so strong now I could compete at the next Olympics in Athens, but under the Croatian flag," joked the 52-year-old Greek sailor with his only regular visitors, members of a Croatian sailors' union who bring in fresh supplies twice a month.Liakakos is one of five Greek sailors aboard the Elpida, a tug which broke down on May 21 near the Adriatic port of Split and has been anchored a mile off the coast ever since. Liakakos may sound cheerful, but his mood is grim."I see black when I wake up and I see black when I close my eyes at night. My family in Greece fell apart because of this," he said.Under international maritime law a ship must not be left without the crew at any time. If it is docked, someone has to remain on board and the cost of docking must be fully covered.Since the boat broke down, Liakakos and his companions, having spent what money they had, have had to stay anchored outside the harbour and wait, entirely dependent on the mercy of strangers.AT MERCY OF FELLOW CROAT SAILORSWhen the boat's engines failed in May, two people were sent to try to fix the generators but without success. The boat has been without power since and no further repairs have been attempted.The crew say the owners, the Portolos Tugs salvage company from Piraeus, have not contacted them and they have not been paid. The company was not available for comment.The Greek embassy in Zagreb has offered to fly the men home but they cannot leave the boat.Milko Kronja, a member of the local sailors' union and an inspector with the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), said the Elpida had been abandoned by everyone."We are the only ones who look after the crew. We provide them with petroleum lamps, canned food and water every two weeks, sometimes more often, when there are donations from local people or the Red Cross," he said.Fresh food is rarely taken aboard because there is no refrigeration. Union members bring mobile phone cards to enable the stranded Greeks to call home.The Elpida set sail from Piraeus for Rhodes on May 10 only to change course -- on instruction from the owners -- for the Croatian port of Zadar, where the crew were to load cages for tuna fish and take them to Malta.Between Zadar and Split the engines failed.POSSIBLE ECOLOGICAL THREATThe port authorities in Split want a quick solution to the problem, not only for the sake of the sailors but because the Elpida represents a potential ecological threat to this Mediterranean tourist resort."Six tonnes of oil, 15 tonnes of fuel and 30 tonnes of muddy water could badly affect the sea if the ship is left to rot here," said crew member Georgios Mutsakis.Greek embassy representatives have visited the Elpida twice but left only with promises of help, Liakakos said."They brought two bottles of whisky and 200 euros for each of us but said we should repay it once we got back home," said Mutsakis."I am deeply disappointed by the Greek authorities. If it wasn't for my three children, I would stay in Croatia," he said.The rusting Elpida was built 21 years ago in Romania and first named Alexandria 3.Kronja said repairs would cost some $50,000 while towing the boat back to Greece would be $30,000."However, the Greek side has showed no interest in covering the expenses apart from the air tickets home for the sailors," he said.SOLUTION BEFORE WINTER?The five crew are keeping the ship clean and in good shape, but it is hard work.They have turned one of the cabins into a larder and started preparing for what might be a difficult winter.On sunny days they wash their clothes and bed linen and hang them on ropes spread along the deck. Their supply of washing powder is giving out and the water tanks are running dry.Occasionally, each man leaves the ship for a few hours to take a stroll around Split and have coffee in their preferred coffee shop -- the Moby Dick, owned by a former basketball player who once lived in Greece."It is for the sake of our mental health, although you can't do much but walk when you are out of money," the captain said.While the local authorities step up efforts, including talks with the ship's owners, to have the Elpida brought into dock by the end of October, before winter sets in, the sailors remain sceptical."After five months like this, how could one be optimistic about a quick and happy outcome?," the captain said. [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Tue, 29 Oct 2002 00:00:00 -0700 (E) $ 1 Million for Croatia, from Adopt -A - Minefield http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4576/1/E--1-Million-for-Croatia-from-Adopt--A---Minefield.html    Adopt-A-Minefield raised nearly $1 million for ourCroatiaEstimated mined area  4,000 km2Number of suspected mines 400,000Area cleared with AAM funds 129,404 m2Amount raised by AAM  $950,000Adopt-A-Minefield® would like to thank thefollowing Artists for joining us to end the globallandmine crisis. Your invaluable support providesmomentum to our efforts, bringing the terror oflandmines to an end and restoring hopefor millions of people.Nenad BachAlec BaldwinEd Begley Jr.Peabo BrysonSteve BuscemiGary BuseyChubby Checker & Catharina EvansEric ClaptonCameron Crowe & Nancy WilsonDana DelanyLeonardo DiCaprioPhyllis DillerMatt DillonFats DominoMichael Douglas & Catherine Zeta-JonesAlyson FeltesHarrison FordKim & Art GarfunkelJames GarnerMel GibsonWhoopi GoldbergTom Hanks & Rita WilsonAnjelica HustonNorman JewisonBilly JoelAngelina JolieQuincy JonesSally Kellerman & Jonathan KraneKris KristoffersonJay & Mavis LenoLucy LiuJulia Louis-DreyfusPaul McCartney & Heather Mills McCartneyPaul Newman & Joanne WoodwardWayne NewtonJulia OrmondDonny OsmondR.E.MRobert RedfordPaul Simon & Edie Brickell Jacylyn SmithBarbra Streisand & James BrolinLucy Webb & Kevin PollackBrian WilsonOprah WinfreyThe United Nations responded by establishing a mine action center in 1996 to begin rebuilding cities and towns in Croatia devastated by the conflict. Adopt-A Minefield has raised nearly $1 million for our Croatian mine clearance partners, enabling reconstruction to begin in dozens of communities. Demining also restores a sense of safety and normalcy in everyday life in this ravaged country. Working with the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance, Adopt-A Minefield has helped clear over 13O,OOO square meters of land to date. Croatia is poised for economic and social recovery, all that remains is to clear the thousands of landmines that contaminate its farmland, roads, and communities. [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Fri, 11 Oct 2002 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Wheelchairs for Croatia http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4577/1/E-Wheelchairs-for-Croatia.html ROTARY CLUB OF SAN PEDROP.O. BOX 1021, SAN PEDRO, CALIFORNIA 90733September 3, 2002Dear Friend:We are writing to ask for your help with a project we are undertaking to send critically needed wheelchairs to disabled men, women, and children in Croatia. In addition to those born with disabilities, many other people have been injured in Croatia during the war and due to landmines. Often the innocent victims of landmine eruption are farmers at work in their fields or children at play. We know the difference a wheelchair can make in the life a person who was once confined to remaining at home or crawling. These wheelchairs are key to giving them increased mobility, independence and hope.Our San Pedro Rotary Club has the opportunity to have the dollars we raise matched by organizations also working to help the disabled to become more independent. Money raised in the Croatian community will be matched by Rotarians in San Pedro and Los Angeles and then matched again by the Wheelchair Foundation. Our goal is to raise $6,000 from Croatian Community. Through the matches described above, this money will be increased to $36,000 and will pay for full container of 240 wheelchairs to be sent to Croatia. Your donation of just $25 will buy a new wheelchair costing $150, donation of $250 will buy 10 wheelchairs and so on.We would like to appeal to all Croatian clubs and organizations to support this worthy cause. Our community in San Pedro has so many ties to Croatia. We hope that you will give generously to help with this project. Please make your check payable to the Rotary Club of San Pedro, P.O. Box 1021, San Pedro, CA 90733, with note: wheelchairs for Croatia.The Rotary Club of San Pedro is also sponsoring "An Evening in Croatia" - dinner on Saturday, October 19th, celebrating 80th Anniversary and honoring past presidents at the Dalmatian - American Club to raise money for this cause. Family-style dinner and entertainment will be provided featuring Croatian musicians and dancers.If you would like to attend, please call Chuck Hanchett at (310) 547-1973.Help by sending your gift today... Your donation will make a difference in so many lives.Very truly yours,Andrea Marincovich Clark                                Nick HazdovacPresident, 2002 - 2003                                    Committee Co-chair                                                                       [email protected]  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Fri, 27 Sep 2002 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Adopt-A-Minefield Annual Gala in LA - IMPORTANT http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4578/1/E-Adopt-A-Minefield-Annual-Gala-in-LA---IMPORTANT.html       Dear All,Last year we had three Croatian Tables. I know this is the last moment, butwhoever is interested, ($500 per plate and yes, the price is little bit high,but for the right cause), PLEASE email me as soon as possible. We HAVE to bepresent. I desire that CROATIA becomes the firstcountry in the world to be free of landmines.And this is not a pipe dream. It is feasible and possible in 5-10 years. Let'shelp and support people who have been so generous to us.Best, svako dobro,Nenad Bachtel: (914) 479-1009  or email: [email protected]@CroatianWorld.net Open Hearts. Clear Mines. Second Annual Los Angeles Benefit Gala 18 September 2002 Open Hearts. Clear Mines.Adopt-A-Minefield and Goodwill AmbassadorsHeather Mills McCartney & Paul McCartneyinvite you to open your hearts and join usas steward of the earth to clear minefields, save lives,and return land to productive use.Wednesday, September 18, 2002Century Plaza Hotel2025 Avenue of the StarsLos Angeles, CA6:30 pm Cocktails7:30 pm DinnerSpecial Performances Paul McCartney & Brian WilsonMaster of CeremoniesJay LenoBusiness AttireFor more information, please contactLevy, Pazanti & Associates310.201.5033 [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Sat, 07 Sep 2002 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Two Appeals http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4579/1/E-Two-Appeals.html  CHARITYIn the April issue of the Matica magazine were two appeals to which theCROWN readers might wish to respond:The first is from the Zagreb Rebro hospital, the oncology andradiotherapy clinic, which is in desperate need to have some repairs madeto the building, as some ceilings are peeling and in danger of crumblingand the rest of the interior is also in poor shape. Sister Alberta isasking for our help for this 53-bed clinic that provides treatmentannually for over 3000 hospitalized patients.You can send a check to:Zagrebacka Banka d.d.SVIFT ZABA HR 2X, 7026-VAL-0941778(za Onkologiju Rebro)orDOBROTVORNA UDRUGA "ADOR"10000 Zagreb,Kanalski Put bbCroatiatel/fax 2404-864 The second appeal is from the society "PAKS" consisting mostly of marinebiologists, geologists and divers/researchers, interested in pursuingthe research and preservation of the Adriatic Sea, which has fallenmostly on deaf ears in the Ministries where such interest and initiativeshould be present. This society has dedicated itself to document all the unusual aquaticflora and fauna as well as rock and cave formations indigenous to theAdriatic. They have filmed the last four years a documentary film"Secrets of the Adriatic" (Tajne Jadrana") which required much know-howfor underwater filming as well as financial means. They have receivedsome aid from UNESCO and the Ministry of Science and Technology as wellas a few private companies, but it is not sufficient for the program theyare trying to achieve. The purpose of the filming is to produce anddistribute a permanent promotional, popular science documentary, such asare shown on Public TV and the Discovery Channel , which would acquaintthe world with the beauties of the Croatian Adriatic Sea - the cleanestof the Mediterranean seas. The documentary would undoubtedly be the bestpromotion for Croatia as a Mediterranean country and move it away fromthe "Balkans"!If you wish to support this worthwhile project please send yourcontribution to:DRUSTVO ZA EKOLOSKA ISTRAZIVANJA PAKSS Vojnovica 1910362 Kasina GajecCroatiaTel. 098 673 622 098 204 042Op-edI get between 10-20 letters a week about different needs from Croatia. It isvery difficult to be compassionate and just at the same time. I want you tocheck on your own people and organizations that ask money from you. SUPPORTTALENT !Nenad Bach [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Fri, 19 Jul 2002 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Local peace activists plan trip to Croatia http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4580/1/E-Local-peace-activists-plan-trip-to-Croatia.html Local peace activists plan trip to CroatiaCourt House in PakracENGLEWOOD -- Local residents who helped raise more than $30,000 to clear a mine field in Pakrac, Croatia, now have the opportunity to see the fruits of their labor. In September, Mario Spalatin, president of the Croatian-American Society of Sarasota, will volunteer as tour guide on a two-week trip to the former Yugoslavian republic. The cost of the trip, which will include no fees to any travel agencies, will be approximately $2,100 per person. Besides visiting the 3.5-acre defused mine field adjacent to Pakrac's only hospital, the group will also travel to Preko, Croatia, the birthplace of the Rev. Sebastian Loncar, former pastor of Englewood's St. Raphael's Catholic Church.At Preko, located on the island of Ugljan in the Adriatic Sea, the group will dedicate a memorial plaque in honor of Loncar. Ordained a priest in 1937, Loncar moved to the United States in 1940. He served as administrator at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Port Charlotte and Epiphany Cathedral in Venice before taking over as St. Raphael's second pastor from 1970 to 1977.Loncar moved back to Croatia in 1999. There, he died of cancer in February 2001."He was a great believer in peace," Spalatin said. "During the war, he put a lot of monetary support toward helping the refugees in Croatia."Peter Duisberg, a longtime member of the Florida Southwest Peace Education Coalition, said the Croatian trip would appeal to "people who are interested in a vacation with a purpose.""We're hoping they will come back with ideas on how we can have a sister-type relationship with that city (Pakrac)," Duisberg said. "We hope to follow through. We don't expect this to stop with this trip."The Englewood community's involvement with Pakrac began on New Year's Day 2001, the 15th annual World Day of Prayer for Peace. That day, Jo Williams of the Sarasota-Manatee chapter of United Nations Association-USA appeared at St. Raphael's to talk about the land mine clearing project. At the time, Duisberg said that chapter's fund raising effort was stalled at about $8,000. Within months, the group had the $30,240 necessary to clear the mine field, including $8,000 in contributions from the Englewood area."The whole thing picked up steam again because of that," Duisberg said. "It showed the power of prayer and dedication." A British firm hired by the Croatian government cleared the Pakrac field in late 2001. On January 1, 2002, the 16th annual World Peace Day, Pakrac Mayor Damir Spancic and his wife, Dubravka, traveled to Englewood United Methodist Church to thank the community. Spalatin has also made several trips to Pakrac and has toured the mine field. "I noticed when I was there, that there were several other areas of the city that were being de-mined," he said.During his visits, city officials told Spalatin that 114 people in the city suffered fatal injuries from mines and other unexploded munitions, with one out of five victims less than 18 years old. He said that, prior to clearing, the mine field was also covered with other unexploded munitions, many of which were World War II vintage. Before the fighting between Croatia and Serbia broke out, Pakrac had a population of more than 27,000 people. By 1995, the population had shrunk to 4,700.Now the town is working to rebuild. Duisberg said that United States Ambassador to Croatia Lawrence G. Rossin wrote in a letter that the U.S. planned to give a grant to the city to build a factory, contingent on that both Serbians and Croatians be employed there. The trip to Croatia will also include a visit with Rossin in Zagreb. For more information on the trip, call Peter Duisberg at (941) 474-5204.You can e-mail Chris Curry at [email protected] By CHRIS CURRYStaff Writer© 2002 All rights reserved.Your Local Internet Service ProviderA division of Sun Coast Media Group Inc.Publishers of the Sun newspapers.http://www.sun-herald.com/NewsArchive2/070302/np6.htm?date=070302&story=np6.htm  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Fri, 05 Jul 2002 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Goran Visnjic donates quiz show money to Croatia's theatres http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4581/1/E-Goran-Visnjic-donates-quiz-show-money-to-Croatias-theatres.html  GORAN VISNJICGood All The WayGoran Visnjic donates quiz show money to Croatia's theatres ER's Goran Visnjic has donated £1,000 prize money he won on Croatia's version of Wheel of Fortune to the country's theatres.Visnjic, who plays Dr Luca Kovac in the American TV show, had never taken part in a quiz show before."I was happy to do it when I saw the chance of helping out the local theatre scene," he said."I am delighted to be able to help the theatres where I grew up and learned my profession. I have never forgotten my past."Sunday 26th May 2002 [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Tue, 11 Jun 2002 00:00:00 -0700 (E,H) New York -Benefit Concert, Rijeka - beba treba operaciju http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4582/1/EH-New-York--Benefit-Concert-Rijeka---beba-treba-operaciju.html   Molim vas proslijedite svojim prijateljima. Hvala. Fr. Robert Zubovic *********************************************  Dear friends,  It saddens us greatly to have to tell you that a Croatian friend of ours has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and is already undergoing chemotherapy. She is only 29 years old. And she is a really great person with a beautiful heart mind. Full of life and joy. Dijana WILL heal. She is a fighter and we, her friends, will help her on this difficult journey. Unfortunatley beside a good heart and will, we also need some money to fight battles in life, so I invite all of you to help us help Dijana out and have a really good time while doing so.  Dijana's friends are organizing a benefit concert for her this Sunday, May 26th in Astoria, Queens in the "Most Precious Blood" Hall. This precious place is on 37th Streeet between Broadway and 34th Avenue, couple of blocks away from the Stainway train station on the R line. The concert starts at 4PM and goes on and on, late into the evening.  The suggested ticket price is $10, however if you feel you can give more, please don't let anything stop you. Our friend Dijana is a drummer, i.e. a poor, struggling artist, so she will need every bit of help she can get. If you are a poor, struggling artist yourself, instead of money you can perhaps donate some of your work, which will then be sold off in a raffle for Dijana's benefit. Or, if you are a performing artist, you can bring your instrument of choice and join other musicians who will play at this event, among them Victor Jones, an excellent perfomer who used to play with Miles Davis. There will also be a number of Croatian, Japanese and overall international, New York style bands playing, so bring your dancing shoes and lots of good spirits!  Thank you, God bless us all!  *********************************************  Dragi Nenade, Primila sam ovo pismo i clanak od mog necaka iz Rijeke. Da li bi bilo moguce taj apel staviti na web? Sa srdacnim pozdravima, Hilda   DEVETIPOLMJESECNOJ BEBI LARI PEŠUT NUŽNA JE OPERACIJA U PARIZU ZA KOJU NJEZINI RODITELJI NEMAJU NOVCA Mala Lara vodi bitku za život  Mala Rijecanka boluje od rijetke bolesti, teške crijevne pseudodestrukcije, stanje joj se pogoršava, a za transplantaciju jetre i crijeva treba oko 170.000 eura   RIJEKA - Maloj Rijecanki Lari Pešut, devetipolmjesecnoj djevojcici, život visi o koncu. Ona boluje od izuzetno rijetke bolesti, sindroma teške crijevne pseudodestrukcije, koja joj onemogucava normalno hranjenje i pražnjenje. Djevojcici su dani odbrojeni ako je hitno ne operiraju strucnjaci za kombiniranu transplantaciju jetre i crijeva. Kako se takve operacije u Hrvatskoj ne rade, majka Olivera i otac Nikša, obratili su se s molbom Hrvatskom zavodu za zdravstveno osiguranje da njihovoj kcerki omoguci operaciju u inozemstvu. Prema preporuci prof. dr. Sanje Kolacek voditeljice Referentnog centra za djecju gastroenterologiju i prehranu, Klinike za djecje bolesti Zagreb, kod koje se Lara lijeci, roditelji su kontaktirali parišku kliniku Hopital Necker- Enfants Malades, u kojoj se takve transplantacije vec duže vrijeme uspješno rade. Pregled je zakazan za dva tjedna, buduci da joj jetra iz dana u dan sve više propada i, ako sve bude po planu Lara bi odmah potom bila i operirana. No, kako odgovora od HZZO-a još nema, osim što je od roditelja još jednom zatražena cjelokupna dokumentacija, njih pomalo vec hvata strah da ce u trci za život njihova kci stici na cilj prekasno. Oni, naime, nisu u mogucnosti platiti ni pregled, ni operaciju, cak ni putovanje, a inozemna klinika zna se, ne operira besplatno. Olivera je djelatnica Rijecke banke i prima 1.600 kuna porodiljske naknade, a tata Nikša je kuhar na brodu, zaposlen tek odnedavna. Žive u stanu s Oliverinim roditeljima i sa starijom kcerkicom, cetverogodišnjom Nikom. Lara u stanu s roditeljima i mlaðom sestricom nikada i nije živjela, jer od rodjenja dane provodi u bolnici, najprije na Kantridi, a sada u Klajicevoj, u Zagrebu. Olivera je posjecuje tri puta tjedno, ali uz tako malo dijete i još uz to bolesno, majci ne bi bilo dovoljno ni da je posjecuje svaki dan, pa makar sama snosila sve troškove putovanja, kao što ih i snosi . Djevojcica je operirana vec pet puta, sve je pokušano ne bi li joj se pomoglo, no jedino što su lijecnici uspjeli jest da joj omoguce da malu kolicinu hrane uzme i na usta, sve ostalo dobiva umjetnim putem, intravenozno.        Roditelji male Lare otvorili su žiroracun za svoju kcerkicu, s nadom da ce se humanost drugih ljudi i ovoga puta pokazati na djelu. Drugih mogucnosti da pomognu svojoj kcerkici više nemaju, osim ako HZZO ne ucini iznimku i plati njenu operaciju u inozemstvu, a što je malo vjerojatno jer se radi o velikom novcu i praznoj zdravstvenoj kasi. Osim toga, roditelji nemaju više što cekati, jer je odlazak u parišku bolnicu zakazan za dva tjedna. Broj kunskog žiro racuna je: Rijecka banka d.d. Rijeka 2300007-1000000013 05 027-2001-582855. Broj deviznog racuna u istoj banci je: 7001-95695-1, s naznakom: za Laru Pešut.      - Iscrpljene su sve druge mogucnosti, govori majka, Olivera Pešut, svjesna da sama ne može skupiti ni dio novca potrebnog za operativni zahvat u inozemstvu. Vremena za cekanje više nema, nalazi su sve lošiji. Laru u bolnici u Parizu ocekuju 4. lipnja i kako iz HZZO-a još nema odgovora, roditelji su u strahu odlucili poceti skupljati novac. Za pregled i dvotjedni boravak u bolnici je potrebno platiti 22.921 euro, a za operaciju 140.000 eura. Novac koji ne bi prikupili ni da prodaju sve što imaju, a zapravo nemaju ništa.     - Poslali smo molbu lijecnickoj komisiji za lijecenje u inozemstvu HZZO-a prije 10 dana, sve do tada smo mislili da se takva operacija može obaviti i bliže i jeftinije, u Italiji na primjer. Vjerovali smo i da ce neki od operativnih zahvata koje je imala, Lari popraviti stanje, jer su u to vjerovali i lijecnici. Kod ostale oboljele djece u Hrvatskoj, stanje se poboljšalo ili se barem ne pogoršava, oni barem mogu nastaviti uzimati umjetnu hranu, ali to se s Larom na žalost nije dogodilo, govori mama Olivera, dok pokazuje kcerkicu Laru snimljenu na videokasetu u kreveticu u zagrebackoj bolnici. To je zapravo jedini nacin da i ostali clanovi obitelji budu s bolesnom curicom, a koliko im znaci makar i samo ta videosnimka, vidjeli smo po Nikinoj gesti cim se Lara pojavila na ekranu - podignula se s kauca, prišla ekranu i poljubila lice svoje sestrice. Hoce li ga uskoro moci i dotaknuti, ovisi o procjeni lijecnicke komisije HZZO treba li maloj Lari platiti transplantaciju u inozemstvu ili o dobroj volji ljudi, koji se uvijek organiziraju brže od zdravstvene birokracije kada je u pitanju djecji život. Jelena SEDLAK © Copyright 2002 NOVI LIST d.d. Sva prava pridržana.  Distributed by www.CroatianWorld.net. This message is intended for Croatian Associations/Institutions and their Friends in Croatia and in the World. The opinions/articles expressed on this list do not reflect personal opinions of the moderator. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, please delete or destroy all copies of this communication and please, let us know!  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Fri, 24 May 2002 00:00:00 -0700 (E) FLOWERS TOWARDS DEMINING--FTD http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4583/1/E-FLOWERS-TOWARDS-DEMINING--FTD.html Dear Nenad,Please network our NEW Roots of Peace FLOWERS TOWARDS DEMINING--FTD site onyour fabulous network...it is a wonderful way to give back to the earth.www.ftd.com//rootsofpeace.See attached for [email protected] Op-edThese flowers are helping demine Croatia. Can't think of anything better thenthat!Help Root of Peace !NenadDear US Department of State/UN Supporters Supporters,Please visit our new website that went LIVE today atwww.ftd.com//rootsofpeace, as it demonstrates another innovativepublic-private partnership raising 15% of every FTD purchase for deminingprojects through this website.As we prepare for our May 7th event, we would like to formally incorporatethis new partnership into our "gardening theme" of nurturing the excellencethat comes from the earth when cultivated--in sharp contrast to the plantingof landmines.With 10,000 women and children stepping on landmines each year, it would beideal to promote our FTD website for Mother's Day purchases (May 12, 2002).Let's discuss ways in which we may leverage this innovative partnership toraise significant demining dollars--while raising global landmineawareness... by sending a lovely FTD/Roots of Peace bouquet of Springflowers!Our CLEAR goal for the May 7th event is to inspire corporations/donors toGIVE generously to demining...this is a most unique approach that may beintroduced to Rotarians, Kiwanis, Lyons and other NGO community mindedorganizations that take a leadership role!Please let me know your thoughts in getting this NEW site out into the "mainstream"...Sincerely,Heidi Kuhn [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Mon, 08 Apr 2002 00:00:00 -0700 (E) CROATIA'S HUMANITARIAN WORK IN AFGHANISTAN http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4584/1/E-CROATIAS-HUMANITARIAN-WORK-IN-AFGHANISTAN.html VeleposlanstvoRepublike Hrvatske u Sjedinjenim Americkim Drzavama Embassy of theRepublic of Croatia to the United States of America2343Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C. 20008                  Press office,  Phone:(202) 986 9476      Fax.: (202) 588 8938                   E-mail: [email protected]              www.croatiaemb.org PRESS RELEASECROATIA TAKES PART IN ANTI-TERRORIST COALITION'S HUMANITARIAN WORK IN AFGHANISTANZagreb, April 5 - Republic of Croatia will deliver humanitarian aid to Afghanistan as an active involvement in dealing with the damaging consequences of the Taliban regime there. Upon the Resolution of the Croatian Government on Humanitarian Aid to Afghanistan, Croatia will deliver a donation of medical supplies and equipment, tents, blankets and food, promply gathered by several Croatian ministries. The value of the donation is more than 52,000 US dollars, which rangs it among most generous donations being delivered so far. It is also the only similar donation being transferred to Afghanistan from South and East European region.Republic of Croatia has recognized the need for and importance of humanitarian activities aimed at alleviating dire implications of the refugee crisis in Afghanistan, including to the security and stability of the region. Croatia will thus get actively and involved in USA and other anti-terorist coalition members' activities.In joint effort with the Government of Iceland, that has graciously made an military aircraft available to Croatia, the Croatian humanitarian aid for Afghanistan will be transported to Pakistan tommorow, on April 6, 2002. The help has also been provided by the U.S. Embassy in Zagreb and the American command of NATO Air Forces.H.E. Dr. Ivan Grdesic, Croatian Ambassador to US said: The humanitarian aid that is being transported from Croatia to people of Afghanistan is both a contribution to anti-terorist coalition's activities in Afghanistan and a expression of solidarity Croatian people feel for those in need. It is not a mere gesture as, indeed, all Croatians deply relate to human suffering, due to Croatian Homeland War..                                                           ####Media contact: Alan Vojvodic, (202) 986 9476, [email protected]  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Fri, 05 Apr 2002 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Demining Croatia - swords to plowshares http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4585/1/E-Demining-Croatia---swords-to-plowshares.html  UN Global Compact & Roots of Peace United Nations Event New York City, New York May 7, 2002  BACKGROUND-Not since the death of Princess Diana Spencer has the media devoted such significant coverage to the issue of landmines. As the public is now learning about the scourge of landmines in Afghanistan, they are also recognizing that landmines are a global problem, where an estimated 80 million landmines are in 80 countries.  Because Roots of Peace works on the full circle of demining, replanting and rebuilding sustainable communities, the organization's mission will resonate with a public eager to offer a modern "Marshall" plan to countries like Afghanistan. Therefore, Roots of Peace has embarked upon a Demining Campaign to raise one million dollars for the demining of the once rich agricultural lands of the Shomali Valley, 30 minutes north of Kabul.  Roots of Peace has successfully demined over 200 acres of agricultural land in Croatia-returning "Mines to Vines" by replacing the scourge of landmines with the nectar of grapes-turning killing fields into productive vineyards symbolizing "blood to wine". Now, Roots of Peace aims to expand our program to the vineyards of Afghanistan, where the grapes will not be fermented with respect to the Muslim culture. Proud Afghan farmers claim there were once 26 varietals of delicious grapes, which created economic viability for local communities as they exported their product to Pakistan and India.  Roots of Peace was selected by the UN Global Compact as a model project for creating "Public-Private Partnerships in Zones of Conflict". Our case study will be presented at the United Nations in April 2002 featuring the grapes, olive trees, marichino cherries, and other agricultural fruits of the earth which now grow on former minefields. These demonstrated efforts truly embody the words etched in stone on Isaiah's Wall at the United Nations converting "swords to plowshare" by turning "mines to vines". Ultimately, Roots of Peace will plant rice in Cambodia, coffee in Angola, cashews in Mozambique and productively treat the mine-affected lands around the world.  Roots of Peace has joined the US Department of State on two missions to Croatia in January 2000 and May 2000 to see the devastation caused by an estimated 1.2 million landmines silently poised in 14 out of 21 counties in this scenic Adriatic country. Through the support of the California wine industry, Silicon Valley, Digitas, Ruder Finn, Rotary Clubs, and other public-private partnerships, we have successfully demined four Croatian villages through matching funds from the International Trust Fund in Slovenia.   "Mines to Vines" EVENT May 7, 2002  11 o'clock --ROOTS OF PEACE GARDEN DEDICATION-ISAIAH'S WALL  The New York City Parks Commissioner of Manhattan, Mr. William Castro, will join UN officials, US government officials, Ambassadors from Mine Affected countries, corporate leaders, NGO's and international media for an official ribbon-cutting ceremony unveiling the Roots of Peace Garden symbolizing our global effort to remove the deadly "seeds of destruction" caused by landmines and replace them with the "seeds of hope". This UN motto calling upon the world to convert "swords to plowshares" is proudly placed beneath an unmaintained, vacant parcel of soil with dead, unwatered plants.  This is a wall of opportunity, and Roots of Peace is proud to be actively working with the Office of the Secretary-General and the NYC Parks Commissioner/Manhattan to create a viable garden of hope featuring the American Beauty rose, Peace rose, English rose (in honor of the late Princess Diana and her efforts to remove landmines), black Iris of Jordan (in honor of Her Majesty Queen Noor and her leadership in landmine removal), jasmine (Afghanistan), lavendar (Croatia), and, of course, vineyards inspired by our Mines to Vines initiative. This garden is poised to inspire the world to plant the roots of peace, by returning demined land to productive agricultural use-swords to plowshares. From the productive soil of New York City, we hope this Roots of Peace garden will inspire global citizens to remove the deadly seeds of terror from our planet.  The ribbon-cutting ceremony will feature red tape from a minefield surrounding the Roots of Peace Garden, and our partner HALO Trust will provide "Landmine Warning" signs featuring various languages around the world-Spanish, Croatian, Arabic, Asian, Russian, English, African, etc. Rather than a traditional velvet ribbon cutting ceremony, the red landmine tape will visually symbolize our efforts to convert swords to plowshares by replacing the seeds of destruction cause by landmines with the seeds of hope.  An ecumenical blessing of the Roots of Peace Garden will be arranged, along with inspiring words from the mayor and other distinguished guests (to be determined).  Ruder Finn will coordinate international media "pro bono" for Roots of Peace, in collaboration with our partners with the UN Global Compact & US Department of State. High level media visibility is expected showcasing "public-private partnerships".  United Nations ushers will guide all dignitaries and guests WILL PASSES & PHOTO ID only across the street to the 1st Street Entrance through VIP security up to the 4th Floor.  12:00 NOON---"MINES TO VINES" RECEPTION  The UN Delegate's Dining room will have a special area designated for a "Mines to Vines" reception, where owners/vintners from Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley and New York wineries will feature a wine tasting describing the art-form of cultivating grapes. This will be a unique opportunity for guests to meet the "names behind the labels" and become familiar with leading wine makers as we toast "from coast to coast" to global peace. Of course, grape juice and sparkling water will be served to honor international guests whose cultures prohibit fermented grapes-respecting the various choices intertwined through the vine.  The "Mines to Vines" theme will be carried forth into this venue, where HALO Trust, UN Mine Action groups, and US Government Mine Action supporters will prepare an official demonstration of inert landmines for display. Again, red-tape from minefields will surround the room, to bring in the serious tone of the landmine awareness raising event, as guests enjoy the fruits of the earth-symbolizing swords to plowshares. Hand-crafted art will also be on display from Afghanistan and Croatia, to show the opportunity lost when innocent limbs are viciously removed by landmine explosions.  12:45 LUNCHEON-UN Delegate's Dining Room  UN ushers will guide the guests into the UN Delegate's Dining Room on the same floor. Hermes of Paris has graciously offered to provide all the fine porcelain china from France to decorate each table in a different pattern, symbolizing the global diversity and excellence that comes from the earth when nurtured and cultivated. All flowers and linens will also be donated by Hermes of Paris to create a feeling of elegance and bounty. The capacity for the room is 270 guests, and the US Department of State has offered to sponsor the private luncheon.  Keynote speakers will deliver inspirational words, and a song of peace will be performed.  Op-ed Please be aware of this event and SUPPORT Roots of Peace organization. Nenad Bach  Distributed by www.CroatianWorld.net. This message is intended for Croatian Associations/Institutions and their Friends in Croatia and in the World. The opinions/articles expressed on this list do not reflect personal opinions of the moderator. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, please delete or destroy all copies of this communication and please, let us know!  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Tue, 12 Mar 2002 00:00:00 -0700 (E) St. Theresa's Dom http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4586/1/E-St-Theresas-Dom.html  My name is Don Wolf. I am a third generation Croatian American who has visited Croatia fourteen times, as I still have many relatives in Zagreb, Gerovo (Gorski Kotar) and Rijeka. As a photographer I had the opportunity to go to Croatia during the war with Dr. Miroslav Kovachevic, a pediatrician from Chicago who was born in Croatia.  By showing my images I was able to raise funds for Croatian orphans. With the help of Stephen Fracol and Emily Novak, I produced a video tape on How to Make Croatian Nut Bread (Povitica). The profits from the sales, over $30,000 went to purchase new plumbing and replace all the old rusty plumbing in St. Theresa's Orphanage (Dom).  Right now the roof of the dom is leaking water into the children's bedroom whenever it rains or snows.The dom was built in 1924 and has been patched so many times and must now be replaced. I have talked with the constructon supervisor and he has shown me the evidence.  I have, with the help of Suzana Ryan (a third generation Slovenian American), produced a small flyer (brochure) about St.Theresa's. If you would be so kind I would ask you to do one or two things if you can.  If you send me your address I will send you the flyer. If you feel more energetic and really want to help, I could send you many flyers for you to redistribute to your family, friends, club, church etc..  These efforts are through the Croatian Council of Kansas City and we do have a tax exempt status if you need it. The Croatian Council is a group of various Croatian organizations in Kansas City and not a political group.  I know that the word Croatian was spelled as Croation and I will never hear the last of not catching it before it went to press so I ask for your leniency in advance.  Sincerely,  Don Wolf  grandson of Rudolf Volf, Mato Cop, Marija Stimac and Lena Muhvic  [email protected] 913 788 7649  3535 N 63 Terrace Kansas City, Kansas 66104  All checks are made out to St. Theresa's Orphanage (NOT DON WOLF) They are then wire transferred from Industrial State Bank by Mr. Stephen Bozic Galvin directly into the orphanage account in Zagreb. Third generation Croatian Americans are doing our part the best we can.  Distributed by www.CroatianWorld.net. This message is intended for Croatian Associations Institutions and their Friends in Croatia and in the World. The opinions/articles expressed on this list do not reflect personal opinions of the moderator. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, please delete or destroy all copies of this communication and please, let us know!  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Mon, 11 Mar 2002 00:00:00 -0700 (E) Croatian surgeons need help http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4587/1/E-Croatian-surgeons-need-help.html  From:[email protected] (Judy Feldworth) To:[email protected] (Nenad Bach)  Dear All, Here's a problem I would like some insight on from my fellow Croatians . . . I work with an internationally recognized surgeon who is now collaborating (or trying to) with prominent Croatian surgeons in Zagreb. The Croatian surgeons want him to work on a number of projects with them, attend meetings on the Adriatic coast, and speak. When he diplomatically writes to them inquiring about funding for the trips, he receives no answer. (Well, that's typical.) The surgeons talk about everything else but NEVER address the issue of funding, if it is available, where it will come from, etc. Frankly, I am sure that the people in Croatia are waiting for him to pay his own way and that is not going to happen. Anyway, he finds this extremely frustrating and doesn't know what to do, say, or how to handle this situation. Personally, I find this extremely rude and very unprofessional behavior on the part of the Croatian surgeons. Educated Croatians are not stupid. They know the USA is not paved with gold and that we, too, have to pay our bills. And, when you invite someone to your country to offer his professional services for your benefit, you don't duck around the issue of how they are going to get there. Any suggestions?  Judy Feldworth [email protected]    tel;fax:314-268-5113 tel;home:314-664-3292 tel;work:314-577-8314  org:Saint Louis University;Surgery adr:1320 S. Grand Blvd;St. Louis;Missouri;63104;USA   Distributed by www.CroatianWorld.net. This message is intended for Croatian Associations/Institutions and their Friends in Croatia and in the World. The opinions/articles expressed on this list do not reflect personal opinions of the moderator. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, please delete or destroy all copies of this communication and please, let us know!  [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach) Sat, 23 Feb 2002 00:00:00 -0700 Croatian - Flemish association provides financial aid to orphans in Croatia http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/4588/1/Croatian---Flemish-association-provides-financial-aid-to-orphans-in-Croatia.html Click Here: Crown Home PageEdmond Jardas Parents Plan The Edmond Jardas Parents Plan v.z.w. is a Croatian - Flemish association based in Flanders (Belgium) which provides financial aid to orphans and humanitarian projects in the Republic of Croatia. Humanitarian Organisation http://www.ejpp.ca.tc/ [email protected] Dear friends, The long awaited UPDATE of our webiste is done. All those who want to help us : all needed information and documents are NOW online. Have a look at http://www.ejpp.ca.tc/ Kindest greetings, Vercruysse David - Edmond Jardas Parents Plandistributed by CROWN - www.croatianworld.net - [email protected]: This e-mail and the attachments are confidential information.If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail and the attachments is strictly prohibited and violators will be held to the fullest possible extent of any applicable laws governing electronic Privacy. If you have received this e-mail in error please immediately notify the sender by telephone or e-mail, and permanently delete this e-mail and any attachments. [email protected] (Nenad N. Bach)
i don't know
According to the Bible, which part of Goliath’s body did David cut off?
14. David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17:1-58) | Bible.org 14. David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17:1-58) Introduction When I come to the story of “David and Goliath,” I feel like a comedian who has been asked to speak at a convention for comedians. As I step up to the podium, a list of the ten most well-known, over-used jokes known to man is handed to me -- with instructions to tell the jokes in a way that makes my audience laugh. The problem with the Old Testament story of our text, and others like “Daniel in the Lion’s Den” and “Jonah and the ‘Whale’,” is that we become too familiar with them. I do not mean that we know these stories too well, for most often we do not. But we think we know them well, and consequently, we have a long list of preconceived ideas. As we approach our study, let us seek as best we can, and by the Spirit’s enablement, to place those preconceived ideas on the shelf and think through our text afresh. Preliminary Observations It may be helpful to consider several observations in advance of our study in 1 Samuel 17 of David and Goliath. First, the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament made around 200 B. C.) omits a number of verses from this chapter. Specifically, the Septuagint omits verses 12-31, 41, 50, 55-58. The traditional Hebrew text, known as the Masoretic Text, does not omit these verses. Since the Masoretic Text is the original text and the Septuagint is only a translation (and sometimes a rather loose one), we will assume the translators of the Septuagint purposely omitted these verses which were a part of the original text. Second, there appears to be a discrepancy between chapter 16, where Saul knows and loves David, and chapter 17, where Saul appears not to know who David is. Various solutions are proposed. Surely no author (or “editor”) would place these two chapters side-by-side, knowing that something is wrong with the account in chapter 16, or chapter 17, or both. David may have grown considerably since chapter 16, or Saul’s memory might have been poor (there were a lot of names and faces to know from memory, or perhaps his mental malady simply clouds his thinking). These are some possible explanations for this apparent problem. We should also note that 17:15 seems to clearly link chapter 17 with chapter 16. Let us remember that Saul does not ask who David is, but who David’s father is. He does, after all, promise that David’s father’s household will be exempt from paying taxes (see 17:25). If Jesse is indeed very old during the days of Saul (17:12), then Saul likely never met him since Jesse was not able to travel to visit the king. Is this not why Jesse sends David to check on the welfare of his sons (see 17:17-19)? Why would we assume that Saul remembers who David’s father is? Third, chapter 17 very nicely compliments chapter 16 by supplying details not present in the previous chapter. In chapter 16, we have the account of the designation (anointing) of David as Israel’s next king, but in this chapter David does not speak a word and none of his actions are described. It is in chapter 17 that we see a clear picture of David and his character by the words and actions recorded here. In chapter 16, God designates David as His king because he is a “man after God’s own heart” (see 13:14; 16:7). In chapter 17, we see in specific terms just what a “man after God’s heart” is like. Anyone who tries to drive a wedge between these two chapters by pointing to apparent inconsistencies fails to appreciate the continuity which does exist between them. Fourth, this is a war which never needed to be fought, save for the foolishness of Saul in chapter 14. It is Jonathan, Saul’s son, who precipitates the war with the Philistines who are occupying the land of Israel (chapter 13). Saul sees his army dissolve before his eyes and disobeys God by failing to wait for Samuel to offer the burnt offering (13:8-14). Jonathan initiates an attack on a Philistine outpost in chapter 14, which results in divine intervention by means of an earthquake. The battle against the Philistines could be won decisively by the Israelite army except for an edict which Saul foolishly declares. By forbidding any of his soldiers food before evening, Saul puts Jonathan’s life in danger and predisposes the other soldiers to sin by consuming the blood of the animals they slaughter and eat. The weariness of the soldiers due to their hunger keeps them from fighting well as the day drags on. Further, the extra time it takes to properly prepare food for this famished army of Israelites costs Saul and his men the window of opportunity for a decisive and final victory over the Philistines. This war with the Philistines in chapter 17 is the result of Saul’s folly in chapter 14, a war which would never have been fought except for Saul’s edict. Fifth, only a fraction of the 58 verses in chapter 17 actually describe the fight between David and Goliath. If we grant that verses 40-51 deal with the battle between David and the Philistine giant, then we should realize that nearly 80% of the chapter prepares us for this conflict, or follows up on the victory over Goliath, while only 20% actually describes the confrontation between the two. By focusing only on “David and Goliath,” we neglect the greatest portion of the passage and its emphasis. The Big Picture Let us look at chapter 17 then in light of the bigger picture of the Old Testament Scriptures up to this point in Israel’s history. When viewed in isolation, the story of David and Goliath looks very different than when seen in the broader perspective of the preceding Scriptures (Genesis through 1 Samuel 16). We shall begin at Genesis 12:3 in what some call the “Abrahamic Covenant.” There, God says to Abram, 3 “And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3, NASB, emphasis mine). If it is true that Goliath is both cursing Israel and her God, then if God is a covenant-keeping God, we would expect Goliath to be divinely cursed. Biblically speaking, a dark cloud already hangs over the head of Goliath, the blasphemous Philistine. Hastening on in the Law of Moses, we come to the Book of Numbers, particularly chapters 13 and 14, which describe Israel’s fear of the Canaanites and her resulting rebellion against God at Kadesh-barnea. God had delivered Israel from the hand of Pharaoh and drowned the Egyptian army in the Red Sea. Now, when the Israelites arrive at Kadesh-barnea, spies are sent into the land of Canaan to assess the promised land. The land and its fruits are magnificent. The only problem for ten of the spies is the size of the inhabitants of the land: 27 Thus they told him, and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 “Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 “Amalek is living in the land of the Negev and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill country, and the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.” 30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it.” 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.” 32 So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. 33 “There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight” (Numbers 13:27-33, NASB, emphasis mine). What causes the Israelites to fear is the size (and thus military strength) of the “giants” who live in the land of Canaan. “We can’t go up against the Canaanites,” they protest, “there are giants there!” Because of their fear and refusal to trust God for victory, this generation of Israelites dies in the wilderness. When their children – the second generation of Israelites – are ready to possess the land, God gives them very clear instructions regarding their response to the enemies they will face in possessing the land: 21 “’See, the LORD your God has placed the land before you; go up, take possession, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you. Do not fear or be dismayed’” (Deuteronomy 1:21, NASB). 7 “The LORD will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way and shall flee before you seven ways” (Deuteronomy 28:7, NASB). 1 So Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them, “I am a hundred and twenty years old today; I am no longer able to come and go, and the LORD has said to me, 'You shall not cross this Jordan.' 3 “It is the LORD your God who will cross ahead of you; He will destroy these nations before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, just as the LORD has spoken. 4 “And the LORD will do to them just as He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when He destroyed them. 5 “And the LORD will deliver them up before you, and you shall do to them according to all the commandments which I have commanded you. 6 “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.” 7 Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance. “And the LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 31:1-8, NASB, see also Joshua 1:9; 8:1; 10:25). The Book of Joshua records the defeat of Israel’s enemies, not because of Israel’s size or military might, but because God is with them in battle. In the Book of Judges, we read of the men God raises up to deliver His people from their enemies. In some cases, an individual (like Samson; see chapters 13-16) kills many of Israel’s enemies, while in other cases a small group of men (like Gideon and his 300 men; see chapters 6-8) defeat a much larger opposing force. When we come to 1 Samuel, we find much preparation for David’s contest with Goliath in the first 16 chapters. Listen to the words of Hannah recorded in chapter 2: 3 “Boast no more so very proudly, Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth; For the LORD is a God of knowledge, And with Him actions are weighed. 4 “The bows of the mighty are shattered, But the feeble gird on strength. . . . 9 “He keeps the feet of His godly ones, But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; For not by might shall a man prevail. 10 “Those who contend with the LORD will be shattered; Against them He will thunder in the heavens, The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; And He will give strength to His king, And will exalt the horn of His anointed” (1 Samuel 2:3-4, 9-10). In chapter 4, we come to the first battle with the Philistines in the Book of 1 Samuel. When the Israelites suffer defeat at the hands of the Philistines, they take the Ark of God with them to war, assured that it will magically bring them victory. The Israelites are defeated, Eli’s sons, Phinehas and Hophni, are killed and Eli himself dies when he learns of this disaster. The Philistines proudly carry the Ark off as a trophy of war, a symbol of their “victory over Israel and their God.” Without human assistance, God humiliates Dagon, the Philistine god, and the people of the principle Philistine cities (chapters 5-6). In chapter 7, the Israelites repent of their sins and go to Mizpah to be judged by Samuel and to worship God. When the Philistines hear this gathering, they assume it is some kind of hostile military maneuver, so they muster their forces and encircle the high place where the Israelites are assembled. The Israelites are defenseless, but Samuel intercedes for them, and as he offers a sacrifice, God intervenes with an electrical storm which turns the Philistines’ iron weapons into electrical conductors and devastates their army. In chapter 8, the Israelites demand a king to judge them and to rule over them. A good part of their motivation is wanting someone who will go before them and fight their battles for them (see 8:5, 20). Saul is chosen, a man who stands head and shoulders above his fellow Israelites (9:2). This is the man who will deliver God’s people from the Philistines: 15 Now a day before Saul's coming, the LORD had revealed this to Samuel saying, 16 “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over My people Israel; and he shall deliver My people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have regarded My people, because their cry has come to Me” (1 Samuel 9:15-16, NASB, emphasis mine). Saul’s first battle with the Philistines comes on the heels of his decisive victory over the Ammonites who besieged Jabesh-gilead (chapter 11). The confrontation is not initiated by Saul, but by his son, Jonathan, who attacks a Philistine garrison stationed in Israel (13:1-4). Saul panics because of the size of the Philistine army and because his army is continuing to shrink. Disobeying God’s command, he offers the burnt offering himself rather than wait for Samuel (13:8-14). This is the beginning of the end for Saul. The situation between Israel’s soldiers and the Philistine army reaches a kind of stalemate. Saul seems to prefer it this way rather than to risk any aggressive offensive action. Jonathan makes a very David-like move. Without telling anyone (especially his father), Jonathan takes his armor bearer and attacks an outpost of Philistines with these words, which reflect his character and the quality of his faith: 6 Then Jonathan said to the young man who was carrying his armor, “Come and let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; perhaps the LORD will work for us, for the LORD is not restrained to save by many or by few” (1 Samuel 14:6, NASB, emphasis mine). When we view the confrontation between the Israelites and the Philistines and the confrontation between David and Goliath in light of previous biblical revelation, we gain a very different perspective. Are the Israelites, including Saul, terrorized by Goliath (see 17:11, 24, 32)? They should not be. Indeed, such fear is not only a lack of faith, but disobedience to the commands God has given to His people (see Deuteronomy 1:21; 31:8, etc.). Are they terrified by this giant? They should be saying, “Only one giant. . .?” Are they inclined to hold back and not attack? They should consider the theology and practice of Jonathan, who believes that God is not limited by the number of warriors who fight in His name. It is not the size of Goliath or the arrogance of his words which should cause us to wonder, but rather the unbelief and fear of God’s people. This situation is neither new or novel. The odds are no worse here than elsewhere. Israel simply lacks faith. Israel lacks godly leadership. The Setting (17:1-3) 1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and camped in the valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array to encounter the Philistines. 3 And the Philistines stood on the mountain on one side while Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them. Saul never seems to take the initiative in precipitating a military confrontation with the Philistines, and this is no exception. After their partial defeat and humiliation at the hand of the Israelites in chapter 14, the Philistines seem eager to not only regain the military dominance they once held over Israel (see 4:9), but their sense of pride as well. The two armies square off approximately 15 miles southwest of Jerusalem, 61 digging in on opposite sides of the Elah valley and setting up camp on the sides of two mountains, each of which slopes down to the valley with a brook running between (see 17:40). We may very well wonder why this standoff continues for so long, with both sides feigning a fight with loud shouting and all of the hype of war, but with no real contact and no casualties. Saul and his army do not really want to fight, and neither do the Philistines. It is easier to understand the Philistines’ reluctance. They employ steel as well as bronze in their implements of war. They have chariots, for example (see 13:5), but these are designed for relatively level ground, not mountain slopes -- these are not “all terrain vehicles.” Neither is it easy for a heavily protected soldier like Goliath to fight with agility and ease while struggling to keep his footing on a mountain slope. The danger of fighting in such rough terrain is clearly stated later on in 2 Samuel. When the forces loyal to David go out to fight Absalom and his army, more of the rebel forces are killed by the terrain than by David’s soldiers: 8 For the battle there was spread over the whole countryside, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured (2 Samuel 18:8, NASB). Even if the Philistines outnumber and outclass the Israelites in their weapons, the terrain is such that it greatly hinders the Philistines’ cause, somewhat like the way winter may have hindered military efforts in Europe in the past. Neither side seems to want a full-scale battle, and so Goliath’s challenge is somewhat tempting, if he can only find someone willing to fight with him. The Villain and the Victor (17:4-16) 4 Then a champion came out from the armies of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 And he had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was clothed with scale-armor which weighed five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 He also had bronze greaves on his legs and a bronze javelin slung between his shoulders. 7 And the shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; his shield-carrier also walked before him. 8 And he stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, and said to them, “ Why do you come out to draw up in battle array? Am I not the Philistine and you servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. 9 “If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.” 10 Again the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. 12 Now David was the son of the Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, whose name was Jesse, and he had eight sons. And Jesse was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men. 13 And the three older sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the first-born, and the second to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 And David was the youngest. Now the three oldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father's flock at Bethlehem. 16 And the Philistine came forward morning and evening for forty days, and took his stand. It is possible that Goliath is the commander of the Philistine forces, but I see no compelling reason to think so. He is not mentioned in the first three verses of chapter 17 and only seems to emerge after a lengthy standoff between the two armies. When he is introduced, it is not as the Philistines’ king nor their commander-in-chief, but rather as a “champion.” 62 I am therefore inclined to think that as the standoff continues, Goliath takes this opportunity to approach the Israelites, going beyond his own forces and standing out in the open as an inviting target for any bold enough to “come and get” him. Goliath seems to speak for the entire Philistine army when he proposes a solution to the stalemate between the two armies. It is one which will give him great pleasure (he seems to love a good fight, and the fact that he is alive bears witness that he has not lost a fight yet), and the Philistines a real advantage, if Goliath prevails. But, as the offer stands, if but one Israelite opposes Goliath and wins, Israel’s victory over the entire Philistine army will be conceded. In this way, only one life would need to be lost to determine the victorious army. Over a period of forty days, the Israelites seem to become increasingly fearful and reluctant to oblige Goliath. All the while, Goliath seems to become more and more bold. Twice a day (morning and evening) Goliath approaches the Israelite front lines and challenges any Israelite warrior with the courage to come out and fight him. I can imagine that as the days wear on, Goliath becomes more arrogant, perhaps approaching even closer and closer to them (with the Israelites fleeing when he does so – see 17:24). His offer is first a challenge and then it seems to become a taunt. He is trying to goad the Israelites into action. This is an easy challenge for Goliath to make. After all, this fellow is a giant. He is “six cubits and a span” tall (verse 4), which makes him almost ten feet tall! 63 If he were a basketball player today, he could “slam-dunk” the ball standing flat-footed! If his height is not enough to terrorize the Israelites, his armor would send a chill up their spine. I have heard of women “dressed to kill,” but Goliath really does send a message just by the way he is outfitted. He wears a bronze helmet and a coat of armor weighing about 125 pounds, and his legs are also protected by armor. He carries a bronze javelin between his shoulder blades and has a spear heavy enough that some of us might need a friend to take up one end just to help carry it. The head of the spear weighs about 15 pounds by some estimates, and others suggest even more. Besides all the protective equipment Goliath wears or carries, he has an armor bearer who goes ahead of him to hold up a shield. The Israelites do not take Goliath’s challenge lightly. Along with their king, they are terrified by this Philistine giant. They are all so frightened that no one is willing to accept Goliath’s challenge. No one wants to take on this giant. Morning and evening for forty days 64 Goliath tries to provoke someone to fight him, and he terrorizes those who do not. Goliath, the Philistine champion, is described in verses 4-11 in terms of his towering physical stature and his impressive defensive and offensive armor. David, Goliath’s opponent-to-be, is introduced in verses 12-15 by a very different description. Nothing is said here about David’s stature, his strength, or his weapons. We are simply told that he is the youngest of eight sons of Jesse, the Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah. We are further told that Jesse is a very old man during the years that Saul reigns (verse 12). We are told that David’s three oldest brothers (the same three named in 16:6-9) have gone to war with Saul, and that David is left at home to care for the sheep, except for those times he needs to commute to serve as a minister of music for Saul (see 16:14-23). Why this “family” emphasis in describing David when Goliath is described in terms of his awesome looks, weapons, and aggressiveness? There are several reasons. First, it is not David’s appearance which causes God to choose him, but his heart, his character. Second, in order for David to be recognized as the one whose offspring will someday be the Messiah, he must be of the tribe of Judah (see Genesis 49:8-12), and he must be a Bethlehemite (see Micah 5:2). His being the youngest in the family explains why he is assigned to care for the sheep, and also why his aged father sends him to deliver food to his brothers and bring back a report about their welfare. It is also another example of how God often reverses man’s ways, which here would be to choose the oldest son of Jesse, not the youngest. 65 David Visits His Brothers in Battle (17:17-25) 17 Then Jesse said to David his son, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to your brothers. 18 “Bring also these ten cuts of cheese to the commander of their thousand, and look into the welfare of your brothers, and bring back news of them. 19 “For Saul and they and all the men of Israel are in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.” 20 So David arose early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper and took the supplies and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the circle of the camp while the army was going out in battle array shouting the war cry. 21 And Israel and the Philistines drew up in battle array, army against army. 22 Then David left his baggage in the care of the baggage keeper, and ran to the battle line and entered in order to greet his brothers. 23 As he was talking with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine from Gath named Goliath, was coming up from the army of the Philistines, and he spoke these same words; and David heard them. 24 When all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from him and were greatly afraid. 25 And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to defy Israel. And it will be that the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in Israel.” In verses 4-30, there is a very clear contrast between the way Goliath comes to do battle with David and the way David finds himself facing Goliath. Goliath’s prominent role is predictable, even expected. He is a seasoned soldier, an arrogant (if not courageous) fighter, a champion whose role is to fight in that territory between the two opposing armies. David comes into this fight in a very different way. We would never expect it, and probably David would not either. He is not even in the army. His three oldest brothers are, but then there are four other brothers older than David who are not fighting either. David is the youngest of the eight sons. His job is to play the harp for Saul and to care for his father’s sheep. Who could ever imagine that he would end up accepting Goliath’s challenge? David’s arrival at the scene of conflict is not the result of his own initiative. He is more than busy caring for Saul and his father’s sheep (verse 15). David’s three oldest brothers are fighting the Philistines a few miles to the west, and apparently it has been some time since Jesse has received any report about the welfare of these three men. Due to his advanced age, Jesse cannot travel the distance, so he summons David and instructs him to go to the camp of the Israelite army. Ostensibly, his purpose for visiting is to take some supplies to his brothers and their commander (verses 17-18). One has the feeling, however, that what Jesse wants most is a first-hand report on how things are going and to hear word from his sons. I am sure that Jesse does not want to put his youngest son in harm’s way. I believe he expects David to arrive while the soldiers are in camp, not on the battle line. He wants David to deliver the supplies, speak directly with his brothers, and then hurry home with the news without getting involved in the fighting. It simply does not work out that way. God providentially orchestrates events so that a very different series of events transpire. After seeing that someone will look after his flock of sheep, David leaves early in the morning, traveling westward approximately 12 miles to the Israelite camp. Had he arrived just a few minutes earlier, things might have been very different. He would have found his brothers still at their camp, where he could have simply handed them the supplies Jesse sent, asked about their well-being, and then set out for home before his three brothers go to the battle line. But David arrives just as the Israelite soldiers are leaving their camp and rushing toward the battle line, giving an impressive battle cry in unison as they charge -- approaching, but not getting too close, to the Philistines. David has little choice but to leave the food from home with one who stays back with the supplies and to follow his brothers to the front line. There, David finds his brothers, and as he talks with them, Goliath steps forward to repeat his challenge for the 81st time (see 1 Samuel 17:16). Goliath says what he always does, but this is the first time David has heard him. David listens to this giant’s challenge and his cursing of Israel and her God. He watches the frightened Israelites (including his brothers) draw back, their courage shattered by this man’s words and appearance. Providentially, some of the Israelite soldiers speak to David, or at least to each other in his hearing. The words David hears catch him completely off guard, so much so that he asks that the matter be repeated and confirmed several times by different people. They all agree that king Saul has issued a call for a volunteer to fight Goliath and has further offered a substantial reward to the man who steps forward and accepts the challenge. Saul promises to give this person a substantial amount of wealth, as well as one of his daughters for a wife. He also promises to exempt the volunteer’s father’s family from taxes. I admit this is speculation, but I do not think this three-fold offer is made all at one time. I think it happened progressively. Have you even been at an airport gate ready to board a flight when the attendant announces that the flight is overbooked? At first, the airline may offer a $100 voucher to any willing to give up their seats. Then, if additional seats are still needed, the airline ups the ante. Now the person who surrenders their ticket will be given a $200 voucher. And finally, if need be, the airline offers a voucher for free round-trip tickets anywhere in the U.S. I think this is what Saul does. Saul, who is unwilling to personally take on Goliath, calls for a volunteer to do so. No one volunteers. Then he offers a substantial amount of cash (or land, or whatever form the wealth might take) to any volunteer. Still no one volunteers. A few days later, Saul throws in the offer of one of his daughters for a wife -- still there are no volunteers. Finally, Saul adds a further benefit to the package – he will exempt this man’s family from taxation. Now here is a deal Saul thinks no one can refuse. David thinks no one can refuse it either. When he hears what Saul has offered, it is so incredible he asks several people to confirm what he has heard before he believes it. In my mind, David is not entirely motivated by the gifts. He is amazed instead that such an offer has been made at all, because he fully expects any true soldier of Saul to jump at the chance – the privilege – of taking on Goliath. After all, this man is cursing the people of God, and thus God Himself. David is certain that God will give the one who fights Goliath the victory. It is a cinch! And on top of the great honor and privilege of fighting Goliath, the king is offering all these gifts! It is too much to comprehend. David asks over and over to be sure he has heard correctly. Is there some catch? Why is no one accepting Saul’s offer to fight? David’s Exchange with Eliab (17:28-30) 28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger burned against David and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle.” 29 But David said, “What have I done now? Was it not just a question?” 30 Then he turned away from him to another and said the same thing; and the people answered the same thing as before. Most think the miracle of this chapter is David’s defeat of Goliath. While this is a great miracle, let us not forget that many obstacles must be dealt with before David can even confront Goliath. The first is David’s circumstances. He is young and not even in Saul’s army. He is a shepherd boy, tending his father’s flock a number of miles away from the place where the two armies are facing off with each other. Besides Goliath, David must also get past his older brother, Eliab, and Saul. He must first obtain official permission to engage Goliath on the battlefield. The first obstacle is in the process of being removed. David is now dealing with the second obstacle – his oldest brother, Eliab – in verses 28-30. Let us remember Eliab’s words to David here in the light of what we have already learned about him in chapter 16. Eliab is the oldest of Jesse’s eight sons; David is the youngest. Eliab must be “tall, dark, and handsome,” because Samuel expects that he will be the one he will anoint as king of Israel. Eliab is rejected (along with David’s six other older brothers) because God will not choose the king on the basis of outward appearance, but on the basis of having a heart after His own heart (13:14; 16:7). Eliab does not have the “heart” David does. Furthermore, Samuel anointed David before his brothers (16:13), so that Eliab knows about God’s selection of David as king. By the end of chapter 17, Eliab does not come out looking very good. When he hears David inquiring of some of his fellow-soldiers about the rewards Saul has offered the man who defeats Goliath, Eliab is greatly angered and proceeds to vent that anger toward David. He first accuses David of coming to the battlefield for all the wrong reasons. Specifically, he accuses David of wanting to be a spectator at the battlefront for his own entertainment, not unlike going to a circus. Eliab either does not know that David has come in obedience to his father’s instructions, or he mentally sets this aside. He then attacks David by accusing him of forsaking his responsibilities with respect to his job of caring for his father’s sheep. He indicts David for abandoning the flock and adds insult to injury by adding the word “few” (“few sheep,” verse 28), suggesting that David’s task is not only menial (taking care of the sheep), but trivial (just a “few sheep”). In fact, David has not neglected his flock, but secured someone to care for them in his absence (verse 20). Worst of all, Eliab dares to judge his youngest brother’s heart, accusing him of acting out of a wicked heart. Ironically, in every area Eliab accuses David, his youngest brother is not only innocent but commendable. David comes to the battlefield to bring food to his brothers and take back news to their father -- he comes to the battlefield in obedience to his father’s instructions. David does not forsake his sheep; he secures someone to care for them while he is absent. David is not guilty of having a wicked heart; he is chosen by God because he is “a man after God’s own heart.” And David is not to be treated with disrespect as he will soon be Israel’s king (and this includes Eliab). Running through all of Eliab’s accusations is one main theme: David’s youth. David is accused of coming to the battle scene out of childish curiosity. That is wrong. He is accused of forsaking his responsibilities as a child is inclined to do and also accused of insolence and wickedness of heart of which children are capable. How dare David come and raise questions pertaining to Saul’s request and Goliath’s challenge! If David had gone home right then and given his father a complete and honest report about the war and the conduct of his older brothers, what would he have told Jesse? He would have to report that absolutely no progress had been made in defeating the Philistines, that Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah all ran like cowards when Goliath approached. He would have to tell his father that when he brought up the subject of volunteering to fight Goliath, he was severely “cut down” by his oldest brother. Is it not interesting that Goliath’s arrogance and blasphemies are minimized by Eliab, while David is falsely accused of wickedness for doing and speaking what is right? David may be disappointed and distressed by his oldest brother’s unkind words of condemnation, but he is not stopped by them. He answers back to his brother and challenges Eliab to be specific as to the wrong he has done by speaking as he has. He seems to insist that the matter about which he is speaking is not inappropriate. What else should one be talking about than taking on Goliath and seeking the reward Saul offers? So David continues what he has been doing – asking those around him if his understanding of Saul’s offer is correct. David and Israel’s Goliath (Saul) (17:31-39) 31 When the words which David spoke were heard, they told them to Saul, and he sent for him. 32 And David said to Saul, “Let no man's heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33 Then Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36 “Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God.” 37 And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the LORD be with you.” 38 Then Saul clothed David with his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. 39 And David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” And David took them off. If Eliab has his way, David will be sent away in shame. Fortunately for Israel, David is neither devastated nor deterred by Eliab’s sarcastic rebuke by which he attempts to “cut David down to size.” Eliab may have ordered David to go home, if Saul had not gotten word about David’s interest in his incentive program for taking on Goliath. Regardless, Saul summons David, whose first words to his king are gracious and encouraging: 32 “Let no man's heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine”. While the application of David’s words goes beyond Saul, it certainly focuses upon Saul who is terrified by the foreboding presence of Goliath and the Philistines. David graciously and somewhat indirectly encourages Saul not to fear. The reason David can say this is because he is willing to go and fight Goliath. David is willing to do what neither Saul nor any other soldier in Israel is willing to do – fight Goliath. Before considering David’s faith, let us ponder Saul’s fears for a moment. I have to conclude that by nature Saul is less than courageous. His father was a “mighty man of valor” (9:1), but this is never said of Saul. 66 Saul is the one who hides in the baggage when he is indicated to be Israel’s king (10:22). When the Spirit comes upon Saul, he becomes a new man, with a new heart (10:9). David seems to be a man after God’s own heart before the Spirit comes upon him. When faced with Philistine opposition, Saul is passive, not aggressive, though fighting the Philistines is a significant part of his calling as king (9:16). Only when the Spirit comes upon Saul mightily does he seem to act decisively against his enemies (11:6). By nature, Saul is less than courageous; only in the Spirit is he a true leader. Having said all of this, I must admit feeling some compassion (or at least pity) for Saul. In many ways, his refusal to fight Goliath (individually or collectively) is completely logical. After all, Saul has been told that his kingdom is as good as finished (13:13-14; 15:23). Samuel leaves him, never to see his face again (15:35). And the Spirit of God has departed from him, replaced by an “evil Spirit from the Lord” (16:14). I don’t think I would be doing anything dangerous or courageous either. David is a man of courage and, at this point, the only Israelite on the battlefield with courage. Where does he get this courage? Let me suggest several sources. First, David’s courage grows out of his theology – his understanding of God. David is “a man after God’s own heart” (13:14; 16:7). A person cannot be a “man after God’s own heart” unless he knows the heart of God, and this comes through an understanding of God through His Word (see, for example, Psalm 119). David knows God, not only historically (the way God delivered Israel in the past), and theologically, but experientially, as he will soon indicate to Saul. David acts like the king of Israel should act. He needs to trust in God, to inspire his fellow-Israelites to do likewise, and to defeat the enemies of God, especially the Philistines. When David was anointed as the coming king over Israel (chapter 16), he must have spent a good deal of time pondering just what all this meant, much like Mary would do centuries later (see Luke 2:19, 51). What does it mean to be Israel’s king? What should David do as the king? No doubt his actions the day he faces Goliath are the result of his meditations. This young man is not a soldier, and some would say he is too young to fight, but David is providentially placed in a circumstance where he must trust God and obey His Word or cower in unbelief and disobedience, as Saul and the rest. Saul gives David every opportunity to excuse himself and go back home to his father and his sheep without guilt or shame. There is a certain kindness in Saul’s words to David when he attempts to talk him out of fighting Goliath. Saul does not say that David is too small to fight Goliath, but that he is too young and therefore inexperienced. Goliath is a seasoned champion with years of combat experience behind him. David is but a youth, with no combat missions at all. At least this is what Saul supposes, but David proves otherwise so convincingly that Saul allows him to represent Israel in fighting Goliath. David is young, but his seemingly trivial duty of caring for a small flock of sheep has very nicely prepared him to fight Goliath. Eliab was never more wrong than he was about David, as David’s words to Saul show. David sees and hears what every other Israelite soldier does that morning on the front lines with his brothers. The difference is that David views this circumstance as amazingly similar to situations he has successfully faced as a shepherd boy. Is Goliath strong and mighty, able to destroy a man? So are lions and bears, and David has faced them down and killed them. Is Goliath an arrogant loud mouth? Few creatures are more intimidating by their roaring than a bear or a lion (see 1 Peter 5:8). In the carrying out of his duties as a shepherd, David has killed both lions and bears (verses 34-36). 67 As David risks his life to rescue the sheep under his care, God rescues him. Is David worried about facing Goliath? No, because the God who rescued him from the paw 68 of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue him from the hand of Goliath. Notice that David speaks of being rescued from the “hand” or “paw” of the lion and the bear, and not the “jaws.” This is because the wild beast had a lamb in its mouth and refused to release it, so it had to fight David with its paws and claws. Goliath poses no new threat, and since David has, with the help of God, destroyed loud-mouthed lions and bears by his hand, he can also destroy loud-mouthed Philistines. Does Goliath speak (roar) in a way that frightens the Israelite forces? He does not frighten David. He has been here before. I believe David’s faith in God is contagious, and that Saul somehow believes there is a good chance David will prevail over Goliath. Saul gives David permission to fight Goliath and offers him his armor. The armor is a bad idea, which David rejects, but it does strongly imply that David is fighting Goliath in Saul’s place as the official representative of the Israelite army. If this is the case, then David’s victory should be Israel’s victory (which it proves to be). On the flip side, David’s defeat will appear to be Israel’s defeat, at least by the terms Goliath lays down (see verses 8-9). David is not fighting this battle alone. He is fighting for God, for Saul, and for the entire nation of Israel. I am not inclined to make a lot out of Saul’s armor which he offers David. It might seem, at least from a distance (and to those not advised) that it is Saul going out against Goliath. After all, who else has armor like Saul’s? It also suggests that David cannot be that small in size, or the armor would not even fit. David puts it on and then puts it off, because he has not learned to fight in such armor – in his words, he has not “proven it.” David will go against Goliath with the same weapons he has used before, with those God has given him the skill to use. David and Goliath (17:40-54) 40 And he took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine. 41 Then the Philistine came on and approached David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, with a handsome appearance. 43 And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.” 45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. 46 “This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD'S and He will give you into our hands. “ 48 Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground. 50 Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David's hand. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 52 And the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines as far as the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the slain Philistines lay along the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron. 53 And the sons of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines and plundered their camps. 54 Then David took the Philistine's head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in his tent. The irony of this incident is that David’s armor (or lack of it) seems to “disarm” Goliath. Here is a man whose ego seems as large or larger than his frame. He is arrogant, proud, and blasphemous. He challenges the Israelites to send him their best warrior, and the winner takes all. Can you imagine the shock to Goliath and his ego when David comes forth? Here is a young man with no defensive armor at all, and seemingly no offensive armor. David does carry a sling, but he has not yet placed a rock in it, so he certainly does not appear threatening. What Goliath does see is the stick David carries in his hand. Goliath seems to jump to the conclusion that this is David’s only weapon. People carry sticks – even today – to ward off dogs that might harass them. Is this why David brings his stick, to deal with Goliath like a dog? Goliath utters curses by his gods (verse 43). He is from Gath; has Goliath ever heard how God dealt with his “god” Dagon? What an insult to Goliath to send a young lad with no armor and a stick! Is this how seriously they take him? Do they think so little of his ability to send him someone like this? Goliath is good and mad, and he certainly intends to kill David and feed his carcass to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field (verse 44). Is this threat also intended to intimidate David? It does not. If anything, it confirms David’s faith. This imagery of feeding the dead body of the enemy to the birds and beasts does not originate with Goliath: 25 “The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them, but you shall flee seven ways before them, and you shall be an example of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 “And your carcasses shall be food to all birds of the sky and to the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away” (Deuteronomy 28:25-26). God used this expression to describe the fate of those Israelites who rejected His Word, but this imagery is also employed with regard to the enemies of God, whoever they may be (see Jeremiah 7:33; 15:3; 16:4; 19:7; 34:20; Ezekiel 29:5). Does Goliath hope to frighten David by threatening to kill him and feed his body to the birds and the beasts? He simply reminds David of a promise God made regarding His enemies. It is for this reason that David can turn Goliath’s curse inside out: 46 “This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel” (1 Samuel 17:46). It is not David’s carcass that will become bird food that day, but Goliath’s. David makes it very clear that his contest with Goliath is not merely a personal matter – David is fighting Goliath for the glory of God, and on behalf of the nation Israel. His victory should be a lesson to all that the “battle is the Lord’s,” as well as the victory (verse 47). This gets Goliath moving. David does not wait for Goliath to come to him. Instead, he runs toward Goliath, taking out one of the five stones as he runs, placing it in his sling, and then swinging it about as he heads toward the giant. Can you imagine David at this point trying to run with all Saul’s armor, hoping to strike a lethal blow to Goliath when he cannot even reach above his shoulders with a sword? The sling is the perfect weapon. Goliath is stationed behind the shield held by his armor bearer. He is armor-plated from his feet to his head, with an opening only around his eyes so that he can see. This is the exposed part of his body. This is David’s target, which he hits dead center, dare I say, while on the run. The stone sinks deeply into the skull of Goliath, bringing him down like a falling tree. David runs to Goliath, pulls out the sword from his motionless body, and hacks off his head with it. The enemy is now bird food. This must have been one agonizing moment in time when the whole world seemed to stand still and keep silent. The Philistines are paralyzed for that one moment, minds racing to take in what has just happened before their eyes as they begin to realize its implications. The same must be true for the Israelite soldiers. And then, after this one moment of paralysis, the Philistines take off on the run. With the loss of their champion, all courage and will to fight are gone. The Israelite soldiers seize the moment and take out after the retreating enemy. There is no better place from which to fight such a foe than from behind, where there is no armor to protect and the sheer weight of their armor hinders their retreat. Armor, swords, anything which slows down the enemy’s escape is cast aside. Bodies of slain Philistines are strewn from the battle site to the very gates of their cities. And on their way back, the Israelite soldiers are laden with the booty they plunder from the Philistine camps. David seems only to be carrying the head of the Philistine, along with his weapons, which he temporarily places in his tent. 69 A Problematic Passage (17:55-58) 55 Now when Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” And Abner said, “By your life, O king, I do not know.” 56 And the king said, “You inquire whose son the youth is.” 57 So when David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine's head in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.” This passage poses problems for biblical scholars. It may appear that Saul has never before met David, and thus he does not know who he is. We should begin by pointing out that Saul’s question is not, “Who is this young man?” but “Who is this young man’s father?” Why would we suppose that because Saul knows David he also knows his father? In chapter 16, messengers are sent to Jesse to request that David be allowed to come to Saul’s home to play the harp for him (16:19). This does not require that Saul knows David’s father’s name. His servants can take care of this detail. We should also remember that Jesse is elderly and unable to travel, which is the reason David is sent to the battlefield to inquire about the welfare of his brothers (17:12, 17ff.). Thus, Jesse and Saul probably never did meet. Why is it unusual then for Saul to inquire about the name of David’s father, perhaps for the tax roles, if he actually exempts him? In chapter 16, we know David goes to work for Saul (16:14-23), and in chapter 17, we are reminded of this fact (17:15). In chapter 18, we find David playing his harp for the troubled Saul, as he does in chapter 16 (18:10-12) -- so too in chapter 19 (19:9-10). We can hardly avoid the fact that Saul knows David, though he does not know (or at least remember) the name of his father, Jesse. It is no wonder that a king does not remember the name of one of his part-time servant’s father. Even if we expected Saul to remember, our text does not raise questions about the accuracy of the passage, only the accuracy of Saul’s memory. As messed up as Saul is, why do we find this strange? There is something in verses 55-58, however, which should bother us -- it is not Saul’s faulty memory, but his detachment from the battle. I pointed out in chapter 14 that Saul is “under the pomegranate tree” (verse 2), while Jonathan is on his way with his armor bearer to fight some of the Philistines. It is as though Saul found himself the most comfortable place to be rather than the most strategic place (which is where Jonathan is going). Now in chapter 17, David has just spoken with Saul and is going out to do battle with Goliath. Saul and his commander-in-chief watch from a distant vantage point. If anyone should be getting ready for battle, it would be these two men. Saul is the one whose duty is to go before the Israelites to battle; Abner, “the commander of the army,” is also to lead in battle. Yet these two men seem to look on from a safe distance, while David goes out to risk his life. We might liken this to a football game between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco Forty-Niners. Looking down at the field, we see such greats as Jerry Rice and Steve Young on the San Francisco side. Then we look down and see a rookie quarterback lining up for the Cowboys, along with some very lightweight linemen. As we look around the stadium, we see Troy Aikman and coach Barry Switzer sitting in the box, looking down on the game with binoculars and asking each other about the name of the rookie’s father. It just doesn’t seem right, does it? Here they are, Saul and Abner, sitting back at a safe distance chatting about the name of David’s father. Abner tells Saul he does not know. Saul tells Abner to check it out. And all the while, David is making his way toward Goliath. I can almost hear Saul turning to Abner, saying, “Pass the popcorn.” After David returns from killing Goliath, Abner brings David to Saul with Goliath’s head in his hands. Saul then asks David whose son he is, and he is told that his father’s name is Jesse, the Bethlehemite. This is most bizarre, is it not? What of the battle? Why are Saul and Abner not in the thick of it? How do they find the time to talk about such things as the name of David’s father at a time like this? Saul is not portrayed in a very favorable light. If anyone wants to be troubled, let them ponder what Saul and Abner are doing, and what they are not doing, rather than agonize about why they can’t remember the name of David’s father, a man they probably never met and whose name they may never have heard. Conclusion We are told what David thought in his heart when Samuel anointed him as Israel’s next king, Saul’s replacement. I can imagine that he must have felt a great deal like the virgin Mary when the angel Gabriel informed her that she was to become the mother of God’s promised Messiah. Her response was, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34). David, likewise, must have thought: “How can I possibly become Israel’s king when I am but a young man, not even old enough to be in the army, and the only authority I have is over a small flock of sheep?” The last verses of chapter 16 begin to tell us how God will accomplish His will for David. Chapter 17 is another very significant part of the plan to make David king. It is marvelous to see how God goes about accomplishing His Word. And what God promises, God provides. His Word is sure. We are inclined to look at the contest between David and Goliath as something unique, something very unusual. It is not. God gave specific instructions about such confrontations: 1 “When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you. 2 “Now it shall come about that when you are approaching the battle, the priest shall come near and speak to the people. 3 “And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, you are approaching the battle against your enemies today. Do not be fainthearted. Do not be afraid, or panic, or tremble before them, 4 for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you’” (Deuteronomy 20:1-4). Only a few verses later, God instructs the Israelites to identify anyone who is fainthearted so that he will not undermine the faith and confidence of his brethren (verse 8). The situation Saul and Israel face with the Philistines is not unusual. The problem is Saul’s fear and his lack of faith, which becomes contagious. Is it not interesting that when Saul leads, his troops flee (see 1 Samuel 13:5-7)? Saul’s soldiers are frightened because Saul is terrified (17:11, 24). David, a lowly shepherd boy who is too young to be a soldier in Saul’s army, comes along and because of his faith and courage, inspires others to trust in God to work through him to kill Goliath and give Israel the victory. Notice the long list of heroes among Israel’s soldiers in 2 Samuel 23, after David becomes Israel’s king. There are many mighty men of valor under David’s leadership, to a great degree due to the faith and courage David personally demonstrates. I am fascinated to learn that there are a number of Goliath’s after he is killed, and that David’s men (like David) do them in: 18 Now it came about after this that there was war again with the Philistines at Gob; then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was among the descendants of the giant. 19 And there was war with the Philistines again at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. 20 And there was war at Gath again, where there was a man of great stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also had been born to the giant. 21 And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David's brother, struck him down. 22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants (2 Samuel 21:18-22, NASB, compare 1 Chronicles 20:4-8). This matter of killing giants seems to become almost routine. Once David stands up to Goliath, other mighty men of valor take on Goliath’s family members. David’s courage is contagious, as was Saul’s cowardice. God did not intend for there be one giant who would be killed by David so that no Israelite had to face such a problem again. God purposed that David would stand up to the giant and kill him, giving other men the example and the faith to do likewise. I contend that God will always have His “Davids” and that such men will always have their “Goliaths”. Sometimes the “Goliaths” will be individuals; at other times, they will be nations, or even celestial powers. In each case, we must remember that “the battle is the Lord’s.” It is He who goes before us, giving us the victory: 30 “‘The LORD your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked, until you came to this place.’ 32 “But for all this, you did not trust the LORD your God, 33 who goes before you on your way, to seek out a place for you to encamp, in fire by night and cloud by day, to show you the way in which you should go” (Deuteronomy 1:30-33, NASB). 12 But you will not go out in haste, Nor will you go as fugitives; For the LORD will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard (Isaiah 52:12). 8 “Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard” (Isaiah 58:8). 7 “Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria, nor because of all the multitude which is with him; for the one with us is greater than the one with him. 8 “With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah (2 Chronicles 32:7-8). Our text has much to teach us about leadership, how it is developed, and how it is recognized. By birth order and family circumstances, David does not appear destined for leadership. But he is a man after God’s own heart. God prepares David providentially, as he faithfully carries out his responsibility as a shepherd. When a lion or a bear attack one of his flock, he rescues it, taking on the bear or the lion to do so. In this process, David learns to trust God and to use the weapons he has been given, a lesson for us as well. David does not seek leadership; in a sense, it is thrust upon him. David becomes a leader by being a good follower. He goes to the battle scene, obeying the instructions of his father. And when David sees the fear of the Israelites, he begins to seek to do something about it. When he hears Goliath blaspheme his God and intimidate the armies of the Lord, David purposes to fight Goliath in the name of the Lord. David does not seek leadership, but it is thrust upon him and he does not duck his responsibilities. How menial his shepherding may have seemed at times, but how well God used it to prepare him for facing Goliath in battle. Our text teaches us about means and methods. We live in a day when men imitate the methods of other men. A man seems to have a successful business or ministry, and he writes a book telling others “how” he did it. Others read the book, wanting to be successful too, and then imitate the man’s methods. David does not fight Goliath with Saul’s weapons or with his methods. David fights Goliath with the methods he developed and practiced while caring for his sheep. We often expect God to bring about the defeat of his enemies by the use of unusual, spectacular means. God did bring plagues upon the Egyptians and drown their army in the Red Sea. God used earthquakes and thunderstorms and floods. God is capable of delivering His people any way He chooses. But in the case of Goliath, God used a young man and a sling. These may not be impressive weapons in and of themselves, but David and his sling made a big impression on Goliath! When the more mundane means are employed by God, we should nevertheless remember that even our skill at shooting an arrow, or hurling a stone, or standing on slippery ground comes from Him: 30 As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the LORD is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. 31 For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God, 32 The God who girds me with strength, And makes my way blameless? 33 He makes my feet like hinds' feet, And sets me upon my high places. 34 He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 35 Thou hast also given me the shield of Thy salvation, And Thy right hand upholds me; And Thy gentleness makes me great. 36 Thou dost enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped (Psalm 18:30-36). Blessed be the LORD, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle (Psalm 144:1). In the end, it is not so much that David is great, but that the God he serves, the God who went before him, is great. Saul seems to focus on the size of the enemy rather than on the size of God. God always seems to give us enemies who are much greater than we are, so that we fight in our weakness, trusting in God and not in ourselves, giving Him the glory, rather than taking the credit ourselves. When we come to David, we come to God’s chosen king. This is the one whose seed will be the promised Messiah, whose kingdom will have no end. And so David often provides us with a foreshadowing of Christ. Our text is no exception. David is a prototype of Christ, as Goliath is a prototype of Satan. Satan has the whole world trembling in fear of him and of death (see Hebrews 2:14-15). We, like the Israelites of old, are powerless to defeat him. What we cannot do for ourselves, Christ has done for us, just as David fought Goliath for Saul and the Israelites. Satan has a death grip on lost sinners. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves. Jesus came and took on Satan one-on-one, and He won the victory. David did it by killing Goliath. Jesus did it by being crucified on the cross of Calvary. But after He died to pay the penalty for our sins, He rose from the grave, triumphant over Satan, sin, and death. It was winner take all, and Jesus won by dying and by rising from the dead. All who acknowledge their sin, and who forsake trusting in themselves by placing their trust in Jesus Christ, have the forgiveness of sins and the assurance of living eternally in His kingdom. Thank God for our Champion, the Lord Jesus Christ. 61 You will recall that Bethlehem is 5 miles or so south of Jerusalem, and the valley of Elah seems to be 12 miles or so west of Bethlehem, the home of Jesse and his sons, including David. 62 This term, “champion,” is most interesting. The translation comes from a two-word hyphenated expression in the Hebrew text, which literally means “a man between.” The “champion” did not fight on the front lines; he fought ahead of them in that area between the two opposing armies. No wonder Goliath acts as he does in our text. He is accustomed to this role. 63 The Septuagint attempts to avoid an uplifted eyebrow by scaling down Goliath’s height to 4 cubits, which would make him only 6 feet in height. 64 The number 40 sets off a kind of mental alarm clock, suggesting to us that this number might be significant. I am inclined to think that it is. 65 Incidentally, Eliab’s confrontation of David in 17:28-30 gives us good reason to see why he is not chosen to be Israel’s next king. He is not a man after God’s heart, as his scorching words to David reveal. 66 We are told in 14:48 that Saul “acted valiantly,” but I do not think this places him in the ranks of “mighty men of valor.” 67 It is important to take note that our text does not say that David killed a lion and a bear. Our text indicates that David killed both lions and bears. Whenever a lion or a bear took a lamb from the flock, David pursued it and rescued the lamb, killing the wild beast as it sought to protect its prey and kill its attacker. The New Revised Standard Version most clearly emphasizes the plurality of the lions and the bears when it renders, “Your servant has killed both lions and bears; . . .(17:36a).” 68 Literally, hand, in both places rendered paw. 69 We know from 1 Samuel 21:8-9 that Goliath’s sword ends up in the care of Ahimelech the priest.
Head
Which former Coronation Street actress was born Shirley Anne Broadbent?
Apologetics Press - How Did Goliath Die? How Did Goliath Die? Eric Lyons, M.Min. Even individuals with only a nodding acquaintance of the Bible are aware of how Goliath died: “David killed the giant with a sling and a stone, of course.” Indeed, that is what 1 Samuel 17:48-50 indicates: David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Skeptics, however, are quick to point out that the above verses contradict what is stated in the very next verse: “Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it” (17:51). How could David have killed Goliath with a rock and then have killed him with a sword? According to atheist Rayan Zehn, the question of how David killed Goliath is a “favorite,” because “it contradicts itself in a single breath”—in back-to-back verses (“Bible Contradictions”). “So Bible believer tell me, exactly how did Goliath die?” We first need to make the observation that few, if any, sane individuals are going to contradict themselves in the very next sentence of what they are speaking or writing. Even liars rarely contradict themselves in the very next breath. Are we really to believe that the ancient individual who was intelligent enough to pen the book of Samuel was so ignorant that he actually thought at one moment David literally killed Goliath with a rock and the very next moment that David killed the giant with a sword? Such an allegation seems suspect at best. Second, we need to keep in mind that there are many specific questions that Bible students cannot answer about things mentioned in Scripture. For example, God created light without the Sun on day one of Creation, but we are uninformed about the nature of that light (see Miller , 2014). Consider also how Luke mentioned that “one of the criminals” hanged with Jesus blasphemed Him (Luke 23:39), while Matthew mentioned that the “robbers” (plural) reviled Jesus (Matthew 27:44). Why the difference? The truth is, we can’t know for sure without more information. (One thing we can know is that the accounts have not proven to be contradictory; i.e., there are logical possibilities for the differences; see Lyons , 2013.) Likewise, we do not know exactly why 1 Samuel 17 refers to David killing Goliath after sinking a stone into his forehead and again after using a sword to cut off his head. The writer does not elaborate further. However, at least one perfectly legitimate possibility exists for the difference. The inspired writer of 1 Samuel could easily be indicating that David struck Goliath with an initial, unrecoverable blow to the forehead, and then quickly finished him off via decapitation. How many individuals have we truthfully spoken of as “dying” in an accident, yet they actually “died” in an ambulance or a hospital minutes, hours, or days later? How many murderers have been convicted of “killing” someone who actually survived for several hours or days before being removed from life support? Is it fair or logical to conclude that the murderer didn’t actually kill the person, but the doctor did when he removed the still-living patient from the ventilator a week later? Would a just judge and jury accept this argument as valid? Certainly not. It seems equally unjust to accuse the Bible of a contradiction for using words and phrases in ways not all that different from how we truthfully, understandably, and defensibly use them in 21st-century America. Why can’t we be as fair with Scripture as we are with each other? David dealt a crushing blow to Goliath with a sling and a stone, and then finished him off with the giant’s own sword. REFERENCES Lyons, Eric (2013), “Dealing Fairly with Alleged Bible Contradictions,” Apologetics Press, http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=6&article=4742 . Miller, Jeff (2014), “How Could There Be Light Before the Sun?” Apologetics Press, https://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=13&article=5001&topic=82 . Zehn, Rayan (no date), “Bible Contradictions #6: How Did David Kill Goliath?” The Atheist Papers, http://atheistpapers.com/2014/01/07/bible-contradictions-6-how-did-david-kill-goliath/.
i don't know
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of which British monarch?
The Mad Monarchist: Consort Profile: Alexandra of Denmark Friday, August 20, 2010 Consort Profile: Alexandra of Denmark One of the most beloved consorts of the recent British monarchs was surely Alexandra of Denmark, the Queen consort of King Edward VII. She had everything going for her as a royal bride. She was beautiful, opinionated but not intrusive, dutiful, fertile and compassionate. The people adored her and yet it is easy to ignore or gloss over the amount of hardship she had to endure in her marriage because she handled it all in the most time honored, stiff upper lip, aristocratic fashion. It may have been easier for others to think that if it did not bother the queen it should not bother them. However, Alexandra was the sort who, even if it bothered her terribly (as it surely did) she never would have showed it. She was born HRH Princess Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Gluecksburg at the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen on December 1, 1844 to Prince Christian of Denmark and Princess Louise von Hessen-Kassel. They had a happy but not lavish life (their only income was her father’s army salary) though not every child could boast of having Hans Christian Andersen reading them bedtime stories. Princess Alexandra had to share a very modest attic bedroom with her sister Princess Dagmar (future Tsarina of Russia) and she had to make her own clothes. She had an English chaplain and grew up to be a very religious young lady with noticeably “high church” sympathies. When Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Great Britain began looking for a suitable bride for the Prince of Wales amongst the princesses of Germany they came up empty-handed. Somewhat reluctantly they then turned to Denmark and the lovely young Princess “Alix”. In 1862 Prince Albert Edward (who already had the reputation of something of a playboy) proposed to Alexandra at Laeken Castle, the home of his great-uncle King Leopold I of the Belgians. The next year the couple were married at Windsor Castle. Within the next year Alexandra’s father had become King of Denmark, her brother George became King of Greece and her sister Dagmar became Crown Princess of Russia. Prussia and her German allies also invaded Denmark which set in Alexandra a lifelong dislike of Germany and the Prussian royal house in particular. Alexandra, Princess of Wales, also did her royal duty by giving the British monarchy a future heir, Prince Albert Victor, in 1864 with five more children to follow. Giving birth was not easy for Alexandra, all were born premature and her youngest, Prince John, was born handicapped and did not live long. Still, she was a devoted mother and was happiest when taking care of her children. She also enjoyed dancing, ice skating, riding and hunting. Queen Victoria disapproved of these pursuits for a Princess of Wales just as she disapproved of her hostility toward the Germans. Yet, as formidable a presence as the Queen could be she never managed to change Alexandra. Those who knew her had nothing but praise for the Princess of Wales who was regal and dignified in public and very affectionate, warm and friendly in private. Along with her husband she traveled extensively visiting Austria, Egypt, Greece the Crimea and had the distinction of being the woman to have dinner with the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. She seemed the ideal royal wife and was much beloved by the public but behind the glittering façade she had many burdens to bear. While Alexandra was faithful and quite religious, the Prince of Wales never changed his colorful lifestyle and took a succession of mistresses. None of this was a secret to Alexandra but she chose to ignore it rather than make a scene or cause further scandal. In 1867 rheumatic fever left her moderately crippled and she walked with a limp thereafter. Otosclerosis, a bone growth of the middle ear, caused her to slowly lose her hearing and brought an end to the social life she so enjoyed though she was certainly happy to spend more time with her children. Although never shown in public she was naturally distressed by the neglect of her husband during her worst bouts of illness and his frequent adultery. Eventually they lived fairly separate lives for the most part. The Prince stopped taking her with him on his foreign tours and Alix spent more time with her own relatives. She did accompany him to Russia in the aftermath of the regicide of Alexander II to comfort her sister (the new Tsarina) and as Queen Victoria became less able to get about Princess Alexandra was called upon to take up the slack. When Tsar Alexander III died the Princess of Wales again went to comfort her sister who depended greatly on her immense patience and compassion. In 1901 Alexandra became Queen-empress as her husband became King Edward VII and the two were crowned the next year. Her life did not change very much and she was often called upon to look after her grandchildren, something she always enjoyed. At times she has been accused of trying to meddle in foreign affairs (one area where the King was most prominent) but this is really not the case. Naturally she favored the cause of her native Denmark and she never lost her hostility toward the Germans, particularly her nephew-by-marriage Kaiser Wilhelm II. However, this had no real bearing on foreign policy or the King who disliked his nephew in any event regardless of what his wife thought. She warned against trading Heligoland to Germany (probably a wise warning) and we know she disapproved of the bill aimed at revoking the veto power of the House of Lords. However, there is no indication that her views influenced any decision-making. She was in Greece when word came that Edward VII was near death and she rushed home to care for him in his last day of life. Now Queen Mother, Alexandra was always supportive of her son King George V, even when she disagreed with the actions he took. When World War I came there was no more ardent patriot that Queen Alexandra who felt her previous warning about the Germans being the “enemy” had been vindicated. The revolution in Russia was naturally deeply distressing to her and after the war her health, already rather frail, declined rapidly. Toward the end she was partially blind, could no longer speak clearly and suffered a failing memory. She died on November 20, 1925 at Sandringham as a result of a heart attack. Remembered for her picturesque appearance, regal fortitude and fashion sense (she was something of a trend-setter) Queen Alexandra was also much more. She endured a great many personal hardships, she was dutiful, generous to a fault and never backed down on her convictions. She was, in many ways, an ideal queen consort who had a less than ideal life. Posted by
Edward VII
What is the name of the oblong metal ring with a spring clip, used in mountaineering to attach a running rope to a piton or similar device?
1000+ images about ALEXANDRA of Denmark on Pinterest | King george, Queen and Alexandra of denmark Pinterest • The world’s catalog of ideas ALEXANDRA of Denmark Princess of Denmark and queen consort to Edward VII of Great Britain, Alexandra was one of the most beautiful women of her time. 493 Pins412 Followers
i don't know
During which year did a man last walk on the moon?
BBC - Future - The last man to walk on the Moon Moon The last man to walk on the Moon In an exclusive interview, Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan – the last man on the lunar surface – discusses what it is like to be part of history and why he became unhappy about the American space programme. By Richard Hollingham 6 August 2014 Captain Gene Cernan was the third man to walk in space, one of only three people to go to the Moon twice and the last man to leave a footprint on the lunar surface. The final words he spoke on the Moon in December 1972 represented everything the Apollo missions stood for. “We leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return,” he said, “with peace and hope for all mankind.” More than 40 years on, you might imagine Cernan has had enough of talking about the Moon. But it seems Apollo astronauts never retire and, at 80, he is still passionate about America’s past space glories and the future of human space exploration. View image of (Nasa) (Credit: Nasa) His latest venture is a documentary film about his life (watch the trailer here ), although Cernan insists it is not a movie about him but the story of how an ordinary working class child can grow up to do extraordinary things. Having seen an early cut, it is clear that this is no ego trip. The movie is poignant, funny and reveals more about the men who went to the Moon than most other Apollo documentaries. It includes Cernan’s ex-wife who coined the telling phrase: “If you think going to the Moon is hard, you should try staying at home.” In person, Capt Cernan is utterly charming and we chat for more than an hour over coffee about that final step, mortality, returning to the Moon and inspiring a new generation of space explorers. However, it becomes apparent that the “last man on the Moon” is not happy about the way the American space programme has played out. For the film you visited the abandoned Saturn V launch pad at Cape Canaveral – where you launched to go the Moon. What were you thinking when you walked around the rusting structure? It was very nostalgic, disappointing, somewhat heart-breaking. It was if someone took Columbus’ Santa Maria and said: “It’s history – you guys discovered America, let’s take it out and scuttle it. It’s over, you’re not going to go anywhere.” We launched off that pad in a big Saturn V rocket that took us to the Moon. People had dreamed of leaving the cradle of civilisation – this Earth of ours – and we did it. Fortunately, I was one of the guys to go out there, to look back at the Earth and try to comprehend the meaning of it all. View image of (Nasa) (Credit: Nasa) To think of what we were capable of doing and now we’ve been told [in a tweet by Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin ] that if we want to go to our own space station, we’d better get a trampoline – that statement hurt. It hurt me personally. Considering where we were half a century ago when Americans were walking on the Moon – people still come up to me today and say it’s incredible – we’ve obliterated that piece of history. I do not want to remember those launch pads that sent us to the Moon the way they are today. It’s not the way it’s supposed to be. What would be the point of returning to the Moon? All we’ve proved is we can work and survive up there. Now we’ve got to take advantage of the resources the Moon has to offer us here on this planet. It’s a stepping stone to go to Mars. Is there water? Was there water? Could life exist? Maybe we’re going to go simply because it’s there. Simply because we can and that’s why we will. You’ve been to the Moon twice. You tested the lunar lander during Apollo 10, getting within 15km of the surface, and then in December 1972 you walked on the Moon. Did you feel the weight of responsibility during that last ever Apollo mission? I was a representative of probably one of the greatest challenges that mankind has had in modern history and I was proud to be part of that. Everybody who put a nut or bolt on our spacecraft went with us on that flight. They were responsible for the success or failure of that mission. Every human being in the world went with us. View image of (Nasa) (Credit: Nasa) The questions they had back then are the same questions that young people, who weren’t even thought of then, have today. What does it feel like? What does it look like? Only 12 people have walked on the Moon and there are nine of us left. Some day there won’t be any of us left and while we are here I feel it’s my responsibility to be some kind of inspiration and stir the passions of young kids to literally follow in our footsteps. When you were leaving the Moon did you think about the significance of those last footsteps? When I left the Moon and started up the ladder, I was really at a loss. I didn’t want to leave and I looked down at my last footsteps and realised I wasn’t coming this way again. Looking back over my shoulder at the Earth had a particular significance to me – it was alive, it was moving, with purpose and beauty through space and time. In those short few minutes I wanted to figure out what was the meaning of us – everyone alive in the world today – leaving the cradle of civilisation and calling the Moon our home for a few days. View image of (Nasa) (Credit: Nasa) I searched for that answer, I needed more time. I wanted to press the freeze button, stop time to give myself a chance to think about it. I had an opportunity to sit on God’s front porch looking at the small part of the civilisation of this universe that he created. Does it worry you that all the Moon walkers are now old people and that in a few years time there won’t be any of you left? I’m sitting here with new knees, one new hip, I’m getting another one – I feel like the Six Million Dollar Man. You get to a point when you realise you’re not going to be around in 20 years. I made a vow to myself, when the time comes no-one’s going to carry me out, I’m going to walk out on my own terms. That’s what I want. That time’s not too far in the future and that’s why it’s so important to try to motivate, to inspire, to take the adventure of Apollo and give it to the next generation and then it’s their deal. My ego’s never risen to the point where I’ve got to be remembered for something. If I’ve done anything worth remembering then now is the time to share it. The dreamers of today are the doers of tomorrow, so if we don’t inspire those dreamers there are not going to be any doers. Do you sense there is more interest in returning to the Moon or visiting Mars, particularly with the rise of space tourism and private space companies such as SpaceX? I want to believe that this younger generation of schoolchildren is far more excited and interested in space than their big brothers or sisters were. There was a tremendous amount of complacency here [in the US] around half a generation ago with young people saying “what’s in it for me,” and afraid to take a risk. I’ve always told kids that if you’re afraid to fail, you’ll never know what success really means. But their younger brothers are starting to ask the questions that need to be asked. While the kettle is boiling, we’ve got to keep the fire lit. The producers of the Last Man on the Moon are working towards a worldwide release in the coming months. You can hear a longer interview with Captain Cernan in the latest Space Boffins podcast, available from 10 August 2014. If you would like to comment on this, or anything else you have seen on Future, head over to our Facebook or Google+ page, or message us on Twitter .
one thousand nine hundred and seventy two
Which country won the 2013 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup?
Did man really walk on the Moon ??? Published on October 6th, 2015 | by david-milne Did man really walk on the Moon ??? Did man really walk on the Moon or was it the ultimate camera trick, asks David Milne? The greater lunar lie. In the early hours of May 16, 1990, after a week spent watching old video footage of man on the Moon, a thought was turning into an obsession in the mind of Ralph Rene. “How can the flag be fluttering,” the 47 year old American kept asking himself, “when there’s no wind on the atmosphere free Moon?” That moment was to be the beginning of an incredible Space odyssey for the self-taught engineer from New Jersey. He started investigating the Apollo Moon landings, scouring every NASA film, photo and report with a growing sense of wonder, until finally reaching an awesome conclusion: America had never put a man on the Moon. The giant leap for mankind was fake. Click the Book Cover to Download the PDF File It is of course the conspiracy theory to end all conspiracy theories. But Rene has now put all his findings into a startling book entitled NASA Mooned America. Published by himself, it’s being sold by mail order – and is a compelling read. The story lifts off in 1961 with Russia firing Yuri Gagarin into space, leaving a panicked America trailing in the space race. At an emergency meeting of Congress, President Kennedy proposed the ultimate face saver, put a man on the Moon. With an impassioned speech he secured the plan an unbelievable 40 billion dollars. And so, says Rene (and a growing number of astro-physicists are beginning to agree with him), the great Moon hoax was born. Between 1969 and 1972, seven Apollo ships headed to the Moon. Six claim to have made it, with the ill fated Apollo 13–whose oxygen tanks apparently exploded halfway–being the only casualties. But with the exception of the known rocks, which could have been easily mocked up in a lab, the photographs and film footage are the only proof that the Eagle ever landed. And Rene believes they’re fake. For a start, he says, the TV footage was hopeless. The world tuned in to watch what looked like two blurred white ghosts gambol threw rocks and dust. Part of the reason for the low quality was that, strangely, NASA provided no direct link up. So networks actually had to film “man’s greatest achievement” from a TV screen in Houston–a deliberate ploy, says Rene, so that nobody could properly examine it. By contrast, the still photos were stunning. Yet that’s just the problem. The astronauts took thousands of pictures, each one perfectly exposed and sharply focused. Not one was badly composed or even blurred. As Rene points out, that’s not all: The cameras had no white meters or view finders. So the astronauts achieved this feat without being able to see what they were doing. Their film stock was unaffected by the intense peaks and powerful cosmic radiation on the Moon, conditions that should have made it useless. They managed to adjust their cameras, change film and swap filters in pressurized clubs. It should have been almost impossible to bend their fingers. . Award winning British photographer David Persey is convinced the pictures are fake. His astonishing findings are explained alongside the pictures on these pages, but the basic points are as follows: The shadows could only have been created with multiple light sources and, in particular, powerful spotlights. But the only light source on the Moon was the sun. The American flag and the words “United States” are always brightly lit, even when everything around is in shadow. Not one still picture matches the film footage, yet NASA claims both were shot at the same time. The pictures are so perfect, each one would have taken a slick advertising agency hours to put them together. But the astronauts managed it repeatedly. David Persey believes the mistakes were deliberate, left there by “whistle blowers”, who were keen for the truth to one day get out. If Persey is right and the pictures are fake, then we’ve only NASA’s word that man ever went to the Moon. And, asks Rene, why would anyone fake pictures of an event that actually happened? The questions don’t stop there. Outer space is awash with deadly radiation that emanates from solar flares firing out from the sun. Standard astronauts orbiting earth in near space, like those who recently fixed the Hubble telescope, are protected by the earth’s Van Allen belt. But the Moon is 240,000 miles distant, way outside this safe band. And, during the Apollo flights, astronomical data shows there were no less than 1,485 such flares. John Mauldin, a physicist who works for NASA, once said shielding at least two meters thick would be needed. Yet the walls of the Lunar Landers which took astronauts from the spaceship to the moons surface were, said NASA, “about the thickness of heavy duty aluminum foil”. How could that stop this deadly radiation? And if the astronauts were protected by their space suits, why didn’t rescue workers use such protective gear at the Chernobyl meltdown, which released only a fraction of the dose astronauts would encounter? Not one Apollo astronaut ever contracted cancer–not even the Apollo 16 crew who were on their way to the Moon when a big flare started. “They should have been fried,” says Rene. Furthermore, every Apollo mission before number 11 (the first to the Moon) was plagued with around 20,000 defects a-piece. Yet, with the exception of Apollo 13, NASA claims there wasn’t one major technical problem on any of their Moon missions. Just one defect could have blown the whole thing. “The odds against this are so unlikely that God must have been the co-pilot,” says Rene. Several years after NASA claimed its first Moon landing, Buzz Aldrin “the second man on the Moon”–was asked at a banquet what it felt like to step on to the lunar surface. Aldrin staggered to his feet and left the room crying uncontrollably. It would not be the last time he did this. “It strikes me he’s suffering from trying to live out a very big lie,” says Rene. Aldrin may also fear for his life. Virgil Grissom, a NASA astronaut, was due to pilot Apollo 1. In January 1967, he baited the Apollo program by hanging a lemon on his Apollo capsule (in the US, unroadworthy cars are called lemons) and told his wife Betty: “if there is ever a serious accident in the space program, it’s likely to be me.” Nobody knows what fuelled his fears, but by the end of the month he and his two co-pilots were dead, burnt to death during a test run when their capsule, pumped full of high pressure pure oxygen, exploded. Scientists couldn’t believe NASA’s carelessness–even a chemistry student in high school knows high pressure oxygen is extremely explosive. In fact, before the first manned Apollo fight even cleared the launch pad, a total of 11 would be astronauts were dead. Apart from the three who were incinerated, seven died in plane crashes and one in a car smash. Now this is a spectacular accident rate. “One wonders if these ‘accidents’ weren’t NASA’s way of correcting mistakes,” says Rene. “Of saying that some of these men didn’t have the sort of ‘right stuff’ they were looking for.” NASA won’t respond to any of these claims, their press office will only say that the Moon landings happened and the pictures are real. But a NASA public affairs officer called Julian Scheer once delighted 200 guests at a private party with footage of astronauts apparently on a lunar landscape. It had been made on a mission film set and was identical to what NASA claimed was they real lunar landscape. “The purpose of this film,” Scheer told the enthralled group, “is to indicate that you really can fake things on the ground, almost to the point of deception.” He then invited his audience to “come to your own decision about whether or not man actually did walk on the Moon”. A sudden attack of honesty? You bet, says Rene, who claims the only real thing about the Apollo missions were the lift offs. The astronauts simply have to be on board, he says, in case the rocket exploded. “It was the easiest way to ensure NASA wasn’t left with three astronauts who ought to be dead,” he claims, adding that they came down a day or so later, out of the public eye (global surveillance wasn’t what it is now) and into the safe hands of NASA officials, who whisked them off to prepare for the big day a week later. And now NASA is planning another giant step–project Outreach, a one trillion dollar manned mission to Mars. “Think what they’ll be able to mock up with today’s computer graphics,” says Rene chillingly. “Special effects was in its infancy in the 60’s. This time round will have no way of determining the truth.” Space oddities: Apollo 14 astronaut Allen Shepard played golf on the Moon. In front of a worldwide TV audience, Mission Control teased him about slicing the ball to the right. Yet a slice is caused by uneven air flow over the ball. The Moon has no atmosphere and no air. A camera panned upwards to catch Apollo 16’s Lunar Lander lifting off the Moon. Who did the filming? One NASA picture from Apollo 11 is looking up at Neil Armstrong about to take his giant step for mankind. The photographer must have been lying on the planet surface. If Armstrong was the first man on the Moon, then who took the shot? The pressure inside a space suit was greater than inside a football. The astronauts should have been puffed out like the Michelin Man, but were seen freely bending their joints. The Moon landings took place during the Cold War. Why didn’t America make a signal on the Moon that could be seen from Earth? The PR would have been phenomenal and it could have been easily done with magnesium flares. Text from pictures in the article show only two men walked on the Moon during the Apollo 12 mission. Yet the astronaut reflected in the visor has no camera. Who took the shot? The flags shadow goes behind the rock so doesn’t match the dark line in the foreground, which looks like a line cord. So the shadow to the lower right of the spaceman must be the flag. Where is his shadow? And why is the flag fluttering? How can the flag be brightly lit when its not facing any light ? And where, in all of these shots, are the stars? The Lander weighed 17 tons yet the astronauts feet seem to have made a bigger dent in the dust. The powerful booster rocket at the base of the Lunar Lander was fired to slow descent to the moons service. Yet it has left no traces of blasting on the dust underneath. It should have created a small crater, yet the booster looks like it’s never been fired… Leave a Reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Comment Notify me of followup comments via e-mail Name * Website  Subscribe to Krishna Connect Newsletter  554 Responses to Did man really walk on the Moon ??? Ashwin Balaji November 23, 2016 at 6:07 pm I am 40 I think if man went to the moon in the sixties on a bottle rocket . Know they should be able to go there easy in the new type shuttles It’s on tcm right know and it looks super fake if they went back then. At this day and time they would be best Western and McDonald’s . It’s sad that NASA had to lie about the moon landing just to get on the map. Expose those for stealing our tax money and creating the greatest HOAX on America. June 13, 2016 at 6:35 pm Even as a child I was confused….why NASA could not make the trip again. And when NASA made the attempts just to leave our atmosphere these vessels exploded. I am not a physics but I do have a curious mind. Thank you for you articles and your insight. Im sure there are many others who feel the same…biggest hoax ever. June 16, 2016 at 8:32 pm Yes. It is insane. They have so much trouble even sending a rocket up to the space station that is only a couple of hundred miles up in earth orbit but they would have us believe that they sent many manned missions to the moon and back way back in the 60s with no problems. A round trip of about 500,000 miles… They can’t even reliably travel 200 miles today…. And they can’t go to the moon today. Even NASA say today they have to overcome many problems before they will be able to send men to the moon. Today they say maybe they will be able to send men to the moon in 20 years. Maybe, perhaps… So obviously if they can’t send men to the moon today they couldn’t send men to the moon in the 1960’s with technology that was so primitive compared to the technology we have today… November 23, 2016 at 6:14 pm Anyone if they watch the program close.If they have knocking around since can tell it’s fake as hell. Star trek looks more real than the moon landings so that pretty much sums it up for me and a lot of others I know.but some people believe it and will argue over it but that’s usually folks that are super nieve February 23, 2016 at 9:19 am Mythbusters guys are stupid. Anyone refer them for argument is stupid. We never went to moon for many reasons. One we really do not have technology. Someof the moon photo black goes to gray instead of dots like any normal photo. That is clear evidence of hoaxing. Also many dark images has no stars. I understand bright lunar landscape you may not see stars but dark image no stars?. Anyone believe in Moon landing are just NASA Muslim (believers) October 5, 2015 at 10:53 pm The great hoaxes are all connected to the Talmud and FreeMasonry: The Holocaust, Dinosaurs, the Ball Earth and Gravity, Evolution and many false flag attacks predicating “justified warfare”. None of these withstand serious academic, scientific, or philosophical scrutiny, research or detective work. Ask yourselves why the Earth’s horizon appears flat and at eye level from a plane. Ask yourselves why a man who banned usury and vivisection has been demonized like no other in history. Why has the dinosaur myth been so rigidly propped up whilst destroying the careers of serious anthropologists and archaeologists since the fabrication of “Dinosaurians” in the 19th century? It’s all to deprive you of your natural senses, observations, Instincts and reverence for the divine – whatever you faith might be – and defer to the “religion of science” and “authority”. Do some serious work before you begin ad hominem mockery and insults, as I’m sure a vast majority will do, no doubt… Folks,it all comes down to one single point : There are no landing strips on the moon,the whole surface is highly uneven. I estimate that of 100 landing intents, in one or two cases the module might stand more or less upright without having fallen over, or crashed. However, NASA out of 6 intents “got” 6 (six) perfectly positioned modules.100% success. It would have been an absolutely INSANE risk. Imagine a single mishap,and then two men starving slowly on the moon.-Unthinkable. That government lies to its citizens is no surprise. This BBC documentary does a great job of explaining this event: http://youtu.be/Zj5r3jXhV2Q What does this have to do with loving Krsna? Why is this subject causing fighting and insults between those who chant Krsna’s beautiful name? Shame on all of you. May 27, 2015 at 6:19 pm It is important because Srila Prabhupada pointed out way back in the late 50’s that this moon going was nonsense and it has turned out that it was nonsense. Russia never ended up sending anyone to the moon and the US obviously lied about it. They claim they had many successful return trips to the moon [half a million miles round trip] but since the Apollo missions not a single man has even left earth orbit. All they have done since then is made round trips up to the space station and back down [it is about 200 miles up only]. And now, 60 years later with technology thousands of times better, we can not send men out of earth orbit. What to speak of sending men to the moon. We can not even get them out of the earth’s orbit. So if we can not do it today then we could not do it in the 60’s either. Anyhow it is just an example of the cheating lying scientists. They are such rascals. That is a major theme of Krishna consciousness. Defeating the rascal scientists. And NASA’s bogus moon landings is perhaps the most outrageous cheating that science has ever done… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa January 1, 2015 at 10:01 pm The media did not claim that three men went to the moon recently? No one has even left low earth orbit since the Apollo missions in the 60’s and 70’s. Then they were supposedly able to safely take men from the earth to the moon and bring them back home safely. A round trip journey of about 1/2 a million miles. Since then they have only been able to fly men up to the Space station a few hundred miles up only. And now they can not even fly to the space station safely. Two of the US shuttles blew up and killed all the people in them and now the only country that dares to put men into space is Russia and they only go up to the space station a few hundred miles up… So obviously they never sent men to the moon. They do not know how to send men to the moon now. They do not have the technology to send men to the moon now, so they did not have this technology in the 60’s. It was all faked. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa December 9, 2014 at 7:13 am HARE KRISHNA PRABHUJI If a place has weak gravity (i.e. 1/6th of earth ) then its not possible to land on that surface ,because things having considerable mass will surely float as taught to us in science so conclusion :no one put a step on moon simple. December 10, 2014 at 3:45 am Hare Krishna Nidhi It is an idea but I do not think your idea is correct. If a place has weak gravity, (1/6 of earth) then I think things will weigh much less there. But that does not mean that they will float. It is not that on earth that heavy things fall to the earth and light things float. In fact heavy things and light things both fall to the earth at the same rate. So on a planet with less gravity heavy things and light things are also going to fall at the same rate. Not that heavy things will fall and light things will float… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa November 21, 2014 at 10:21 pm Hello all. I admit that western governments aren’t really all that credible. Take the claim by Colin Powell and others that Saddam Hussein had amassed Weapons of Mass Destruction. However, ISKCON isn’t credible with space issues either. For example, in my copy of the Bhagavad Gita As It Is (17th printing, September 2000), Page 534 states : Of the Adityas I am Visnu, of lights I am the radiant sun, of the Maruts I am Marici, and among the stars I am the moon. The purport of the above verse, according to Prabhupada (given on the same page) is : There are twelve Adityas … represents Krsna. Among the stars, the moon is the most prominent at night, and thus the moon represents Krsna. It appears from this verse that the moon is one of the stars; therefore the stars that twinkle in the sky also reflect the light of the sun. The theory that there are many suns within the universe is not accepted by Vedic literature. The sun is one, and as by the reflection of the sun the moon illuminates, so also do the stars. Since Bhagavad-gita indicates herein that the moon is one of the stars, the twinkling stars are not suns but are similar to the moon. Thank goodness our science classes are not run by ISKCON. What do you say all you people with names that identify you as servants of Krishna (Madhusudana Dasa, etc)? Yes. It is a fact. There is only one sun in this universe and all the stars are like the moon. The scientists actually have no idea at all what is going on in the universe. Of course you are brainwashed from birth with the scientist’s ideas. But they are wrong… November 30, 2014 at 10:53 am Hello Indian Hindu! I would make a correction in your reply; of course Saddam had, and used “weapons of mass destruction”. You can easily find this proof by “searching” ” Kurds + Saddam + gas”. Several thousands in mass graves. You don’t need a nuke to have a WMD. Now the real question is “was Saddam and his WMD’s a threat to the USA and world?” If you do some more homework, you will find Saddam gave The U.N. the runaround for several years under sanctions and inspections. He also bragged (verbal threats) that he would do bad things. Saddam and his cronies were very very bad people. It’s really too bad we couldn’t have had a true global coalition to fight this violence against innocent people of the world. Some countries and religions just aren’t interested in saving innocent people (ahem). Search “Saddam + France + Germany + oil deals” to find out why they didn’t join. As far as this moon conspiracy theory, and the credibility of this website, the honorable Madhudvisa dasa’s reply to you says it all. Not interested in honest sincere debate. It’s his way or not at all. Sometimes you have to “compromise”, also known as rethink what you know. No amount of evidence would convince the honorable Madhudvisa dasa. There are websites that answer every single question at the top of this page, and yet…not interested. This to me smacks of disingenuous conversation. That means they aren’t, never were, nor ever will seriously consider the evidence presented. Dishonest. If a person thinks there are no other stars in the universe but Sol, well ZERO credibility. Sometimes, a measuring instrument is the truth. Sometimes our eyes lie. And our fault-filled human teachers as well. December 1, 2014 at 2:31 am Hare Krishna Steve I understand everything you are saying and understand your world view. Of course I was also like you many years ago and accepted everything that I was taught in school. The western world view. We are programmed if you like. The ‘reality’ we accept about the world around us is something we learn rather than experience. Your Saddam example is a good way to understand this. You have no actual personal experience of the situation. You have never been to that country. You do not know Saddam, you have never heard him speak. You have not spoken with the people of his country. You do not know anything at all. You have been fed information on the situation by the US controlled media system which is a propaganda organization and has the purpose of controlling the opinion and ideas of the public and educating them to think in a particular way. So you have accepted this propaganda and are repeating it. You have no personal knowledge about what you are saying. You have heard it form an authority [the US media] and you are just repeating what they say. So you 100% trust and believe in the US media and just believe what they say is true. So if they lie to you then you are mislead. It is the same with the moon. You have no idea at all. You have never been to the moon. You have no personal way of verifying if the NASA astronauts went to the moon or not. You just have blind faith in NASA and totally accept and believe whatever they say. So if they lie to you you will believe the lies and be mislead. If there is any actual evidence that proves without a doubt that the NASA astronauts flew to the moon and safely returned many times with stone-age 1960’s technology [a 500,000 mile round trip] and today the USA, with technology that has improved thousands of times since the 60s, is totally unable to even send men up to the space station safely. That is only 200 miles up! The US can not even safely send a cargo rocket up to the space station [200 miles] with today’s technology… Yet you would have us believe they had perfectly reliable technology [developed in about 6 years mind you] that enabled them to make multiple manned missions to the moon. It is a comedy story if it was not so sad. So realistically you are bordering on insanity. If you are going to believe in such a fairy tale story. People do believe in fairy tales. People do believe in the Easter Bunney, people believe in Santa Claus and people believe in NASA. As far as the nature of the sun, the moon and the other stars, you and the scientists have no idea about that. All we can experience of the stars is they appear to us to be very tiny shining dots in the sky. That is the only actual information we have about the stars. Everything else the scientists tell you about the stars is speculation. I means theories, guesses, ideas. And after some time these theories start to become part of our world-view and we start to accept them as facts and they become part of our understanding and experiencing of the universe. After some time we forget that most of our ‘knowledge’ about the universe is not based on facts at all, rather it is derived from speculation and theory only. So all we know about the stars is they are tiny shinning dots in the sky. Exactly what they are we do not know. That is speculation. But we have actual knowledge given in the Vedic literature, that is not man-made knowledge. That is knowledge that comes from the creator of the universe. And the creator of the universe is the one who actually understands His creation. And the creator of the universe says that the moon is one of the stars. So the stars are like our moon, they reflect the light of the sun, and in this universe their is only one sun. I know it is hard for you to accept but this is the truth. You can not imagine how mistaken the scientists are about two things. The scientists claim life comes from chemicals. That is a huge mistake. And there other huge mistake is their conception of the nature and workings of the universe. They have got it all totally wrong… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa December 6, 2014 at 10:00 am Dear kind Madhudvisa dasa, Believe it or not, I understand precisely what you are saying. TO use our Saddam example, I only know what is told, by either the media, the governments, or…the people that were there. Or the people that SAID they were there? As far as stars, we invent these instruments that might just tell what we think we want to know, rather than what actually is. Correct? Well then…what about your OWN writings and teachings? You weren’t there. You don’t know The Krishna disappeared. You don’t KNOW there was any Kurukshetra War because you weren’t THERE. So why do you worship in this way? You do it because you have read the teachings and stories OTHER people wrote. How sad, pathetic and tiny beings we would be if we never listened to those that came before us, or those with other experiences than what we have. Somethings may come naturally, like a story about your father as told by your grandmother. Other stories, say, as told by a government about another government, take extreme caution, education, and wisdom. Which I admit humans are not generally good with. We make assumptions and preconceived notions, then act on them as fact. What I do is try to read and watch as many sources as possible. I might not believe my own government, but if someone from Iraq were to take photograph of a mass grave and tell their story, I may be more inclined. If MANY people from diverse backgrounds do it, I’m very likely to accept it. IF their WAS a Kurdish village at one time, and now there’s not…well I do indeed accept it, even though I did not walk on their decomposed bodies. Just like you accept the teachings and stories of those Vedic priests and sages that came before you. One of the most compelling arguments for the moon landing is that no one can disprove it, even though there would be VAST rewards for doing so. And, you talk about “not being there”, yet in many of YOUR arguments, you speak as if you know how a flag would move on the moon, or how light is reflected from surfaces. I am sorry, but I do not accept your logic “you weren’t there” because you do not use it yourself. December 7, 2014 at 12:28 am Hare Krishna Steve I am very happy that you can see that you simply depend on some authority for your knowledge of these things, like what happens in foreign countries and what supposedly happened on the moon. You agree that there is no way you can know if these things are true or not. You just accept what the authority you have selected says and believe that. But there is a big difference from some mundane authority like the US media or NASA and the Vedas. Firstly anything produced by man has four defects, because all men have four defects: They have imperfect senses They are illusioned (they accept something as a fact that is not a fact) They make mistakes They cheat So an ordinary man can not produce any knowledge that is perfect. Because our senses are not perfect we can not even perceive things as they actually are. And we are illusioned, believing so many mistaken and incorrect scientific theories, and we make mistakes and we are very attached to our ideas and theories and we will cheat by ignoring things that go against our theories and accepting things that support our theories. All science is contaminated by these four defects. However, on the other hand, the Vedic knowledge is ‘aparusa’, it is not man-made, it is delivered to us from Krishna. The Vedas was given first to Lord Brahma soon after the creation of the universe and Lord Brahma gave it to Narada Muni and in this way the same original Vedic knowledge has been passed down through the disciplic succession. So the Vedic knowledge is not subject to the four imperfections that man-made theories suffer from. You are correct in summarizing that the difference between your opinion and my opinion is that you accept different authorities than me. You accept the US media and NASA and I accept Srila Prabhupada and Krishna. But your equalization of your authorities [the US Media and NASA] and my authorities [Srila Prabhupada and Krishna] is not valid. Your authorities are subject to the four defects I have explained earlier but my authorities are free from these defects. Your authorities really do not know what they are talking about, that is the problem with NASA, they have a completely wrong concept of the universe, how it is situated and how it works, and that is really the proof they are not doing what they say they are doing. Otherwise they would not be in such darkness as to how the universe works. My authority, however, is ultimately Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and He is all-knowing. He is the creator of the universe and He knows perfectly the structure and workings of the universe and He has revealed this knowledge in the Vedas. But ultimately it is a choice of which authority you accept, you accept the US Media and NASA and I accept Krishna. Actually Krishna is the correct authority and the US Media and NASA are completely faulty, completely compromised by the four defects I have already mentioned, and therefor unable to deliver any actual real valuable knowledge. On the other hand Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He knows everything, both material and spiritual, perfectly and is giving us the perfect knowledge about everything. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa Yes. By the mercy of Srila Prabhupada I have personally seen and spoken with Krishna myself. Geoff December 10, 2014 at 3:44 am You are so right regarding Saddam and also the other US assassinations of presidents they don’t like. Look at Libya. Is it better now. BP probably thinks so. Why is it the US left Mugabe alone? Maybe there was nothing to be gained. They threw Osama Bin Laden from the plane!! How ridiculous. We should not kid ourselves that the US is a kindly democratic country that wants to help the world. The US a group of self interested people who are mainly looking for ways to spread their doctrine and capitalist ventures; rather like the Brits years ago who now work with the US. It’s the system and we can’t knock it – Just go along, agree, accept the dole cheques, vote for the people you want in power and pretend that really makes a difference. Obama who? December 10, 2014 at 4:32 am Hare Krishna Geoff My point is not to criticize the US government. The reality is they are politicians and all politicians are like this. The point I was really making is that we have to accept some authority for our knowledge. So what we accept as knowledge is really only as reliable as the authority we accept. And I was suggesting that accepting the US press as one’s authority and source of knowledge on Saddam is not very good because the US press is a propaganda organization and they are not really interested in presenting the truth. So my point is that if we want real knowledge we have to find a perfect authority. Someone who can give us real knowledge that is actually correct. And Krishna is such a perfect authority and we can understand what Krishna is saying through the pure devotees of Krishna like His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa October 13, 2014 at 8:08 am They say there is no atmosphere on the moon, no air, so no pressure, it is a vacuum, they say. So to survive on the moon their moon suits have to be pressurized, which means there is a big difference in the pressure in the suit and the vacuum outside the suit… But there is gravity, much less gravity than on the earth, because the moon is smaller than the earth, they say. So men on the moon should be much lighter than on the earth and should be able to jump very high. But on NASA’s moon walk pictures they can not jump very high. So something does not add up… But they do certainly do space walks at the space station and fix up broken things on the outside of the space station and that is more-or-less a vacuum and they do it in pressurized suits. So in theory walking on the moon would be the same thing with the addition of some gravity to keep them on the moon. So you can imagine how it might be possible but they should have been able to jump a lot higher than we see them jumping on the moon videos… November 7, 2014 at 4:41 pm There is footage of a “moonwalk” where they claim to be jumping over 18 inches high but the view is obstructed because they are behind some piece of equipment; I know, I know… how convenient? Its almost as if they are bouncing on some kind of trampoline. One of them even loses his balance and falls off camera. It looks very awkward, far too awkward for 1/6th gravity. I think a good test would have been for them to throw a silver painted shingle; which would betray the presence of air. July 10, 2014 at 10:26 am YOU ARE INSANE!!! We can’t even land someone on the moon and bring him home safely now, fifty years later, with technology light years ahead of what we had in the 60’s!!!! It is totally insane to say they had the technology to go to the moon and not the technology to fake going to the moon! Clearly they had everything they needed to fake going to the moon. And they had a whole department of people whose job it was to do exactly that. Fake going to the moon. That was the NASA Apolo Simulation department. All anyone would know about the supposed space-ship going to the moon was the data that came down the radio connection to the spaceship…. And that was a voice channel, a telementary channel which contained the readings of many, many instruments and sensors on the ship, and sometimes a video channel. So it was the business of the simulation department to create simulated moon missions. They would produce a datafeed that would exactly simulate an Apollo rocket traveling to the Moon. Except of course the datafeed would be transmitted from earth up to a sattelite between the earth and the moon which would retransmit the signal to exactly simulate the signal which would be transmitted by a spaceship if it was actually going to the moon. The reason NASA had these extensive simulation facilities was for training and testing but obviously no one knows if a simulation is running or if it is the real thing. So NASA had the technology to fake it. There is absolutely no doubt about this. What did they have to fake. The previously mentioned datafeed. Which is easy to fake and which they faked on a regular basis anyhow for training, etc. Moon photos, which have so many discrepancies even NASA more-or-less admits they are fakes. Plus some fussy television footage, very easy to fake. Plus the famous moon rocks which are also available on earth as it turns out so they do not need to fake them… So I can only think you are crazy or at least not thinking about what you are saying here. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa August 23, 2014 at 10:32 pm I was 5 years old in July of 1969. I grew up believing the moon landings were true but as I got older, understood the nature of people, and with the advent of the internet allowing me to do my own research, I have come to the conclusion (and its a tragic one) that they were faked. As part of my investigation, I have intentionally avoided focusing on the same questions the “conspiracy theorists” ask and have instead tried to come up with other questions I have not seen raised before. Here is one of them: 1. Why have we never seen any video/film of the Apollo astronauts inside the lunar module while it is sitting on the moon? Specifically, film or video with audio of them speaking inside the lunar module while it is sitting on the moon? Eating a sandwich? Talking to the president…? Does this exist? My suspicion is its far more difficult to fake 1/6th gravity than “zero” gravity when inside a “container” 2. Did they get an accurate total weight of all the moon rocks/dust before the they lifted off from the moon? If not how did they calculate the correct thrust and burn time to meet the command module without over shooting or under shooting it? You need the correct weight. I have more questions I have not seen raised before but I will ask them later. September 13, 2014 at 7:40 pm Question: 1. What are the health effects, if any, of a high oxygen low pressure atmosphere on the human body for extended periods of time? Based on my research, ALL of the Apollo flights from 11 to 17 used high oxygen low pressure cabin atmospheres ( 3.8 PSI). This was done to to allow for lighter, less robust command and lunar modules as well as more flexibility in the space suits. This is in contrast to Soviet and all later U.S manned space flights which used “sea level” oxygen percentages and pressures (14.7 PSI). Skylab, Mir, Soyuz, the Shuttle, the ISS… all use/d “sea level” pressures and oxygen levels for their cabin pressures. This is the reason why all space walks must be scheduled in advance; just like scuba divers, the astronauts must use decompression chambers to slowly adjust their bodies to/from their lower space suit pressures to the higher cabin pressures. This also sheds light of the Soyuz spherical cabin architecture. So the questions I have about the Apollo moon landings are, 1. What if any are the health effects of living and working in a high oxygen low pressure atmosphere? 2. At what point in the mission did the Apollo 11 astronauts transition from sea level pressure to high oxygen low pressure; was it on the launch pad? before they entered the capsule? At some point in orbit? 3. Same pressure transition question for the landing 4. Is the process of changing cabin pressures and oxygen contents difficult and or tricky? If not, why didn’t the Soviets adopt it on the Soyuz? I was 15 when I watched live on tv Neil Armstrong make his….as I now refer to..infamous step on the moon. I has researched for several years and I have concluded the Apollo missions were BULL SHIT. NO WAY we had 6 successful missions to the moon. It was all made up. I would love to challenge ANY one on the engineering aspects of this. I have loads of evidence that easily prove that the Apollo missions were nothing more than Hollywood productions. March 22, 2014 at 4:35 pm Okay…kte…why wouldn’t you just post your “evidence”? Are you going to make people beg for it? It seems to me…that there is ample “evidence” both ways. Usually the naysayers say things like “that can’t be…it’s impossible”. Which really isn’t any kind of “evidence”. When the hoax becomes more improbable than the actual event…I get concerned. a “production studio” would involve almost as many people (or more) than NASA facilities. You need technicians..and lots of them. You also have film footage and “outtakes” that aren’t part of the public footage. So where is it? Where are the people involved that could make A KILLING by blowing the whistle? Not just one crack pot there’d have to be dozens at least. Building the set, wiring the set, film crew, editing production…and then a crew to “feed” the stream live to NASA experts. Not just once…but 6 times? I could see once. Twice even. Not 6. And then you have professional and amateur astronomers than can easily track signals from space. They can tell a signal that comes from an orbiting satellite from one that comes from a path to the moon. Where are they? No one comes forward? Really? The fame and fortune from that would be irresistible. None of these people come forward? The body count is starting to really pile up heavy. Not one? Or not dozens? And yet…a simple rock. We know if a rock falls through the atmosphere. We know if one was gathered from the moon and brought back protected. With technology..we can assess all the properties involved. The fame and fortune of proving a moon rock to be fake would be irresistible. And yet…no one has come forward. In my mind…the SCIENTIFIC physical evidence rests with going to the moon. All naysayers have is anecdotal and hearsay. But I do await your top secret “evidence”. I’m even begging you for it just like you wanted. Hare Krishna Scott You are just talking without knowing anything or understanding anything. Firstly while there may not be absolute proof they did not go to the moon there is certainly plenty of proof that the photos and videos they presented are full of inconsistencies and there is at least a lot of circumstantial evidence that makes having all these successful trips to the moon with 60’s technology which is totally stone-age compared with what we have today, and the fact that we are now unable to send men to the moon. So you have to understand that if we could send men to the moon so easily and had so many successful maned landings and successful return flights from the moon then we would still have the technology to do that and we would still be able to send men to the moon today. But we don’t. Today we have no technology to send anyone out of earth orbit. In fact since the NASA moon missions not even one human being has left earth orbit. All they do now is go to the space station a couple of hundred miles away. And even, as you know, those two hundred mile trips to the space station are not very safe and they have had big accidents killing everyone. But in the 60’s they had no problem with all these return trips to the moon. It is a quarter of a million miles each way. A round trip of half a million miles. And now we can not even imagine how that would be possible. The scientists say, “Maybe in 20 years we could go back to the moon if you give us ten trillion dollars…” So if you have any common sense at all you will see that it is highly unlikely that we ever sent men to the moon. Because if we did have the technology to do that in the 60’s then we would still have that technology today and it would have been developed and now travel to the moon and other planets would be relatively commonplace. But since the apollo missions, no man has ever even left earth orbit. Every aspect you investigate in regard to the “man on the moon” story is fishy. So when everything you look at does not add up then you have to question the reality of this. You know they went to the moon and landed on the moon and powered all their equipment, their life-support systems, the moon rover, everything, sometimes they stayed on the moon for days. And they had no power supply except for a few car batteries. There was no solar power in the 60’s. Solar panels were not yet invented… So where did the power come from? The moon is very hot on the bright side and very cold on the dark side, so they tell us. There is no atmosphere, they tell us. So to provide a livable environment for the astronauts would be a non-trivial problem. And to provide this proper atmosphere, both in the Luna Landing Module and in their space suits, would require a lot of power. But where did the power come from. If you ask them this they say “Batteries”. But batteries were also not very developed in the 60’s. None of the technology was very developed in the 60’s. You have no idea what it was like then… Really stone age compared to today. Yet they could broadcast live television from the moon, again with no apparent significant power source. No matter what aspect of the “man on the moon” story you look at it is full of unexplained mysteries and really totally impossible things. Like the luna lander comes down onto a loose sandy surface that holds clear footprints when the astronauts walk on it, but when the luna lander comes down with its engines blasting to slow it down it does not even disturb the dust underneath it at all. There is no indication in the sand under it that there was ever any blast from the engines. So you know there are thousands of inconsistencies like this. So it is very, very, very unlikely that we have ever sent men to the moon and brought them back home safely. This was a cold war stunt only, national security. The US was trying to show they were more advanced technologically than Russia. And the President had promised to do it and ordered NASA to do it and given them unlimited funding to do it. So they had to do it. There was no question of not going to the moon. Even if they could not go to the moon. So they faked it. That seems to be the only logical conclusion one can come to. As far as the ‘Moon Rocks’ they define them as being the same as the meteors they say fall from the moon. They are identical. They have the same qualities. The scientists have no way of telling if a rock is a moon rock or not. If NASA gives them a “Moon Rock” they just have to accept their word that it is a rock from the moon. The scientists can not say where the rocks come from. They just have to blindly believe NASA. It seems they were collected from Antarctica, or at least they were collected from somewhere on Earth. They may well have come from space. But the same rocks are available here on Earth and can be collected on earth. So our point is there is no proof that men ever went to the moon. The only ‘proof’ NASA has ever given is moon rocks which we have already established is not proof men went to the moon. Even if they do have rocks from the moon and just imagine they could go to the moon, they can be collected by unmanned missions as Russia claims to have done. Russia also has moon rocks but they never sent any men to the moon. So having moon rocks is no proof that men went to the moon. The only other “proof” is Lunar laser ranging. They say there are about four reflectors on the moon, some put there by NASA and some put there by Russia. So again, even if these reflectors are there, which is highly doubtful, Russia has also put them on the moon without putting men on the moon. So having reflectors on the moon does not prove that you have to have men on the moon to put them there. The visual record on film and video is so full of contractions and absurdities that it proves that at least a larger proportion of what they provided us with was not shot on the moon at all. And even NASA admit themselves that some of the images are not shot on the moon, some are publicity images, shot on the earth, mixed up with the ‘real’ moon shots. So if NASA will admit some of the images are fake that means they did have the moon studio and the moon landscape on earth. That is of course known. There are even photos. They had everything simulated on earth, for training, you know. It is not that they just went to the moon. They simulated everything on Earth first for training. So obviously they took photos and films of the simulations and no would think anything of this. In fact NASA had a whole simulation department who would simulate realistic data streams for the Mission Control so they could practice without actually having to send men to the moon. And you really overestimate what amateur radio people can do. All they can do is point an antenna in the direction of the moon and try to pick up a signal. That signal could be broadcast from any point between the earth and the moon. They can not tell the distance, only they can roughly work out what direction it is coming from. So all NASA have to do is have a satellite that is organized so that it is always directly in the line between the earth and the moon. So the satellite orbits the earth in the same way the moon is orbiting the earth and remains between the earth and the moon. So they just have to send their data stream up to that satellite and have it transmit it and then no one can tell if it is coming from the moon or coming from the earth. And they did actually have this satellite. And the reason was so they could run realistic simulations for training purposes. So you see they already had everything in place they needed to fake the moon missions and there was no secret. This was all for training and simulations. And there is no way that mission control could tell if they were running a simulation or if there was actually a space ship traveling to the moon. They only have the data feed that comes down into their equipment. They have no idea if that is coming from simulation or if it is really coming from an actual ship out there on the way to the moon. So if you actually investigate these things you will see there is absolutely no proof whatsoever that man has ever walked on the moon and there is huge amount of proof that puts the official story into question and which would indicate that the whole ‘man on the moon’ story is untrue. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa March 22, 2014 at 11:27 pm @Scott The CIA & other organizations involve hundreds of people who are sworn to secrecy. That is not an issue given the large number of patriots the US has. But Science is about collective verification by anyone who cares to do so. But when u have an event this remote, it becomes very expensive, far beyond even what several countries can afford, let alone an individual. So this then rests only on faith. You can at best trust they landed. Or trust they did not. There are no witnesses other than those who claim to have done it & stones & snaps are not reliable evidence of a landing. In other words evidences for or against cannot be produced. Circumstantial evidences are the next best exhibits. And in that realm those who doubt it have an abundance of it. February 28, 2014 at 10:13 am I was around in the 60’s and the cars then, didn’t always start first time. We used to have to crank the engine with a rod some days to get it going. In fact a motor mechanic from the AA (Automobile Association, UK) who do road rescues. Told me that it wasn’t until about 1985 that we had reliability regarding starting such engines (Seems the Japanese had this reliability some years earlier). I took his word as gospel, cos that was his daily job. So from a mechanical point of view, it is difficult to believe all the complex mechanical arrangements required for a moon flight happened, without any problems. October 14, 2013 at 5:49 pm The moon lauch was real, are you all nuts I watched it the flag was not fluttering from wind, there was a pole and another pole like an upside done L ,so that the flag could be seen other wise the flag would have fell and you couldnt see it. This was talked about during the landing, Do you really think taht we cant go to space, what about ISS maybe thats not there eathier. yet I see it all the time… October 15, 2013 at 6:22 am Chris it is obvious that we are able to launch satellites that orbit the earth. We use GPS and satellite communications all the time. There is absolute proof we have satellites and we can use them. As you say the ISS is visible from earth, it is only a couple of hundred miles up for God’s sake! The moon is a quarter of a million miles away! There is a huge difference between putting the ISS two hundred miles up above the earth and sending men to the moon and bringing them home safely. There is absolutely no proof we have ever sent men to the moon and you can not produce any proof at all for this. And all the indications are that we did not send men to the moon. You believe it only because you have blind religious faith in NASA. Because of this blind religious faith you are unable to think logically. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa October 15, 2013 at 9:01 am We do have proof though. We’ve brought back physical evidence. The rocks have been examined by scientists that WANT to prove they are fake. And yet they admit they are from the moon. This is your CHOICE to discount it- to say it isn’t evidence. But that doesn’t make them fake. People smarter than you say they are real. People that are like you- that WANT it to be fake- say they are real. “Like you” but smarter. October 15, 2013 at 4:12 pm Steve even the scientists admit that ‘moon rocks’ fall out of the sky as meteorites. The ‘moon rocks’ can be collected on Earth… How thick are you? Why don’t you do some reasearch instead of repeating all these stupid things that have been disproved time and time and time again. It is simply sentimental blind religious faith on your part. You want to believe NASA. You love NASA, you have faith in NASA. But there is no evidence that NASA sent men to the moon at all… We have established time and time and time again completely conclusively that having moon rocks does not mean that you have sent men to the moon and brought them home safely with the rocks. The Russians also have ‘moon rocks’ but they never sent anyone to the moon to collect them. It is absolutely not necessary to go to the moon to get ‘moon rocks’. They fall out of the sky on earth, and Russia claims to have sent an unmanned probe and got the samples back to earth somehow with that. So even if they went to the moon and got moon rocks that does not prove that men went and came back. They have remote control Steve. They have unmanned missions. I am not saying of course they did this. But you can see that haveing moon rocks we sent men to the moon and brought them home. If you can not comprehend this you are insane, with all due respects… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa October 11, 2013 at 5:18 am sepan…of all the “Arguments” for a conspiracy- your question is one of the easiest to explain. Many of the phenomena we observe and measure on the moon is not observable here on Earth, so it’s difficult for our brain to process. What does a vacuum look like? What is 1/6 gravity? How does extremely fine powder as “the ground” work? Most of us try to use our experience eon Earth to explain, or rather discount, anything we see in video. I’ve actually seen a photo with a star visible, but the reason more stars aren’t visible is simple photography. The surface of the Moon is very bright (and also at times very dark). The exposure time obliterates the stars. This is actually a phenomenon we experience here on Earth. Ever take a picture of the stars in your backyard? I’ve tried…and even on very long exposure times I can only grab a couple of the very brightest stars. August 24, 2013 at 8:43 am Hello Madhudvisa dasa. I have pretty much given up on you with this topic, but I certainly enjoy the regular email messages being sent. Thanks. However, your logic does still baffle me. You say things like “filmed on movie sets”. You must be very uneducated/ignorant about the film industry process. Even a simple low budget film can require dozens of personnel just to film, let alone set design, set construction, script writing, pre and post production. “dummy satellite”, would require many engineers to build program it. Ever been to the Kennedy Space Center? How about The Johnson Space Center? These aren’t little rooms with a few people. These are MASSIVE complexes where even a simple operation of an unmanned satellite can take hundreds of people. The complexes are filled with VERY smart people. Can’t fool them all. Also, the globe Earth is FILLED with expert amateur and professional scientists and telescope and radio operators. They love tracking objects in space. They would be rich and famous if they proved the moon missions were faked, yet, somehow, the thousands upon thousands of people, not one ever did? Same with the rocks you keep saying can be faked. It takes a VERY ignorant person to think you can fake micrometeor impacts and subatomic particle construction. Scientists would LOVE to prove those rocks are faked…and yet none have? And as I said before….they faked this not once or twice…but SIX TIMES? Six MASSIVE operations that nobody has come forward about being a part of faking it? Your flawed logic REALLY fails when you express your opinion about humanity being flawed and even evil- yet somehow….no one has been motivated by The Dark Side enough to expose your fake theory? No way in Heaven, Hell and Earth that NO ONE has come forward out of the THOUSANDS of people it would have taken to fake it all. As I said before…your conspiracy theory is more preposterous and unbelievable than the actual events. You’ve got your own mind tricked into believing it. But it’s not your fault. Your lack of education and knowledge on the subject, and your spiritual directive won’t allow it to be any other way. peace brother Hare Krishna Steve You do not understand and you did not read what I wrote. So please read it again. All these things were there and are admitted and the thousands of people did know about it and did participate in it. The stage sets, the models of the moon, the reconstruction of the moon’s surface in some desert in the USA, these things are all real and all known about by thousands of people. The satellite is a fact and is know about by thousands of people. But these things are all plausibly explained as being needed for the purpose of training the astronauts and for the purpose of training and testing the mission control facilities and equipment and personal. So none of the elements that would be need to fake the moon missions are secret or hidden or unknown. They were all there, but their purpose was explained as for training, testing, etc. The mission control was constantly running these simulations with the data-feed coming in from their satellite. And they had a whole group of hundreds or even thousands of workers who would produce and manage these simulated data-feeds. This is how they trained the mission control people and tested their equipment. Obviously even if they really went to the moon they would need a way of simulating the transmissions from the space craft on the way to the moon without having to actually send a spacecraft to the moon. So my point is absolutely everything was in place for them to fake it. And you know that NASA openly admit that some of the photos are PR photos that got mixed in with the ‘real’ photos. So if they have PR photos that were not taken on the moon then they obviously have a moon set where they took the PR photos? And there are pictures of their big and small models of the moon with the camera tracks there so they can take the films of approaching the moon, etc. You have to admit Steve that there is a real possibility that we did not have the technology to send men to the moon in 1967. You have to realize Steve that we don’t have the technology to send men to the moon now in 2013, almost fifty years later. In fifty years our technology has advanced astronomically. But still we have no technology to send men to the moon. You have to try and engage your brain here and think seriously about these things. And you have to consider the political situation with the cold war with Russia, with Russia being considerably ahead of the US in the field of ‘rocket science’, and the fact that the President of the United States had promised the country that “we will go to the moon…” And you have to consider that NASA’s funding, NASA’s very existence, and the funding and existence of so many of the contractors working for NASA was completely dependent on going to the moon. There was no question of not going to the moon. So with this in mind if they discovered that it was not actually possible to go to the moon with 1960’s technology then faking it was their only option. You have to consider this as a possibility at least. Of course you may think it is more likely that they went to the moon, that is fine, but I think it is more likely they faked it. And you can not say they did not fake it. As I have repeatedly pointed out there is absolutely no proof whatsoever that man has ever walked on the moon. And I have asked you Steve also to give me some actual proof of your claim that NASA sent men to the moon, they hung out on the moon for a few days without any power to power their equipment including life support systems, television cameras and transmitters capable of sending live television broadcasts back to earth, that great little moon-buggy zipping around on the moon, it was all running on batteries. And sometimes these batteries lasted for days while they hung out on the moon playing golf and so on… You know in the 60’s they had no solar panels. Only batteries… And the 60’s batteries were not very good also… So anyhow Steve, unless you are a total fool, you have to accept the possibility that NASA faked the moon missions. You can not prove that they didn’t fake it. You only believe in NASA because you have blind faith in NASA. This is the mood of a blind religious fanatic. Only your religion is NASA. My position is that I have heard from Srila Prabhupada that it is his opinion that they did not go to the moon. So I accept the opinion of Srila Prabhupada, therefore my opinion is the same, I do not believe they went to the moon. We have ample evidence from the Vedas that supports the thesis that it is not possible to go to the moon in the way it was presented that the NASA astronauts went to the moon, and we also have evidence from the Vedas stating that the moon is different from the way it was portrayed by NASA in their live television coverage, etc. And in addition to this, almost fifty years later, NASA has not been able to convince a very large percentage of the people that they went to the moon. Maybe now 40% of people in the US do not believe men ever walked on the moon. And NASA can do nothing to convince this 40% of the American population that they went to the moon. And NASA can’t go to the moon now. And even if they were funded with trillions of dollars they can only say that “Perhaps, maybe, in twenty years or so we might be able to go back to the moon…” This is insane. If they could go to the moon in the 1960’s they know how to do it and they can go to the moon today. Now they can build spaceships so much better than in the 1960’s because the technology is now so much better. But they can’t. So if they can’t go to the moon now they didn’t go to the moon in the 1960’s. Steve you are illogical and simply a sentimental fanatic believing in a fantasy that you want to believing and you refuse to use any logic or intelligence to actually analyze what you believe in. You can not blindly believe in things with no proof just because NASA tells you so. That is not science. That is sentimentalism. So come up with some actual solid proof that NASA sent men to the moon or at least accept the possibility they may have faked it. OK you can have your opinion that NASA sent men to the moon, and you can believe that, fine. But you have to admit that is your belief and that is the conclusion you have come to from your study of the available information. Still at the same time you can not say it is a fact. It is only your opinion and you have to admit the possibility that you may be wrong. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa August 25, 2013 at 8:16 am The “proof” is there. You refuse to believe it. Why? The rocks have been examined by THOUSANDS of scientists around the world. None of them found them to be fake. But because you THINK they can be faked….I should believe you? You who are not a scientist and have not examined the rocks? And you wonder why I do not blindly follow you? As far as we don’t have the technology at this moment in time is true. But you aren’t telling the whole truth about that. It’s not that we CAN’T…it’s because the government and general public defunded the technology. NASA could only run the space shuttle program with the funds available, which was very intense all by itself. They felt we needed a space station instead of being on the moon. For someone seeking knowledge and wisdom, you certainly are not going very deep for it. You stop asking questions when the answer satisfies your disposition….not when the whole entire truth is uncovered. Sure…a lot of kooks think we didn’t go. I’m not talking about them. These are the same people who know more about Survivor and The Kardashians then they do about our U.S. Constitution or Noam Chomsky. I’m talking about the scientists, the engineers…even the ASTRONAUTS themselves…could certainly find the motivation, the vast rewards from people like you…to come forward. No disgruntled NASA personnel? Really? NOBODY? If people are as bad as YOU say they are…certainly someone of importance would have come forward. NASA had planned a return trip to the moon via The Constellation Project. Once again…this pesky budget thing rears it’s head. This problem is more important that you realize. Projects get SCRUBBED because of it…not because we do not have the capability. NASA can only do so much with the money left to them. Instead, NASA set it’s sights even further. The Orion project is in full swing and set for a manned mission to Mars around 2020. As was asked of you earlier…I do indeed wonder what your reaction will be if that is successful. Do you even wish it to be? I suspect that you hope for failure. August 25, 2013 at 10:59 am Hare Krishna Steve Good to hear from you. If NASA are successful in sending men to the Moon or to Mars that is fine. That will be wonderful for them I am sure. So if they are successful I will congratulate them of course. Successful means they will be able to go and come as they please and others will be able to go and come and they will be able to do things there. So if these things are going on then that becomes proof. You know we can not say that the scientific advances which have actually been made have not been made because there is proof. We can not say that they are not able to put satellites in the sky because we use the satelites every day for GPS and communications. Every actual real scientific advancement is like this. There is proof of it and because of the proof no one can doubt it. As far as your links to the “moon hoax debunking” websites I am not going to post them. When you get people who for some reason other than a genuine desire to understand the truth who are pushing an agenda for that purpose they may be able to present many arguments for their cause but they are only interested in establishing their cause. They are not interested in finding out the truth. These people want to prove at all costs that NASA went to the moon and they do not consider the very likely scenario that the moon missions were faked. I am only interested in finding out the truth about this and really it does not matter if they went to the moon or not. We don’t care. We will continue chanting Hare Krishna anyhow. We are not saying that interplanetary travel is impossible. There are at least three different types of spacecraft described in the Vedas and interplanetary travel is going on even now by beings from other planets, both demonic and divine. The demons tend to be the ones who are very advanced in technology and have the best mechanical spacecraft while the devotees like Narada Muni, who is a transcendental spaceman, can travel from planet to planet simply by playing on his stringed instrument, the vina. So there are many ways by which interplanetary travel is possible, both mechanical and also on a more subtle platform. But we do not believe that the way NASA did it is a valid way to travel to the moon. As far as the moon rocks they are not proof at all because what they call ‘moon rocks’ are exactly the same as the ‘moon rocks’ that fall out of the sky as meteorites. Not all meteorites are ‘moon rocks’ but some of them they say are ‘moon rocks’. So these ‘moon rocks’ are coming from somewhere other than earth but we don’t have to go anywhere to get them. They fall out of the sky. And you know the Russians also have ‘moon rocks’ but they have never been to to moon. So this ‘moon rocks’ is absolutely not proof that man has walked on the moon. And you know that very well, yet still you keep bringing up moon rocks? As far as your assertion that amateur astronomers would have been able to track the Apollo astronauts. That is also nonsense. They are using telescopes and the Apollo spacecraft are very small, particularly after they drop off that big booster rocket, so once it disappears in the sky they can see it with a telescope for a little while but very soon it disappears from the telescope also and they can not see it or track it or anything. As far as the radio transmissions there is no way to know the distance from where they are being transmitted. Only a ham radio operator can determine the approximate direction by pointing his antenna and moving it around and finding where the signal is the strongest. But you know NASA had a satellite between the earth and the moon moving around the earth just like they say the moon is moving around the earth. So they have organized something in the same line and direction as the moon is from the earth where they can transmit their simulated Apollo data from. And this is not secret. This is the system they used for training and for simulations and for testing their equipment. As far as your assertion that thousands of people would have to know about the hoax, that is also wrong, as I have pointed out all the elements necessary to fake the moon missions were already in place and were already accepted and know of by many in NASA but they had valid reasons for having everything. They presented valid reasons for creating a section of the moon’s landscape in a desert, for having the simulation satellite, and for taking these fake PR photos in a studio on Earth. Of course the astronauts must know about it. But this is considered to be an issue of national security as it was part of the cold war with Russia really so all these people take serious secrecy oaths and the US government can be quite nasty with those who may break these oaths. And it is not that people have not spoken out. Many have actually spoken out. I happened to hear Alex Jones interview one of the leading people who was working in the Houston ground control center on both the Apollo missions and later on the Space Shuttle missions. And he is right there in mission control and a very key person there and he says while he thinks they probably went to the moon but he is not sure, he has doubts. He described the simulation system NASA was using. He said there were also rooms of hundreds of people who were the ‘simulation department’. And the simulation department was constantly feeding simulations into mission control even during the actual moon landings. It was this ‘simulation department’ who was tasked with the job of writing the scripts and actually executing these simulations for training the mission control personal and for exploring various scenarios which may occur. And he said there was no way they could tell in mission control if they were running a simulation or if it was the real thing. You see all the impressive instruments and all the big screens, etc, but in reality all the data they are working on is just coming through one data feed and it is an old fashioned analog feed which is just an audio channel and a telemetry channel containing the current readings from the hundreds of sensors they had on all the various systems on the spacecraft. In addition they occasionally had a video feed from the television camera. So you only have these three signals. And they had rooms full of hundreds of people who’s job was to produce fake simulations of these three data feeds for training purposes. So you see everything was in place to fake it and very few of the people involved would be aware of what was happening. They could very easily have the simulation people running a simulation and have the mission control people think that the simulation was real. Of course there would be a small number of people who would be aware of what was actually going on. But it is a very small number of people. As far as your idea that everyone would want to disprove it, that was not the mood in the sixties. The mood has changed. Now of course if NASA did fake a moon landing it would be immediately exposed but in the sixties the mood was different. People had a lot more faith in science and were not generally aware of the extent to which a government would be prepared to mislead their people for their own agendas. And your idea that scientists would want to prove that NASA was wrong is also not valid. That is not the way the scientific community works. They have faith in these things, they believe what NASA says. And how is any scientist going to prove what is a moon rock and what is not? They have no idea what a moon rock is. They have never been to the moon. So they have no way of saying if a rock is a moon rock or not. All they can do is just analyze the “moon rocks” that NASA gives them… As far as the funding, in really very little funding is required if the technology is already developed. There is a very big difference in the funding required to actually develop the technology as compared to simply fabricating something according to technology that we already have. All you have to do is build it and that is not really very expensive. And you forget that George Bush was offering NASA the funding, and he would have given them practically anything at all, if they could have just gone back to the moon in his presidency. This is the key. These US presidents have to get the glory and see them reaching the Moon within their presidency. That is why the Apollo program had to be successful before the president of the time was out of office. So George Bush offered to fund NASA to return to the moon. He wanted to do it. Many have wanted to do it over the years. But NASA came back and wanted insane amounts of money and said it would not be possible for at least 20 years and even then they could not say for sure if they would be able to do it or not. So this funding is also not an issue. So unless NASA can do something within two US presidential terms then they are not going to get funding for it. The ideas that you put forward are all flawed. Like the moon rocks ‘proof’. Having ‘moon rocks’ is no proof of having gone to the moon because these ‘moon rocks’ also sometimes fall out of the sky and are available to be collected right here on Earth. And of course the Russians also have ‘moon rocks’ but have never been to the moon. So as I have said many times, it is OK, you can have your opinion that you think NASA sent men to the moon, and that is your opinion based on your analysis of the information you have at your disposal. But you can not say this is anything more than your opinion. And you can not deny the very real possibility that NASA may have faked the moon missions as there is a lot of actual evidence pointing towards this conclusion and there is no actual evidence at all that men have ever walked on the moon. If they do go to the moon actually then we have the technology to go to the moon and that will be developed and many will go to the moon and do things there and develop things there that we can see through telescopes. That is the proof. And if that happens of course we will have proof they can go to the moon. And if there is actual proof that we can go to the moon then no one can deny that. But while there is no proof you can not expect people to believe in NASA’s “men on the moon” story… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa August 25, 2013 at 6:44 pm How can rocks from moon be proof even if thousands of scientists have examined it? No one is familiar with moon rocks to say “yep! These are genuine 24 carat moon rocks!!” . In fact the whole story from NASA can only be taken at face value when they say we went somewhere, did this & that since there is no other witness to it nor is there any way to prove or disprove it. One can only choose believe or not believe it. Period. All your claims that they moon landings were true can also be claimed by anyone who says – ” I tele-ported to Mars yesterday & brought this rock as proof. Here it is ” & shows you a rock he picked up from his back yard & adds ” Boy ! dont they look exactly like rocks from Earth?”. Every claim that NASA uses to authenticate its moon mission can be used by this man too! Only , we will tend to believe NASA more because it is a big organisation & we have been trained in schools from the tender age of 4 to be submissive to to any form of authority. That’s all ! – There can be no proof , at least not ‘scientific’ proof in any way. This situation is not sufficiently within a domain that can allow it be to proven or disproved. It is just another claim at best ! Nothing more. August 23, 2013 at 6:57 am if its all true than will no one ever land in moon ? if Armstrong hadn’t stepped in the moon how can they manage all the things ? had they took the needed things before? you just can’t disprove them. if the rocket can’t cross the later than why did the scientist send them though they knew that. did they want to kill the astronomer by sending them ????? August 23, 2013 at 11:21 pm Hare Krishna Yes. They can obviously film all these things in the deserts of America and in studios and they can play the films and videos and put that into the television feed. That is not ‘rocket science’ and that is much easier than actually going to the Moon… It is obvious that the Apollo rockets took off and went up into the sky, and it seems fairly obvious that the astronauts were on them. But where they went after they disappeared from our view no one can really say. The most common suspicion is that the astronauts simply went into earth orbit, circling the earth just a few hundred miles up, that would give them the weightlessness and the appearance of traveling in space. And when it was time they could just come back again. Or who knows really? But certainly they had the technology to fake it and it does appear very, very unlikely that any man has ever actually gone to the moon and walked on it… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa August 23, 2013 at 6:48 am MOON LANDINGS CONSPIRACY: A BLEAK VIEW ON HUMANITY’S INTENTIONS Your suggestion that the US government, US industry, universities, and thousands of scientists, engineers, project managers, etc, working on the Apollo missions all conspired together to fabricate an enormous lie, and to betray the human race by such fundamental dishonesty and deceitfulness, indicates that you hold a very bleak view of the nature of humanity. The cynical views you express paint a dark and grim picture regarding the higher intentions of the human race. I would suggest that you need to refresh your faith in the inner goodness of man, and refresh your faith in the inherent earnestness of mankind’s intentions. Once you start to view humanity as fundamentally good and virtuous, you will understand that the very idea of such a deception would be anathema to the human spirit. IN SHORT: those who are cynical about the Apollo lands hold those views probably because they are cynical about the higher intentions of humanity in general. Moon landings conspiracy theorists would appear to hold a bleak view on humanity’s higher intentions. So the deeper issues here are not really anything to do with Moon landings, but are more about why some individuals harbour such cynicism of soul that they take a dark and cynical view of humanity’s intentions. Such individuals need to reconnect to goodness. August 23, 2013 at 11:36 pm Hare Krishna Gao. You are completely mistaken here. I have never suggested, and no one has ever suggested that “the US government, US industry, universities, and thousands of scientists, engineers, project managers, etc, working on the Apollo missions all conspired together to fabricate an enormous lie, and to betray the human race by such fundamental dishonesty and deceitfulness.” You have not understood the fundamental point. All these people were certainly, at least 99.9% of them, completely unaware of the moon hoax. They were almost all sincerely working to put men on the moon and they almost all believed that was what was actually happening. Almost no one needs to know about the moon hoax. Everything was already established to stage the moon hoax and everyone know that. For ‘training’ they built a reproduction of the moon in a desert somewhere in America and they openly have the big and small models of the moon and the camera tracks required to film the approaches to the moon, etc, etc. And not only that, for the purposes of training and testing, they had a satellite lined up between the earth and the moon and they had simulation data. They could simply broadcast a data stream to their satellite and that satellite would then broadcast all the data back to earth. Just exactly like it would be if there was actually a spaceship traveling to the moon… And this simulation system is open and know about by everyone. And they all accept it as part of the training without and suspicion. So with the exception of the Astronauts themselves and a handful of people who could just turn on that simulation satellite and send a data feed to it, no one else in NASA could tell if the data that was coming into all their instruments was originating from the satellite or from a space ship on its way to the moon… So you are completely wrong. Absolutely no one thinks: “the US government, US industry, universities, and thousands of scientists, engineers, project managers, etc, working on the Apollo missions all conspired together to fabricate an enormous lie, and to betray the human race by such fundamental dishonesty and deceitfulness.” Also you are completely wrong about human nature. Every person has four defects. Everyone has the tendency to cheat, everyone makes mistakes, everyone is illusioned–they accept things to be true that are actually false, and everyone has imperfect senses–they can not actually see what is really happening with their senses… There are two types of people: the divine and the demonic. So you are talking about the divine ones. And of course there are still a few, but these days, in Kali-yuga, although not everyone is demonic, the demons are in power and their influence is very, very strong. So the majority of humanity at present, under this demonic influence, are in fact demonic and it is realistic to have a cynical view of their intentions. So I think you need to reconnect to reality and understand that there is a very strong demonic force at present and to view humanity as fundamentally “good and virtuous” at this point in history would be very naive. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa June 26, 2013 at 10:20 am If you are able to view the lunar modules and other equipment, NASA claims they left behind, from a very powerful telescope from Earth, would you consider that as irrefutable evidence or would you question that as well? The more interesting question to ask is – There will be one day in future where common man would be able to play a part in such missions, whether it is viewing from Earth using simple instruments (that cannot be manipulated) like a telescope or whether it is actually being on the ship. In any case, if that happens, it will shake the roots of the founding principles of your organization, wouldn’t it? What then? If one of your founding principles is proved wrong, then that will cascade down to many other principles and suddenly you’ll realize that they weren’t “perfect”. I think you guys should start preparing for this eventuality because thousands of people will be left disillusioned not knowing what to do next. Les June 26, 2013 at 8:59 pm Hare Krishna Les Paul That is exactly what I have been challenging NASA to do. Do something on the moon that we can see with a reasonably powerful telescope and then there would be no question that they can go to the moon. If we can see something they have done on the moon it would mean of course they could at least do something on the moon. It does not necessarily mean men on the moon as things can be done with unmanned missions. This is not a ‘founding principle’ of Krishna consciousness. Rather Prabhupada has given us ‘Easy Journey to Other Planets’ that outlines a simple process anyone can use to travel to any planet including the moon. So men can travel to the moon. It is just that NASA do not know how to do it. It has been almost 50 years and so far NASA has not been able to produce any evidence at all that they actually sent men to the moon so I do not think we have to worry about that and as far as men going to the moon in the future using NASA’s method that is practically impossible. So let us wait and see. But certainly that is what we should demand. If they do send men to the moon they should do something that is clearly visible from Earth that someone with a reasonably powerful telescope can see. It is my suggestion for almost 20 years that they should do something like this so I very much appreciate you suggesting it also. That would at least prove they could send an unmanned craft to the moon and do something there. Even if they could do this without sending men to the moon that would be impressive. Even if they can just send an unmanned craft to the moon and do something that is visible from earth on the moon. You know they are very good at explosives, they should easily be able to blow something up there on the moon which would provide a great fireworks display we could all see from earth and the big bits of the creator wall that are blown out we could all look at through our telescopes and see it. Of course I am sure there are many other less destructive things one could do on the moon that could be seen from the earth. And that would prove at least that the can send unmanned craft to the moon. But I don’t think you will see this. That is of course a very inexpensive thing for them to do. Maybe 100 million dollars only if you get India or China to do it, maybe a billion dollars if NASA does it. It is nothing for NASA who are talking about projects costing trillions of dollars… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa June 24, 2013 at 6:57 am Hi Andrew… regarding your comment that we never went back; we went there 6 times over a three year period. Well, that is what NASA claims. We brought back some rocks. Well, that is what NASA claims. What else would you expect NASA to do? Moon bases? For what? Almost all of us agree it’s a very dangerous environment. You think it’s too dangerous for ONE trip….let alone living there. Is it possible that NASA (and the politicians) felt there wasn’t really any more to accomplish at that point in time? Could it be that NASA turned it sights on the Space Station? That was what the shuttle were designed for. It’s like you have no comprehension of mission goals and the resources it takes. NASA absolutely could not do a space station and the moon missions together. Your assertion is “proof” of nothing. Some of you people need to reassess your definitions of “proof” and “evidence”. June 24, 2013 at 7:01 pm Steve if it was possible to go to the moon six times within a three year period, safely sending six groups of men to the moon and safely bringing them home then we have got the technology for traveling from the earth to the moon very well developed and we have ironed out all the bugs. And the moon did not seem to be a very dangerous place at all as we see it on the NASA footage. Only no air to breathe. Otherwise it looks like a really fun and harmless place to be. How that could be so is a bit strange when we look at the ‘moon rocks’ that have been severely pelted with all these micrometeorite impacts is a little strange. Why weren’t the astronauts also pelted with micrometeorites, ripping their suits up? No, we don’t see anything hostile on the NASA videos, just a bunch of astornuts fooling around playing golf, etc… The proof that we did not go to the moon six times very successfully without any incident except Apollo 13 is that if we did we would have had to develop very reliable technology to go to the moon and bring the astronuts home and we would have that technology now and would have developed it and now interplanetary travel would be quite common. The money to develop this technology is already spent Steve. It was supposed to be developed with the billions of dollars spent on the Apollo program. So going back to the moon does not require any spending to develop the technology to go to the moon. We are supposed to have that already. All we have to do is just build the spaceship and go. But we can’t. That is the absolute proof that we did not go to the moon in the 60’s. That we can not go to the moon now… You have still not given us one single piece of evidence that we ever had men walking on the moon Steve… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa June 24, 2013 at 5:03 am Madhudvisa prabhu, On many occasions Srila Prabhupada stated that they did not land on the moon and the audio recordings confirm this – they are not a red herring. Here is the Apollo 14 golf swing – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-FxhCZold0 Note carefully at 1:04, the astronaut is moving and carrying on a conversation at the same time. Houston responds in less than a second to the astronauts dialogue and the movement of the astronaut is completely fluid which would indicate that no editing has been done to this clip. A three second edit would be quite obvious. I am not a technical expert but if you kept editing only the audio (if that is at all possible with these old recordings) then the picture would very quickly go out of sync over the course of a conversation. Hare Krsna. June 24, 2013 at 6:39 pm Hare Krishna Vasudama Prabhu Actually Prabhu there is no problem with this video, it could have been recorded on the Moon, as the talking is being done by the astronaut only except for the two cases where Houston replies to him but as I will explain below Houston can reply instantly and in sync with what we see happening on the moon because what we see happening on the moon on the video is recorded on earth and already includes the delay from the moon. But the astronauts can not hear what Houston says until 1.5 seconds after they speak and Houston can not hear the astronauts reply until 1.5 seconds after they speak. So what I am saying is I am not yet convinced that NASA was so foolish not to include the delay in their audio and video recordings but if you can research and prove that in the official NASA audio and video conversations between the astronauts on the moon and ground control there is not at least a 3 second delay then that is 100% proof that they were not on the moon. I am not saying this is a ‘red hearing’ I just said that I do not personally have the proof that this is the case. But if you can research it and prove it then certainly that is 100% proof that the astronauts were not on the moon when talking with the ground control people. So it is absolute proof if you can show this from the original NASA recordings. Of course the Houston people will hear the astronauts in half this delay time. So in maybe a little less than 1.5 seconds after the astronauts speak Houston will hear it and will be able to reply to that but their reply will not reach the astronauts for another 1.5 seconds or so. You have to check the exact timing because this 3 seconds and 1.5 seconds is just my rough guess. So it would be possible on a video recorded from Earth that Houston can respond to the astronauts about 1.5 seconds after they speak but the astronauts would not be able to hear this until about 1.5 seconds after they replied. So if the video is recorded on earth off the life feed from the moon, then you are seeing it with the moon to earth delay in it already. So you are seeing it already 1.5 seconds after the astronauts spoke. So on the video as recorded from earth, which is already delayed 1.5 seconds, Houston will appear to be able to immediately respond to the astronauts questions, but because the video and audio from the moon is actually delayed by 1.5 seconds already, that 1.5 seconds has already passed on the moon and NASA are just now replying, which appears to be an immediate reply on the video, but it is already 1.5 seconds after the astronauts have asked the question and the reply to the question is going to take another 1.5 seconds to get to the moon so the astronauts on the moon have to wait 3 seconds before they can receive a reply to their questions. And if Houston asks the astronauts a question then they have to wait 3 seconds before they can get a reply from the astronauts on the moon… But Houston can immediately reply to a message as they receive it from the moon. But it is impossible for them to get any reply back from the astronauts until three seconds later. So it is impossible to have a fluid conversation with astronauts on the moon. Because they are not going to hear you till 1.5 seconds after you speak and then when they reply you can not hear them till 1.5 seconds after they speak. So if this 3 second delay is not there in the official NASA audio and video recordings then that is 100% proof that the astronauts were not on the moon… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa Chant Hare Krihsna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa June 23, 2013 at 5:06 pm I also did want to say that the audio waveform you see there is NOT proof that the transmission did not originate from the moon. You have no way to check the transmission speed on a recording. If you want to submit evidence that those transmissions from the moon did not take the 3 seconds…that’s fine…but you can’t do it from a recording. Please…submit the real evidence that the transmissions from the astronauts were not from the moon. I’m willing to listen- IF you can do it. June 24, 2013 at 1:34 am Hare Krishna Steve I do agree with you on this. There must be a 3 second at least delay but in these days of digital editing someone may well have edited that delay out to make the recordings easier to listen to. So you are right, this issue needs more research. But certainly if there are actual real unedited NASA recordings with ground control speaking to astronauts on the moon that do not have the delay then that is very solid proof that the astronauts were not on the moon. But you know it is very easy to delay the sound even if the astronauts are in the next room and it is a very basic thing and I personally do not think NASA would be so stupid not to delay the audio and if they did not delay it surely someone would have noticed at the time. So it is possible that this whole audio thing maybe a red hearing. But certainly if someone can research this and come up with genuine NASA recordings without the delay then that is certainly proof that those recordings were not made with men on the moon. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa June 23, 2013 at 5:01 pm There are mountains of evidence, but I do not want to talk about it because there is an absolute proof. The fact that no man has ever went beyond 400 mile from the earth (even NASA admits this fact) since the Apollo manned missions to me is the absolute proof that the moon landings were not real. Gentlemen, think about it ! June 23, 2013 at 4:57 pm Vasudama…of course it’s the same. It’s two people talking to each other. Even when there is very little delay…talking on the phone can be confusing- at times. We interrupt each other, we talk over the top of each other. To say you found 8 seconds of “proof” in a 3 day journey is preposterous. And many scientists and amateur radio operators followed the transmissions….nobody has come forward. Monitoring am object in orbit would have been a clear indicator. But no one has come forward. That’s because they all monitored a craft traveling somewhat directly away from Earth…NOT in orbit. If we agree that the astronauts likely DID blast off from Earth…it would be nearly impossible to fool the millions of people who trained their radio receivers on the skies. To think NASA could pull off a fake one time…is well…very impressive! But NASA says they went seven times. We don’t talk about that too much do we? How do you fake it SEVEN TIMES? You can’t. June 24, 2013 at 1:54 am Hare Krishna Steve You are very naive. All anyone can tell about a radio signal is the direction it is coming from. So you know all they had to do is have a satellite between the earth and the moon and send the simulated moon mission stuff up to the satellite and have the satellite transmit it. Then the audio is coming from the direction of the moon and no one can distinguish that signal from a signal coming from the moon. All you can do is point your antenna at the moon and if you get a signal you do not know where that signal is being broadcast from. It could be coming from anywhere in the line between the earth and the moon. So it is very, very easy to fake the transmissions from the moon in such a way that no one could tell they were not coming from the moon. NASA did not pull of a fake at all. Even at the time there were questions about it and those doubts and questions about the authenticity of the ‘man on the moon’ story have just grown and grown till now when at least half of the people in the US at least have doubts as to whether we ever went to the moon and a very large percentage just don’t believe this fairy tale at all. So NASA was not able to fake it at all. Now at least half of the Americans are not convinced and NASA can not produce any evidence whatsoever that they have ever been to the moon and they can not go back now. Of course you may say then why don’t they just fake it now? They have wonderful technology to fake it now? But now people would really be watching and now the general public have the same technology that they have so nowadays it would be very, very difficult for them to fake it and get away with it. So they are stuck. The can not prove they went to the moon and they can not go back to the moon. It is really so easy to fake these things in such a way that very few people are aware of what is going on and you know the US government is very persuasive. They will kill the family and children and the person who speaks out. And this is all about ‘national security’. Anyhow the way you fake it seven times is you just do the same thing seven times. You make a simulation supposedly to train everyone for the real thing and you transmit that simulation data stream up to the satellite that they had put there between the moon and the earth for exactly this purpose and when the ‘real’ mission comes you just transmit a simulation data stream to the satellite and no one can know if it is being transmitted from the satellite or from the moon. That is how you fake it seven times. You know that whole grand show of the NASA ground control with all those screens and everything is all running on just one single data feed coming down to it form the moon [or from the simulation satellite] And there is no way anyone can tell the difference, if the data stream is coming from the moon or from the simulation satellite. So you only have to have a very small group of people ‘in the know’. Everyone else is just believing that this is a real moon landing mission, when in fact they are just running a simulation. The astronauts can be on there moon set and they can be also playing back prerecorded things and you know, a whole Hollywood production, and just transmitting it up to the simulation satellite and no one can know that it is not coming from the moon because the satellite is between the earth and the moon…. So these things are very easy and well within the technology available to NASA in the 60s and at that time the US population was much more gullible and really they did believe anything they saw on the television. So it was not at all easy to fool them. Now it would be much more difficult for NASA to fool the people of America and the world with another fake moon mission. So they are really a little bit stuck… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa Steve, You are the one that is ‘blindly accepting’ NASA whereas we are questioning. Talking over a phone is NOT the same as talking to a person on the moon. It is not just 8 seconds – every transmission of every mission recorded has no delays. And no thay can’t keep this hoax a secret – we are exposing them. June 23, 2013 at 7:12 am Hare Krishna Vasudama I do not know about this Prabhu, “every transmission of every mission recorded has no delays”, that is not true because I was alive at the time and remember hearing some delays at lest. You know surely people would notice that… So I do not know, it maybe that someone has edited some of the tapes to take out the blank space to make them easier to listen to. You would have to find actual original material to prove this one way or another. It is very easy to make a delay in the transmissions, even if they are not on the moon, and you know everyone knows it takes time to send a radio message to the moon and back. So actually I am not convinced that NASA was so stupid to not delay the conversations. So you have not yet convinced me on this one… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa June 22, 2013 at 10:21 am This youtube video is proof of nothing, let alone “absolute proof”. You ask us to question NASA, yet you blindly accept anything without question. Ever talk on the phone…and talk OVER the other person? Of course you have. There are beeps in the audio, what are those? Plus there are also just random comments that is not a call and response. There’d be no delay. You found 8 seconds of transmission and call it “absolute proof”? And rocks cannot be faked. Even a particle accelerator cannot duplicate the random meteorite impacts of the moon rocks. The isotopes cannot be faked either. The rocks have been examined by HUNDREDS of scientists that would love to be The One the proves NASA faked it. And yet…no one has done so. Why? Because they can’t. Photography anomalies? Proportions are different on the moon. There’s also more than one light source. The moon is very reflective- a light source! Dust? Dust falls differently on the airless, low gravity moon. Check the moon rover, you can see the dust particles acting strangely. More importantly…how do you have such a HUGE hoax and keep it secret? Impossible. And let us say, for the sake of argument….you did mange to pull it off. You did it SIX MORE TIMES? Are you serious here? Come on. When the hoax….or rather HOAXES become more improbable than the event, there is a problem. You won’t publish my links…but I urge all readers to do what Madhudvisa asks us to do but refuses to do for himself….do your homework! There are many non-NASA resources available. For a start, go to youtube and search “hammer feather moon”. Very cool. Hare Krishna Steve You are really brainwashed… It is absolutely not possible to speak to a man on the moon without at least a 3 second delay for the radio waves to travel from the earth to the moon and then back again. So it is absolute proof that the person NASA ground control was speaking to in this example was DEFINITELY NOT ON THE MOON. And I am sure if you go through the audio you will find this is a very common problem with it. They are not speaking with men on the moon. It is not that this is the only proof that the NASA astronauts were not on the moon. There is oceans of proof for this but you are completely unable to present to me even one ounce of proof that the astronauts were ever on the moon. Everything you are hopeless about but you still cling on to this crazy idea that the “moon rocks” prove that there were men on the moon to collect them. But you know this is not proof Steve. Because moon rocks just fall out of the sky as Lunar Meteorites. So if one wants to get these “moon rocks” they can be collected right here, on Earth. And yes they may be a little different from earth rocks because probably they did fall out of the sky and probably they are not earth rocks and probably they are not faked. And Steve you know that the Russians also have “moon rocks” and the Russians never sent any men to the moon. So even without sending men to the moon one can acquire “moon rocks”. I am not convinced that these rocks are even “moon rocks”. You “scientists” are such fools that NASA can give you any rock and spin a story about it and you will believe that it is a “Moon Rock”. As far as the moon being “very reflective” you should do your research into the crazy scientists crazy ideas. They actually say the moon is not very reflective at all. [they have to say this Steve because their ‘moon rocks’ are not very reflective, and the moon is made out of “moon rocks”, right, so the moon should be the same color as the “moon rocks”… So they have got themselves into a great mess here. Of course the moon is actually very reflective. Any fool knows that. But the “scientists” say the moon is not very reflective at all. They say it reflects less than 7% of the light that falls on it and it is the color of a dark asphalt road… So you are not going to get floodlight style reflections off a dark asphalt road are you Steve? So it is like this with EVERY ASPECT of the NASA fairy tale. Everything is inconsistent and impossible. They have instant radio communication with the astronauts on the Moon — impossible, there are multiple light sources, and we are talking about studio floodlights here, on the moon — impossible, you can list hundreds of impossible things like this in the NASA fairy tale. But Steve you can not even give us one single piece of proof that men ever walked on the moon. So I think you have been soundly defeated. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa June 21, 2013 at 7:08 pm Hare Krishna Vasudama The truth is in everything about this bogus NASA ‘man on the moon’ story. No matter what you look at you find problems and contradictions. The NASA story just can not be true. It is true, however, that the video you mention here does provide absolute solid proof that the conversations NASA broadcast between Houston ground control and the astronauts were certainly not conversations with people on the moon. As the video points out the radio waves are not traveling faster than the speed of light and the round trip to the moon is getting to be almost 500,000 miles, and the speed of light is like 180,000 miles/second. So you have to have at least a three second delay between the time the Houston people speak [It will take about 1.5 seconds to get to the moon and when the astronaut replies that reply will take another 1.5 seconds to get back to Earth. So a total delay of 3 seconds or so…] But there is no delay at all. Wherever the astronauts were NASA ground control could get radio messages to and from them practically instantly. So you are correct. This is absolute proof that the astronauts were not on the moon… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa Yes – let’s put this demon finally to rest! Ys, June 10, 2013 at 12:55 pm NASA overcame a great deal of technical obstacles to go to the moon. i do not need faith at all to be assured that NASA sent men to the moon – i can look up how they did it, even go to see the Saturn V on display, and see that they had the technology to do so. i say creating micro-meteorites in the lab is not possible. you say it is, and that it is easy. i say… how? show me how they did it. show me where they produced these fake moon rocks. show me where we have the facilities to do so. show me the people who have made them. i do not require faith. my assurance is based on their ability to do so with the technology they had. however… YOU do not have any such assurance. you make things up off the top of your head and say “it’s proof!” when it is just your idle speculation. YOU take this on faith. you blindly believe we did NOT go to the moon when all the evidence points otherwise. by the way. the Apollo astronauts took several hundreds of pounds of moon rocks back with them. the Soviet probe that collected a lunar sample and returned it back to Earth only collected a few ounces. it would have taken thousands of such unmanned missions to return the amount of material that the Apollo astronauts collected. the sample returned by the Soviet probe matches the samples of the Apollo astronauts. that’s evidence that the material did indeed come from the Moon. June 10, 2013 at 11:12 pm Hug, you already saw on wikipedia that those ‘moon rocks’ naturally fall out of the sky and land on earth all by themselves. If one simply collects these ‘lunar meteorites’ or whatever, then you can get quite a good collection of ‘moon rocks’ without even having to leave the earth. As far as NASA being unable to put tiny indentations on rocks that are similar to the indentations that would occur if small particles [micro-meteorites or whatever…] make when they hit the rocks you have a very low estimation of the abilities of NASA as I have already pointed out. You can not say NASA are so hopeless that they can not fire some small objects at a rock at very high speed to create these little indentations in the moon rocks and at the same time they are so wonderfully smart that they can get men on the moon and get them back home safely. Hug, working with rocks, we have been expert at that as a species for thousands of years now. We can cut them and shape them and put any sort of finish on them that we want to and we can fire high speed small objects at them and make little indentations on them. You can just shoot a shotgun at a rock and you will probably get a nice micro-meteorite impact pattern on them. You know it is not rocket science, making fake moon rocks… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa June 10, 2013 at 2:56 am Srila Prabhupada: “It is my firm conviction that they did not go to the moon. Neither they’ll be able to go to the Mars as they have planned it.” (Room Conversation, July 6th, 1976, Washington, D.C.) Srila Prabhupada: “Yes, so where is the doubt? It is a fact that they did not go to the moon. That’s a fact.” (Morning Walk, June 10th, 1975, Honolulu) June 7, 2013 at 2:00 pm Madhudvista…your reply to Hug Dug makes no logic reason or sense once again. You are comparing Mount Everest to the moon? Like Dug says…you keep using inane and illogical metaphors to rationalize your belief. I ask NASA for proof, and they show me a rock that isn’t of this world. I ask YOU for proof and you tell me “we haven’t been back since- we have been back to Mt. Everest…so it impossible we ever went there to begin with if we’ve never been back”. No proof…only conjecture. NASA has provided as much evidence as possible, even physical evidence. You’ve provided vaporous and porous opinion, guesswork,inference and bias. I only wish you would apply the same process and rules to yourself that you do to NASA. You just except your own thoughts so swiftly and easily. It’s a very ugly way for a thinking spirit such as yourself. June 8, 2013 at 1:31 am Hare Krishna Steve The ‘rock that isn’t of this world’ is virtually identical to the rocks that come down to this world as meteors. So rooks like that are available on this world. It does not prove that anyone has gone to the moon to get it… You can not just blindly believe whatever you hear. You have to test it. And you have to consider all the evidence. You have a blind, fanatical belief in NASA and no facts or contradictions will faith your blind religious faith in NASA. You completely refuse to consider logic. So what can I say except: Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa June 9, 2013 at 7:36 pm FALSE. the rocks that we have as meteorites are very different chemically. they have been scorched by the heat of passing through the atmosphere. the rocks we have from the moon have none of those changes, and show evidence of billions of years of space weather, such as particles from the sun, micro-meteorite impacts, and (most importantly) utterly no effects of water or atmospheric weathering. Moon rocks are very different from Earth rocks. any competent geologist would recognize the differences right away. June 10, 2013 at 1:27 am Hare Krishna Hug If you have billions of dollars to spend the least you can do is come up with some moon rocks that look a bit genuine. Moon rocks is the only thing they did, so surely they can do a reasonable job of this. Anyhow your logic is faulty. Heating up a rock does not change it chemically. Yes it may scorch the outside a bit, maybe even melt the outside a bit, but there is no chemical change. If you can find a big enough rock that has fallen from space and break it up into smaller pieces then you will have your ‘moon rocks’. The inside is not scorched by the heat, only the outside, and there is no effect of water or atmospheric weathering either… and these things can be of course faked, “millions of years of space weathering, micro-meteorite impacts.” Don’t you think we had the technology to make some micro-meterite impacts… That is not a very difficult thing to do… You know if all you have to hold onto is a little rock. If that is the only thing that you can come up with as ‘proof’ for man being on the moon, then it is a very, very weak argument. Have you ever seen and tested one of these rocks yourself. Have you considered how easy it would be to make one of these ‘moon rocks’ right here on earth? We have the space rocks here already, we don’t need to get them from the moon. And have you considered that it is unreasonable to believe that the moon is made of dark-brown rocks? Look up at the moon on a full-moon night and see how brilliantly it is shining. How can those dark brown moon rocks shine so brilliantly? I would strongly suggest that the moon is not made out of those ‘moon rocks’ that NASA is showing us… Do we have the film of the astronauts collecting these moon rocks? As far as I can see the moon is covered by sand, the stuff that has the astronauts footprints in it. Why didn’t they bring back some ‘moon sand’ as well. Then you would have both ‘moon rocks’ and ‘moon sand’. Anyhow if you believe that it is beyond the capacity of NASA with billions of dollars at stake to fake a few moon rocks then what can I say? Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa June 10, 2013 at 5:57 am FALSE. a moon rock is impossible to fake. even today, we simply do not have the technology to fake a moon rock. the surfaces of the moon rocks are embedded with thousands of micro-meteorites, particles from the solar wind. they are chemically distinct from Earth rocks, have been found to contain minerals which simply do not exist here on Earth, and some are older than the oldest rocks we have found here on the Earth. all of this is impossible to re-create in a lab. smashing open a lunar meteorite would not result in a surface that presents evidence of such space weathering as micro-meteorites. there exists no facility that could produce them. a geologist would know a fake within a few hours of studying a false moon rock. samples from the surface of the Moon is the strongest evidence that we went to the moon, because it’s impossible to fake. you think it’s weak evidence? if so, then it is clear you know nothing about geology or chemistry, and you should remove yourself from this conversation. if you still think it is simple to fake, prove it. show me where we have the facilities to create thousands of micro-meteorites and billions of years of exposure to the solar wind. the moon rocks are not the only evidence. but they are tangible pieces of the Moon that can be studied in labs here on Earth. samples have been distributed around the world for geologists to study… you really think that if they were fake, of the thousands of scientists who have studied them, none would notice? … did you know that the albedo (color) of the moon is the color of dark asphalt? it is a very dark grey, and only reflects about 7-12% of the light that hits it. it shines brightly because of its size, not because it is composed of light-colored rocks. … don’t be stupid, of course the astronauts brought back lunar sand / dust. many, many bags full of it, as it was very easy to sample with a small shovel. there’s plenty of video of them collecting samples just like that. Just see, sending men to the moon, easy in 1960, impossible now… Faking a moon rock. IMPOSSIBLE!!! You are a FOOL!!! Yes. I know they say the moon is the color of dark asphalt… “It shines bright because of it’s size…” Crazy… Insane… Hug Doug prove me wrong. how do you fake a moon rock? how is it insane? show me how this is wrong. June 10, 2013 at 6:42 am It is insane that you have unlimited faith that NASA can send men to the moon and fly them back home safely, in this regard NASA is able to overcome all impossible obstacles. But faking a moon rock. Never. NASA could not do that…. IMPOSSIBLE!!! You are a fool. Of course they can fake a moon rock. But they can not send men to the moon… Because you do not know how to do it does not mean that it is impossible… And how do you know it is a moon rock anyhow? They have just told you it is a moon rock and you believe them. They could show you anything at all and explain the features and how all these little pit marks prove it is a moon rock, and you foolishly and unquestionably just believe them… It could be anything. And little pit marks? You don’t think we have the technology to put little pit marks in rocks but you think we can send men to the moon???? Crazy… You have to admit that your belief in the “man on the moon” story is just faith. Blind faith in NASA. That is all. Blind religious faith… You can not prove that men walked on the moon. And the fact that NASA now say it is impossible to send men to the moon, unless we give them trillions of dollars and at least 20 years, and then only maybe… Means that at the moment we do not have the technology to go to the moon. So we did not have it in the sixties. It we had the technology in the sixties we would have the technology now, and it would have been developed and would be better now. So there would be no question of NASA saying going to the moon is now impossible. This is why I say you are a fool. You do not seem to be able to comprehend anything at all. You have not ability to think logically. You just have blind fanatical faith in NASA… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa June 10, 2013 at 7:45 am Dear Hug Doug, Surely ‘rocks’, as you put it, are geological formations that differ according to their location. Why would ‘rocks’ from the moon, which is nothing but a large piece of matter that broke away from earth billions of years ago, have a different composition from earth? I have no knowledge of geology so perhaps I am wrong but would like to be enlightend. June 10, 2013 at 8:37 am Hare Krishna Geoff I am not a geologist either and I think also Hug is not a geologist… I did a bit of searching on the ‘moon rocks’ and: There are currently three sources of Moon rocks on Earth: 1) those collected by US Apollo missions; 2) samples returned by the Soviet Union Luna missions; and 3) rocks that were ejected naturally from the lunar surface by cratering events and subsequently fell to Earth as lunar meteorites. [wikipedia] So according to the scientists there are ‘moon rocks’ available on the earth that “rocks that were ejected naturally from the lunar surface by cratering events and subsequently fell to Earth as lunar meteorites” and the Russians have moon rocks and they never had any men on the moon. So the Russians also claim to have put retro-reflectors on the moon without any men on the moon. So we can see that there is no need to have men on the moon to get moon rocks anyhow or to put retro-reflectors on it. So even if we have moon rocks, they fall naturally from the moon and Russians have them also, so one does not need men on the moon to get moon rocks. So having moon rocks does not prove men have walked on the moon. It seems you are correct and the ‘moon rocks’ are very similar to earth rocks, the differences being small variations in the amounts of particular minerals, etc. Apparently they seem to be like earth rocks but are lacking the signs of water in their production. So there may be some artificial processing they can do to remove the water. I do not know. As far as I can see the lack of water is one of the main things. Apparently generally the oxygen levels are very similar to earth rocks. Which is strange as we are lead to believe there is not oxygen on the moon like we have it here. But apparently there is oxygen is in the moon rocks. Maybe they couldn’t get the oxygen out of them… So in any case the Russians have moon rocks and the scientists claim that moon rocks fall out of the sky as lunar meteorites… I do not believe that moon rocks fall out of the sky like this… But the rocks they are calling ‘moon rocks’ are the same as these ‘moon rocks’ that fall out of the sky… Anyhow my suspicion is that these ‘moon rocks’ have absolutely nothing to do with the moon. They have found them somewhere here on earth and probably they do come from off-planet in the form of meteorites, but where they come from I think no one really knows… Anyhow we have shown conclusively that having moon rocks is not at all proof that men ever walked on the moon… geoff boxer June 8, 2013 at 2:13 am Steve, I get the feeling you are wavering in your belief. As Anderw says; If the US could set up a base on the moon dont you think the advantages would outweigh the cost. Forget the space station; that’s so minor compared with a moon station. People will be asking why we didn’t return to the moon a hundred years from today. June 6, 2013 at 11:18 pm just so you guys know – saying “the proof that no one has gone to the moon is that no one has gone to the moon since” is absurd. it is proof of nothing, it is not evidence of anything, it is your own speculation. that no one has returned to the moon shows but one thing: that no one else has been willing to undertake the expensive and difficult challenge that is going to the moon. we definitly DO have the technology. we certainly can build a better moon lander, if the funding to do so was available. but it is not. could we go back to the moon again in less than 10 years? certainly! but we must be willing to devote the time, energy, and most importantly, the money to do so. June 7, 2013 at 4:01 am The funding was offered to NASA by George Bush and the answer from NASA was “Sorry we can’t do it.” At the time I asked the NASA people why and they said things like ‘well we don’t have the saturn-1 rockets anymore’ and ‘well all the people who knew how to go to the moon are dead now…’ Stuff like that. So it is a lie that NASA did not have the funding. The funding was offered but they could not do it. As far as ‘could we go back to the moon in 10 years?’ that is nonsense. If we had already been to the moon in the 60’s and already perfected the technology then to enable many safe manned return trips to the moon then that technology would have be used and perfected by now and be so much improved that now manned space travel would be commonplace. If you can send multiple groups of men to the moon and broadcast live television from the moon and bring them all home safely multiple times you have already got the technology for manned interplanetary travel. So if it was true there would be no question of ‘can we return to the moon in ten years’, we would already be living on the moon and have been to all the other planets in the solar system and we would at least have done a lot of scientific research on the moon and maybe even found some minerals or something there that could be commercially exploited you know. Men are not like this. It is not that we would climb Mt Everest once and then no one would ever do it again for another 50 years. No. When we achieve something then we take advantage of that and develop and perfect the technology. It is just insanity to say that we had perfected the technology to put men on the moon in the 60’s and now we can’t go to the moon but perhaps with money and time we could go back in ten years. That is nonsense. If the ‘man on the moon’ story is true then we have already spent the money and time and have already developed the technology to put men on the moon. So we do not have to spend the money and time again, we just have to build the thing again and go to the moon in it. And that, with no research and development cost, is just fabrication that can easily be done in China or India for a tiny fraction of what it cost in the 60’s. So you are speaking a whole lot of nonsense here and I think you know that. If the ‘man on the moon’ story is true then we have the technology to put men on the moon already and we don’t have to spend any money or time to develop it… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy. Madhudvisa dasa June 7, 2013 at 5:27 am FALSE. Congress did NOT appropriate enough funding for Project Constellation, and this is why it failed. this is a matter of public record, not subject to your speculative opinion. the project never got the funding it needed to get it off the ground. it was a funding problem, not a technology problem. not having a Saturn V rocket is an engineering challenge, but it requires funding for the engineers to actually build something. Congress did not give NASA the funding level requested by George Bush. on a side note, the new SLS rocket is being designed to get NASA astronauts to the Moon or Mars. it DOES have the necessary funding to bring it to completion. it’s a matter of money. again, FALSE. we certainly do have the engineering proficiency to design a rocket that can get people to the Moon. the problem is, and always has been, the political willpower to provide the funding to do so. there are no technical obstacles to designing a rocket to the Moon. saying that the proof we never went to the moon is because space travel should now be commonplace is your speculative OPINION, it is certainly not a fact. YES! you’re right! we did have interplanetary travel capability! and it was AMAZING! sadly, however, the folks in power (congress) decided to cut funding for continuing manned deep space travel in favor of the Space Shuttle. I would speculate, as you do, that, in my opinion, had we continued the high level of funding for manned deep space travel, it would be, while not commonplace, certainly not unheard of. we might very well have had a manned mission to Mars in the 1980s, which was the tentative post-Apollo plan NASA had. but! they did not get the money to do so. however, it is my opinion, that, with a high level of funding, we could easily design a rocket to the Moon within 10 years. we do have the technical expertise to do so. the only thing we lack right now, is the money to do it. let me put something in perspective for you. you don’t seem to understand something fundamental here. the Apollo space program cost the USA approximately $25 billion dollars in 1973 dollars. that’s roughly equivalent to $150 billion dollars in today’s money. no individual has that kind of cash laying around. it’s not something that your average person can just pick up and do (like going to Mt. Everest). you seem to think it is. this is wrong-thinking. most entire NATIONS do not want to spend that kind of money, either. it’s not insanity. it’s a simple political FACT that after the USA was successful with Project Apollo, no other nation wanted to spend dozens of billions of dollars to send people to the Moon. BUT it is also a FACT that the technology exists to do so, and YES! as you say, it could be fairly rapidly developed, easily within 10 years, if people wanted to spend the money to do it. we do have the technology! if you want to spend the money 🙂 It is nonsense. It does not cost that much. The whole budget for the Indian Chandra Narayana 1 was only 90 million dollars. That is not even a tenth of a billion dollars…. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandrayaan-1 And if you believe this they flew to the moon with that. You don’t understand. We already have the technology if the “man on the moon” story is true. We do not have to research it, we do not have to develop it, we just have to fabricate it. And that is not at all very costly. We can do it in China or India and it will cost next-to-nothing. So it is NOT a question of money or funding. The problem is we do not have the technology. You don’t have to spend money to develop technology that you already have… Surely you can see this???? Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa the Apollo space program cost the USA approximately $25 billion dollars in 1973 dollars. that’s roughly equivalent to $150 billion dollars in today’s money. that’s for a manned space flight program. a VERY SMALL lunar orbiter, such as the Chandrayaan-1, would naturally require a smaller rocket, and is therefore less costly. and you’re wrong about not having to research… modern materials and technology is far superior to what we had in the 60s. an exact duplicate would be foolish, because our electronics, materials, etc. are better today. so a complete re-design would be necessary, to develop a more efficient and (hopefully) cheaper rocket. we have the technology. but getting the money to do it is problematic, because no one wants to do it. June 10, 2013 at 1:54 am You speak so much absolute foolish nonsense. Why don’t you look around you? When you have a good solid and reliable technology that works you do not change that. Yes, you develop it, you improve it. But you keep the basic solid technology that you have already spent the time and money and research to develop it. That you can see with everything around us. Motor cars. We are still using exactly the same internal combustion engine from the 40’s with very no change to the basic operation and basic principles. We have improved it and bolted on electronic computer-controlled fuel injectors and engineered it better, but the engine is still the same. We are still flying in the same jet airplanes that are virtually identical to the jet airplanes that we were flying in in the 1950’s. Nothing has changed, at least not with the jet engines. We have put televisions in the backs of the seats and GPS based autopilot and computers, but the technology that is reliable and works is exactly the same as in the 1950s. Everything is like that. If you actually develop some reliable technology that works you keep it and develop it. You don’t throw it out and start again from scratch. And NASA says “well maybe if you give us hundreds of billions of dollars then maybe perhaps in 20 years we can go back to the Moon…” This is such nonsense. NASA went from no space program at all to putting men on the moon in only six or so years in the 60s. And supposedly they developed a very reliable technology to do this. Repeatedly taking groups of men to the moon and safely bringing them back to earth. The Apollo Space program started with nothing in 1963 and by 1968 they had Apollo 8, which was a manned mission that orbited the moon and returned to the earth. So it only took them five years to go from absolutely nothing to being able to fly men to the moon and back. And by 1969, only one year later they had Apollo 11 and were orbiting the moon and flying down to the moon on there little moon lander [with tin-foil walls….] and flying back up to their spaceship with it also… So the Apollo program went from nothing to men on the moon in only 6 years… And if it is true they developed a very reliable technology. No one died. Every one got to the moon and back home safely… So if it is true we have that technology now. So if it took only 6 years to go from nothing to Man on the Moon, and if we have that technology now, then all we have to do is build it, fabricate it, sure, yes, we can take advantage of whatever advances there have been in materials and in technology. So we can make it better than in the 60’s. But there is no need for any research and development, that is already done. Only a bit of improvement to take advantage of the new materials and technology, but the basic principles are the same of course, just like the jet engine or the internal combustion engine. If you want to make a car or an airplane it is no big deal. You know the technology, you know how it works, you just have to build it. It is not very expensive. If we actually have the technology for traveling to the moon then it is the same thing, it is not expensive, nor will it take more than a year or two, we just have to build it and go to the moon. And that was George Bush’s point. He was prepared to give NASA whatever funding they needed to go back to the moon, but of course he wanted them to go back to the moon during his term in office. So he was looking for a result in a few years. But NASA came back and said that “No way… It’s going to take us at least 20 years.” There you have absolute proof that we never went to the moon in the 60’s and that we don’t have the technology to go to the moon now. It is insane. It took less than six years to get to the moon from no space program at all in the sixties, now after doing that and after having the technology to go to the moon already NASA says it will take at least 20 years and trillions of dollars to go back to the moon? This is insanity and only fools and idiots [with all due respect] can believe this nonsense… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa June 8, 2013 at 2:00 am Hug Doug, $150 billion, even if it’s true is not much for the US government. They waste that much on much less worthy projects. June 7, 2013 at 9:25 pm “Men are not like this. It is not that we would climb Mt Everest once and then no one would ever do it again for another 50 years.” I was thinking exactly the same. Even at this very moment there are people from different countries climbing up Mt Everest. It is simply not “HUMANe NATURE” to step down from moon landing to low orbit space station after 50 years. Regarding the moon landing being expensive, one year of war costs more than the entire NASA spending in the past. Also a moon base would be invaluable not only for studying/monitoring the deep outer space but also for military applications. Sometimes I wonder about the pschology of people who get upset and start calling names like Hoax or conspiracy Idiots. Do they honestly believe in moon landing deep in their hearts or are they just too ashamed and embarassed to admit the truth. June 9, 2013 at 7:32 pm yes, it is tragic that we spend money on wars, rather than space exploration. but that is what Congress wants to do, rather than explore space. that is where they are willing to spend money. i agree with you that a lunar base would be a great thing to have! (though it would have almost no military applications) the name calling comes about because it is stupid to be so blind as to ignore history and deny that we did something so amazing, for which there is literally tons of evidence. June 10, 2013 at 1:32 am “literally tons of evidence????” moon rocks which can be found / made on earth, lunar laser ranging which is inconclusive and does not prove there are retro-reflectors on the moon and even if there are retro-reflectors on the moon Russia has put some there and they have never had men on the moon, so retro-reflectors on the moon does not prove man on the moon, photos and video from NASA with heaps of anomalies. If you know of any other “evidence” that man has been on the moon then please let me know… So there is no evidence. You, the “man on the moon” believers just blindly believe NASA, but there is no proof, only blind faith in NASA… Hug Doug June 10, 2013 at 4:39 pm yes, literally tons. the hardware for the missions weighed many thousands of pounds. the leftover Saturn V rockets and the units of the LEM, command module (and the ones that splashed down, which we still have), space suits, etc., etc., all of which are evidence that we had the technology to land on the Moon. June 10, 2013 at 11:05 pm Hare Krishna Hug That they have tons of equipment they say went to the moon does not mean it went to the moon… As I say you are not able to think logically… That they may still have a Saturn-V rocket is not proof they went to the moon… This is complete nonsense…. geoff boxer June 6, 2013 at 2:18 am I hate to say it but, even though I get fed up with hearing conspiracy theories, It’s obvious this moon walk was a fake and we are controlled economically and politically. But I like my lifestyle and still prefer living in this relatively free society than the alternative. God bless America and keep me away from so called do gooders and socialists. Our leaders have to do what they feel keeps our democracy intact, so what’s a few billions spent on pretending we went to the moon. It’s all good TV after all. Great for telescope sales I would imagine. May 29, 2013 at 2:06 pm It was seem that we live in an age where conspiracy theories are being applied to almost every event that occurs and no amount of corroborative evidence in support of a particular event will convince some people. The bottom line in all this is that it is simply impossible to convince brain dead cretins of anything. June 5, 2013 at 5:04 am But you have no evidence that men ever walked on the Moon. Every piece of evidence points to the likelihood that it was a false show. You have to at least admit that it is far more likely that the moon missions were faked than the far out conspiricy theory that man actually walked on the moon many times in the sixties and since then no man has ever left earth orbit and now there is no one anywhere on this planet who has any idea at all how to put men on the moon. You know that George Bush told NASA to go back to the moon and he was prepared to fund it but they replied, “we can’t…” So if you can explain how we could very easily send multiple successful groups of men to walk on the moon and broadcast live television from the moon in the 1960s when the technology was like cave-man technology compared to what we have today. And now we can’t even get a man out of earth orbit???? It does not make sense. It is like flying across the Atlantic a few times and then just not flying anywhere at all for more than 50 years. If we could fly men to the moon and back home safely more than fifty years ago then by now interplanetary travel would be commonplace and there would be at least regular exploration and research teams going out. But no. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. No one has gone anywhere off planet since then. That we do not have the technology to put men on the moon now is absolute proof that we did not have the technology to put men on the moon fifty years ago. WAKE UP!! STOP SLEEPING!!! EVERYTHING YOU SEE ON THE TV IS NOT TRUE!!!! June 10, 2013 at 5:50 pm Most Dear Madhudvisa Dasa, You are so correct. The fact that man has never been outside of earth orbit is indeed true. It can be proven “scientificaly”. Scientists say there is a spinning iron core at the center of the earth producing a magnetic field (earth’s magnetic field)that protects us from the deadly cosmic rays from outer space, and also from charged particles and radiation from the sun as well. The moon exists OUTSIDE this protective field and has no field of it’s own(and hence is made out to be lifeless in the 60’s T.V. portrayal)ALL EARTH LIFE DIES WHEN EXPOSED TO THOSE LEVELS OF RADIATION! Just because it was on T.V. does not make it true. Please read Srilla Prabhupada’s translations. June 10, 2013 at 11:16 pm Hare Krishna Csaba Yes, of course you are correct. We are very protected here on earth, not just by the magnetic field of the earth but also by the atmosphere of the earth which keeps out so many nasty things that would otherwise kill us. Outer-space is undoubtedly a very dangerous and hostile place and as you say it is not so easy for us to leave the protection of the earth as NASA would have us believe. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa May 15, 2013 at 1:29 am YES they walked on the moon! For Pete’s sake will all you idiot’s out there get a freakin’ life?? They wouldn;t broadcast it on all 3 networks if it had been faked! I also know that Newsman Walter Cronkite would never report on anything that was not a real story. Good grief I;’m sick of stupied people who have nothing better to do than talk about conspiricy theories. Lastly though,what would they have accomplished by faking such a thing? If ANY of you beleive it was fake,you are a damn fool! May 1, 2013 at 1:38 pm WOW, I found this blog while searching for a recording of Hare Krishna I had and loved in 1981. Never thought a conspiracy would be highlighted on krishna.org. Are there also other conspiracy blogs on here about the Boston bombing now? Hare Krishna everyone, keep believing in your conspiracies and forget to chant. Yes. Chanting Hare Krishna is the main thing. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa February 9, 2013 at 11:06 am I read this when it was only weeks old and amazed that it continues to be a issue to those who still believe that man walked on the moon. The Universe has its way of speaking to us. By lying JFK was assassinated on t.v. His brother shared the same fate. His son died in a plane crash. While Neil Armstrong died just when the Lance Armstong saga exploded. And these are just the ones that comes to mind. Even if you have everything available to you today to help you to get you to the moon. The design was never for our kind. January 23, 2013 at 10:51 pm Surely with all the technology we have at our disposal now days such as high powered telescopes the answer to did man actually land on the moon should be fairly easy to solve as all of the landings were made on the side of the moon visible from Earth. We even have satellites equipped with cameras that can pinpoint an object on Earth down to 2m so this technology could also be used. If it was just a hoax (and I am not saying it was true) then eventually someone will be able to spot the lunar rover one day as this supposedly never came back and is still on the moons surface. January 24, 2013 at 12:55 am Hare Krishna Gerald Yes, you are right of course. We already have the technology that for a very small cost we could send up to the moon a couple of those imaging satellites that they have orbiting earth that take the photos for google earth. Then we could see the whole surface of the moon at the same resolution as we are seeing the earth through google earth. We have had this technology for 30 years or more. The most recent ‘Moon mission’ as far as I know was India’s Chandranarayana-I, or some name like that, and they did photograph the landing sites of one of the so called man on the moon missions. But all you can see on those photos is a few black pixels on a white background. You can’t see anything. But why not? This thing was supposed to be orbiting the moon only a few miles up, much lower than the google earth satellites are orbiting earth, they should have been able to get perfectly clear pictures of the moons surface from just a few miles away… Of course they would have got fantastic pictures… But we just get a few black pixels on a white background… So then you have to question if this Indian unmanned thing was really orbiting the moon at all. If it was it could have sent back truly stunning photos of the moons surface with incredible detail. But we got no detail at all. So you are right, with today’s technology they should be able to give us perfectly crisp and clear images of every square foot of the moon’s surface, just as clear as google earth at least. But it does not seem they are capable of this. It would only require putting up a couple of satellites orbiting the moon, and that should be a very, very simple thing well within the limits of today’s technology and not much more expensive than putting satelites up in earth orbit that they are doing routinely without much cost at all… So something does not add up here. Of course these days computer graphics are so good that if they want to cheat they have a great deal of scope for that. So it is hard to believe anything they say. But it is interesting that after almost 50 years no one has even tried to go back to the moon and NASA still can not provide us with any proof that we ever sent men to the moon… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa January 24, 2013 at 9:59 am It has not been done Kyle. We do not have any recognizable images of any of the Apollo landing sites and we do not have any google earth quality images of the surface of the moon… It should be very easy to do but they can not provide us with high resolution images of the surface of the moon… January 25, 2013 at 1:11 am To everyone here: I don’t need the close-up photo of the Apollo landing site from the orbiting satellite. To me, the fact that no country went back to the moon is a “crisp and clear” proof that no man ever landed on the moon. Heck forget the moon ! no man ever went beyond 400 mile from the earth due to the deadly cosmic radiation since the last “moon landing”, and the moon is 239,000 mile away ! I don’t need the scientific proof. Sometimes the most unscientific proof is the most convincing & solid evidence if you know what I mean. Just watch the three astronauts including Neil Armstrong during the press conference in 1969(you can view it on the youtube). They all look depressed, worried and guility. You know by INSTINCT that they did not walked on the moon ! geoff January 28, 2013 at 12:55 am Hi Andrew, Absolutely agree. As I’ve said before the landing was just too easy; Coming down on a hostile surface the right way up and all getting out as if alighting from a train. Yet when they land on earth it’s a splash down. Give me a break 1969? I was around then and we didn’t even have colour TV in Australia and only just had electronic calculators. Xerox was new and we used teleprinters. andrew February 7, 2013 at 4:25 am I honestly don’t believe that moon landing will happen any time soon, at least not within the 21st century – just my personal opinion and there is no need to get upset and start calling names like “hoax Idiots”. Unlike other events like 9/11, JF Kennedy, etc. the Apollo moon landing CANNOT remain a mystery forever. After another 50 years are they going to say “We went to the moon one century ago but we don’t go there any more because it’s too expensive.” ?… Who do you think will look more link an “idiot” ?… chickenman September 14, 2012 at 11:22 am please guys tell me truth….did neil armstrong really walk on the moon or not? if means these pictures are fake or graphics…from this US government made fools and what they get from this fake details and why ? please reply anyone clearly………. September 24, 2012 at 6:28 am Hi Jal We don’t know. No one knows really. We do know there are many discrepancies in the photos that were supposedly taken on the moon. And NASA have admitted some of them were taken in a studio for publicity. So we know that NASA did have a ‘Moon studio’ and a ‘Moon set’ and could have taken all the photos there. In those days there was no computer graphics or photoshop or anything like that. So the pictures are taken of something that looks like what is in the pictures. So it is either on NASA’s moon set in a studio or somewhere in a desert or on the moon. But we don’t have any proof that any of the photos were taken on the moon. You can make a convincing moon set on the earth and take the photos there and how would anyone know? You ask “Why?” And that is because the president of the US at the time made a promise that the US would walk on the moon within a few years and it was in the cold war with Russia and US was quite desperate to show that their space technology was better that the Russian technology. So there was a very strong political reason for the US to fake the moon missions if they could not actually go there…. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa November 8, 2012 at 5:06 am I watched the interview the three astronauts, including Neil Armstrong, soon after they returned from the moon. Watching them talk, I can tell from my instinct that they did not walk on the moon – this to me is the more compelling & convincing evidence than the scientific evidences. The fact that we did not go back to the moon since 43 years ago is the proof that moon landing did not happen. I know I know, some of you will defend by saying “There is no political reason now and there is no money”, blah blah blah. Please stop it ! You know, I know and everyone knows that it is pure BS ! August 25, 2012 at 10:35 pm why not go to nasa and ask for the info then maybe they will let you in the so called secret, wether or not it was faked or if nazis live on the dark side or if ET is on the darkside watching us, the point of the moon landing was a so called race right but if you think deeper too it then you will see that mankind is “treking” where no man has gone before and that said, RIP Neil in hopes that we go far and beyond August 5, 2012 at 3:18 pm The two biggest issues that proves man didn’t reach the Moon are: 1) Landing on the Moon using rockets to slow the descent are incredibly difficult. That all the Apollo landings were slow and perfect is a screaming display that the actual landings were staged. Even unmanned landings are difficult. Most of them have crashed on the Moon. 2) The temperature on the Moon is almost 300 degrees Fahrenheit! Anybody who thinks a backpack air conditioner is going to keep a man’s body temperature regulated at room temperature is surely crazy. Notice how none of the astronauts ever talked about discomfort in the suits. They didn’t talk about it because they never walked on the Moon. Not only that but the temperature in the shadows, because there is no atmosphere on the Moon, would instantly drop to MINUS 200 degrees Fahrenheit! There is no possible way that any space suit could REGULATE room temperature inside the suit. IMPOSSIBLE. The technology to do even today does not exist! The Moon landings were 110% FAKED. Anyone who thinks otherwise is simply not enlightened. August 25, 2012 at 10:02 pm I don’t agree with the space suit not being able to handle the temperature of 300F. If you look at the astronauts who do the space walk, the temperatures there range between -250F to +250F. So there you have the question to your answer. August 31, 2013 at 7:45 pm one of the best observations on this issue . Thanx to me the much publicized foor print is proof solid ! Without moisture mixed in dust cannot form such perfect imprints . In foundry when we make moulds, a precise % moisture is required. Too dry & it wont form sharply defined shapes or patterns. SOme NASA dope ion it says the dust was irrefgular and so it clung to each other to give us shapes like it were wet caly or mud. That is a load of crap since mud isnt exactly well rounded balls under a microscope. That boot print was really a stupid idea by NASA. I understand the need to have faked it in the face of the USSR’s remarkable achievement with space walks & soon then in the 60s’. But NASA goofed up in too many places… April 20, 2012 at 4:36 pm people believe what they want to believe regurdless of whether it is true or not. Prabhupada said they never went to the moon so the hare krishnas are forced by faith to believe it and not accept the overwhelming evidence suggesting otherwise! I am a devotee so this has been very challenging for me but I believe they have been to the moon but not to the moon as it is! just like when we go to vrindavana we do not see the real vrindavana. March 31, 2012 at 12:00 pm Leave me out. I’m too old. I believe what I want to believe and know I can’t change the world. Keep healthy, play golf, play chess, watch TV, read, and don’t carry out actions that can hurt others and give what you can afford http://wh.gov/9jB We have petitioned the White House to start a investigation into the Apollo moon landings. We have still 3 days for people to sign the petition. We do not have the illusion to get the 25.000 people to sign the petition before the 31st of March 2012 but we would like to ask you to support our petition as William Bill Cooper was sure Apollo never landed a man on the moon. AwE130 is asking for an open end honest debate about the Apollo moon landings. We doubt the Apollo moon landings and are asking questions to NASA. Today more and more people start to doubt the Apollo moon landings and they would like to see some answers from NASA. This petition is to show NASA that time is running out for them it is 43 years ago and no other space agency nor NASA did sent men or animal beyond earth orbit after Apollo 17. We hope you will inform your social network about this petition and ask them to sign the petition. The time has come to unite and ask questions to NASA about the Apollo project. Each extra person that signs the petition bring a step closer to the truth. We know we are not alone! Regards Adrian March 28, 2012 at 11:41 pm I do not recollect the flag ever waving. I noticed it swiveled…. likely because of gravity… which the moon would still have, but definitely not waving. Even if it was in a studio, there would still be no wind unless if there was a fan blowing, but then it would be a constant wave which we would see. The flag in this case just falls.. Newton’s Laws of motion explain why the flag behaves in the way it does. This argument is like trying to disprove evolution. You can say what you want and believe what you will, but the evidence is all there. If you wish not to accept it, then fine. But you look ignorant. March 5, 2012 at 1:01 pm all that is needed to prove this once and for all is to provide a picture of the land rover on the moon. i don’t buy the fact our telescopes aren’t strong enough or that the hubble is too strong. make something in between and it can be used also to examine the surface of the moon. March 8, 2012 at 4:54 pm Here you are: http://www.universetoday.com/94035/best-views-yet-of-historic-apollo-landing-sites/ By the way if you want to understand why telescopes cannot directly image the landing sites you may want to do some independent research on subjects like focal points and angular sizes. It isn’t difficult to understand when you actually read up on the subject. March 30, 2012 at 11:16 am Kyle have you looked at google earth, have you seen the resolution they have there? All they need to do is send up a few of the same sattelites they use for imaging the earth to the moon and then we could have google moon also in the same resolution. Why not? February 14, 2012 at 9:10 pm this person who was studyinq this really opened my eyes this has gotta be told to everyone………. this is bull why are us kids studying this stuff in school when its not true what so ever im pretty sure that most of the stuff we are studying are lies too!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the government need to stand up and tell the truth February 14, 2012 at 9:08 pm its fake all of it dma u qoverment hHAHA and btw flaqs cant flutter in space theres no atmoaphere and its impossible to bend ure finqer in space how r they taknq pics and video tapinq !!!?? then they died of freak accidents why worry about russia goinq first if we didnt even really gop to the moon just sayyinq January 3, 2012 at 1:40 pm if you want to believe whether they put people on a moon, get an old computer try using a floppy disk to do some as simple as saving a picture and transfering it to the c drive, you cant land on the moon with stone age technology! and 40 years later with all our technological break throughs we still cant lol December 27, 2011 at 6:07 am So you are “The only normal person responding”. What a know-all you must be. By the way, check your comment again: “The hilarious part is that those telling the others that they need and education, can barely spell or use proper grammar”.When I went to school I learnt “an education” not “and education”. The majority of personal insults on this website seem to come from people who are convinced the Americans landed on the moon in 1969 and calmly returned without incident. Think about it and you will realise it was technically impossible. There are many cover ups perpetrated by our ‘leaders’ and, for instance, if you believe the Kennedys were not assasinated, you must be very naive. December 21, 2011 at 6:44 pm I usually do not respond to controversial topics like this; however, I could not resist. Reading these comments made me laugh. One person will call the other crazy and unintelligible, then try to defend their own positions. The hilarious part is that those telling the others that they need and education, can barely spell or use proper grammar. If they went to the moon or not, I do not know. If they faked it that is ridiculous, and if they went then that is pretty neat. There is a lot of compelling evidence each way. For those who pointed out how much it cost NASA to go to the moon, and then turn around to ask why they haven’t gone back or put some kind of Rover up there so that you can get a look of what is up there there, take a step back and think for a second. Why would NASA spend millions of dollars so that you can try to decipher whether they had been on the moon or not? As someone already said, they are working on discovering Mars. The Moon landing is done with, there is no point in getting heated up about it. My suggestion for all of you? Take a chill pill and learn how to spell before you go calling other people stupid. December 16, 2011 at 5:06 pm I am all done debating. You cannot prove a negative which is what you are trying to do. All the evidence is laid before you…and it is swept away. I find your logic silly and childish, and quite frankly lacking in common sense and intelligence. I wish you all well. December 16, 2011 at 5:36 pm You still haven’t given me even one piece of that evidence dude… I am not aware of any evidence that men have walked on the moon and you have not been able to provide me with anything at all. Nothing. Zip. Zero. You have not presented even one piece of evidence that man has walked on the moon. And I have given plenty of evidence that if man had walked on the moon then now, more than fifty years later the United States would be able to at least fly men up and down from the space station which is only a couple of hundred miles above the Earth. But they can’t even do that now, fifty years after we supposedly had the technology to safely fly to the moon and back and land men on the moon… Considering this your claim that we walked on the moon is ludicrous. And I think you know that actually… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa December 11, 2011 at 9:24 am Go to the video of the astronauts walking on the moon then speed up the footage slightly and you will see the astronauts walking normally. would this not prove the footage is just a normal film in slow motion. Do you realise how unsophisticated the technology was in 1969. Sure, they had power but nothing else. Beaming pictures back from such an incredible distance was just not feasible. Richard Nixon was President in 1969. January 2, 2012 at 6:48 pm You do realize that our technological advances started with NASA scientists then trickled down to the store shelves, and not the other way around? You make the 60s sound like the stone age…it was 40 years ago, not 400. If we weren’t able to send a radio signal to and from the moon I guarantee you we wouldn’t be able to argue over the Internet wirelessly by now. January 5, 2012 at 8:56 am Dude we are talking about live television broadcasts from the moon, 1/4 of a million miles away, with practically no equipment at a time when if you wanted to do a live television broadcast from any place on the Earth you needed three big trucks of equipment and needed to set up a microwave link… I think you were not there in 60’s. If you were you would know that compared to the technology we have today the 60’s was the stone age. And they had the same stone-age technology on the moon, or the moon set in Arizona. The still camera they were using on the moon was nothing special, it was a standard camera that you could purchase in the stores, even the video camera they had seems to be a prototype of something that sony released a few years later. So my point is that we all saw the technology that they used to supposedly put men on the moon and it was exactly the same stone-age technology that everyone else had in the 60’s. Their video cameras may have been a couple of years ahead of the public release, and there may be a few other things like this. But they did not have any technology that was significantly ahead of the 60’s stone age technology… In the 60’s computers practically did not exist. A computer would take a huge building and only be able to do some very basic mathematical calculations. These room-sized computers actually were completely useless and did not have even a tiny fraction of the processing power of the chip that controls your washing machine. In the 60’s even making an international telephone call on Earth was not an easy thing… So there were no computers really…. Of course they had radio [and even television!] receivers and transmitters and of course they could transmit a signal out in the direction of the moon and they had some radio telescopes and presumably with these big directional antennas they could pick up a radio signal transmitted from quite a long distance away from the Earth. No one has ever suggested that they couldn’t do these things in the 60’s. You have more-or-less disproved your self with your statement. Because if in the 60’s we had the technology that would enable us very easily to put men on the moon with the stone-age technology of the time, then that manned space travel technology would have surely filtered down into at least wider use in the society and we would have seen many other manned missions for various research and exploratory purposes at least by many different countries and even organizations. If we actually were able to put men on the moon in the 60’s then manned space travel would be relatively common place now…. But it is not… There has not been a single man who has even left earth orbit since the last Apollo mission… And that really says something. No one has even tried to leave earth orbit since then, even though apparently we had the technology to do it quite reliably in the 60’s. As I have said before this is really very strong proof that men never walked on the moon. If men walked on the moon in the 60’s so many more men would have walked on the moon since then and they would have developed the technology further and walked on mars, and so many other planets… But since the sixties no man has gone any more than a couple of hundred miles above the surface of this planet. And we are to believe that in the 60’s they could go 250,000,000 miles and return safely on many different trips without any serious incidents? Now the US can not even send men up to the space station or get them back… And the technology has advanced so much. What is going on here? The only logical conclusion is that we have never had the technology to put men on the moon and bring them home safely… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa December 5, 2011 at 4:20 am We went to the moon. Period. Using the Hubble to view the landing site would be like using a pair of binoculars to see the hair on a moving fly a few feet away. It’s fun to believe in conspiracy theories because it makes you feel like you are part of something bigger than the truth. No matter what proof of the truth is presented, some people will not believe. Not ONE SINGLE person who thinks we didn’t go would change their minds under any circumstance. If a group of scientists who think we didn’t go built a telescope/satellite specifically engineered to see the landing site, launched it, and got back clear photos of the landers, the cries of fraud would only triple. Don’t waste time arguing with idiots here…they offer nothing to the scientific community or the population at large. December 5, 2011 at 2:05 pm Dude, You have no proof whatsoever that we went to the moon. That is the problem. That is why a large percentage of the population of the world do not believe that we went to the moon. It is crazy. If we went in the 60’s with technology thousands of times inferior to what we have no then we should be able to go now. But we can’t. You know George Bush declared that we would go back to the Moon but NASA told him they can’t. They don’t know how to do it. It is crazy… We can get on google earth very nice pictures of the earth. And they of course have much higher resolution pictures of course that they do not release. They could easily send up one of these satellites like the thousands they have orbiting the earth that take the pictures for google earth to the moon and put it in orbit around the moon and then we could have google moon. The same resolution we have on google earth. We could see everything on the moon then in great detail. They could have done this twenty years ago. But no. We are still peering through telescopes… It doesn’t make sense at all… If we went to the moon in the 60’s surely we would have been somewhere else by now and back to the moon again. But we have not been outside the earth’s orbit since then. Our only project is the space station and the hubble telescope. Both very much in earth orbit. There is absolutely no hint in the history since the Apollo missions that we have the technology for manned space travel to the moon or other planets. And there is absolutely no proof that we have been to the moon. If you have any proof let me know what it is. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa December 7, 2011 at 3:19 pm I am asking you to give me even one piece of solid proof that we have been to the moon and you can give me nothing. I have been through this discussion before and there is no proof. If you have some proof that does not require blindly accepting that everything NASA says is true then let me know. Otherwise I can only presume you have no proof… December 5, 2011 at 3:48 pm Bush never asked to go back to the moon and NASA never said we couldn’t. We have been, we accomplished putting man there, and now we have the data we need to satisfy our questions. Further data is gathered more safely via probes and advances in technology. The part that amazes me is the statement ” you have no proof. ” Suddenly I realized what I’m dealing with, and I’m ashamed that I allowed myself to be dragged into your world. You go chant and be happy, we didn’t go to the moon if you say so. Science is silly, and never argue UFOs if the persons bumper sticker says I WANT TO BELIEVE. What is the proof Dude???? Please let me know???? December 7, 2011 at 9:58 pm You are correct. If the pictures, videos, testimonies and collective knowledge we gained from going to the moon, if ALL that exists that deals with the moon missions are not enough, you clearly desire to believe we did not go and I cannot change that. December 8, 2011 at 4:22 pm It all comes from NASA and you have to admit the possibility that NASA for some reason could not actually go to the moon but that was not an acceptable answer for the president of the United States at the time due to political reasons and of course if NASA said they could not go to the moon they would have lost billions of dollars in funding and may have even been shut down. So the survival instinct would naturally kick in and the idea of faking the man on the moon story would then become a very attractive option. So considering this very real possibility we need some independent verification that man can actually go to the moon. So far we have no proof that man has been to the moon and no one has followed in the footsteps of the Apollo missions. This idea that there is nothing there so we won’t go back is nonsense. There is nothing on the top of Mt. Everest but after the first men climbed it so many others have followed and climbed it also. Why? There is nothing up there. Because that is what people do. If we went to the moon once you can guarantee that we would have gone back, and if it was so easy to go to the moon many times in the 60’s we would naturally have gone on to mars and further. Remember Star-Trek and Star-Wars and all the dreams of interplanetary travel? But nothing has happened. All we can do is put satellites up in earth orbit and a little space station. No man has been outside earth orbit since the 60’s. Why? It is because no man went outside earth orbit in the 60’s also? Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa December 9, 2011 at 12:58 am NASA has shared its finding with the entire scientic community at large. The small minority of people who do not think we went are religious zealots or conspiracy theorists. Beyond that I don’t know of anyone who thinks NASA has kept any secrets. If we faked the first one why fake 11 more? Why is it the only ones who think it was faked are those like you, small voices from the shadows behind Internet chat rooms… I don’t know of one single accredited or well respected agency or person that thinks such nonsense. The technology at the time was light years ahead of a year prior, and from those missions we can thank advancements since. You keep asking for proof, yet in the face of the evidence and universal opinion the burden of proof lies with you to prove they didn’t go. You cannot, the science is there, the evidence is there, just because it does not jive with your religious belief does not make you point valid. Dude December 9, 2011 at 1:06 am One question I have for you…what “proof” do you need? Would you believe photos of the lander or would you say they see fake,funded by government? Please explain what it would take to prove it and would you change your mind anyway? December 11, 2011 at 12:17 pm Hare Krishna! The proof can not come from NASA. Because the most likely scenario is that NASA faked the moon mission. That is because we have not proof even now, more than 50 yearCos later, that man every went to the moon. The best proof that you did something is that others are able to do it also. And with technology, it develops. And in the past fifty years technology has developed fabulously. Our technology is now 100’s of times better than the technology of the 60s. And computers have advanced thousands of times. Really computers did not exist as we know them today in the 60s. They had nothing. Practically nothing. And they were supposedly able to put men on the moon many times without any real trouble at all. Now if that was true and if we really had such great technology for space flight in the 60’s it would have, like computers, developed enormously in the past 50 years and now interplanetary travel would be a normal thing and so many people would be traveling to other planets for so many reasons like simply exploration and when they find something valuable they will want to mine it or extract it and bring it back to earth. There would be colonies set up on the moon and other planets. This would be the proof that we actually had the technology in the 60’s to put men on the moon. That technology would have been developed and would now be much more advanced. But we have no technology currently that will allow men to leave earth orbit. Actually US has nothing at the moment for manned space travel at all. Only Russia still maintains some rocket program capable of getting men up and down from the space station that is only a platform a few hundred miles above the earth. Currently the US can not even get me a few hundred miles up to the space station!!! And you would have us believe they could fly men to the moon and leave their spaceship orbiting the moon and take their little luna lander with aluminum foil like walls and land it moon and walk around for a few hours and broadcast live television back to the earth and then take off with their little luna lander and met up with their space ship and get back on it and fly it safely back home to Earth. And now the US can not even get men up a few hundred miles to the space station? That is proof that the fabulous man on the moon story is nothing by a fabulous lie by NASA. If they had such wonderful technology in the 60’s in the past 50 years it, like computers, would have advanced fabulously. But instead now no one anywhere on the planet is capable of manned missions that go outside the earth’s orbit… That is solid proof that we did not have the technology to go to the moon in the 60’s Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa December 11, 2011 at 12:23 pm You have no proof, NASA has never given any proof that could not easily faked and what ‘proof’ they have given in the form of photos and film and video footage is so full of inconsistencies that it actually proves that the moon missions were faked. It does not prove that we had men walking on the moon. You just have to realize that you do not know if we had men walking on the moon or not. You just have faith in NASA and believe what they say. But there is no logical reason to have faith in NASA. They are a bureaucratic government organization that depends on funding for their existence and that funding would not have been forthcoming unless they could put men on the moon. So naturally there would be a very strong motivation to fake it if they realized it was not possible for them to put men on the moon at that time. So at this time, fifty years later, there is still no proof whatsoever that man ever walked on the moon. And that is proof actually that we didn’t. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa March 31, 2012 at 11:49 am Where do you get your analogy about a hair on a moving fly. It’s just plain ridiculous. The Hubble can see quite clearly rock formations on the moon. Check it out. Just out of interest do you believe Kennedy and his brother Bobbie were shot randomly. Do you believe the US went to Irak because they believed it was looking for Weapons of mass destruction (That’s a Hollywood term if ever I’ve heard one) or could it be they wanted the oil. Hi Kyle, I’m still waiting for an answer to your: “Japan proved that you can actually get to the Moon with the equivalent power of your everyday car. Orbital mechanics can and have been used to get us to the farthest reaches of our own solar system and beyond”.If this is true it sounds wonderful. We can power huge ships for the cost of filling our car tank. December 4, 2011 at 6:22 am Very interesting, Kyle but what’s that got to do with “Japan proved that you can actually get to the Moon with the equivalent power of your everyday car. Orbital mechanics can and have been used to get us to the farthest reaches of our own solar system and beyond” December 5, 2011 at 9:50 pm I couldn’t find the original article that detailed Japan repurposing one of their Earth climate monitoring satellites as a Moon orbiter. The Grail probe does essentially the same thing however. Instead of using booster rockets and thrust to reach the Moon, they are using orbital mechanics such as Lagrange Points to get there. The original point made was that it takes an “impossible amount of energy to reach the Moon” which is just patently false if you understood the first thing about demonstrable and actually very simple physics. December 7, 2011 at 3:04 pm Hare Krishna Kyle You may like to do some research on the Indian Chandra-Narayana 1 or something. Their first unmanned mission to the Moon. They did it for a reduculously small amount of money, maybe 50 million dollars or something, I can not remember exactly, you can do the research. What they said they did is basically just launch a sattelite orbiting around the earth and raised the orbit up and up gradually until it was close enough to to Moon and shot it into the moon’s gravity and it started orbiting the Moon. I don’t know but that is something like what they said they did… It sounds a little far fetched also… Madhudvisa dasa March 31, 2012 at 11:38 am So you couldn’t find the original article. How convenient. Bit like NASA losing their Videos. Come on! If this Japanese power unit was so good it would be headline news. I remember someone trying to sell an engine that ran on water and some people actually invested money in it. Hope you didn’t James Simmons November 9, 2011 at 4:28 pm I was a devotee from 1977-80. I read nearly all of Srila Prabhupada’s books, including Bhagavad Gita As It Is and Srimad Bhagavatam, Fifth Canto, Part Two. Consider what a devotee must believe if he wants to agree with all of Srila Prabhupada’s purports: 1). The stars are not faraway suns, but are planets that shine by reflected light from the one Sun in the Universe. 2). The Moon is much farther away from the Earth than the Sun is, and is a heavenly planet populated by demigods. Prabhupada’s argument against the moon trip is that the Moon is *much* farther away than the scientists think it is, and the demigods would not allow the astronauts to land there because they lack the spiritual qualification to be there (unlike Narada Muni, who can travel anywhere in the three worlds). 3). The Earth is somehow composed of islands shaped like concentric circles with oceans of different substances between them. (Sugar cane juice, ghee, liquor, etc.) The whole thing looks like a bull’s eye. We should *not* interpret this to mean that the Earth is flat, however. That would be ridiculous. Anyone who has spent as much time on airplanes as Srila Prabhupada knows that the Earth is a globe. But somehow there are these circular islands too, even though satellite photos don’t show them. In Srila Prabhupada Lilamrita we find out that Prabhupada wished to build a planetarium showing the Vedic version of the Universe. Someone offered to put up the money, but nobody could make a diagram of how the Universe was supposed to look. Even a professional Vedic astronomer they hired could not do it. Now *I* could do it, but my version would have a flat Earth, and that would be ridiculous. The simplest devotee argument to make against the Moon trips would be that the Moon is farther away than the scientists think it is. Scientists have known this distance at least since Jules Verne wrote From The Earth To The Moon And A Voyage Round It, and probably long before that. Yet the posters here seem to accept that unmanned vehicles have been sent to the Moon. I don’t see how anyone could believe that and still be a staunch, Bhagavatam-believing devotee. To those who wonder why the Hubble telescope can’t see artifacts left behind by the Apollo trips, wouldn’t a better use of these telescopes be to look for evidence that Chandraloka is inhabited by demigods? When I was a devotee you could reject Vedic astronomy and still be a devotee in good standing. You just never talked about it. Apparently this is no longer possible. November 10, 2011 at 7:39 am Hare Krishna James As you know I am sure we are all eternally servants of Krishna. Our devotional service can be covered but our original constitutional position is that we are eternally servants of Krishna and as your time as an active devotee I am sure you felt this and at the time actually knew that you were a spirit soul and not this material body and that your purpose in life was far beyond this material world. The thing is we so much believe what the scientists have told us to be absolute fact and we have accepted their world-view as fact so we can not consider that it could be wrong. The scientists know very little about the universe and can see only a very tiny part of it and like the frog in the well have made great speculations based on their imperfect material sense perception and have given us such wonders as the big bang theory and evolution and so many other theories that have gradually become our world view and which most people accept as fact. But they do not know. I know that the description of the universe in the Srimad-Bhagavatam is correct and from that we can at least understand that the knowledge of the scientists is so tiny and they can not grasp the ‘big picture’ so-to-speak because there is no way they can see the big picture. Anyhow we do not accept the authority of the scientists. We accept the authority of Krishna and actually the scientists are always changing their ideas about everything and Krishna is always constant. So even if you believe in science today they will have changed it in 50 years and you will find out that you were wrong. But if we have faith in Krishna then we have the correct information… I agree that it is very difficult for us to understand the description of the universe in the Srimad-Bhagavatam but it is correct. And ultimately all the details will be revealed… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa Madhuvisa, The Fifth Canto describes the universe with: A flat Earth that includes circular islands nobody has ever seen and a mountain many times higher than Everest which has people living on it. Rotation of stars around the Pole star not just apparent motion caused by rotation of the Earth, but actual circumambulation of stars around the pole star. The Earth is immobile. The Pole star (or someone living there) did something to make the other stars worship it by circumambulation. Stars that are actually planets shining by reflected light from the only sun in the universe. Oceans of liquor, sugar cane juice, ghee, etc. on the Earth. A big mountain that the Sun god rides around on in his chariot. A Moon that is farther away from the Earth than the Sun is, and which is populated. You don’t need to have an Apollo program to realize that this does not describe the universe we live in. A grade school child could prove this. I became a devotee in spite of these teachings. These teachings were not a factor in making me leave, but they certainly would have been if I had been forced to accept them. November 11, 2011 at 12:25 pm Hare Krishna James You do not realize that these descriptions are given by entities who can see these things. We can not see these things because we are no more than frogs in a well and we can only see the little bit of sky above the hole at the top of the well. That is all we know about the universe. And we have speculated so many wonderful things. But actually the universe is not like the speculations of the modern scientists at all. You have too much faith in your senses and do not realize they are imperfect and are not capable of giving you complete information about anything. So the Bhagavatam description of the universe is correct. The earth is stationary and the stars are all moving around the pole-star and there is only one sun in this universe and that sun is providing all the light for the whole universe. And you know I think that the Bhagavatam provides detalied descriptions of how this light from the one sun gets reflected all the way around the universe with golden mountains and other reflective surfaces. All these things are not above the hole in the top of our well so we can not see them. But because we can not see them does not mean that they do not exist. The causal ocean is at the bottom of the universe and Lord Visnu is lying on Sesa-naga there and a lotus stem is growing from his navel and on the top of that navel Lord Brahma was born and this whole universe is more-or-less made out of that lotus. So you have that lotus and the earth planet is there in that lotus in the middle planetary systems and Lord Brahma is up on the top of the Lotus in the upper planetary systems and all those stars and planets are rotating around the polestar. That is the way it is actually. But we can not see it. I have discussed these points with physicists and astronomers and they agree that this is a question of relativity. There is no way we can tell from where we are if we are on a planet that is rotating or if the universe is rotating around us. The relative movement is the same. So we can not know one way or the other. Unless you can accept that your senses are imperfect and knowledge gathered through your imperfect senses is also imperfect then you are stuck in material consciousness. We have to accept that there is a world beyond what we can perceive with the material senses. And that we can only see a tiny, tiny fraction of the material world and can not hope to understand the workings of the material universe when we can not even see it… Everything in the Bhagavatam is the absolute truth, it is correct. Because we can not see it simply means we do not have the power to see it. There are so many things like that which are avan manasa gochara. They are beyond the ability of our minds to imagine and beyond the power of our senses to perceive. So the only way we can get knowledge about these things that are beyond our material vision is by hearing that knowledge from a perfect source. And the Srimad-Bhagavatam is such a perfect source of knowledge. There is a Vedic saying sastra-caksusa that we should see with the eyes of the sastra [scriptures]. Our material eyes are useless, we can not see very much with them at all… We need to see through the eyes of the sastras… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foucault_pendulum As for proving that the stars glow with their own light, not reflected light, go out in the country where it’s dark and look at the sky with any telescope. Even a cheap one from Walgreens should work. When you look at a planet like Jupiter it will appear larger in the telescope. However, the stars will not get larger. Instead, you will see more of them. That demonstrates that they are *much* farther away than the planets are and must be suns, not planets. November 15, 2011 at 11:16 am Hare Krishna James If you have a theory and you want to prove it you will find an experiment to “prove” it. This Faucault Pendulum is not a very simple experiment and I note that he is in one place at least using the stars as a fixed reference. So if actually the earth was not rotating and the universe was rotating around the earth you would get the same effect. That is my point. The movement is relative so you can not tell actually what is moving. If you can not understand this simple point then we can not get anywhere. As far as the stars you can not prove if they are glowing with their own light or reflecting the light of the sun. Seeing points of light in the sky through a telescope tells you very, very little about them. You can not tell their size, you have no idea of the distance they are away from us, all you can see is a tiny point of light. You know nothing about it. They have speculated so many things and crated a great ‘body of knowledge’ in astronomy but if you research it you will see that the most fundamental things like the distances of the stars from earth for example have been estimated on the basis of many assumptions that may or may not be true. My point is that whatever knowledge you or the scientists have gathered through your imperfect senses is imperfect. If you want perfect knowledge you have to get it from someone with perfect senses. That you can get from Krishna and Srimad-Bhagavatam. We are no better that the frogs in the well. We can not see the universe. How can we hope to understand it without being able to see it? Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa It does not matter anyhow Steve February 9, 2013 at 10:40 pm Madhudvisa….if we are “no more than frogs in the well”, that would include you. So how do you know your version of the universe is the true one? Would you not suffer from the same frailties of “being human” that you say others possess? Yes…you do. I’m AMAZED at how much you know about the moon and The Moan Hoax, given that you and we have never been there. Truly amazing! Relying on your human/frog senses though, right? February 10, 2013 at 12:42 am Hare Krishna Steve It is a very good question. This is the whole point. There are only two ways of acquiring knowledge. One is the process of descending knowledge, that means accepting knowledge from a superior, someone who knows. Even the scientists use this process because they accept the knowledge that is passed down from the previous scientists. And whenever you read a book on science you are putting your faith in the authors of the book and you are accepting them as an authority and you are hearing the knowledge from them. The other way to acquire knowledge is of course the “scientific method” which is based on observation and experimentation. Now this is a faulty process because the very instruments we are using to gather the data, to observe, our senses, are imperfect. We simply can not perceive a lot of things that exist. They are beyond the range of our senses to perceive. But these imperceptible things play a very important role in understanding ‘how things work’. But they are not perceivable by the scientists so they are ignorant of the existence of these things and so very childishly they try to explain how things work only in terms of the the five gross material elements: earth, water, air, fire and ether. We have five knowledge-acquiring senses, [eyes, ears, nose, touch, taste] and these five knowledge acquiring senses are linked directly the the five gross material elements and can not perceive anything beyond these five elements. But in reality things do not work because of the five material elements. The five gross material elements are inert. They have no power of movement or action in any way at all. They can not do anything by themselves. They have to be animated, moved, by the spiritual energy. But before we go there there are also other material elements which the scientists are unaware of because they can not perceive them with their gross material senses. They are the subtle elements of mind, intelligence and false ego. These are also material elements but are of a more subtle nature than the five gross material elements. The mind is very directly connected to the material senses and it is in charge of ‘thinking, feeling and willing’. So the mind takes inputs from the senses and processes them and sends suggestions about things the senses want to do to the intelligence and the business of the intelligence is accepting and rejecting. So the intelligence decides which of the suggestions of the mind it will accept and which it will reject. And the false ego is the identity. And false ego is the false identity that the person is the material body. And above all this is the actual person, the spirit soul, who is the living force that pervades the whole body and makes everything possible and about the soul is the supersoul who is the Supreme Lord also present within the hearts of every living entity. So you see in this material world if there was only the five material elements that the scientists are studying [earth, water, fire, are, ether] nothing would ever happen. These elements are completely inert and can never do anything without the spiritual energy, without the living entities. So our foolish scientists try to explain that everything happens by chance and by big bangs but they have no idea what could cause a big bang and this chance theory is so childish. Nothing happens by chance. If you look for it there is a reason that everything happens. So I have explained all of this to show that the ‘scientific method’ is a useless method for acquiring knowledge because it depends only in information gathered through the material senses which are imperfect even in gathering the information they can perceive and which can not perceive anything but the inert gross material elements, and therefore do not give sufficient information for one to understand how an observed system is working. And there are other flaws with the ‘scientific method’. Once the imperfect and incomplete data is collected through the imperfect senses of the scientist then he has to analyze that data… And unfortunately every conditioned soul has four defects: he makes mistakes, he cheats, he is illusioned [he accepts things to be facts which are actually false], and as we have already elaborately explained, he has imperfect senses. So even after gathering all this imperfect data the scientist is going to make mistakes analyzing it, he is going to cheat, accepting the data that supports his theory and rejecting the data that does not, and he is going to make many fundamental assumptions that are actually false. So you can not get actual knowledge from the ‘scientific method’. So if the scientific method is fatally flawed then the only other way to get knowledge is to hear it from an authority, from someone who knows. Of course as we discussed you do this every time you read a text book or go to a lecture at college. But the problem is the lecturers who speak in the colleges and the authors who write the scientific text books have faulty senses and have learned the faulty knowledge that has been passed down from the faulty scientists. So this is just a process of spreading disinformation, rubbish. However, if you could find a perfect teacher, if you could find someone who does actually know things perfectly, if you would hear from him and simply repeat the things that you have heard from him then you could understand and speak perfect knowledge. So that is what I do. I have a bona fide spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, he is a pure devotee of Krishna and he has heard everything from his spiritual master and Krishna so I am getting the perfect knowledge from him and I can therefore speak the perfect knowledge to you. This is the way to get perfect knowledge. You hear it from a perfect person and repeat it and then you are speaking the perfect knowledge. So Srila Prabhupada says they did not go to the moon and if I repeat this, that they did not go to the moon, then I am speaking the perfect knowledge… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa November 6, 2011 at 5:55 am “You saw the huge power needed to get a rocket up into space and the ‘returning’ astronauts splashing down in the sea and yet they calmly landed on the moon, unhitched their equipment, played around for a few hours, sent back pictures and sound to the earth, went back to their rocket and took off without a hitch.” Japan proved that you can actually get to the Moon with the equivalent power of your everyday car. Orbital mechanics can and have been used to get us to the farthest reaches of our own solar system and beyond. The Apollo missions sped the process up a bit with some oversized boosters, but it was definitely not beyond our capabilities at the time. “Just study the pictures. Don’t they look phoney? Speed up their moon walking and you can see their actions are slowed down film just like an old B movie.” We can stick you in some weights and scuba gear at the bottom of the ocean and speed you up and you can tell me when we speed the footage up that you were faking it… I’m really not sure what you are talking about. There’s just far too much evidence that we landed on the Moon and the “evidence” for a hoax is easily reputed with sound scientific explanation. If you want to live in your conspiratorial world, feel free. November 8, 2011 at 1:29 pm Kyle I admit some of the arguments people put may be week but honestly you say “There is far too much evidence that we landed on the Moon” and that is just a complete lie. As you know I have looked into this and you have to consider the possibility at least that it may have been faked. I am not saying 100% for sure that it was faked but there are certainly many indications that it may have been faked and you have to admit to that. There was certainly a motivation to fake it in that cold-war era and there was a political need for America to establish there superiority over Russia and the President had promised to put men on the moon and NASA’s funding a future existence depended on it. You know it is not a far stretch of the imagination to think that if NASA actually could not put men on the moon to fulfill the USA’s political ambitions and to ensure their future funding and jobs they may fake a moon landing. So if you consider like this you can not consider anything that NASA tells us as proof. You can not just blindly accept everything NASA says as the absolute truth which is I think what you are doing and that is what you call your proof. You consider the words of NASA as proof but it is possible they are not telling the truth. We are looking for independent proof that man can go to the moon or that man has been on the moon and so far I have not found any. The only thing is the luna-lazer-ranging experiment but it does not prove anything because even before there was any going to the moon both the US and Russia were firing lazers at the moon and getting returns back. So you do not need to have a reflector on the moon to get a reflection back from the moon. You know the famous ‘moon rooks’ turn out to be very similar to meteorites that have fallen to earth and may well have been collected on earth also. The photos and the films are full of contradictions and discrepancies. NASA admit to having a moon set and shooting promotional films and photos on their moon set and they admit to having a satellite between the earth and moon capable of transmitting all the telemetry that would be coming from a space ship on the way to the moon for transmitting fake mission data for training purposes. We have all seen the photos of their huge to scale globe of the moon. There are just so many problems with their story. Any sane person can see this. If we actually achieved such a great technological advance in the 60’s and were able to successfully put men on the moon many times this is the first time in scientific history that we have forgotten how to do it… You know we can not go to the moon now. So many countries have said they will go but can not send manned missions. Even the US, George Bush said they would go but then discovered that NASA can not go… So it does not make sense. If we could go to the moon in the 60’s then we should be able to go to the other planets by now and after more than 50 years we should be having bases on the moon and space travel should be routine. But you know we can not do anything practical now except launch satellites into earth orbit and the US have finished the space shuttle now which could not get out of earth orbit and their great successes are only the Hubble space telescope in earth orbit and the space station also in earth orbit. It seems we can not get out of earth orbit, at lest for manned missions. That is the fact. That is the reality. And the reality is there is no proof that we ever had men walking on the moon. Not a shred of proof. Nothing. The only “proof” that you claim to have is that you believe what NASA is telling you. You do not consider that NASA may be lying. But if you consider that possibility you will very soon realize that you have no proof whatsoever that men ever walked on the moon. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa November 9, 2011 at 8:22 am Kyle, You say “Japan proved that you can actually get to the Moon with the equivalent power of your everyday car. Orbital mechanics can and have been used to get us to the farthest reaches of our own solar system and beyond”. Can you let me know where you got this interesting piece of information? Regarding the slow motion: Please watch the footage and then speed it and you can see the original footage is just that; A normal film slowed to look like reduced gravity. ” We can stick you in some weights and scuba gear at the bottom of the ocean and speed you up and you can tell me when we speed the footage up that you were faking it…” How childish, when having a rational discussion October 1, 2011 at 11:49 pm Thanks for our reply. I usually apply logic to most things. By the time I reached 4 I realised Father Christmas was a lie – By the time I reached 12 I realised people don’t go to heaven when they die and religion is just another fairy story. And, at the age of 74 and studying the ‘facts’ put out by NASA, it’s obvious to me that, over 40 years ago, a manned flight could not have possible gone to the moon and returned. You saw the huge power needed to get a rocket up into space and the ‘returning’ astronauts splashing down in the sea and yet they calmly landed on the moon, unhitched their equipment, played around for a few hours, sent back pictures and sound to the earth, went back to their rocket and took off without a hitch. Just study the pictures. Don’t they look phoney? Speed up their moon walking and you can see their actions are slowed down film just like an old B movie. September 9, 2011 at 4:07 pm The company I worked for has recovered for future generations the old telemetry computer tapes of the Nimbus, Gemini and Apollo missions, before they became impossible to read and lost forever. New technology had to be invented to read those tapes as they were in such bad condition. There are public photos of some of those tapes. The tapes themselves no longer exist, just a picture of the yellow paper labels. The plastic in them was used to help develop a breakthrough technology that converts plastic into diesel. September 7, 2011 at 5:06 pm @Don There is very little point in sending men to the Moon at this point when unmanned craft can do the job of scientific discovery. The only point in sending man to the Moon today would be to establish (semi) permanent laboratories and bases but NASA lacks the funding to do that these days. They barely have money to put craft in orbit around the Earth today. So it is not a question about the will to do it or the technology to do it. It is a lack of funding to do it because we waste our money on frivolities. just want to contribute to the discussion with a question… why weren’t there any follow-up trips to the moon? i mean, with all of the technological advancement in the passed decades, NASA wouldn’t have the reason not to go back. or with the current technology everyone have right now, lying becomes more difficult… September 7, 2011 at 8:18 am The Russians never denied it that the Americans landed on the moon. They could follow the radio and data transmission from the moon, even if was coded they would still know it was from the moon. Saying that they are in on the hoax too would take away the whole meaning for the conspiracy of the moon landing. Also the do also use the mirrors on the moon placed by the apollo 11. November 29, 2012 at 1:39 am Geoff boxer: Wikipedia is not a relavent source of information; they are not allowed as a source for college student of ANY university due to incorrect facts, data, dates, etc. Do not use Wikipedia as a source for “facts”. Please prove your point with a more reputible source. August 21, 2011 at 6:20 pm Hubble doesn’t work like that. An object the size of the Moon lander is far too small on object even for Hubble to resolve. But the Indians, coincidentally enough, viewed the Apollo landing sites with their Chandrayaan-1 Lunar orbiter. Do some research before you make yourself out to be a fool. This is surprise to see that a Krishna- Conscious Website is talking all about such earthly matters! @all people here, Being a Hindu, I would say that this is Not a fair place to discuss such issues. I love Krishna, and i believe in Science too. And believing in science in no way reduces my love towards Lord! A Hindu is also a scientific man, so i don’t criticize the effort of any country, But it is the Hatred that should be criticized. August 14, 2011 at 5:39 am The people from NASA are quite cionvinced that Man landed on the moon, principly because they have adjusted the story since the first day. However, they can do two things to prove they landed on the moon with all that antique technology from the 1960’s 1. Send an identical craft to the moon today, same construction, same build, and same technical specifications as per Appollo 11. Land and return to Earth safely, this timw with China, Russia and all the world watching with all the modern technology tracking equipment available. 2. Swing HUBBLE around to take a High Definition shot of the landing sights, moon vehicle tracks, and even perhaps locate the totally inplausible “moon buggy” vehicle used in the later missions. If Earth satelites can resolve images to within 5mm from 300km in space, surely the moon landing sites and vehicles can be easily located ? July 24, 2011 at 2:37 am While some of the listed moon landing anomalies have be explained well by NASA & others who support the Moon landing, answers to several major questions remain unconvincing. The flag fluttering is one such issue that NASA harps on with triumph. But lets us not paint the whole episode with such little victories. In the over all tally the scales tilt in favor of the Hoax theory. The fact that they dropped the moon trips altogether is another indicator. Since traveling in space once u get past the pull of gravity requires very little fuel the moon trips will not be a lot more expensive than the Shuttle trips. And yet they just don’t do it anymore! Why ignore the real estate ( and a prime one at that given the great view !) and struggle with space stations? Just a little fuel would have put them all within the moons gravity with smaller crafts that wont need a lot of fuel to descend & take off. July 24, 2011 at 8:37 am Hare Krishna Chetan If you will read Krsna Book you can see that there were some very big monsters in Vrindavan 5000 years ago… The situation on the earth is changing and we know in previous ages the men were much bigger and lived longer so it wold not be so strange if there were also big lizards and big elephants, etc… It is not something that Srila Prabhupada speaks of in his books one way or the other. But of course intelligent men have been there right from the beginning of the creation. Lord Brahma is the most highly evolved and most intelligent creature in the universe and he was the first living entity in the universe. So there is no question of evolution, gradually reaching higher and better forms of life, culminating in the human form after millions and millions of years. No. The most highly evolved human form, Lord Brahma, was the first born living entity. So science have got it very wrong. Therefore if there were dinosaurs there was also intelligent men around at the same time… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa July 22, 2011 at 2:04 pm That is actually incorrect Madhudvisa. Any HAM Radio enthusiast can build a large dish and pick up telemetry from a number of probes far beyond Earth’s orbit. Please educate yourself before you go spouting off nonsense about things you do not understand. July 23, 2011 at 4:02 pm Hi Kyle Yes. They can obviously send up a rocket with some radio transmitter on it and it can go outside the atmosphere and transmit some signal from relatively close that some ham radio operator can pick up for sure. There is no question about this. That, however, does not prove that they have probes orbiting Jupiter or just about to exit the universe… There is no way at all that a ham radio operator can pick up these signals… That we simply have to have blind faith in NASA. There is no way anyone can verify this independently. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa Hi Dan, It is a very good question. It is supposed to fold up and fit in a small corner of the tiny luna landing module which is barely big enough to fit the three astronauts in… There are a lot of strange things about this “man on the moon” story… Madhudvisa dasa July 18, 2011 at 6:26 am My proof that man did not land is just one picture. That of the foot print with fine moon dust caked to form the imprint of an astronauts boot. Without moisture in the dust such a thing is impossible. Try making foot prints in dry dust or sand ! with no atmosphere u cannot have moisture. period. No dust clouds during take off or landing, no dust on foot pads of lunar module, etc. are further dust related anomalies. It was a desperate cold war PR exercise that politicians forced on science ! December 10, 2011 at 4:00 pm It has been proven that a boot print can in fact be made in a vacuum with zero moisture. Period. You are incorrect and you have no proof otherwise. Just because you say something is true does not make it true. July 6, 2011 at 9:44 pm In 1992 when I lived in southern California I heard the moon walk was a hoax. They needed the money for something else. I suspect it was done inside of a building, that is why there are no stars showing. Michael Jackson did the moon walk backwards. I wonder what he knew? June 3, 2011 at 12:28 pm Not everyone may go with my take on this matter, but I strongly believe that man did land on the moon, and that people who think otherwise are just trying to find something to argue about. Many people, myself included, believe that man walked on the moon. It is a matter that is strongly debated, even today, and there have been a lot of people saying that some actors just had it filmed in a set and NASA sent out pictures. But there are many flaws in this theory. Abraham J. Forsink May 15, 2011 at 5:15 am I believe YES man has been to moon… Not a big deal… Its all mathematics and shared time physics… It was an American Dream to go first… and its ended nobody else did in years.. Its not computers.. Becoz Computers didn’t made humans though Human made it… We didn’t have CNC routers or Auto cad Rel 14 but though we have TAJ MAHAL… Correct? We have Piramids Correct? We had Mayan Calender Correct? We have YOU… This is ridiculous you are questioning about Moon Landing? NOW WE R PLANNING TO GOING TO MARS BECOZ WE ALREADY SAW MOON HAS NOTHING ON IT… NOT EVEN WATER… BUT WE GOT SNOW ON MARS TO MELT. MAKE WATER AND LIVE ON TO IT.. Jai Shri Krishna… Hare Krsna Madhudvisa Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Just want to clear my doubts, according to me there is a difference between “Chandra loka” – Heavenly Planet Moon and this moon which appear during night. “Chandra loka” – Heavenly Planet Moon might be above the Sun planet. What we see waxing and waning of moon during night is just a natural satellite. For example Saturn Planet has so many small natural satellite bound by centripetal and centrifugal force/s of that planet… Request you to advise… Hare Krishna Chetan The moon we see is Chandra-Loka Prabhu, and it is a heavenly planet. The sun and the moon appear to be doing the same thing in the sky Prabhu. We can make a hypothisis also that the sun is a sattelite of the earth, going around the earth because of the earth’s gravity. But it is not. But it’s movements look just like the sun in the sky. It rises and sets and goes around the sky just like the sun. Only it moves through all the signs of the zodiac in 28 days but it takes the sun 365 days to do this. So why do we think the situation of the movements of the sun and moon are different? Actually the scientists do not know about these things Prabhu. There are many possible theories and the scientific process is to select the theory that seems most likely. The theory the best predicts the observed evidence. So they have a predictive model that works quite well. Still just because they have a model that works quite well in predicting what we observe in the sky that does not mean that their model is correct… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa July 18, 2011 at 6:19 pm hare krishna are you saying that we have never sent probes to the moon, jupiter, saturn, their moons, mecury, etc. and that all these pictures are all fake and one big conspiracy? July 30, 2011 at 10:28 pm It is only manned missions to the moon which we say were faked, not the current robotic missions to the moon and planets. The reason? Deep Space (not to be confused with the low earth orbit of the shuttle) is far too dangerous for humans to survive in. When they come up with a fool-proof 100% method of protecting man from the fatal radiation out there then they will be able to go to the moon. A radically modified space craft is needed and also suitable protection would need to added to space suits otherwise man could not leave the space craft once he had landed. There is no way to achieve this level of protection today which is why nobody has ever landed on the moon. August 1, 2011 at 7:44 am We are only talking about the manned missions to the moon being fake here. Obviously they are doing some level of exploration in space and if you throw something up there with a big rocket behind it and push it out into space it is going to go out somewhere and it can send some radio messages back, you can have some remote control and some boosters to steer it in the direction you want it to go. This is not a very big achievement. And surely they can do this. But transporting 3 men and a small truck and landing on the moon and walking around and sending back live television coverage in the 60’s when to do live television coverage on this planet you needed a huge truck full of equipment… It is ridiculous. Who could believe this rubbish? And then they get in that tiny little thing that landed on the moon and fly it back to the earth…. People are crazy if they believe this fairy tale… And that was the mid sixties, now fifty years later technology has advanced thousands of times. There was nothing then. Computers were practically nonexistent. They just discovered transistors…. So primitive you can not imagine. And now, with such wonderful technology we have no idea at all how we could send men to the moon… No one has ever gone since the 60’s and no one has any idea how they can go to the moon in the future also… If someone climbs Mt. Everest, then others will follow. If someone goes to the moon, others will follow. Because no one has followed for fifty years that in itself is very strong proof that we never had men walking on the moon… Madhudvisa January 28, 2011 at 4:26 pm i never believed that man even went up that far. they had one chance to prove it to me when all those “regular” people went up, but they blew them up!! i think they went down into the oceans, if they indeed went anywhere at all. by the way they move, the way the light shines, that everything is perfectly round-like it was photographed through a lens of some sort. it’s weird how no matter how close to the sun they get, it’s still pitch black dark and light only shines right in front of them-they way it would be underwater. January 22, 2011 at 6:48 am As you mentioned above that “The moon is actually a heavenly planet. The living conditions on the moon are far, far superior to the living conditions on the earth. To enter the heavenly planets one needs to have the qualifications to enter. You can not enter a heavenly planet by force. Srila Prabhupada gives the example that even on this planet one can not travel from India to the United States without the required visa and passport. So similarly entry into the moon planet is not possible without the required qualifications.” So living entities are living on surface of moon or inside moon planet or they are invisible to our material eyes or our artificial satellites. Yes. The moon is a heavenly planet, chandra-loka and very pious people can go there. So if one is not very pious he can not go there. For whatever reason the scientists do not have a correct idea about the moon. Living entities are on the surface of the moon, they will be everywhere, just like they are everywhere on this planet. You find living entities on the surface, in the ground, in the water, flying in the air, etc. Moon is the same. The living entities on the moon are more spiritually advanced so their bodies may be more subtle than ours and they may be almost invisible to us. What we can see is very, very limited. So we may not be able to see them–but that does not mean that they are not there. Also I am sure you know we are doubtful that man has ever been to the moon. What they tell us about the moon and how they went there and where it is does not match up with our information about these things. Srila Prabhuapda often commented on this and his feeling is they did not go to the moon and even I heard him say recently on a tape that it is most likely all done in some studio in the desert in the US somewhere. Of course practically no one believes we went to the moon now. It’s been over forty years and we have never going back to the moon and we have never gone anywhere else, so it really is very, very unlikely that we ever went to the moon and also very unlikely that we have any idea at all what it is like on the moon. Science is full of so many lies unfortunately. We take them too seriously. They actually know very little about the word and the universe around us. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa The reason mirrors were placed on the Moon was for two reasons: 1) Precision 2) The distance between the Moon and the Earth is not static. Every moment the Moon is very slowly creeping away from the Earth. The Sun will have long burned up and possibly even swallowed the Earth before the Moon leaves orbit though. In fact it was these mirrors that confirmed this, nailed down the rate of orbital decay, and gave us a precise measurement of mass for the Moon. THAT is why NASA placed mirrors on the Moon. I hope that answers your question. January 11, 2011 at 5:40 pm I have been wondering this my self! That i have also been wondering is that why havent people been to the moon ever since? Well, i know that it was a race against Russia but it’s a little weird why they haven’t investigated the moon more and try to find out more about it? And how could the flag flap with no wind? From Joachim January 20, 2011 at 8:54 am I agree with everything you mention, Joachim…. why have others not gone up there? Such a weird hoax… was this the US simply trying to claim another ‘first’ over all other countries?! September 17, 2011 at 1:38 am Joachim, There is no air resistance in space so any thing that starts to move is going to take a very long time to stop, this is because space is a vacuum. harmony at flixton girls high school says: December 26, 2010 at 4:05 pm Man on the moon was a very sophisticated scheme to create a need for greater taxes. Go to Flagstaff Arizona and see hands on for yourself the equipment they supposedly put on the moon… you might get a good laugh. Then go check out the desert around Flagstaff, and tell me, does that not exactly resemble the so called lunar landscape to a T? Hmmm Much like the so called global warming scenario cooked up by Gore and co. My is it ever so cold in Europe right now though. I guess this colder winter than any on record is going to put a damper on their plans for a global carbon tax… global warming, man on the moon two sides of the same coin. YOUR GOVERNMENT IS OUT TO TAKE YOUR MONEY ANY WAY POSSIBLE. One word, or name to be precise, about the so called moon mission: Kubrick. December 4, 2010 at 10:20 am After reading NASA articles about the LRO and it’s two cameras, why had NASA opnely refused to use their high resolution camera to photo the past Apollo landing sites. NASA said they would only use that HR camera to photo future landing sites on the lunar poles for future landing sites. Now China has sent a second orbiter around the moon and their camera has more resolution than the LRO HR camera, maybe we will get the truth now? I also watched a NASA program about a year ago, the NASA spokesman openly admitted we have never had an astronaut outside of a spacecraft higher than an altitude of 300 miles above the earth. How lang can this go on, isn’t it time for the truth to surface? January 14, 2011 at 5:17 am As Reuters reported on August 15, 2006, “The U.S. government has misplaced the original recording of the first moon landing, including astronaut Neil Armstrong’s famous ‘one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’ … Armstrong’s famous moonwalk, seen by millions of viewers on July 20, 1969, is among transmissions that NASA has failed to turn up in a year of searching, spokesman Grey Hautaluoma said. ‘We haven’t seen them for quite a while. We’ve been looking for over a year, and they haven’t turned up,’ Hautaluoma said … In all, some 700 boxes of transmissions from the Apollo lunar missions are missing.” yeah, right. October 31, 2010 at 4:55 am I have big doubts that man has ever laid a foot on the moon. I’m not a professional astro-science person but ANYONE can distinguish how easy this event could have easily been faked.. I’m not claiming that man has ever set foot on the moon(would be really nice if someone did), but after researching bit of the info all out there on the internet- I conclude that I am now doubting if man has ever been on the moon(Not outer space- big difference!). How can they simply stop making Saturn V and still havn’t finished after some 40 years? They made many attempts back then, so why not now where technology is far more suitable then the conditions of the late 1960’s. I can’t just truly believe something 100% with doubts of common sense obviously laid out there.. Shouldn’t the stars be much more clearer to see on the moon? Top reasons why I think landing on the Moon is all a hoax (and questions you can ask yourself): Astronauts had staged rehearsals. Videos are available(Website with all the videos and PROOF: http://www.ufos-aliens.co.uk/cosmicapollo.html ) Why is there a rock with the prop letter “C” on it? ^link^ Moon has 1/6 gravity as earth, so the astronauts should have been able to jump 10 feet in the air. Yet the highest they are recorded to do is 16 pathetic inches. Video above in ^link^. Why did the people who agreed to reveal the truth about the hoax all “died” of cancer within days or disappeared? One geologist laughed when someone asked him if the photos of the moon were real, and he mysteriously died of cancer in the next days… often their wives die too. Why is that? Cancer isn’t contagious. But secrets are. Why is the American flag always bright in the shadows of any pics? Radiation was so intense it should have melted the camera lens. Yet the pictures seem fine and the ordinary cameras could withstand -200F-200F temperature and radiation. That amount of radiation on the moon should have seriously killed the astronauts, or at least affected them in some way. One astronomer who stayed about 221 or so days in van Allen belt was blinded for life, yet these astros on the moon seem totally fine. Why is it so bright on the moon in the photos like it’s using artificial light? Moon can only reflect 7-8% of light so it should be dark… as in astronauts can be seen as shadows. Propaganda for gov’t? Whyare the shadows int the pictures all misalgned? Only different light sources can create this… so it’s artificial lighting. Why was a scientist hired by NASA collecting moon rocks in Alaska two years before the first Apollo mission? Neil Armstrong is a hoax himself. He knows that if he let the public know he never touched the moon, his family and himself would be in danger by US secret angents. It seems to me that he just played along. WHY IS THERE NO REAL CONCRETE EVIDENCE OF THIS PHENOMENAL EVENT? November 20, 2010 at 4:12 pm 1- Of COURSE they had a rehearsal! Do you think you could just wake up one day and know how to wear a space suit??? We’re not talking about putting on a pair of pants and sweater. It takes considerable training to learn to properly function in a spacesuit. 2- I’ll show you a piece of toast with the Virgin Mary on it too. They say if you look hard enough for something you’ll see it. I see the C on the rock but the C on the ground is a real big stretch. I don’t see it at all tbh. The author is nothing more than a modern day thaumateurgist, staring at bones and divining bad science the whole way through. 3- The astronauts themselves have all said they learned to take very short hops that on Earth wouldn’t have even gotten their feet off the ground. They could have taken larger leaps but to fall on their backs in those bulky suits would’ve been disasterous. Also the suits they wore weighed 170lbs so they were significantly weighed down. 4- This is typical conspiracy theorist garbage and doesn’t even deserve a reply except to counter my parents, grandparents, and various other family members are all dead. There must be a conspiracy to kill people in my family, right? Right?? Riiiiight… 5- The shots were taken in daylight. Just because the sky is black due to lack of atmosphere doesn’t mean you should expect nighttime like lighting. 6- What “astronomer” was blinded? Provide facts, not lies. Astronauts have been spending extended periods of time in space since Skylab in the 70s with very little adverse effects aside from muscle and bone atrophy from zero-g. They do receive more radiation, but not a life threatening amount. As for the camera, same deal. If shielded properly from radiation there will be no melting of lenses or electronics. Anyone who has been to an Xray lab and seen the technician stand behind the wall has witnessed how humans protect themselves from radiation. 7- See 5 8- I don’t know anything about rocks from Alaska but I think one of the thousands of geoligists who have studied the Moon rocks would’ve noticed that they came from Earth instead. They haven’t because there is empirical and incontrovertible evidence that the rocks came from the Moon. 9- Neil Armstrong is not a hoax. I met the guy at an Purdue engineering alumnist convention. He’s real. And so are the Moon landings. I applaud your efforts to think for yourself and do research but realize that the conspiracy theorists have books to sell to you. They aren’t scientists. They aren’t a primary source of information on the Moon landings. No one involved in the landings blew a single whistle. It would take incredible amount of fortune to keep everyone quiet. In otherwords it would take a lot more effort to make this hoax work than just to land on the stupid Moon. It’s not as impossible as you think to land on the Moon. You just have to know something about physics which is something the conspiracy folks obviously know very little about. October 7, 2010 at 6:41 am There has never been a rocket to take off here on earth, land at some location and take off again to return to it’s original destination. If one can remember in 1968 a year before the so-called moon landings,America had been in turmoil over the Vietnam War and the assasinations of Robert Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King. Nixon came into power and helped to set-up this event to get american’s and the world to see America in a different light and it worked somewhat until the Photo’s were exposed to the public. The murders of Kennedy and King set the stage for Nixon to get into power because he ran against the Johnson administration with Hubert Humphrey.Just as in 2000 George Bush stole the election to set the stage for War and Corruption. If we had gone to the moon in 1969 so easily we would have casino’s there by now with the technology we now have.Put on a space suit and walk in Death Valley in the summer. September 28, 2010 at 11:14 pm Fact: Butter is the true food of the gods. That’s why it makes anything and everything taste better. Bread, lobster, baked potatoes, you name it; even peanut butter. Fact: iPhones are individually crafted and assembled by elves. Two reasons: Only elves have hands small enough to fit inside the darned things, and the technology is actually a form of magic; each phone has it’s own spell cast on it. Fact: Paris Hilton is the smartest person in the world; probably the smartest person who ever lived. She’s so smart that there are only 2 or 3 other people in the world who are smart enough to realize how freakin’ brilliant she is. The rest of us don’t have a clue. Fact: There are only about 100 people living in Iceland. Have you ever seen more than 100 Icelanders together at one time? Didn’t think so. ——————- September 14, 2010 at 5:55 am And You might note that Einstein Read Bhagavad-Gita and belived in God. And if you have some intellect you look google stanford.edu einstein – you find not only the theory but the philosphy not just theory he contributed – http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/einstein-philscience/ you run into a word called ontology it is word used generally by philosophy or metaphysic students but of necessity it is used also by the highest theorists, because it all about estimating what is real or not, and the relavences. You see not only in physics the particles are theoretical, but even the particale matter, sometimes it exists or not, depending or what you compare it to. For ‘field’s aren’t even matter, so to speak. Anyway you find that to even approach higher physics science you actually have to be a philoshper first, and question, being or not being, of anything you can find here in this unvierse… A strange irony isn’t it.. those mundane mighty heros your culture conjured up the ‘scientists’ that ‘know everything’ they are fools.. only the wisest ones know that they do not know, they could not know everything, for as one’s knowledge increase so does the questions and the unknown! The real relavant facts are this: 1. It was much cheaper to fake moon landings then go there 2. The so-called ‘moon’ some craft went to is not in fact the moon you see in the sky – that moon is unapproachable by any materialistic machine, and far too far away to be reached and return due to the difference in time. This is actualy evidenced by Vedic fact, by KRSNA and by beings that can travel freely anywhere, even beyond the universe! The place went to and responsible for eclipse etc. is Rahu – the Ghostlike planet, the head of the demon far more capable and inteeligent than any material scientists / NASA exploiters, who got his head cut off for interfering in the unshakable universal order! 3. None of the current minds that would collaborate on such space flights are capable to understand how to do so – I for instance know certainly that according to the theories of Einstein that is hardly possible – you would have to understand the simple fact that both space and time are hopeless curved,warped, even folded making the mundane ‘model’ of the current solar system ridiculous. The fact is I know how poorly intelligent almost all on Earth are, I look at the information presented by Einstein and can easily see it is millions of times more complex than any model published – and yet almost all so-called geniuses are confused – like little children – This idea of understanding the complex machinery of space and time by unqualified minds is like a child’s wanting to – it is completely beyond their capability, even if they had the machines of the demons of the lower systems which actually can navigate some space although extremely limited. It will take your scientists probaly half this age of kali to do so, (but you will never reach the moon – lol a heaven far,far,far,above this world) or about 200,000 years, and then only will you get to Rahu anyway.. lol! The secrets of the complex models no mundane man will even even see, they are not even much revealed in the Vedas presented on Earth (i.e 5th Canto SB, etc.)simply because the so-called ‘brilliant’ scientists / warmonger ‘civilized’ men would simply make a mess of the Earth and skies even more! The fact is material scientists so proud are complete fools, and the heros Aldrin, etc. of mudane fools all bound for the dark regions of this universe, sadly. 4. Einstein and so many real geniuses never reveal what they found to the crude warmongers of this world. After Einstein died they cross sectioned his brain matter (sorry for the unpleasant description) and it was proven his capacity for functions of transmission of thought was much greater than most everyone’s. People of lessor brain matter can never hope to understand what so clearly even what he did reveal clearly indicates. July 6, 2010 at 5:52 pm Chris, It is much easier to maintain normal air pressure in a capsule in space than it is to deal with the intense pressure of the deep sea. Think of a simple scientific experiment to prove this: Put a can of soda (the capsule) in a vacuum chamber… Does anything happen? No of course not. The can maintains it’s structural integrity because all opposing forces exist within the can and the vacuum is a… well vacuum. It has no force on the pressurized capsule. Open the can and it will explode obviously as the gasses contained within rush to meet equilibrium. Now put the same can in a pressure chamber and crank that baby up to equivalent pressures 1km under the ocean. That same can will slowly begin to be crushed. This is because the outside pressures are acting upon the structure of the can. This is why it is easier to go to the Moon than it is to go to the bottom of the Ocean. Next time, think like a scientist instead of a conspiracy theorist. The truth is much more interesting than some idiotic crackpot claims that a three year old could debunk. June 15, 2010 at 8:24 pm Do you people ever leave the house or do you live in your mother’s basement? HAHAH this discussion is a big joke…. Lets change the topic…. I think that your belief system is a big hoax. There is no god or energy in our bodies, I’m not even sure Asia exists. I’ve never been there and all i have seen are pictures that are all hoaxed. There is no Asia so there must be no “Maha Mantra”. This is a hoax too since no one could have wrote it. Why don’t you wake up and stop letting the government trick you into thinking that Asia really exists. March 30, 2010 at 3:15 pm I don’t understand how people donot believe we landed on the moon. There is logical proof that we did. It is not a conspiracy, if it was it would have been discovered by now. Why would Nasa put billions of dollars into something and just tell a lie about it? I mean seriously. That’s stupid. Like the 9/11 thing it HAPPENED wheater you believe it or not; there is proof! So people need to stop saying things are fake when things are real because it stupid and such a waste of time. February 9, 2010 at 12:10 pm There is just noway I belive it, I didnt believe it back then when I wasz 17 and now you have to be a total nut to belive this ever happened. Let’s get real theres just tooooooooooo much evidence to prove they never made it to the moon and never walked on the surface of the moon. I want to knnow where is the capsule lander and why we can take all sorts of shots of the area where we landed and put those up but yet we cant see the lander and the epression in the moon it would of made on take off. there was no indication of any dust particles or what ever showing the impression of a landing yet they show a boot imprint, come on people tell me how a nylon flag withstood the high temperatures it was a nylon flag baught from Sears. By the way that is what NASA is claimed to have said. It’s as phoney as bologna. February 5, 2010 at 8:22 pm the mere fact that there is controversy and debates made over this subject tells me that something isn’t right.if the U.S.A. really did land on our moon then there actions most likely wouldn’t be so suspicious. if they had righteous and truthful answers to give us, we would already have them and the government would be overjoyed to give them to us. the problem is that they don’t have the wonderful answer that we are all looking for. which obviously is why they choose to keep us in the dark. for those who rally on the governments side i give you this statement. for all the pieces of the puzzle that are there, there are just as many that are missing, which leaves the puzzle unfinished. i don’t know about you, but i have never looked at an incomplete puzzle and felt proud of it. an incomplete puzzle doesn’t paint a picture. in this case i need a really convincing picture to be painted for me to believe that we have stepped FOOT on the moon. October 27, 2009 at 12:29 pm I’m also quite convinced that the moon landings have been faked…and that it’s absolutely impossible to pursue a successful moon mission (let alone several ones) with those toys never even been successfully tested. Anyone doing real world engineering will instantly notice that. You have to test, over and over again. Nothing works as designed from scratch. I’m also quite sure the unmanned Russian moon landing missions were fakes, too (which could explain why Russia remained silent about the American fakes). However, I’ve been wondering about the topic of the laser reflectors lately, because there were claims that the places where those reflectors are supposed to be located are significantly more reflective than the rest of the moon surface. Yes, the moon surface is reflective, and laser measurements have been done as early as 1962, but allegedly the reflectors made everything much better (albeit this could only be corrobated in recent years, supposedly). I found the wikipedia article with the added comment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LunarPhotons.png “The cluster of photons in your picture shows very clearly that there is something on the lunar surface, of very small size, reflecting a lot more photons than all the rest of the surface.” This looked quite convincing at a first glance…though I did not fully understand the graph at first. Looking at it and thinking about it I found this comment to be outright stupid. To explain it: The y-axis displays the time gate for each individual laser pulse in nanoseconds. This means: When you send out a pulse you expect the reflections to return at a narrow time gate. The displayed range is about 100ns wide, which is equivalent to about + or -15m runtime (length) difference of light photons. Most of the photons have returned at a narrow band of about 2ns, which indicates that their runtime was about the same (less than 1m length difference). However, anyone able to do the basic math will know that projecting a beam (cone) to the moon ball (~300000km away, radius ~1700km), where it spreads out to about 2km in diameter and then back to the source on earth this will yield no measurable runtime difference (< 1 ns) in individual photons, no matter which point inside of this target area was hit – given that the surface is perfectly flat. So all you have to do is actually find a rather flat area on the moon with no notable craters, hills, rocks and mountains and you should quite precisely get the response shown in the graph. So, far from being proof for the presence of a laser reflector, this graph is only proof that the surface is reflective and the targeted area is flat. On the contrary, if all those photons would have been reflected by the tiny reflector, the band should be a really FINE LINE and not a band, as shown. So this graph can be considered as PROOF that NO REFLECTOR is present (or at least it has no impact). To prove that the reflectors actually are present you would need to compare the alleged landing sites with a large sample of other areas on the moon (especially flat ones) and conclusively show that the increased reflectivity at the “landing sites” is highly unusual. I’m not aware anyone has made such a comparison. Go figure. The funny thing is: NASA claims they precisely located the landing sites by using the reflectors (as in: finding the reflector sites). They did not constrict that statement to Apollo 11, 14 and 15, by the way. Go figure. October 19, 2009 at 6:17 am And where is the problem if NASA succeed ? is it wrong ? no one can determine space conditions because we have never been there right ? we can’t tell that they are lying and we can’t be sure that its 100% true right ? if it was a lie and if it was simple to made up a story of a step to mankind why other contries didn’t think about it and compete between each other with more videos and stories corrected by nasa’s faults that you bieleve its true. why only NASA made this step ? i think NASA has 75 % right and the rest may have around 25% correct or wrong ! this is my honest opinion ! August 28, 2009 at 9:26 pm To be more specific, the Amsterdam museum assumed for years that they had a genuine Moon rock. However visitors noticed that it did not resemble any of the Apollo samples. With suspicion thus aroused, scientists were able to very quickly and conclusively determine that the stone in the museum was not a Moon rock. Until then, no such study had been done. Real Apollo samples all have identification numbers that allow them to be curated by NASA, even though they may reside in other parts of the world. There is an Apollo sample in my city, with the ID number clearly present on its permanent encapsulation. This can be traced back through NASA records to determine exactly what mission collected it and where. The Amsterdam specimen had no such provenance. That is, curators could not produce any NASA documentation relating it to the Apollo sample catalogue. When the story of its delivery to the Netherlands was recounted, it was discovered that the gift occurred very shortly after the Apollo 11 mission, long prior to the time that any samples were released from NASA custody. In short, there was absolutely no valid reason for the Amsterdam museum to believe they possessed an actual Apollo Moon rock. Their gullibility is the issue here, not any allegation of wrongdoing by NASA. I can pick up any rock in my backyard and try to sell it as a Moon rock. Caveat emptor. August 17, 2009 at 1:26 am Madhudvisa dasa, In your reply to Clavius, you mention that “For that we require further evidence and as I have many times said the proof that we have been to the moon is that we can go to the moon now”. That is the reason why I mentioned earlier that ISRO (the Indian NASA) declared itself ready for sending men on the moon, after placing the Indian flag on the surface of the moon. That’s the reason why I also previously stated that : “It seems that nobody wants to comment the ISRO statement. Does it mean that the sceptical put more faith in ISRO than in NASA ?? ” May I point out that you did not reply ? Are you going to reply now ? It is not written anywhere in the Srimad Bhagavatam that human beings cannot visit the moon. And if it were the case, Srila Vyasadeva would have to write a new sloka. I would also suggest that you ask your guru to change your name for चन्द्रकान्त , “beloved by the moon”. Hari Bol, August 17, 2009 at 5:34 am Hare Krishna Premadas I am interested in the ISRO project but so far have not been able to get much information about it. I am in India now and will try and do some research on this and report back. We are put in a certain environment because of our karma and we are given a particular body to suit that environment. Of course human beings can travel to the moon but the standard way of doing this is to worship the presiding demigod of the moon and think of the moon at the time of death and then one can very easily travel to the moon and also receive a material body that is perfectly designed for living in the atmosphere of the moon. This system of traveling to other planets is very nicely described by Srila Prabhupada in his book: “Easy Journey to Other Planets.” You can read this book online at: http://prabhupadabooks.com/?g=156035 The moon is actually a heavenly planet. The living conditions on the moon are far, far superior to the living conditions on the earth. To enter the heavenly planets one needs to have the qualifications to enter. You can not enter a heavenly planet by force. Srila Prabhupada gives the example that even on this planet one can not travel from India to the United States without the required visa and passport. So similarly entry into the moon planet is not possible without the required qualifications. From my extensive analysis of the information available from NASA on the moon mission it appears to me to be a complete hoax. I have not seen any information at all on the ISRO missions so I can not comment, but on your suggestion I will try to undertake some serious research on the ISRO project. Madhudvisa dasa RE: THE INDIAN MOON MISSION I have done a little research on the ISRO Moon Mission. The total cost of the Indian moon mission is less than 80 million dollars! So if it is true that means getting the moon is a very simple and very inexpensive thing to do. India has only ever built and launched one mission to the moon. And it is basically a satellite. They put it in earth orbit like any ordinary satellite and over a number of rotations around the earth bumped it up higher and higher till it was up there near the moon and then fired some retro rockets to switch it from orbiting the earth to orbiting the moon. They shot one probe at the moon that had an Indian flag painted on it and took the usual moon pictures. If it is actually so easy and cheap for India to go to the Moon [less than 80 million dollars!] then this makes all the comments on this forum about the difficulty and expense of going to the moon seem rather ridiculous. Of course anyone who has spent time in India will know that it is not wise to take things at face value here. Cheating and corruption is so rampant in India that really you can not just believe what the Indians say. Again there needs to be some independent validation of this. And there is none. It is easy to make a computer simulation of the Indian Moon satellite and feed that into the “mission control center” and no one would know if the data feed is coming from the satellite or from the simulation. There is a lot of disinformation about this. India has only ever put up one moon mission and it is a satellite bumped up into the moon’s orbit, if that is possible… They have spent less than 80 million dollars on their moon mission… Maybe they can put some men on the moon for another 80 million dollars? In India computer animation is cheap… At this point I can not take the Indian moon mission very seriously… They have given us the ordinary moon pictures that we already have and nothing new really… It seems quite an ingenious idea. If you can really go to the moon so easily and cheaply why NASA spent so much money on it… Madhudvisa dasa August 19, 2009 at 5:24 am I hadn’t heard about that either, but it does seem possible. NASA’s most recent lunar probe cost about 700 million. It is projected to impact the lunar south pole on October 9th, in order to test if there is water there. Here’s a quote from their site: The debris plumes are expected to be visible from Earth- and space-based telescopes 10-to-12 inches and larger. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LCROSS/overview/index.html So you may be able to verify this unmanned mission if you have a 10inch or larger telescope. One other comment is that a manned mission always costs a lot more since you need a larger rocket to lift the extra payload, and you need a return vehicle, along with consumables such as fuel, food, water and oxygen. September 1, 2009 at 5:17 am There are both qualitative and quantitative differences between manned and unmanned space flight. STMan has discussed some of the quantitative difference: chiefly the masses of the spacecraft. LRO and LCROSS are somewhat anomalous for unmanned spacecraft in that two separate missions shared a launch vehicle, and the LCROSS impactor is designed to have a certain specific parasitical mass. The Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft had a takeoff mass of just under 1400 kg. That’s expected for that type of mission. The Apollo CSM mass was over 30,000 kg and the LM just under 15,000. Why so much? Because the Apollo missions were intended to do so much more than an unmanned flight, such as keep three men alive for two weeks, perform a soft landing on the lunar surface and return, and to land the crew safely on Earth. All those tasks require machinery and supplies that have mass. In other words, the typical Apollo mission payload was more than 30 times the mass of a typical unmanned spacecraft. The Saturn V was the only American rocket built that could deliver that much payload to the Moon. Roughly for each kilogram of payload, some 20 kg of fuel is required in the Earth launch vehicle. After the Saturn V was discontinued, there was no rocket powerful enough to deliver a manned spacecraft to the Moon. However there are plenty of medium-lift boosters in the world’s space fleets to deliver 1,000 kg or so to the Moon. The qualitative difference is in the expected reliability of manned versus unmanned rockets. Morally we require manned vehicles to operate more reliably than unmanned vehicles. We reduce the reliability of unmanned launch vehicles in order to put them within the reach of most customers. Typically a 1 in 20 failure rate is tolerable for an unmanned launch vehicle. For a manned launch vehicle we aim for something along the lines of 1 in 300 or better. Reliability costs money, and high reliability costs a whole lot of money. If you can build a 99-percent reliable launch vehicle for $10 million, one that’s 99.5-percent reliable may cost $100 million or more. Each small increment of expected reliability turns out to be a large multiple on the development and operating cost. Hence we don’t develop human-rated space flight technology until there’s a clear need to use it. So just because we can send a small expendable robot to the Moon on an existing workaday booster doesn’t mean we can resume manned flights with no additional effort. To try to compare Chandrayaan-1 and Apollo as if they were equivalent missions is misguided. August 16, 2009 at 8:39 pm Hare Krishna to all. If we ask to the people who reach the peak of Everest which the benefit for mankind is that you put a flag on the crest of Everest? Possibly they feel humiliated and maybe could cry. But every year the world’s richest people still is risking their life, their most valuable wealth, by placing a flag on Everest. And there are many who die in the attempt. The sentence of Neil Armstrong was filled with a strong political charge, not a sentence out of a natural excitement of the moment. Rather as if to travel to other planets for him were some thing of everyday. And people are saying: “But I do not see any benefit to me or my family.” Maybe Armstrong did not know what the purpose of placing a flag on the moon was. To this date, there should be a lunar base and the lunar travel should be a tourist thing. There is no any theory of moon hoax, that’s another manipulation. In reality this is not a theory but the whole world on 20/07/69 realized lunar fraud at the poor show of Neil Armstrong. Immediately people began to question what they saw and draw conclusions was something massive and not theory of a few envious or something new. We live in an age of the hoax Kali Yuga; Srila Prabhupada said that in Kali Yuga everything is contaminated. The mass media has the ethics of exalt the worldly and minimize the divine. All movies, advertisements and so on news are handled. And all the food products are contaminated. So it is not surprising that trip to the moon be another hoax more. All religions are hoax except the chanting of the holly names and the religion that contains the biggest amount of these chanting is the best. (Bhaktivinod) Governments have given to the scientists of the world large sums of money to discover the missing link, and the Neanderthal man and all that were found to be hoax. I have heard that the Vedas say that the moon emerged from the ocean; it is assumed that the white color of the moon is due to be made of coral or limestone powder. But the rock that supposedly brought the astronauts was not white at all. NASA proved to be winner of the space race but very bad to make movies. The worst of this matter is that President Kennedy could not see his dream come true. Defeated yes; surrendered never. August 12, 2009 at 7:26 pm Namaste, Seems that nobody wants to comment the ISRO statement. Does it mean that the sceptical put more faith in ISRO than in NASA ?? All that is neither scientific, nor spiritual. It might be time to remind that the starting point of all that was a statement by Srila Prabhupada that there are living entities living on the moon, and they would never let any human being land on their territory. The point is particularly relevant for the devotees who could not bear seing any failure in their guru’s teachings. They should, and they can overtake this mental position simply by disconnecting simultaneously from both issues : (1)American landing on the moon, (2)Perfection of any human being -be it a guru- But it might be a great temptation to take an easiest way for whoever launched this forum : simply delete this post, avoid to confront one’s inner truth, and go on arguing in the lowest material world : the one of mundane controversy !! The American have been to the moon, the Indian will go and some day someone will chant : “Hare Krishna” up there, and Prabhupada will laugh joyfully. Love, devotion and … surrender ! August 13, 2009 at 4:25 am Hare Krishna Prema Dasa Prabhupada made many statements about the moon and these statements are coming from the Srimad Bhagavatam. If they went to the moon or not is not so important, we think it is very unlikely and as I have written many times we are waiting for some practical verifiable proof. And if the Indians can go to the Moon and chant Hare Krishna there I am sure you are correct, Srila Prabhuapda will be very happy! Surely this mystery will be resolved in time. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa August 13, 2009 at 5:31 am No, you’re grasping at straws to reject the evidence that’s been presented. There is no mystery, at least among the people who understand these sciences. You put your faith in conspiracy theorists because they put a pseudo-intellectual veneer over your desired belief. If you want to believe, upon a religious basis, that the Moon landings were fake, then express that faith. But don’t try to make it sound like a scientific argument if the science doesn’t take you there. You try to portray science as some sort of “religion” where the practitioners are cowed into silence. This is not at all how science proceeds. The fundamental tenet of science is that even the most apparently solid fact is merely a “theory” and can be upset at any time if the proper evidence comes along. Scientists who challenge the status quo and present the proper evidence to support it are hailed as heroes, not dismissed as mavericks. Scientists routinely review each other’s work dispassionately. But instead you have to present that caricature of science in order to find some way to sidestep the glaring fact that no one who has been properly trained in the relevant sciences agrees with you. You’re not a scientist and you’re not an engineer. If it really isn’t important to you whether people landed on the Moon or not, then kindly let us do our jobs without being maliciously attacked. August 16, 2009 at 4:27 am Science is some sort of religion that filters knowledge according to what is currently accepted as “fact” within science. This is simply the history. You can study the history and find out. Any great scientist in the past who has presented something that seriously challenges the current scientific view is attacked and ridiculed and that continues to the present day. And in this debate you are using so-called “science” to “prove” that questioning the truth of NASA’s man walking on the moon story is not scientific. The hypothesis that NASA faked the moon walks is just as valid as the hypothesis that NASA did not fake the moon walks. From the evidence we have either is possible. Personally I think it is more likely that NASA faked the moon walks, you think it is more likely that the moon walks were for real. But neither of us really knows one way or the other. For that we require further evidence and as I have many times said the proof that we have been to the moon is that we can go to the moon now. That is the proof we need. No scientific experiment will ever be taken seriously if it can only be performed by some organization a few times and then they can not do it any more and no other person or organization or country can repeat it… This is the proof and validation of any scientific experiment. It has to be repeatable… Anyhow science is a religion. You have your doctrine, your high priests and anyone who does not follow the doctrine will be shunned by science. And this has happened to so many great scientists in the past who have presented ideas that are before their time. Even those who presented the idea that the earth was a sphere were faced with a lot of opposition for the scientific circles of their time. And the same religious sentiment of sticking to the accepted beliefs persists in science. You can not deny this. It is simply history. If you look into the “science” of evolution you will simply a group of men calling themselves scientists who are simply believers in the religion of evolution. And they will do anything to try and prove that evolution is true. You are like an evolutionist. But instead of evolution, you believe in NASA. NASA is your religion. You believe them, you accept what they say as true and you will do anything and everything to try to explain all discrepancies in what they present as being what intelligent scientists would expect to see… But you will never consider that NASA may have faked the moon walks. That is against your religion… Madhudvisa dasa I might insist, but I’d really like to know whether the sceptical followers of the path of Sanatana Dharma believe that or not : “Indian Flag Placed on the Moon Monday November 17, 2008 The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) are justifiably proud of their latest achievement. In an historic event, the Indian space program managed to place the Indian tricolour on the Moon’s surface on November 14, 2008, anniversary of the birth of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’sfirst Prime Minister. The Indian flag was painted on the sides of the Moon Impact Probe (MIP), one of the 11 payloads of Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, that successfully hit the lunar surface 8:31 pm IST. This is the first Indian built object to reach the surface of the moon. The point of MIP’s impact was near the Moon’s South Polar Region. It is a fitting tribute to Nehru since the modern Indian space program was initiated in 1962 when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister of India. Weighing 34 kg at the time of its launch onboard Chandrayaan-1, the box shaped MIP carried three instruments: Video Imaging System Radar Altimeter Mass Spectrometer The video imaging system was intended to take the pictures of the moon’s surface as MIP approached it. The radar altimeter was included to measure the rate of descent of the probe to the lunar surface. Such instruments are necessary for future lunar soft landing missions. And, the mass spectrometer was for studying the extremely thin lunar atmosphere. MIP’s 25 minute journey to the lunar surface began with its separation from Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft at 8:06 pm IST. This was followed by a series of automatic operations that began with the firing of its spin up rockets after achieving a safe distance of separation from Chandrayaan-1. Later, the probe slowed down with the firing of its retro rocket and started its rapid descent towards the moon’s surface. Information from the its instruments was radioed to Chandrayaan-1 by MIP. The spacecraft recorded this in its onboard memory for later readout. Finally, the probe had a hard landing on the lunar surface that terminated its functioning. Thus, India’s very first attempt to send a probe to the moon’s surface from its spacecraft orbiting the moon has been successfully concluded. With the switching ON of two of Chandrayaan-1’s payloads – Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) and Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM) – on its journey to moon and with MIP’s successful impact on the lunar surface today, it is planned to switch on and test the remaining eight payloads of the spacecraft in the coming few days. The Chandrayaan-1 craft was successfully launched on October 22, 2008 from India’s spaceport at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota into its intended initial elliptical orbit around the Earth. Following this, the spacecraft’s orbit was raised in steps and it was made to pass near the moon by repeatedly firing its 440 Newton liquid engine. After Chandrayaan-1’s entry into its planned lunar orbit on November 8, 2008, the orbital height was reduced in steps to its intended operational altitude of 100 km from the lunar surface. Since its launch, the health and orbit of Chandrayaan-1 is being continuously monitored from the Spacecraft Control Centre of ISRO’s Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Bangalore with critical support from antennas of Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) at Byalalu. IDSN antennas have also received the images and scientific information gathered by TMC, RADOM, and more recently, by MIP.” August 8, 2009 at 3:17 pm The space shuttle and other manned spacecraft orbit much higher than 20 miles. If you examine the post-flight reports, you’ll find that there were significant mistakes, failures, and exceptions on all Apollo flights except for Apollo 17. In the case of Apollo 13 the astronauts were placed in extreme danger and the Moon landing had to be aborted. The most dangerous parts of any space flight are the launch and landing. Every space flight has one of those, no matter how far away you go. We don’t go to the Moon because there is no public mandate to do it. It has little to do with technology. We have not maintained the specialized equipment such a journey requires, so it will take some time to resurrect and extend it. Space Station is about 220 miles above earth, space shuttle can orbit around 100 to 400 miles approx. Still 400 miles is nothing compared to the approx 250,000 miles to the moon. There is no question that in the Apollo missions the astronauts were put in the capsule and fired into the sky by the rocket. So they had to endure a take-off and a landing which as you say entail real danger, even if they did not actually go to the moon. The most likely scenario seems to be that they took off and orbited the earth for some time and then landed in the ocean at the appropriate time. So even putting up a manned mission to do this is quite dangerous and puts the astronauts in real danger. As far as going to the moon your President George Bush mandated it and was prepared to fund it but NASA replied, “We can’t do it now…” As I have said many times so far there is no proof, we are waiting for the proof… Madhudvisa dasa August 10, 2009 at 2:16 pm An orbiting CSM/LM stack would be the third brightest object in the sky, aside from the Moon and Venus. It would appear to be moving very fast. Can you explain why there were no unexplained sightings of an orbiting spacecraft during the time in which you claim the CSM/LM were in low Earth orbit? Radio contact with the spacecraft was maintained by large radiotelescopes that cannot slew fast enough to track a LEO object. What were these telescopes locked into instead? How was line-of-sight radio contact maintained with a low orbiting spacecraft in 1969? Or were all the various radio operators in all those different countries part of the hoax? There is plenty of evidence that Apollo was real. It’s what you and others are scrambling to explain away. As for why we cannot immediately return to the Moon, you deleted my post which explained this. Please restore it or stop raising the point in your own posts. August 11, 2009 at 2:04 am My point is that these NASA people had unlimited money and if they wanted to fake it they could have. That is all. Exactly how they would go about doing it you would know that much better than me. Exactly how they did it I do not know. But they may have faked it. That is a possibility. I am waiting for some independent confirmation of this, that is all… Some actual proof. Radio signals are not very good proof. As long as there is a signal coming from the right direction the radio telescopes can not tell how far away it is. It could be coming from anything in the line of sight to where the space craft is supposed to be. Even an airplane could transmit this signal and the radio telescope operator would be none the wiser. Also you can bounce radio signals off the moon and the radio telescope can not tell if it is a bounced signal or if it is coming from the moon. So as a scientific man I am sure you can work out a very simple way to fake this if you wanted to. If they wanted to fake it for some political reasons the could have. It is not a very difficult thing to do. And there is no way for you or me to tell if it is faked or genuine. To confirm it we need to see others going and doing practical things on the moon… You have faith in NASA, you believe what they say to be true, and that is your only “proof” that we went to the moon. I do not have this faith and require some independently verifiable proof of the type which is available for practically any other scientific achievement we have ever made. But there is no independent proof of men walking on the moon, that is my point… Clavius August 11, 2009 at 1:41 pm Why, with “unlimited funds,” could not NASA have succeeded in its stated mission to land on the Moon? You ascribe to NASA near omnipotence in faking the Moon landings, but you will not allow them that power when considering the proposition that they succeeded. NASA is clever and capable, in your mind, only when playing out YOUR scenario. You’ve simply decided that NASA faked it, and you’re trying to backfill an argument toward that conclusion. Saying these radio signals can be faked with aircraft or by bouncing them off the Moon itself is highly naive. Have you asked any actual radiotelescope operators whether that claim is credible? Have you ever operated a radiotelescope? As a scientific man I CANNOT figure out a way to fake the radio signals convincingly, and neither can Mike Dinn of Australia, who has been a radiotelescope operator for many decades. I don’t have the responsibility to work out exactly how it was done; you’re the one claiming it’s easy so you please tell us, and please get verification from actual practitioners regarding whether your scheme would work. Don’t just guess that it would. You keep saying I and others “have faith” in NASA. In fact you put your faith in known charlatans such as David Percy and Ralph Rene to spoon-feed you unscientific arguments, and in your unfounded layman’s supposition that the details of faking the Moon landings are “not a very difficult thing to do.” My faith resides in my 25 years’ experience engineering machinery for space. I don’t rely on the principles of space travel simply because NASA says so. I rely on them because they’re proven to work. I challenged you in another post that you deleted to provide the names of qualified practitioners in the relevant sciences that agree with you. Can you do this? Or is it in fact the case that the world’s scientific and engineering communities universally accept that Apollo was authentic? August 12, 2009 at 4:31 am I do not want to get into an argument with this. I have stated it clearly that I am waiting for some independent verification that we had men walking on the moon. I accept the possibility that we may have had me walking on the moon. But I also consider the possibility that the moon missions may have been faked for some political reason. Both things are possible as far as I can see and we started this thread to discuss the possibility that the moon missions may have been faked. There are many websites like your own where all the information can be found that supports the validity of the moon landings. And there are many other websites that point out apparent discrepancies in the photo and video evidence. I have considered the explanations for these discrepancies and I am still not personally convinced. I think you know that in most cases scientists have to support the generally accepted belief and if they do not they will be rejected from the scientific community. So on most points you will find a great deal of cohesion among the opinions of scientists. They must “follow the party line.” Otherwise they will not get their papers published or get funding for their research. So I respect you intelligence and determination in presenting these points but as I have many times said we are waiting for more evidence before a final decision can be made on this matter. I don’t know why you can not figure out how to fake radio telescope signals? You know where the radiotelescope is and you know where the object the radiotelescope is pointing at is. All you have to do to fake the signal is to broadcast it from somewhere in the line between the radiotelescope and the object the radiotelescope is pointing at. That can be very easily done as I said from a plane or some other object in the sky. The point I am making is if NASA wanted to fake it they could have and they would have done a very convincing job and would have obviously found ways to convincingly fake the radio signals. You may not understand how they did it as you do not know how a magician makes doves or rabbits come out of his hat, but still you know there is some trick. So because you do not understand how NASA faked it does not mean that they did not fake it. So I think you would have to accept that if NASA wanted to fake the moon landings they could have done it. And we would never know because all the information on this comes through NASA. There is no way of testing it independently. That is really the only point I am making. We are waiting for independent evidence on this to verify it… Madhudvisa dasa Did I get this right. One of the problems that make new moon missions so difficult is that we have abandoned Saturn V rockets? So? Have we lost the plans for how to build them? We must invest billions more to figure out how we did this decades ago? Why are we suddenly unable to build more Saturn V rockets? Premadas August 1, 2009 at 2:22 am Does everybody knows that there is also an Indian flag on the moon now (since a few years). Do the sceptical believe it ? the Indian are preparing to walk on the moon very soon. Is it the NASA that some do not trust, or is it the science, or is it the material world ? if everything is illusion, or maya, then all our beliefs, images, cults are illusion too. August 8, 2009 at 12:26 pm We are not saying that satellites are false. How can anyone say this? We are using them every day for communications and GPS. There is no question at all if NASA can put up satellites in earth orbit and transmit and receive data from them. Anyone can prove this. Anyone who has satellite TV can prove this. He can point his satellite dish at the satellite and get the TV reception. It is proof. In so many ways there is independent proof of the existence and functioning of the satellites. And also so many countries have put satellites up and are using them. The satellite technology is in the public domain and any country can put up a satellite and use it. On the other hand we do not find any verifiable proof at all that man has walked on the moon apart from the pictures and moon rocks given to us by NASA. And when one does analyze the pictures and videos there are so many apparent contradictions and errors in them that any thoughtful person will naturally question if this is real or if this has been faked. So you cannot compare satellites and the moon walking. If we had as much evidence that man had walked on the moon as we have of the existence of satellite technology then no one at all would question the moon walks. But we have no evidence. That is the problem. And it has been over 40 years and no one has been back to the moon, although many countries have moon mission programs, no one has been able to go again… So there is good reason for suspicion here. The real proof of satelites is that any country can put them up and use them. The real proof that we can go to the moon will be that any country who is prepared to spend the money can go there and do something practical there. So far we do not have that proof… We are waiting for that. In the meantime a thoughtful person has to consider the possibility that the moon missions were faked by NASA for some political reasons. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa July 24, 2009 at 2:40 pm there are two ways to see things.. doubts have been put in your head mostly for mediatic reasons (remember many people say the King was still alive) so no need to believe in these things… the other way is simply that man has never walked on the moon and specialists have evidence and may proove it to the world.. On the other hand, NASA are not obliged to answer to these questions and I’m sure they will not argue with these people and they are right… otherwise this debate will never end and will put a huge doubt about the credibility of the USA. You know this year USA celebrate the 40 years man first walked on the moon so it was foreseen that these comments would come out now that the world is connected to internet. For my personal point of view, if man has really walked on the moon, they would have gone there again. And moreover the other big nations Russia, France, Uk, China, Japan have never projected to go on the moon despite there is nothing to do there. November 1, 2010 at 6:25 pm One word: Gyroscopes. We’ve had autopilot machines since the 1930s. They don’t require powerful computers to operate or computers at all if you have a good pilot. Please educate yourself instead of taking an uneducated conspiracy theorists word for it. I know its likely too much to ask of you but think logically about this: It would’ve taken much more effort to create a hoax that tens of thousands of scientists from many nationalities conspired together on. Even the US’ enemy at the time, Soviet Russia acknowledged the achievement. I understand that someone with little to no scientific background might see landing on the moon as being impossible but it’s not. A simple 100 level college course in physics could elucidate you to this fact. July 22, 2009 at 1:07 pm Another claim by the original poster that has been answered already and easily disproved by a simple search of a NASA photo archive: ||By contrast, the still photos were stunning. Yet that’s just the problem. The astronauts took thousands of pictures, each one perfectly exposed and sharply focused. **Not one** was badly composed or even blurred.|| Not one? http://pseudoastro.wordpress.com/2009/07/16/the-apollo-moon-hoax-all-the-photos-are-way-too-good/ I’ll pose a third question to the moon hoaxers, given the above, do you still believe this is a valid claim? Is so, why are the photos found at that link well composed? No one has answered my previous question about there should be stars in the photos, as claimed by the original poster. The claim has been answered. I’ll take it from this point that the moon hoax believers here accept that this is a false claim. If you don’t agree, please speak up. Additionally, there was a claim about dust and a blast crater. We should see dust on the lander foot pads, we should see a blast crater. Those claims are answered here: (I can’t seem to find my previous post on this topic and gather the mod didn’t approve it. I’ll try again.) To summarize the links. No dust: no atmosphere on the moon. Dust doesn’t billow. Goes straight up and down. It would have settled before the lander landed. No crater: The engine was throttled back before landing. The PSI from the engine are less than the PSI of a human foot print. The math is available in the links. As I noted in my unposted comment, there are certainly scientists within the Krishna fold who would be able and happy to review those figures, if you doubt them. Yes? So we have, by my count, three major claims with not only counter claims but claims answered by both math and by actual experimentation (again refer to my comments about Myth Busters). July 24, 2009 at 1:34 pm Hello Karl Please do not take any offense at what I am going to say as I am not saying it about you personally, but about the “believers” of the “Man on the Moon” in general. I do not discount the possibility that man may have walked on the moon. It may have happened. However, I have not seen sufficient evidence that convinces me of this so I do not “believe.” As it is there is no solid proof that man walked on the moon, certainly nothing is there except what has been given by NASA, and if NASA is covering up the fact that they could not actually put men on the moon then everything they provide could have been easily fabricated. And as far as I have considered the evidence and particularaly because my spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, considered it very unlikely that NASA put men on the moon, and that he has given many reasons from the Vedic scriptures that make such a moon walk seem very unlikely, my feeling at this point in time is the whole thing was a very elaborate hoax. Perhaps the greatest hoax ever. The points that you make have been made over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and again. I have heard them all before and remain unconvinced. Everything you say all rests on having faith in NASA, believing in NASA. You have that faith, I do not believe [in NASA]. This is why I wrote a posting a while ago calling the “man on the moon” belief a religious belief. Because you “believe” in NASA. That is proof for you. I do not “believe” in NASA so do not accept what NASA says as proof. The tendency is for everyone to cheat. The tendency is for someone to already believe in something and then to search for “proof” that supports his belief. You believe that man walked on the moon and you want to prove it. So you focus on the things that you feel you can prove and ignore the things that you can no prove. You go on and on about the stars. And it is quite obvious that there will be no stars in the sky if the sun is out and the camera is set to take pictures in the sunlight. This is obviously a fact and is a mistake in the original posting. However, astronauts walk around the moon and they make very clear footprints in the lunar surface. At least an inch or so deep. Maybe more. The lunar lander makes no impression whatsoever in the moon’s surface. This is obviously a mistake on the part of NASA. The lunar lander is much heavier than a man and must make at least as much of an impression in the lunar surface as a man makes. You do not address this point. You make other points which you think you can prove. All of these “explanations” that the lunar lander can land on the moon with retro rockets firing to slow its descent without making even the slightest impression in the dust on the surface of the moon is complete nonsense. There is no way a heavy object like that can land on sand without even slightly disturbing the sand and without the rockets making any impression whatsoever in the sand. That you think this is possible and that you give “scientific” proof for it is really outrageous and defies common sense completely. It is like STMan when, just to test his faith in the government, I asked him about the 757 airplane that was supposed to have flown into the Pentagon. I pointed out that the whole 757 plane somehow went inside an 8 foot diameter hole and then disappeared. A 757 can not fit through an 8 foot diameter hole. It has two very long wings and on those wings there are two huge engines. And a 757 plane is much bigger than 8 feet in diameter. But STMan, a true believer, believes the official story. That the plane, the passangers, the engines of the plane, the winges, the luggage and all the other junk that one would expect to see at a plane crash site “vaporized.” STMan believes that a 757 plane flew into the Pentagon and promptly “disappeared.” Because that is the official story… So your science is not science. It is a religious belief in NASA. My mind is open on this issue. If we can get real proof that man walked on the moon I will accept it. However, I do not have faith in NASA and consider the probability of them to be not telling the truth in relation to the Apollo moon walks to be very high. As I have said before the purpose of this thread is to investigate the possibility that NASA faked the “Man on the Moon” story. There are other websites who are trying to establish it as a fact that the NASA story is true. We need to give the people a chance to discuss these ideas. There is no point if every time someone posts something on this thread you and STMan and Clauvis all jump on him and try to “defeat” him. It defeats the purpose of the discussion. You do not consider anything I write or anyone else writes with an open mind. You have already decided that the “Man on the Moon” story is true by accepting NASA as your authority and only source of information on the matter. I do not consider NASA a reliable source of information on the man walking on the moon story as they have a vested interest in convincing people that the story is true. Their story may well be an elaborate collection of lies. So I am not convinced, I do not accept NASA’s “evidence” and want to provide a forum to discuss these points. So please forgive me but I am not going to post all your comments. It is the same thing over and over again and everything you say is meaningless if NASA is not telling the truth. Everything you say assumes NASA is telling the truth. And I do not accept this assumption. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa July 25, 2009 at 7:50 am Dear STMan, This is a very weak attempt. There is no proof whatsoever that an American Airlines 757 hit the Pentagon at all. There is also footage of men in suits scattering these very small plane pieces around the lawn after the plane hit which I am sure you are aware of. So of course many people saw plane parts. Many people also saw the men in suits scattering them around. With all due respect this shows you are not thinking. Even if we accept the hole is bigger than 8′ if the 757 went in the hole it should be inside? But it is not. There is nothing inside except some scattered junk, mostly coming from the building itself. What happened to the passengers bodies? What happened to their luggage, what happened to the plane? And even if the body of the plane went through the hole what about those huge engines that are supposedly still firing at full speed and which are providing all the forward thrust for the plane? And those engines are very strong and heavy. They are designed to withstand the heat of burning fuel in them for extended periods of time, like 24 hours or more. So even if the plane did disappear into the hole the wings would sheer off. Even if the wings themselves somehow “vaporized” and disappeared, there is no way in the world that two huge, heavy jet engines can vaporize. And the plane was supposed to be going like 600 miles per hour when it hit the building and the engines would have hit the building the hardest. But there is no mark on the building where the engines hit nor is there any wings or big engines or even pieces of anything that might resemble a 757 engine on the lawn. So this proves that you do not consider the obvious, which is there was no 757 there at the Pentagon. You are simply accepting the official story and trying to somehow think of outlandish explanations to “explain” the impossible “official story”. You can not believe that NASA would lie, nor can you believe that the US government would lie. Even though this is the most logical explanation of the evidence by far. The only picture on the website you refer us to that contains anything that resembles a part of a 757 is this: And you see it is a very small piece, look at the grass for the scale, it is not more than 18″ long! It is just a little crumpled, there is no indication of any heat damage at all. Where is the rest of the plane? You say the whole plane, passangers, wings, engine, luggage, etc, all vaporized but here we see a piece of the plane that has not got even the slightest hint of heat damage…. But the rest of the plane vaporized and simply disappeared???? It seems there are people who will believe anything at all, no matter how impossible it is, if the authorities say so. At least in this case your “explanations” are nonsensical and your “photo evidence” is nonexistent, yet you are claiming you have proved a 757 hit the Pentagon. Your proof that man walked on the moon is just as weak. Every single thing you present as “evidence” is given to us by NASA. If NASA is lying they are quite capable of fabricating these photos, videos, and moon rocks and the Astronauts obviously can only say what they are permitted to say by NASA. That is their job. So I will assert quite strongly that there is no evidence at all for the moon walks if you discount the so-called “evidence” from NASA. It seems to me there is a very good chance that the whole “Man on the Moon” story is nothing more than a fairy tale. Until we get some proof, which means if we actually went in the 60’s we should be able to go now. And we can’t go now. So that in itself is proof that we did not go in the 60’s. And obviously others should go. China, Russia, India, Japan… For the time being it remains a Fairy Tale to a very large percentage of the population. Madhudvisa dasa July 26, 2009 at 12:52 pm ||The points that you make have been made over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and again. I have heard them all before and remain unconvinced. Everything you say all rests on having faith in NASA, believing in NASA. You have that faith, I do not believe [in NASA].|| You’ve heard them but remain unconvinced why? We’ve demonstrated several times above the answers to the claims you made don’t rely on NASA. The TV show Myth Busters answered several. ||I do not consider NASA a reliable source of information on the man walking on the moon story as they have a vested interest in convincing people that the story is true. Their story may well be an elaborate collection of lies.|| Pilots have a vested interest in convincing you they know something about flying planes. Your car mechanic has a vested interest in convincing you he put your tires on correctly. I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make. I’ve asked a few times what has NASA done that leads you to believe you can’t trust the science coming out of NASA? ||However, astronauts walk around the moon and they make very clear footprints in the lunar surface. At least an inch or so deep. Maybe more. The lunar lander makes no impression whatsoever in the moon’s surface.|| Again, this was answered in a link provided and I quickly summarized it. The lander’s engines produce less pressure in the final assent than a human step. The math is right there on the page. If the math is beyond you, I’d ask you to find someone within the Krishna fold to pick it apart. Merely hand waving it away is poor scholarship. You keep claiming we’re not open minded but I keep reading your claims, answering them, and then asking you to explain why the claim is poor. So I can understand why you think the claim is poor. But the moon hoax side never has an answer. People simply return and repeat the original claim (“why haven’t we been back!” etc.) Who is not being open minded, exactly? July 26, 2009 at 3:27 pm Hello Karl I have made my points and you have made your points, or at least STMan has made them. There is nothing new to add. It is all there in the thread already and I have already said I am not going to post the same stuff over and over and over again. You don’t listen also. And you don’t see any discrepancies in NASA even though there are many. The Lunar lander is much heavier than a man, in fact it contains all the men and the equipment that were on the moon. We see the men walking around on the same moon dust that the lunar lander is standing on. They make footprints at least 1″ deep. The Luna Lander, however, makes no impression whatsoever. As I pointed out this is a mistake by NASA. The Luna lander must sink to at least the same amount as the men on the moon sink to produce their footprints. There are so many real inconsistencies in the NASA “evidence” but you are blind to them. Every piece of “evidence” we have comes from NASA or the employees of NASA. If they wanted to fake it they could have. That is my point. I am not saying absolutely that the did fake it. But from my analysis of the “evidence” and from the information I have from other sources I feel the most likely think is NASA faked it. The only real “evidence” that I have ever come across that can be independently tested is the Luna Lazer Ranging experiment. But after further investigation into it that is not very strong evidence. At least one of the reflectors was put on the moon by an unmanned probe. So even if the reflectors are there they could have been put there by unmanned probes. But the actual experiment is also quite far-feched and unlikely. On their figures the lazer is expanded to 2 miles wide when what is left of it gets to the moon. So you only have a 1 foot square reflector… 2 square miles is an area of 111,513,600 square feet. So of the tiny amount of light from the lazer that hits the moon after travelling 1/4 of a million miles only .0000000000089 percent of it will hit the reflector. Now that is not much light! And it will not all be reflected of course, the reflectors are probably quite dusty now even if they are there… The real killer, however is the return journey. Even on their figures they extimate that what is left of the reflection from that 1 foot square reflector will spread out to over 16 miles in diamater by the time it reaches the earth. And the main telescope they use for this experiment in Texas only has a 1.5′ diamater mirror. So even if we say the telescope can scrape up light from 3 square feet, the reflection of the lazer from the reflector on the moon is now 16 miles wide! That is roughly about 7 billion square feet! So what a tiny percentage of the tiny amount of light can possibly hit the 3 foot square telescope our of the reflection that spreads over 7 billion square feet! It is something like .000000000004 percent. So the bottom line, is this experiment is practically impossible. And if they are actually getting a reflection at all, which they may be, it is not coming from the 1 foot square reflector. It is coming from the moon itself! The moon itself will reflect the lazer, on the whole 112 million square feet. The tiny reflection from the mirror that is only 1 square foot in size is completely insignificiant in comparison to a reflection coming from the 112 million square feet of the Moon’s surface. The moon is a very good reflector. Just look at it on a full moon night. How bright and shiny it is… So the bottom line is that the only “proof” that can be tested outside NASA, the LLR expiriement, is so weak that it does not in any way prove that there are reflectors installed on the moon at all. There is no other proof at all except by accepting that everything NASA says is true. That is what you do. And your “proof” that man walked on the moon boils down to “NASA says they walked on the moon and the astranouts say they walked on the moon and I believe them!” That is not proof, that is FAITH. Madhudvisa dasa July 26, 2009 at 5:36 pm Hare Krishna Madhudvisa: May the Lord Krishna grant you His blessings particularly due the tolerance whith these 2 guys who come to say: “We put the cards on the table and we say the rules of the game.” What Is this a dictatorship? We can spend the rest of our lives arguing about uncertain scientific questions and never reach a real conclusion. One of they said that he is not american and is he is not defending the government, but now when he is lost he dropped over the Pentagon. Where is human integrity? They were asking one evidence, and I gave them the strongest evidence that has been given based on the common sense of human rationality, but these guys ignore it and continue the question of science. What I would like to say to these guys if they are whithout job, the best work they can do is to read the books of Srila Prabhupada, chant the Maha Mantra Hare Krishna and stop eating meat because the meat covers the brain and the heart and becomes the people in two-legged animals, Dua Pada pasu. Srila Prabhupada Ki jay August 6, 2009 at 2:44 am “The Lunar lander is much heavier than a man, in fact it contains all the men and the equipment that were on the moon. We see the men walking around on the same moon dust that the lunar lander is standing on. They make footprints at least 1″ deep. The Luna Lander, however, makes no impression whatsoever. As I pointed out this is a mistake by NASA. The Luna lander must sink to at least the same amount as the men on the moon sink to produce their footprints.” The LM was heavier than a man, but that is not relevant. What is relevant is the pressure pr. square inch. As the area of the pads is much larger than the area of a man’s footprint, the lander does not sink to the same amount as the astronauts. Furthermore was most of the dust blown away directly under the LM. August 8, 2009 at 9:07 am You say, “the lander does not sink to the same amount as the astronauts.” Maybe, maybe not. But it must sink. That is my point and on the NASA pictures it does not sink at all. It is simply sitting on the sand, it does not even sink a few millimeters… The lunar lander contains all the astronauts, all the equipment and the weight must be at least 10 times the weight of one man. It must sink into the lunar sand quite significantly… You say the sand was blown away by the jets but if that was the case there would be sand on the landing pads. There is not a single gran of sand on the landing pads. That is another problem. If there was dust blown away there would be a cloud of dust and that dust would have settled on the landing pads. But there is no dust… It is simply a mistake that NASA made on their “moon set” and you have people trying to explain it because they desperately want to believe the “Man on the Moon” story is true. This story is full of so many contradictions that at least, according to my considered opinion, there is almost no possibility that men walked on the moon during the NASA Apollo missions. Theteacher August 8, 2009 at 11:02 pm I didn’t say, that the lander didn’t sink the same amount as the astronauts. You said that. What I did was to explain to you, why it didn’t. It’s simple mechanics. It’s a question of pressure pr. square inch. That’s why a needle will hurt you, but a thumb won’t – even when you press them against your skin with the same force. They simply don’t have the same area. The area of the pads where designed the way they were, because earlier experiences with the Surveyer probes had shown, what would be an apropriate design. Then you say: “…there would be sand on the landing pads. There is not a single gran of sand on the landing pads. That is another problem”. This is only a problem, if you expect to se “sand” on the landing pads. I don’t expect that, so to me it’s not a problem. If there had been sand on the landing pads, I would have wondered, how it got there, because in a vacuum it is impossible given the actual circumstances. Then you continue: “If there was dust blown away there would be a cloud of dust and that dust would have settled on the landing pads. But there is no dust.” But in a vacuum nothing gets blown away, and there are no clouds of dust – or clouds of anything else for that matter. In a vacuum all particles behave the same regardless of their size. That means, that dust particles fall to the ground at the same speed as stones and pebbles. The only dust, that is pushed away, is the dust hit directly by the exhaust, and when it moves freely, it follows a ballistic trajectory in axactly the same way as stones and pebbles would do. That is why there is no dust or “sand” on the pads, and it also explains, why there – despite the exhaust, which by the way was turned completely off 10 feet above the ground – still could be made footprints relatively close to the lander. Then you say: “This story is full of so many contradictions that at least, according to my considered opinion, there is almost no possibility that men walked on the moon during the NASA Apollo missions.” But 1: There are no contradictions to the educated scientist. There would have been contradictions, if photos and films showed up in the way, you seem to expect. Then there would be questions to ask. But as it is, no scientists see any contradictions, because the photos and films describe the events exactly in the way, the educated mind would expect. 2: This matter is not a question of “opinion”, because this is not a debate based on a difference in values. It is a matter of scientific fact. You have put forward a large array of questions, and several persons have provided thorough answers. This whole line of suspicious questions is not in the slightest way an issue in the scientific community worldwide because – as mentioned earlier – to the educated scientific mind there are no contradictions whatsoever. August 10, 2009 at 4:55 am You say that “There are no contradictions to the educated scientist,” and that is very true. Because an “educated scientist” knows very well that virtually all scientific research is funded either by the government or by large commercial interests. So an “educated scientist” is very careful not to offend the hand that feeds him. An “educated scientist” must accept the “official line.” If he does not he will not get his papers published and he will be sacked from his position and will not longer be accepted as a respected scientist. In the case of the moon mission the “educated scientists” must accept as a fact that man walked on the moon. They are not permitted to question this. If they question such a thing they will be rejected by the scientific community. So the job of any “educated scientist” is to take all this contradictory and inconsistient photographic evidence from the moon mission and concoct some theories to “prove” that yes, this is what we would expect to see on the moon… An “educated scientist” does not have the option of even considering the posibility that NASA faked the man on the moon story. To even consider this would be against the “religion” of the scientists. You and your “educated scientist” friends speak so much nonsense and make so many contradictory statements and claim “I am a scientist, I know what is right, believe me…” But this argument is really very weak. At this point we have no actual proof that man walked on the moon and a whole lot of contradictions in the photo and video evidence. This is more-or-less proof that there is something very fishy with the “man on the moon” story. Madhudvisa dasa July 21, 2009 at 9:32 am If we agree apollo was indeed landed on the moon, then how was it able to accurately lift off the moon and came back to earth. All we agree upon the gravity of moon is 1/6 of the earth. Then indeed we need to have thrust of 1/6 of the earth to lift off from the moon, and then the vertical travel path. Today’s world rocket launching is so sophisticated and highly complex and simple do not agree that we have a technology to lift off from a remote place like moon with 17ton machine and crew members July 22, 2009 at 6:04 am Only the ascent stage lifted off from the moon, so it was even lighter (in 1/6 gravity). Because they had done the calculations, they new exactly when to lift off from the surface in order to rendezvous with the command module that was in orbit around the moon. NASA also gave them the correct time to fire the command module’s engine in order to escape the moons gravity and head back to earth. NASA tracked them on the way and gave them the necessary info to do minor course corrections in order to hit the atmosphere at the correct angle for a proper re-entry. A few years earlier two Gemini space capsule’s were launched at different times, and met up in low earth orbit, in order to prove that it could be done, for the later moon missions. Look how complex the space shuttle is, and it first flew in 1981, only 9 years after the last moon landing. July 22, 2009 at 4:46 am Dear William You have no idea what you are taking about at all!! This is another fairy story. Even NASA with the best equipment can not reliably get returns from the so-called reflectors on the moon. I have written about this before. I have sat with lab technicians who perform this experiment in Texas and they can go for days or weeks without getting any significant returns at all and the returns are so low that they may also be caused by something other than reflectors on the moon. If they find a photon of light somewhere near the wavelength of the lazer in the telescope at precisely the moment they expect to get a reflection from the moon they assume it is from the apparent reflectors on the moon. But it may not be. It could be just a reflection from the moon. It could be light from any source. They are firing light at the moon which we all know is a reflector. By the time it gets to the moon it spreads out over 2 square miles. If they get a reflection at all they assume it is coming for a one foot square reflector supposedly put up there by us. But the whole moon for 2 square miles will be reflecting the lazer light back. And there will be spots on the moon that are more reflective than others. So even if there were no reflectors you may be able fire a lazer at the moon and find spots where you could get a reflection back. So if you fire a lazer at the moon and get a reflection back this is not proof that there are one foot square reflectors on the moon…. The moon is a reflector… This is from their own website: The pointing challenge To concentrate as much laser power as possible onto the reflector array, we must ensure that the beam leaving the telescope is as collimated (parallel, non-diverging) as possible. We use a laser both because we can get ultra-short pulses of light from a laser, and also because the light from a laser is extraordinarily directional—not diverging the way a flashlight, or even searchlight, would. Even so, the turbulent atmosphere distorts the beam, imparting a divergence of about one arcsecond (sometimes more). One arcsecond is 1/3600th of a degree, or the angular size of a quarter about five kilometers (about 3 miles) away. At the distance of the moon, this angle translates to 1.8 kilometers (just over a mile). Though this is large compared to the size of the reflector (most of the light is wasted—never hitting the reflector), it is still a challenge to point and maintain the laser beam on this tiny patch of the moon. As the above schematic illustrates, the beam we send to the moon diverges (much exaggerated) due to the earth’s atmosphere. Only about one part in 30 million of the light we send to the moon is lucky enough to actually strike the targeted reflector. But the reflector is composed of small corner cubes, and for reasons related to the uncertainty principle in quantum mechanics, the light returning from each of these small apertures is forced to have a divergence (called diffraction). In the case of the Apollo reflectors, this divergence is in the neighborhood of 8 arcseconds. This means that the beam returning to the earth has a roughly 15 kilometer (10 mile) footprint when it returns to the earth. We scrape up as much of this as our telescope will allow, but a 3.5 meter aperture will only get about one in 30 million of the returning photons—coincidentally the same odds of hitting the reflector in the first place. Staggering Odds Imagine you won the super-jackpot multi-state lottery against 30-million-to-one odds. You’d be pretty happy—elated, even. Now imagine someone told you that there was only a one in 30 million chance that the money would find its way to your bank account! This is the situation we face. Only those photons (“particles” of light) that make it back to our telescope are worth anything to us: these are what we need to complete the measurement. Money in the bank. Pretty staggering, those odds. Combining the two, there is a one in a quadrillion chance that a photon will strike the reflector and return to the telescope to tell the tale. Luckily, we buy 300 quadrillion lottery tickets (photons) with each and every laser pulse. Other losses play a role in addition to the divergence losses, so in the end, we expect a few (1–5) detected return photons per pulse. But at 20 pulses per second, the photons add up fast. What’s so hard about it all? Lots of things have to be working just right to get photons back from the lunar reflectors. The laser beam has to be very well collimated. The laser beam must be pointing precisely at the reflector—which cannot be seen directly, so it’s a blind pointing. The detector must also be looking at the exact spot on the moon corresponding to the reflector. This is independent from the laser pointing, so not guaranteed to be bang-on even if the laser is. Now the moon (when illuminated) is very bright. And we’re looking for a mere few photons from the reflector. But we know the wavelength of the laser, and can let only that color light into the detector. We also know where on the moon the light is coming from, so we can reject all moonlight except for that right around the reflector. And most importantly, we know when to expect the laser pulse to return, to few-nanosecond precision, typically. So we only turn on our detector for 100 nanoseconds (100 billionths of a second) around the expected time. We can schedule this to nanosecond precision. We have about 50 shots on the way to or from the moon at any time, so we have a “schedule book” telling our equipment when to open up the detector. Imagine trying to keep your personal calendar commitments to nanosecond precision! March 3, 2012 at 3:37 pm That is true but… The reflector is only one foot square and the light from the lazer is hitting an area on the moon spreading out over at least 10 miles. So if you try and use your brain instead of just listening to the drivel from NASA and imagine if you have light reflecting from an area of say 10 miles across and you have a one square foot reflector somewhere in there then what difference is it going to make? You have to use some common sense here if you have it. And add to this that reflectors are not necessary for doing this lazer ranging. They do it with satellites that have no reflectors. They just point the lazer at satellites that are not particularly reflective and are quite small [of course much closer than the moon] and they get returns from the satellites… So it is better to use your brain rather than just being a mouthpiece for the NASA propaganda. Karl, Hare Krishna. Your question is very good and I think you are a genuine seeker. ||If Fox TV had a special that said Srila Prabhupada’s life’s work was a hoax, the reaction would be… what exactly? || If you find that your master is a hoax, then abandon him, denounce him and seek a genuine and authorized master. There is certainly a difference between the two classes of seekers of the truth. Empirical science is a fraud to discover the truth, because this science is based on relative truths and the highest scientific conclusions will always be another relative truth. So whenever a new theory emerges that displaces the old. Empirical science leads us to conclusions not based on common sense, are always hanging on like monkeys, and when this thing fails, the science falls. As humans we need rational answers. For example “StMan” who claims to be a fanatic (religion without philosophy) of science, based his entire belief in the formula “1 square seg.” Indeed it is irrational; because we know that the square time doesn’t exist in this dimension. So as there is not “1 at square” in math because 1×1=1. In conclusion, 1 sec. squared = 1 sec. That is a nonsense, which does not mean anything. In mathematics there is no square root either because 0.33 x 0.33 = 0.99 is not one. So the fundamental math’s unit is imperfect, making mathematics useless as a tool to know the truth. Sócrates said that God speaks through mathematics, mathematics depends on God, but God does not depend on mathematics. The science can’t deny the existence of God. And for science is impossible to prove the existence of God mathematically. The existence of the relative truth is the proof of the existence of God, the embodiment of the supreme the absolute truth. When science discovers the personality of God, then we can believe in science. “Persons addicted to hypothetical truth, should distinguish the ocean of All truths. These are the absolute truths of spiritual science and not the conclusion of imaginary speculation under the thralldom of the deluding energy of Godhead.” (Bhaktisiddhanta) “The materialistic demeanor cannot possibly stretch to the transcendental autocrat who is ever inviting the fallen conditioned souls to associate with Him through devotion or eternal serving mood.” (Bhaktisiddhanta) “Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” Bhagavad Gita 4.34 “Although only his own interest is the centre of their lives, the whole world suffers from four kinds of defects such as: “1. Make mistakes, 2. are in illusion, 3. has imperfect senses. 4. Have the tendency to deceive.” (Veda) The truth that has been revealed by the scriptures is free from contaminations. But the realizations of the seekers of the knowledge of these realities are with or without fault in accordance with the degree of their individual realization. This human form of life is an opportunity to inquire about the Supreme true. You are invited to continue inquiring. If you get an ideology better than this, please let me know. Sadhu Sanga ki yai July 22, 2009 at 7:10 am I am only commenting on this one because, you used me as an example in this quote: “For example “StMan” who claims to be a fanatic (religion without philosophy) of science, based his entire belief in the formula “1 square seg.” Indeed it is irrational; because we know that the square time doesn’t exist in this dimension. So as there is not “1 at square” in math because 1×1=1. In conclusion, 1 sec. squared = 1 sec. That is a nonsense, which does not mean anything. In mathematics there is no square root either because 0.33 x 0.33 = 0.99 is not one. So the fundamental math’s unit is imperfect, making mathematics useless as a tool to know the truth.” I have never claimed to ba a fanatic of science (as you say). However, I do use it along with mathematics when necessary, to answer scientific questions, on this site relating to the moon landings. I believe the formula that you were quoting is the one relating to acceleration due to gravity. Yes, after 1 sec., you square 1, and get one. Meaning an object after one second of free fall on earth (in a vacuum) would be moving 9.8 metres per second. Hardly nonsense as you say. Also the square root of 1 is not .33, it is actually .3333 with an infinite number of 3’s. Believe it or not if we square that number it does in deed come out to one. If we can’t comprehend infinity, then I guess, it wouldn’t make any sense (therefore nonsens). So without getting too deep into your religious debate, I don’t see why any person who is religious, has to distance themselves from any truth, even if it comes from science. After all the computer that you are using, only came to being because of math and science, and the people who made the necessary discoveries, relating to those. July 20, 2009 at 5:41 am Man never walked on the moon, there is too much evidence against the landing to have happened, i have not studied the thing but have just taken in whaat other people have concluded from studying. All disbelievers have the same obvious conclusions such as photography and camera work, but the people who believe that man stepped on the moon seem to contridict themselves, one person will say theres dust, then the other will say theres not supposed to be dust, lets just face it, its sand. Ever since the day they ‘set foot on the moon’ people have said its bull, why is there is so much questioning of wether it actually happened could the US not have sent another to the moon, they just dont want to look like idiots when it all goes wrong with an extra 40 years of experience and technology, lets all be honest, it never happened, catch a grip. . . Neil armstrong also told the people that the mood was infact made of cheese. .. idiot. Let me rephrase myself… your governmentS! gaurasundar das July 22, 2009 at 11:22 pm I was a school boy in the days before the supposed trip to the moon, when suddenly radio, newspapers and television had a huge worldwide publicity about the greatest event in human history: “The trip to the moon.” In the mouth of the whole world were the most currents information on this unusual event. In schools for pupils of all levels the homework was the same, “The trip to the moon.” All the walls of the classrooms were filled with graphics and scale models of rockets, lunar module, that were like a brainwashing and as child one could not be more than marvelous the great unity of thought around a single matter. When finally, after too much waiting: “The lunar landing.” And just at midnight! Nobody could let pass the good fortune to see that. The whole world was praying and begging “God please, protect the astronauts, watch each of theirs steps and bring them back safely.” The excitement knew no limits. At last the moon landing: And the famous sentence: “A small step for man but a giant leap for mankind.” Nothing more cold! And everything went as it was set to lines, anything wonderful or extraordinary astronauts grabbed lunar samples, they did what has do and goodbye, everything went perfect. After that, the faces of people were disappointed as the people when they see a bad movie and say, “Give me my money back.” We have seen others odysseys as when a few simple adventurers reach Mount Everest, the major manifestations of human emotions, tears, hugs, rolling on the floor, ecstasy. In contrast to the lunar odyssey travel, everything seemed a robotic. I believe that as much as scientists or astronauts however may be great warriors; in the bottom of theirs chest should have a little heart, and when he stepped on the moon should said “Oh my God I can not believe this is beyond ofdescription, I feel my mind turning, I’ want to kiss the floor, my parents who are there down on earth, I want you know that I love you! I dedicate this trip to all the children of the world, to my girlfriend a hug, I feel a knob in my throat, please forgive me, I can´t talk. Thanks to all my comrades, forgive me my offenses, oh please but I can not control! July 20, 2009 at 2:12 am 16) there is no crater because the fine dust is only 6 inches at most in depth there below that there is hard packed soil. also the lander didnt need to fire its thrusters that hard because it slowly descended to the moon because of the low gravity. it didnt need to suddenly fire its thrusters hard and make a rapid stop. Kinda have to disagree with you there bro. Granted, the moon is about 1/6th of the gravity of earth, 1/6th of 32399 lbs is still more than 5000 lbs. Dunno how much physics you know, but there’d be a heck of a lot of thrust to not only slow it down but to do so in a manner that is in any stretch of the imagination “gradual”. At this stage of the debate, I’m at the stage almost everyone else is. Going by after the fact events and having to rely on (because I mostly dont care) what each side “says”. No real interest either way, just find most of it mildly amusing. July 20, 2009 at 7:49 am I believe you are quoting the lunar module’s weight when fully loaded with fuel. Since most of the fuel was consumed before touchdown, the LM weight would be much less, (maybe close to half) and so would be the thrust necessary for the final seconds of decent. One other point, is that since they are in a vacuum, the exhaust from the engine spreads out more. Finally the engine bell on the descent stage has a diameter of 5 feet, meaning the thrust is spread over aproximately 2800 square inches. Which will end up being around one pound per square inch of thrust on the surface. So just how big a crater do you want? July 20, 2009 at 1:55 am Gravity works the same on every object, so if you drop a 15 pound bowling ball and a 200 pound man from a tall building or an airplane 5,000 feet in the air at the same time on earth, both will hit the ground at the same time Technically, thats inaccurate. Drag between a man and a bowling ball is different, so there would be a difference between the rate of descent in an atmosphere. You’re correct in the other tho, a 20lb ball and a feather will fall at the same rate in a vaccum (which, i think, is the point you were trying to make). As for duplicating the footage and whatnot, based soley on what I’ve read here, Loh http://www.aulis.com/jackstudies_5.html The 1st picture reads “Something is out of scale here!”. The insert at the left shows Aldrin standing near the flag, ths smaller insert in the middle shows him standing near the solar wind experiment, and implies that they are miniatures, because they are not the same size. If the solar wind experiment is further away when the shot was taken and therefore so was “Buzz Aldrin”, it is obvious to me (and probably most people) that he should appear smaller on that photo. The Next photo says “Light from all sides”. The blue arrows are where he believes that the light from the source is coming from. This would only be true if the sun was right on the horizon (at sun set or sun rise). The light is actually coming from a much higher angle. The long narrow shadow to the right of the astronauts shadow, is from an object out of the picture. If you stand between the two rails on a rail road track (which are of course parallel) and take a photo looking straight ahead, the rails will not look parallel on the photo, this is the same effect here. The rails would only look parallel if you were above them looking straight down. Also a shadow of an object such as a flag pole, will cast a shadow at a different angle if it is leaning to the left or right, vs, if it is perfectly vertical. The purple arrow point to center of the photo, and implies that the shadow should be there. This would only be true if the sun was straight behind the astronaut in order to cast the shadow to that point on the surface. If the astronaut would have aimed the camera, far enough to the left this would have happened. The next set of pictures says “Two different views” The picture of AS11-37-5458, is being displayed backwards (like a mirror image) in order to make it look like the thruster is the same one as in the other photo. Is this an honest mistake, or an intentional act by the web site to deceive people into believing their theory? If they discover this error (and they are honest) they should delete it, but what if it’s in their video or book? What then? This proves that more research should be done before on their part before making these claims. Would you not agree? Their web site is filled with many more photos, and their so called “analysis”, most of which it seems, shows their lack of understanding of perspective and lighting in photography. Shouldn’t we ask for more than this if we are going to overturn history, and say that no one has ever gone to the moon. July 19, 2009 at 1:54 pm There was a black and white video camera in the instrument bay, which deployed when he pulled on a D-ring. It only showed his upper body. There was also a color 16mm film camera which was aimed out the window looking down on him. Before Aldrin came out he set the 16mm film camera to shoot a only one frame per second to make it last longer. Armstrong later moved the b&W video camera to a tripod, so that people back on earth could watch the E.V.A.. As for the liftoff, there was a color video camere on the lunar rover, which transmitted back to earth. On apollo 15 the camera didn’t move, so we only see the ascent stage until it moves out of the picture. On apollo 16 they remotely tracked it, but lost it quickly. The best liftoff video, is from apollo 17. I just saw an interview in a documentary, with Ed Fendell, the man who remotely controlled the camera, and he said that they had calculated when to move the camera ahead of time. So rather than watching the delayed video from the moon, he was looking at a piece of paper with the tracking info on it, which told him when and how fast to pan the camera upwards. July 20, 2009 at 1:49 am First step is easy. The equipment bay that stored the TV camera was to the left of the ladder. When the bay is deployed the camera points at the ladder. Probably not a coincedence. In this photo you can see the small round black lens area of the camera pointing right at the ladder: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ApolloTVCameraOnLunarModule.jpg For the Apollo 16 liftoff the camera pan was controlled from mission control. There’s a scene in “From the Earth to the Moon” miniseries where the technician controlling it is listening to the countdown and starts the pan a little less than 3 seconds before the countdown hits zero to account for the transmission time from the moon to Earth and back. July 18, 2009 at 10:27 pm Ok sorry one more, I just read gaurasundar das’s last post and had to comment. Gravity works the same on every object, so if you drop a 15 pound bowling ball and a 200 pound man from a tall building or an airplane 5,000 feet in the air at the same time on earth, both will hit the ground at the same time. Same is true if you do it on the moon, only it isn’t as fast as on earth, less gravity. But wait if you drop a feather and a bowling ball on earth the bowling ball will hit first, why? because the feather catches air. what is the moon lacking? air. So since air or wind is not in affect on the moon the things that normaly catch air and can hang around for a longer period time such as dust (drive on a dirt road in dry conditions it gets dusty from the air holding particles up), or a feather do not hang around as long and fall straight to the surface of the moon. I’m sorry if this is hard to understand I am horrible at explaining things I guess an easier way to look at it is on earth air resistence makes dust fall slower but doesn’t slow down heavy things as much, but on the moon their is no air resistence so only gravity is affecting the objects so since the moon is smaller (has less of a gravitational force) a man will fall slower but dust will fall faster. does that make sence? July 18, 2009 at 10:12 pm I read over half of the way down and it got very repetitive. STMan does not only use NASA’s point of view as evidence he takes other countries points of view and other people’s points of view of NASA’s evidence (pictures, video, moon rocks etc) If I were to create a fake picture of a UFO and NASA said it was real STMan would not automatically say it was real. Scientists all over the world would have to look and study it to make sure it isn’t photoshoped. madhudvisa-dasa, you said yourself “But how do you know that what NASA is showing you is a photo of the earth from the moon? I can make a model of the earth and set up some clouds about it and organize the lighting and take a photo. And you can not tell if that is taken from the moon or taken by me in my studio of my model of the moon.” If you can do this while using technology only used in the 1960’s and make it look as real as NASA’s, then I will believe you. My guess is you can’t. and since the technology is from the 60’s it won’t be expensive to fake if its just models, my ipod has more memory than an entire room sized computer had in the 1960’s. One last thing, everyone is talking about how easy it would be for NASA to just build another and go again right now. I guess you haven’t been paying attention but NASA’s budget has been cut hardcore since the 60’s. look up NASA budget on google in 1966 NASA recieved 5.5% of the federal budget. For 2010 they have a proposed budget of 0.52%, that is a HUGE amount of money. They no longer have the budget to take on such large endevors so quickly. July 19, 2009 at 1:02 pm ||If you can do this while using technology only used in the 1960’s and make it look as real as NASA’s, then I will believe you. My guess is you can’t. and since the technology is from the 60’s it won’t be expensive to fake if its just models, my ipod has more memory than an entire room sized computer had in the 1960’s.|| Indeed. You reinforce my point that moon hoax proponents are not actually EVER answering the explanations offered. Moon Hoax: We should see stars in the photos. NASA stooge paid off by the space lizards: No. Because when you’re exposing for a bright foreground object like a moon surface reflecting naked sun light, you can’t capture the tiny light of stars using a camera’s exposure time. Wait 1 month. Moon Hoax: But we should see stars! *face palm* You have to now tackle the counter claim. Why are STman’s counter claims poor explanations for why the various anomalies are not anomalies but can be reasonably explained? STman explains. The moon hoax believers simply then shift to some new chestnut. As you noted McG, a very powerful counter is to set up conditions and demonstrate that the anomalies are truly anomalies and can’t be explained by the hypothesis man really landed on the moon and two guys walked around on the moons surface. China wants to be the first nation to walk on the moon, not the second. If the evidence is so good, China with all its scientific resources could blow the “myth” out of the water. It’s only three days to the moon with a space probe. It could easily assemble a team of international scientists of firm believers in NASA’s “story” to oversee a Chinese overflight of the apollo 11 site and image the site. These scientists would be compelled to accept photos showing no landing site. China could then claim to be the first to walk on the moon in the coming decade. Hmmmm. China does not do this because NASA’s claim is beyond scientific dispute. Or maybe they’re part of the conspiracy too! The TV show Myth Busters, I will point out again, tested what the moon hoaxers should be doing for themselves instead of following around old men into airport washrooms with a bible and trying to get them to swear on the bible. Much of the footage is available on youtube. They tested the claims and counter claims. They found the counter claims by, you know, actual scientists like Phil Plait to be supported by the experiment. Moon hoax believers NEVER do this. Why? The writer of the original blog’s claims have been debunked for a decade. The debunkings are easily and freely available on the internet a short google away. No one has ever explained why he did not practice good scholarship and researched the actual counters to these claims and then offered detailed explanations why the counter claims do no violence to the moon hoax position. This would have been a much stronger post. Good scholarship demands you not only marshal evidence for your position but anticipate all extant decade old objections and then crush those objections. Real scientists do this. If they didn’t they’d be laughed out of their jobs. Does anybody still believe we should see stars in the photos taken on the moon? Given the counter claim is exposure time, can you offer a scientific explanation why cameras of that era should be able to expose both a bright foreground and dim starlight? July 18, 2009 at 9:41 pm LISTEN, the landings were real and here is why. ill make a few rational points. 1) the heat argument. on the moon since there is no air, there is no heat transfer. the only way for things to get hot is thermal radiation, direct sunlight contact. spacesuits were white to reflect the suns rays. so they didn’t burn up. 2) the dust. there is no air on the moon. so there is no air resistance for the dust and it falls back immediately. the dust wont float around unless there is no gravity at all. 3) the shadows. since we have established that the moons surface is really reflective, it reflected onto the landers and reflected back to the ground making the shadows appear that way in pictures. 4) reason we havent been back to the moon is that its not practical and because of budget cuts. we are developing technology now to go back. the reason its taking so long is because we are not going to use apollo era tech. were making new stuff to use and to learn how to live on the moon for longer periods of time so we can go to mars. 5)the hubble telescope is designed to take pictures of things very far away. the resolution on it wont allow it to take pictures of things so up close such as the moon and the equipment on it. its to powerful. try putting your hand right in front of a powerful telescope, can you adjust it to see your hand well? probably not. 6) who are you going to believe, a few conspiracy theorists with no proof, or thousands of scientists. think about it, you are basing your beliefs on a few people, but not believing the facts from alot of scientists and even the russians. 7) you cant bounce back a laser from the moons surface since it will scatter from all the dust. its not a smooth surface. 8) the moon cameras. the video cameras were only allowed to draw a small amount of amps so they ran at only 10 frames per second and had bad resolution. there was not much power available to the moon lander. also the film was protected from radiation by shielding. 9) the astronauts flew quickly through the van allen belt so there was not much exposure to radiation. 10) you cant see the stars because they don’t give off enough light for them to be picked up on the film. its not hard to comprehend. and also because of the light reflected off the ground obscured the stars. like in a bright city. 11) USSR didnt go to the moon because they were beat to it and couldn’t afford it. remember they went bankrupt. like i said before, the reason its taking us so long to get back is because we haven’t needed to go back until lately and we are bringing new tech in order to stay on the moon for a week or longer at a time with crew capsules 3 times the size of Apollo landers. 12) i am 25 and i believe my generation is a bunch of idiots and only believe what they want to hear not what the evidence tells us. im pissed that people cant appreciate human ingenuity and think NASA would fake a landing. we got there so fast to beat the soviets. technology was increased very fast in order to do that. in world war two the same thing happened. technology was advanced very quickly because of the war. it pushed people to the limits because they had a need to do it fast. 13) if you believe that its all a hoax then you think the government blew up the twin towers to?? you all must be really bored and have alot of time on your hands. you cant fake a lunar rover in low gravity on video, especially in the 60’s. or people walking in low gravity. maybe on a space ship. but can you drive a rover on a space ship?? 14) yes the odds were against the astronauts. they almost didnt make it. they almost aborted the landing twice but they did it. it was almost impossible but so was making the pyramids even though engineers say now that it was impossible with the technology that was available to the Egyptians then. keep an open mind. 15) The radiation is actually evidence that the astronauts went to the Moon. Irene Schneider reports that thirty-three of the thirty-six Apollo astronauts involved in the nine Apollo missions to leave Earth orbit have developed early stage cataracts that have been shown to be caused by radiation exposure to cosmic rays during their trip. 16) there is no crater because the fine dust is only 6 inches at most in depth there below that there is hard packed soil. also the lander didnt need to fire its thrusters that hard because it slowly descended to the moon because of the low gravity. it didnt need to suddenly fire its thrusters hard and make a rapid stop. if i have any other points to make i will post them. like i said keep an open mind. if your mind is open to the hoax theory then you can consider that we actually went to the moon. we did build a atomic bomb in the 1940’s. i think splitting the atom and creating that much power is more unbelievable then landing on the moon. same with the pyramids and all the other human achievements due to our ingenuity. peace out. July 20, 2009 at 7:55 am Nice explanations Branden, but you STILL failed to answer the most important questions ( just like a politician ) the photo’s the photo’s the photo’s !!, are just too good AND… WHO shot the footage of the 2 astronauts OUTSIDE the luner lander as they stepped off the ladder, the camera was a bout 30ft away too far to be attached to the lander… or did one of them run with it, set it up, and then run back, and THNE pretend it was their first time stepping on the moon… ok maybe there was a little robot droid that was controlled from the lander that went out there first, set up the camera and started shooting…..even so…wheres the foorage of the droid going out there…oh but of course, the age old excuse, you lost the footage, someone accidentally destroyed it, the same that happens to EVERYTHING else once people start to question its originality July 18, 2009 at 4:58 pm “Well, if the slightly dust on the moon fall faster due to the vacuum of the atmosphere, then how faster should the astronauts fall when they jump and run, why then they fall slow motion?” I’m no scientist, but I think they fall at the same speed, if the dust goes up high for say 60 meters, the dust would still fall on the moon in less than a minute, so no dust cloud will form for days. As for the astronauts falling slow motion, I think because they did not jump so high, probably they could not bend their knees to jump high, probably using just the force of their foot to “hop” around, hence, they would fall to the surface of the moon at the same speed as the dust would fall back. Well, just my theory though, I don’t have time to research 🙂 July 13, 2009 at 5:02 am My answer is simply consistent with scientific fact, it would be true even if they didn’t go to the moon before, but went in the future. The dust would fall back to the surface then, even if it wasn’t NASA who went there in the future. To confirm my answer you can look at this web site and read this quote, when asked “How Fast Do Things Fall?” 9.81 meters per second squared When objects fall on Earth, they accelerate at 9.8 meters per second per second — or 9.81 meters per second squared (m/s2 or ms-2) — which is known as the acceleration due to gravity. The mass (or weight) of the object does not affect the rate of acceleration; all objects accelerate downward at the same rate. exept for certain objects that have a higher air resistance and lower mass E.g. polystyrene and feathers (unless it is in a vacuum- look below) The above is true for objects falling in a vacuum, which is rarely the case on Earth, where air resistance works against the object and prevents it from picking up more speed. On the moon, which has no atmosphere and is a virtual vacuum, objects accelerate much more slowly than on Earth — only 1.6 m/s2 — but achieve much greater velocities in free-fall because there is no air resistance. End of quote from this web site. July 13, 2009 at 6:15 pm STMan (Maybe, Stret Man or maybe, Is The Mandking)? Well, if the slightly dust on the moon fall faster due to the vacuum of the atmosphere, then how faster should the astronauts fall when they jump and run, why then they fall slow motion? First of all, remember that the moon is the 5% of the size of the earth. Where on earth a man weighs 200 pounds on the moon weighs only 30 pounds as much , and if he is be free of the weight of the atmosphere pressure of 1 ton, if this man jump on the moon I assume this man goes very high. You say he will fall rapidly. You says “fairly quickly” It seems to me some thing like a fairy tale, we have to believe that becouse is a dogma of faith. Or we dont have the inteligence to understand it. Can we imagine what the weight of dust on the moon is? The dust will fall rapidly whith a magnetic moon and a metallic dust. Remember that we are fighting aganinst a conspiracy and the great powers of the world are behind it. This is the eternal war of good versus evil. It’s very strange that a simple Stret man is so fervent fan of NASA, and coincidentally use this particular name and not another alias. These kinds of behavior are not of an ordinary common man. Another thing when the NASA says that in the moon is about 200 degress of temperature every body understand “Of the atmosphere” bot you answers by the NASA and defends they and says: “Not they reffers to the foor of the moon.” Why the NASA never sayd “the temperature of the floor.”? Hare Krishna July 12, 2009 at 6:17 am True, the moon only has about 1/6th the gravity of earth (1/6th g). When things fall on earth (at 1g) they will accelerate at a much higher rate, but the air resistance will limit the speed. Due to the density of the air, small dust particles can stay suspended for long periods of time. On the moon, even though the gravity is much lower, there is no atmosphere for even the smallest dust particles to stay susspended, and so they therefore, fall back to the surface fairly quickly (accelerating at 1/6th g). After the LM engine is turned off, the dust that was forced high above the surface, will only take a few seconds to fall back in the near vacuum. Therefore no long lasting dust cloud. July 11, 2009 at 1:38 pm madhudvisa-dasa let me ask you this. 18 men have gone to the moon in successful landings. All 18 of these men have the same story. Most are professed god believers, christians. Ed Mitchell who believes in a government UFO cover up (and has gone against what some would label “The big science conspiracy” many times) himself still claims to have walked on the moon. Now, either these 18 christians are all liars or they’re telling the truth. Do you have good reason to believe all 18 are liars? And not just liars, I mean huge liars. Lies that are going to win them a horrible place in their hell. I mean how many people died in shuttle accidents (plus plane crashes) pursuing a dream they kicked off. I would hope there is a very special place in hell for such liars. That you discount their testimony, to me, seems to imply you’ve judged their moral character. So yes or no, are they telling the truth or are they all the worst possible liars? You earlier suggested science requires repeatability. I’m glad you’re concerned about the method and forms of science. In science, you take a scientist’s word for it unless you have good evidence that he’s fudged data in the past. For example, that Korean clone scientist Wang Woo Suk will never publish in a legit journal again because he was found to falsify data. In science, we would take Mitchel (et al) and NASA at face value. When 18 scientists all report the exact same findings, in science, you take the position the claim is more likely than unlikely. You’re free to wave your hands but you’re no longer doing good science. There is, in science, a thing called peer review. Scientist assume your data are true but then hammer your without mercy on your interpretation. They demand you eliminate all other possibilities. If you’ve not done that, your claims are not accepted. For example, you claimed that laser ranging is rigged and returns could possibly be coming from a crater or another light source. You assume, however, peer review has not demanded scientist eliminate the possibilities you mentioned. Another example: Two scientists turning on their radio telescope kept getting a strange signal no matter where they turned their scope. Before claiming this was indeed cosmic background radiation (a claim that would and did win them a nobel prize), they did everything they could to eliminate other possibilities, right down to cleaning bird poop out of their scope. ||As I have said the “proof” of man walking on the moon comes only from one source, NASA. || Again, that claim has been answered. Review Stman’s final comments at a minimum: [So, once again: There is proof: The astronauts, who’s stories have remained consistent for 40 years. The photos, video, movie film, the rocks, dust (tested by geologists around the world), and the people inside and outside of NASA who tracked the missions (including the Soviets). And yes, even to retro reflectors.] You repeat the pattern as the original poster: claims that have been answered are ignored. Why, for example, should a Chinese geologist lie? You claimed moon rocks were similar to earth rocks, but I point out again a cat is similar to a dog. There are important differences in earth and moon rock composition. These differences would be obvious to geologists. ||You do accept that they are telling the truth|| No. I accept that science has peer review. If NASA is lying, there is HUGE body of scientists not connected to NASA that would challenge NASA’s claims in the scientific literature. Science isn’t about having “we’re right” parties. Scientists make their name tearing down the work of other scientists. ||So for me the “evidence” comes down to the moon rocks and the Luna Lazar Ranging experiment. I have investigated both of these and found them to be not conclusive proof.|| I don’t recall seeing your documentation for the moon rocks other than a vague and unsupported claim they were “similar” (similar doesn’t mean identical and as I’ve noted differences are key). Your laser ranging claim is anecdotal and easily countered by the great body of published scientific literature (one I linked to) that do find good and accurate results. You maybe have misinterpreted what you heard. Atmospheric conditions may not always be right to get a good reading. A thermometer is an accurate measure of room temperature but if conditions are not right (for example, direct sunlight is on the thermometer), you won’t get an accurate measurement. Anyway, this is where peer review is important in science. Not trusting the word of a single individual’s observations and recollections. I don’t. I trust more a body of independent research across disciplines and national borders over the word of one individual. ||You may consider that the moon is a reflector anyhow and it has craters. So it just may be that some of those craters are shaped like parabolic reflectors and if you fire a lazer at the right craters that will give the impression that there is a reflector on the moon. I am not saying this is the case but it is a plausible explanation why the LLR experiment may get some returns even if there are no reflectors on the moon place by the Apollo mission.|| And maybe we’re hitting the top of UFOs parked on the moon. Your story is a just-so story. I could make one up as well. I did. Again, we come back to peer review. It would be very easy for scientists to calculate the intensity of the light returned if it came from a highly polished purpose built reflector pad or a crater. Also they would not leave the pads near such craters, thereby risking a false reading. That would be a little silly. They know the location of the pads and the craters. ||You can not make a conspiracy theory about something that there is clear proof for. Anyone who is reasonably fit and prepared to spend the time and money can climb Mt Everest and prove for himself that this can be done.|| No. They are then part of the conspiracy. Anyone reasonably intelligent can study geology or optics and analyze the moon rocks or do a laser reflector experiment. If they find data that is not consistent with your moon hoax belief, then, as you’ve already claimed, they are dishonest. You merely hand wave away data that does not fit with your preconceived notion. ||And now, after almost 50 years, no one has been able to put men on the moon since, and even NASA, after being ordered by George Bush to put man on the moon again and given a budget to do it, had to say, “Sorry, we can’t do it. Maybe in 30 or 40 years we can do it…”|| If you investigate what has already been written above, you will see that claim has been answered. You’re repeating it again. Please investigate the answer given and explain why it’s a poor answer. ||All the countries like India, China and Japan who have money and are prepared to spend it on going to the moon should be able to go. There is nothing missing. The information on how to go there is available from the Apollo missions, the money is available from the governments of US, China, India, Japan and others, but no one is able to put men on the moon?|| I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but China is doing just that. But you just don’t strap on a rocket and go to the moon. And there is nothing missing? Based on your authority? Says who? Specific HUMAN skills are needed to be learned first hand and for every stage of space exploration. You’ll notice China is repeating the NASA state by stage approach. (Man in space, space walking, long duration orbits, etc.) Your whole premise is faulty. Note as well, China is a very proud nation. It’s going to go to the moon under its *own terms*. No doubt it has used the science and knowledge made public by NASA but China won’t simply copy NASA’s technology. Further, the Apollo project is 1960s era technology. You can’t simply put together a moon lander using Apollo blueprints. The parts aren’t available. You have to build it from technology we have now. While better, you still have to test it stage by stage for space. ||It is nice that Karl admitted that he has some dobut if we actually went to the moon and perhaps STMan can also consider that really there is not conclusive proof and perhaps he can keep an open mind on this issue.|| The proof is conclusive. Every claim you’ve made has been answered. It has been answered for years. ||As I said I do not have the time, energy or inclination to continue this discussion but there will be no end to the suspicion that NASA faked the moon landings until we can go to the moon again on a regular basis and do practical things there.|| People will always doubt everything touched by the government. But in science, there is an end to the suspicion NASA faked the moon landings. It’s pretty clear NASA didn’t fake it. You, alas, don’t have any science behind your position and you’re trying to argue against an event firmly rooted in science and made possible by science. You’re allowed to label non supporting evidence as being dishonest or lies. Science isn’t allowed that “out”. I do think you’ll be back. So, let me ask you this: the LRO currently in orbit will soon image the Apollo landing sites. If they image the LEM pad, the moon buggies, etc. would you agree this is good evidence? Or will you claim NASA faked those photos? (Someone above raised the issue that if NASA-owned telescopes could image the moon landing sites, this would be acceptable evidence. Are you on that side?) July 7, 2009 at 12:36 pm ||This is religion not science.|| Define science. Define religion. They both share some similarities but so do a cat and dog (ears, fur, tails, have litters). A cat is not a dog. Differences are also important. In science, for example, all knowledge is tentative and subject to revision or overthrow. Not many religions are ready to abandon core beliefs in the light of overwhelming evidence. ||STMan is worshiping NASA and he accepts them as his authority, he believes in NASA, he has absolute faith in NASA, and he will try to defend and prove that everything NASA ever says is true. || Of course the poster’s claims could also be lies as well. To say STMan has absolute faith in NASA is a straw man. I wonder what his opinion of NASA was during the shuttle disasters. STMan and me both happen to place more trust in the consensus of scientists and experts regarding things like space science than someone with no expertise making claims that have extant detailed science-based, factual answers. ||So he is a true believer, in NASA. He is not at all impartial or honest. He does not admit even the slight posibablity that NASA may be wrong and does not even consider the possibility that the manned moon missions may have been faked.|| I guess when confronted with the facts, you can just label your opponent as not being honest. Convenient. Facts that don’t support your world view are simply lies? So for example when someone claims we should have been able to see stars and someone explains that it’s a matter of exposure, you go “oh you’re not being honest”. Better, you could actually run the experiment yourself. Point a camera at the night sky with a bright light source (say a street lamp). Find out if it exposes the light source and the stars. You might know that the show Myth Busters actually DID this. They tested the scientific counter claims to the moon hoax allegations. And they found the scientific claims to be valid. More dishonesty? Hmmm? And yes, we DO entertain the possibility that the moon landings were faked. That’s why we’ve explored the evidence for them. ||The thing is everything can be “explained” “scientifically.” But if the scientist is not impartial then that explanation is useless. STMann will only ever worship NASA and if he comes across anything that questions NASA he will conveniently ignore it or try to cover it up with his “science.”|| You don’t know anything about STMann but you feel free to assume certain beliefs? ||There are so many “scientiests” like STMan in so many fields who are actually working for some vested interest and in the name of that vested interest presenting so much “science” that is nothing more than a political attempt to mislead the people who hear them.|| It’s very easy to avoid facts, evidence, and logic and explain it away with a conspiracy theory. ||For example look at “man made global warming.” It is a nonsense theory completely disproved by so many actual scientists. But you get fools like Al Gore and a few paid of scientists trying to establish that all the problems of the world come from the man-made carbon dioxide emissions. Which are completely insignificant in the “big picture.” But you see they are doing this for another reason. They want to introduce a global carbon tax where the whole world will be forced to pay tax to and the promoters of the “man made global warming” nonsense will make a lot of money out of this.|| A few paid scientists happen to be every meteorological society in every major nation in the world? This is a red herring in any regard. ||Similarly NASA is making a lot of money by sending these fake missions to the moon and other planets.|| Really? Pay scales in NASA are far, far below industry averages. ||There is still no proof that men went to the moon, and there are still so many anomalies.|| As I originally asked what would you accept as proof? Give me a real goal post. What would falsify your belief? I’ve stated mine. Please state yours. Again, an anomaly is only something that you think has no answer given the claim. These anomalies have been answered. Your counter claim is hand waving: lies, conspiracy, dishonesty. Could you give me the top three scientific counter claims and explain why they’re not good counter claims without merely claiming the answers are dishonest? ||What has happened with the moon mission has never happened before in the history of mankind. Apparently we had many successful manned missions to the moon in the 60s with very primitive technology but in the fifty years following that no man has ever gone to the moon again. And now George Bush gave NASA the mandate to put a man on the moon again, and NASA’s reply was basically, “Sorry, we can’t do it…” They may do it in 20 years time? || That claim was already answered. Why are you back repeating an answered claim? ||This is crazy. Once one man climbs Mount Everest and the path is chalked out many other men will follow. So if we have actually been to the moon so many times in the 60’s and now for 50 years no one has been and NASA say no, we still can’t go there, not for at least another 20 years, one obviously has to question, “Did we ever go to the moon.”|| Some might argue we never climbed Everest too using the same “logic”. Photos? Fakes. Witnesses? Liars. Mountain climbing is a big industry. Lots of people pay huge sums to visit Everst. None make it to the top but they lie about it because they don’t want to seem foolish having spent $15,000 and never reaching the top. If you’ve been to the top yourself then you are just part of the rascal industry and dishonest. It’s easy to disprove a claim when you can wave your hands and make up evidence. No? ||- Moon rocks, that are very similar to earth rocks and which could have been made on Earth|| What is your evidence for that claim? The solar system was formed out of the same cloud of matter. Why shouldn’t two bodies close together be chemically similar? ||-But mostly they can not get any returns from the supposed reflectors on the moon. || Says you? Could you document this claim? You don’t take STMan’s word for it. Why should I take yours? ||And the experiment is “rigged.” || Wait. They rig it but they also have a hard time getting a return? Why not rig it so it works better? ||I have also spent some time in Australia at Siding Springs where some more honest scientists were doing this experiment. In Australia they are in the best place to get reflections from the supposed reflectors on the moon but despite doing this experiment as Siding Springs for many years they could never conclusivly say that they were getting any reflection from the supposed reflectors… And for some time the French were also doing this experiment. And they claimed they could always get the reflections of their lazer returned. They claimed they could even do it in full sunshine…|| Says you? Could you document this claim? You don’t take STMan’s word for it. Why should I take yours? ||Of course the moon itself is a reflector so in theory if you fire a powerful enough lazer at it you will get a reflection, even if there are no reflectors on the moon.|| Yes. But you will get a better return if you hit the pad. If you move the laser slightly off where the pad should be, you’ll get a lower return. Anyway, this page contradicts your claims about poor results: July 8, 2009 at 12:32 pm Hello Karl & STMan I appreciate the points you are making and do not have the time or inclination to discuss these issues over and over again. Actually people make up their mind on these things and do not tend to change. As I have said the “proof” of man walking on the moon comes only from one source, NASA. And the actual evidence that anyone outside NASA can test is the existence of the reflectors left on the moon and the nature of the moon rocks which were supposedly brought to earth by the Apollo missions. For me this is not sufficient proof. I do not share the faith in NASA that you two gentlemen have. You do accept that they are telling the truth and I do not necessary accept that they are telling the truth. So for me the “evidence” comes down to the moon rocks and the Luna Lazar Ranging experiment. I have investigated both of these and found them to be not conclusive proof. You may consider that the moon is a reflector anyhow and it has craters. So it just may be that some of those craters are shaped like parabolic reflectors and if you fire a lazer at the right craters that will give the impression that there is a reflector on the moon. I am not saying this is the case but it is a plausible explanation why the LLR experiment may get some returns even if there are no reflectors on the moon place by the Apollo mission. You are both trying to compare the man on the moon story with facts we know and say it is the same thing. You say in the future that the shuttle flights may not be believed in. But that is not possible. Shuttle fights are a fact and everyone is using the GPS and other satellites put up in orbit by the shuttle. There is tangible proof of the shuttle flights and there are observable results from these flights. And the idea that someone may make a consistory theory that no one has every climbed Mt Everest is ridiculous. You can not make a conspiracy theory about something that there is clear proof for. Anyone who is reasonably fit and prepared to spend the time and money can climb Mt Everest and prove for himself that this can be done. However, to this day, only NASA was able to put men on the moon and only for a few years in the 60 with the Apollo program. And now, after almost 50 years, no one has been able to put men on the moon since, and even NASA, after being ordered by George Bush to put man on the moon again and given a budget to do it, had to say, “Sorry, we can’t do it. Maybe in 30 or 40 years we can do it…” Therefore the proof is missing. Proof is simple. If you know how to go to the moon then people should be able to go to the moon. All the countries like India, China and Japan who have money and are prepared to spend it on going to the moon should be able to go. There is nothing missing. The information on how to go there is available from the Apollo missions, the money is available from the governments of US, China, India, Japan and others, but no one is able to put men on the moon? So the proof that we went to the moon is the fact that we can go to the moon now. Until that time a great cloud of doubt will hang over the so-called “men on the moon” in the sixties. It is nice that Karl admitted that he has some dobut if we actually went to the moon and perhaps STMan can also consider that really there is not conclusive proof and perhaps he can keep an open mind on this issue. For me it really does not matter if we have been to the moon or not, however I find it interesting that there are people who are so determined to “prove” that we have been to the moon when there is no solid proof that we have been. As I said I do not have the time, energy or inclination to continue this discussion but there will be no end to the suspicion that NASA faked the moon landings until we can go to the moon again on a regular basis and do practical things there. Madhudvisa dasa July 8, 2009 at 2:08 pm I totally agree with Madhudvisa Prabhu, if man has landed on moon once he can land on it now too. If they colud do it in 6os they can do it now, the technology present is far greater now. A single computer which im using now is far better and greater than many computers combined which were used in the original space programme which put men on the moon. Thats just a small example. And funds is no matter at all. So i dont see why people can still believe that man has landed on moon. So please stop anymore discussion on this topic. I respect everyones opinion but the matter of opinion doesn’t matter when it comes to absolute truth. Everyone whether they have landed on moon or not HAVE to agree that there is no solution to the biggest problems of life – Birth, Old age, Disease and Death – except chanting and service to the Lord. So lets not devote any more time on the topic and concentrate more on involving in service to Supreme Lord. July 10, 2009 at 12:08 pm ||if man has landed on moon once he can land on it now too. If they colud do it in 6os they can do it now, the technology present is far greater now.|| Your claim has already been answered a couple times. I’m not sure why you don’t deal with the response to the claim instead of simply repeating the claim “if we did it before, we should be able to do it again.” The answer is “yes”. We can also send space probes out of the solar system but we’ve only done that three times, the last time in the 1970s. Because we’re not doing it in the 1990s and the 2000s, are you suggesting the Voyager missions are fake? July 10, 2009 at 5:54 pm Many other countries [India, China, Japan] have moon programs and want to go there and have plenty of money to pay for it and so far they have not been able to go either. Russia has never been able to put a man on the moon. So far it is only the Americans and you could only do it for a short time in the 60’s and now you can’t do it any more. Every country who wants to go to the moon and has the money to spend to build the rockets should be able to go to the moon, if we actually went in the 60’s and know how to get there. A scientific experiment has to be repeatable. If you others can not repeat what you have done in your lab everyone will think you are cheating or you have made a mistake. What to speak of if you can not even repeat it yourself!! Everyone will naturally think there must have been something fishy with the first experiment… karl July 10, 2009 at 7:16 pm Again, China is planning to go there. As I’ve noted above, you have to do it step by step. You can’t just strap on a rocket, throw a bunch of money at the problem, and go tomorrow. Please see my previous comments and comment on why that is not a reasonable answer to your claim. Using your Everest example, if I were skeptical about a summit claim, I could repeat the experiment myself. But I could not simply do it tomorrow right? Even if I had the money? I would have to train. I would have to hire the right guides. I would have to do do a number of steps before I could reach the top of everest and see evidence of past visitations. And yes, NASA provides independent researchers many opportunities to perform repeatable experiments: testing moon rocks, anyone can bounce a laser off the LRR pads, etc. I’m sure if you wanted you could even get NASA to provide you with the original negative film roles for examination. ScottyBoy July 8, 2009 at 8:12 pm “There is nothing missing. The information on how to go there is available from the Apollo missions, the money is available from the governments of US, China, India, Japan and others, but no one is able to put men on the moon?” It’s not “no one is able …” it is for what economic benefit would they do it? It is an incredibly expensive undertaking. Proof, you want proof? How about doing some research across the globe with independant scientists then come back with you answer. Better yet, why don’t you get out your cell phone and call them right now? You’ll be using modern technology derived directly from the U.S. space program. July 8, 2009 at 8:59 pm Firt I wanted to say that I appreciate Karl’s comments, also that I did comment on ths shuttle disasters in one of my last comments. Madhudvisa dasa: I am doing my best to point out that there is proof outside of NASA. If the photos, video, film, rocks, and dust were only examined by NASA and verified by them, they you could say that we are relying on NASA. These things can be verified, (as they have been), by others around the world. Aside from that, does it not count as evidence that the Soviet Union who was their enemy at the time, tracked and verified and reported that the moon landings did occur? If there was no manned vehicle heading to the moon at the time, there would have been no communications for them to pick up when they (and other countries outside of the U.S.) tracked the spacecraft. That is real proof, by sources outside of NASA. Would you have had to have done it yourself for you to believe it? The GPS satellites were launced by Delta rockets, and not the shuttle. The idea of the people not believing that the shuttle launches were real sounds rediculous now, just as thinking that the moon landings were fake in the years that they were happening. Also NASA’s goal for the next moon landing is around the year 2020, not is 30 or 40 years as you say. So why is it taking longer this time you might ask? This time, there is no space race to be there first, plus, there is no unlimited budget. If China, for example gets there before NASA, they still will only be the second country to do it, not the first. Also NASA, isn’t rebuilding the same vehicles that got them there during apollo. This time they will use two types of rockets: One unmanned heavy lifting rocket, and one smaller manned rocket. Only after the heavy lifting rocket safely gets it’s payload into low earth orbit will the second rocket with the Orion capsule, and it’s crew, be launced. So it will be a totally different system. As for your comment about the moon being a reflector and a parabolic crater reflection back a laser. Even if you make a parabolic reflector and put it on the moon, it would not reflect back light to the source from any angle, which is what a retro reflector does by design. About your comment: STMan can also consider that really there is not conclusive proof and perhaps he can keep an open mind on this issue. My response is this: By coming to this site, (and other like it) I am reading different peoples opinions, have heard most if not all of the evidence and the questions that people have. All of the evidence that I have seen points only to one conclusion, that is why I have no doubts. It isn’t like you think “faith or a belief” any more than, acknowledging that people did climb Mount Everest. I haven’t been there either, but have seen interviews, video etc., which are enough to prove the fact, just as with the moon landings. I do agree the comments (even mine) are getting repeditive. So I would ask that people read all of the comments, so that they don’t ask a question that already has been asked, and answered. One last comment for people to consider. Watch the films shot of and from the lunar rover as it drives for long distances. The surface is brightly lit, and there is a black sky (just as in all of the photos, and live video). Not to mention, it is clear that they are driving in a lower gravity environment. Look how high the dust from the tires is thrown above the surface, and how it falls down without staying suspended in the air (because they are in a vacuum) without making a dust cloud. This was done almost 40 years ago using film cameras, no CGI (computer generated imagery) for special effects was possible at the time. So unless you can figure out how they simulated the bright lighting with a black sky, low gravity, and in a vacuum on earth, and find out where and the people who did it, I will remain convinced that there is only one answer, that being: It was all done on the moon as history tells us. Plus look at all of the film and video of the astronauts being weightless for extended periods of time, during the flights to and from the moon. July 10, 2009 at 2:00 am Hello Stman I understand your reasoning, and like you I have heard both sides of these arguments over and over again. But I come from a different background than you. You come from the perspective of believing in NASA and not having any reason to question anything that NASA says. And that is your position. My position is that I have some information from other sources that makes it obvious to me that it is not very easy to go to the moon so I am approaching this issue from this point of view therefore I do not blindly accept what NASA says or what they present as “evidence.” NASA may be lying. This is not a new think in science. Every conditioned soul has four defects. He has the tendency to cheat, he makes mistakes, he is illusioned, it means he accepts something to be true which is not actually true and he has imperfect senses which means even the information that comes through his senses is not perfect and complete. So if we accept the premise that NASA may be lying we can not accept that their photos are taken on the moon for example. You accept everything they say unless it can be proven otherwise. I do not accept anything they say unless it can be proven independently. You stated that perhaps the best evidence was a photo of the earth from the moon. But how do you know that what NASA is showing you is a photo of the earth from the moon? I can make a model of the earth and set up some clouds about it and organize the lighting and take a photo. And you can not tell if that is taken from the moon or taken by me in my studio of my model of the moon. The bottom line is everything that NASA has shown us about the moon mission can be faked. The radio signals can be faked. You don’t have to send them from the moon. Radio signals bounce. If you can bounce lazars off the moon you can also bounce radio signals off the moon. So you can transmit from the earth and bounce off the moon and everyone will think they are coming from the moon. You can also transmit from satellites somewhere in the direction of the moon. Radio signals are not very directional. Anyhow the point is not in the details, the point is everything can be faked. You may not understand exactly how they faked it. But that does not mean it can not be faked. You can go and see a magician making doves come out of his hat. You do not know how he is doing it but you do know there is some trick to it. This thread is for the discussions of people who at least accept that NASA may have faked it and we are exploring that direction. I am very glad for your comments and Karls comments, but they are the same thing over and over again and no matter what you say your premise is that what NASA says is correct, NASA is not lying to us. Our premise is different. We are starting from distrust in what NASA is saying and want independent verification of their claims. As I have said the proof that we have been to the moon is that we can go to the moon. And at the moment we can not go to the moon. And that would not be the case if we had already gone to the moon many times in the sixties. So the fact that we can not go to the moon now almost 50 years later with so much improvement in technology is proof that we did not go to the moon in the 60’s. Anyhow, I am not going to post any more comments you and Karl as you are monopolizing this discussion and you are just presenting the same old points we have heard thousands of times before. The point of this thread is to investigate the possibility that NASA faked the moon missions. We are not very interested in the official NASA story which is what you and Karl are giving us. We see so many big, big lies coming out of the US. It seems US government is not afraid of lying about anything. The bigger the lie the better. So that NASA lied about sending men to the moon is not a very surprising thing. Anyhow, I am not posting any more of these comments like Stman and Karl and this thread now goes back to investigating the possibility that NASA faked the “man on the moon” story. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa July 10, 2009 at 8:46 am Hi: I just read your last comments, so I don’t expect you to post this reply. That’s okay with me, after all this is your site. I do however want to thank you for posting the one’s that you did, and I think for the most part that I did get my points across. However I’m not sure that it will improve your site to only have one point of view (the one that you agree with) or others that leave false information. Some of the one’s who believe in the landings, were doing this, and even resorting to calling others names (which I never did). I certainly was not attempting to change your mind, since it is clear what your belief is, but rather, to respond to the points that you were making, and to give answers to those who asked questions. As you can see for yourself, a lot of the people were starting to direct their questions at me, because they could see that I was giving logical answers, and wasn’t just relying on NASA, and what they say. You may still get questions directed at me. Are you going to post those questions or not? If you want I won’t make anymore comments unless someone specifically asks me a question. It’s up to you. If you do have a question yourself, I would be willing to answer that too. Finally, I just wanted to say that I enjoyed reading the other comments on your site, and also responding to them. Thanks. Hello STMan If you like it then you can keep posting, why not? You are very good at answering all the questions and maybe when I have some time I will ask you some questions and we can have a bit of a discussion on this. You are in a different world for sure. You believe everything the government tells you. I saw your other posting which I did delete unfortunately, where you were ridiculing the people who did not think a 747 flew into the Pentagon on 911. That I think shows where you are at. It is the “official party line” that a 747 flew into the Pentagon on 911 so you believe it and you will defend it. However to us who have no particular faith in the US government and who saw the news footage on the day we know it was not a 747. There was an 8 foot diameter hole in the wall of the pentagon building and the story is that somehow a 747 with its wings and engines went into that hole and then somehow disappeared. One news coverage mentioned “vaporized…” You are an intelligent man. A 747 has big wings with big heavy engines on it. If such a plane was to slam into the Pentagon it would not simply make an 8 foot diameter hole and disappear. It the engines would slam against the wall on either side of the center impact and the wings would probably break off and there would be a huge amount of wreckage on the lawn. But we have the footage of the fire burning around the 8 foot hole and after some time the wall colapsing. You can see there is no damage to the building except for this hole and the fire. There are no 747 wings, no 747 engines, no luguage, no dead passangers. Nothing you would expect to see at a 747 crash site. Still you believe a 747 hit the pentagon and call anyone who doesn’t a “conspiracy theorist…” You are taking the same approach with NASA’s moon landings. You are simply defending the “official story” without really questioning if the official story is true or not. I know you are good at defending the “official story.” You are good at debating. But you know a good debater can win on either side. That you can win in a discussion does not mean that you are correct. It means you are good at presenting the point. But the point still may be wrong. So my humble request is that you do a bit of soul-searching and question and really ask yourself if you know that a 747 hit the Pentagon on 911 and if you really know that men walked on the moon or not… I hope you will listen to the other side. No matter what you say and how well you can explain it there are so many inconsistencies in the NASA manned moon missions. Like you believe a 747 went into the Pentagon, but actually it can not have, however that is the official story, so you believe it, you also believe that a lunar lander can land on the moon firing it retro-rockets and land on the lunar surface without making even the slightest impression in the dust on the lunar surface, while we see the astronauts walking around kicking up the dust and making big footprints in the surface. It is impossible, but it is the official NASA story, so you have to believe it, and not only that you will give us a “logical” explanation as to why it is so… Madhudvisa dasa July 10, 2009 at 12:35 pm ||You are taking the same approach with NASA’s moon landings. You are simply defending the “official story” without really questioning if the official story is true or not.|| That’s not true at all. The original post and follow on posters have been making claims that X is impossible therefore moon hoax. STman (and myself) have been pointing out X is not impossible because of Y. STman has also gone out of his way to rely on non-NASA information. He’s pointed that out at least once, but you simply repeat your same claim, despite it being pointed out to you your claim is inaccurate. It’s not about defending the official story. It’s about pointing out the official moon hoax story has massive holes, easily explained by basic science. As I pointed out originally, the original poster regurgitated the standard moon hoax claims that have been answered, some for the last decade. The OP could have easily did a quick google search and found the counter claims. A good researcher would have explained why the counter claims are misleading or poor. Further some of these claims are easy to test and debunk. Myth Busters did just that. You can find the video on youtube I believe. They looked at the moon hoax claims, examined the counter claims, and then TESTED the counter claims. They found the counter claims accurate. Why don’t moon hoax believers do that themselves? Again, good researchers put forward a hypothesis, explain why it’s a good hypothesis, find counter claims to their lines of evidence, and then establish why counter claims do no violence to their lines of evidence. That’s good scholarship. Again, let me ask. Some people have said above that if NASA controlled telescopes could resolve Apollo equipment on the moon, that would be good evidence. The LRO currently in orbit plans to do just that. If the LRO resolves moon equipment, would you agree that’s good evidence for man on the moon? July 10, 2009 at 5:49 pm Anything coming from NASA is not good evidence Karl. If, just for argument sake, NASA did fake the men on the moon, then we can not trust them to really show us what is on the moon even if they can see it through their telescopes. That is the problem. For every piece of evidence of the moon landing we have to trust NASA. The solution to this will not come from NASA. It will come when others are independently going to the moon and doing practical things there. I do not trust them… If they can do something on the moon that an ordinary observatory telescope can pick up that is a different thing. If astronomers all over the world can see the results of NASA’s handiwork on the moon that might be something… STMan July 10, 2009 at 6:01 pm Hi: You make some interesting comments about 911. Maybe you should consider having a different site where that discussion could take place. I could then answer those questions there. The thing I will say about that, is that there is evidence from outside the govermnent. Such as the airline is missing that plane, the people on board are missing, including a very famous “Barbara Olson”, who made a cell phone call to her husband while the plane was being hijacked. Also there is the video that I saw that day of crash of plane parts strewn all over the area in front of the pentagon. The wings which were filled with fuel were sheared off and the explosion did mostly vapourize them. The pentagon is a very sturdy structure, and was made to withstand an attack. The plane was actually a Boeing 757 not a 747. The 757 is smaller and only has 2 engines rather than the 4 that a 747 has. But that’s certainly getting off topic of the moon landings. One other point is about the U.S. government. I think that you are assuming that I am an American, and therefore believe everything that they say. Well, I’m not, I live in Canada, which neighbors the U.S., but has i’t own government, not subject to the U.S.. Take the war in Iraq for example, the Canadian government disagreed, and did not take part in that war, but in Afghanistan, they did. So do I believe everything that the U.S. government (or even my own) says, of course not. Neither do most people. When governments lie to the people in truly democratic countries they are usually defeated in the next election. The whole point of my comments has been that I look at the evidence, and not just believe what any government or NASA says. You also comment: you also believe that a lunar lander can land on the moon firing it retro-rockets and land on the lunar surface without making even the slightest impression in the dust on the lunar surface, while we see the astronauts walking around kicking up the dust and making big footprints in the surface. There actually is photographic evidence of the retro rockets as it moved across the surface, and an impression where it landed. I will have to go through the photographic archive, then I will give you a list of photos that show this. STMan July 11, 2009 at 9:11 am Open a second brouser (or tab) on your computer and go to http://www.apolloarchive.com/apollo_gallery.html This will allow you to search for and view the listed photos and also to read my comments. AS12-46-6781 In this photo the LM had travelled right to left before landing. You can see a path that looks wind blown, that was caused by the retro rocket. If you look at the previous 2 pictures in order you can follow the path which leads to the LM’s engine. AS12-46-6780 & AS12-46-6779. AS14-66-9261 Shows a depression made by the engine before it was turned off. Since the LM was still in motion to the right, and dropped the last small distance to the surface the depression caused by the engine is to the left (look just below the silver object). The whole area shows the effects of the thrust blowing dust outwards from the depression. The previous picture AS14-66-9260 confirms the direction of travel, which is opposite to the direction that the probes are pointing. The probes which are attached to the foot pads, are there to tell the astronauts when they are near the surface, by setting off a “contact light”. Once this happens they turn the engine off, and drop the rest of the way (in 1/6th gravity). M Reed November 29, 2011 at 4:57 am Speaking of deceptions, 9/11 is a fascinating example of just how a large scale event can be executed in daylight and sold to the public by the media. I recommend the research of Citizen Investigation Team. They have completely deconstructed the events at the Pentagon on 9/11. Check out the website: thepentaCon.com. After studying 9/11, it becomes clear just how dishonest the gov’t/ media can be. The most compelling evidence against the Apollo missions, I believe, is the swinging/ swaying effect of the astronauts while walking and running. The Apollo press conference is really suspicious too. STMan July 7, 2009 at 9:01 am Religous follower of NASA? Not at all. That’s the first time that I’ve ever been accused of that and of working for NASA. Certainly they are by no means perfect. You need look no further than the two shuttle disasters, and apollo one, all of which could have been prevented. After the columbia disaster a few years ago, I was watching a NASA press conference where the NASA officials were denying that a piece of foam could have caused the disaster. Having seen the film of the foam striking the orbiter, I knew that they were jumping to a conclusion that was probably wrong (a later test proved this). However that’s a far cry from faking a mission or NINE, to the moon. If you look at the history of NASA, yes there has been mistakes, but coverups? Actually the opposite is true. Take for example the apollo one disaster which killed 3 astronauts. If they wanted to cover it up, they could have claimed that they died in a helicopter crash (Saddam Hussein had that one perfected), or a car accident. Since the disaster set the apollo program back considerabley, but in the end lead to a safer vehicle, and no more ground tests using pure oxygen. Then there’s the challenger disaster which after an investigation to find the cause lead to no more cold day shuttle launches and an additional O-ring in the booster seals. Also look at the problems with several Mars missions, which ended in failure. The problems were found and corrected, with no signs of any coverups. If there is a fake photo, on NASA’s apollo image gallery, where is it and what about it is fake? Let me know, and I will have a look at it. If the landings are fake then there should be enough bad photography and other evidence to convince even me. If you watch the apollo 11 video, it’s quite bad, but you can actually see when most ot the apollo 11 70mm photos are being shot (mostly be Neil Armstrong), which means there’s a video record of the photos being taken. This is also true for many of the photos taken on other mission, where video is being shot (often by a camera on a tripod or attached to the lunar rover) of one or both of the astronaut taking the 70mm photos. I haven’t seen any inconsistencies in the photo video or film record, other than a video which was misslabelled as being at a different location. Yes errors do happen. If you read all of my comments, I never attack people or call them names, which is one thing that both sides of the issue do too much of. When you look at any historical event, it either happened or it didn’t. That’s the question posed by this site, and I try my best to answer the ones that I am able to. The reason I ‘know’, “not believe”, but “know” that the moon landings did happen, is because all of the evidence, even from outside of NASA, points to the same conclusion. Examples: I recently saw an interview of a british astronomer, who tracked the apollo 11 mission from Britain, with their large antenaes. The Soviet Union, who had nothing to gain, did the same and reported on the 1st landing in Pravda (the goverment controlled newspaper). The retro reflectors, do return enough photons to detect with large enough telescopes, but only if the laser is aimed near the correct landing sites where they were placed. A laser produces a specific frequency of light, so not any green light detected will do. Your comments imply that this too, is being faked as part of an ongoing conspiracy. True if that was the only evidence I would agree that it is weak. One thing I do consider myself to be an expert on is photography, and I have looked at almost every apollo photo. Some of the most convincing are actually of the earth from a distance. It’s easy to get a photos of the moon with a telescope (at least the side facing Earth) but how do you photograph the Earth from the distance of the moon. Remember these are not originally digital photos but high resolution 70mm film shot with a hasselblad camera, meaning that the photos of the earth taken from a distance had to be returned to earth to be developed. So before you think that they too could be fake, think about this: Several are taken in sequence with the cloud patterns changing and the earth rotating. The first pictures of this type were from apollo 8 in 1968, when they flew around the moon without landing (AS8-14-2383 is one of them). You cannot photograph the whole earth from low earth orbit like on the shuttle, since you can only see the part of the earth that you are above. It’s a little like trying to see the your whole house with your eyes an inch away. The surface pictures from the 6 landing, show no sign of fakery, but rather consistently show one light source (the sun) plus the reflected light from the surface. Here’s a question which I have never heard a good answer to: Why would they have faked apollo 10. The purpose of apollo 10 was to test the lunar lander and command module in orbit around the moon. Imagine getting the go ahead for this: Well what we want to do now before we fake the moon landing is to launch a multimillion dollar Saturn V, so that we can fake doing a test (without landing on the moon) in lunar orbit. I guess the moon sets weren’t ready in time. Remember the reason that there hasn’t been any more landings is because the Saturn V was replaced with the space shuttle, which too is about to be retired. Maybe in 30 or 40 years, people won’t believe the shuttle flights were real either. After all the only proof will be a bunch of old astronauts (who’s lives will be in danger if they admit it was fake) and some aging video. No dust or rocks to examine, so to some, there won’t be any evidence that the shuttles ever flew. So, once again: There is proof: The astronauts, who’s stories have remained consistent for 40 years. The photos, video, movie film, the rocks, dust (tested by geologists around the world), and the people inside and outside of NASA who tracked the missions (including the Soviets). And yes, even to retro reflectors. July 7, 2009 at 2:06 pm So about the pictures of earth taken from moon, it is possible to take them from space not moon right, and moon will still be reflecting light, doesn’t mean that will reflect light only when you are standing on it. And i think other countries could have landed on the moon by now because it very big thing for everyone. And some of your answers are too technical for people to understand right so thats a way to convince people. Im not doubting any of your scientific knowledge but try to think once from our point of view. We dont have any grudge against NASA. With the amount of money they have, they can make us to believe anything. So anyway please clarify my doubt about the photos. July 8, 2009 at 6:08 pm When we look at the earth or the moon or any planet, we are seeing reflected light from the sun. The picture of the earth taken from the moon had to have been taken from at least that distance, since we can see the complete hemishere (half of the earth). When a picture is taken from near earth orbit (the height that the shuttle flies or the international space station), only part of the earth can be seen. If you are too close to any object you can not see (or photograph) the whole thing. You can do this experiment yourself: Using any camera try to take a picture of your house (or any buiding) from a foot or two (or .5 metres), you will find out that it isn’t possible. If you use a wide enough angle lens (called a fish eye lens) you may see a lot more of the building, but it will be distorted. As far as your comments about NASA, true they did have a large budget in order to do the moon landings in such a short time, but the money was spent developing the rocket, the fuel, the lander, the rover, the spacesuits, and peoples salaries, who worked on the project. That money was all accounted for in the budget. Thousands of people worked on the different components. In order to secretly fake the landing, even more money would have been required than was spent. Where would that money have come from? Also no one has ever come forward with credibal evidence that they or anyone else worked on faking the landings. But it is easy to find people who actually did work on the apollo project. July 3, 2009 at 2:48 pm @Russ Hawkins and other doubters It would appear STMan has a logical, scientific explanation for every single one of your so-called anomalies that, I gather, make you questions the obvious truth that man walked on the moon. Given STman has answered all of your questions, would you now agree that believing man walked on the moon is a reasonable position? If no, why? What goal post of evidence is required by you (short of flying you personally to the moon) for you to change your position? What would falsify your belief? There’s a lot of talk about science in this thread but a good scientific thinker can articulate, very clearly, what it would take to falsify his/her position. Let me state mine: I believe man went to the moon. NASA, Japan, China, the EU are sending many space probes to the moon. If one of those probes took a photo of any Apollo site and the camera should be able to resolve equipment that should be there, then this would falsify my belief. I would not retort “well, China/Japan/the EU erased the evidence in the photos!”. Can you do the same? Or would you always move the goal post and claim you now need evidence the government didn’t photoshop pictures, etc. What I find amusing about the original posting is all of the original author’s questions have been answered by half a dozen sites written by space scientists like Phil Plait, Stuart Robbins, etc. A simple google would have answered ever single one of the author’s questions. For example, the “why are there no stars?” question the poster raised has been debunked for the last, oh, 10 years. Did he not do this? That seems terribly poor scholarship. Good scholars try to first falsify their own claims. The author would have presented a MUCH stronger article if he examined the extant answers to these often repeated claims and explained why they’re poor answers. I found these sites in mere seconds: Hare Krishna Karl This is religion not science. STMan is worshiping NASA and he accepts them as his authority, he believes in NASA, he has absolute faith in NASA, and he will try to defend and prove that everything NASA ever says is true. So he is a true believer, in NASA. He is not at all impartial or honest. He does not admit even the slight posibablity that NASA may be wrong and does not even consider the possibility that the manned moon missions may have been faked. The thing is everything can be “explained” “scientifically.” But if the scientist is not impartial then that explanation is useless. STMann will only ever worship NASA and if he comes across anything that questions NASA he will conveniently ignore it or try to cover it up with his “science.” There are so many “scientiests” like STMan in so many fields who are actually working for some vested interest and in the name of that vested interest presenting so much “science” that is nothing more than a political attempt to mislead the people who hear them. For example look at “man made global warming.” It is a nonsense theory completely disproved by so many actual scientists. But you get fools like Al Gore and a few paid of scientists trying to establish that all the problems of the world come from the man-made carbon dioxide emissions. Which are completely insignificant in the “big picture.” But you see they are doing this for another reason. They want to introduce a global carbon tax where the whole world will be forced to pay tax to and the promoters of the “man made global warming” nonsense will make a lot of money out of this. Similarly NASA is making a lot of money by sending these fake missions to the moon and other planets. So like the “Global warming scientists” who are trying to convince everyone “scientifically” that man-made CO2 emissions are the only problem we need to look at, and in this way they will be able to introduce their world carbon tax, NASA obviously want to keep some prestige and at least some funding coming in to pay their saleries, so they have many STMen out there scientifically “proving” that everything NASA ever said was perfect and that they sent men to the Moon… There is still no proof that men went to the moon, and there are still so many anomalies. Until there is actual proof that we went to the moon, and that proof is really that we can go there and come back now as we like and we can do things on the moon that are visible from the earth then this question “Did we really go to the moon?” will always be there. What has happened with the moon mission has never happened before in the history of mankind. Apparently we had many successful manned missions to the moon in the 60s with very primitive technology but in the fifty years following that no man has ever gone to the moon again. And now George Bush gave NASA the mandate to put a man on the moon again, and NASA’s reply was basically, “Sorry, we can’t do it…” They may do it in 20 years time? This is crazy. Once one man climbs Mount Everest and the path is chalked out many other men will follow. So if we have actually been to the moon so many times in the 60’s and now for 50 years no one has been and NASA say no, we still can’t go there, not for at least another 20 years, one obviously has to question, “Did we ever go to the moon.” So STMan’s presentation is very, very unreasonable. He does not even consider the posibility that the moon missions were faked, even though there is no proof that man went to the moon. The only proof I have ever seen given is: – Moon rocks, that are very similar to earth rocks and which could have been made on Earth – Lunar Lazar Ranging. Which means firing a lazer at some small reflectors that are supposed to be left on the moon by some of the Apollo missions. There are supposed to be three reflectors up there 2 are one foot square and one is three foot square. I have spent quite some time working with the scientists at the only functioning Luna Lazer tracking station in Texas. It is run by an old scientist and three lab technicians. It is a small trailer on the top of a hill with a 12 telescope and a green lazer pulsing out these impressive green beams of light at night. But mostly they can not get any returns from the supposed reflectors on the moon. It is quite bizzare. They are looking for a few photons of light only. Because by the time the lazer beam gets to the moon it is hundreds of miles wide. So how much of the lazer light can fall on a 1 foot square reflector? and then by the time the reflection gets back to earth that little bit of light that fell on the reflector is spread over hundreds of miles and so many of the photons of light in the reflection don’t get through the earth’s atmosphere. So how many photons of the reflected light are likely to come back into the 12″ telescope? Not many at all… And the experiment is “rigged.” What they do is they fire the lazer and they already “know” the distance of the earth to the moon so they “know” when to expect the returned photons. So they do not turn on the detector until the time they “know” the photons will be returning from the moon on that pulse. And then they very quickly turn off the detector again. Of course it is done by a computer program. So they only look for photons in the time interval when they “know” the reflected photons will be coming back. And of course even if they find some photons they have no idea where they are coming from. It may be just atmospheric light. There is no way they can tell the difference between light reflected from the supposed reflectors on the moon and any other light. Of course the wavelength. They look for green light… But any green light will do. So if they happen to find some green light in that tiny time interval when they are expecting the returns from the reflectors on the moon they say they have got a return… I have also spent some time in Australia at Siding Springs where some more honest scientists were doing this experiment. In Australia they are in the best place to get reflections from the supposed reflectors on the moon but despite doing this experiment as Siding Springs for many years they could never conclusivly say that they were getting any reflection from the supposed reflectors… And for some time the French were also doing this experiment. And they claimed they could always get the reflections of their lazer returned. They claimed they could even do it in full sunshine… So anyhow, I have throughly studied this Lunar Lazar Ranging experiment and found it does not give conclusive proof that there are reflectors on the moon. Of course the moon itself is a reflector so in theory if you fire a powerful enough lazer at it you will get a reflection, even if there are no reflectors on the moon. So apart from the moon rocks and the Lunar Lazer Ranging, I have never heard anyone put forward any proof whatsoever that man has been on the moon and there are so many discrepancies and inconsistencies in the photographic and film record that NASA presents that any thoughtful man must consider at least the possibility that the manned moon missions may have been faked. It may not have been faked, but there is no proof of it, so a thoughtful man can not blindly ignore that possibility. So STMan is simply a blind religious follower of NASA. He has an agenda, and that is to prove that man walked on the moon. He does not really care to find the truth if man walked on the moon or not. The truth is not his mission. His mission is a propaganda mission for saving the face of NASA. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa July 7, 2009 at 5:31 am Dear Andrew Everyone is planing to go to the Moon. India, China, Russia, Japan, etc. These plans have been going on for many, many years, but none of these countries actually end up going. And it is not expensive to go to the moon. All the research is already done from the Apollo days. According to them you just need a 2 stage rocket and you throw up a space capsule and it automatically goes to the moon and then you blast off the moon and it will automatically fall back to the earth… In the sixties it was very simple… The President said “We will land men on the Moon.” And in a few years we had the pictures of the men on the Moon on our television sets… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! July 7, 2009 at 8:58 am True the Russians (or Soviets at the time) were ahead with the first satellite, and the first man in orbit. The americans actually caught up very quicky each time, within months matching the feat. The Soviets however had trouble with their heavy lifting rocket, which was required for a moon landing, and scrapped the program once the Americans had landed on the moon. China is now only beginning to do low earth orbit flights, and are serveral years away from even attempting a moon orbital flight, much less a landing, but in time it may happen. Developing large rockets is very expensive and in fact dangerous. Most early rockets exploded on the launch pad or never reached orbit. It is a lot easier to copy technologies, such as cell phones, and flat panel TV’s than rockets, especially, since no other countries are allowed to examine U.S. rockest such as the Saturn V and the Shuttle, although the Soviets had a small version it was discontinued after a flight that landed in the ocean. August 2, 2012 at 4:30 am Temperaure rises when it comes to radiation (there are 3 vectors of heat transfer, from solid to solid, so in this case from the moon ground to the shoes, convection, from fluid to solid, but here there is no atmosphere, and radiation, which is that any body radiates, here it is mainly the sun) is due to what is radiated and the quantity of this wavelength of rariation. In this case, the sun, what cause temperature elevation are infrared. X-rays have nothing to do with temperature increases… They may cause the creation of radicals in such a body as the human body, which with time may provoke cancer but definitely not temperature increase. Please stop with your senseless argument based on no scientific knowledge. This is modern obscurantism! June 10, 2009 at 10:05 pm Can some one tell me how the astronauts survived the solar radiation once they passed the Van Allen Belts; along with how the film in the cameras survived in such temperature extremes? According to what is being broadcast on the television this is a virtual impossibility. I would love to know the scientific data on this. Such facts as: 1) How much radiation the astronauts and film were exposed to over their trips. 2) What is the amount of radiation a human body/film can be exposed to prior to death/damage. 3) What subsequent health problems have the astronauts suffered as a consequence of exposure. There must be enough information to settle these points one way or the other. Thanks for any light anyone can shed on this. July 14, 2009 at 9:29 pm The photographic film was the Kodak E-3 emulsion on the polyester Estar base. Estar was developed for high-altitude and space use, first in spy satellites and then in high-altitude aircraft. However the thermal environment for the film was simply not as egregious as the conspiracy theorists make out; there are limited heat transfer paths involving the film in its magazine. Your questions: 1. See the dosage figures on my site at http://www.clavius.org/envsun.html . It is worth noting that Skylab astronauts actually had higher dosages due to their frequent traversal of the Southern Atlantic anomaly, a low-hanging portion of the Van Allen belts. 2. Photographic film and human tissue have different tolerances and responses to ionizing radiation. The Hasselblad 500/EL camera body was specified in the NASA statement of work to be shielded so as to withstand an exposure of 600 rads without damage to the film. I have inspected the cameras personally and found them to be sufficiently shielded. The human LD 50/30 lethal dose (the dose required to cause death in 50 percent of the population within 30 days) is 450 rem. Compare that to the miniscule amounts the astronauts received. 3. The astronauts have largely suffered from normal aging effects. The sample size is too small to collect any statistically significant correlation to radiation effects, but as the astronauts were exposed to minimal radiation during their voyage it is not really an issue. The notion that the world outside the Van Allen belts is a searing radiation hell is largely a fabrication of the conspiracy theorists. During periods of solar quiescence the radiation environment is not especially hazardous over a two-week period. The conspiracy theorists can produce ZERO qualified astrophysicists who will endorse their claim that the radiation environment would have precluded trips to the Moon. Noted physicist Dr. James Van Allen has specifically repudiated the hoax theory on this point, calling it “nonsense.” There is indeed enough information to settle the matter, and it falls unanimously on the side of Apollo being authentic. June 10, 2009 at 5:13 am Hi: It is in fact the astronaut that causes the flag to move. The flag is supported by a vertical rod at the top of the flag which is attached to the pole at the top. If you watch all of the films (which I have), The flag only moves when the astronauts have either touched the flag or the flag pole. When the astronauts assembled the pole in order to get the sections together or the pole in the ground they rotated the pole. When the pole is moved the flag will wave for a few seconds after the pole is released, since there is no wind resistance to slow it down quickly. There is no film of the flag moving when there is no astronaut near by. July 12, 2009 at 10:21 am The Bhagavada Gita (The Song of God) is essentially about the eternal struggle between good & evil. A subset of which is truth v lies. Here we have a hoax (lie) being propagated as truth if you are happy to go along with this hoax, no one can stop you. However Srila Prabhupada the spiritual master of the Hare Krishna movement was a staunch upholder of truth and vitue. He was a critic of the moon hoax. If these so-called “well documented historical facts” were so true then why such a strong contingent of experts in the acknowledged scientific field are crying hoax! July 18, 2011 at 6:15 pm I have been looking into iskcon for a while and i love many aspects of it but lately i have read some things that really bother me. In regards to the moon landings i personally believe the happened but even if they didnt happen all those years ago, in the modern era there are probes that have been sent there. also there are probes on mars, ie the mars rover and they have sent probes to Saturn and Jupiter and there moons with pictures sent back. so when prabhupad says that we cannot get there with mechanical methods, this is false. unless all of nasa, the russian and indian and china space program are all one conspiracy! also how can the moon be further away than the sun from the earth. this is a ridiculous claim, that is apparently said in the srimad bhagvatam. these kind of claims remind me of christian creationist where they believe the universe is only 6000 years old. you both are taking the scriptures so literally and when science goes against it then there are some outrageous claims made. This is the same with iskcon believing that humans have been on this earth for billions of years and lived with dinosaurs. i really hoped that we didnt have a christian type creationists within hinduism but it seems that we have and that really is not good for our belief system. July 22, 2011 at 6:30 am Hare Krishna Kishore We are products of our conditioning, our upbringing. A certain view of the world is imposed upon us from the time of birth and we gradually come to accept that as absolute fact. But it is not factual actually. It is simply one view of the things that we observe going on around us and in the universe. Actually scientists know very little about the universe, even there are so many things they do not know about this planet. They make big, big theories and pretend to know everything but they know almost nothing. Srila Prabhupada gives the example of the frog in the bottom of a well. The frog observes the universe through the hole in the top of his well and he has made so many theories and thinks he has such a great understanding of the universe. But what can he see? Only the opening at the top of the well. Sometimes it is dark, sometimes it is blue, sometimes it is white, maybe he or his grandfather has once seen the moon or the sun when it happened to be directly above his well. He sometimes hears the sound of the farmers tractor when he is cultivating the fields and of course he has a scientific explanation for this sound… But what can he understand actually about the world outside his well? Nothing really. So our scientists are just like the frog in the well. They can see so little, they understand so little, and the reality is very different from their theories and speculations. On the other hand, in Krishna consciousness, we have a source of perfect and absolute knowledge about both the material and spiritual worlds. It is a question of where you put your faith only. You can put your faith in the scientists and be mislead by them or you can put your faith in Krishna and receive perfect spiritual and material knowledge from Him. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa May 19, 2009 at 1:35 pm You people cant except the fact that technologay can grow!! we landed on the moon! WHY DO YOU WANT TO TAKE THE GLORY AWAY FROM PPL WHO DESERVE IT! LIKE NEAL ARMSTRONG! i think you are just jealous you didnt land on teh moon. In a movie that i watched at school it portrayed ralph rene and Bill Kaysing as crazy old men who lived in the middle of the desert in trailer houses tending tons of cats.. ppl with tons of cats are discusting and crazy. and one of ralph renes experiments that he did was using a leaf blower on a pile of rocks.. that was suppose to show how the luner module was suppose to land on the moon…. but i see no relevance from a space craft to a leaf blower…. Idont know about you but i dont thik that taht experiment was very scientific at all. WE May 11, 2009 at 8:56 pm hmm…what can I really say? It’s quite interesting to read all the views submitted so far. It will be a great shame if trully all these fuss about the moon landing is a hoax. First of all, Rene and his friend has stirred up what will long be the beginning of truth being revealed. Mary I like your belief and I hope its that strong in the Lord. STMan, good thinking. Now let me ask? 1. who filmed the landing on the moon – was i a man or a machine 2. If the best telescope can resolve at 0.2 arc secs and the lunar lander is 0.03 arc secs – so small can be filmed by even The Hubble- then who filmed it? Then I can say somebody landed first to be able to film the first actual landing. 3. If the Hubble can’t film an object on the moon which is so so close to us, how come its technology is so powerfull it can film/take photos of distant objects many lightyears away? 3. Wasn’t it NASA who said they have simulated the weightlessness on the moon in their labs to train their astronauts to move on the moon 4. The supersonic jet production was stopped because it was more of a danger than luxury. 5. Look at the very first mobile phone, its size and look and at the current mobile touch screens that we have. do you think if there really was a Saturn V as they claim, they wouldn’t have invented something better today and much more effect than its predecessor? 6. How come with all the rife technology it will take them twenty-five years with so much money to accomplished what they claim they accomplished years ago with less technology – may be they think we are dumb and can swallow the hook just like that. 7. How were they able to transmitt live space video when there was no one filming it 8. Did the Australians, British, etc planted their very own sound and video transmitters on the Saturn V or the Lunar lander so they can verify if trully the lander was out of this world or were they relying on the Americans to relay the information to them? There are a whole lot of questions to ask some of which we would say can be best classified as rhetoric. See the length at which America went when they got interested in the oil in Iraq? Don’t you think if moon landing was real enough, then Americans will be have ‘aeronautical estate agents’ on the moon? trust america. God bless May 13, 2009 at 4:24 pm Thanks for your questions. I will answer in points as you posed the questions. 1. Who filmed the landings? As the LM (Lunar Module) decended there was a 16mm movie camera inside the lunar module aimed out the window which used color film. This could not be seen live, but only after they returned to earth and had it developed. Apollo 11 had a black and white video camera, which was used so that people could view the astronauts as they walked on the moon, live on TV. On some of the later missions, a camera that was on the lunar rover sent back video of the LM as it lifted off of the moon, it was remotely controlled from earth by NASA. 2. & 3. The Hubble takes still pictures only. Since the moon is about 250,000 miles away the size of the lander is too small to see from Hubble, which is only about 300 miles above earth. The size of the planets in our solar system, galaxies and other astronomical objects are much larger, and therefore can be seen with hubble. No man made objects can be seen on any other astronomical body (planet, moon etc.) since they are too small. 4. The Concord only had one accident in it’s history. It was one of the safest planes to ever fly. True, it was a luxury, and was very expensive to fly, and maintain, and not profitible, which led to it’s cancellation. 5. What do you mean if there was a Saturn V? This is not in dispute, even by those who advocate the moon hoax theory. Thousands of people saw the launces in person. There is still 2 left which are on display in Houston Texes, and Cape Canaveral Florida. It’s replacement was the Space shuttle, since it was reusable, which was an improvement in some ways. But it could not lift as much into orbit, and therefore could not be used to return to the moon. A new heavey lifting rocket is now in development. 6. The cost at the time was so to speak “Astronomical”, and led to it’s cancellation after apollo 17, the 6th landing. Yes there is more technology now, but money wasn’t being spent to improve technology to return to the moon. 7. The video camera which sent back video was at times put on a tripod, so that both astronauts could be seen doing there work on the moon. It was not necessary for anyone to hold the camera. 8. As the LM flew to the moon by aiming there antennas at their location, they could pick up the video and voice transmissions. If they didn’t go to the moon, they would have picked up nothing. So there was no need to rely on the Americans. As I wrote before, the Soviet Union, (who were there enemies, at the time), also picked up the transmissions, and even reported in their newspaper Pravda on page 1, after apollo 11 had landed. None of the questions that are ever asked about the moon landings are unanswerable, by looking at the facts and concluding that the moon landings were in fact real. July 22, 2011 at 6:36 am Hare Krishna Kishore The only thing that we actually know the scientists can do for sure is they can put satellites into earth orbit at various heights. The fact that the satellite communications systems and GPS system work is proof of this. But we have no proof of probes going to the moon of mars or jupiter actually. This all goes through one organization, NASA, and they depend on the “success” of these projects like the voyager probe, etc, for their funding. So people have a tendency to cheat. If they know that they will get funding for these things then even if they can not actually do them it would be tempting for them to fake them and get the money rather than standing in the unemployment queues… You have to realize people are very dishonest and will do practically anything to get money. These faults and imperfections are not in the Vedic literatures. So there you can actually find the perfect knowledge. Of course it is quite different from what the scientists have taught us but the scientists are wrong and the Vedas is correct… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa April 29, 2009 at 6:55 pm Once again, we have more people claiming that there was not evidence that they landed on the moon. So in a court case what would be evidence? Answer: Witnesses, photos, video, film, physical objects from scene. With the moon landings, there is all of these. There is thousands of high resolution 70mm still photos shot from the surface and from orbit around the moon. Go to http://www.apolloarchive.com/apollo_gallery.html Spend several hours downloading the high resolution photos of them. Then ask yourself are all of them fake. Remember if they didn’t go then all of them have to be fake. Next watch the Discovery Channel’s “When We Left Earth” Documentary about The NASA Missions, including the moon landings. One of the best documentaries on the subject, with lots of interviews from the actual apollo astronauts who went to the moon. This would be evidence from witnesses (people who were actually there. Doesn’t look like they are lying to me. Why would they after 40 years. Do you really think their lives would still be in danger. (What nonsense). Another thing is that people claim it was faked in a studio. But the forget that it was broadcast “LIVE” on TV, with the astronauts communicating with the ground controllers and doing what they were being told to do, such as which rocks to pick up, where to go with the lunar rover next. There was also live TV of the astronauts weightless on the way to and from the moon. There is also 16mm movie film which was also being shot while the lunar module was decending and landing for all 6 landings. As well as several times while they were walking and driving the lunar rover on the surface. I have one film which shows an astronaut throwing an object, in one sixth gravity, which goes alot further than possible on earth. Another shows one astronaut falling down, and getting back on his feet simply by pushing with his arms, impossible with a space suit or even without on earth. So what about physical evidence: They brought back hundreds of pounds of Moon rocks (one of which I have seen personally) and dust, which has been analysed by geologists not only in the U.S.A. but around the world. Other evidence is that they were tracked using large parabolic antennas in Britain and Australia, in order that communications could be kept even when the moon was on the other side of the earth. The Soviets also tracked and monitored communications of the landings. If they didn’t go then the Soviets would have let the world know that they didn’t go. Remember the fact that there is no longer any moon landings is not evidence against it. We no longer build pyramids, but at one time they did. We no longer have a supersonic passenger jet, but at one time we did. If every year there were still more moon landings, the same people whould be complaining that money is being wasted. This was the reason that they were cancelled after apollo 17. The saturn V went out of production, so no more landings are possible until a replacement is made. There was 3 saturn V’s left. One was used for Sky Lab, one is on display in Houston, and one in Florida at Cape Canaveral. Remember hundreds or thousand of people witnessed the launce of these huge rockets as they left the earth. So, in summary, there is more evidence than most people realize, if you really look into the facts, and not get caught up in internet conspiracy hoax nonsense, you will come to appreciate what they astronauts did, risking their lives, (especially those on apollo 13), and what a great accomplishment this was. So don’t say there is no evidence, unless you mean no evidence for a moon hoax. July 12, 2009 at 10:02 am David Percy is an award winning television and film producer, a professional photographer and also a member of the Royal Photographic Society. He claims to have studied all the images you mention and has even made a film and wrote a book which exposes this hoax for what it is. In his film he has an expert explain that it is possible that the so-called “LIVE” broadcasts were actually broadcast from earth to the moon and then re-broadcast from the moon back to earth. My point is all the footage could easily be faked. As in a court all evidence is subject to scrutiny. Experts like David Percy have done so and their conclusion is decisive that a hoax is being foisted on humanity. The Russians are part of the hoax too, the hoaxed the firstman in space. Again I refer you to David Percy’s excellent film on this point. Just because huge numbers of people watched the rockets take-off – doesn’t prove that the rockets went to the moon – this shows the desperation of the hoaxers for evidence. The moon rock’s – same as the earth rocks. Just another trick. As has been mention previously by others, this debate would be pointless if the so-called astranauts had performed some tangible action on the lunar surface which could be verified here on earth by independant observers. Some have sugested that magnesium flares would have been observed here on earth. The failure of NASA to convince the sceptics by their lack of convincing evidence means that they are forced into a barage of propaganda to divert the minds of the gullable from the actual fact that their tax dollars have been abused. All the so-called evidence is all bluff – NO REAL STUFF! July 13, 2009 at 6:40 am Many photographers, simply don’t understand how the differences in lighting conditions on the moon, affect the photos. They have never taken a photo in bright sunlight with a black sky. Many of the errors deal with believing that the astronauts (in white space suits) should be dark. This has been disproven like all of the other errors, over and over again. Many errors have to do with their belief that shadows should all be parallel. That too I can disprove. Read all of the points near the top under “Space oddities”. Those can all be answered, most have been already. If you deleted one everytime it was answered, would there be any left? If so which ones, I can answer any of them for you. The more people that you bring into the hoax conspiracy, the less credible your arguments get. Now the Russians are part of the Hoax? That’s a new one that I have never heard. If they faked the first man in space, then I ask you this: Who was the first man in space, wouldn’t it then be an American such as Allan Shephard or John Glen. The Americans should be informed of this great news. Or do you now believe that no one has ever been in space? Please do answer this. I really did want to stick to the facts and answering real questions. Debating whether or not people are lying or part of the hoax is going no where. You make a lot of point with no data to back them up. The magnesium flare would prove nothing to those who believe in the hoax theory, since they could say that the flares were put there by an unmanned probe, and set off remotely at the correct time. The photos are by far, better evidence. If you want me to analyse a specific apollo photo (or more, I can do that), or other scientific question about the moon landings, I can do that too, rather than debating whether or not more people are part of the hoax. I have nothing to gain by defending NASA if they are lying. If the facts were against them, the apollo story would crumble like a house of cards, and I would help knock it over. But yet it stands. Madhusudana Dasa July 15, 2009 at 6:09 pm “The more people that you bring into the hoax conspiracy, the less credible your arguments get.” Sorry, but I am unable to follow your reasoning here. More or less, how does this effect credibility? “Now the Russians are part of the Hoax? That’s a new one that I have never heard.” I’m no expert on this subject but David Percy is and he gives very plausable explainations for this. If you really haven’t heard this before then this shows your poor fund of knowledge. Perhaps you need to catch up with what he is saying? Yes they have been in space, in low orbit. “The photos are by far, better evidence.” David Percy has shown with assistance from several experts how these photos are fake. Please see his excellent video and learn something. So as I said previously since you have no irrefutable evidence depending mainly on photographic illusions it is still a case of all bluff without any real stuff. July 17, 2009 at 12:43 pm ||“Now the Russians are part of the Hoax? That’s a new one that I have never heard.” I’m no expert on this subject but David Percy is and he gives very plausable explainations for this. If you really haven’t heard this before then this shows your poor fund of knowledge. Perhaps you need to catch up with what he is saying?|| So why don’t you give a brief summary of his explanation here? Could you document where he offers such an explanation? You can claim he does but that doesn’t make it so. You don’t take NASA’s word for it, why should we take your word that X said Y? Further, no one has ever said why anything NASA offers is immediately discounted and not to be trusted. You (or someone else) compared this to a legal trial (doing science and backing a scientific claim and proving guilt in a trial are not highly similar but let’s run with it). In a legal trial, a witness is presumed to be telling the truth until good evidence is offered otherwise. For example, a witness can be shown to be more likely than not to not tell the truth, or is a known liar. So, I’m curious what your evidence is NASA can be so dismissed out of hand? Citizen December 8, 2010 at 6:56 pm I read somewhere that the US sent Russia some 3 ships of food stuff for them to shut their mouth. Russia had very little food supplies back then … I am not a scientist or anything … but a man with common sense. Media is under the control of the few wealthy people … what you read in news is what they want you to know. All important world events were planned and conducted by them … People have been brain washed to believe whatever they are told … 99% of our history is wrong … All those who readily believe whatever they are told will always believe … people with common sense will have a high blood pressure … STMan July 18, 2009 at 7:03 am Not knowing one of his conspircy or hoax theories, hardly shows my poor fund of knowledge. My knowledge is base on years of practical experience with science, photography, computers, etc.. Since you mentioned him, I had a long look at Percy’s web site, and I have seen most if not all of his arguements before. Most are easily answerable, and many involve the usual missunderstandings of how shadows are not parallel. A few pages of his site deal with astronauts who appear different sizes on different photos, even though it is clear that they are smaller when further from the camera. Other one’s would require a fairly complex answer. I would probably need my own web site with pictures in order to answer them properly, but if you have a specific one you want answered, I could probably do that. It if fairly easy to take some photos after sunrise or before sunset, when the shadows are long and compare how the shadows on the apollo photos are similar to those you can take yourself. I have done this, and the shadows follow the same principles whether on earth or on the moon. The lighting conditions are more difficult to simulate on earth since we can never have a bright sun with a black sky, but it is fairly easy to understand what would happen under those circumstances, if we know how light is reflected. marvz April 27, 2009 at 9:46 am I have no knowledge of space travel or science or anything of the sort. I´m just a ordinary rational person and my genuine belief is that the original moon landing was a hoax. I think having read a large number of articles from various different sources of varying credibility the only logical conclusion is that it was staged. There are too many factual inconsistencies that just don’t make sense that seem to contravene established and agreed upon scientific fact. The circumstantial evidence of the space race and subsequent failures of NASA to launch rockets with technology supposedly far more advanced would seem to support the so-called conspiracy theory. September 24, 2009 at 6:03 am What knowledge of space travel or science do you need if you spot a sneaker track on the moon? Or studio lights in a poorly trimmed photo. Get over yourself. I do have some knowledge of space and that is why I began asking questions before Armstrong had even started back. I watched the original moon landing. I was a patriotic American. I wanted to be an astronomer when I finished school. Rah rah rah. God bless NASA. I bought into the whole thing. Then I saw a meteor pass behind Armstrong’s head. A meteor? Burning atmosphere? I knew then without the need to read any pro-hoax site that either: A) We were wrong and there is an atmosphere on the moon. OR B) The pictures I was watching were not taken on the moon. I have no proof of this. Do you know where I can obtain ALL the video of that first landing? But I do not need proof if I have no desire to prove it to anyone else. So until it is established there is an atmosphere on the moon I will believe the ‘transmissions from the moon’ were faked. Let the debunkers say and believe what they will. March 20, 2009 at 11:26 pm GUYS!!!! ofc there should not be a dust blown up cuz there is no atmosphere condition on the Moon!!! The golf ball can go right but remember the 1/6 gravity! The backpack have a cooling units in it, remember?? The suits and the spacecrafts have a special insulation that protect them from the solar flares and radiations! The stars don’t appeared in the pics cuz the ground is so bright, just like when you are in downtown, full of lights and you can’t see stars, same thing doh! the landing craft don’t get deep like the astronaut shoes because the fine dust is just few inches deep but under that, there are very solid, dense, very tight-packed ground that caused by numerous vibrated of the micrometeorites!! I have so much to tell you but have little time so tell me if u got a question!!! Last thing, IT IS REAL!!!! Get over it!!!! It is this so-called “evidence” which is the crux of the hoax. As it fails to withstand scrutiny. David Percy is an award winning television and film producer, a professional photographer and also a member of the Royal Photographic Society. He is co-author, along with Mary Bennett, of the fascinating book ‘Dark Moon: Apollo and the Whistle-Blowers’ (ISBN 1-898541-10-8). He also made a film/documentary ‘What Happened on the Moon?’, a film that also features Mary Bennett and one which I strongly recommend if you have an interest in the Apollo missions. Percy firmly believes that the Apollo footage was either faked or not the original film that was shot on the Moon. He believes that many anomalous features that would alert the eagle eyed viewer, could have been placed in the films by whistle blowers who were deeply dissatisfied to be a part of the cover-up. He has studied the entire transfer of the original film on video tape, a feat that not many people have done. What many people did not realize at the time was that a lot of the footage was actually pre-recorded and not live at all. (Possibly done by Stanley Kubrick!) July 13, 2009 at 5:06 am David Percy grossly overestimates his credentials. Yes, he is a member of RPS, but that is open to amateurs and may be granted, for example, solely on the basis of artistic merit and not technical skill. The only award David Percy lists is fourth runner-up to a BAFTA award. No other evidence of awards has been presented. One of Percy’s resumes lists him as the producer of the BBC “Mind Mapping” set of videos, but the official credits from BBC list no “David Percy” among any of the participants. Percy claims to be a professional photographer, but no evidence of any professional work has been presented. In fact, many professional photographers whose credentials are NOT debatable have called Percy’s work and conclusions into question. Percy has absolutely no training or experience in the science of photographic interpretation and analysis, which is a separate field from photography. Percy’s methods by which he has examined the Apollo photographs are simply made-up and bear no resemblance to how photo analysts actually work. I on the other hand have formal training and experience in the science of photographic interpretation. My work has been published in the prestigious journal “Science” and I have appeared on National Geographic and on UK Channel 4, as well as on the TV program “Mythbusters.” I have attempted at several occasions to quiz Percy on his techniques and conclusions, but he always avoids it. He has declined two separate invitations to defend his findings against my comments on international television. Nor has this “professional photographer” managed to duplicate the Apollo photographs in his studio, using the methods he theorizes were used to fake the photos. He merely provides diagrams or rough descriptions — no detail or rigor. Percy has NOT studied all the Apollo video, as he claims. He has been caught on two separate occasions claiming the video suspiciously did not contain certain things (e.g., astronauts jumping great heights), when legitimate Apollo historians can find such examples in just minutes. David Percy’s only prior publication is a science fiction novel. Mary Bennett is neither a scientist nor a photo analyst: she is a self-proclaimed psychic. Yet these uneducated, unqualified people managed to find something all the world’s finest experts seem to have missed! He will not answer questions submitted either in writing or verbally. What does David Percy have to hide? Perhaps his own charlatanism? The claim that Stanley Kubrick faked the video comes from an old joke that circulated on the Internet in the 1990s. The hoax believers simply take it seriously. February 23, 2009 at 10:09 pm The point about conspiracy theories is that’s all they are, theories. Anyone can start one and there is always someone who will believe it and if there is any aspect of the theory that does not fit then ignore it. Considering there was the space race with the USSR going on at the time do you not think they would found out about the hoax through their intelligence network? Think of the amount of people who would have to be involved to set up a fake and to keep it secret, how would you be able to keep all those people quiet for all these years? It was no fake, it was real. Like it or not, but US astronauts landed on the moon in 1969. February 24, 2009 at 9:24 am Hare Krishna Rob. As far as the moon mission it is not a conspiracy theory. There is simply no evidence that they went to the moon at all. And the biggest evidence is that supposadly they had all these successful manned missions to the moon in the 60’s with very ancient technology compared to what we have today. And now, George Bush asked NASA to go to the moon again, and they say they can’t do it. They are saying maybe with a trillion dollars of funding or more perhaps they will be able to send a manned mission to the moon in 25 years time? So it does not take a genius to work out if NASA had perfectly good technology to successfully put men on the moon and bring them back in the 60’s that technology would have evolved and developed and would have been perfected by now. But now NASA tell us “we can’t go to the moon without trillions of dollars of funding at 25 years to develop a new space ship?” So this is the reason. There is no evidence we ever went to the moon, plus we never went again and we can’t go now, plus we have never done anything on the moon that can be observed from Earth, which, if one did go to the moon would be the logical thing to do if you wanted to convince people you were there. There would not have been so many people involved in such a hoax. Most working on the project would have believed it to be true. And it is a military secret, national security issue, so anyone not keeping the secret will be very severely dealt with. So if you know if you don’t keep the secret you will be killed or your family members will be killed, you keep the secret. The thing is if they really went to the moon they would be able to go now and if they want to clear the doubt then they can go there and do something that can be seen from Earth with a reasonable sized telescope. March 22, 2009 at 6:27 am The reason that they can’t go to the moon now is that they stopped building Saturn V rockets, which was the only vehicle which could lift a big enough payload into orbit, and instead built the space shuttle which only can reach low earth orbit. After 6 successful landings it was decided that no more money would be spent for more flights. The fact that no flights are currently being done now doesn’t mean that it was never done. Look at the concord supersonic jet for example, built in the 60’s. Now there is no supersonic passanger jet. Does that mean that there never was because there isn’t one now. The reason is that it was not cost effective to continue, just like the moon landings. They did leave two retro reflectors on the moon (apollo 14 & 15), which when a bright enough laser is pointed at it, the reflection can be seen with a big enough telescope. No telescope is powerful enough to see any of the man made objects left on the moon including hubble, because of the distance, however the Clementine lunar probe did take a picture showing the shadow of one of the decent stages of the lunar lander which was left on the moon. Sunny, Progress moves forward not backwards….blueprints are cool and all, but to what purpose would rebuilding serve? Would be like building an XT computer (for those that remember, that was one of the first PC’s release, 33mhz (not ghz) speed, 128k (not MB) of memory)….just because we can, doesn’t mean its worth it to do so. In a society who’s religion is God Money, makes no sense because wasting money (at least, the appearance of doing so) is akin to blasphemy. Just ain’t gonna happen.. I put appearance in there because its kind of like the Catholics…boink little kids in secret while telling the world to be better people….and give us your money. Nah, doesn’t make much sense honestly. I mean, in the 60’s we had a purpose for going to the moon (silly as it may seem now), what purpose is there now? I don’t think we’ll be back to the moon until there’s a good reason money wise, to do so…just isn’t one now. Loho In answer to that very question NASA says the blueprints of the Saturn V were lost so they would have to start all over again if they had to go back to the moon. Hmmm? T. Thatcher September 24, 2009 at 5:34 am First – why did the people working the gas pumps (metaphorically) have to be informed if this was a hoax. Need to know people were probably less than a hundred dedicated American patriots and/or professional intelligence agents who believed we needed the propaganda victory in our cold war against the Soviets. Second – Why didn’t the Russians say anything? They did. Both major Russian newspapers reported it as a hoax. The question now becomes why didn’t the American press report that the Russians were claiming it was a hoax? Third – If we could send twelve men to the moon in the sixties using computers with less power than a Commodore 64 computer, why is it predicted now we will need a decade of research before we can go back? My God you people are gullible. You will believe anything the govt tells you, yes? Remember it was the same head of govt then who said “I am not a crook”. Did you believe Nixon was telling the truth about that. His govt lied about watergate, about Vietnam, about CIA experiments on civilians, but they wouldn’t lie about the moon landing. Oh no! Heaven forbid! Of course not. October 21, 2009 at 12:16 am I think the main reason they want that long is because there is a greater aversion to loss of life by todays standards. Once upon a time you actually had an accepted view that a certain number of people would die building a particular skyscraper and everyone thought that was acceptable. It really isn’t anymore. Likewise, yes they got to the moon, but how many attempts did it take? How much trial and error in constructing these things? Likely they would spend much more time modelling the missions to do it right. Also there isn’t much difference in the budgets, despite the disparities of about 1000 orders of magnitude. This is summed up in the depreciation in value of currency which is constantly occuring. As for the original landings I’m a fence sitter. January 8, 2010 at 12:36 am Hi Zoot! Please accept my humble obeisances AND my apology for being such a Johhny-Come-Lately on this post and consequently replying to you. I must disagree with your statement about aversion to loss of life becoming a standard with passage of time since the 60’s. Witness computer games such as ‘Grand Theft Auto’, and let’s not forget ‘Dungeons & Dragons’. And how may we EVER forget George Bush Senior’s “famous” statement about “collateral damage” when referring to human beings losing their lives in a war–an unjust war at that. I think the word aversion needs to be replaced with the word indifference–and practically speaking we’re able to witness this actually happening. Being a guy in my late 60’s FROM the 60’s I may tell you in all honesty that the young people of today hardly exude the compassion of yesteryear. What I see is a bunch of spoiled, self-indulgent and whiney yuppies who couldn’t care less who’s starving or who’s dying so long as they’re able to get their bottle of 10-year old Merlot’ & their Lexus. Witness Roe vs Wade. Since that Supreme Court decision, some 34 million babies have been cruelly put to death in the womb by well-paid hit-men calling themselves doctors. 34 million! That’s almost 6 times as many human beings who were murdered in The Holocaust. And I’m sure the 34 million number has vastly increased. The point is that life is losing its sacredness, that idea is being slowly taught to young people–and you better believe it’s a well-laid plan; so I don’t see aversion entering the picture here, quite the opposite is taking place. Did they go/didn’t they go to the moon…my thinking is that they probably did not. And even from a material point of view: if they did in fact go to the moon or some celestial body, what in heaven’s name was their going supposed to have accomplished…other than we taxpayers who funded this light-show becoming brainwashed & enthused that, yes, they’ll do even greater things! I just wanted to say something about your comment up above and I quote “bunch of spoiled, self-indulgent and whiney yuppies” First I’m not exactly sure what a “whiney yuppies” is suppose to mean. But I’m not spoiled or self-indulgent. I’m a 17 year old girl and according to you I don’t care about the world. I just want to let you know that I wake up every saturday morning at 7o’clock to pass out water pitchers at a nursing home at 8o’clock in the morning and I do that until 10o’clock. Why do I do that? Because I like to volunteer in the community. So even though you think young people are “spoiled” and don’t care about the world, let me be the first to tell you that you are dead wrong. sarah September 24, 2009 at 6:18 am Hello. There are supposed to be about four of these reflectors, I think 3 are supposed to be put there by the Apollo missions. But one is supposed to be put there by an unmanned Russian mission. So even according to their own information the reflectors can be put there by unmanned missions. So even if there are reflectors it does not prove that man has walked on the moon. And it is by no means a proven fact that there are reflectors on the moon placed by us. I have discussed this at great length in other places in this thread and you can find it there. People make it seem like it is a simple thing to fire a laser at a reflector 1/4 of a million miles away and get a reflection back that you can detect. In fact this is almost impossible to do. Even if you have the best equipment. There is only one place in the world doing this experiment on an almost daily basis and they can go for weeks or months without being able to get any significant reflections from the so-called reflectors on the moon. And the way the experiment is designed there could be many other explanations for the so-called reflections from the moon. This experiment is by no means conclusive. It does not prove that we have reflectors on the moon put there either by manned or unmanned missions. December 25, 2010 at 6:22 pm Wow, thats really using your head. If we needed the mirrors to calculate the distance of the moon from earth, how did we calculate the distance to begin with???!?!? I’m no atro-phisicist or Phd in anything…. Yet! but I am pretty sure we would need to know the distance of the moon from earth in order to fly there, ya? So, anyway, your argument makes no sense to me, as you say we needed the supposed mirrors in order to calculate the distance we needed to know in the first place in order to place the said mirrors to begin with… Common sense???? February 14, 2009 at 6:59 pm How to land SAFELY? How to survive in a spacesuit with a backpack that has to regulate body temperature in an outside environment of 200 degrees F in the sunlight and -200 degrees F in the shade? I am not convinced that those two technologies were available then let alone now. When we landed an orbiter on the surface of Mars it crash landed with balloons around to take in the blows. The backpack of the astronauts should be examined. Where would the heat buildup from the astronauts body go if there is no air heat exchange (atmosphere) on the surface of the Moon? March 22, 2009 at 6:05 am Since they are in a near vacuum the temperature differential will not affect them. A vacuum is the best insulator (ie: thermos bottle). The suit was white to reflect the heat of the sun and there was liquid coolant cirulating in their suit to keep them at the proper temperature. Not that high teck. Also why is this only raised about the moon landings, and not the orbital flights where there was a space walk – Ed White, Gordon Cooper, Russian cosmonauts, and shuttle flights, also would experience the same effects of hot and cold in low Earth orbit. May 14, 2009 at 1:06 pm How convenient…. I am astonished that the Hubble Telescope cannot get a decent resolution on the lunar lander etc. However the USA did very well out of the “Landings” due to international investment in US industry…. Where did the money go? 40 Billion was a fortune, who pocketed that? Where will the TRILLIONS go on missions to Mars? You have to admit this is great entertainment! If they want to spend money, spend it on a feasible Asteroid Defence System – it’s the only sane course of action…. but then again humanity proves it is mentally dysfunctional regularly. Saving our planet, society and fellow creatures seems to take poor second place when someone can make a percentage out of some con. I guess our leaders, industry chiefs and money men will only invest in what they can make the most money from for themselves… The last asteroid to come close to Our Planet was only spotted after it had passed between the Earth and the Moon. It’s not if but when we get battered. Then all the leaders, industry chiefs and money men will be left with is… nothing. Asteroids can make all their games, crimes, circus’s of war and selfishness irrelevant. Yet they seem too stupid to even protect their investments and their own families asses. The proof humanity is relatively mindless is the fact that we are seeing so little investment in a dedicated space defence systems – now that we KNOW what is out there. Survival is the only sane cause. If we save this world from one Total Extinction Event then we will have saved every species on Earth that we haven’t yet murdered through our vile greed; and that’s got to be good for our standing with the Prime Mover (known as God to some) – and let’s face it, we need all the help we can get in that department. So if we throw 100 – 500 trillion dollars at this little project and power industry with Gyromill power instead of Nuclear Stupidity we can survive. We can do Mars later for real… However I guess more money can be made in the short term with special effects and trickery… January 22, 2010 at 3:25 pm Remember, everything that we as a nation do for our space exploration is done by one and only organization – NASA and there is none other. Therefore, NASA and those who cold-heartedly believe in their government’s programs without commonsense will twist the facts and the truth to fit their view and mentality. That’s what is happening with NASA’s fake moon landing. Anytime, when people with commonsense throw an idea at NASA, they come up with some stupid reason to go against their commonsense. As a simple test, I would like for everyone reading my response to go to Google Map and search for your house or apartment or your place of residence and zoom in as close as possible on the satellite image. What do you see may I ask? Well, do you want to know what I see on my Google Map? I see my house with orange roof top, my apple tree in my backyard, my front yard with fences, my black tar driveway, my pickup truck parked at the end of my driveway. Heck, I even see my son’s red toy car left in our backyard. As a reminder to those who think they got everything figured with Hubble telescope, these Google Map satellite images were taken as far as 22,000 miles above our Earth’s surface from outer space by a satellite. Let’s see. Moon is only about 430,000 miles from Earth and Google was able to take very close satellite images from space of Earth’s surface. It only goes to show that Hubble telescope should be able to take 100 times high resolution pictures of our moon’s surface and definitely be able to see the lunar modules still siting on the moon, if we did land on the moon. I have a $1,000 telescope and I can take pictures of our moon’s creators very very close and crisp clear. By the way, I did painstakingly search the moon with my telescope and used the highest lens power to get as close as possible. So, far nothing came up yet not even remotely. If I can do that with my cheap $1,000 telescope, surely million dollar Hubble telescope should easily be able to get very very close and crisp clear images of our moon’s surface. Supporters of NASA’s fake moon landings also give this stupid reasons too – Mylar reflection. Oh and there is no Mylar reflection on Earth when they took the Google Map satellite images. Give me a break. Mylar reflection and arc are all terms souped up by rednecks and idiots with no high school diploma or commonsense, because they believe in their government cold-heartedly even if they are wrong. OKAY, smart guy. Let’s just say I don’t know nothing about Hubble telescope and I am an village idiot, who only completed up to 5th grade. (LOL). Let me ask you this. If NASA can send not one but two rovers in 6 to 7 months to Mars (54 million miles from Earth), why can’t NASA send at least one rover in 3 days to our moon (430,000 miles from Earth). We don’t need to rely on NASA’s stupid orbiter’s definitive proofs images, which is totally laughable. Once the rover lands on the moon’s surface, we can get highest resolution images up and close too. Come on, smart people. Answer me. Why is NASA avoiding this option? Remember, they are spending our money in billions of dollar to accomplish their lies. By the way, I have P.H.D in Physics and Doctorate in Astronomy and I am not an village idiot LOL. February 5, 2010 at 3:38 pm The best resolution of the satellites used by google earth is about .5m (1.6ft.) which have an orbital altitude of about 200 miles, not 22,000. Satellites at that height (geosynchronous orbit) are used for wide angle images of the earth, such as for weather. Any satellites that get close up high resolution images of the earth’s surface such as spy satellites or land sat, are in low earth orbit, not geosynchronous. Therefore we must compare the distance of 200 miles for images of earth’s surface with the 240,000 mile distance from hubble to the moon, which would make it 1200 times as far. At that distance hubble’s resolution as well as any gound based telescope cannot resolve the LM on the moon. As far as why NASA doesn’t NASA send a rover to the moon. Why send an unmanned rover to the moon if they already had 12 men who walked on the moon and returned samples. Yes they could do it, but would that be a useful way to spend part of NASA’s buget? the voice of reason March 15, 2010 at 11:16 am You have a doctorate in Astronomy but you don’t know much about Hubble?!?!?! I think you might be a hoax. In your efforts to get your doctorate in Astronomy did you ever hear of a man named George Carruthers or the lunar observatory equipment he designed for Apollo 16? Did you ever see the UV pictures that were taken with said equipment during the Apollo 16 mission? If anyone including NASA sent rovers to the moon to take photos of Apollo artifacts left on the moon, do you really think that would convince the hoax believers? Prominent hoax theorist Marcus Allen has stated that no photos of said Apollo artifacts would convince him of the landings. I think most hoax theorists would react similarly. Many cannot admit they are wrong and some have too much income to lose if they admit the truth. And the truth is between 1969 and 1972, 12 men landed on the moon and returned to earth with geologic samples and photographic evidence that has been confirmed by far more people that doubt the events. bobby btw he is an undergrad in Minnesota no PhD yet and I guess he missed the fact that a PhD is a Doctorate his email is joh04684 @ umn.edu Geoff Boxer September 25, 2011 at 12:21 pm You are so right. But just consider this: Did you watch the latest launch and see the huge power needed to blast off. Something like a huge 15 story building and yet the small rocket probe that the astronauts are in, detaches itself, lands the right way up on the moon and then calmly takes off when it’s ready – Give me a break! KH Do you seriously think that it takes the same amount of energy to blast off from the moon? The moon’s gravity is a fraction of the earth’s gravity. Think! Geoff Boxer November 12, 2011 at 5:28 am The gravity on the Moon is about 1/6th that of Earth. To achieve the huge acceleration needed to blast off from the Moon a huge amount of energy is still needed. But apart from that, just imagine the probe, landing slowly and carefully the correct way up. They lower a ladder, walk out onto the lunar surface, play around for a while, get some pictures and climb back ready to blast off and journey back to Earth. No hitches, clear reception (black and white. I thought they had colour in 1969?) and this is over 40 years ago – Incredible. Look at the pictures of the astonauts walking around. You can practically see they are on wires. Anyway that’s all I’m saying on the subject. You’ll be saying Oswald killed Kennedy and it was just a coincidence that he was, in turn, killed by Ruby, dying of cancer and Bobby Kennedy was shot by some random shooter. Am I a conspiracy theory nut or do I see things laterally? And don’t get me started on Diana or Irak. Have a nice life. Good talking to you. Better get on with something important. November 13, 2011 at 11:09 am Hare Krishna Geoff Nice post. Of course you would still need a lot of power to get off the moon. I also find it amazing that they could broadcast live television from the surface of the moon a quarter of a million miles away [according to them] in the 60’s. I do not know if you know but in the 60’s to broadcast live television from anywhere on earth to another place even only a mile or two away you needed to have a huge truck full of equipment and big powerful transmitters… Yet they have no problem at all to do a live broadcast from the moon. In the 60’s??? The whole thing is such a complex operation. Flying to the moon with their multi-stage rocket is complex and very dangerous. Then they put that thing in orbit around the moon and leave it orbiting the moon and get in their lunar lander and fly down to the moon for their little adventure in their little spaceship that has walls as thick as a few layers of aluminum foil… And then it just floats back up to the mother ship and they dock with it and get on-board and fly back home… This is just too complex. And they made it look so easy. And still no one can dream of doing anything like this even now 45 years later when the technology is 1000 times better… The whole thing is completely crazy. No sane person could believe this fairy tale. Irony October 14, 2011 at 3:40 pm A PhD in physics and a Doctorate in Astronomy should have made it incredibly clear to you that the atmospheric effects alone are enough to keep you from resolving images tight enough to capture such minute detail on the moon. I believe you are a fraud. You would also know that a thousand-dollar telescope is middle-of-the-road budget for a pre-made unit. Go to a star party and check out someone’s f9 reflector, and then posit your ridiculous assertions to them. I hope you actually listen to the tirade that ensues. April 26, 2013 at 5:53 pm Very well said!!!! it doesnt take a smart person to pint point the things that just doeesnt make sense at all. I am new to this thing and i have read article which caught my mind with things that even got me curious. I am not a high school graduate but i understand why people believe no one went to the moon. I believe it as well especially when i learned that the sun throws thousands of solar flares that no human can support and that the auras tha appears on the sky are due to those radiations and damage all type of ELECTRONICS as well tc March 13, 2014 at 3:07 am to Mr: “By the way, I have P.H.D in Physics and Doctorate in Astronomy and I am not an village idiot LOL.” You should have worked an english or literacy class in there as well. The term is “whole-heartedly not cold-heartedly” “they believe in their government cold-heartedly ” Don’t mean to pick. Just saying nek54 May 26, 2014 at 12:11 pm @Mark Johnson .” Okay smart guy ” if your so sure the moon landings were a hoax, what makes you think that there were any rovers sent to mars ? If you think the pictures from the moon are fake , what makes you think the pictures from mars are not ? Your view on the two events seem to contradict each other . Until you can conclusively prove one or the other you should respect others opinions without criticism . May 27, 2014 at 2:48 am We can not say if there are any rovers on Mars or not. We have exactly the same problem as the moon. There is no proof of this at all. So it is quite possible that the Mars rovers are roving around some Mars set somewhere. Who knows? The only thing we have on these issues is the word of NASA and if NASA are lying then the Mars rovers may not be on Mars at all. So we can not take these things very seriously at all… Let them do something practical. We have been waiting for that for a very long time… carol sinclair July 5, 2009 at 8:30 pm I looked into manned exploration of Mars for a university project recently so I learnt quite a lot about the hardware/ spacesuits and rockets used for the Apollo missions, and I’d like to say that a lot of the so-called ‘facts’ in this article are laughably wrong, for instance, that the lunar lander weighed 17 tonnes despite being made from ‘heavy duty tin foil’, that the pressure inside a spacesuit is greater than inside a football (spacesuit pressure in those days was about one third of atmospheric pressure on Earth, e.g. very low), also, spacesuits were incredibly well engineered with layers of material to stop the radiation, plus they weren’t exactly up there long, so no wonder none of them developed cancer… Basically this article is riddled with basic errors that if you just looked into the subject you would easily see for yourself. Also, if it was faked why have the Russians kept so quiet? or why haven’t more of the 300,000 people involved in the Apollo missions come forward to blow the whistle? Where does the Vedas say this? We are talking specifically about the cosmology of the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Where is this said in the Srimad-Bhagavatam??? You can not just pick things like this out of the air and say “the Vedas says it” with no reference? racas September 7, 2012 at 7:33 pm Don’t you think that the American administration just wants the controversy to continue on? it gives the US a shadowy aspect of ” can fool everyone” even if it is not true. it is a win-win for the policy makers, so i don’t think we will ever know the truth. On the other hand, David Percy is an award winning television and film producer, a professional photographer and also a member of the Royal Photographic Society. He is co-author, along with Mary Bennett, of the fascinating book ‘Dark Moon: Apollo and the Whistle-Blowers’ (ISBN 1-898541-10-8). He also made a film/documentary ‘What Happened on the Moon?’, a film that also features Mary Bennett and one which I strongly recommend if you have an interest in the Apollo missions. Percy firmly believes that the Apollo footage was either faked or not the original film that was shot on the Moon. He believes that many anomalous features that would alert the eagle eyed viewer, could have been placed in the films by whistle blowers who were deeply dissatisfied to be a part of the cover-up. He has studied the entire transfer of the original film on video tape, a feat that not many people have done. Daniel P June 5, 2013 at 1:43 am Why should anyone believe that humans have been to to Moon Daniel. Honestly Daniel how do you know that humans have been to the Moon? It is only blind faith in NASA. They say they went to the Moon and you believe them. They have no proof they have been to the Moon. And the proof they did not go to the Moon is that in the 60’s they had no problems sending multiple successful manned missions to the Moon with technology that is stone-age compared to the technology we have today. But today NASA have no idea at all how to send men to the Moon. They can not do it. And since those glorious days of manned space expeditions in the 60’s no man has even left Earth orbit. Then, in the sixties, we could send men to the moon, 250,000 miles, transmit live television from the Moon back to Earth, and fly them safely back home another 250,000 miles. Now, fifty years later, with fabulously improved technology the best we can do is send men to the international space station which is not more than 250 miles up in the sky… So if we were so successful at manned space missions in the sixties then how on earth is it possible that we have now forgotten how to do it? How is is possible that the technology of manned space flight did not develop, why did we never try to go anywhere else, like Mars. Why did we never go back to the Moon??? So all these facts actually prove that we were never able to go to the Moon in the first place and Daniel there is not one single piece of proof that men ever walked on the Moon. I challenge you to prove that men have walked on the moon. But there is no proof at all Daniel. You simply have blind faith in NASA. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa August 19, 2012 at 6:24 am George Bush was ready to go back to the moon and was prepared to provide NASA the funds for this but NASA said “Sorry we can’t go to the moon now…” So you are writing nonsense here. NASA was offered the funds but could not deliver the goods. Now NASA has nothing except their unmanned ‘space plane’. That only has a cargo space about the size of the back of a pick-up truck. It is just like a drone that also can only fly in earth orbit… NASA has no ability for manned space flight at all… They can not do it now… No one can do it now. Man on the moon…. And they could not do it in the 60’s either….. Ron Expeth July 30, 2011 at 8:32 pm You may feel quite smug coming up with this little gem, as if nobody else has ever thought of it, but unfortunately this has been satisfactorily explained, as have all other “But what about..” If you examine the evidence with an open mind you will see that the entire manned missions to the Moon were all faked, including the ill-fated Apollo 13. It is very sad news but unfortunately it is true. Why is it so important to raise the issue? The problem with letting it go is that the US government is now so adept at lying to its population that its deceptions can only become more and more abhorrent – like 9/11, the murder of 3000 of its own people to promote a phony war. This has to stop. It is up to all of us throughout the world who value life to open our eyes and demand the truth. May 27, 2012 at 11:24 am There is no real proof that the mirrors are there. The experiment is not conclusive and does not really prove that mirrors are on the moon… I have explained this before and have spent quite a lot of time at the only observatory (in Texas) who do this experiment (Luna lazer Ranging) every night and they can go for weeks or even months without being able to get any returns from the so-called mirrors on the moon they are firing their lazer at. Then suddenly, for no apparent reason, it starts working again. And I have spoken to the scientist who was in charge of this same experiment when it was being also done in Australia and he was quite frank and openly told me that even though from Australia we are really in the best position to do this experiment they were never able to conclusively show that the reflectors were on the moon… So this experiment is not conclusive. There are so many things. The way they do the experiment in Texas [the official NASA funded site] is rigged. They fire the lazer in pulses every few seconds through a telescope pointed at one of the the so-called retro-reflectors on the moon and they only open up the detector for a tiny fraction of a second exactly when they expect a return from the moon and if they find a bit of green light in that tiny fraction of a second they say they have got a return from the mirror on the moon. But they have no idea actually where that green light comes from… For example if they were to leave the detector open all the time it would be picking up green light all the time… The whole thing is a scam… Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Madhudvisa dasa July 20, 2009 at 4:46 pm Regarding NASA’s latest pictures from the apollo xx landing sites: Up through times the establishment has without exceptions laughed at and ridiculed blurry UFO pictures taken by people who claim to have seen these things. If those UFO’s really exist, why is there never any sharp photo’s of these UFO’s. If these things really exist then give us the detailed photo’s that proves them, says the non-believers? Some days ago NASA published a new set of even more blurry moon pictures , claiming them to show the remains of the Apollo 11 lander and even footprints from the moonwalking some 40 years ago. This is really sad. NASA is once again doing exactly what those people who claim to show authentic UFO pictures do. They produce awful blurry pictures of something that doesn’t really show anything. One have to imagine what is is. It really could be anything you want it to be. Producing these pictures tells me that something fishy is still going on regarding those moonlandings. In fact the suspension is even stronger now. Sorry NASA. Before any hard evidence is given, neither UFO’s or moonlandings are real. January 21, 2011 at 2:04 am Okay, you ask for hard evidence. You have thousands of hrs. of video tapes, tens of thousands of documents, thousands of pictures, satellite photos from the LOR, no other space agency denying that it ever happened (especially USSR), moon rocks that thousands of scientists and physicists have poured over these rocks and not one, NOT ONE, has ever said they are faked. Heck, if you got an even sharper image of the sites you would say they were faked, if more astronauts go back and take videos and pictures of the sites you would say they were faked, the only way you will believe it is if you go yourself. So, save up several billion, have someone build you a rocket, and off you go. January 27, 2012 at 2:20 pm I understand your frustration and the logic in the answer you have given although if you opened your mind and questioned what you see in front of you im sure you would understand why the MOON-HOAX exists. In a time where computers were the size of garages, Colour TV’s the size of a cardboard board with a resolution of a snowy day. Motor vehicles coming into play with 4 whole gears and a 0.014% chance of a man being able to not only land on the moon but also record the whole thing and come back to earth with cameras and video recorders that have less quality than a VGA camera phone. The amount of time it takes to plan and develop a video game takes 2 – 4 years with todays technology but the Americans managed to not only do it but managed to do it repeatidly for a whole presidentship and we havent done it since. We are human whenever we design something we then improve it and improve and keep trying until we cant develop it any more from LP’s to tapes to Cds to MP3s, from cars topping 30mph to cars breaking 200mph with an economy of 35mpg, to creating a pc the size of a room to an ipad which has more technology in it than the reocket of the 60’s. If we went to the moon 50 years ago we would have a mcdonalds on there right now. Think about evolution and apply the same logic. “The sun shall not smite thee by day nor the moon by night” Pretty well settles it for me..I don’t believe anyone has walked on the moon… Sanity July 17, 2011 at 2:46 pm All of those who believe a human being has never been on the moon are all insane. If all of you believe , truly believe then just go kick down aldrins door and tell him you know the truth. what would faking a moon landing do> what would that achieve. obviously nothing if we are still this retarted as a species. Landing on the moon was an achievment for all of “mankind” not for america. Its sad that if i were to pack a rocket with 100 tons of fuel and fly to the moon and come back to earth to tell all of mankind that it is possible to leave this planet and return safely that no one would believe me but infact try to dis-believe all of it. We are capable of endless possiblities that even are own minds have trouble accepting>It is time to wake up from our slumber we are not part of a “counrty” , nor a “world”, not even a “galaxy”, we are all part of a universe! am i the only one on this planet who sees us as a universe? dont you see we are part of these endless possibilities> we are floating in the dark and yet illuminated by a seemingly endless glow from our closest sun. perhaps this sun is here for us to see clearly without void. what good is all that light, if we are all still blind. Ryan September 16, 2011 at 1:21 am @ sanity. man either you and your hippy parents been smoking some good &#!t or they dropped you on your head alot. with all your deluded bs going on where’s your higher power to take those blinders from your eyes and wax out of your ears. you’re almost donkey like. dont be a stubborn fool and be easily deceived by the lies you are telling yourself. wake up and welcome to 2011. i don’t go to church every sunday but my God told different family members and me for 30 years now NASA and their bs moon crap is indeed a big lie, enough said. Patrick November 8, 2011 at 11:13 am Accordindg to the story I heard, Russians were just behind Americans when they travel to the moon. And one American just needed the team to get onto the moon in any way they can be just to get that “title!” wtf is that. That Americans are the first one who got onto the moon! And so, Russian team were pointless in going to. Accdg to the story I heard, it really is impossible to be on the moon. Really is.. Ish
i don't know
‘Boker tov’ is Hebrew for what?
Boker Tov | Heblish - Hebrew Lessons Free Hebrew lessons – October 2010 – Training – Day 40 Boker tov (good morning), In our previous lessons we talked about verbs, I gave you some homework to do and you sent me your answers. Hooray! Most of you sent perfect answers, and I’m really proud of you. In lesson 39 I promised to tell you why I call our course a “challenge.” I think the “challenge” was actually more for me than for you, since in the beginning I didn’t know if I could really teach you Hebrew using English. But, here we are, 40 lessons later, still going strong!  Now that we (you AND me) know what we’re doing, I’d like to “challenge” each of you to send four of your friends the link to our Heblish website or our Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=230884728509 .  Let’s get the group growing… I think the more students we have, the more we will interact and learn. Ok, now that I’ve got you thinking about challenges instead of verbs and nouns, let’s get cracking!   Today’s menu: Common short sentences and some new verbs  Attention: The underlined letters represent the accent. Some of you have asked me to explain how to start and continue a conversation, so let’s see an example: English Free Hebrew lessons – August 2010 – Training – Day 35: Hi, It’s still hot outside, and I hope that most of you are sitting beside an air conditioner. (mazgan, in Hebrew). In our previous lesson we learned that verbs in the present tense singular form remain the same, like: I sit, you sit, he sits - Ani yoshev, hu yoshev or, in the feminine form: I sit, you sit, she sits:   Ani yoshevet, at yoshevet, hi yoshevet. It’s almost the middle of August and some of you will be taking a short vacation… and I will, too.  Soooo, this lesson will be the last lesson for August, and it will be a refresher from our first lessons. I think it will be great to look backward and see how far we’ve come… Today’s menu: some antique (old AND valuable) words… Attention: The underlined letters represent the accent.   First, let’s watch the video for the “e” sound: The sound of the vowel E (13 seconds). Wherever I use an “e,” this is the sound I want you to remember. And now we’ll do the same for the “i” sound: The sound of the vowel I (18 seconds). You can find a more detailed explanation for the above sounds in lesson 4 .   Now, let’s see if you remember the following words from our first lessons: Test yourself  (the answers are below): 1. Boker tov    Bracelet – tsamid Now listen to the most important sound: The “het” and “haf” sounds: In this video you will hear the ^ (het/haf) pronounced with each of the vowels. ^, ^a, ^e, ^I, ^o, ^u (12 seconds on Youtube) Toda raba (thanks a lot)… Personally, I think our little “refresher” today has been refreshing!  It’s good to go back and read over things you have already learned.  While I’m gone, I would like for you to think about things you want to learn on  free-Hebrew .  For instance, would you like to learn some simple Israeli songs?  Would you like to learn how to negotiate a price (bargain/haggle), in Hebrew?  That could come in handy when you visit Israel. Let me know your thoughts – because this website is all about YOU!  Although I will be gone for two weeks, you might want to check our website during my vacation. You just might find I’ve left a little surprise for you… So don’t forget to look for it, next Thursday…   Lehitraot in lesson 36… Free Heblish Challenge – January 2010 – Training – Day 2 Shalom everybody! Day 2 of the Heblish Challenge. How are you and how were your Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s celebrations? Now that the holidays are behind us, and we are happy and focused… we can start the day. In our previous lesson we talked about “good” and “goodbye,” so you already know that good is tov and goodbye is lehitraot (3 seconds on YouTube). Attention Students: Upcoming Lessons 4, 5, and 6 are a “must,” foundational information. Please do not try to go on to future lessons without mastering these three important lessons (4, 5, 6).   Today we’ll continue with our first subject, “Meeting,” so let’s see what’s cooking… Today’s menu: Morning, night, thank you and OK   In our last lesson the words “good morning” were on the blackboard, but we emphasized only the word “good” (tov). Now let’s look at the other word in this phrase, “morning.” Morning In December we learned what you say at the beginning of your morning, “Boker tov.” English: Good morning. The “e” sounds like the “e” in the word “egg”. Here are more examples, using the word “Morning”: - We have had a wonderful morning – Haya lanu boker nifla - They are drinking juice in the morning – Hem shotim mits ba’boker - What a beautiful morning – Eize’ boker yafe - I have a meeting in the morning – Yesh li pgisha ba’boker You may have already noticed that after we learn a new Heblish word, it is written in “blue.” This is so you can see what you have learned – the more “blue” words we have, the more Hebrew you already know…   In English you say “goodnight,” a combination of the words “good” and “night”. In Hebrew we say: Laila tov – two separate words. Here are more examples, using the word “Night”: - It was a short night – Ze haya Laila katsar  - It was very cold last night – Haya Meod kar Ba’laila hakodem - This is a beautiful night – Ze laila yafe   The word “thanks” in Hebrew is “toda“. You say “thanks” or “thank you” and we say “toda“. Usually we don’t say “you” after “thank,” however, sometimes we need to use it.  We will talk about it in another lesson, when we teach you the difference between male and female words in Hebrew… For now, “thanks” and “thank you” in Hebrew will be only toda, that’s the common usage here in Israel. Before we go on, let’s make an agreement: every time I write “e” in a Heblish word, the sound will be like the “e” in the word “egg”, “exercise” or “example”.   “Alright” or “ok” are very useful words and expressions in English and also in Hebrew. The Hebrew word for “okay” and for “alright” is “beseder” (be-se-der). - Remember our remark above; the “e” sounds like the “e” in the word “egg”. Examples: - It is Ok – ze beseder - That’s OK – ze beseder - Everything is alright - hakol beseder But, if you forget the word “beseder,” in Israel you can also say “OK”; it’s a common word here. Beseder?   Now you can say laila tov when you are going to sleep and boker tov in the morning. When someone says “How are you?” you can respond: Toda (thank you), I’m feeling tov (good) and everything is beseder (OK). Today we have learned some easy and useful Hebrew words. For the next lesson, we will take a BIG step ahead, because we’ll try to build a sentence. It will be easy – just keep going and see how fast you can speak Hebrew.
Good morning
Which is the largest island of England?
Lyrics for Boker Tov/Laila Tov Recording | JudyMusic.com Lyrics for Boker Tov/Laila Tov Recording Lyrics for Boker Tov/Laila Tov Recording Good Morning, Boker Tov Music & lyrics by: Judy Caplan Ginsburgh Good morning, Boker tov, tov, tov Good morning, Boker tov Good morning, Boker tov, tov, tov Good morning, Boker tov. The sun’s coming up It’s time to get out of bed. It’s time to start a brand new day Get up, sleepy head. The Lord said to Noah, ”There’s gonna be a floody, floody (repeat) Get those children out of the muddy, muddy Children of the Lord. CHORUS: So, Rise and shine and give God your glory, glory (repeat 3x) Children of the Lord. So, Noah, he built them, He built them an arky, arky (repeat) Made it out of hickory barky, barky Children of the Lord The animals they come on They came on by twosies, twosies (repeat) Elephants and kangaroosies, roosies It rained and rained for 40 daysies, daysies (repeat) Drove those animals nearly crazy, crazy Children of the Lord. The sun came out and dried up the landy, landy (repeat) Everything was find and dandy, dandy Children of the Lord. Israeli; English lyrics: Judy Caplan Ginsburgh Kum bachur atzeyl v’tzey l’avodah (2x) Kum, kum v’tzey l’avodah (2x) Kukuriku, kukuriku tarn’gol kara (2x) Get up you lazy boy (girl) It’s time to go to school (work) Rise and shine, get up, get out of bed Rise and shine, get up you sleepy head. Kukuriku, kukuriku, that’s the rooster’s song (2x) Bim Bam/Shabbat Shalom (this song welcomes the Sabbath) Bim bam, bim, bim, bim, bam Bim, bim, bim, bim, bim, bam Shabbat, shalom (clap) 2x) (David, the king of Israel lives forever in the hearts of our people) Dayenu (Passover) (It would have been enough) Ilu hotzi, hotzi anu, hotzi anu mi-mitz-ra-yim Hotzi anu mi-mitz-ra-yim, dayenu! (Had God done nothing more than take us out of Egypt, it would have been enough!) Ilu natan, natan lanu, natan lanu et ha-Shabbat Natan lanu et ha-Shabbat, dayenu! (Had God given us the Sabbath and done nothing more, it would have been enough!) Ilu-natan, natan lanu, natan lanu et ha-Torah Natan lanu et ha-Torah, dayenu! (Had God given us the Torah and done nothing more, it would have been enough!) Hokey Pokey (Hebrew Style) You put your yad (hand) in You take your yad out You put your yad in And you shake it all about You do the hokey pokey Hebrew style and turn around That’s what it’s all about. Substitute: Chorus: Zum, gali, gali, gali, Zum gali, gali Hechalutz l’ma-an avodah (The pioneer is supposed to work, work is for the pioneer) Ha-shalom l’ma-an ha-amim (Peace is for everyone, everyone should have peace) Let us face each day with cheer Without worry, frown or fear A Rum Sum Sum A rum sum sum (2x) Gooly, gooly, gooly, gooly rum sum sum A rufi, a rufi, gooly, gooly, gooly, gooly rum sum sum Everytime you sing “a rum sum sum” – tap palms of hands on thighs Everytime you sing “gooly” – make fists with hands and roll hands around each other in front of you Everytime you sing “a rufi” – raise hands up above head and back down to lap Y’mina/Simi Yadech Y’mina, y’mina, s’mola, s’mola L’fanim achora Simi yadech b’yadi ani shelach v’at sheli Hey, hey galiya, bat harim y’fay-fi-ya Put your hand in my hand I am yours and you are mine Hey, hey, you’re my friend Let’s dance around till the song ends. Days Pass & Years Go By (Hayamim Cholfim) Hayamim cholfim shana overet (repeat) Aval ha-mangina (3x) Days pass and years go by ever and ever (2x) And as our voices sing Ring out with songs we sing The song always stays the same Ever and ever. U’ch’she’omar l’cha dodi Tomru kulchem chiri, biri, bim U’ch’she’omar likrat kallah Tomru kulchem chiri, biri, bam L’cha dodi – chiri, biri, bim Likrat kallah – chiri, biri bam L’cha dodi, likrat kallah Chiri, chiri, biri, biri, bim, bim, bim Chiri bim (chiri bim) Chiri bim, bam, bim, bam biri bam Oy, chiri biri, biri, bim, bim, bam (4x) When you hear me say, “L’cha dodi” Then you’ll answer, “Chiri biri bim” L’cha dodi– chiri, biri, bim Likrat kallah – chiri, biri bam L’cha dodi, likrat kallah Chiri, chiri, biri, biri, bim, bim, bim Keshet (Rainbow) Music & Lyrics by: Judy Caplan Ginsburgh Keshet (rainbow), keshet (rainbow) I like to see you up in the sky so pretty You hide your face ’till after it rains Then paint the sky with your colors Keshet (rainbow), keshet (rainbow) Purple and pink, red, yellow, blue and orange Keshet (rainbow), keshet (rainbow) I’d like to see you up in the sky more often. copyright, 1983, Judy Caplan Ginsburgh Tumbalalaika A young man is thinking all night of a plan Is it the time to ask for her hand? A maiden so young, a maiden so fair A maiden he loves with beauty so rare. Chorus… Pretty young maiden tell me again What can grow, grow without rain? What can burn for many long years? And what can cry, cry without tears? Chorus… Silly, young man, why ask again? It’s a stone that can grow, grow without rain. It’s love that can burn for many long years And a heart that can cry, cry without shedding a tear. Chorus… Music & Lyrics by: Judy Caplan Ginsburgh There is lots and lots of love in each and every one of us All we have to do is look inside There is lots and lots of love in each and every one of us It shouldn’t be too hard to find. V’ahavta l’ray-echa k’mocha Asay ma-aseh yashar Be kind to your neighbor Always do what’s right. Shalom Rav Music by: Cantor Karen Berman Shalom rav, al Yisrael Ki ata hu melech adon L’chol ha-shalom. V’tov b’einecha l’va-rech Et amcha Yisrael B’chol et u’v’chol sha-ah Bish-lo-me-cha
i don't know
Which English dramatist wrote ‘The Relapse, or, Virtue in Danger’ in 1696
The Relapse: or, Virtue in Danger | work by Vanbrugh | Britannica.com The Relapse: or, Virtue in Danger work by Vanbrugh THIS IS A DIRECTORY PAGE. Britannica does not currently have an article on this topic. Learn about this topic in these articles:   in Colley Cibber ...wrote Love’s Last Shift to provide himself with a role; the play established his reputation both as actor and as playwright. The playwright Sir John Vanbrugh honoured it with a sequel, The Relapse: or, Virtue in Danger (1696), in which Cibber’s character Sir Novelty Fashion has become Lord Foppington, a role created by Cibber. In 1700 Cibber produced his famous adaptation of...
John Vanbrugh
Dr Tom Parry Jones, who died in January 2013, developed and marketed which ‘road safety’ device in 1967?
Colley Cibber | Drury Lane | ZoomInfo.com Colley Cibber - Colley Cibber becomes an actor with the Drury Lane company. Colley Cibber Colley Cibber ... Colley Cibber, actor, playwright, Poet Laureate, first British actor-manager, and head Dunce of Alexander Pope's Dunciad. ... Colley Cibber, actor, playwright, Poet Laureate, first British actor-manager, and head Dunce of Alexander Pope's Dunciad. ... Colley Cibber (6 November, 1671 - November 12, 1757) was an English playwright, actor, and Poet Laureate. His status as the first in a long line of actor-managers established his importance in theater history, and his colorful memoir (Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber) was key in starting the British tradition of rambling autobiographical style. Cibber's works provide valuable documentation of London stage practices for today's historians, and two of his original comedies are particularly useful records of the changing culture and ideology of the early 18th century. Cibber wrote some original plays for performance by his own company at Drury Lane and adapted many more. ... Contemporaries frequently accused Cibber of tasteless theatrical productions and shady business dealings. Social and political opportunism was thought to have gained him the laureateship over far better writers, and despite the award his poetic works are considered nugatory by modern scholars. ... Cibber was born in London, his father being Caius Gabriel Cibber, a distinguished sculptor originally from Denmark.[2] Colley's parents wanted him to become a clergyman, but he was irresistibly attracted to the stage and in 1690 began working as an actor at the Drury Lane theatre, a more insecure and socially much inferior job. "Poor, at odds with his parents, and entering the theatrical world at a time when players were losing their power to businessmen-managers" (Biographical Dictionary of Actors), Cibber nevertheless married early in life (1693), to Katherine Shore. ... Cibber's colourful autobiography, An Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber (1740), pioneered the truly personal autobiography, and inaugurated a distinctive British tradition of chatty, meandering, anecdotal memoirs. ... The American actor, George Berrell (1849-1933), in his autobiographical "Theatrical and Other Reminiscenses," [unpublished]in speaking of Edwin Booth's rendition of Richard III in St. Louis in the 1870, says of Cibber's work on Richart III: "Hamlet" was followed by Shakespeare's "Richard III," not the version generally played-a hodge-podge concocted by Colley Cibber, who cut and transposed the original version, and added to it speeches from four or five other of Shakespeare's plays, and several really fine speeches of his own. ... and other lines of power and effect were written by Cibber, who, with all due respect to the "divine bard," improved upon the original, for acting purposes. ... Cibber wrote two other original comedies. Woman's Wit (1697) was produced under unpropitious circumstances and had no discernible theme (see Barker, 30-31); Cibber, not usually shy about any play of his , even elided its existence in the Apology. The Lady's Last Stake (1707) is a rather bad-tempered reply to female critics of Lady Easy's wifely patience in The Careless Husband. It was coldly received, and its main interest lies in the glimpse the prologue gives of angry female reactions to The Careless Husband, of which we would otherwise have known nothing (since all contemporary published reviews of The Careless Husband approve and endorse its message). Some women, says Cibber sarcastically in the prologue, seem to think Lady Easy ought rather to have strangled her status as the first in a long line of actor-managers established his importance in theater history, and his colorful memoir (Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber) was key in starting the British tradition of rambling autobiographical style. Cibber's works provide valuable documentation of London stage practices for today's historians, and two of his original comedies are particularly useful records of the changing culture and ideology of the early 18th century. Cibber wrote some original plays for performance by his own company at Drury Lane and adapted many more. ... Contemporaries frequently accused Cibber of tasteless theatrical productions and shady business dealings. Social and political opportunism was thought to have gained him the laureateship over far better writers, and despite the award his poetic works are considered nugatory by modern scholars. ... Cibber was born in London, his father being Caius Gabriel Cibber, a distinguished sculptor originally from Denmark.[2] Colley's parents wanted him to become a clergyman, but he was irresistibly attracted to the stage and in 1690 began working as an actor at the Drury Lane theatre, a more insecure and socially much inferior job. "Poor, at odds with his parents, and entering the theatrical world at a time when players were losing their power to businessmen-managers" (Biographical Dictionary of Actors), Cibber nevertheless married early in life (1693), to Katherine Shore. ... Cibber's colourful autobiography, An Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber (1740), pioneered the truly personal autobiography, and inaugurated a distinctive British tradition of chatty, meandering, anecdotal memoirs. ... The American actor, George Berrell (1849-1933), in his autobiographical "Theatrical and Other Reminiscenses," [unpublished]in speaking of Edwin Booth's rendition of Richard III in St. Louis in the 1870, says of Cibber's work on Richart III: "Hamlet" was followed by Shakespeare's "Richard III," not the version generally played-a hodge-podge concocted by Colley Cibber, who cut and transposed the original version, and added to it speeches from four or five other of Shakespeare's plays, and several really fine speeches of his own. ... and other lines of power and effect were written by Cibber, who, with all due respect to the "divine bard," improved upon the original, for acting purposes. ... Cibber wrote two other original comedies. Woman's Wit (1697) was produced under unpropitious circumstances and had no discernible theme (see Barker, 30-31); Cibber, not usually shy about any play of his , even elided its existence in the Apology. The Lady's Last Stake (1707) is a rather bad-tempered reply to female critics of Lady Easy's wifely patience in The Careless Husband. It was coldly received, and its main interest lies in the glimpse the prologue gives of angry female reactions to The Careless Husband, of which we would otherwise have known nothing (since all contemporary published reviews of The Careless Husband approve and endorse its message). Some women, says Cibber sarcastically in the prologue, seem to think Lady Easy ought rather to have strangled her or The Fool in Fashion by Colley Cibber, Esq. ... "With classical theatre in decline, one scours the Fringe for rarities; and plays don't come much rarer than this 1696 comedy by Colley Cibber, unseen in London for more than 200 years. ... As a curio-collector, I was glad to have seen Cibber's two-faced comedy..." ... "Savagely satirised in Pope's Dunciad, actor/dramatist/poet Colley Cibber was capable of vanity and rudeness appropriate only to the foppish characters he created and played. ... Sir John Vanburgh, a personal friend of Cibber's, viewed the outcome of Love's Last Shift with cynicism and in the same year penned the sequel, The Relapse or Virtue in Danger. ... Born in London in 1671, Cibber is now a relatively unknown British playwright. Starting out career as an actor with little success, he wrote Love's Last Shift with the intention of playing Sir Novelty Fashion himself. The play, underlined by his performance was received to great acclaim. In 1710 Cibber with Thomas Doggatt and Robert Willis bought out the Drury Lane Theatre. ... In 1730 Cibber was appointed Poet Laureate, widely assumed to be because of his political connections with Robert Walpole. Similar Profiles
i don't know
Basildon and Harlow are towns in which English county?
Essex County, South East, England, United Kingdom: Maps United Kingdom Chardstock The Maphill difference No map type or map style is the best. The best is that Maphill enables you to look at Essex County from many different angles and perspectives. Technology We automated the entire process of turning geographic data into map graphics. Thanks to that, we are able to create maps in higher quality, faster and cheaper than was possible before. Different perspectives The map of Essex County in presented in a wide variety of map types and styles. Maphill lets you look at the same area from many different perspectives. Fast anywhere Maps are served from a large number of servers spread all over the world. Globally distributed delivery network ensures low latency and fast loading times, no matter where on Earth you are. Easy to use All maps of Essex County are available as static images. You can print, download or embed maps very easily. No JavaScript, no API, no platform dependencies. Vector quality We create each map individually with regard to the characteristics of the map area and the relevant graphic style. Maps are assembled and kept in a high resolution vector format throughout the entire process of their creation. Real Earth data We only use data collected by the satellites or based on bathymetric surveys. All maps are constructed from real data. This is how the world looks like. Experience of discovering Maphill maps will never be as detailed as Google maps or as precise as designed by professional cartographers. Our goal is different. We want to redefine the experience of discovering the world through the maps. Always free Maphill was created with the goal of making the web a more beautiful place. Without you having to pay for that. All our map images are, and will always be, available for free. Spread the beauty Embed map of Essex County into your website. Enrich your blog with quality map graphics. Help us to make the web a more beautiful place. Maphill is the web's largest map gallery. Get a free map for your website. Explore the world. Discover the beauty hidden in the maps. Map graphics revolution.™
Essex
‘Satis’ is the name of the house in which Charles Dickens novel?
Browsing Venues Browsing Venues You are searching for Cities, Towns & Villages Filter: There are no results for A   Town Centre, Basildon, Essex, SS14 1, www.basildon.gov.uk Basildon was originally a small rural village, whose cottages clustered around the 14th C. Holy Cross Church.   Essex, SS11 7RE Battlesbridge is a small rural settlement just off the A130 midway between Chelmsford and Southend, on the upper estuary of the River Crouch. It is situated partly within Chelmsford Borough and partly within Rochford District. Town Centre, Billericay, Essex, CM12 0, www.billericaytowncouncil.gov.uk Small town, set in well-wooded countryside.   Braintree, Essex, CM77 8EW, www.essexinfo.net/bradwell Named derives from Old English meaning broad well in antiquity after the well that supplied the local people with an abundance of clear, pure water. Town Centre, Braintree, Essex, CM7 3YJ, www.visitessex.com/braintree/ Busy town, standing at the crossing of two major Roman roads.   Town Centre, Brentwood, Essex, CM15 9 The town grew up in the late 12th C. around a forest clearing - as a convenient stopping place for pilgrims travelling from the Midlands to Canterbury. It later developed as an 18th C. coaching centre with some good inns.   Town Centre, Brightlingsea, Essex, CO7 0BP, www.essex-sunshine-coast.org.uk The town of Brightlingsea - the only Cinque port outside Kent and Sussex, a centre for all things nautical. Town Centre, Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, CM0 8, www.visitmaldondistrict.co.uk Quiet, unspoilt riverside town - one of England's leading yachting centres.   Essex, SS4 3QA, Tel: . Canewdon is a large parish set between Ashingdon, Paglesham and Stambridge which extends for several miles, surrounded by beautiful rolling countryside with the River Crouch to the North. Village Centre, Castle Hedingham, Essex, CO9 3DJ, www.hedinghamcastle.com A picturesque village with narrow winding streets lined with timber-framed buildings and elegant Georgian houses.   City Centre, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 6FD, www.visitchelmsford.co.uk The county town of Essex - Chelmsford was granted its market charter by King John in 1199.   Town Centre, Chipping Ongar, Essex, CM5 9AS, www.eppingforestdc.gov.uk Surrounded by open farmland, this pleasant little country town was once the administrative centre of the Saxon hundred. Town Centre, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, CO15 1, www.essex-sunshine-coast.org.uk The capital of the 'Essex Sunshine Coast', Clacton is a popular seaside town.   Hill Green, Clavering, Saffron Walden, Essex, CB11 4QT Clavering is a large, scattered parish with seven ‘greens’ and three ‘ends’. The village grew up on higher ground near the confluence of the River Stort and the Kings Water stream and seems a natural place for settlement.
i don't know
Which British cartoon strip character is known as Willi Wacker in Germany?
Andy Capp | Reg Smythe �[Reg Smythe] is the most popular English humorist with Americans since Charles Dickens.� -       - Al Capp, creator of Li�l Abner, Saturday Evening Post, March/April 1973. �If Reg was born in America, he would be a legend.�                                   Ken Layson, former Mirror cartoon editor. �Oh Andy Capp, you wife-beating drunk. Heh heh heh.�                                   Homer Simpson, Marge vs The Monorail, January 14, 1993. Reg Smythe was the greatest British newspaper strip cartoonist of the 20th Century � and second only to Peanuts� Charles Schulz on a global scale. So why don�t we treat him that way? Smythe invented Andy Capp for the Daily Mirror in 1957, personally writing, drawing, inking and lettering every line of the 15,000 Andy cartoons he produced over the following 40 years. When he died in 1998, the strip was syndicated to 1,700 newspapers � 1,000 in America alone � translated into 14 languages and read by a combined audience of 250 million people in 52 countries round the world. (1) Andy�s adventures have inspired a West End musical still revived today, a UK television series starring James Bolam in the title role and a 1973 book using Andy�s antics to interpret the Gospels. His face has been used to sell not only the crisps, canned beer and homebrew kits you�d expect, but also cookbooks, boxer shorts, Royal Doulton figurines, phonecards, disposable cameras and babies� bibs. He�s known as Tuffa Viktor in Sweden, Charlie Kappl in Austria and and Willi Wacker in Germany, where FC Nuremberg fans have made him their mascot. In every nation, readers greet him as one of their own, as a 1960s editorial in Istanbul�s Hareket Gazetesi was quick to recognise. �Andy is as much Turkish as he is English,� the editor wrote. �And he is probably Greek, Italian and Polish too.� (2) Smythe�s successors at the Mirror have published over 4,000 new Andy Capp strips of their own since 1998, continue to enjoy a global syndication of over 1,500 titles and are currently discussing plans for an animated series on British TV. Just a few months ago, in March 2012, Andy became an unlikely spokesman for the British Government�s Change4Life campaign, which sponsored a month�s worth of strips showing his attempts to reform. Andy�s fans have remained fiercely loyal to the character since Smythe�s death, as Paul Baker, the editor of Pennsylvania�s Lebanon Daily News, found when he accidentally omitted one of the new team�s strips from his paper�s March 1, 2010 edition. The result was a flood of what he called �profanity-laced attacks� from readers threatening never to buy the paper again. Reg Smythe was a far more subtle, innovative & stylish cartoonist than he�s ever given credit for �Who knew a comic strip could mean so much to so many?� Baker asked as the calls subsided. �Particularly this comic strip, set in a foreign milieu and celebrating the life of a character who�s not very likeable?� (3) Fifty-five years after that 1957 debut, then, Andy is still as unrepentantly alive as ever. That�s a remarkable achievement for any newspaper strip, but all the more so for one that�s not been able to rely on the cute children and animals of a Peanuts or a Garfield for any part of its success. Andy in his day has been a wife-beater, an habitual drunk, a 40-a-day smoker, a long-term welfare scrounger, a gambler, a cheat, a bully and a liar. That severely limits his appeal as a subject for heart-warming Christmas TV specials, children�s birthday cards or corporate branding campaigns, and yet the strip has still found its way to the very top tier of global success. Along the way, Smythe proved himself a far more subtle, innovative and stylish cartoonist than he�s generally given credit for. His peers have always recognised this, however, and by 1974, Smythe had won the highest awards his profession could offer on both sides of the Atlantic. Whether you look at the statistics that chart his success or the sheer skill and consistency of the strips he produced, all his British competitors are left in the dust. Even on the global stage, his equals can be counted on one hand. (4) Some strips today, it is true, syndicate to more newspapers than even Andy at his peak. Garfield, Peanuts and Blondie all claim over 2,000 titles worldwide, and Hagar The Horrible is close behind with 1,900. Of these strips, though, neither Hagar nor Garfield can boast anything like Andy�s longevity, Hagar having so far racked up only 39 years and Garfield just 34. If we restrict the field to strips drawn by their original creator, Hagar drops still further out of contention, as Dik Browne died and was replaced by his son after only 16 years on the strip. (5-8) That leaves just Peanuts and Blondie, and here I must admit the statistics have Andy beat. Chic Young began Blondie in 1930, writing and drawing the strip right up to his death in 1973, when his son Dean took over. That gives Chic a 43-year tenure, edging out Smythe�s 41, and Blondie a total lifespan to date of 82 years against Andy�s 55. The 47 countries where Blondie runs and 35 languages it�s been translated into are equally impressive. Personally, I think you�d find it hard to argue that Young�s work is anything like as elegant or as funny as Smythe�s, but you certainly can�t deny his success. For me, then, the real comparison is between Andy Capp and Charles Schulz�s Peanuts. Peanuts ended with Schulz�s death in 2000, by which time he�d produced close to 18,000 Peanuts strips over a fifty-year span, but has continued in reruns ever since. (9) Schulz, like Smythe, wrote and drew every line of his strip personally, and continued doing so for over four decades without ever letting the standard drop. Both men struck out in bravely original directions with their chosen strips, Schulz by reflecting 1950s America�s growing obsession with psycho-analysis, and Smythe by offering a brutal kitchen-sink realism many years before British film or television plucked up the courage to do so. Peanuts beats Andy on any measure you care to take, whether that be creator�s tenure, syndication reach, total readership, merchandising income, international sales or adaptions in other media. But the truly remarkable thing is that Smythe holds his place in that league at all. Even without the cuddly firepower of Snoopy, Woodstock and the rest to exploit in the mass market, he took Andy to the very top of this hugely-competitive tree, and maintained his place there alongside Schulz for over 40 years. Achieving that level of success with a foreign strip in the vast American market makes him even more remarkable. And so � I repeat � why don�t we treat him that way? Schulz fans can buy Fantagraphics� beautifully-designed Complete Peanuts hardbacks � currently 17 books into their full 25-volume set � which reprint every single one of the strips chronologically, in crisp perfection, complete with an index to help you find your favourites and affectionate introductions by the likes of Jonathan Franzen and Whoopi Goldberg. Andy�s fans must scrabble around on the internet for second-hand copies of Smythe�s 62 paperback collections, all of which are now out of print. There�s no guarantee any volume will present its strips in proper chronological order, and they contain no supporting information whatsoever. The books appear in four different formats, are consistently numbered for less than half the run, and � as I can testify - getting harder to find every day. About half the strips published in Andy�s first 25 years don�t appear in the collections anyway. (10) It�s the same story wherever you look. Schulz had a brand new biography published in 2007 (his second), while the only substantial source on Smythe�s life remains a relatively brief essay in Les Lilley�s 1990 collection The World of Andy Capp � also out-of-print, by the way. Schulz was born and raised in the twin city of Minneapolis/St Paul, where he has a collection of Peanuts statues mounted in a public park, an ice hockey arena named after him and � until 2006 � a full-scale Snoopy theme park at the Mall of America. The only structure honouring Smythe in his native Hartlepool is a 2007 statue of Andy on the Headland, which looks nothing like him and took the council nearly a decade of timid mithering to organise. No-one expects Smythe�s memory to be honoured with quite the same degree of razzamatazz the Americans give Schulz � that�s simply not the way we do things in this country � but he certainly deserves more recognition than he gets right now. I hope this essay will go some way towards demonstrating what a truly great cartoonist he was, and how unjust it would be to dismiss his strip as a mere relic. Let�s start with Homer Simpson�s charge that Andy is no more than a �wife-beating drunk�, and consider the single most objectionable cartoon Reg Smythe ever drew. Flo�s sitting on the living room floor in housedress and pinny, her frowning expression flushed with anger. The table next to her has been tipped over, throwing a cup and saucer to the ground and breaking the saucer into six pieces. A nearby picture has been knocked askance by whatever force landed Flo and the table where they now are. Andy stands over her with one hand thrust casually into his trouser pocket and the other leaning against the wall. He�s looking Flo straight in the eye, and the smile on his open mouth suggests he thinks this is all pretty funny. �Look at it this way, honey,� he says. �I�m a man of few pleasures and one of them �appens to be knockin� yer about.� That cartoon appeared in the Daily Mirror on August 20, 1957, just two weeks after the first Andy Capp of them all. Andy was then a single-panel cartoon, appearing only in the paper�s North-of-England edition, and would not get national publication until the following April. Seeing the drawing today, you can�t help but gasp at the casual cruelty it portrays, yet it was thought so uncontroversial at the time that the Mirror chose it to open Andy�s very first collection. Lawrence Goldsmith is one of the three-strong team chronicling Andy�s adventures today. �It�s an absolutely hideous cartoon,� he told me when I raised this particular gag. �But it was perfectly acceptable at the time.� (11) �Some of my early Andy ideas were very na�ve,� Smythe admitted when discussing this cartoon with the journalist Les Lilley in 1990. �Good God! It seems horrible now!� In another interview, he adds: �That was a dreadful cartoon, and it was terribly na�ve of me to have done it. He was too savage, a proper bully.� (12) We may be shocked by such jokes today, but readers of the 1950s took them in their stride. Sean Garnett, Goldsmith�s writing partner on the strip, first read Andy as a child, but revisited many of the early collections when he and Goldsmith took over in 2011.
Andy Capp
The first inauguration of which US President took place aboard a plane?
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i don't know
In Norse mythology who is known as ‘The Trickster God’?
The Enigmatic Loki, a Trickster among Gods in Norse Mythology | Ancient Origins 21 December, 2014 - 22:29 Ryan Stone The Enigmatic Loki, a Trickster among Gods in Norse Mythology (Read the article on one page) The Norse trickster god, Loki is undoubtedly the most debated figure from Norse mythology to this day.  Though he appears to be a scheming, mischievous deity who has no real loyalties, scholars still explore what his purpose might have been in the ancient stories. Was he merely a plot device, a foil for the AEsir, the pantheon of gods in Norse religion? His character surely meant more to the non-Christian Scandinavians than can be gleaned now, and though that purpose cannot be fully realized due to a lack of sufficient sources, an overview of who Loki was and what he did can loosely be outlined. According to Gylfaginning in the Prose Edda , Loki was the son of Fárbauti, a jötunn (giant), and Laufey, a lesser known female god. His jötunn heritage does aid in explaining the complexity of his character, as the jötunns once went to war against the AEsir and are considered, in many ways, their enemies. Loki, as the son of a giant as well as a goddess, straddles the two warring factions, a trait which plagues his character throughout his mythology. He marries the minor goddess Sigyn, but has many affairs, his most notable with the giantess Angrboða, by whom he gives birth to Hel, the queen of Niflheim; Fenrir, the oversized wolf who is fated to kill Odin at Ragnarök; and Jörmungandr, the World Serpent banished to the seas. The trickster god also, interestingly enough, is the mother of Odin's great eight-legged steed Sleipnir, as Loki mated with a powerful male stallion while disguised as a mare.  As his parentage and his progeny are all outside the normal state of affairs even in the godly world, scholars believe that there must have been pertinence to his connection to so many dark and powerful figures in the Norse pantheon. Loki's relationship with the other gods is what causes most of the concern and confusion in modern scholarship. Loki is not shown as an outright evil god, though he does appear to take great pleasure in fooling or insulting the AEsir. One of the most notable examples is his fluctuating relationship with Thor, as recorded in two different poems both from the Codex Regius, which houses the Poetic Edda .  "Lokasenna" tells of when Thor comes to the great hall of the sea god AEgir and immediately becomes bothered by Loki and his antics. Three times Thor threatens to silence Loki with his hammer Mjölnir, and three times Loki proceeds to insult him and Odin.  At the end of the tale, Loki flees the scene, hiding from the AEsir for his harsh words, only to be found and captured, and bound to the rock where he will remain until Ragnarök. A depiction (1895) of Loki quarreling with the gods, as in the Poetic Edda poem Lokasenna. Public Domain For his mischief, Loki is hounded by the gods and bound to a rock where a serpent drips painful venom upon him. There he lies till Ragnarok. Painting illustrating Loki and Sigyn from Norse mythology. Public Domain "Þrymskviða", contrastingly, details Thor and Loki on friendlier terms, as it is Loki to whom Thor turns for aid when Mjölnir, his powerful hammer, goes missing. Loki is the first person Thor seeks out, and together they work to uncover which god or magical creature has stolen the weapon. Loki goes out of his way to travel to Jötunheimr, the home of the giants, to ask the jötunn Þrymr what he knows, only to uncover Þrymr himself has taken Mjölnir and will only return it if Freyja will agree to marry him. In this tale, Loki and Thor retrieve the hammer with a clever plan of disguise, and Þrymr is punished for his misdeeds. "Thor and Loki in the Chariot". Foster, Mary H. 1901. Asgard Stories: Tales from Norse Mythology. Silver, Burdett and Company. Page 41. ( Wikimedia Commons ) Though these are only two of many stories that describe Loki, these tales regarding his association with Thor reveal the wide spectrum of his personality and thus why his portrayals in the ancient Norse sagas constantly conflict. Just as modern scholars do not fully understand Loki's role, the Christian authors who finally wrote down the oral tradition did not seem to comprehend him well enough to know how to describe him either. Although Loki is neither depicted as completely evil nor completely helpful, he will fight against the Æsir during Ragnarök and eventually kill and be killed by Heimdall, the god who guards the rainbow bridge Bifröst which leads to the world of mortals. Loki appears to have no regret of his actions or sympathy for his family members—Hel, Jörmungandr, and Fenrir—thereby emphasizing the anomaly of his relationship with the AEsir. 
Loki
Susanna Hall was the eldest daughter of which English playwright?
From Thor to Odin: a guide to the Norse gods | World news | The Guardian Iceland From Thor to Odin: a guide to the Norse gods As Iceland prepares to build its first temple to the Norse gods since the Viking age , we look at the deities that will be worshipped, including an amoral trickster and the blue ruler of the underworld Thor, Freya and Hel. Photograph: Alamy Iceland From Thor to Odin: a guide to the Norse gods Share on Messenger Close If pushed, most of us remember that almost all the days of the week are named after Norse gods. We might remember that Thor makes thunder with his mighty hammer, and if you’re a Marvel fan you might even know that the hammer is called Mjölnir. But most of us would struggle to recall much more than that about these northern deities. The persisting bias towards a classical education leaves us with a better knowledge of the Greek and Roman myths, and that’s a shame. The Vikings (closer to us in time and space) left a significant mark on the English language, our place names and perhaps our psyche. Their mythology is rich and strange, and well worth discovering. Remarkably, Norse lore covers the entire history of the world; it’s not typical for a culture’s mythology to tell us how the world will end. For the Vikings, that “happened” at Ragnarök, the twilight of the gods, but the start of time is not neglected either. The stories even speak of the great void of Ginnungagap that existed even before the universe was created. Creation myths are often among the strangest of all stories, and the Norse version is no exception. We learn how the first god was licked into existence from a block of salty ice by a primeval cow called Auðumbla. That god was called Búri, and he was the grandfather of perhaps the greatest of all the gods, Odin. Iceland to build first temple to Norse gods since Viking age Read more Poetry, magic and war Odin, who gave one of his eyes in exchange for wisdom, is, according to most sources, the “Allfather” of the gods; a fascinating shaman-like figure, emblematic of war, battle and death, but also poetry, music, prophecy and magic. He rode across the battlefield on Sleipnir, an eight-legged steed, with the ravens Hugin (thought) and Munin (memory) on his shoulders. Thunderstorms and healing Odin’s most famous son is, of course, Thor. As well as thunderstorms, Thor is associated with oak trees, and is said to protect mankind. It is less well-known that he was also a representative of healing and hallowing (sanctification). As well as his famous hammer, he possessed a magical belt and iron gloves, all with names of their own, named weapons being common fare for the Norse – something fans of JRR Tolkien will recognise. Summer sun and radiance Baldur, another of Odin’s sons, was a being of great beauty; the god of the summer sun, of radiance. In fact, it was said he was so bright that the light shone from him. Having had a dream foretelling his death, Frigg, his mother, made all the things of the Earth vow never to harm him. They all did, save the mistletoe, and it was a spear made of this innocuous plant that killed him, through the trickery of our next god, Loki. Shapeshifting and amorality Pinterest Shape-shifter Loki. Photograph: Alamy Loki is a trickster god – an amoral figure who managed to inveigle his way into becoming Odin’s blood brother. His crimes against the gods were many, culminating with the beloved Baldur’s death. He was also a shape-shifter, and transformed into various animals. It was he, while in the form of a horse, who sired Sleipnir. Loki had other (divine) children, including the queen of the underworld, Hel. Death and the underworld Hel, ruler of Helheim, the Norse underworld, like gods of the dead in other cultures, is described as having skin resembling death itself (in this case, a bluish hue). She was sovereign of a realm of vast mansions, and it was Hel’s duty to provide food and lodging to those dispatched to her. There is a pleasing equality about the portrayal of the women of Norse mythology. Each is fully developed; none are mere bit-part players. Love, fertility and seiðr Such is the case with Freyja, another multifaceted figure, and, as with Thor and Odin, one of contradictions. Not only was she a beautiful figure, goddess of love and fertility, she was also associated with war, battle, wealth, death and a particular form of Norse magic known as seiðr. It was in fact she who taught the magic arts to Odin himself, and she is a perfect example of the complex and intriguing nature of the Norse gods.
i don't know
In the 1977 song by Elvis Costello, what colour shoes do the angels want to wear?
(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes - The Elvis Costello Wiki (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes From The Elvis Costello Wiki Oh I used to be disgusted and now I try to be amused. But since their wings have got rusted, you know, the angels wanna wear my red shoes. But when they told me 'bout their side of the bargain, that's when I knew that I could not refuse. And I won't get any older, now the angels wanna wear my red shoes. I was watching while you're dancing away. Our love got fractured in the echo and sway. How come everybody wants to be your friend? You know that it still hurts me just to say it. Oh, I know that she's disgusted (oh why's that) Cause she's feeling so abused. (oh that's too bad) She gets tired of the lust, (oh I'm so sad) but it's so hard to refuse. How can you say that I'm too old, when the angels have stolen my red shoes. Oh, I said "I'm so happy, I could die." She said "Drop dead," then left with another guy. That's what you get if you go chasing after vengeance. Ever since you got me punctured this has been my sentence. Oh I used to be disgusted and now I try to be amused. But since their wings have got rusted, you know, the angels wanna wear my red shoes. Red shoes, the angels wanna wear my red shoes. (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes Written by late 1976-early 1977, Pathway Studios, London Released (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes (Pathway Studios Demo) Performed by late 1976, Pathway Studios, London Released (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes (Live 1977) Performed by (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes (Live 1978) Performed by (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes (Live 1996 - Chicago) Performed by (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes (Live 1996 - Boston) Performed by performed live, 2006-01-13, My Aim Is True tribute show, Nashville 2006 performed live, 2012-01-06, Philadelphia, PA 2012 performed live, 2003-08-03, Cafe Du Nord, San Francisco 2003 episode 2-16, Comings And Goings 1996 performed live, Dallas-area Costello tribute band 2003 - (San Diego EC cover band) MP3 performed live, 2003-06-, CBGB's Gallery, New York 2003 performed live, 2010-11-10, Cafe Nine, New Haven, CT. 2010 Allmusic • Amazon • Amazon.uk Chords Tabbed by William Vaughan Intro E A E Esus4 E Oh I used to be disgusted G#m and now I try to be amused. E But since their wings have got rusted, A B E you know, the angels wanna wear my red shoes. e f# g# A E But when they told me 'bout their side of the bargain, A E that's when I knew that I could not refuse. B A E Esus4 E And I won't get any older, now the angels wanna wear my red shoes. A B E I was watching while you're dancing away. B A E Our love got fractured in the echo and sway. A B E How come everybody wants to be your friend? G#m B You know that it still hurts me just to say it. E Oh, I know that she's disgusted (oh why's that) G#m Cause she's feeling so abused. (oh that's too bad) E She gets tired of the lust, (oh I'm so sad) B but it's so hard to refuse. A How can you say that I'm too old, E B A E E Esus4 E when the angels have stolen my red shoes. A B E Oh, I said "I'm so happy, I could die." B A E She said "Drop dead," then left with another guy. A B E That's what you get if you go chasing after vengeance. G#m B Ever since you got me punctured this has been my sentence. *same as first four lines in first stanza and repeat on the chords for extra lines* Oh I used to be disgusted and now I try to be amused. But since their wings have got rusted, you know, the angels wanna wear my red shoes. Red shoes, the angels wanna wear my red shoes. Tabbed by Michael P McCullough Intro E B E B E E G#m Oh I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused. E7 But since their wings have got rusted, A B E you know, the angels wanna wear my red shoes. A E But when they told me 'bout their side of the bargain, A E that's when I knew that I could not refuse. B A B A E And I won't get any older, now the angels wanna wear my red shoes. A B E Oh, I was watching while you're dancing away. B A E Our love got fractured in the echo and sway. A B E How come everybody wants to be your friend? G#m B You know that it still hurts me just to say it. E Oh, I know that she's disgusted (oh why's that) G#m Cause she's feeling so abused. (oh that's too bad) A She gets tired of the lust, (oh I'm so sad) B but it's so hard to refuse. A How can you say that I'm too old, E B A E when the angels have stolen my red shoes. A B E Oh, I said "I'm so happy, I could die." B A E She said "Drop dead," then left with another guy. A B E That's what you get if you go chasing after vengeance. G#m B Ever since you got me punctured this has been my sentence. E G#m Oh I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused. E7 But since their wings have got rusted, A B E you know, the angels wanna wear my red shoes. A E But when they told me 'bout their side of the bargain, A E that's when I knew that I could not refuse. B A B A E And I won't get any older, now the angels wanna wear my red shoes. A E A E Red shoes, the angels want to wear my red shoes Red shoes, the angels want to wear my red (A)shoes (and so on) Internal links
Red
Bad Finger, King Krule and the Dave Matthews Band all released a song about which colour Baby?
Elvis Costello - The Very Best of Elvis Costello - Amazon.com Music The Very Best of Elvis Costello Audio CD, April 17, 2001 "Please retry" The Very Best of Elvis Costello $28.90 & FREE Shipping on orders over $49. Details Only 1 left in stock. Sold by Customer Direct and Fulfilled by Amazon . Gift-wrap available. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and . If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you increase your sales. We invite you to learn more about Fulfillment by Amazon . Frequently Bought Together Add all three to Cart Add all three to List These items are shipped from and sold by different sellers. 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Next Special Offers and Product Promotions Editorial Reviews Amazon.com The debate over whether he is punk or new wave is long over; today Elvis Costello is less likely to be found on a list with Strummer and Scabies than he is with Bacharach and David and Jimmy Webb . Lauded initially for his energetic and literate attacks on the social ills of Thatcher's England, he has become a peerless master of the popular song. The evolution of Costello's craft as a songwriter and performer, from the early high-octane polemics, through his stylistic experiments with country and soul, and on to standards written for others, is splendidly documented on this elegant two-disc set. Chronology is ignored in favor of a thoughtful program that catalogs the jewels from his prolific output and a sprinkling of covers that demonstrate the maturing of his singing voice. The 42 tracks here lean generously to the first 10 years with the Attractions, but also collects the best of his subsequent collaborations with the cream of America's session musicians and on through to "She," his contribution to the soundtrack of 1999's Notting Hill . --Rob Stewart Track Listings   1. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding   2. Oliver's Army   5. (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea   6. Accidents Will Happen   8. I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down   9. Radio Radio   11. Good Year For The Roses   12. Man Out Of Time   13. I Wanna Be Loved   14. Everyday I Write The Book   15. Brilliant Mistake   16. The Other Side Of Summer   17. Tokyo Storm Warning   1. Big Tears - Elvis Costello & The Attractions   2. Beyond Belief - Elvis Costello & The Attractions   3. Lipstick Vogue - Elvis Costello & The Attractions   4. Green Shirt - Elvis Costello & The Attractions   5. Pills & Soap   6. Tramp The Dirt Down   7. Shipbuilding - Elvis Costello & The Attractions   8. High Fidelity - Elvis Costello & The Attractions   9. New Lace Sleeves - Elvis Costello & The Attractions   10. (The Angels Wanna Hear My) Red Shoes   11. Talking In The Dark - Elvis Costello & The Attractions   12. New Amsterdam   13. I Hope You're Happy Now - Elvis Costello & The Attractions   14. Riot Act - Elvis Costello & The Attractions   15. My Funny Valentine   16. Indoor Fireworks - The Costello Show   17. Almost Blue - Elvis Costello & The Attractions   18. I Want You - Elvis Costello & The Attractions   19. God Give My Strength   20. That Day Is Done   21. I Want To Vanish - Elvis Costello/Steve Nieve Product Details Audio CD (April 17, 2001) Original Release Date: 2001 Page 1 of 1 Start over Sponsored Products are advertisements for products sold by merchants on Amazon.com. When you click on a Sponsored Product ad, you will be taken to an Amazon detail page where you can learn more about the product and purchase it. To learn more about Amazon Sponsored Products, click here . on June 23, 2001 Format: Audio CD I have owned quite a number of Elvis Costello anthology albums. The first was back in the late 80's, a "Greatest Hits" LP put out by CBS/Columbia. In 91 I purchased "Girls, Girls, Girls" a triple CD collection, & recently found a budget priced cassette called "Extreme Honey: the Best of the Warner Bros. Years". Each of these had songs I liked, but often contained more that I didn't. Now I have purchased "The Very Best of Elvis Costello" & for once I can say this album absolutely lives up to it's title! In 2 CD's we have an overview of the extraordinary career of one of the most prolific & multi-faceted songwriters of our time. It's wonderful! Everything is here, from the chilling "Watching the Detectives" & supersonic "Lipstick Vogue" of the early albums thru the jazz & country-tinged experiments of the late 80's up to his latest collaborations with the Brodsky Quartet & Burt Bacharach. There isn't a single song that tempts me to hit the "forward" button on my CD player. Curiously, Rhino has opted to put the material in a non-sequential order. Most greatest hits collections start with the earliest songs, working their way up to the latest. "The Very Best of..." was organized by someone who had their mind on creating an emotional mood rather than a history of the artist. Although normally I prefer the time-line approach, in this casse it works quite well. If you want to hear the developement of Costello's song-writing, Rhino has included original release dates in the credits so that you can sequence your own order. Other than song titles & lists of musicians, this is about all the information you will discover inside the jewel case. Read more ›
i don't know
Amy Winehouse had a 2006 hit single with ‘Back to ‘what’?
Not Fade Away 2006: Back to Black, Amy Winehouse (From HeraldScotland) / Not Fade Away: 60 years, 60 songs , Teddy Jamieson "Somebody said to me recently that listening to my music makes them think, 'This is what it's like to be young and living in London in 2006. I'm so f****** proud that it's achieved that. When I listen to the Shangri-Las, it's 1964 and I'm young in America. When I listen to the Specials, it's 1980 and I'm young in London. That's all I've ever wanted to do." - Amy Winehouse, 2006. Jesus, Amy. How could you? It's hard now to listen to Amy Winehouse's Back in Black album and not feel angry. To feel something has been stolen from us. To remember how fine and fresh that album sounded without feeling the stain of what was to follow blackening your memory. To blame its creator for, well, what exactly? For being sick? For not being strong enough? For dying on us? Loading article content Possibly. It was difficult to watch Winehouse's decline in the years before her death, as played out in tabloid headlines and "shock" photographs, and not invoke the words of Wendy O'Connor, Kurt Cobain's mother, when he killed himself: "Now he's gone and joined the Stupid Club." But in the end the narratives of our lives are mystery stories to everyone else and even if the plot seems familiar we are all in the end unknowable. Is it fair to judge? The question then is can we divorce the art from the story of the artist. In Winehouse's case, that is particularly difficult. Even when Back to Black came out the Winehouse legend was already in play. As the journalist Caroline O'Sullivan suggested in her 2011 obituary of Winehouse: "A great imponderable was whether Back to Black would have connected so strongly with listeners if Winehouse had not simultaneously been playing out her emotional dramas in public." Back to Black is a break-up album couched in the music of sixties girl groups. At the time it was the latter that appealed to me. It's Winehouse's account of the end of her relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, a relationship that would be rekindled subsequently. It's dark and funny and bitter and on the title track (only one of a number of stand-out songs on the album) bruised and knowing. Winehouse wasn't the only one tapping into the spirit of the girl groups that year. Brighton indie group The Pipettes, who made some minor polka dot waves, were also drawing from the same well. Listen to their single Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me and what you hear is ramshackle charm, girlish playfulness and almost edible harmonies. But put right next to Winehouse it sounds gauche. Part of that is down to craft of course. And that's as important - though at times we play it down - as the fact that Winehouse was tapping darker currents than three young women high on life. Listen to the way Back to Black is layered, how instruments are adroitly built up and then drop out (a process overseen by the producer Mark Ronson, whose reputation would be sealed by the success of the record). This is a recording that's been thought through on a sonic level. Of course in retrospect the success of that craft led to every other hit in the last few years adopting a similar retro approach. Sometimes that's worked (Adele and Rumer have both had their moments), sometimes not so much (if I never hear Duffy's Mercy again it will be too soon). As a result these days it can sound overly familiar. But in 2006 it felt new enough. Most of that year, if I'm honest, I was listening to dubstep. My go-to sounds were Burial's debut album, and The World is Gone, the first album by Various, who mixed up electronica and nu folk. Burial's album in particular sounded like the ghost of old jungle and garage tracks, urban, minimalist, compelling. The most interesting British music was being made that year in the margins. But that left the mainstream wide open in 2006. And apart from the ongoing usurpation of the charts by Timbaland (who in 2006 was busy reinventing Nelly Furtado) and Gnarls Barkley's Crazy (originally released the year before), Amy Winehouse was the only game in town. Her success was one of those moments when craft and commerce just fitted. And so in 2006 Amy Winehouse was everywhere. Would that were still the case. Other Contenders
Black
What colour is the Big Taxi in the 1970 Joni Mitchell song?
Amy Winehouse on Apple Music To preview a song, mouse over the title and click Play. Open iTunes to buy and download music. Biography Much can be said about the late Amy Winehouse, one of the U.K.'s flagship vocalists during the 2000s. The British press and tabloids seemed to focus on her rowdy behavior, heavy consumption of alcohol, and tragic end, but fans and critics alike embraced her rugged charm, brash sense of humor, and distinctively soulful and jazzy vocals. Her platinum-selling breakthrough album, Frank (2003), elicited comparisons ranging from Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan to Macy Gray and Lauryn Hill. Interestingly enough, despite her strong accent and vernacular, one can often hear aspects of each of those singers' vocal repertoires in Winehouse's own voice. Nonetheless, her allure had always been her songwriting -- almost always deeply personal but best known for its profanity and brutal candor. Born to a taxi-driving father and a pharmacist mother, Winehouse grew up in the Southgate area of northern London. Her upbringing was surrounded by jazz. Many of the uncles on her mother's side were professional jazz musicians, and even her paternal grandmother was romantically involved with British jazz legend Ronnie Scott at one time. While at home, she listened to and absorbed her parents' selection of greats: Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra among others. However, in her teens, she was drawn to the rebellious spirit of TLC, Salt-N-Pepa, and other American R&B and hip-hop acts of the time. At the age of 16, after she had been expelled from London's Sylvia Young Theatre School, she caught her first break when pop singer Tyler James, a schoolmate and close friend, passed on her demo tape to his A&R representative, who was searching for a jazz vocalist. That opportunity led to her recording contract with Island Records. By the end of 2003, when she was 20 years old, Island had released her debut album, Frank. With contributions from hip-hop producer/keyboardist Salaam Remi, Winehouse's amalgam of jazz, pop, soul, and hip-hop received rave reviews. The album was nominated for the 2004 Mercury Music Prize as well as two Brit Awards, and its lead single, "Stronger Than Me," won an Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song. Following Winehouse's debut, the accolades and inquiring interviews appeared concurrently in the press with her tempestuous public life. Several times she showed up to her club or TV performances too drunk to sing an entire set. In 2006, her management company finally suggested that she enter rehab for alcohol abuse, but instead, she dumped the company and transcribed the ordeal into the U.K. Top Ten hit "Rehab," the lead single for her second, critically acclaimed album, Back to Black. Containing evocative productions from Salaam Remi and British DJ/multi-instrumentalist Mark Ronson, the album somewhat abandoned jazz, delving into the sounds of '50s/'60s-era girl group harmonies, rock & roll, and soul. The fanfare over the release was so great that it started to spill over onto U.S. shores; several rappers and DJs made their own remixes of various songs, not to mention covers by Prince and the Arctic Monkeys. One month after Winehouse won Best Female Artist at the Brit Awards in February 2007, Universal released Back to Black in the U.S. The LP charted higher than any other American debut by a British female recording artist before it, and it remained in the Top Ten for several months, selling a million copies by the end of that summer. Just as in the U.K., she became the talk of the town, landing on the covers of Rolling Stone and Spin magazines. Not long afterward, though, Winehouse canceled her North American tour. Early reports revealed that she was entering rehab for alcohol and drug addiction, but her new management denied the claims, stating it was due to severe exhaustion. Her erratic behavior kept her and her new husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, in the tabloids constantly, on and off stages on both sides of the Atlantic, but in late 2007, American fans were finally given a chance to hear Winehouse's early work, with a slightly abbreviated (two songs removed and one added) version of Frank. Unfortunately, the next four years were filled with drama, disappointment, and very little music. By 2009, her marriage had ended in divorce, she had repeatedly been arrested on assault charges and/or public order offenses, her struggles with substance abuse and mental health issues tragically played out in the press. Public performances turned into incoherent disasters, the worst of them posted to video-sharing sites for all to see. A track on the Quincy Jones tribute Q: Soul Bossa Nostra appeared in 2010, while a duet with Tony Bennett was announced in early 2011, but a planned follow-up to Back to Black would never make it past the demo stage. Winehouse was found dead in her Camden, London apartment on July 23, 2011. The coroner's report, delivered three months later, revealed that her blood alcohol content had reached a potentially fatal level. Nearly two months after her death, Winehouse's first posthumous appearance was released on Tony Bennett's Duets II, where she duetted with him on "Body and Soul." Near the end of 2011, her family's foundation announced the release of Lioness: Hidden Treasures, a posthumous compilation featuring recordings from throughout her career (although a few of the arrangements were recorded after her death). A year after Lioness came At the BBC, a deluxe CD/DVD set -- available both as a four-disc box and a smaller two-disc compilation -- rounding up all of her live performances for the British Broadcasting Company. In the summer of 2015, Amy, a documentary by director Asif Kapadia, told her story through photographs, archival footage (in the studio and out), and music. Much of this media had not been available previously. It also contained interviews with friends, family, musical collaborators, and the late singer. That October, a soundtrack was issued that alternated previously released and unreleased Winehouse material with pieces from the film's score. ~ Cyril Cordor Top Albums
i don't know
What colour are the Fields in the 1993 single by Sting?
Sting - Fields of Gold / Bring on the Night / Purple Haze - Amazon.com Music Fields of Gold / Bring on the Night / Purple Haze [Single] $7.46 Free Shipping for Prime Members | Fast, FREE Shipping with Amazon Prime Only 1 left in stock. Sold by Supply Chain Direct and Fulfilled by Amazon . Gift-wrap available. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and . If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you increase your sales. We invite you to learn more about Fulfillment by Amazon . Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1 This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.
Gold
What colour is the title of a song on the album ‘Sonik Kicks’ by Paul Weller?
Fields of Gold by Sting Songfacts Fields of Gold by Sting Songfacts Songfacts This song is about feeling joyous, but knowing that the joy is going to end someday. Sting wrote it after he bought a house near a barley field. The sunsets and the colors of the field were an inspiration for the lyrics, along with his love at the time, Trudie Styler, who he married in 1992. Styler has said that the song is one of her favorites. The major theme in this is commitment. It is about a man who has broken promises before, but is determined make this relationship last. The story is chronological. It is about courtship, marriage, and eventual death. The two people in the song meet, court, fall in love (at this point, he reveals that he has never really made such a strong promise/commitment to someone) but feels he is ready to now. "See the children run," their offspring and the "jealous sky" refer to the Heavens. Even Heaven is jealous of their love/relationship. The esteemed sun is jealous. Eventually, he dies and tells his love that they will always remember their love specifically, when she thinks of him, he wants to be personified as such... walking in fields of gold (barley). >> Suggestion credit: Hatch - Cincinnati, Ohio Sting started writing this on the guitar. He thinks his simple songs are often his best, and uses this as an example. The album title is a play on Sting's real name, Gordon Sumner, as well as a reference to The Canterbury Tales. In the book, which was written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 1400s, people from different backgrounds each tell stories, including tales by a nun, a miller, a knight, and a summoner. A summoner was someone who summoned a person for the king or some formal function. Like the book, Sting thought the album was a collection of songs that told many different tales. Eva Cassidy did a popular cover of this song that the US figure skater Michelle Kwan skated to at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. In Lyrics By Sting, the singer described the view from his sixteenth-century manor house: "In England, our house is surrounded by barley fields, and in the summer it's fascinating to watch the wind moving over the shimmering surface, like waves on an ocean of gold. There's something inherently sexy about the sight, something primal, as if the wind were making love to the barley. Lovers have made promises here, I'm sure, their bonds strengthened by the comforting cycle of the seasons." "Fields of Gold" is also the title of Sting's 1994 hits compilation. Along with many songs by The Police, this was featured in The Office (US) episode "Phyllis' Wedding" in 2007. It was also used on The Sopranos episode "Full Leather Jacket" in 2000. Audiences have taken to swaying like the barley fields in the breeze when Sting performs this, which annoys the singer to no end. He told Mojo in 1995: "It's disconcerting. But you can't stop them, can you? Oi! Stop that f---ing shite!" Of the lyric "So she took her love for to gaze awhile upon the fields of barley," Sting told interviewer Daniel Rachel (The Art of Noise: Conversations with Great Songwriters): "I'm using poetic license to alter syntax. I wanted to create a timeless idea that the song could have been written in the sixteenth century."
i don't know
What colour is the Cortina in a 1978 single by The Tom Robinson Band?
Tom Robinson - Grey Cortina - YouTube Tom Robinson - Grey Cortina Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Mar 11, 2008 Tom Robinson - Grey Cortina
Grey
What is the title of a 1968 hit single by The Scaffold which is a modernisation of an older folk song called The Ballad of Lydia Pinkham’?
Power In the Darkness 1) Up Against The Wall Darkhaired dangerous schoolkids Jet-black blazers at the bus stop Sullen, unhealthy and mean Teenage guerillas on the tarmac Fighting in the middle of the road Supercharged FS1Es on the asphalt The kids are coming in from the cold Look out, listen can you hear it Panic in the County Hall Look out, listen can you hear it Whitehall (got us) up against a wall Up against the wall... High wire fencing on the playground High rise housing all around High rise prices on the high street High time to pull it all down White boys kicking in a window Straight girls watching where they gone Never trust a copper in a crime car Just whose side are you on? Look out, listen can you hear it Panic in the County Hall Look out, listen can you hear it Whitehall (got us) up against a wall Up against the wall... Rioting in Notting Hill Gate Fascists marching on the high street Carving up the welfare state Operator get me the hotline Father can you hear me at all? Telephone kiosk out of order Spraycan writing on the wall Look out, listen can you hear it Panic in the County Hall Look out, listen can you hear it Whitehall got us up against a wall Up against the wall... Wish I had a grey Cortina Whiplash aerial, racing trim Cortina owner - no one meaner Wish that I could be like him Twin exhaust and rusty bumper Chewing gum at traffic light Stop at red but leave on amber Grey Cortina outa sight Wish I had a grey Cortina Whiplash aerial, racing trim Cortina owner - no one meaner Wish that I could be like him Furlined seats and lettered windscreen Elbow on the windowsill Eight track blazing Brucie Springsteen Bomber jacket, dressed to kill Wish I had a grey Cortina Whiplash aerial, racing trim Cortina owner - no one meaner Wish that I could be like him Never cop a parking ticket Never seem to show its age Speed police too slow to nick it Grey Cortina got it made Wish I had a grey Cortina Whiplash aerial, racing trim Cortina owner - no one meaner Wish that I could be like him 3) Too Good To Be True Dreamed last night I was dreaming Somebody answered my prayer Cried out over my shoulder Only the devil was there Hold no hope for the future Or good times seeing me through Too good to be true Too good to be true Can't find the floor or the wardrobe Can't find my way to the park Life in a bedsitter bedlam Afraid to go home in the dark All day today just excuse for tomorrow Tomorrow just something to do Too good to be true Too good to be true I've given up reading the papers I've given up watching TV Hope in hell I'm able to tell Whatever happened to me Facing a phase in the future Hope I've got something to lose Too good to be true Too good to be true 4) Ain't Gonna Take It Prejudice poison Telling us to move along It's gonna be a long hot summer From now on Hey man, I don't understand We ain't hardly bothering you Say fag, you're just a drag We ain't nearly finished with you There's all this heat Telling us we don't belong It's gonna be a long hot summer From now on Hey Dan, give us a hand We won't make it alone But we can all make a stand Next time the whistle's blown So get your feet When you hear the heat is on It's gonna be a long hot summer From now on Look out sisters Look out brothers We won't be fooled again 6) The Winter Of '79 All you kids that just sit and whine You should have been there back in '79 You say we're giving you a real hard time You boys are really breaking my heart Spurs beat Arsenal, what a game The blood was running in the drains Intercity took the trains And really took the place apart That was the year Nan Harris died And Charlie Jones committed suicide The world we knew busted open wide In the winter of '79 I'd been working on and off A pint of beer was still ten bob My brand new Bonneville got ripped off I more or less give up trying They stopped the Social in the spring And quite a few communists got run in And National Service come back in In the winter of '79 When Marco's caff went up in flames The Vambo boys took the blame The SAS come and took our names In the winter of '79 It was us poor bastards took the chop When the tubes gone up and the buses stopped The top people still come out on top The government never resigned The Carib Club got petrol bombed The National Front was getting awful strong They done in Dave and Dagenham Ron In the winter of '79 When all the gay geezers got put inside And coloured kids was getting crucified A few fought back and a few folks died In the winter of '79 Yes a few of us fought And a few of us died In the winter of '79 7) Man You Never Saw Have you heard an ugly whisper Is the rumour really true Just in time, we're next in line They're really after me and you Since the demonstration Clamping down on every side Rounding up the kids at random Army curfew every night Don't let on we've met before Try and make like I'm a stranger I'm a man you never saw Church police were round this morning And the army's on our track Took away my books and papers Only just got out the back I just called in to tell you That your place is being watched Don't go into work tomorrow Try and make it down the docks Don't repeat this conversation Don't let on we've met before Try and make like I'm a stranger I'm a man you never saw Dump your car and burn your letters Smash your glasses, cut your hair Buy a suit and take a raincoat When you go, don't tell us where Take a look outside my window I don't recognise that van Someone standing in the doorway Better make it while you can Don't repeat this conversation Don't let on we've met before Try and make like I'm a stranger I'm a man you never saw 8) Better Decide Which Side You're On All you downtrodden people Just sit back on you fat backsides Till you have to face the Front Waiting till the bullyboys get you Don't make no kind of sense And pretty soon there'll be no room For sitting on the fence You better decide which side you're on This ship goes down before too long If Left is right then Right is Wrong You better decide which side you're on Too bad for the gay revolution This is as far as we get And if you think you're free, well listen to me You ain't seen nothing yet We're all gonna feel the backlash Of puritannical power And kicking us down into the ground Gonna be their Finest Hour You better decide which side you're on The chips go down before too long If Left is right then Right is Wrong You better decide which side you're on Too late, trendy thinkers Your time is running out Ain't no time to wonder why Ain't no time for doubt Joseph, Reed and Whitehouse Are out to get your guts You better decide which side you're on Forget those ifs and buts 9) You Gotta Survive Three boys working on a slave gang Chained in the cottage at night Killed the overseer, broke down the door Now they gonna shoot us on sight Night time sticking to the 'B' roads Hiding from the men with the guns Hitting the ditches Every single house has been looted Every single city's been burned Every can of food has been opened Every single stone has been turned Found this Parka on a deadman Jamie got a couple of knives Countryside crawling with maniacs Carrion crows on the motorway Old woman dying of the plague She cried 'put me out of my misery' Charlie had to give her his blade Streets full of slavers on the rampage Wild boys running by the score Weeks without eating 10) Power In The Darkness Power in the darkness Frightening lies from the other side Power in the darkness Stand up and fight for your rights Freedom... we're talking bout your freedom Freedom to choose what you do with your body Freedom to believe what you like Freedom for brothers to love one another Freedom for black and white Freedom from harassment, intimidation Freedom for the mother and wife Freedom from Big Brother's interrogation Freedom to live your own life... I'm talking 'bout Power in the darkness Frightening lies from the other side Power in the darkness Stand up and fight for your rights (Voice from The Other Side:) "Today, institutions fundamental to the British system of Government are under attack: the public schools, the house of Lords, the Church of England, the holy institution of Marriage, even our magnificent police force are no longer safe from those who would undermine our society, and it's about time we said 'enough is enough' and saw a return to the traditional British values of discipline, obedience, morality and freedom. What we want is: Freedom from the reds and the blacks and the criminals Prostitutes, pansies and punks Lesbians and left wing scum Freedom from the niggers and the Pakis and the unions Freedom from the Gipsies and the Jews Freedom from leftwing layabouts and liberals Freedom from the likes of you..." Power in the darkness Frightening lies from the other side Power in the darkness Stand up and fight for your rights 11) Don't Take No For An Answer We first met in the winter Said 'let's give it a try' I swallowed my fears I'd just come from the country Wide-eyed and naive I signed on the line I signed a long time Now you won't let me leave... but you Don't take no for an answer (x3) When you've nothing to lose... no you Don't take no for an answer( x3) Put yourself in my shoes I don't want any trouble I ain't after a fight But well-respected man You're standing in my light No use sticking together I've gotta get out and get off I offered you a slice You told me no dice Cos you wanted the lot... but you Don't take no for an answer (x3) When you've nothing to lose... no you Don't take no for an answer( x3) Put yourself in my shoes From 1978 EP by Tom Robinson Band 'Rising Free' 12) Martin I just want to tell you about Martin Cos nobody I know has got a brother like him As kids we could never be parted The neighbours all knew us as the terrible twins At school some kids were always looking for a fight But Martin never wanted a fuss Bigmouth Brown thought he'd push him around Being three years older than us So I smashed him in the mush with the cloakroom stool I got six of the best and suspended from school But it was worth it with a brother like Martin It was worth it with a brother like him We used to nick motors for a joyride Till we rammed a Black Maria in this XJ6 To give Martin time to get clear I tried to punch a few policemen before I got nicked I got Borstal for taking and driving away And beating up the boys in blue But Martin never missed a single visiting day He hitched from Clapham to Crewe With all me racing mags and the little bits of news Smuggling in ciggies and a little bit of booze No-one ever had a brother like Martin No-one ever had a brother like him People get the wrong impression with Martin I know he doesn't mix much but he's no snob The weekend I got out of remand home He'd got Uncle Ruby to find me this job And back at my Nan's he'd repainted my room And bought me a brand new carpet There was all me old records and books on a shelf And a secondhand telly from the market You can get a bit hard when you've been inside But I hugged the old bastard and I almost cried Cos no-one ever had a brother like Martin No-one ever had a brother like him From 1978 EP by Tom Robinson Band 'Rising Free' 13) Glad To Be Gay The British Police are the best in the world I don't believe one of these stories I've heard 'Bout them raiding our pubs for no reason at all Lining the customers up by the wall Picking out people and knocking them down Resisting arrest as they're kicked on the ground Searching their houses and calling them queer I don't believe that sort of thing happens here Sing if you're glad to be gay Sing if you're happy that way Pictures of naked young women are fun In Titbits and Playboy, page three of The Sun There's no nudes in Gay News our last magazine But they still find excuses to call it obscene Read how disgusting we are in the press The News of The World and the Sunday Express Molesters of children, corruptors of youth It's there in the paper, it must be the truth Sing if you're glad to be gay Sing if you're happy that way Don't try to kid us that if you're discreet You're perfectly safe as you walk down the street You don't have to mince or make bitchy remarks To get beaten unconscious and left in the dark I had a friend who was gentle and short Got lonely one evening and went for a walk Queerbashers caught him and kicked in his teeth He was only hospitalised for a week Sing if you're glad to be gay Sing if you're happy that way So sit back and watch as they close all our clubs Arrest us for meeting and raid all our pubs Make sure your boyfriend's at least 21 So only your friends and your brothers get done Lie to your workmates, lie to your folks Put down the queens and tell anti-queer jokes Gay Lib's ridiculous, join their laughter 'The buggers are legal now, what more are they after?' Sing if you're glad to be gay Sing if you're happy that way Glad To Be Gay (various alternative verses performed 1979-92) The British Police are the best in the world I don't believe one of these stories I've heard About pretty policemen in leather and jeans Showing their leg through a split in the seams Leering at people and leading them on Then running them in when they start to respond The press all ignore it, they don't want to see Except when the case is... a Tory MP Pictures of naked young women are best In the News of the Screws and the popular press They plaster their pages with bingo and tits Then add all the scandal and slander that fits The women at Greenham they smeared and despised They crucified Elton with gossip and lies If it's paedophile teachers or lesbian nuns If it's filth and it's fiction... it's there in the Sun Have you heard the story about Peter Wells Who one day was arrested and dragged to the cells For being in love with a man of 18 The vicar found out they'd been having a scene The magistrate sent him for trial by the Crown He even appealed, but they still sent him down He was only mistreated a couple of years Cos even in prison they... Look after the queers. A sense of proportion is where we begin We're fighting a virus, not punishing sin The medical facts are ignored or forgot By the bigots who think it's the Judgement of God The medics are baffled and caught on the run They tell us the nightmare has barely begun While government funding is worse than a joke Cos saving our lives doesn't... win any votes Now enemies everywhere laugh at the sight Of gay against lesbian, dyke against dyke I don't give a toss about who's in the wrong The ins and the outs - or the faults in this song We're getting oppressed and arrested and banned While we bicker politically where we should stand Forget the aggression from everywhere else We still do a wonderful job... oppressing ourselves So sit back and watch as they seize all our books And treat us like lepers and sinners and crooks Just hope you don't get caught up in the raids Or pick up a pig or a partner with AIDS Lie to your workmates & lie to your folks Put down the clones and tell lesbian jokes Forget the aggression from everywhere else While we still do a wonderful job Oppressing ourselves... so try and (SING IF...etc) With friends and supporteers from over the land We're gathered together and making a stand To fight for the right for a home and a job And to walk without fear of a kick in the gob Slagged in the media, bashed by the bill With cheap politicians all making a kill We're lesbian women, we're men who are gay We're here and we're human and... won't go away (With grateful thanks to Eric Presland for his help and suggestions over the years in keeping the references current and up-to-date) 14) Right On Sister She's a right on sister And she knows what she likes She needs you and me, man Like a fish needs a bike Suffragette city Is bound to come... and I say Right on, sister Right on sister, right on She's a clear level thinker Just look at her play She's got it together The women's army is marching And the weak shall be strong Power to the sisters Right on, right on... and I say Right on, sister Right on sister, right on From 1978 EP by Tom Robinson Band 'Rising Free' 15) 2-4-6-8 Motorway Drive my truck midway to the motorway station Fairlane cruiser coming up on the left hand side Headlight shining, driving rain on the window frame Little young Lady Stardust hitching a ride... and it's 2-4-6-8 ain't never too late Me and my radio truckin' on thru the night 3-5-7-9 on a double white line Motorway sun coming up with the morning light Whizzkid sitting pretty on your two-wheel stallion This ol' ten-ton lorry got a bead on you Ain't no use setting up with a bad companion Ain't nobody get the better of you-know-who 2-4-6-8 ain't never too late Me and my radio truckin' on thru the night 3-5-7-9 on a double white line Motorway sun coming up with the morning light Well there ain't no route you could choose to lose the two of us Ain't nobody know when you're acting right or wrong No-one knows if a roadway's leading nowhere Gonna keep on driving home on the road I'm on... 2-4-6-8 ain't never too late Me and my radio truckin' on thru the night 3-5-7-9 on a double white line Motorway sun coming up with the morning light 1977 debut single by Tom Robinson Band 16) I Shall Be Released Lyrics & music by Bob Dylan (with small addition by TR) They say everything can be replaced They say every distance in not near Yet I remember every face Of every man who put me here I see my life come shining from the west down to the east Any day now, any day now I shall be released They say every man needs protection They say that every man must fall Yet I swear I see my reflection Somewhere so high above this wall I see my life come shining from the west down to the east Any day now, any day now I shall be released They say there'll be a new enquiry They say there's been a slight mistake But while they write reports,we've heard it all before Let's get him out before it's all too late Now yonder there's a man in this lonely crowd A man who swears he's not to blame Ten long years he's been there shouting so loud Just crying out that he was framed I see my life come shining from the west down to the east Any day now, any day now I shall be released 'B' side of '2-4-6-8 Motorway' single 17) I'm Alright Jack Don't you worry, I'm alright, Jack We've never had it so good House in Hampstead, fallout bunker Done everything we could Fitted the Rolls with a shatterproof windscreen Soon as we heard the news Harrods do a nice little teargas Even a woman can use All good men at Number Ten Everything's understood Don't you worry, I'm alright, Jack We've never had it so good Don't you worry, I'm alright, Jack We've never had it so good There's plenty of grouse at the country house We're eating as we should Hugh's at Sandhurst, everything's safe With Perkins running the farm Half a dozen shotguns in the Land Rover Ready for the call to arms Gin traps down around the grounds Trip wires out in the wood Don't you worry, I'm alright, Jack We've never had it so good 'B' side of 'Up Against The Wall' single
i don't know
In a 1964 single by The Rolling Stones what type of bird was Little and Red?
Flashpoint (Live) by The Rolling Stones on Apple Music 17 Songs iTunes Review Recorded during the Stones’ 1989-1990 Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle tour, Flashpoint features a well-balanced selection of songs from the band’s massive catalog. Naturally, the then–current studio album Steel Wheels is well-represented with “Sad Sad Sad,” “Rock and a Hard Place,” and the Keith Richards-sung “Can’t Be Seen,” but the band also whips off “Factory Girl” from Beggars Banquet and “Little Red Rooster” with Eric Clapton guesting on guitar. The disco pump of “Miss You” is tight and assured. Considering the tour’s massive scale, the ballad “Ruby Tuesday” achieves a marked intimacy. The classics are played with verve and enthusiasm, with “Sympathy for the Devil” and “Start Me Up” leaping from the speakers. It’s also notable that this was the final tour featuring bassist Bill Wyman, who made good on his threat to leave the band following this release. The album also contains two new studio songs: the single “Highwire” about the 1991 Gulf war and the James Brown–inspired “Sex Drive.” Customer Reviews Formed: April, 1962 in London, England Genre: Rock Years Active: '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s By the time the Rolling Stones began calling themselves the World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band in the late '60s, they had already staked out an impressive claim on the title. As the self-consciously dangerous alternative to the bouncy Merseybeat of the Beatles in the British Invasion, the Stones had pioneered the gritty, hard-driving blues-based rock & roll that came to define hard rock. With his preening machismo and latent maliciousness, Mick Jagger became the prototypical rock frontman, tempering... Top Albums and Songs by The Rolling Stones 1.
Rooster
What was White in a 1982 single by Nazareth?
The Rolling Stones | Rolling Stone artists > T > The Rolling Stones > Bio The Rolling Stones Bio The Rolling Stones began calling themselves the "World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band" in the Sixties, and few argued with them — even then. More than 40 years later, the band's music continues to sound vital. With literally scores of genre-setting hits under the group's belt — and fronted by two of rock's biggest archetypes — the Rolling Stones have done more to define the look, attitude and sound of rock & roll than any other band in the genre's history. In the 1964 British Invasion the Stones were promoted as bad boys, a gimmick that stuck as an indelible image (partly because it was true). Their music started as a gruffer, faster version of Chicago blues, but eventually the Stones pioneered British rock's tone of ironic detachment and wrote about offhand brutality, sex as power, and other taboos. Jagger was the most self-consciously assured appropriator of black performers' up-front sexuality; Keith Richards' Chuck Berry–derived riffing defined rock rhythm guitar (not to mention rock guitar rhythm); and the stalwart rhythm section of Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts held everything together, making sure teenagers could dance to whatever Mick and Keith dreamt up. After the Seventies, the Stones lost their dangerous aura, but it didn't hurt their popularity: They've become icons of an elegantly debauched, world-weary decadence, elder statesmen who filled arenas well into the 2000s. Jagger and Richards first met at Dartford Maypole County Primary School. When they ran into each other 10 years later in 1960, they were both avid fans of blues and American R&B, and they found they had a mutual friend in guitarist Dick Taylor, a fellow student of Richards' at Sidcup Art School. Jagger was attending the London School of Economics and playing in Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys with Taylor. Richards joined the band as second guitarist; soon afterward, he was expelled from Dartford Technical College for truancy. Meanwhile, Brian Jones had begun skipping school in Cheltenham to practice bebop alto sax and clarinet. By the time he was 16, he had fathered two illegitimate children and run off briefly to Scandinavia, where he began playing guitar. Back in Cheltenham he joined the Ramrods, then drifted to London with his girlfriend and one of his children. He began playing with Alexis Korner's Blues, Inc., then decided to start his own band; a want ad attracted pianist Ian Stewart (b. 1938; d. December 12, 1985). As Elmo Lewis, Jones began working at the Ealing Blues Club, where he ran into a later, loosely knit version of Blues, Inc., which at the time included drummer Charlie Watts. Jagger and Richards began jamming with Blues, Inc., and while Jagger, Richards, and Jones began to practice on their own, Jagger became the featured singer with Blues, Inc. Jones, Jagger, and Richards shared a tiny, cheap London apartment, and with drummer Tony Chapman they cut a demo tape, which was rejected by EMI. Taylor left to attend the Royal College of Art; he eventually formed the Pretty Things. Ian Stewart's job with a chemical company kept the rest of the group from starving. By the time Taylor left, they began to call themselves the Rolling Stones, after a Muddy Waters song. On July 12, 1962, the Rolling Stones — Jagger, Richards, Jones, a returned Dick Taylor on bass, and Mick Avory, later of the Kinks, on drums — played their first show at the Marquee. Avory and Taylor were replaced by Tony Chapman and Bill Wyman, from the Cliftons. Chapman didn't work out, and the band spent months recruiting a cautious Charlie Watts, who worked for an advertising agency and had left Blues, Inc. when its schedule got too busy. In January 1963 Watts completed the band. Local entrepreneur Giorgio Gomelsky booked the Stones at his Crawdaddy Club for an eight-month, highly successful residency. He was also their unofficial manager until Andrew Loog Oldham, with financing from Eric Easton, signed them as clients. By then the Beatles were a British sensation, and Oldham decided to promote the Stones as their nasty opposites. He eased out the mild-mannered Stewart, who subsequently became a Stones roadie and frequent session and tour pianist. In June 1963 the Stones released their first single, Chuck Berry's "Come On." After the band played on the British TV rock show Thank Your Lucky Stars, its producer reportedly told Oldham to get rid of "that vile-looking singer with the tire-tread lips." The single reached Number 21 on the British chart. The Stones also appeared at the first annual National Jazz and Blues Festival in London's borough of Richmond and in September were part of a package tour with the Everly Brothers, Bo Diddley, and Little Richard. In December 1963 the Stones' second single, "I Wanna Be Your Man" (written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney), made the British Top 15. In January 1964 the Stones did their first headlining British tour, with the Ronettes, and released a version of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away," which made Number Three. "Not Fade Away" also made the U.S. singles chart (Number 48). By this time the band had become a sensation in Britain, with the press gleefully reporting that band members had been seen urinating in public. In April 1964 their first album was released in the U.K., and two months later they made their first American tour. Their cover of the Bobby Womack/Valentinos song "It's All Over Now" was a British Number One, their first. Their June American tour was a smashing success; in Chicago, where they'd stopped off to record the Five by Five EP at the Chess Records studio, riots broke out when the band tried to give a press conference. The Stones' version of the blues standard "Little Red Rooster," which had become another U.K. Number One, was banned in the U.S. because of its "objectionable" lyrics. Jagger and Richards had now begun composing their own tunes (at first using the "Nanker Phelge" pseudonym for group compositions). Their "Tell Me (You're Coming Back to Me)" was the group's first U.S. Top 40 hit, in August. The followup, a nonoriginal, "Time Is on My Side," made Number Six in November. From that point on, all but a handful of Stones hits were Jagger-Richards compositions. In January 1965 their "The Last Time" became another U.K. Number One and cracked the U.S. Top 10 in the spring. The band's next single, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," reigned at Number One for four weeks that summer and remains perhaps the most famous song in its remarkable canon. Jagger and Richards continued to write hits with increasingly sophisticated lyrics: "Get Off My Cloud" (Number One, 1965), "As Tears Go By" (Number Six, 1965), "19th Nervous Breakdown" (Number Two, 1966), "Mother's Little Helper" (Number Eight, 1966), "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" (Number Nine, 1966). Aftermath, the first Stones LP of all original material, came out in 1966, though its impact was minimized by the simultaneous release of the Beatles' Revolver and Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde. The Middle Eastern–tinged "Paint It, Black" (1966) and the ballad "Ruby Tuesday" (1967), were both U.S. Number One hits. In January 1967 the Stones caused another sensation when they performed "Let's Spend the Night Together" ("Ruby Tuesday"'s B side) on The Ed Sullivan Show. Jagger mumbled the title lines after threats of censorship (some claimed that the line was censored; others that Jagger actually sang "Let's spend some time together"; Jagger later said, "When it came to that line, I sang mumble"). In February Jagger and Richards were arrested on drug-possession charges in Britain; in May, Brian Jones, too, was arrested. The heavy jail sentences they received were eventually suspended on appeal. The Stones temporarily withdrew from public appearances; Jagger and his girlfriend, singer Marianne Faithfull, went to India with the Beatles to meet the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The Stones' next single release didn't appear until the fall: the Number 14 "Dandelion." Its B side, "We Love You" (Number 50), on which John Lennon and Paul McCartney sang backup vocals, was intended as a thank-you to fans. In December came Their Satanic Majesties Request, the Stones' psychedelic answer record to the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper — and an ambitious mess. By the time the album's lone single, "She's a Rainbow" had become a Number 25 hit, Allen Klein had become the group's manager. May 1968 saw the release of "Jumpin' Jack Flash," a Number Three hit, and a return to basic rock & roll. After five months of delay provoked by controversial album-sleeve photos, the eclectic Beggars Banquet was released and was hailed by critics as the band's finest achievement. On June 9, 1969, Brian Jones, the Stones' most musically adventurous member, who had lent sitar, dulcimer, and, on "Under My Thumb," marimba to the band's sound, and who had been in Morocco recording nomadic Joujouka musicians, left the band with this explanation: "I no longer see eye-to-eye with the others over the discs we are cutting." Within a week he was replaced by ex–John Mayall guitarist Mick Taylor. Jones announced that he would form his own band, but on July 3, 1969, he was found dead in his swimming pool; the coroner's report cited "death by misadventure." Jones, beset by drug problems — and the realization that the band now belonged squarely to Jagger and Richards — had barely participated in the Beggars Banquet sessions. At an outdoor concert in London's Hyde Park a few days after Jones' death, Jagger read an excerpt from the poet Shelley and released thousands of butterflies over the park. On July 11, the day after Jones was buried, the Stones released "Honky Tonk Women," another Number One, and another Stones classic. By this time, every Stones album went gold in short order, and Let It Bleed (a sardonic reply to the Beatles' soon-to-be-released Let It Be) was no exception. "Gimme Shelter" received constant airplay. Jones appeared on most of the album's tracks, though Taylor also made his first on-disc appearances. After going to Australia to star in the film Ned Kelly, Jagger rejoined the band for the start of its hugely successful 1969 American tour, the band's first U.S. trip in three years. But the Stones' Satanic image came to haunt them at a free thank-you-America concert at California's Altamont Speedway. In the darkness just in front of the stage, a young black man, Meredith Hunter, was stabbed to death by members of the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang, whom the Stones — on advice of the Grateful Dead — had hired to provide security for the event. The incident was captured on film by the Maysles brothers in their feature-length documentary Gimme Shelter. Public outcry that "Sympathy for the Devil" (which they had performed earlier in the show; they were playing "Under My Thumb" when the murder occurred) had in some way incited the violence led the Stones to drop the tune from their stage shows for the next six years. After another spell of inactivity, the Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! live album was released in the fall of 1970 and went platinum. That same year the Stones formed their own Rolling Stones Records, an Atlantic subsidiary. The band's first album for its own label, Sticky Fingers (Number One, 1971) — which introduced their Andy Warhol — designed lips-and-lolling-tongue logo — yielded hits in "Brown Sugar" (Number One, 1971) and "Wild Horses" (Number 28, 1971). Jagger, who had starred in Nicolas Roeg's 1970 Performance (the soundtrack of which contained "Memo From Turner"), married Nicaraguan fashion model Bianca Perez Morena de Macias, and the pair became international jet-set favorites. Though many interpreted Jagger's acceptance into high society as yet another sign that rock was dead, or that at least the Stones had lost their spark, Exile on Main Street (Number One, 1972), a double album, was another critically acclaimed hit, yielding "Tumbling Dice" (Number Seven) and "Happy" (Number 22). By this time the Stones were touring the U.S. once every three years; their 1972 extravaganza, like those in 1975, 1978, and 1981, was a sold-out affair. Goats Head Soup (Number One, 1973) was termed the band's worst effort since Satanic Majesties by critics, yet it contained hits in "Angie" (Number One, 1973) and "(Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo) Heartbreaker" (Number 15, 1974). It's Only Rock n' Roll (Number One, 1974) yielded Top 20 hits in the title tune and a cover of the Temptations' "Ain't Too Proud to Beg." Mick Taylor left the band after that album; and after trying out scores of sessionmen (many of whom showed up on the next LP, 1976's Black and Blue), the Stones settled on Ron Wood, then still nominally committed to Rod Stewart and the Faces (who disbanded soon after Wood joined the Stones officially in 1976). In 1979 Richards and Wood, with Meters drummer Ziggy Modeliste and fusion bassist Stanley Clarke, toured as the New Barbarians. Black and Blue was the Stones' fifth consecutive LP of new material to top the album chart, though it contained only one hit single, the Number 10 "Fool to Cry." Wyman, who had released a 1974 solo album, Monkey Grip (the first Stone to do so), recorded another, Stone Alone. Jagger guested on "I Can Feel the Fire" on Wood's solo first LP, I've Got My Own Album to Do. Wood has since recorded several more albums, and while none were commercial hits (Gimme Some Neck peaked at Number 45 in 1979), his work was generally well received. The ethnic-stereotype lyrics of the title song from Some Girls (Number One, 1978) provoked public protest (the last outcry had been in 1976 over Black and Blue's battered-woman advertising campaign). Aside from the disco crossover "Miss You" (Number One), the music was bare-bones rock & roll — in response, some speculated, to the punk movement's claims that the band was too old and too affluent to rock anymore. Richards and his longtime common-law wife, Anita Pallenburg, were arrested in March 1977 in Canada for heroin possession — jeopardizing the band's future — but he subsequently kicked his habit and in 1978 was given a suspended sentence. In 1981 Tattoo You was Number One for nine weeks (1980's Emotional Rescue also went to Number One) and produced the hits "Start Me Up" (Number Two, 1981) and "Waiting on a Friend" (Number 13, 1981), the latter featuring jazz great Sonny Rollins on tenor saxophone. The 1981 tour spawned an album, Still Life, and a movie, Let's Spend the Night Together (directed by Hal Ashby), which grossed $50 million. Through the 1980s the group became more an institution than an influential force. Nevertheless, both Undercover (Number Four, 1983) and Dirty Work (Number Four, 1986) were certifiable hits despite not topping the chart, as every new studio album had done in the decade before. Each album produced only one Top 20 hit, "Undercover of the Night" (Number Nine, 1983) and "Harlem Shuffle" (Number Five, 1986), the latter a remake of a minor 1964 hit by Bob and Earl. Jagger and Richards grew estranged from each other, and the band would not record for three years. Jagger released his first solo album, the platinum She's the Boss, in 1984. His second, 1987's Primitive Cool, didn't even break the Top 40. Richards, who'd long declared he would never undertake a solo album (and who resented Jagger's making music outside the band), countered in 1988 with the gold Talk Is Cheap, backed up by the X-Pensive Winos: guitarist Waddy Wachtel and the rhythm section of Steve Jordan and Charley Drayton. The two Stones sniped at each other in the press and in song: Richards' album track "You Don't Move Me" was directed at his longtime partner. Nevertheless, shortly before the Rolling Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in January 1989 the two traveled to Barbados to begin writing songs for a new Stones album. Steel Wheels (Number Three, 1989) showed the group spinning its wheels musically, and were it not for the band's first American tour in eight years, it is doubtful the LP would have sold anywhere near its 2 million copies. But the 50-date tour, which reportedly grossed $140 million, was an artistic triumph. As the group's fifth live album, Flashpoint (Number 16, 1991), demonstrated, never had the Stones sounded so cohesive onstage. Bill Wyman announced his long-rumored decision to leave the group after 30 years, in late 1992. "I was quite happy to stop after that," the 56-year-old bassist told a British TV show. The announcement helped deflect attention from Wyman's love life: In 1989 he married model Mandy Smith, who was just 13 when the two began dating. The couple divorced in 1990, the same year that Mick Jagger finally married his longtime lover, Jerry Hall. (Jagger and Hall would later split up.) The early 1990s were a time for solo albums from Richards — Live at the Hollywood Palladium and Main Offender (Number 99, 1992)and Jagger's Wandering Spirit (Number 11, 1993). Neither sold spectacularly; apparently fans are most interested in Jagger and Richards when they work together. Wood released Slide on This, his first solo album in over a decade, and Watts pursued his real love, jazz, with the Charlie Watts Orchestra. In 1994 Jagger, Richards, Watts, and Wood, along with bassist Darryl Jones (whose credits include working with Miles Davis and Sting) released the critically well-received Voodoo Lounge (Number Two, 1994) and embarked on a major tour that proved one of the highest-grossing of the year, earning a reported $295 million. Voodoo Lounge brought the Stones their first competitive Grammy, 1994's Best Rock Album award. Voodoo Lounge was also the group's first release under its new multimillion-dollar, three-album deal with Virgin Records, which included granting Virgin the rights to some choice albums from the Stones' back catalogue, including Exile on Main Street, Sticky Fingers, and Some Girls. After having languished in storage for nearly three decades, the Rolling Stones' Rock & Roll Circus concert film and soundtrack was released in 1996, which featured the Stones in the era of Beggars Banquet, and other rock luminaries — the Who, Jethro Tull, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton, Taj Mahal, and more — as well as various acrobats, fire-eaters, and other circus artists who performed routines between songs. Meanwhile, back to their standard time lapse of three years between tours, the Stones released Bridges to Babylon (Number Three, 1997, their 19th platinum LP) and launched yet another lavish, sold-out worldwide tour, where they played two-hour concerts consisting of only a few songs off the new album and lots of hits. Corporate sponsorship was particularly intense: long-distance carrier Sprint, for example, paying $4 million to print its company logo on tickets and stage banners. In 1998 the Stones released the obligatory tour album, No Security. In 1997 Richards coproduced and played on Wingless Angels, an album of Rastafarian spirituals; guested, with Elvis Presley guitarist Scotty Moore, on All the King's Men, a tribute to Presley; and with the rest of the Stones, played on B.B. King's Deuces Wild. Assembling the roots-rock band the Rhythm Kings, with Peter Frampton and Georgie Fame sitting in, Bill Wyman put out three albums in the late '90s. Watts continued his jazz excursions with 1996's orchestral offering, Long Ago and Far Away, and then forayed into world beat with a 2000 collaboration with veteran session drummer Jim Keltner. Mick Taylor's recording career revived, as the ex-Stone put out Stonesy releases with Carla Olson. In 2000 "Satisfaction" topped a VH1 Poll of 100 Greatest Rock Songs. Jagger gained more attention in the social columns. In 1999 29-year-old Brazilian model Luciana Gimenez Morad claimed that she was pregnant with his child; Jagger disagreed. Jerry Hall filed for divorce. Jagger, despite the couple's four children, maintained that their Hindu nuptials did not constitute a legal marriage. When Morad's child was born, DNA tests concluded that Jagger was indeed the boy's father. In 2001 he released his fourth solo album, Goddess in the Doorway (Number 39). At the post-9-11 "Concert for New York City," held at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 21, 2001, Jagger, Richards and a backing band performed "Salt of the Earth" and "Miss You." In 2002, the Stones released Forty Licks, a greatest hits package including four new songs, and embarked on yet another tour, including two—one in Toronto and another in Hong Kong—to benefit victims of the SARS epidemic. In November 2003, the band inked a deal allowing the Best Buy chain to be the exclusive seller of their 4-DVD tour document Four Flicks. Some music retailers in the U.S. and Canada, including Best Buy competitor Circuit City and the 100-store HMV Canada, responded by pulling Stones merchandise from their shelves. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the Stones number four in its "100 Greatest Artists of All Time," just below the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley. On Jagger's 62nd birthday, July 26, 2005, the Stones announced they were releasing a new album, A Bigger Bang (Number 3), followed by a tour. The album included a rare political song from Jagger, "Sweet Neo Con," which was stingingly critical of the Bush Administration's post Iraq War tactics and included the line, "You say you are a patriot/I think that you're a crock of shit." The Stones' A Bigger Bang Tour began in August 2005 and by year's end had already set the year's record at $162 million in gross receipts. The tour took the band from North and South America to Europe, Asia and even the 2006 Super Bowl. The tour ended two years later in London. Overall, the Bigger Bang tour earned a staggering $558 million, the highest-grossing tour of all time. The tour was not without its setbacks. During the New Zealand stretch, in May 2006, Richards was hospitalized for brain surgery after reportedly falling from a coconut tree in Fiji. In June, Wood went into rehab for alcohol problems. The Stones released another 4-CD box set, The Biggest Bang, in June 2007; it also was sold exclusively through Best Buy. The Very Best Of Mick Jagger, a collection of the singer's solo works, came out in October 2007. While Jagger had his share of starring film roles over the course of his career, it was Richard who made his big-screen debut in one of the biggest films of 2008, and one of the highest-grossing films of all-time, after portraying the pirate father of Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. The next year, filmmaker Martin Scorsese's April 2008 documentary Shine a Light intimately captured the Stones' 2006 Bigger Bang live performance at New York City's Beacon Theater from sixteen different camera angles and included guest performances by Christina Aguilera, Jack White, and Buddy Guy. An acclaimed soundtrack accompanied the release of the documentary. Rolling Stone celebrated Shine a Light with a cover that featured Jagger, Richards and Jack White. Also in 2008, the Rolling Stones revealed plans to leave their longtime label EMI for Universal Records, taking with them their entire Sticky Fingers-and-beyond catalog. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the performance captured on Get Your Ya-Ya's Out!, the Stones reissued their live album with five additional songs from the shows, plus a bonus disc with the performances of opening acts B.B. King and Ike & Tina Turner and a DVD of concert and backstage footage. Since the 2007 leg of the A Bigger Bang Tour, however, the Stones have remained largely quiet. <Portions of this biography appeared in The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001). Daniel Kreps contributed to this story.
i don't know
What colour is the Haze in a 1967 single by Jimi Hendrix?
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Purple Haze Live (1967) - YouTube Jimi Hendrix Experience - Purple Haze Live (1967) Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Dec 12, 2011 Purple Haze....
Purple
What colour Lipstick is the title of a song on the album ‘Talk the Talk’ by Rihanna?
Are You Experienced CD/DVD Deluxe & Vinyl Editions | The Official Jimi Hendrix Site 0 Photos | 0 Videos | 0 DVDs CD/DVD Deluxe Edition: Are You Experienced, the debut release by The Jimi Hendrix Experience is widely regarded as the greatest, most influential debut release from any artist. When first released in 1967, Are You Experienced, turned the music world upside down as Hendrix showed everyone exactly what it meant to be ‘experienced.’ Remastered from the original 2-track mix down master tapes, this expanded 17-song collection features the ageless classics “Purple Haze,” “Red House,” “Stone Free,” “Hey Joe,” and “Are You Experienced?” This newly expanded, deluxe CD/DVD collection features 17 studio recordings, and a comprehensive 36-page, full-color booklet packed full of rare photos, liner-notes, details session information and behind-the-scenes information about the creation of one of the most significant albums of all time. This deluxe collection is housed in a lavish 6-panel digipak and includes a bonus DVD featuring a mini-documentary film detailing the making of Are You Experienced complete with interviews with those involved in the original album production. [ Sony/Legacy Recordings ] Vinyl Edition: Limited edition, ALL ANALOG LP is pressed on 180 gram audiophile grade vinyl. The first 5,000 copies of this release will be individually numbered. RTI’s world class facility in Camarillo, California will be used for album production. Are You Experienced, the debut release by The Jimi Hendrix Experience is widely regarded as the greatest, most influential debut release from any artist. When first released in 1967, Are You Experienced, turned the music world upside down as Hendrix showed everyone exactly what it meant to be ‘experienced.’ Remastered from the original 2-track mix down master tapes, this ALL ANALOG vinyl collection returns to the original 11-song version that was originally released in August 1967. This limited edition vinyl release features a full-color booklet packed full of rare photos, liner-notes, details session information and behind-the-scenes information about the creation of one of the most significant albums of all time. [ Sony/Legacy Recordings ]
i don't know
Who had a 1972 hit single with ‘Song Sung Blue’?
US Number One Songs - 1972 US Number One Songs - 1972 « 1971 1972 Number One Songs 1973 » Date « 1971 1972 Number One Songs 1973 » December 19 1971 Al Green - Let's Stay Together 1 Neil Young - Heart Of Gold 1 America - A Horse With No Name 3 Roberta Flack - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face 6 Staple Singers - I'll Take You There 1 Sammy Davis Jr. - The Candy Man 3 Neil Diamond - Song Sung Blue 1 Bill Withers - Lean On Me 3 Gilbert O'Sullivan - Alone Again (Naturally) 6 (4) Looking Glass - Brandy (You're A Fine Girl) 1 Gilbert O'Sullivan - Alone Again (Naturally) 6 (2) Three Dog Night - Black and White 1 Mac Davis - Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me 3 Johnny Nash - I Can See Clearly Now 4 Temptations - Papa Was A Rollin' Stone 1 Helen Reddy - I Am Woman 1 Billy Paul - Me And Mrs Jones 3 Carly Simon - You're So Vain 3 23 different songs hit number one in the US during 1972. Top 5 Songs of 1972 Roberta Flack - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face Gilbert O'Sullivan - Alone Again (Naturally) Don McLean - American Pie
Neil Diamond
Which singer released a 2013 song called ‘Yellow Raincoat’, which is supposedly about his former girlfriend Selena Gomez?
Diamond Tours publication unknown, Britain, 5/20/70 by Neville Nisse Neil Diamond has already built up quite a reputation here as a pop singer of exceptional ability. That despite the fact that until now we’ve no had a chance to see him. Ths weekend he makes his British debut-with two concerts tomorrow night at the Royal Festival Hall. For a long time this 27-year old American singer-composer has been a big-name star in his native country, someone with a whole string of self-composed hits...However, the only impact he seemed to make here for quite some time-despite getting most enthusiastic things said about his work by DJs and record reviewers-was for his song-writing success for other artists, as with ‘I’m a Believer’ for the Monkees and ‘The Boat That I Row’ for Lulu. But suddenly, about a year ago, the British public seemed to discover him, and since then Neil has enjoyed impressive sales with ‘Soolaimon,’ Holly Holy,’ ‘Cracklin Rosie,’ and his latest LP, a superb album, titled ‘Tap Root Manuscript’.... He bought his first guitar for $16. And almost on the day he mastered his first chord progression he was writing his first song, one called ‘Hear Them Bells.’ From then he proceeded to write songs at a quite fantastic rate. As he put it: ‘‘I found being able to do that, express myself in that way, was a whole new thing for me and opened me up as a person. In fact I’m constantly amazed that I’m able to write a song-to just take a piece of paper and at the end of a day or two, a week or a month, have a song on it You see, I never really considered myself creative.’’ But he certainly is-as his output has shown. As for what he plays, it is made up of a good mixture of many things. Says Neil: ‘‘That’s not surprising, I seem to have been exposed to just about every kind of music, from rock’n’roll to gospel, rhythm’n’blues to country’n’western, the ‘classics’ to the top twenty. So I guess I’ve developed a taste for all of them.’ But in his songs and performance he shows a particular brand of originality-one that should continue, because he vows: ‘‘I want to try and avoid going down the same roads, doing the same thing again.’’ Take my advice, Neil Diamond’s career is going to be one worth following. Concert Review, Neil Diamond, Anaheim Convention Center The Hollywood Reporter, September 30, 1970 by Sue Cameron Neil Diamond recieved a standing ovation from 9000 fans at the full-to-the-brim Anaheim Convention Center Saturday night. It was spontaneous and deserved. Diamond is a great artist and a dynamic and warm performer. In a smaller room, such as the Troubadour, Diamond’s every body move and nuance make the room come alive. He’s not a mover in that tasteless, blatant sex symbol trick-he has taste. In a big concert it is difficult to achieve a rapport with a crowd and make each member of the audience feel as if you are singing to him, {but} Diamond does. The moves can’t be seen as well, but he talks to the audience between numbers as if it is a living room conversation. Some of the set patter should go, such as the comments about girls’ hair in pin curls, that is dated and superfluous. But when he tells you stories behind the songs, something magical happens. A big audience-warmer is Diamond’s request to all theaudience members who have flash cameras to flash them at the same time on the count of three. It is a good gimmick. Diamond sings all his hits, and ‘Holly Holy’ really came off exceptionally well. He switched to a stool and a single spot and put down his guitar to sing the beautiful ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.’ His autobiographical ‘Brooklyn Roads’ was also nice , and the closer ‘Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show’ included a sermon by Diamond that left the crowd cheering. Diamond flawless at the Greek The Hollywood Reporter, August 25, 1971 by Sue Cameron When we saw Neil Diamond last year at Anaheim he was flawless. At his Greek Theatre opening he was 1,000% better than flawless and that should tell you how brilliant he was. Everything was perfect. The stage had a special set by Jim Newton. Diamond had 35 strings and a vocal group behind him that was incredible.... But the reasong for the success is all Diamond. Take away the strings and the voices and just sit him on a stool with his guitar and the strength and excitement is still there. It’s Neil Diamond’s attitude on stage, an inner feeling of intensity that comes across to the audience like a laser beam. He did 16 songs and took time with each. It wasn’t a case of running one’s hits. Each song he did, whether it was a familiar hit or new to his act, like Chelsea Morning, was treated like a well-polished special jewell both lyrically and musically. The arrangements for each song, done by Neil and his conuctor Lee Holdrige, were magnificent. Diamond showed many sides of his personality Monday night. He spoofed some of his ‘dumb’ songs written during his starving songwriting days in New York. He told us about his childhood in Brooklyn Roads. He told us about today with I Am...I Said. He knew just how to treat each song, when to be soft, when to be exciting. Watching Neil Dimaond work is like watching the parts of a $5,000 watch work. That is not to say he is mechanical or antiseptic. On the contrary-he is a pro, a showman, and he gave his all to the audience. By the end of his encore, Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show, he had earned two standing ovations and proven byeond a doubt that he is and will continue to be one of the biggest artists in the business. Diamond in Debut at Greek The Los Angeles Times, August 25, 1971 by Robert Hilburn It was obvious from the opening minutes of his concert Monday night that Neil Diamond is after more than just applause in his debut engagement this week at the Greek Theater. It would have been easy and quite safe for Diamond, the top-selling artist over the past two years, to merely have come out Monday and done a slightly longer, but essentially carbon version of the highly successful concert he did last September at the Anaheim Convention Center. By running through his biggest hits (from ‘Cracklin Rosie’ to ‘Sweet Caroline’) with a small country-rock band as he did at Anaheim, Diamond no doubt would have pleased almost everyone Monday at the Greek. Almost everyone, that is, except himself. The important thing to realize about Diamond at the moment is that he is interested in exploring his potential as both a performer and writer. He is concerned with artistic growth. Thus, he is interested in winning respect as well as applause. As soon as the curtain opened, there was no mistaking Diamond’s intention. The stage was filled with an eight-piece rhythm section, six background singers and a 35-piece string section. After some introductory strains from the ‘African Trilogy’ on his ‘Tap Root Manuscript’ album, Diamond joined the musicians on stage and began a spirited version of ‘Soolaimon,’ the most familiar song from the trilogy. It was a daring, ambitious, effective start. Through most of the rest of the material Monday was familiar, there was a constant feel of artistic challenge about Diamond’s performance. He changed the arrangements of some numbers, restructured his phrasing on others, mixed the sequence of songs (between his early, essentially bubble-gum material and his more serious, autobiographical material) so that the audience could never fall into the comfortable, but unstimulating poition of being able to predict what was going to happen next. Except for Joni Mitchell’s ‘Chelsea Morning’ and Bobby Russell-Bobby Scott’s ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,’ all Diamond’s selections were his own. They included ‘Done Too Soon,’ ‘Cracklin Rosie,’ ‘Holly Holy,’ ‘Brooklyn Roads’ and ‘I Am...I Said.’ There were, to be sure, some growth pains. The show’s pace seemed to slow too much when Diamond tried to point out the humor in some of the early, unpublished material he wrote. In his effort to bring new interpretations to his songs (as drawing out the word ‘be’ for no apparent reasong in the line ‘guess I’ll always be what I am’ in ‘Solitary Man’), he seemed at times to be taking away from the free flowing spirit of the song. But the distractions were minor. By the time Diamond got to the closing ‘Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show’ (the third encore), he had much of the Greek Theater audience clapping in time with the song’s irresistible gospel-rock rhythm. He recieved one of the most spirited standing ovations of the Greek season at the end of the show. By refusing to stand still musically, Diamond won the best of both possible worlds Monday night. He won both the applause and respect of his audience,. His show ranks with last week’s Carole King program as one of the highlights of the Greek season. A major triumph. June-July 1984: Warmup in Atlantic City, European Tour August 1984: Various US dates November-December 1984: Various US dates March-April 1985: West Coast, Western Canada Neil’s Primitive album was released in July of 1984, and due to a lack of marketing support from Columbia records, it became one of Neil’s most underrated albums of all time. The 1984 shows were still largely based on the setlist first created in December 1981. The American Popular Song and Medley was often performed, however I have heard reports that it was sometimes replaced with Dance of the Sabres or The Dancing Bumble Bee at times, especily during the European leg of the tour. A pleasant addition to the show was the inclusion of Red Red Wine to the concerts. From Primitive, Neil chose to perform the excellent title track, as well as Brooklyn on a Saturday Night and Turn Around on a regular basis during his summer and fall shows. You Make it Feel Like Christmas (as well as a few other Christmas favorites) was added to the show during the holiday season. The reprise of America was usually left off of the set in the later shows, leaving Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show to cap off the evening, except for the suprise reemergence of I’ve Been This Way Before for a few shows in March of 1985. December 1985-July 1987 (Headed for the Future) Tour Highlights
i don't know
What colour is the Crush, a song from the 1988 album ‘Green’ by REM?
R.E.M. – Orange Crush Lyrics | Genius Lyrics About “Orange Crush” Off of R.E.M.’s album Green A political song; the lead singer, Michael Stipe, explained that the song is about a young man from America who played football, leaving to go to war in Vietnam. The rapid-fire drums that open the song mimic the noise of a machine-gun. Hidden This page is accessible to Verified artists on the song Locked This song has been locked and is considered "done." You need 600 IQ to add annotations to locked songs. "Orange Crush" Track Info
Orange
What colour eyes does the Handsome Man have in a 1957 song by Chuck Berry?
R.E.M. Reflect on 'Green' on the Album's 25th Anniversary - Rolling Stone R.E.M. Reflect on 'Green' on the Album's 25th Anniversary R.E.M. Reflect on 'Green' on the Album's 25th Anniversary Check out live performances of 'World Leader Pretend' and 'Orange Crush' R.E.M. Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. All Stories R.E.M. were feeling a little restless when they began recording Green in early 1988. During the previous seven years, they'd gone from a completely unknown college rock band to genuine pop stars, even scoring a Top 10 hit with 1987's "The One I Love." The success of that song helped them land a great deal with Warner Bros, but they were determined to not merely repeat their past successes. "We didn't want to write traditional R.E.M. songs," bassist Mike Mills tells Rolling Stone. "We were all about having fun and trying to do something different." The band even experimented with switching around instruments. "Peter [Buck] was tired of the electric guitar and wanted to move into different sounds," says Mills. "We all wanted to shake things up, and we were starting to enjoy more acoustic things as well as rock stompers. The 'Hairshirt' mandolin riff is actually Bill Berry's."  100 Greatest Artists: R.E.M. The new songs that emerged varied wildly in quality, from the sunshine pop of "Stand" to the anti-war "Orange Crush" to the radio-friendly "Pop Song 89." "Our feeling was, 'We take the best songs,'" says Mills. "We knew there would be enough unifying themes to make it hold together. You have Michael's voice and the one producer. That keeps things in the ballpark, and it gives you a freedom to have a lot of different kings of songs, different tempos, different instrumentations, and things still hold together as a piece."  Many of the songs sounded unlike anything else in the R.E.M. catalog, particularly "Stand," which received a second life a couple of years later when it became the theme to the cult Chris Elliott sitcom Get a Life. "Peter [Buck] brought in most of that song," says Mills. "I threw in that stupid riff in the verse. I said, 'Okay, let's do a quasi-Zeppelin riff here.' Michael took that and ran with it in a way that comes off as a bit simplistic, but it's actually a pretty serious theme of, 'Be who you are and accept what you have.' Things like the toy piano give it a little air of frivolity." Green hit record store shelves on November 7th, 1988, one day before that year's presidential election. "When you realize you have a voice, it was kind of exciting to to be able to use that voice," says Mills. "We wanted to try and make a difference since we were really concerned about the direction the country was headed. We did everything we could to sound the alarm, but unfortunately, we were in the minority." R.E.M. supported Green with a nearly year-long tour that played to huge audiences around the world. "There could be a case made that the tour might have been one leg too long," says Mills. "It got us to a lot of places we hadn't played before and wouldn't have played otherwise. I had no regrets about the length, although it did take its toll. On the second-to-last night of the tour, R.E.M. played in Greensboro, North Carolina. "We were really tight that night," says Mills. "It was well-recorded and it's our best sounding show from that era. After playing for almost a year we really knew what we were doing."  The 25th anniversary edition of Green is coming out on May 14th, and the complete Greensboro show is included as a bonus disc. The entire original album has been remastered and will be released in a hard clamshell box with four postcards and a foldout poster.   Check out an exclusive live video of "World Leader Pretend" from the Green tour and a live recording of Orange Crush.
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The song ‘Scarlet’ is from which 1981 album by U2?
U2 - Scarlet - YouTube U2 - Scarlet Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Dec 16, 2007 from U2's album "October" (1981) Category
October
Who was holding a Silver Hammer in the 1969 song from the Abbey Road Album by The Beatles?
October (Remastered) by U2 on Apple Music 11 Songs iTunes Review Though widely acknowledged as suffering a bit from the “sophomore slump,” 1981’s October is hardly a failure, with “Gloria,” “I Fall Down,” “I Threw a Brick Through a Window,” “Rejoice,” and the album’s stunning closer “Is That All?” leading the charge. The Dublin quartet’s quick success made it imperative for them to get a second album together and while some of the tunes suffer from being rushed along (six months could’ve given them breathing room, but could have cost them their momentum), it’s mostly the sound of a band still finding themselves. Steve Lillywhite’s production continues to add atmospherics to the band’s careful chiseled sound and Bono clearly has the sound of arenas ringing in his ears as his singing reaches for mythic heights with its consistent full-throat attack. Customer Reviews       by In love in Bethesda I am so sick of reading the 'reviews' by iTunes. Who are these people? What in the hell are they talking about? Pompous, overwhelming? Has anyone told Mr Lillywhite this? This is a very ambitiious early album by some very young spiritual men. Good lord! Their second/third album? Does anyone believe that a band's seccond record is perhaps their most important? Bono is over-reaching? If I didn't know better, I'd use the friggin 'F" word to iTunes. THEY ARE NOT GODS. They are only one little person, typing into their computer, like me. So use your own mind, read, research, listen. iTunes doesn't rule the flipping world. Oft Cast Aside       by Arcai Arcai in. U2's second album shows a more traditional and unique sound than the likes of which found on their debut album, Boy. Bono's vocals are the same as usual: magnificent, border-line operatic, and emotionally deep. Backed by Bono is The Edge's unique and creative guitar riffs that give a wide-spread mood to the album. The drums are foreign and multi-influenced in means of sound, structure and beat. There are no more good points/bad points section any more, just a song-rating section because I believe I liked or didn't like the albums previously reviewed for the wrong reasons. Here are the songs: Great songs:Gloria, I Fall Down, I Threw a Brick Through a Window, Tomorrow, With a Shout (Jerusalem), Stranger In a Strange Land Good songs:Rejoice, Fire, October, Is That All? Bad songs:Scarlet I was in a rush for the original review because I was going to be late for the bus. However, the connection times out and I rewrote the review in a more precise manner. I give U2's October five stars. That is all. Arcai out-- 1-9-2009 3:57 PM Biography Formed: 1976 in Dublin, Ireland Genre: Rock Years Active: '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s Through a combination of zealous righteousness and post-punk experimentalism, U2 became one of the most popular rock & roll bands in the world -- equally known for their sweeping sound as for their grandiose statements about politics and religion. The Edge provided the group with a signature sound by creating sweeping sonic landscapes with his heavily processed, echoed guitars. Though the Edge's style wasn't conventional, the rhythm section of Larry Mullen, Jr. and Adam Clayton played the songs... Top Albums and Songs by U2 1.
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In October 1992, which baseball team became the first non-USA team to win the World Series?
World Series History | MLB.com (Night Games: All) Managers: Cito Gaston, Blue Jays; Bobby Cox, Braves Notes: The Toronto Blue Jays became the first team from outside the United States to capture the World Series. ... Blue Jays catcher Pat Borders was named World Series MVP. ... Four of the six games were decided by one run. Tom Glavine, who won 20 regular-season games for the Braves, was dominant in Game 1, allowing just four hits and one run. Meanwhile, Atlanta hitters tallied three runs, all in the sixth inning, against 1991 Series hero Jack Morris. All three runs came courtesy of catcher Damon Berryhill's home run to right field. In Game 2, the Blue Jays trailed 4-3 when they came up in the ninth. With one out, Derek Bell walked, and then pinch-hitter Ed Sprague -- who had homered just once in the regular season -- drilled Jeff Reardon's first pitch over the left-field wall to give Toronto a 5-4 lead, and that's how it ended. Game 3 in Toronto was a real nail-biter, with the Braves taking a 2-1 lead in the eighth, only to see the Jays tie it up in the bottom of the inning on Kelly Gruber's solo homer. And in the bottom of the ninth, Candy Maldonado's bases-loaded single off Reardon gave Toronto a 3-2 victory. The Blue Jays took a commanding World Series lead in Game 4 with a 2-1 victory, Toronto's Jimmy Key and two relievers combining on a five-hitter. The Braves staved off elimination in Game 5, thanks to Lonnie Smith, who punished Jack Morris for a grand slam in the fifth inning, pacing Atlanta to an easy 7-2 win behind the pitching of John Smoltz and Mike Stanton. In Game 6, the Braves trailed 2-1 going to the bottom of the ninth. With runners on first and second, pinch-hitter Francisco Cabrera lined a ball to left field, which nearly got by Maldonado for a two-run double (at least), but didn't. With two outs, though, Otis Nixon singled to tie the game, and they went to extra innings. And in the top of the 11th, Dave Winfield doubled off Charlie Leibrandt to make it 4-2. The Braves scored once in the bottom of the inning and got the potential tying runner to third base, but Mike Timlin retired Nixon on a bunt attempt to end the game and the World Series.  
Toronto Blue Jays
In 1932, who was the only Premier of an Australian state (New South Wales) to have been dismissed from his post by the state governor?
WORLD SERIES - Safe at Home - A Formula for a Team That's in Need - NYTimes.com WORLD SERIES; Safe at Home: A Formula for a Team That's in Need By MURRAY CHASS, Published: October 25, 1992 ATLANTA, Oct. 24— If they knew that recent history could produce a few runs or strike out a few batters, the Atlanta Braves could have approached tonight's sixth game of the World Series with the attitude that by being down by three games to two and playing at home, they had the Toronto Blue Jays right where they wanted them. In the last decade, that was the pattern that existed in each of the five years that the Series went beyond five games. The team trailing three games to two won the sixth and seventh games at home. The last time that formula wasn't followed when the Series lasted more than five games was in 1981, when the Yankees returned home down by 3-2 to the Los Angeles Dodgers and lost the sixth game. The outcome prompted George Steinbrenner, the Yankees' owner, to apologize to the people of New York for his team's failure to win the World Series. Steinbrenner hasn't had any need to apologize to anyone for World Series failures since, but then, the Yankees haven't come close to the World Series (8 other teams from each league have played in the Series in the subsequent 11 years). The Braves were in the Series for the second successive season, but their owner, Ted Turner, wasn't very likely to issue an apology even if they became the first team since the 1977-78 Dodgers to lose successive Series. Braves fans have become too enthusiastic and too plentiful for the revenue-minded Turner to dampen their zeal. To understand the pattern developed in recent years, the Braves did not have to read World Series history books. They experienced it first-hand last year. High off a sweep of the three games in Atlanta, they returned to the Minnesota Twins' Metrodome looking for one victory in the two games there to become Series champions. Twins Come Back But the Twins won the sixth game, 4-3, on Kirby Puckett's 11th-inning home run against Charlie Leibrandt, and the Braves couldn't score against Jack Morris in 10 innings of Game 7. Steve Avery was the Braves' starting pitcher in Game 6, as he was tonight against the Blue Jays' David Cone. This is Cone's first World Series, but Avery joined his teammates in experiencing the disappointment the Braves suffered on their second visit to Minneapolis. They instantly knew how the 1987 St. Louis Cardinals, the 1986 Boston Red Sox, the 1985 Cardinals and the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers felt. All of those teams squandered 3-2 leads and lost the Series in the other teams' parks -- the Brewers in St. Louis, the Cardinals in Kansas City and Minnesota and the Red Sox in New York. The Yankees failed to pull off that feat in 1981, possibly because their manager, Bob Lemon, was at least subconsciously more concerned about what Steinbrenner would think if he did or did not make certain moves than he was about managing the game the way he thought it should be run. Although Tommy John allowed only one run in the first four innings and had a 1-1 tie in the sixth game, Lemon pulled him for a pinch-hitter in the Yankees' half of the fourth. The Yankees didn't score in the inning, but the Dodgers scored three runs in the fifth against John's replacement, George Frazier, and four more in the sixth against Ron Davis and Rick Reuschel. Those outbursts rendered a seventh game unnecessary. Those developments marked the fourth time in five years that the team leading by three games to two won the sixth game and the Series. The Yankees beat the Dodgers with that pattern in 1977 and 1978, and the Philadelphia Phillies did it to the Royals in 1980. Athletics Are the Exception Interestingly, between 1946 and 1982, the pattern of being down 3-2 and winning the last two games at home occurred just once. That was in 1973 when the Oakland Athletics overcame a 3-2 deficit to the Mets and won the Series. There were 12 occasions in that same period, however, where a team led, 3-2, lost the sixth game but won the seventh. The last time it happened was in 1975, when the Cincinnati Reds beat Boston. The Red Sox won the unforgettable sixth game on Carlton Fisk's 12th-inning home run, then led the seventh game, 3-0. But the Reds rallied in the final four innings and won, 4-3, on Joe Morgan's two-out, run-scoring single in the ninth, preventing the Red Sox from joining the crowd that won the last two games at home and the Series. If history plays any role in subsequent Series -- and, of course, it has no bearing -- the next team that is the visitor at a domed stadium should be grateful that the Braves won the fifth game of this Series in Toronto. Until Thursday night, the teams playing indoor World Series games at home had won all 10 games. The Twins won four each at the Metrodome in 1987 and 1991, and the Blue Jays won the first two games at their Skydome this year. But the Braves erupted in the third game there for a 7-2 victory, relieving the next dome visitor of the burden of a 0-11 record. One final historical note: Of the eight teams that lost two or more World Series in a row, all but one were New York teams or the derivative of a New York team. The exception was the Detroit Tigers of 1907-08-09. The other teams were the New York Giants, the Yankees and the Dodgers of Brooklyn and Los Angeles. Photos: David Cone, the Blue Jays' Game 6 starter, taking batting practice Friday. (Reuters) (pg. 1); Steve Avery was the Braves' starting pitcher against the Blue Jays last night for Game 6 in Atlanta. (Reuters) (pg. 2)  
i don't know
The fictional television character Lady Penelope, who appeared in ‘Thunderbirds’, was created and voiced by who in the original series?
Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward : Wikis (The Full Wiki) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward Sylvia Anderson and Sophia Myles Information Nationality British Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward is the London Agent for the secret organization International Rescue in the hit television series Thunderbirds . The character was created and voiced by Sylvia Anderson in the original series, and portrayed on film by Sophia Myles . Contents Advertisements Early life Born on 24 December 2039, Lady Penelope is the twenty-six-year-old daughter of aristocrat Sir Hugh Creighton-Ward and his wife, Amelia. The first years of Lady Penelope’s life were spent at Creighton-Ward Mansion thereafter her father was requested by the government to go to India to organise a tea-growing community. However, Lady Penelope didn’t agree with the Indian climate and returned without her parents to England, where she was put into the care of a governess, Miss Pemberton, to whom she quickly bonded. At the age of eleven Lady Penelope was sent to Rowden, an exclusive girl’s boarding school where she excelled in many subjects and became very popular among her peers; she was later elected head girl . Upon leaving Rowden Lady Penelope went to a finishing school in Switzerland where she became a skilled skiier and linguist, being able to speak French, German and Italian as well as a native. File:Lady Penelope snackskincoat.jpg Lady Penelope Secret life On the outside Lady Penelope is just another member of the British high society and also a fashion icon . But, after completing her education, she rejected the aristocracy's endless round of social engagements and became a secret agent. It was while working as the chief operative of the Federal Agents Bureau that Lady Penelope first met Jeff Tracy , the founder of International Rescue , and she immediately accepted his invitation to become their London Agent. Style Lady Penelope is stylish and fashionable in almost every aspect of her life. Lady Penelope is a world renowned supermodel and celebrity and has appeared on the cover of Chic magazine. Her clothes are specially created for her by top fashion designers like Elaine Wickfern and François Lemaire, who named a revolutionary new fabric " Penelon " after her. She wears an exclusive perfume called "Soupçon de Péril", mixed for her by Jacques Verre. Whenever Lady Penelope is in Paris she always drinks Pernod . Lady Penelope takes tea almost religiously and can communicate with International Rescue via her Regency tea pot. FAB 1 Main article: FAB 1 Lady Penelope owns an iconic six-wheeled Rolls-Royce called FAB1 painted in her trademark tone of pink. FAB 1 has lots of features to assist Lady Penelope's work such as machine guns in the grill, bullet proof glass, water skis for travel on water and radar assisted steering. FAB 1 is mostly driven by Parker. Lady Penelope also owns FAB 2, a sleek private yacht; FAB 3, a prize winning racehorse; and Seabird, a 40-foot (12 m) ocean-going cruiser. There have been several Seabirds as they are frequently destroyed in use. Creighton-Ward Mansion File:Creighton-Ward Mansion.png Lady Penelope's ancestral home The eighteenth-century stately home at Foxleyheath in Gloucestershire , England is the seat of the Creighton-Ward dynasty. Creighton-Ward Mansion was built on the site of a Norman Castle by the first Lord Creighton-Ward after he was knighted by Elizabeth I , who was a regular visitor. The current Creighton-Ward mansion was built by Lord Cuthbert Creighton-Ward in 1730 after he burned down the previous house during a gunpowder experiment. Lord Cuthbert asked architect Colen Campbell to design the iconic Palladian edifice. When Lady Penelope became a secret agent she renovated the historic building to better suit her secret lifestyle by installing a satellite antenna, a number of two-way video communication consoles for contacting International Rescue and a safe with state-of-the-art alarm system and CCTV . There is a forensic laboratory built where the old servants quarters were. Creighton-Ward Mansion was designated a Grade One listed building by the World Heritage Organization. Also beneath the estate is an underground river with a boat and if Lady Penelope thinks that the house is under surveillance or she is in danger she can meet Parker at a nearby village without anyone knowing. Bonga Bonga In addition Lady Penelope owns Bonga Bonga, a sheep station in the Australian outback with 200,007 sheep. The station was acquired by Bertie ‘Buster’ Creighton-Ward. The open plan lounge with its modern fabrics and simple geometric designs sharply contrast the rich detail of Creighton-Ward Mansion. Retinue Main article: Aloysius "Nosey" Parker Aloysius "Nosey" Parker is Lady Penelope's butler and chauffeur. Born on 30 May 2013, Parker is the last of a long line of Cockney retainers who have served the British aristocracy for centuries. However finding it difficult to get a stable job Parker soon fell in with various villains of the London underworld. Parker quickly gained a reputation as the worlds best safe-cracker and cat-burglar, which lead to him to serving a sentence in Parkmoor Scrubs Prison. After his release he soon fell back in to criminal activity and was recruited by Lady Penelope when she caught him breaking in to the safe of an oil tycoon. Lady Penelope heard of Parker’s talents and offered him a partnership in her espionage activities. He is a loyal and indispensable assistant to Lady Penelope and International Rescue. Lilian Lilian or Lil as she is known by Parker is Lady Penelope’s cook. Lilian has a large repertoire of food that she prepares for Lady Penelope, much to the disgust of Parker. Perce Perce is the gardener for the 2,000-acre (8.1 km2) Creighton-Ward estate and friend of Parker. Penelon Penelon is the fictional fabric featured in the Thunderbirds universe. Penelon was discovered by the noted fashion designer François Lemaire who named it after his favorite model Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward. The fabric its self has extraordinary properties: Penelon can be made in to any other costume design, it never gets crushed, it can squeeze in to a space the size of a match box and it can be fashioned to look like any other material. The fabric was keenly sought after by François Lemaire's rivals who bugged and kept his office under surveillance hence it was top secret. After this was discovered by Lady Penelope she suggested to hold the premiere of the new collection made entirely of Penelon, on board the new aircraft Skythrust designed by the International Rescue scientific genius Brains . Appearances
Sylvia Anderson
What was the name of the first permanent English settlement in North America?
"Thunderbirds" (1960) - News NEWS trailers and videos full cast and crew trivia official sites memorable quotes Overview 6 December 2016 6:54 AM, PST | Cinemaretro.com | See recent CinemaRetro news » By Tim Greaves With Christmas 1970 on the horizon, the UK’s thrilling new sci-fi TV show UFO was well underway. Gerry and Sylvia Anderson 's first live-action series, it was set in the future and revolved around the activities of the Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation ( Shado ), a covert agency presided over by Commander Ed Straker ( Ed Bishop ) to fend off alien attacks on mankind. As a wide-eyed 8-year-old I was hooked and I can recall wishing two things. One was that I could have one of the Dinky Toys’ missile-firing Shado Interceptors, which I thought then (and still think now) was the coolest among the incredible array of vehicles that appeared in the show; I’d not be nearly as forgiving today as I was back then that Dinky had manufactured it in garish green, where the ‘real’ ones on TV were white. The other wish was that I » - [email protected] (Cinema Retro) 22 November 2016 9:21 PM, PST | LRMonline.com | See recent LRM Online news » The Thunderbirds are back. Season Two of the revived Amazon’s Thunderbirds Are Go continues the adventures of the family of heroes, International Rescue. The series highlights the five brave Tracy brothers and their covert operative Kayo and how they pilot their remarkable, cutting-edge Thunderbird vehicles to perform near-impossible rescue mission, from the depths of the oceans to the highest reaches of space. Produced by ITV Studios and Pukeko Pictures with Weta Workshop, the series is made with a mixture of CGI animation and live-action model sets—paying tribute to the old fans of the shows and attracting a new generation to the Thunderbirds . Lrm had a phone interview earlier this month with voice actor David Graham, who is reprising his role as Agent Parker from the original series. We had an extensive talk over the show—both the original and the new show. It was also fun to reminisce » - Gig Patta 13 October 2016 1:19 PM, PDT | Blogomatic3000 | See recent Blogomatic3000 news » From the iconic creator of Thunderbirds , the second volume of the classic British children’s sci-fi series Terrahawks is to be released on Blu-ray and DVD, courtesy of Network Distributing. Gerry Anderson , the hugely influential creator of Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet , made a spectacular return to puppet animation in the early 1980s with an exciting new series co-created with Christopher Burr . Thrilling yet another generation of children and adults, Terrahawks introduced a new elite force to defend 21st century Earth against a host of alien invaders. Led by the heroic Tiger Ninestein, the Terrahawks crew consists of Captain Mary Falconer, his acting second-in-command; fighter-pilot and former pop star Kate Kestrel ; the poetically inclined Lieutenant Hiro; and Lt. Hawkeye – the gunner with computer-enhanced vision. Assisted by a legion of charismatic spherical robots known as the Zeroids, they battle a cabal of evil adversaries – none more terrifying than android crone Zelda, the » - Phil Wheat 28 August 2016 2:18 PM, PDT | MUBI | See recent MUBI news » Mubi is showing Team America World Police in the United Kingdom from August 20 - September 18, 2016.“I repeat, we have no Intelligence!” —Lisa, Team America World Police“It’s triply redundant: We see a city landscape including the Arc de Triomphe; we’re told it’s Paris; and we’re told it’s Paris, France (not Paris, Maine).”—David Bordwell on The Bourne UltimatumIn case you missed it—and you weren’t alone— Trey Parker and Matt Stone ’s Team America World Police is about the magic of movies. Its opening image, a painting of Paris, makes neighbors of that city’s default metonyms; no matter that the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe are separated in real life by a half-hour walk and the River Seine. Adhering to the needs of spoon-fed geography, an inscription confirms that this is indeed Paris, France. And then, more text further satisfies the cliché of clarity, » 12 August 2016 1:45 AM, PDT | Flickeringmyth | See recent Flickeringmyth news » Back in the early 1980’s the late Gerry Anderson MBE brought the  Terrahawks  to our screens and they were a fantastic addition to his Supermarionation catalogue, bringing Doctor “Tiger” Ninestein and the rest of the Terrahawks to defend the planet Earth from Zelda and her gang of vile followers.  Today it has been revealed that Terrahawks has finally been given a High-Definition release on both Blu-ray and DVD for the first time ever! Terrahawks : Volume 1 (U) features the first 13 episodes, presented for the first time in High Definition from the best available materials, in their original as-transmitted aspect ratio and is now available to own on Blu-ray and DVD for just £19.99 each. Gerry Anderson , the hugely influential creator of Thunderbirds , Captain Scarlet and Space: 1999 made a spectacular return to puppet animation in the early 1980s with an exciting new series co-created with Christopher Burr . Thrilling yet another generation of children (and adults! » - Villordsutch 30 May 2016 3:14 PM, PDT | Blogomatic3000 | See recent Blogomatic3000 news » Terrahawks , the classic British children’s sci-fi series from the legendary creator of Thunderbirds , is to be released on Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of Network Distributing. Gerry Anderson , the hugely influential creator of Thunderbirds , Captain Scarlet and Space: 1999 made a spectacular return to puppet animation in the early 1980s with an exciting new series co-created with Christopher Burr . Thrilling yet another generation of children (and adults!), Terrahawks introduced a new elite force to defend 21st century Earth against a host of alien invaders. Led by the heroic Tiger Ninestein, the Terrahawks crew consists of Captain Mary Falconer, his acting second-in-command; fighter-pilot and former pop star Kate Kestrel ; the poetically inclined Lieutenant Hiro; and Lt. Hawkeye – the gunner with computer-enhanced vision. Assisted by a legion of charismatic spherical robots known as the Zeroids, they battle a cabal of evil adversaries – none more terrifying than android crone Zelda, the would-be conqueror » - Phil Wheat 17 March 2016 12:13 AM, PDT | TVSeriesFinale.com | See recent TVSeriesFinale news » Thunderbirds TV series co-creator and co-writer Sylvia Anderson has died at the age of 88. In addition to creating that series with her then-husband, Gerry Anderson , Ms. Anderson voiced Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward on the children's puppet show. Anderson's other TV series work includes voice roles on Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons , Joe 90 , and The Secret Service . In 2015, ITV Studios and Pukeko created an reboot of Thunderbirds , called Thunderbirds are Go . Anderson voiced the character of Great Aunt Sylvia, in the "Designated Driver" episode. Amazon announced it picked up the series, last month. Read More… » Sylvia Anderson oversees a design meeting for Stingray . Sylvia Anderson , co-producer of the iconic Supermarionation series including Thunderbirds , passed away at her home in Berkshire at the age of 88, after a brief illness. Her daughter Dee Anderson said of her, “Her intelligence was phenomenal but her creativity and tenacity unchallenged. She was a force in every way,” Sylvia worked with her husband Gerry on all of their puppet shows, becoming a co-producer starting with Stingray .  She voiced numerous characters for the shows, but is best known for portraying International Rescue’s London Operative, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward in the classic series Thunderbirds . Her ex-husband Gerry passed away in 2012 after a battle with Alzheimer’s.  The production company named after him recently produced three new episodes of  Thunderbirds  in the classic Supermarionation style, using soundtracks of audio plays released on record during the show’s original run.  Sylvia made a return to » - Vinnie Bartilucci 16 March 2016 8:09 AM, PDT | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news » Sylvia Anderson , who voiced Lady Penelope on “ Thunderbirds ” and co-created the series, died on Wednesday. She was 88. Her official website announced the writer, actress and producer died following a short illness at her home in Bray, Buckinghamshire in England. “Her intelligence was phenomenal, but her creativity and tenacity unchallenged. She was a force in every way,” her daughter, Dee Anderson , said in a statement. Also Read: George Martin , Legendary Beatles Producer, Dies at 90 Anderson, who co-created “ Thunderbirds ” with her late husband Gerry, also served as head of programming for HBO in the U.K. The original “ Thunderbirds ” ran for one season between 1965 and. » - Greg Gilman 16 March 2016 4:36 AM, PDT | The Guardian - TV News | See recent The Guardian - TV News news » Voice of Lady Penelope who with her husband Gerry produced classic puppet series of the 60s With her then husband, Gerry, Sylvia Anderson , who has died aged 88, brought to television some of the best-loved children’s puppet series of the 1960s, remembered for their groundbreaking animation and spectacular special effects. While he produced the programmes, she was responsible for character development, storylines, costume design, providing voices and directing other voice actors’ dialogue. Her most famous creation was Lady Penelope, International Rescue’s London agent in Thunderbirds (1965-66), whom she gave “not only the daring and panache of a secret agent, but also the poise of a cool and beautiful aristocrat”. The Andersons’ aim was to find British characters for Thunderbirds that would have specific appeal for an American audience, to feature alongside Jeff Tracy, the Us head of International Rescue, and his five sons, who launch land, sea, air and » - Anthony Hayward 16 March 2016 3:22 AM, PDT | Flickeringmyth | See recent Flickeringmyth news » Sylvia Anderson , co-creator of the classic Thunderbirds TV series and voice of Lady Penelope, has passed away aged 88 after a short illness. “Sylvia was a mother and a legend. Her intelligence was phenomenal but her creativity and tenacity unchallenged,” said her daughter Dee Anderson . “She was a force in every way, and will be sadly missed.” The writer and producer married Gerry Anderson in 1960, and together they developed the Supermarionation production technique, collaborating on shows such as Stingray , Thunderbirds , Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and Joe 90 . » twitter google+ Sylvia Anderson - producer, writer, and the voice of Thunderbirds ' Lady Penelope - has died at the age of 88. Some sad news to report this morning. Sylvia Anderson , best known perhaps as the voice of Lady Penelope in Thunderbirds , has died. She was 88 years old. The BBC is reporting that she died after a short illness. Anderson was a producer, writer and voice actress, best known for her work alongside her ex-husband, the late Gerry Anderson . They worked together on Thunderbirds , Captain Scarlet and Joe 90 . After the pair divorced, Sylvia Anderson worked for a time as head of programming for HBO in the UK. She had an extensive career, and she is survived by her son and daughter. Our thoughts are with them at what must be a difficult time. That said, we'd be thrilled if we'd achieved so much with 88 years. What a life. » - simonbrew 11 February 2016 2:19 AM, PST | Den of Geek | See recent Den of Geek news » Louisa Mellor Rob Leane Oct 13, 2016 Thunderbirds Are Go 's next batch of episodes will begin airing on ITV on Saturday the 22nd of October... 2015 saw the revival of Gerry Anderson 's Thunderbirds in new animated series,  Thunderbirds Are Go . The first twenty-six episode series aired in two chunks on ITV here in the UK, with a second run already announced and planned for broadcast in late 2016. Today, we can tell you the exact date and time:  Thunderbirds Are Go  will return to ITV at 3.30pm on Saturday the 22nd of October. CultBox reports that this premiere episode has been dubbed Earthbreaker, and they also shared this plot summary: "The episode sees a geological survey team get trapped when a huge Earthbreaking vehicle causes them to fall into a narrow crevice. Scott, Virgil and Kayo take off in Thunderbird 1, Thunderbird 2, and Thunderbird Shadow after the Earthbreaker takes out the responding Gdf fliers. » - louisamellor 10 February 2016 4:46 PM, PST | TVSeriesFinale.com | See recent TVSeriesFinale news » International Rescue, we have a situation! Amazon has ordered four 13-episode seasons of the animated Thunderbirds Are Go TV series, starring Rosamund Pike as Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward. This UK-New Zealand sci-fi series is a reboot of the 1960s Thunderbirds TV show, created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson . Watch the official trailer, below. The voice cast of Thunderbirds Are Go also includes: Rasmus Hardiker as Scott and Alan Tracy ; David Menkin as Virgil and Gordon Tracy; Thomas Brodie-Sangster as John Tracy ; Angel Coulby as Tanusha "Kayo" Kyrano; Kayvan Novak as Brains; and David Graham as Aloysius Parker. Read More… » twitter google+ The Gerry Anderson toys that arrived in the 1990s may have been a little bit shonky, but they provided hours of fun... Millions of years ago, in 1992, the BBC made a very wise decision: it broadcast the Gerry Anderson series Thunderbirds on its second channel. Back in those days BBC 2 on Sunday mornings (and 6pm weekdays) appeared to be curated entirely for geeks, with episodes of Star Trek , Doctor Who , Battlestar Galactica and further Gerry Anderson series such as Stingray and Captain Scarlet being broadcast alongside Shooting Stars and This Morning With Richard Not Judy . It was hella formative. The renewed popularity of Thunderbirds had led to Matchbox releasing a Tracy Island playset. This became a must-have Christmas item, to the extent that fights were reported over the remaining sets in stores. With supply failing to match demand Blue Peter - the BBC’s flagship-show-named-after-a ship’s » - louisamellor ITV Studios and Pukeko Pictures Like many great visionaries, Gerry Anderson was never one to be content with his achievements and just settle into retirement. Far from it in fact, and like a true perfectionist he instead believed that despite an impressive career spanning six decades, his most celebrated series still had untapped potential. Alzheimer’s may have claimed his life early in this new show’s development, but considering Thunderbirds ’ own 50th Anniversary ended with a Tracy Island playset as a Christmas list favourite yet again, it’s safe to say Anderson’s enduring legacy is far from in any need of rescue. As a rebooted series Thunderbirds Are Go was always fated to endure comparisons, and although it may have created yet another generation of fans, those who remember the original from its first, second, and even third broadcasts (not to mention DVD releases) have met this latest » - Ian Coomber 13 January 2016 5:00 AM, PST | CriterionCast | See recent CriterionCast news » In this special episode of Off The Shelf, Ryan and Brian take a look at the best DVD and Blu-ray 2015. Subscribe in iTunes or RSS. Follow-Up Ryan buys the Ernest and Celestine Blu-ray from Plain Archive Ultra HD Blu-ray Pre-orders Live, March 1st release: Fox, Sony, WB, Shout! and now Lionsgate Curzon Tarkovsky Ryan’s Top 10 List of 2015 Classics from the Van Beuren Studio (Thunderbean Animation) Thunderbirds : The Complete Series ( Timeless Media Group / Shout! Factory) The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (Arrow UK) Twice Upon A Time ( Warner Archive Collection ) Journey to the Center of the Earth ( Twilight Time ) Watership Down (The Criterion Collection) Walt Disney Animation Studios: Short Films Collection (Disney) 3-D Rarities ( Flicker Alley ) Spartacus: Restored Edition (Universal) The Apu Trilogy (The Criterion Collection) Honorable mentions:
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Which element is contained in the molecules of organic compounds?
Organic Compounds Organic Compounds Online Quizzes for CliffsNotes Biology Quick Review, 2nd Edition Organic Compounds The chemical compounds of living things are known as organic compounds because of their association with organisms and because they are carbon-containing compounds. Organic compounds, which are the compounds associated with life processes, are the subject matter of organic chemistry. Among the numerous types of organic compounds, four major categories are found in all living things: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Carbohydrates Almost all organisms use carbohydrates as sources of energy. In addition, some carbohydrates serve as structural materials. Carbohydrates are molecules composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; the ratio of hydrogen atoms to oxygen and carbon atoms is 2:1. Simple carbohydrates, commonly referred to as sugars, can be monosaccharides if they are composed of single molecules, or disaccharides if they are composed of two molecules. The most important monosaccharide is glucose, a carbohydrate with the molecular formula C6H12O6. Glucose is the basic form of fuel in living things. In multicellular organisms, it is soluble and is transported by body fluids to all cells, where it is metabolized to release its energy. Glucose is the starting material for cellular respiration, and it is the main product of photosynthesis (see Chapters 5 and 6). Three important disaccharides are also found in living things: maltose, sucrose, and lactose. Maltose is a combination of two glucose units covalently linked. The table sugar sucrose is formed by linking glucose to another monosaccharide called fructose. (Figure 2-2 shows that in the synthesis of sucrose, a water molecule is produced. The process is therefore called a dehydration reaction. The reversal of the process is hydrolysis, a process in which the molecule is split and water is added.) Lactose is composed of glucose and galactose units. Figure 2-2     Glucose and fructose molecules combine to form the disaccharide sucrose. Complex carbohydrates are known as polysaccharides. Polysaccharides are formed by linking innumerable monosaccharides. Among the most important polysaccharides is starch, which is composed of hundreds or thousands of glucose units linked to one another. Starch serves as a storage form for carbohydrates. Much of the world’s human population satisfies its energy needs with starch in the form of rice, wheat, corn, and potatoes. Two other important polysaccharides are glycogen and cellulose. Glycogen is also composed of thousands of glucose units, but the units are bonded in a different pattern than in starch. Glycogen is the form in which glucose is stored in the human liver. Cellulose is used primarily as a structural carbohydrate. It is also composed of glucose units, but the units cannot be released from one another except by a few species of organisms. Wood is composed chiefly of cellulose, as are plant cell walls. Cotton fabric and paper are commercial cellulose products. Lipids Lipids are organic molecules composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. The ratio of hydrogen atoms to oxygen atoms is much higher in lipids than in carbohydrates. Lipids include steroids (the material of which many hormones are composed), waxes, and fats. Fat molecules are composed of a glycerol molecule and one, two, or three molecules of fatty acids (see Figure 2-3). A glycerol molecule contains three hydroxyl (–OH) groups. A fatty acid is a long chain of carbon atoms (from 4 to 24) with a carboxyl (–COOH) group at one end. The fatty acids in a fat may all be alike or they may all be different. They are bound to the glycerol molecule by a process that involves the removal of water. Certain fatty acids have one or more double bonds in their molecules. Fats that include these molecules are unsaturated fats. Other fatty acids have no double bonds. Fats that include these fatty acids are saturated fats. In most human health situations, the consumption of unsaturated fats is preferred to the consumption of saturated fats. Fats stored in cells usually form clear oil droplets called globules because fats do not dissolve in water. Plants often store fats in their seeds, and animals store fats in large, clear globules in the cells of adipose tissue. The fats in adipose tissue contain much concentrated energy. Hence, they serve as a reserve energy supply to the organism. The enzyme lipase breaks down fats into fatty acids and glycerol in the human digestive system. Figure 2-3     A fat molecule is constructed by combining a glycerol molecule with three fatty acid molecules. (Two saturated fatty acids and one unsaturated fatty acid are shown for comparison.) The constructed molecule is at the bottom. Proteins Proteins, among the most complex of all organic compounds, are composed of amino acids (see Figure 2-4), which contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen atoms. Certain amino acids also have sulfur atoms, phosphorus, or other trace elements such as iron or copper. Figure 2-4     The structure and chemistry of amino acids. When two amino acids are joined in a dipeptide, the –OH of one amino acid is removed, and the –H of the second is removed. So, water is removed. A dipeptide bond (right) forms to join the amino acids together. Many proteins are immense and extremely complex. However, all proteins are composed of long chains of relatively simple amino acids. There are 20 kinds of amino acids. Each amino acid (see the left illustration in Figure 2-4) has an amino (–NH2) group, a carboxyl (–COOH) group, and a group of atoms called an –R group (where R stands for radical). The amino acids differ depending on the nature of the –R group, as shown in the middle illustration of Figure 2-4. Examples of amino acids are alanine, valine, glutamic acid, tryptophan, tyrosine, and histidine. The removal of water molecules links amino acids to form a protein. The process is called dehydration synthesis, and a by-product of the synthesis is water. The links forged between the amino acids are peptide bonds, and small proteins are often called peptides. All living things depend on proteins for their existence. Proteins are the major molecules from which living things are constructed. Certain proteins are dissolved or suspended in the watery substance of the cells, while others are incorporated into various structures of the cells. Proteins are also found as supporting and strengthening materials in tissues outside of cells. Bone, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments are all composed of proteins. One essential function of proteins is as an enzyme. Enzymes catalyze the chemical reactions that take place within cells. They are not used up in a reaction; rather, they remain available to catalyze succeeding reactions. Every species manufactures proteins unique to that species. The information for synthesizing the unique proteins is located in the nucleus of the cell. The so-called genetic code specifies the amino acid sequence in proteins. Hence, the genetic code regulates the chemistry taking place within a cell. Proteins also can serve as a reserve source of energy for the cell. When the amino group is removed from an amino acid, the resulting compound is energy-rich. Nucleic acids Like proteins, nucleic acids are very large molecules. The nucleic acids are composed of smaller units called nucleotides. Each nucleotide contains a carbohydrate molecule (sugar), a phosphate group, and a nitrogen-containing molecule that, because of its properties, is a nitrogenous base. Living organisms have two important nucleic acids. One type is deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. The other is ribonucleic acid, or RNA. DNA is found primarily in the nucleus of the cell, while RNA is found in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm, a semiliquid substance that composes the volume of the cell (see Chapter 3). DNA and RNA differ from one another in their components. DNA contains the carbohydrate deoxyribose, while RNA has ribose. In addition, DNA contains the base thymine, while RNA has uracil. The structure of DNA and its importance in cell life is explored in Chapter 10.  
Carbon
Kwaito is a music genre which originated in which country?
Introduction to Biology - Molecules and Cells - Organic Molecules Introduction to Biology What makes a Molecule "Organic"?           As the science of chemistry was developing, there was an understandable fascination with chemistry that was unique to living things.  As more and more was learned about the elements that could be found in living things, it was realized that carbon was a major component, found in any type of organism that was analyzed, and even in every compound that was extracted.  Molecules with carbon in them were assumed to be associated with organisms, and so were called organic molecules.  We know that carbon, with its ability to bond to four other atoms, can form very complex molecular structures, making it the perfect candidate for building such molecules around. But this is science, and no terms or ideas seem to last without some modification.  There did seem to be carbon compounds in minerals that were not derived from living things, so carbon alone wasn't enough;  organic molecules came to need both carbon and hydrogen.  We have since found methane, CH4, and other such materials, in the dust of space and on other planets and moons, but the old definition hasn't been changed.  It is now thought that when the Earth first formed, the oceans were full of the small organic molecules of space dust, forming primordial soup, from which truly living systems formed.   More on organic molecules.   Major Types of Organic Molecules           The organic molecules found in living things fall into four major classes.  Each class of molecule has features that determine its use in living systems. The first class of molecules are called carbohydrates.  The simplest type of these, monosaccharide simple sugars, have a basic formula:  for every carbon atom, there are two hydrogens and one oxygen, or one water for each carbon.  Carbo - hydrate.  Glucose is a common carbohydrate that will show up again and again as we discuss cell chemistry:  its formula is C6H12O6.  Table sugar, sucrose, is two single sugars bound together:  a disaccharide simple sugar.  Sugars can be anything from a single sugar molecule up to several bound together. When organic molecules are bound together, a bonding site must be freed up on each participant.  This happens by clipping a single hydrogen from one participant, and an oxygen-hydrogen piece (hydroxide) off of the other.  Where each bit used to be become the new bond, and the two freed pieces stick together as H2O.  This building process where water comes out is called dehydration synthesis, and is used whenever we build molecule from components.  When molecule chains need to be broken apart, such as happens in digestion, the opposite reaction happens:  the bond breaks, and one spot gets a hydrogen while the other gets hydroxide.  A water molecule breaks apart - in Latin, that's hydrolysis, and that's what this process is called. Sugars can be bound together in long chains, which may form branches and even networks:  these huge carbohydrates are called starches.  Both sugars and starches are commonly used as sources of energy in cells:  sugars are broken apart for the bond energy, and starches are a way to store lots of sugars in a fairly inactive form.  Large, stiff starches can also be used as structural molecules:  cellulose is what hold most plants up.  That "-ose" ending is a giveaway that something is a carbohydrate, although they don't all end that way. When the same type of molecule component is used over and over in a much bigger molecule, the bigger molecules are called polymers.  Starches, proteins, and nucleic acids are all different types of polymers. There are other uses for carbohydrates in living systems, but energy and structure are by far the most common ones.     The second class of organic molecules are called lipids.  Fats and oils are included in this class of molecules.  These have a fairly simple structure, starting with the 3-carbon glycerol molecule.  Each carbon picks up a bit called a fatty acid, which can be short or fairly long, and then it's a lipid molecule.  A pair of terms that can applied to other types of molecules often shows up in descriptions of lipids:  a saturated molecule has all of the atoms its carbons could possibly hold, and has only single bonds in the fatty acid chains;  an unsaturated molecule has at least one double bond between carbons, and so could hold at least one more hydrogen.  Not surprisingly, this alters the chemistry of the molecules. Lipid molecules are usually hydrophobic:  they won't dissolve in water and tend to separate out from it (materials that will dissolve in water are hydrophilic).  Vegetable oil is a lipid - what happens when you mix them?  This makes them useful as water barriers, and they are found in cell membranes as well as such things as waxes and waterproofing oils.  Not mixing with water also reduces their chemistry, and lipid molecules can be a nice, nonreactive place to store extra energy:  the lipids in fat are constructed for longterm energy storage.  When energy is really needed, the fat molecules are broken apart and "fed" into the middle of the same process that gets energy from sugar molecules. Some lipid molecules can dissolve well enough in water to move around, but also can dissolve through other lipids like those in cell membranes;  this makes lipids good signaling molecules.  Included in this group are steroid hormones. Lipids also has other, varied uses, including insulation in organisms that need to hold onto heat in unusual conditions, like deep underwater.  Lipids are also commonly a holding point for lipid-soluble toxins, which can accumulate there to dangerous levels.  Many manufactured toxins, like pesticides, are lipid soluble:  it helps get them into the target organisms, but gets them into others as well. Article on how pesticides may disrupt female reproductive function.   The last two classes of molecules are huge polymers.  Proteins are long chains of components called amino acids and have three to four levels of structure.  The first level of structure, called primary structure, is just the order of amino acids in each chain.  At the secondary structure level, amino acids in a particular region connect to each other and produce local formations, like pleated sheets of coils.   At the tertiary structure level, the entire molecule is pulled together into a particular three-dimensional shape, often through hydrogen bonds but sometimes through cross-connecting covalent bonds.  Only some proteins have a quaternary structure, where the molecule has more than a single chain of amino acids, but again the overall three-dimensional structure is critical, because the function of proteins is connected to their shapes.  When these shapes are changed, the functions may change or disappear;  this can happen when other molecules attach to them, when the proportion of ions around them changes (such as in pH shifts), or when a change in temperature shakes or compresses the shape. The possible shapes that proteins can take is virtually infinite, so they have a broad array of possible functions.  What follows is just a partial list, some of the major things that proteins do in living systems.     Structure .  Most cells have particular shapes, and those shapes are commonly held together by proteins that connect to the outer membrane and often to each other.  Cells are often held together with protein-based structures. Protein is an important component to structure in fungi, in animals in exoskeletons, and in things like tendons, ligaments, and cartilage. Movement.  A single cell moves, or swims, using a protein-based movement system.  Animal muscle depends upon two proteins, actin and myosin, contracting cells.  Membranes have proteins that help move things through the barrier. Communication.  Cells often send signals to each other using various types of proteins.  Many hormones are proteins, as well as pheromones (signals-by-scent) and alarmones (signals that alert other individuals).  Protein neurotransmitters carry signals between nerve cells.  Receptors may be at the target cell that will attach to the signal molecule, and there are receptors that pick up other things, such as the light receptors in visual systems.  Antibodies are proteins made specifically to attach to "foreign" molecules (the foreign molecules are called antigens);  once attached, the molecule changes to a shape that attaches to receptors on immune cells and activates them to attack whatever the antibody is attached to (in an autoimmune disease, a system makes antibodies to molecules on its own cells and calls attacks on them). Chemistry.  The reactions that happen in cells often need a boost to get going, and that boost is supplied by enzymes, most of which are proteins.  Enzymes are catalysts, chemicals that activate and speed along reactions.  They typically are named to give some indication of the reaction they aid, and commonly have the ending -ase on their names. Almost every bit of chemistry done in cells is aided by enzymes. How enzymes work. The last class of organic molecules are the nucleic acids.  There are two varieties:  ribonucleic acid,  or RNA, and deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA.  These polymers are long chains of components called bases, of which there are only five types.  RNA is a single-strand molecule;  DNA is a spiral of two cross-connected strands. DNA carries information.  Part of the DNA in a cell is genes, which code for protein molecules.  Each type of receptor, or enzyme, or neurotransmitter, has a stretch of DNA in which its sequence of amino acids is coded.  The code-to-primary-structure ratio is three-to-one:  three bases (called a codon) per amino acid.  The codes proteins can vary, and code variations for a single type of protein are called alleles.  Different alleles can produce proteins that have the exact same amino acid sequence, have different sequences but no difference in activity, have different sequences that produce different levels of activity (including no activity at all), or produce a new type of activity.  These will be returned to in the chapter on genetics. DNA is the code from which living things are made, since the DNA codes for proteins and the proteins are the foundation of cellular chemistry.  Carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids are made by enzyme-driven systems.  A huge proportion of the DNA on many chromosomes is not used for protein production.  This non-coding DNA is made up of many different types of DNA stretches:  some are critical to interacting with the proteins that hold chromosomes together;  some are codes that aren't used, either old sequences or dangerously mutated sequences or foreign sequences (invaders from disease organisms);  some are non-gene codes that work to get genes processed;  some produce functional stretches of RNA (see below);  some are short stretches that exists to propagate themselves, a kind of molecular parasite;  and a lot of what's there, no one knows what the origin or possible purpose is.  All of this used to be called junk DNA, but that term is going away as functions are discovered for these bits. The other nucleic acid form, RNA, is used in getting DNA code to protein sequence.  RNA moves the code from where it is stored to where it is executed.  RNA is a critical component of the cell parts that takes the codes and makes the protein.  Small RNA molecules do all sorts of things in and around the genes;  some are ribozymes, having similar activity to enzymes.  
i don't know
Who wrote the 1851 novel ‘Moby Dick’?
Moby-Dick published - Nov 14, 1851 - HISTORY.com Publisher A+E Networks On this day in 1851, Moby-Dick, a novel by Herman Melville about the voyage of the whaling ship Pequod, is published by Harper & Brothers in New York. Moby-Dick is now considered a great classic of American literature and contains one of the most famous opening lines in fiction: “Call me Ishmael.” Initially, though, the book about Captain Ahab and his quest for a giant white whale was a flop. Herman Melville was born in New York City in 1819 and as a young man spent time in the merchant marines, the U.S. Navy and on a whaling ship in the South Seas. In 1846, he published his first novel, Typee, a romantic adventure based on his experiences in Polynesia. The book was a success and a sequel, Omoo, was published in 1847. Three more novels followed, with mixed critical and commercial results. Melville’s sixth book, Moby-Dick, was first published in October 1851 in London, in three volumes titled The Whale, and then in the U.S. a month later. Melville had promised his publisher an adventure story similar to his popular earlier works, but instead, Moby-Dick was a tragic epic, influenced in part by Melville’s friend and Pittsfield, Massachusetts, neighbor, Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose novels include The Scarlet Letter. After Moby-Dick‘s disappointing reception, Melville continued to produce novels, short stories (Bartleby) and poetry, but writing wasn’t paying the bills so in 1865 he returned to New York to work as a customs inspector, a job he held for 20 years. Melville died in 1891, largely forgotten by the literary world. By the 1920s, scholars had rediscovered his work, particularly Moby-Dick, which would eventually become a staple of high school reading lists across the United States. Billy Budd, Melville’s final novel, was published in 1924, 33 years after his death. Related Videos
Herman Melville
What type of creature did Daisy Morris, a nine year old from the Isle of Wight, have named after her in 2013?
Moby-Dick Publishing History First British edition (entitled The Whale), expurgated to avoid offending delicate political and moral sensibilities, published in three volumes on October 18, 1851 by Richard Bentley, London. First American edition published November 14, 1851 by Harper & Brothers, New York. As letters to Richard Henry Dana and Richard Bentley attest, Melville was far along on a new book by May 1850. This latest work was apparently another relatively simple adventure narrative in the manner of Typee or Redburn, "a romance of adventure, founded upon certain wild legends of the Southern Sperm Whale Fisheries, and illustrated by the author's own personal experience, of two years & more, as a harpooneer...." That August Evert Duyckinck wrote that the story was "mostly done -- a romantic, fanciful & literal & most enjoyable presentment of the Whale Fishery -- something quite new." Melville had promised Bentley that the book would be ready that autumn, in expectation of which he was sent an advance of 150 pounds. His financial situation was poor and he was desperately in need of a publishing success. Nevertheless, he abandoned the nearly-finished romance to spend an entire year rewriting under a spell of intense intellectual ferment further heightened by the study of Shakespeare and a developing friendship with Nathaniel Hawthorne. The resulting work was finally shipped to Bentley on September 10, 1851: although it received many positive reviews, it sold poorly and accelerated the decline of Melville's literary reputation. The Epilogue, explaining how Ishmael survived the destruction of the Pequod, was inadvertently omitted from Bentley's edition, leading many British critics to condemn Melville for leaving no one alive to tell the first-person narrative (see excerpt from London Spectator below). Return to the top of this page Excerpts Call me Ishmael. Some years ago -- never mind how long precisely -- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen, and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off -- then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me. --opening paragraph "Now, three to three, ye stand. Commend the murderous chalices! Bestow them, ye who are now made parties to this indissoluble league.... Drink, ye harpooneers! drink and swear, ye men that man the deathful whaleboat's bow -- Death to Moby Dick! God hunt us all, if we do not hunt Moby Dick to his death!" --Chapter 36 (The Quarter-Deck) Already several fatalities had attended his chase. But though similar disasters, however little bruited ashore, were by no means unusual in the fishery; yet, in most instances, such seemed the White Whale's infernal aforethought of ferocity, that every dismembering or death that he caused, was not wholly regarded as having been inflicted by an unintelligent agent. Judge, then, to what pitches of inflamed, distracted fury the minds of his more desperate hunters were impelled, when amid the chips of chewed boats, and the sinking limbs of torn comrades, they swam out of the white curds of the whale's direful wrath into the serene, exasperating sunlight, that smiled on, as if at a birth or a bridal. His three boats stove around him, and oars and men both whirling in the eddies; one captain, seizing the line-knife from his broken prow, had dashed at the whale, as an Arkansas duellist at his foe, blindly seeking with a six inch blade to reach the fathom-deep life of the whale. That captain was Ahab. And then it was, that suddenly sweeping his sickle-shaped lower jaw beneath him, Moby Dick had reaped away Ahab's leg, as a mower a blade of grass in the field.... Small reason was there to doubt, then, that ever since that almost fatal encounter, Ahab had cherished a wild vindictiveness against the whale, all the more fell for that in his frantic morbidness he at last came to identify with him, not only all his bodily woes, but all his intellectual and spiritual exasperations. The White Whale swam before him as the monomaniac incarnation of all those malicious agencies which some deep men feel eating in them, till they are left living on with half a heart and half a lung. That intangible malignity which has been from the beginning; to whose dominion even the modern Christians ascribe one-half of the worlds; which the ancient Ophites of the east reverenced in their statue devil; -- Ahab did not fall down and worship it like them; but deliriously transferring its idea to the abhorred white whale, he pitted himself, all mutilated, against it. All that most maddens and torments; all that stirs up the lees of things; all truth with malice in it; all that cracks the sinews and cakes the brain; all the subtle demonisms of life and thought; all evil, to crazy Ahab, where visibly personified, and made practically assailable in Moby Dick. He piled upon the whale's white hump the sum of all the general rage and hate felt by his whole race from Adam down; and then, as if his chest had been a mortar, he burst his hot heart's shell upon it. --Chapter 41 (Moby Dick) It was while gliding through these latter waters that one serene and moonlight night, when all the waves rolled by like scrolls of silver; and, by their soft, suffusing seethings, made what seemed a silvery silence, not a solitude: on such a silent night a silvery jet was seen far in advance of the white bubbles at the bow. Lit up by the moon, it looked celestial; seemed some plumed and glittering god uprising from the sea. --Chapter 51 (The Spirit-Spout) But the placing of the cap-sheaf to all this blundering business was reserved for the scientific Frederick Cuvier, brother to the famous Baron. In 1836, he published a Natural History of Whales, in which he gives what he calls a picture of the Sperm Whale. Before showing that picture to any Nantucketer, you had best provide for your summary retreat from Nantucket. In a word, Frederick Cuvier's Sperm Whale is not a Sperm Whale, but a squash. --Chapter 55 (Of the Monstrous Pictures of Whales) The hatch, removed from the top of the works, now afforded a wide hearth in front of them. Standing on this were the Tartarean shapes of the pagan harpooneers, always the whale-ship's stokers. With huge pronged poles they pitched hissing masses of blubber into the scalding pots, or stirred up the fires beneath, till the snaky flames darted, curling, out of the doors to catch them by the feet. The smoke rolled away in sullen heaps. To every pitch of the ship there was a pitch of the boiling oil, which seemed all eagerness to leap into their faces. Opposite the mouth of the works, on the further side of the wide wooden hearth, was the windlass. This served for a sea-sofa. Here lounged the watch, when not otherwise employed, looking into the red heat of the fire, till their eyes felt scorched in their heads. Their tawny features, now all begrimed with smoke and sweat, their matted beards, and the contrasting barbaric brilliancy of their teeth, all these were strangely revealed in the capricious emblazonings of the works. As they narrated to each other their unholy adventures, their tales of terror told in words of mirth; as their uncivilized laughter forked upwards out of them, like the flames from the furnace; as to and fro, in their front, the harpooneers wildly gesticulated with their huge pronged forks and dippers; as the wind howled on, and the sea leaped, and the ship groaned and dived, and yet steadfastly shot her red hell further and further into the blackness of the sea and the night, and scornfully champed the white bone in her mouth, and viciously spat round her on all sides; then the rushing Pequod, freighted with savages, and laden with fire, and burning a corpse, and plunging into that blackness of darkness, seemed the material counterpart of her monomaniac commander's soul. --Chapter 96 (The Try-Works) There is, one knows not what sweet mystery about this sea, whose gently awful stirrings seem to speak of some hidden soul beneath; like those fabled undulations of the Ephesian sod over the buried Evangelist St. John. And meet it is, that over these sea-pastures, wide-rolling watery prairies and Potter's Fields of all four continents, the waves should rise and fall, and ebb and flow unceasingly; for here, millions of mixed shades and shadows, drowned dreams, somnambulisms, reveries; all that we call lives and souls, lie dreaming, dreaming, still; tossing like slumberers in their beds; the ever-rolling waves but made so by their restlessness. --Chapter 111 (The Pacific) It was a clear steel-blue day. The firmaments of air and sea were hardly separable in that all-pervading azure; only, the pensive air was transparently pure and soft, with a woman's look, and the robust and man-like sea heaved with long, strong, lingering swells, as Samson's chest in his sleep. Hither, and thither, on high, glided the snow-white wings of small, unspeckled birds; these were the gentle thoughts of the feminine air; but to and fro in the deeps, far down in the bottomless blue, rushed mighty leviathans, sword-fish, and sharks; and these were the strong, troubled, murderous thinkings of the masculine sea. But though thus contrasting within, the contrast was only in shades and shadows without; those two seemed one; it was only the sex, as it were, that distinguished them. Aloft, like a royal czar and king, the sun seemed giving this gentle air to this bold and rolling sea; even as bride to groom. And at the girdling line of the horizon, a soft and tremulous motion -- most seen here at the equator -- denoted the fond, throbbing trust, the loving alarms, with which the poor bride gave her bosom away. Tied up and twisted; gnarled and knotted with wrinkles; haggardly firm and unyielding; his eyes glowing like coals, that still glow in the ashes of ruin; untottering Ahab stood forth in the clearness of the morn; lifting his splintered helmet of a brow to the fair girl's forehead of heaven. --Chapter 132 (The Symphony) Like noiseless nautilus shells, their light prows sped through the sea; but only slowly they neared the foe. As they neared him, the ocean grew still more smooth; seemed drawing a carpet over its waves; seemed a noon-meadow, so serenely it spread. At length the breathless hunter came so nigh his seemingly unsuspecting prey, that his entire dazzling hump was distinctly visible, sliding along the sea as if an isolated thing, and continually set in a revolving ring of finest, fleecy, greenish foam. He saw the vast, involved wrinkles of the slightly projecting head beyond. Before it, far out on the soft Turkish-rugged waters, went the glistening white shadow from his broad, milky forehead, a musical rippling playfully accompanying the shade; and behind, the blue waters interchangeably flowed over into the moving valley of his steady wake; and on either hand bright bubbles arose and danced by his side. But these were broken again by the light toes of hundreds of gay fowl softly feathering the sea, alternate with their fitful flight; and like to some flag-staff rising from the painted hull of an argosy, the tall but shattered pole of a recent lance projected from the white whale's back; and at intervals one of the cloud of soft-toed fowls hovering, and to and fro skimming like a canopy over the fish, silently perched and rocked on this pole, the long tail feathers streaming like pennons.... On each soft side -- coincident with the parted swell, that but once laving him, then flowed so wide away -- on each bright side, the whale shed off enticings. No wonder there had been some among the hunters who namelessly transported and allured by all this serenity, had ventured to assail it; but had fatally found that quietude but the vesture of tornadoes. Yet calm, enticing calm, oh, whale! thou glidest on, to all who for the first time eye thee, no matter how many in that same way thou may'st have bejuggled and destroyed before. --Chapter 134 (The Chase -- First Day) As if to strike a quick terror into them, by this time being the first assailant himself, Moby Dick had turned, and was now coming for the three crews. Ahab's boat was central; and cheering his men, he told them he would take the whale head-and-head, -- that is, pull straight up to his forehead, -- a not uncommon thing; for when within a certain limit, such a course excludes the coming onset from the whale's sidelong vision. But ere that close limit was gained, and while yet all three boats were plain as the ship's three masts to his eye; the White Whale churning himself into furious speed, almost in an instant as it were, rushing among the boats with open jaws, and a lashing tail, offered appalling battle on every side; and heedless of the irons darted at him from every boat, seemed only intent on annihilating each separate plank of which those boats were made. But skilfully manoeuvred, incessantly wheeling like trained chargers in the field; the boats for a while eluded him; though, at times, but by a plank's breadth; while all the time, Ahab's unearthly slogan tore every other cry but his to shreds. --Chapter 134 (The Chase -- Second Day) Return to the top of this page Contemporary Criticism and Reviews To convey an adequate idea of a book of such various merits as that which the author of Typee and Omoo has here placed before the reading public, is impossible in the scope of a review. High philosophy, liberal feeling, abstruse metaphysics popularly phrased, soaring speculation, a style as many-coloured as the theme, yet always good, and often admirable; fertile fancy, ingenious construction, playful learning, and an unusual power of enchaining the interest, and rising to the verge of the sublime, without overpassing that narrow boundary which plunges the ambitious penman into the ridiculous; all these are possessed by Herman Melville, and exemplified in these volumes. --London Morning Advertiser, October 24 1851 This is an ill-compounded mixture of romance and matter-of-fact. The idea of a connected and collected story has obviously visited and abandoned its writer again and again in the course of composition. The style of his tale is in places disfigured by mad (rather than bad) English; and its catastrophe is hastily, weakly, and obscurely managed.... ... The result is, at all events, a most provoking book, -- neither so utterly extravagant as to be entirely comfortable, nor so instructively complete as to take place among documents on the subject of the Great Fish, his capabilities, his home and his capture. Our author must be henceforth numbered in the company of the incorrigibles who occasionally tantalize us with indications of genius, while they constantly summon us to endure monstrosities, carelessnesses, and other such harassing manifestations of bad taste as daring or disordered ingenuity can devise.... We have little more to say in reprobation or in recommendation of this absurd book.... Mr. Melville has to thank himself only if his horrors and his heroics are flung aside by the general reader, as so much trash belonging to the worst school of Bedlam literature -- since he seems not so much unable to learn as disdainful of learning the craft of an artist. --Henry F. Chorley, in London Athenaeum, October 25 1851 Of all the extraordinary books from the pen of Herman Melville this is out and out the most extraordinary. Who would have looked for philosophy in whales, or for poetry in blubber.Yet few books which professedly deal in metaphysics, or claim the parentage of the muses, contain as much true philosophy and as much genuine poetry as the tale of the Pequod's whaling expedition.... To give anything like an outline of the narrative woven together from materials seemingly so uncouth, with a power of thought and force of diction suited to the huge dimensions of its subject, is wholly impossible.... [Readers] must be prepared, however, to hear much on board that singularly-tenanted ship which grates upon civilized ears; some heathenish, and worse than heathenish talk is calculated to give even more serious offence. This feature of Herman Melville's new work we cannot but deeply regret. It is due to him to say that he has steered clear of much that was objectionable in some of his former tales; and it is all the greater pity, that he should have defaced his pages by occasional thrusts against revealed religion which add nothing to the interest of his story, and cannot but shock readers accustomed to a reverent treatment of whatever is associated with sacred subjects. ... [T]he artist has succeeded in investing objects apparently the most unattractive with an absorbing fascination. The flashes of truth, too, which sparkle on the surface of the foaming sea of thought through which the author pulls his readers in the wake of the whale-ship, -- the profound reflections uttered by the actors in the wild watery chase in their own quaint forms of thought and speech, -- and the graphic representations of human nature in the startling disguises under which it appears on the deck of the Pequod, -- all these things combine to raise The Whale far beyond the level of an ordinary work of fiction. It is not a mere tale of adventures, but a whole philosophy of life, that it unfolds. --London John Bull, October 25 1851 This sea novel is a singular medley of naval observation, magazine article writing, satiric reflection upon the conventionalisms of civilized life, and rhapsody run mad. So far as the nautical parts are appropriate and unmixed, the portraiture is truthful and interesting. Some of the satire, especially in the early parts, is biting and reckless. The chapter-spinning is various in character; now powerful from the vigorous and fertile fancy of the author, now little more than empty though sounding phrases. The rhapsody belongs to wordmongering where ideas are the staple; where it takes the shape of narrative or dramatic fiction, it is phantasmal -- an attempted description of what is impossible in nature and without probability in art; it repels the reader instead of attracting him.... The "marvellous" injures the book by disjointing the narrative, as well as by its inherent want of interest, at least as managed by Mr. Melville.... ... [M]r. Melville's mysteries provoke wonder at the author rather than terror at the creation; the soliloquies and dialogues of Ahab, in which the author attempts delineating the wild imaginings of monomania, and exhibiting some profoundly speculative views of things in general, induce weariness or skipping; while the whole scheme mars, as we have said, the nautical continuity of story -- greatly assisted by variuous chapters of a bookmaking kind. The strongest point of the book is its "characters." Ahab, indeed, is a melodramatic exaggeration, and Ishmael is little more than a mouth-piece; but the harpooners, the mates, and several of the seamen, are truthful portraitures of the sailor as modified by the whaling service.... It is a canon with some critics that nothing should be introduced into a novel which it is physically impossible for the writer to have known: thus, he must not describe the conversation of miners in a pit if they all perish. Mr. Melville hardly steers clear of this rule, and he continually violates another, by beginning in the autobiographical form and changing ad libitum into the narrative.... Such is the go-ahead method. --London Spectator, October 25 1851 ... Herman Melville's last and best and most wildly imaginative story, The Whale.... will worthily support his reputation for singularly vivid and reckless imaginative power -- great aptitude for quaint and original philosophical speculation, degenerating, however, too often into rhapsody and purposeless extravagance -- an almost unparalled power over the capabilities of the language.... --"A.B.R.," in Illustrated London News, November 1 1851 The Whale is a most extraordinary work. There is so much eccentricity in its style and in its construction, in the original conception and in the gradual development of its strange and improbable story, that we are at a loss to determine in what category of works of amusement to place it.... ... The plot is meagre beyond comparison, as the whole of the incident might very conveniently have been comprised in half of one of these three interminable volumes. Nevertheless, in his descriptions of character, in his analysis of the motives of actions, and in the novelty of the details of a whaling expedition, the author has evinced not only a considerable knowledge of the human heart, combined with a thorough acquaintance with the subject he is handling, but a rare versatility of talent.... In describing the idiosyncrasies of all these different castes of men our author has evinced acuteness of observation and powers of discrimination, which would alone render his work a valuable addition to the literature of the day.... ... Bating a few Americanisms, which sometimes mar the perspicuity and the purity of the style, the language of the work is appropriate and impressive; and the stirring scenes with which the author concludes are abundant evidence of the power he possesses of making his narrative intensely interesting. --London Britannia, November 8 1851 ... The book is not a romance, nor a treatise on Cetology. It is something of both: a strange, wild work with the tangled overgrowth and luxuriant vegetation of American forests, not the trim orderliness of an English park. Criticism may pick many holes in this work; but no criticism will thwart its facscination.... --London Leader, November 8 1851 Mr. Melville grows wilder and more untameable with every adventure. In Typee and Omoo, he began with the semblance of life and reality, though it was often but the faintest kind of semblance. As he advanced, he threw off the pretense of probability, and wondered from the verisimilitude of fiction into the mist and vagueness of poetry and fantasy, and now in this last venture, has reached the very limbo of eccentricity. From first to last, oddity is the governing characteristic. The extraordinary descriptive powers which Typee disclosed, are here in full strength. More graphic and terrible portraitures of hair breadth 'scapes we never read. The delineation of character, too, is exquisitely humorous, sharp, individual and never-to-be-forgotten. The description of Father Mapple's sermon is a powerful piece of sailor-oratory; and passages of great eloquence, and artistic beauty and force, are to be found everywhere. It will add to Mr. Melville's repute as a writer, undoubtedly, and furnishes, incidentally, a most striking picture of sea life and adventures. --New York Evangelist, November 20 1851 This mere announcement of the book's and the author's name will prepare you in a measure for what follows; for you know just as well as we do that Herman Melville is a practical and practised sea-novelist, and that what comes from his pen will be worth the reading. And so indeed is Moby-Dick, and not lacking much of being a great work.... ... Foremost amongst [the characters] is the Captain, in the conception of whose part lies the most original thought of the whole book, stamping it decidedly as the production of a man of genius.... Not only is there an immense amount of reliable information here before us; the dramatis personae ... are all vivid sketches done in the author's best style. What they do, and how they look, is brought to one's perception with wondrous elaborateness of detail; and yet this minuteness does not spoil the broad outline of each. It is only when Mr. Melville puts words into the mouths of these living and moving beings, that his cunning fails him, and the illusion passes away.... ... The rarely imagined character [Ahab] has been grievously spoiled, nay altogether ruined, by a vile overdaubing with a coat of book-learning and mysticism; there is no method in his madness; and we must needs pronounce the chief feature of the volume a perfect failure, and the work itself inartistic. There is nevertheless in it, as we have already hinted, abundant choice reading for those who can skip a page now and then, judiciously.... Mr. Melville has crowded together in a few prefatory pages a large collection of brief and pithy extracts from authors innumerable, such as one might expect as headings for chapters. We do not like the innovation. It is having oil, mustard, vinegar, and pepper served up as a dish, in place of being scientifically administered sauce-wise. --William Young, in New York Albion, November 22 1851 The narrative is constructed in Herman Melville's best manner. It combines the various features which form the chief attractions of his style, and is commendably free from the faults which we have before had occasion to specify in this powerful writer. The intensity of the plot is happily relieved by minute descriptions of the most homely processes of the whale fishery. We have occasional touches of the subtle mysticism, which is carried to such an inconvenient excess in Mardi, but it is here mixed up with so many tangible and odorous realities, that we always safely alight from the excursion through mid-air upon the solid deck of the whaler.... ... We part with the adventurous philosophical Ishmael, truly thankful that the whale did not get his head, for which we are indebted for this wildly imaginative and truly thrilling story. We think it the best production which has yet come from that seething brain, and in spite of its lawless flights, which put all regular criticism at defiance, it gives us a higher opinion of the author's originality and power than even the favorite and fragrant first-fruits of his genius, the never-to-be-forgotten Typee. --Horace Greeley, in New York Tribune, November 22 1851 A new work by Herman Melville, entitled Moby Dick; or, the Whale, has just been issued by Harper and Brothers, which, in point of richness and variety of incident, originality of conception, and splendor of description, surpasses any of the former productions of this highly successful author.... [T]he author has contrasted a romance, a tragedy, and a natural history, not without numerous gratuitous suggestions on psychology, ethics, and theology. Beneath the whole story, the subtle, imaginative reader may perhaps find a pregnant allegory, intended to illustrate the mystery of human life. Certain it is that the rapid, pointed hints which are often thrown out, with the keenness and velocity of a harpoon, penetrate deep into the heart of things, showing that the genius of the author for moral analysis is scarcely surpassed by his wizard power of description. ... Frequent graphic and instructive sketches of the fishery, of sea-life in a whaling vessel, and of the manners and customs of strange nations are interspersed with excellent artistic effect among the thrilling scenes of the story.... These sudden and decided transitions form a striking feature of the volume. Difficult of management, in the highest degree, they are wrought with consummate skill. To a less gifted author, they would inevitably have proved fatal. He has not only deftly avoided their dangers, but made them an element of great power. They constantly pique the attention of the reader, keeping curiosity alive, and presenting the combined charm of surprise and alternation. --George Ripley, in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, December 1851 Thrice unlucky Herman Melville!... This is an odd book, professing to be a novel; wantonly eccentric; outrageously bombastic; in places charmingly and vividly descriptive. The author has read up laboriously to make a show of cetalogical learning.... Herman Melville is wise in this sort of wisdom. He uses it as stuffing to fill out his skeleton story. Bad stuffing it makes, serving only to try the patience of his readers, and to tempt them to wish both him and his whales at the bottom of an unfathomable sea.... The story of this novel scarcely deserves the name.... Mr. Melville cannot do without savages so he makes half of his dramatis personae wild Indians, Malays, and other untamed humanities.... What the author's original intention in spinning his preposterous yarn was, it is impossible to guess; evidently, when we compare the first and third volumes, it was never carried out.... Having said so much that may be interpreted as a censure, it is right that we should add a word of praise where deserved. There are sketches of scenes at sea, of whaling adventures, storms, and ship-life, equal to any we have ever met with.... Mr. Herman Melville has earned a deservedly high reputation for his performances in descriptive fiction. He has gathered his own materials, and travelled along fresh and untrodden literary paths, exhibiting powers of no common order, and great originality. The more careful, therefore, should he be to maintain the fame he so rapidly acquired, and not waste his strength on such purposeless and unequal doings as these rambling volumes about spermaceti whales. --London Literary Gazette, December 6 1851 ... [W]e have nothing to allege against his admission among the few writers of the present day who give evidence of some originality; but, while disposed to concede to Mr. Melville a palm of high praise for his literary excellencies, we must enter our decided protest against the querulous and cavilling innuendoes which he so much loves to discharge, like barbed and poisoned arrows, against objects that should be shielded from his irreverent wit.... ... In whatever light [Moby-Dick] may be viewed, no one can deny it to be the production of a man of genius. The descriptive powers of Mr. Melville are unrivalled.... Language in the hands of this master becomes like a magician's wand, evoking at will "thick-coming fancies," and peopling the "chambers of imagery" with hideous shapes of terror or winning forms of beauty and loveliness. Mr. Melville has a strange power to reach the sinuosities of a thought, if we may so express ourselves; he touches with his lead and line depths of pathos that few can fathom, and by a single word can set a whole chime of sweet or wild emotions into a pealing concert. His delineation of character is actually Shakespearean -- a quality which is even more prominently evinced in Moby Dick than in any of his antecedent efforts. --William A. Butler, in Washington National Intelligencer, December 16 1851 Here, however -- in The Whale -- comes Herman Melville, in all his pristine powers -- in all his abounding vigour -- in the full swing of his mental energy, with his imagination invoking as strange and wild and original themes as ever, with his fancy arraying them in the old bright and vivid hues, with that store of quaint and out-of-the-way information -- we would rather call it reading than learning -- which he ever and anon scatters around, in frequently unreasonable profusion, with the old mingled opulence and happiness of phrase, and alas! too, with the old extravagance, running a perfect muck throughout the three volumes, raving and rhapsodising in chapter after chapter -- unchecked, as it would appear, by the very slightest remembrance of judgment or common sense, and occasionally soaring into such absolute clouds of phantasmal unreason, that we seriously and sorrowfully ask whether this can be anything other than sheer moonstruck lunacy.... --London Morning Chronicle, December 20 1851 In all those portions of this volume which relate directly to the whale ... the interest of the reader will be kept alive, and his attention fully rewarded.... In all the scenes where the whale is the performer or the sufferer, the delineation and action are highly vivid and exciting. In all other aspects, the book is sad stuff, dull and dreary, or ridiculous. Mr. Melville's Quakers are the wretchedest dolts and drivellers, and his Mad Captain ... is a monstrous bore.... His ravings, and the ravings of some of the tributary characters, and the ravings of Mr. Melville himself, meant for eloquent declamation, are such as would justify a writ de lunatico against all the parties. --Charleston Southern Quarterly Review, January 1852 Mr. Melville is evidently trying to ascertain how far the public will consent to be imposed upon. He is gauging, at once, our gullibilty and our patience. Having written one or two passable extravagancies, he has considered himself privileged to produce as many more as he pleases, increasingly exaggerated and increasingly dull.... In bombast, in caricature, in rhetorical artifice -- generally as clumsy as it is ineffectual -- and in low attempts at humor, each one of his volumes has been an advance among its predecessors.... Mr. Melville never writes naturally. His sentiment is forced, his wit is forced, and his enthusiasm is forced. And in his attempts to display to the utmost extent his powers of "fine writing," he has succeeded, we think, beyond his most sanguine expectations. The truth is, Mr. Melville has survived his reputation. If he had been contented with writing one or two books, he might have been famous, but his vanity has destroyed all his chances for immortality, or even of a good name with his own generation. For, in sober truth, Mr. Melville's vanity is immeasurable. He will either be first among the book-making tribe, or he will be nowhere. He will centre all attention upon himself, or he will abandon the field of literature at once. From this morbid self-esteem, coupled with a most unbounded love of notoriety, spring all Mr. Melville's efforts, all his rhetorical contortions, all his declamatory abuse of society, all his inflated sentiment, and all his insinuating licentiousness. Typee was undoubtedly a very proper book for the parlor, and we have seen it in company with Omoo, lying upon tables from which Byron was strictly prohibited, although we were unable to fathom those niceties of logic by which one was patronized, and the other proscribed. But these were Mr. Melville's triumphs. Redburn was a stupid failure, Mardi was hopelessly dull, White-Jacket was worse than either; and, in fact, it was such a very bad book, that, until the appearance of Moby Dick, we had set it down as the very ultimatum of weakness to which its author could attain. It seems, however, that we were mistaken. We have no intention of quoting any passages just now from Moby Dick. The London journals, we understand, "have bestowed upon the work many flattering notices," and we should be loth to combat such high authority. But if there are any of our readers who wish to find examples of bad rhetoric, involved syntax, stilted sentiment and incoherent English, we will take the liberty of recommending to them this precious volume of Mr. Melville's. --New York United States Magazine and Democratic Review, January 1852 Return to the top of this page Please address all correspondence on this Site to [email protected] The Life and Works of Herman Melville is brought to you by Multiverse .
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Singer Cornell Iral Haynes Jr is better known by what name?
Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. Bio - Nelly Net Worth Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. Bio Read more... Nelly Nelly Net Worth is $55 Million. Cornell Haynes, Jr. aka the rapper Nelly, was born in Austin, Texas on November 2, 1974 and is, today one of America's most successful rappers, singers, actors and entrepreneurs with a net worth estimated to be around. Cornell Iral Haynes, Jr. (bor... Nelly Net Worth is $55 Million. Nelly Net Worth is $55 Million. Cornell Haynes, Jr. aka the rapper Nelly, was born in Austin, Texas on November 2, 1974 and is, today one of America's most successful rappers, singers, actors and entrepreneurs with a net worth estimated to be around Cornell Iral Haynes, Jr. , better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American Grammy Award winning hip hop artist, entrepreneur and occasional actor. He has performed with the rap group St. Lunatics since 1993 and signed to Universal Records in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly began his solo career in 2000 with his debut album Country Grammar, the title track of which was a top ten hit. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and went on to peak at number one. Country Grammar is Nelly's best-selling album to date, selling over 8.4 million copies in the United States. His following album, Nellyville, produced the number-one hits "Hot in Herre" and "Dilemma" featuring Kelly Rowland. Other singles included "Work It" featuring Justin Timberlake, "Air Force Ones" featuring Murphy Lee and the St. Lunatics, "Pimp Juice" and "#1". With the same-day dual release Sweat and Suit and the compilation Sweatsuit , Nelly continued to generate many ch...
Nelly
The 1986 autobiography ‘Going Solo’ is by which British author?
Wrong Cornell Haynes ? Try Again Others Named Cornell Haynes
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In food, E330 is better known by what name?
Current EU approved additives and their E Numbers | Food Standards Agency Current EU approved additives and their E Numbers Current EU approved additives and their E Numbers Last updated: 21 July 2016 Most additives are only permitted to be used in certain foods and are subject to specific quantitative limits, so it is important to note this list should be used in conjunction with the appropriate European Union legislation. To find out which foods these additives are permitted in and at what levels, check the European Commission website . This list does not in any way supplement the law in this area, nor constitute legal guidance. Sunset Yellow FCF; Orange Yellow S E120 Ponceau 4R; Cochineal Red A E127 Copper complexes of chlorophyll and chlorophyllins E142 Brilliant Black BN; Black PN E153 Fatty acid esters of ascorbic acid E306 Cyclamic acid and its Na and Ca salts E953 Saccharin and its Na, K and Ca salts E955 E969 Advantame A method for calculating permitted levels of the salt of aspartame-acesulfame can be found at the link below. Emulsifiers, Stabilisers, Thickeners and Gelling Agents E322 Locust bean gum; carob gum E412 Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate; Polysorbate 20 E433 Polyoxyethylene sorbitan mono-oleate; Polysorbate 80 E434 Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monopalmitate; Polysorbate 40 E435 Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate; Polysorbate 60 E436 Polyoxyethylene sorbitan tristearate; Polysorbate 65 E440 Glycerol esters of wood rosins E460 Crosslinked sodium carboxy methyl cellulose E469 Enzymatically hydrolysed carboxy methyl cellulose E470a Sodium, potassium and calcium salts of fatty acids E470b Magnesium salts of fatty acids E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids E472a Acetic acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids E472b Lactic acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids E472c Citric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids E472d Tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids E472f Mixed acetic and tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids E473 Sucrose esters of fatty acids E474
Citric acid
Blue Gloss is a variety of which vegetable?
Antioxidants E300 Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) The body stores little ascorbic acid or vitamin C, so this must be provided on a daily basis in the diet. Good sources of vitamin C include citrus fruit, raw cabbage, strawberries and tomatoes. Vitamin C has been shown to prevent scurvy, and is essential for healthy blood vessels, bones, and teeth. Vitamin C also helps form collagen, a protein that holds tissues together. Ascorbic acid is industrially synthesised using a number of different biological techniques, and is used as a flour improving agent, a browning inhibitor in fresh produce, and an antioxidant in beers. Typical products include fruit juice and squash, tinned fruit, jams, beer, soft drinks, potato products, cereal, wine. Other names: Potassium lactate is hygroscopic, hence is used in foods where it is used to help retain moisture. It is used in meat and poultry to control food-borne pathogenic bacteria and to protect and enhance meat flavour. Typical products include cakes, ice cream, jelly, sweets, jam, processed meat. E327 Calcium lactate Calcium lactate is the calcium salt of lactic acid, E270, and is used as a humectant and antioxidant in food. It is capable of increasing the antioxidant effects of other substances. It is hygroscopic hence is used in such products where its ability to absorb moisture helps to extend shelf life. Sometimes used as a substitute for glycerol. Typical products include jams, margarines, cheese, sweets, ice cream, cakes Other names: E329 Magnesium lactate Magnesium lactate is the magnesium salt of lactic acid, E270, and is used as a humectant and antioxidant in food. It is capable of increasing the antioxidant effects of other substances. It is hygroscopic hence is used in such products where its ability to absorb moisture helps to extend shelf life. Sometimes used as a substitute for glycerol. Typical products include jams, margarines, cheese, sweets, ice cream, cakes E330 Citric acid Citric acid is a vital component of the citric acid cycle , or Krebs cycle. During this sequence of reactions one acetate unit is converted to two equivalents of carbon dioxide giving rise to a molecule of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the main energy source in cells. Citric acid occurs abundantly in citrus fruits, although commercial synthesis is by fermentation of molasses. It is used in food as an antioxidant as well as enhancing the effect of other antioxidants, and also as an acidity regulator. Present in virtually all plants, it was first isolated in 1784 from lemon juice, by the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele, and has been used as a food additive for over 100 years. Typical products include citrus fruits, preserved fruit and vegetables, potato products, dessert mixes, soups, wine, beer, cider, bakery products, cheese products. Other names: Journal Articles and References (ii) Disodium citrate Disodium citrate is the sodium salt of citric acid, E330, and is used as an antioxidant in food as well as to improve the effects of other antioxidants. It is also used as an acidity regulator and sequestrant. Typical products include gelatine products, jam, sweets, ice cream, carbonated beverages, milk powder, wine, processed cheeses. Journal Articles and References (iii) Trisodium citrate Trisodium citrate is the sodium salt of citric acid, E330, and is used as an antioxidant in food as well as to improve the effects of other antioxidants. It is also used as an acidity regulator and sequestrant. Typical products include gelatine products, jam, sweets, ice cream, carbonated beverages, milk powder, wine, processed cheeses. Other names:
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Who is the husband of actress/clinical psychologist Pamela Stephenson?
Pamela Stephenson Pics - Pamela Stephenson Photo Gallery - 2017 - Magazine Pictorials. Movie Stills. Event Photos. Red Carpet Pictures Helen Profile Bio Text Pamela Helen Stephenson Connolly (born 4 December 1949) is a New Zealand-born, Australian clinical psychologist, writer and actress who is now a resident in both the United Kingdom and United States. She is best known for her work as an actress and comedian during the 1980s. She has written several books, which include a biography of her husband Billy Connolly, and presented a psychology-based interview show called Shrink Rap on British television. Stephenson was born in Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand. She moved to Australia in 1964 and attended the University of New South Wales and then Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art, from which she graduated in 1971. Stephenson was a regular cast member on television series Ryan. She moved to London in 1976, where she continued to perform. Eye Color Dating Profile AutoText {"version":"2.07","timestamp":"2016-12-15 23:49:58","bio":" Pamela Stephenson<\/topic> is a 67 year old New Zealander Actress. Born Pamela Helen Stephenson on 4th December, 1949 in Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand, she is famous for Not the Nine O'Clock News in a career that spans 1971–present. Her zodiac sign is Sagittarius.","relationships":{"status":"Married","summary":" Pamela Stephenson<\/topic> has been in 2 relationships with 2 marriages.","statement":" Billy Connolly and Pamela Stephenson<\/topic> are married.","children":" Pamela Stephenson<\/topic> has 3 children, Daisy (32)<\/span>, Amy (30)<\/span> and Scarlett (28)<\/span>.","onscreen":" Pamela Stephenson<\/topic> has been in an on-screen matchup with Mel Brooks<\/topic> in History of the World: Part I<\/i> (1981)<\/span>.","last":8433062,"stats":{"all":{"count":2,"longest":{"length":"13132","name":"Billy Connolly and Pamela Stephenson","url":"billy-connolly-and-pamela-stephenson"},"shortest":{"length":"2557","name":"Nicholas Ball and Pamela Stephenson","url":"nicholas-ball-and-pamela-stephenson"},"total":15689},"married":{"count":2,"longest":{"length":"13132","name":"Billy Connolly and Pamela Stephenson","url":"billy-connolly-and-pamela-stephenson"},"shortest":{"length":"2557","name":"Nicholas Ball and Pamela Stephenson","url":"nicholas-ball-and-pamela-stephenson"},"total":15689},"engaged":{"count":0,"longest":{"length":0,"name":null,"url":""},"shortest":{"length":0,"name":null,"url":""},"total":0},"dating":{"count":0,"longest":{"length":0,"name":null,"url":""},"shortest":{"length":0,"name":null,"url":""},"total":0},"encounter":{"count":0,"longest":{"length":0,"name":null,"url":""},"shortest":{"length":0,"name":null,"url":""},"total":0},"rumoured":{"count":0,"longest":{"length":0,"name":null,"url":""},"shortest":{"length":0,"name":null,"url":""},"total":0}},"history":" Pamela Stephenson<\/topic> was previously married to Nicholas Ball<\/topic> (1975 - 1981)<\/span>.<\/p>"},"lists":{"summary":" Pamela Stephenson<\/topic> is a member of the following lists: American sketch comedians<\/list>,
Billy Connolly
A silverback is what type of animal?
BBC - Strictly Come Dancing 2010 - Celebrities - Pamela Stephenson Interview with James Biography Pamela Stephenson shot to UK fame in 1979 as a comedienne, actress and sex symbol thanks to Not The Nine O'Clock News. She met and married fellow comedian Billy Connolly and turned her comedy career on its head by pursuing psychology instead. She's now a well-known and respected Sexologist who believes dance and sex are intrinsically linked. We are sure to see her turning up the heat when performing on Strictly Come Dancing this year! I have a secret fantasy life about dancing..!Pamela Stephenson Career Pamela's early stage career in Australia included many leading roles at the Sydney Theatre Company based at The Opera House including Threepenny Opera, Peer Gynt and Edward Bond's Lear. In 1976 Pamela arrived in the UK to build a TV career. She was an overnight sensation in the hit TV series Not The Nine O'Clock News. She was renowned for her impersonations of Angela Rippon, Jan Leeming, Kate Bush and Janet Street-Porter. She then focused her career in the US and featured in numerous episodes of Saturday Night Live. Her film career also grew including Superman III, Bloodbath at the House of Death and Mel Brooks' History of the World Part One. In the early 1990s Pamela took stock of her career as she felt burnt-out doing comedy. She studied psychology at Antioch University before graduating with a PhD in clinical psychology. She is now licensed as a clinical psychologist. In 2002, Pamela wrote a best selling psychobiography on her husband entitled Billy. This was followed by another book, Bravemouth. Pamela writes a weekly column for The Guardian entitled Sexual Healing. Background Pamela was born in Auckland, New Zealand but grew up in Sydney. She studied briefly at the University of New South Wales before transferring to Australia's national Institute of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1971. In 1989 Pamela married Billy Connolly in Fiji. They now have three children together: Daisy, Amy and Scarlett. She and Billy moved from California to New York recently to be closer to their children who were at college on the East Coast. Pamela intends to start another practice next year. Trivia Pamela started practising Buddhism in 1979. Her sister Leslie is an opera singer in Switzerland. On Prince Andrew's stag night, Pamela famously hired policewomen's costumes for her, Diana and Sarah Ferguson. Are you a fan of Pamela and James? Why not join in the discussion at Pamela & James' Blog page - the home of " Team PamJam "! Or listen to Pam's interview on Woman's Hour. Dancing partner
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Guy Fawkes night is celebrated during which month of the year?
The Traditions Of Guy Fawkes Night Guy Fawkes Night is celebrated in Britain annually on November 5th. The event is accompanied by firework displays, the lighting of bonfires and the ceremonial effigy-burning of one Guy Fawkes. The origin of this celebration stems from events which took place in 1605 and was a conspiracy known as "The Gunpowder Plot," intended to take place on November 5th of that year (the day set for the opening of Parliament). The object of The Gunpowder Plot was to blow up English Parliament along with the ruling monarch, King James I. It was hoped that such a disaster would initiate a great uprising of English Catholics, who were distressed by the increased severity of penal laws against the practice of their religion. The conspirators, who began plotting early in 1604, eventually expanded their members to a point where secrecy was impossible. One of their number, Thomas Percy (who had contacts at the Court of King James), hired a cellar beneath the House of Lords. Within this cellar were secretly stored 36 barrels (almost two tons) of gunpowder, overlaid with iron bars and firewood. The plan went awry, however, by way of a myserious letter received by Lord Monteagle on October 26th (10 days prior to the opening of Parliament). Monteagle, brother-in-law of Francis Tresham (another of the conspirators and likely author of the correspondence...although this was never proven), was urged in the letter not to attend Parliament on opening day. When the message was revealed to the First Earl of Salisbury and others, they took steps which led to the discovery of the hidden cache and the arrest of Guy Fawkes on the night of November 4th as he entered the cellar. The majority of the other conspirators, either overtaken as they attempted to flee or seized shortly thereafter, were killed outright, imprisoned or executed. While the plot itself was the work of a small number of men, it provoked hostility against all British Catholics and led to an increase in the harshness of laws against them. Even to this day, it is the law that no Roman Catholic may hold the office of monarch and the reigning king or queen remains Supreme Head of the Church of England. A modern theory regarding the involvement of Guy Fawkes in the Gunpower Plot is that he was not trying to blow up the Houses of Parliament at all, but merely attempting to assassinate King James who, it was believed, had reneged on his promise to put a stop to the persecution of Catholics. In any event, it remains unclear whether the conspirators would have been successful in their plan, even if they had not been betrayed. Some believe that the gunpowder they were planning to use was so old as to be useless for the task. Today, one of the ceremonies which accompanies the opening of a new session of Parliament is a traditional searching of the basement by the Yeoman of the Guard. It has been said that for superstitious reasons, no State Opening of Parliament has or ever will be held again on November 5th. This, however, is a fallacy since on at least one occasion (in 1957), Parliament did indeed open on November 5th. The actual cellar employed for the storage of the gunpowder in 1605 by the conspirators was damaged by fire in 1834 and totally destroyed during the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster in the Nineteenth Century. Also known as "Firework Night" and "Bonfire Night," November 5th was designated by King James I (via an Act of Parliament) as a day of thanksgiving for "the joyful day of deliverance." This Act remained in force until 1859. On the very night of the thwarted Gunpowder Plot, it is said that the populace of London celebrated the defeat by lighting fires and engaging in street festivities. It would appear that similar celebrations took place on each anniversary and, over the years, became a tradition. In many areas, a holiday was observed, although it is not celebrated in Northern Ireland. Guy Fawkes Night is not solely a British celebration. The tradition was also established in the British colonies by the early American settlers and actively pursued in the New England States under the name of "Pope Day" as late as the Eighteenth Century. Today, the celebration of Guy Fawkes and his failed plot remains a tradition in such places as Newfoundland (Canada) and some areas of New Zealand, in addition to the British Isles.
November
Which model car was launched by British Leyland in October 1980?
Guy Fawkes - Traditions back home In England, Guy Fawkes night is celebrated on  5th November. At the end of October children begin to collect wood to make a bonfire which will be lit on the anniversary of the event. They make a life-size puppet of Guy Fawkes with old clothes, straw, newspapers and papier mache. Sometimes the effigy is a politician, usually someone in disgrace. In the week or so before Bonfire Night children take their Guys on the corner of the street and beg passers by for �A Penny for the Guy�.   The kids use the money to buy fireworks for the evening festivies. To remember this event there is a famous poem . On the night the Guy is placed on the top of the bonfire, which is then set alights and fireworks fill the sky. The Bonfire is usually kept burning for many hours and it is great fun to gather round, roast potatoes and eat ginger bread and other special treats while watching the Guy burn. In some ways Bonfire Night is related to the ancient festival of Samhain, the Celtic New Year. Bonfires formed an important part of Celtic New Year Celebration- warding off evil spirits.  Bonfires play a part in many costumes all over the world. Bonfire Night is not only celebrated in Britain. The tradition crossed the oceans and established itself in the British Colonies during centuries.  Today November 5th Bonfires are still lit up in some far away  places like Newfoudland in Canada, and some areas in New Zeland.          
i don't know
Which late fashion designer had the middle names Henri Donat Mathieu?
Yves Saint Laurent dead at 71: Tributes pour in to French king of haute couture - Telegraph Yves Saint Laurent bows out 05 Jan 2002 As he bowed out seven years ago, Saint Laurent said: "I have nothing in common with this new world of fashion, which has been reduced to mere window-dressing. Elegance and beauty have been banished." Mr Berge said on France's LCI television: "He knew perfectly well that he had revolutionised haute couture, the important place he occupied in the second half of the 20th century." He went on: "Yves Saint Laurent knew perfectly well that he had transformed the world and fashion, that all the women of the world owed a debt to him in a certain way." President Sarkozy said in a statement that with Saint Laurent's death "one of the greatest names in fashion has disappeared, the first to elevate haute couture to the rank of art and that gave him global influence". "Yves Saint Laurent infused his label with his creative genius, elegant and refined personality, discrete and distinguished, during a half century of work, in both luxury and ready-to-wear, because he was convinced that beauty was a necessary luxury for all men and all women," Mr Sarkozy added. Alexandra Shulman, the editor of British Vogue, said he helped bring fashion to the people. "Before that people had small salons for rich people," she said. "He was young and groovy. Pop stars were hanging out with him and younger generations related to him." Yves Henri Donat Mathieu Saint Laurent was born in the coastal town of Oran, Algeria, on August 1, 1936, at a time when the North African country was still considered part of France. A shy, lonely, child, he became fascinated by clothes, and already had a solid portfolio of sketches when he first arrived in Paris in 1953, aged 17. Michel de Brunoff, editor of Vogue, who was to become a key supporter, was quickly won over, and published them. The following year Saint Laurent won three of the four categories in a design competition in Paris – and de Brunoff advised Christian Dior to hire him. He took over the fashion house when Dior died suddenly three years later, but in 1960 was called up to fight in his native Algeria in the war of independence. On his return, he struck out on his own founding his own couture house at the start of the 1960s, at a time when the world was changing and there was a new appetite for originality. Saint Laurent rode his luck through the rise of the youth market and pop culture fuelled by the economic boom of the 1960s, when women suddenly had more economic freedom. His name and the familiar YSL logo became synonymous with all the latest trends and one of his best-known creations, a ladies jacket and pants called "le smoking", became a symbol for the emerging women's movement. In his later years the depression that had haunted him all his life became more oppressive, and at his farewell bash in 2002 Saint Laurent admitted to having recourse to "those false friends which are tranquillisers and narcotics". However, his designs from all seasons are still coveted and worn regularly by adoring fashionistas.
Yves Saint Laurent
What is the US state capital of Florida?
To the great YSL | Yatzer To the great YSL View all Photos YSL | Yves Henri Donat Dave Mathieu-Saint-Laurent (August 1, 1936 – June 1, 2008) PARIS (AFP) — Yves Saint Laurent, one of the great fashion designers of the 20th century who dressed some of the world's most glamorous women, has died at the age of 71 after a long illness.  Saint Laurent, who whose black trouser suits and safari jackets became a became an icon of women's liberation in the 1960s, died late Sunday, the Pierre-Berge-Saint Laurent Foundation. He had suffered poor mental and physical health for much of his life.  The reclusive designer retired from haute couture in 2002 after four decades at the top, designing for French actress Catherine Deneuve and using supermodels such as Jerry Hall and Laetetia Casta to show off his clothes.  French leaders and fashion chief hailed Saint Laurent as a fashion revolutionary. Pierre Berge, his former lover and longtime business partner, said: "He knew perfectly well that he had revolutionised haute couture, the important place he occupied in the second half of the 20th century."  "One of the greatest names of fashion has disappeared, the first to elevate haute couture to the rank of art," said French President Nicolas Sarkozy.  " Yves Saint Laurent infused his label with his creative genius, elegant and refined personality, discrete and distinguished, during a half century of work, in both luxury and ready-to-wear, because he was convinced that beauty was a necessary luxury for all men and all women," Sarkozy said in a statement.  French Prime Minister Francois Fillon called Saint Laurent an "artist of genius" who could turn "a sobre dinner jacket" into "a symbol of French elegance." During his farewell in 2002, Saint Laurent said he had "always given the highest importance of all to respect for this craft, which is not exactly an art, but which needs an artist to exist."  One of a handful of designers who dominated 20th century fashion -- with Christian Dior, Coco Chanel and Paul Poiret -- Yves Henri Donat Mathieu Saint Laurent was born in Oran, Algeria, on August 1, 1936, when the North African country was a still French territory. A shy, lonely, child, he was taunted over his homosexuality and became fascinated by clothes, and already had a solid portfolio of sketches when he first arrived in Paris in 1953, aged 17. Vogue editor Michel de Brunoff, who became a key supporter, was quickly won over, and published the images. The following year Saint Laurent won three of the four categories in a design competition in Paris -- the fourth went to his contemporary Karl Lagerfeld, now at Chanel. De Brunoff advised Christian Dior to hire him and he rapidly became heir apparent to the great couturier, taking over the house when Dior died suddenly three years later. However in 1960, Saint Laurent was called up to fight in his native Algeria, where an independence war was under way. Less than three weeks later he won an exemption on health grounds, but when he returned to Paris Dior had already found a replacement for him, Marc Bohan. With his associate Berge, Saint Laurent resolved to strike out on his own, with Berge taking care of the business side. Saint Laurent's success lay in the harmony he achieved between body and garment -- what he called "the total silence of clothing." He was also in the right place at the right time. He founded his own couture house at the start of the 1960s, at a time when the world was changing and there was a new appetite for originality. Saint Laurent rode his luck through the rise of the youth market and pop culture fuelled by the economic boom of the 1960s, when women suddenly had more economic freedom. His name and the familiar YSL logo became synonymous with all the latest trends, highlighted by the creation of the Rive Gauche ready-to-wear label and perfume, as well as astute licensing deals for accessories and perfumes. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, he set the pace for fashion around the world, opening up the Japanese market and subsequently expanding to South Korea and Taiwan.  But Saint Laurent's career was not without controversy. In 1971 a collection modelled on the styles of World War II Paris was slammed by some American critics, and his launch in the mid 1970s of a perfume called "Opium" brought accusations that he was condoning drug use.  For fellow-designer Christian Lacroix, the reason for Saint Laurent's success was his astonishing versatility. There had, Lacroix said, been other great designers but none with the same range. "Chanel, Schiaparelli, Balenciaga and Dior all did extraordinary things. But they worked within a particular style," he explained. " Yves Saint Laurentis much more versatile, like a combination of all of them." In his later years the depression that had haunted him all his life became more oppressive, and at his farewell bash in 2002 Saint Laurent admitted to having recourse to "those false friends which are tranquillisers and narcotics." Something to remember Yves Saint Laurent Le Smoking/Bay by Michael Zavros 195 x 250cm oil on canvas 2006 + Yves St. Laurent Wished He Was A Beatnik... Instead, We Got A Prince. Rare Interview by Susan Kirschbaum To the great YSL
i don't know
Who plays veteran racing driver Joe Tanto in the 2001 film ‘Driven’?
Driven | Film from RadioTimes Our Score by Tom Hutchinson In an attempt to regain pole position as an action man, Sylvester Stallone not only stars in this monument to racing cars and breakneck effects, but also wears his screenwriter/co-producer cap, too. He plays veteran race driver Joe Tanto, who's brought out of retirement by to help the hotshot protégé (Kip Pardue) of his disabled buddy (Burt Reynolds) win the world championship. The formulaic tale is directed with minimal imagination by Cliffhanger's Renny Harlin, who evidently spent more time over the computer graphics than with his cast - actresses Gina Gershon, Stacey Edwards and Planet of the Apes refugee Estella Warren have little to do but look glamorous. But, if high-speed chases, races and crashes are your thing, then there's plenty here to hold the interest. Summary A veteran racing driver makes a comeback to help a rising star of the circuits who is struggling to cope with the pressures of fame. However, the older driver has his own problems to deal with, including the traumatic incident on the track that nearly cost him his life and still haunts him. Drama, starring Sylvester Stallone, Kip Pardue, Burt Reynolds and Stacy Edwards. Including FYI Daily. Cast & Crew
Sylvester Stallone
Toucher, Narrow and Bias are all terms used in which sport?
Driven - Microsoft Store Driven 2001 • Action/Eventyr • 1 t 56 min • 7 (1) From Sylvester Stallone comes a cutting-edge action drama about an exciting cast of characters living life in the fastest of lanes of the thrilling and dangerous world of high-tech car racing. Fra denne instruktør Synopsis From Oscar-nominated screenwriter Sylvester Stallone ("Get Carter," "Rocky") and director Renny Harlin ("Deep Blue Sea," "The Long Kiss Goodnight") comes a cutting-edge action drama about an exciting cast of characters living life in the fastest of lanes of the thrilling and dangerous world of high-tech car racing. Stallone plays Joe Tanto, a seasoned veteran of the racing circuit brought out of retirement to help guide a wild young rookie to victory. Also starring Kip Pardue ("Remember the Titans," "But I'm a Cheerleader"), Burt Reynolds ("The Crew," "Boogie Nights") and Gina Gershon ("The Insider," "Face/Off"). Skuespillere
i don't know
In 2002 Steve Fossett became the first solo person to circumnavigate the world non-stop and single-handed in what?
Steve Fossett - The Scotsman Steve Fossett 20:21 Monday 18 February 2008 Business tycoon and adventurer Born: 22 April, 1944, in Jackson, Tennessee. Declared dead: 15 February, 2008. STEVE Fossett was a wealthy, record- setting adventurer who for years blithely sailed, soared and drove through all manner of danger before disappearing in September 2007 during what was meant to be a routine short flight. He was declared dead by a court in Chicago last Friday. At 8am on 3 September, 2007, Fossett took off alone from the Flying-M ranch, near Yerington, Nevada, in a Citabria Super Decathlon, a single-engine two-seat aircraft. He was scheduled to be back by noon but never returned. That evening, a search begun, with aeroplanes and a helicopter scouring the wild terrain on the Nevada-California border over which he had disappeared. Fossett had filed no flight plan, and no electronic signal had been received from the plane. The search was called off after several weeks. A retired commodities trader who had made millions in soybean futures, Fossett was an explorer out of the great Victorian tradition, though with far better equipment. Balding, round-faced and paunchy, he did not fit the popular notion of a dashing adventurer in any era. But his exploits were legion. He set more than 100 world records in the skies and on the water, many of which have since been broken. In 2002, Fossett became the first person to circumnavigate the world solo in a hot-air balloon. In 2005, he became the first solo pilot to fly a plane around the world without stopping to refuel. In 2006, he set the non-stop distance record for an aircraft, flying solo from Florida to England – the long way – for a total of 25,766 miles. (The trip, which included two Atlantic crossings, took 76 hours, 42 minutes and 55 seconds.) Fossett was an equally accomplished glider pilot. In 2006, he and a co-pilot, Einar Enevoldson, became the first people to fly a glider into the stratosphere, setting an altitude record of 50,671ft. It was one of ten world records for the glider set by Fossett. At sea, Fossett, set 21 world records, among them the round-the-world speed record for vessels under sail. In 2004, aboard the Cheyenne, his 125ft maxi-catamaran, Fossett and his crew circumnavigated the globe in 58 days, nine hours, 32 minutes and 45 seconds, shaving nearly six days off the previous record. Fossett also chased records on land. On his flight over Nevada the day he disappeared, he was believed to have been scouting locations for an attempt to break the world land-speed record, 766.6 miles an hour, in a turbojet- powered car. In the weeks after Fossett disappeared, his friends and family expressed their belief that he would be found alive. After all, he had survived fire, flood and a great deal else. In August 1998, on his fourth attempt to fly round the world in a balloon, he was sucked into a thunderstorm off Australia's north-east coast. The capsule, in flames after being set alight by the balloon's propane burners, fell nearly 30,000ft into the Coral Sea. Fossett was still inside. Sharks were outside. Fossett managed to grab his life raft and dive out through the capsule's submerged hatch. He was picked up by a boat after ten hours at sea. Besides the dramatic dangers, there were persistent discomforts. The capsule of Spirit of Freedom, the balloon in which Fossett made many voyages, measured just 7ft by 5ft by 5ft high – too small to allow him to stand upright. It was also unpressurised, requiring him often to wear an oxygen mask. And if a fuel tank or burner malfunctioned, he had to climb outside, in temperatures well below zero, to fix it. There was also the risk of being shot down. It was a vivid concern on his fifth attempt at circumnavigation, in December 1998. On that trip, Fossett, flying with Virgin's Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand, was barred – too late to alter course – from entering Chinese airspace. There was the real possibility that once the three men were over China, fighter jets would fire on them. At the last minute, diplomacy prevailed, and the men flew over China without incident. (Mr Branson a former balloon racer himself, underwrote many of Fossett's adventures.) But for all the hazards, Fossett said he felt little pressure. To him, flying, sailing or soaring faster, farther or higher than anyone had done before were merely a series of logistical problems that could be satisfyingly, if expensively, worked out. James Stephen Fossett was born in 1944, in Tennessee, and grew up in California, where his father managed a soap factory. As a child, he suffered from asthma, but he pushed himself athletically. He loved hiking and other outdoor adventure. Fossett graduated in economics from Stanford University in 1966 and took an MBA from Washington University in St Louis two years later. He took a job in Chicago running the information-technology division of a department store, but was soon bored and decided to switch careers. He went to work for Merrill Lynch, and later started his own brokerage firm, Lakota Trading. Fossett was also a principal in Larkspur Securities and Marathon Racing, which developed and owned much of the technology he used in his adventures. Fossett had his detractors. Some critics saw him as a greying playboy. Others took him to task for deliberately courting danger, heedless of the cost to taxpayers of his various rescues. But Fossett often said it was novelty and adventure, not danger, that he sought, explaining: "I don't like to be scared, and I spend a lot of effort figuring out how to reduce risks." Not all his ventures were spectacularly successful. After swimming the English Channel in 1985, for instance, he received a trophy – for the slowest crossing of the year. He managed to scale the highest peak on every continent except Mount Everest. In late November, Fossett's wife, Peggy, petitioned the court to have her husband declared dead. The value of his estate is said to exceed eight figures. Steve Fossett is survived by his wife, a brother and a sister.
Hot air balloon
What is the first name of the nephew of Ebenezer Scrooge, son of his sister Fran, in the Charles Dickens novel ‘A Christmas Carol’?
Hot air balloon circumnavigation Home » vehicles » Hot air balloon circumnavigation Hot air balloon circumnavigation “Promptly prepare a provision of taffeta and ropes, and you will see one of the most incredible things in the world” So Joseph Montgolfier wrote to his brother Jacques in 1782. After months of experimenting with cloth, paper and smoke at their paper mill in Annonay, France, the Montgolfier brothers began conducting tethered flights of their hot air balloons. They sent up a sheep, a duck and a rooster on a flight that carried the animals about 3 kilometres (2 miles) in eight minutes, more than a hundred years before the advent of fixed-wing aircraft. On 21 November 1783 Pilatre de Rozier and the Marquis d’Arlandes were the first humans to take to the skies, in a Montgolfier balloon. The straw fire they used to warm the envelope caught the balloon on fire but they doused the flames with water they carried on board for just such an emergency. The flight lasted 20 minutes and covered 8 km (5 miles) at an altitude of 100 metres (330 feet). It was the start of another challenge for man to race each other higher, further, faster. And the quest to become the first to circumnavigate earth in a hot air balloon. The first manned balloon flight in North America was by J.P.F. Blanchard on 9 January 1793. Several decades later, on 1 July 1859, John Wise made the first balloon airmail flight from St Louis to New York. During the Civil War both the Confederate and Union armies made use of balloons as observation posts. Between 1870-1, during the Franco-Prussian War, 66 balloons carried more than 160 people out of Paris and provided the only contact with the outside world. The race is on! Maxie Anderson and Don Ida made the first attempt to circle the globe by balloon on 11 January 1981. Starting from Luxor, Egypt to avoid the off-limits air space of the Soviet Union, they managed 4 316 kilometres (2,676 miles), landing in India. In March 1988 John Petrehn set out from Argentina to circle the globe, but winds destroyed his hybrid tandem three-balloon system. A later attempt to circle the earth in a balloon was made by the Earthwinds Hilton team, headed by Larry Newman, beginning in November 1991 and concluding in December 1994 unsuccessfully. Earthwinds Hilton employed an ingenious system designed to use compressed air in an anchor balloon suspended below the gondola to eliminate the need for ballast. Bad weather prevented lift-off of the Virgin Challenger through the 1995-96 launch season in Morocco. The following year, pilots Per Lindstrand and Richard Branson were able to launch the balloon from Marakech, only to be forced down by technical problem the next day in Algeria. A subsequent attempt the next year was cut short when a taxiing jetliner blew the inflated balloon envelope free from its ground moorings. The balloon was recovered in Algeria. The Virgin Challenger piloted by Per Lindstrand and Richard Branson. They launched the balloon from Marakech in 1997, only to be forced down by technical problems the next day in Algeria. Troubled skies The Breitling Orbiter – piloted by Betrand Piccard, Wim Verstraeten and Andy Elson – launched from Switzerland in January 1997. The balloon landed a few hours later when the crew was overcome by kerosene fumes from a leaking valve. In January 1998 the same team set a world record for duration by staying aloft nonstop and unrefueled for 10 days on a flight from Switzerland to Burma. Their flight was cut short when China refused permission to fly over the country. The Breitling Orbiter – piloted by Betrand Piccard, Wim Verstraeten and Andy Elson – launched in January 1997,  landed a few hours later when the crew was overcome by kerosene fumes from a leaking valve. American adventurer Steve Fosset has attempted the global balloon flight six times. On 8 January 1996 he embarked solo from South Dakota in Solo Challenger. Technical problems forced him to land three days later in eastern Canada. The balloon was rebuilt and renamed Solo Spirit. A year later Fossett launched from St Louis and flew for more than six days before landing in India. Flying halfway around the earth, he set new world ballooning records for distance and duration. His duration record was eclipsed the following year by the Swiss Breitling Orbiter team, but his distance record stood. On 31 December 1997 Fossett made a third attempt with a larger Roziere envelope but had to land in south eastern Europe due to bad weather and technical problems. January 1997 Solo Spirit launched from St. Louis, forced down six days later in India. The contest continues The same night that Fossett had embarked on his third attempt, another solo adventurer, Kevin Uliassi, launched from Illinois. He landed three hours later following the rupture of the helium cell in his Roziere envelope. In January 1998 the Global Hilton team launched its Roziere balloon from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Despite a flawless launch, crew members Dick Rutan and Dave Melton aborted the flight a couple of hours later when their helium cell burst. The two men parachuted to safety. The balloon was destroyed by fire when it landed in Texas later in the day. Steve Fossett again launched from Mendoza, Argentina on 7 August 1998 in Solo Spirit. He set a new record covering 15 200 miles, only to be forced down in bad weather off the coast of Australia. Upon landing in the ocean, the capsule turned upside down and began filling with water. The outside of the capsule was aflame, and Fossett was nearly overwhelmed by suffocating fumes from the resins lining the exterior of the capsule. Grabbing his 12-pound life raft and EPIRB beacon, which he had triggered during the descent, he climbed from the capsule as the storm continued to rage around him. Incredibly, he was injured and brought to safety by the Australian coast guard. August 1998, Steve Fossett took Solo Spirit from Argentina as far as Australia when bad weather halted his 4th record attempt. A stunning view At 8.05 GMT on Monday 1 March 1999 Swiss Betrand Piccard, on his third attempt, teaming with Briton Brian Jones, launched the Breitling Orbiter 3 from Chteau d’Oex in the Swiss Alps. They climbed to an altitude of 7’000 meters (21’000 feet) in a little more than one hour, reporting a stunning view of the Matterhorn as they cruised out of Switzerland into Italy. 19 days, 1 hour and 49 minutes later, at 09h54 (GMT) hours on Saturday 20 March 1999 they passed the finishing line of 9.27 over Mauritania, North Africa, becoming the first balloonists to circumnavigate the globe with a non-stop, non-refueled flight, having traveled 42 810 kilometres. They did it! Breitling Orbiter 3 is the first hot air balloon to circumnavigate the globe. Betrand Piccard and Brian Jones – first around the world in a hot air balloon, 20 March 1999. First solo circumnavigation Not to be outdone, Steve Fossett again braved the skies in a solo flight. On Tuesday 2 July 2002 Fossett became the first to achieve solo circumnavigation of the world in a hot air balloon. Absolute altitude record On 4 May 1961 the absolute world balloon altitude record was set when Commander M.D. Ross and Lieutenant Commander V.A. Prather piloted a Winzen polyethylene balloon to 34 466 metres (113,739 feet) above the Gulf of Mexico. Tragically, Prather drowned at landing when his pressure suit filled with water. First flight into stratosphere The first successful human flight into the stratosphere was made on 27 May 1931 when Auguste Piccard and Paul Kipfer rose in the first pressurised gondola to 15 781 metres (52,077 feet). To keep the craft warm, they painted the top of the gondola black and the bottom white. But the cabin overheated to 41 degrees Celsius (106 Fahrenheit). A year later, after they had painted the gondola all white, the cabin temperature dropped to a frosty -18 degrees Celsius (0 degrees Fahrenheit) at 16 200 metres (53,460 feet). One of the world’s greatest On 16 August 1960 Air Force Captain Joe Kittinger stepped from an open balloon gondola at 31 151 metres (102,800 feet) above Tularose, New Mexico and set a world record that stood for many decades. It was the highest altitude parachute jump ever made from any aircraft. In affect, Joe Kittinger became the first man in space. He is considered one of the greatest heroes ever. (Update) On 14 October 2012, Felix Baumgartner finally broke Kittinger’s record when he parachuted from the Red Bull Stratos balloon at 38,969 metres (127,851 ft). Two years later, on 24 October 2014, Alan Eustace set a new record, reaching 41,424 metres (135,906 ft) with a balloon and returning to Earth by parachute. Video: Joe Kittinger’s remarkable, record-setting jump.
i don't know
Which English artist and poet was known to introduce himself as ‘Mr Abebika Kratoponoko Prizzikalo Kattefello Ablegorabalus Anleborinto Phashyph’?
Edward Lear - Edward Lear Biography - Poem Hunter Edward Lear - Edward Lear Biography - Poem Hunter Biography Biography of Edward Lear Edward Lear was an English artist, illustrator, author, and poet, renowned today primarily for his literary nonsense, in poetry and prose, and especially his limericks, a form that he popularised. Biography Lear was born into a middle-class family in the village of Holloway, the 21st child of Ann and Jeremiah Lear. He was raised by his eldest sister, also named Ann, 21 years his senior. Ann doted on Lear and continued to mother him until her death, when Lear was almost 50 years of age. Due to the family's failing financial fortune, at age four he and his sister had to leave the family home and set up house together. Lear suffered from health problems. From the age of six he suffered frequent grand mal epileptic seizures, and bronchitis, asthma, and in later life, partial blindness. Lear experienced his first seizure at a fair near Highgate with his father. The event scared and embarrassed him. Lear felt lifelong guilt and shame for his epileptic condition. His adult diaries indicate that he always sensed the onset of a seizure in time to remove himself from public view. How Lear was able to anticipate them is not known, but many people with epilepsy report a ringing in their ears (tinnitus) or an aura before the onset of a seizure. In Lear's time epilepsy was believed to be associated with demonic possession, which contributed to his feelings of guilt and loneliness. When Lear was about seven he began to show signs of depression, possibly due to the constant instability of his childhood. He suffered from periods of severe depression which he referred to as "the Morbids." Lear travelled widely throughout his life and eventually settled in Sanremo, on his beloved Mediterranean coast, in the 1870s, at a villa he named "Villa Tennyson." The closest he came to marriage was two proposals, both to the same woman 46 years his junior, which were not accepted. For companions he relied instead on a circle of friends and correspondents, and especially, in later life, on his Albanian Suliot chef, Giorgis, a faithful friend and, as Lear complained, a thoroughly unsatisfactory chef. Another trusted companion in Sanremo was his cat, Foss, who died in 1886 and was buried with some ceremony in a garden at Villa Tennyson. After a long decline in his health, Lear died at his villa in 1888, of the heart disease from which he had suffered since at least 1870. Lear's funeral was said to be a sad, lonely affair by the wife of Dr. Hassall, Lear's physician, not one of Lear's many lifelong friends being able to attend. Lear is buried in the Foce Cemetery in Sanremo. On his headstone are inscribed these lines about Mount Tomohrit (Albania) from Tennyson's To E.L. [Edward Lear], On His Travels in Greece: Tomohrit, Athos, all things fair. With such a pencil, such a pen. You shadow forth to distant men, I read and felt that I was there. Edward Lear was known to introduce himself with his long name: "Mr Abebika kratoponoko Prizzikalo Kattefello Ablegorabalus Ableborinto phashyph" or "Chakonoton the Cozovex Dossi Fossi Sini Tomentilla Coronilla Polentilla Battledore & Shuttlecock Derry down Derry Dumps" which he based on Aldiborontiphoskyphorniostikos. The centenary of his death was marked in Britain with a set of Royal Mail stamps in 1988 and an exhibition at the Royal Academy. Lear's birthplace area is now badged with a plaque at Bowman's Mews, Islington in London and his bicentenary in 2012 celebrated with a range of events, exhibitions and lectures in venues across the world including an International Owl and Pussycat Day on his birthday. Artist Lear was already drawing "for bread and cheese" by the time he was aged 16 and soon developed into a serious "ornithological draughtsman" employed by the Zoological Society and then from 1832-36 by the Earl of Derby, who had a private menagerie. His first publication, published when he was 19, was Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots in 1830. His paintings were well received and he was favourably compared with Audubon. Lear travelled for three years in Italy from 1837 and published two volumes of illustrations, Illustrated Excursions in Italy, the first of many such books. Lear briefly gave drawing lessons to Queen Victoria, who had been pleased by the Excursions and summoned him to court, leading to some awkward incidents when he failed to observe proper court protocol. Lear then returned to the Mediterranean, wishing to illustrate all points along the coast of that sea. Among other trips, he visited Greece and Egypt in 1848-49, and toured the length of India and Ceylon in 1873-75. While travelling he produced large quantities of coloured wash drawings in a distinctive style, which he worked up back in his studio into oils and watercolours, as well as prints for his books. His landscape style often shows views with strong sunlight, with intense contrasts of colour. Throughout his life he continued to paint seriously. He had a lifelong ambition to illustrate Tennyson's poems; near the end of his life a volume with a small number of illustrations was published, but his vision for the work was never realized. Author In 1846 Lear published A Book of Nonsense, a volume of limericks that went through three editions and helped popularize the form. In 1865 The History of the Seven Families of the Lake Pipple-Popple was published, and in 1867 his most famous piece of nonsense, The Owl and the Pussycat, which he wrote for the children of his patron Edward Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby. Many other works followed. Lear's nonsense books were quite popular during his lifetime, but a rumour circulated that "Edward Lear" was merely a pseudonym, and the books' true author was the man to whom Lear had dedicated the works, his patron the Earl of Derby. Supporters of this rumour offered as evidence the facts that both men were named Edward, and that "Lear" is an anagram of "Earl". Lear's Limericks Lear's nonsense works are distinguished by a facility of verbal invention and a poet's delight in the sounds of words, both real and imaginary. A stuffed rhinoceros becomes a "diaphanous doorscraper". A "blue Boss-Woss" plunges into "a perpendicular, spicular, orbicular, quadrangular, circular depth of soft mud". His heroes are Quangle-Wangles, Pobbles, and Jumblies. His most famous piece of verbal invention, a "runcible spoon" occurs in the closing lines of The Owl and the Pussycat, and is now found in many English dictionaries: They dined on mince, and slices of quince Which they ate with a runcible spoon; And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand, They danced by the light of the moon, The moon, The moon, They danced by the light of the moon. Though famous for his neologisms, Lear employed a number of other devices in his works in order to defy reader expectations. For example, "Cold Are The Crabs", adheres to the sonnet tradition until the dramatically foreshortened last line. Limericks are invariably typeset as four plus one lines today, but Lear's limericks were published in a variety of formats. It appears that Lear wrote them in manuscript in as many lines as there was room for beneath the picture. In the first three editions most are typeset as, respectively, two, five, and three lines. The cover of one edition bears an entire limerick typeset in two lines: There was an Old Derry down Derry, who loved to see little folks merry; So he made them a book, and with laughter they shook at the fun of that Derry down Derry. In Lear's limericks the first and last lines usually end with the same word rather than rhyming. For the most part they are truly nonsensical and devoid of any punch line or point. They are completely free of the off-colour humour with which the verse form is now associated. A typical thematic element is the presence of a callous and critical "they". An example of a typical Lear limerick: There was an Old Man of Aôsta, Who possessed a large Cow, but he lost her; But they said, 'Don't you see, she has rushed up a tree? You invidious Old Man of Aôsta!' Lear's self-portrait in verse, How Pleasant to know Mr. Lear, closes with this stanza, a reference to his own mortality: He reads but he cannot speak Spanish, He cannot abide ginger-beer; Ere the days of his pilgrimage vanish, How pleasant to know Mr. Lear! Five of Lear's limericks from the Book of Nonsense, in the 1946 Italian translation by Carlo Izzo, were set to music for choir a cappella by Goffredo Petrassi, in 1952. Edward Lear's Works: Illustrations of the Family of the Psittacidae, or Parrots (1832) Tortoises, Terrapins, and Turtles by J.E. Gray Views in Rome and its Environs (1841) Gleanings from the Menagerie at Knowsley Hall (1846) Illustrated Excursions in Italy (1846) Book of Nonsense (1846) Journal of a Landscape Painter in Greece and Albania (1851) Journal of a Landscape Painter in Southern Calabria (1852) Book of Nonsense and More Nonsense (1862) Views in the Seven Ionian Isles (1863) Journal of a Landscape Painter in Corsica (1870) Nonsense Songs and Stories (1871) More Nonsense Songs, Pictures, etc. (1872) Laughable Lyrics (1877)
Edward Lear
Arancione is Italian for which colour?
Biography - Edward Lear Edward Lear   Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) Edward Lear was an English artist, illustrator, author, and poet, renowned today primarily for his literary nonsense, in poetry and prose, and especially his limericks, a form that he popularised. Biography Lear was born into a middle-class family in the village of Holloway, the 21st child of Ann and Jeremiah Lear. He was raised by his eldest sister, also named Ann, 21 years his senior. Ann doted on Lear and continued to mother him until her death, when Lear was almost 50 years of age. Due to the family's failing financial fortune, at age four he and his sister had to leave the family home and set up house together. Lear suffered from health problems. From the age of six he suffered frequent grand mal epileptic seizures, and bronchitis, asthma, and in later life, partial blindness. Lear experienced his first seizure at a fair near Highgate with his father. The event scared and embarrassed him. Lear felt lifelong guilt and shame for his epileptic condition. His adult diaries indicate that he always sensed the onset of a seizure in time to remove himself from public view. How Lear was able to anticipate them is not known, but many people with epilepsy report a ringing in their ears (tinnitus) or an aura before the onset of a seizure. In Lear's time epilepsy was believed to be associated with demonic possession, which contributed to his feelings of guilt and loneliness. When Lear was about seven he began to show signs of depression, possibly due to the constant instability of his childhood. He suffered from periods of severe depression which he referred to as "the Morbids." Lear travelled widely throughout his life and eventually settled in Sanremo, on his beloved Mediterranean coast, in the 1870s, at a villa he named "Villa Tennyson." The closest he came to marriage was two proposals, both to the same woman 46 years his junior, which were not accepted. For companions he relied instead on a circle of friends and correspondents, and especially, in later life, on his Albanian Suliot chef, Giorgis, a faithful friend and, as Lear complained, a thoroughly unsatisfactory chef. Another trusted companion in Sanremo was his cat, Foss, who died in 1886 and was buried with some ceremony in a garden at Villa Tennyson. After a long decline in his health, Lear died at his villa in 1888, of the heart disease from which he had suffered since at least 1870. Lear's funeral was said to be a sad, lonely affair by the wife of Dr. Hassall, Lear's physician, not one of Lear's many lifelong friends being able to attend. Lear is buried in the Foce Cemetery in Sanremo. On his headstone are inscribed these lines about Mount Tomohrit (Albania) from Tennyson's To E.L. [Edward Lear], On His Travels in Greece: Tomohrit, Athos, all things fair. With such a pencil, such a pen. You shadow forth to distant men, I read and felt that I was there. Edward Lear was known to introduce himself with his long name: "Mr Abebika kratoponoko Prizzikalo Kattefello Ablegorabalus Ableborinto phashyph" or "Chakonoton the Cozovex Dossi Fossi Sini Tomentilla Coronilla Polentilla Battledore & Shuttlecock Derry down Derry Dumps" which he based on Aldiborontiphoskyphorniostikos. The centenary of his death was marked in Britain with a set of Royal Mail stamps in 1988 and an exhibition at the Royal Academy. Lear's birthplace area is now badged with a plaque at Bowman's Mews, Islington in London and his bicentenary in 2012 celebrated with a range of events, exhibitions and lectures in venues across the world including an International Owl and Pussycat Day on his birthday. Artist Lear was already drawing "for bread and cheese" by the time he was aged 16 and soon developed into a serious "ornithological draughtsman" employed by the Zoological Society and then from 1832-36 by the Earl of Derby, who had a private menagerie. His first publication, published when he was 19, was Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots in 1830. His paintings were well received and he was favourably compared with Audubon. Lear travelled for three years in Italy from 1837 and published two volumes of illustrations, Illustrated Excursions in Italy, the first of many such books. Lear briefly gave drawing lessons to Queen Victoria, who had been pleased by the Excursions and summoned him to court, leading to some awkward incidents when he failed to observe proper court protocol. Lear then returned to the Mediterranean, wishing to illustrate all points along the coast of that sea. Among other trips, he visited Greece and Egypt in 1848-49, and toured the length of India and Ceylon in 1873-75. While travelling he produced large quantities of coloured wash drawings in a distinctive style, which he worked up back in his studio into oils and watercolours, as well as prints for his books. His landscape style often shows views with strong sunlight, with intense contrasts of colour. Throughout his life he continued to paint seriously. He had a lifelong ambition to illustrate Tennyson's poems; near the end of his life a volume with a small number of illustrations was published, but his vision for the work was never realized. Author In 1846 Lear published A Book of Nonsense, a volume of limericks that went through three editions and helped popularize the form. In 1865 The History of the Seven Families of the Lake Pipple-Popple was published, and in 1867 his most famous piece of nonsense, The Owl and the Pussycat, which he wrote for the children of his patron Edward Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby. Many other works followed. Lear's nonsense books were quite popular during his lifetime, but a rumour circulated that "Edward Lear" was merely a pseudonym, and the books' true author was the man to whom Lear had dedicated the works, his patron the Earl of Derby. Supporters of this rumour offered as evidence the facts that both men were named Edward, and that "Lear" is an anagram of "Earl". Lear's Limericks Lear's nonsense works are distinguished by a facility of verbal invention and a poet's delight in the sounds of words, both real and imaginary. A stuffed rhinoceros becomes a "diaphanous doorscraper". A "blue Boss-Woss" plunges into "a perpendicular, spicular, orbicular, quadrangular, circular depth of soft mud". His heroes are Quangle-Wangles, Pobbles, and Jumblies. His most famous piece of verbal invention, a "runcible spoon" occurs in the closing lines of The Owl and the Pussycat, and is now found in many English dictionaries: They dined on mince, and slices of quince Which they ate with a runcible spoon; And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand, They danced by the light of the moon, The moon, The moon, They danced by the light of the moon. Though famous for his neologisms, Lear employed a number of other devices in his works in order to defy reader expectations. For example, "Cold Are The Crabs", adheres to the sonnet tradition until the dramatically foreshortened last line. Limericks are invariably typeset as four plus one lines today, but Lear's limericks were published in a variety of formats. It appears that Lear wrote them in manuscript in as many lines as there was room for beneath the picture. In the first three editions most are typeset as, respectively, two, five, and three lines. The cover of one edition bears an entire limerick typeset in two lines: There was an Old Derry down Derry, who loved to see little folks merry; So he made them a book, and with laughter they shook at the fun of that Derry down Derry. In Lear's limericks the first and last lines usually end with the same word rather than rhyming. For the most part they are truly nonsensical and devoid of any punch line or point. They are completely free of the off-colour humour with which the verse form is now associated. A typical thematic element is the presence of a callous and critical "they". An example of a typical Lear limerick: There was an Old Man of Aôsta, Who possessed a large Cow, but he lost her; But they said, 'Don't you see, she has rushed up a tree? You invidious Old Man of Aôsta!' Lear's self-portrait in verse, How Pleasant to know Mr. Lear, closes with this stanza, a reference to his own mortality: He reads but he cannot speak Spanish, He cannot abide ginger-beer; Ere the days of his pilgrimage vanish, How pleasant to know Mr. Lear! Five of Lear's limericks from the Book of Nonsense, in the 1946 Italian translation by Carlo Izzo, were set to music for choir a cappella by Goffredo Petrassi, in 1952. Works: Mount Timohorit, Albania (1848) Illustrations of the Family of the Psittacidae, or Parrots (1832) Tortoises, Terrapins, and Turtles by J.E. Gray Views in Rome and its Environs (1841) Gleanings from the Menagerie at Knowsley Hall (1846) Illustrated Excursions in Italy (1846) Book of Nonsense (1846) Journal of a Landscape Painter in Greece and Albania (1851) Journal of a Landscape Painter in Southern Calabria (1852) Book of Nonsense and More Nonsense (1862) Views in the Seven Ionian Isles (1863) Journal of a Landscape Painter in Corsica (1870) Nonsense Songs and Stories (1871) More Nonsense Songs, Pictures, etc. (1872) Laughable Lyrics (1877) Nonsense Alphabets Nonsense Botany (1888) Tennyson's Poems, illustrated by Lear (1889) Facsimile of a Nonsense Alphabet (1849, but not published until 1926) The Scroobious Pip, unfinished at his death, but completed by Ogden Nash and illustrated by Nancy Ekholm Burkert (1968) The Quangle-Wangle's Hat (unknown) Alphabet Poem A was once an ant, Tiny, Busy, Speedy, Shiny In the groundy Little ant! A was once a little ant, Antsy Fantsy Mantsy Antsy, Fantsy anty, Little ant! B was once a little bat, Batsy, Watsy, Fatsy, Batsy, Bumpy smacky Little bat! C was once a little cat, Batty, Catty, Fatty, Jatty, Fatty batty, Little cat! C was once a little cow, Cowy, Bowy, Wowy, Howy, Powy cowy, Little cow! D was once a little dog, Doggy, Woggy, Loggy, Doggy, Fasty-runner, Little doggy! E was once the whole wide earth, Earthy, Mearthy, Girthy, It gave birthy To this new earthy, This whole wide earth! G was once a little goat, Goaty, Woaty, Foaty, Goaty, Baa, baa oaty, Little goat! H was once a little hawk, Hawky, Lawky, Stawky, Hawky, Smawky hawky, Little hawk! I was once a little iguana, Igy, Wigy, Ligy, Igy, Silly willy, Little iguana! J was once a little juke box, Boxy, Koxy, Loxy, Boxy, Wide insidy, Little juke box! K was once a little kit, Kitty, Bitty, Itty, Witty, Icky kitty, Little kit! L was once little lion, Mindon, Gion, Bion, Sighon Gooey zion, Little lion! M is an 'm' you see, Memmy, Temmy, Semmy, Shemmy, Now 'm' is a moose you see, But she doesn't want to be! O was once a little ox, Oxy, Woxy, Foxy, Noxy, Run run oxy, Little Ox! P was once a plump old lady, Plumpy, Pumpy, Tunky, Wunky, Plumpy pumpy, Little old lady! Q was once a little quail, Quaily, Scaly, Whaly, Quaily, Paly quaily, Little quail! S was once a little snake, Snakey, Bakey, Kakey, Sakey, In a jungel, Little snake! T was once a little turtle, Turtally, Urtally, Nurtally, Turtally, Murtally burtally, Little turtle! U was once a little unicorn, Unicorny, Tricorny, Minocorny, wer54w66sf32re2
i don't know
The 1977 autobiography ‘Tall, Dark and Gruesome’ is by which British Actor?
Christopher Lee Dead: Actor's Most Iconic Roles | Hollywood Reporter Arno Burgi/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images Christopher Lee The British star, who died this week aged 93, played on-screen villians from Dracula and Frankenstein to Fu Manchu, Scaramanga, Saruman and Count Dooku. Christopher Lee's 1977 autobiography was titled Tall, Dark and Gruesome, and the British actor, who died this past weekend at age 93, will be remembered most for his iconic movie villains. Sir Lee (he was knighted in 2009) did them all: from the lurching Frankenstein's monster, Mummy and Dracula monsters of the Hammer Films franchises of the 1950s, to the racially insensitive “evil Oriental” Fu Manchu in the 1960s and James Bond nemesis Scaramanga in the 1970s to his late-career revival as Saruman in The Lord of the Rings and Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequel films. Johnny Depp cited Lee as one of his main influences (the two appeared together in Tim Burton's films Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sleepy Hollow and Dark Shadows), and the British actor looms large over the world of horror and genre movies. Here's a look at some of his most iconic roles. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), The Horror of Dracula (1958), The Mummy (1959) Lee and Britain's Hammer Films jolted the horror genre back to life with this trio of monster movies. He played Dracula in a total of 10 films and is arguably the actor most closely associated with the Prince of Darkness. But Lee disliked being called a “horror legend.” The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) The same year that Lee stumbled across the screen as the Mummy, he starred as the new owner of Baskerville Hall in the remake of the The Hound of the Baskervilles. Lee's best friend and frequent co-star Peter Cushing played Sherlock Holmes in that version, but Lee appeared as the legendary detective three times on screen. He also starred as the London detective's smarter brother Mycroft in Billy Wilder’s spoof The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes in 1970. The Face of Fu Manchu (1965) Lee's yellowface performance as Sax Rohmer’s Asian evil genius with the distinctive drooping mustache is the role most likely to cause cringing on re-viewing. But at the time, in the 1960s, Lee's Fu Manchu was a hit, and the actor reprised the role in five films. The Wicker Man (1973), The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) Two of Lee's most iconic performances are on opposite sides of the cinematic scale: as the wild-haired neo-pagan Lord Summerisle in the 1973 horror classic The Wicker Man (ill-advisedly remade with Nicolas Cage in 2006); and as the one-shot assassin Scaramanga in 1974 Bond film The Man With The Golden Gun (1974). Interesting, James Bond creator Ian Fleming was Lee's cousin, and the author had originally wanted the British actor to play the title villain in the first 007 film, Dr. No (1962). The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith (2005) The autumn of Lee's career saw him acting in the biggest film franchises of the new century, playing white wizard Saruman in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Sith Lord Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequel films. The actor also voiced the same characters in LOTR and Star Wars video game spinoffs. The Return of Captain Invincible (1983) But for all his onscreen evil, Sir Lee retained a sense of humor about himself and his career. He had a sharp, self-deprecating wit and a love of the offbeat. This was clear in his second career — in music. Lee appeared in operas, recorded two heavy metal concept albums and, in this cult clip, sang a tribute to the glories of alcohol in the otherwise forgettable The Return of Captain Invincible (1983).
Christopher Lee
Which country hosted the 1998 Winter Olympic Games?
Christopher Lee, Legendary Movie Villain and Horror Icon, Dies at 93 Christopher Lee, Legendary Movie Villain and Horror Icon, Dies at 93 Mike Barnes Share "Lord of the Rings": Sir Christopher Lee knows what stabbing a man sounds like Before becoming an actor, legendary “Lord of the Rings” star Christopher Lee had a very different career. During the Second World War, Lee worked behind enemy lines as an agent for Britain’s elite Special Operations Executive -- also known as "Churchill's Secret Army" or the "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare." Lee has never discussed any of the clandestine missions he took part in, but was able to put some of his wartime knowledge to use while filming “The Return of the King.” In a deleted scene in which Lee’s character Saruman is stabbed in the back, director Peter Jackson asked Lee to shout out in pain when the evil wizard is attacked. However, citing personal experience, Lee quickly informed the filmmaker that a person cannot shout when they’ve been stabbed in the back. “He seemed to have expert knowledge of exactly the sort of noise that they make so I just sort of didn't push the subject any further,” Jackson said . Creepy. More Christopher Lee, the mystical British actor whose haunting, intimidating performances as Count Dracula, the Frankenstein monster and Fu Manchu made him an icon of horror films and the cinematic embodiment of villainy, has died. He was 93. According to media reports, Lee died Sunday morning at Westminster Hospital in London after being admitted for respiratory problems and heart failure. The Guardian reported that his wife, former Danish model and painter Gitte Kroencke, decided to release the news days later in order to inform family members first. The couple had been married since 1961.  Lee, who as bad guy Scaramanga battled Roger Moore’s James Bond in The Man With the Golden Gun (1974), re-ignited his career in his late 70s with what would be recurring roles in the Lord of the Rings, Hobbit and Star Wars franchises. Read MoreChristopher Lee's Most Iconic Roles "Such sad news to hear that Sir Christopher Lee has passed away," BAFTA said in a tweet Thursday. "In 2011, Sir Christopher Lee received the BAFTA Fellowship for his outstanding career in film." Incredibly, the London native had more than 275 credits on IMDb, making him perhaps the most prolific feature-film actor in history. He did many of his own stunts, likely appeared in more onscreen swordfights than anyone else and was the only member of the Lord of the Rings cast to have actually met author J.R.R. Tolkien, who was born in 1892. With his gaunt 6-foot-5 frame and deep, strong voice, Lee was best at playing characters — slave traders, crazed kings, vampires, demented professors — who were evil, murderous, dour and unrepentantly ruthless. Starting with The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and Horror of Dracula (1958), Lee, like a mad scientist, helped Hammer Films bring the genre of horror back to life. He played the bloodsucking and brooding Prince of Darkness 10 times but disliked being known as a “horror legend.” Lee was menacing in the title role of The Mummy (1959) and, that same year, starred as the new owner of Baskerville Hall in the remake of The Hound of the Baskervilles, starring his best friend, Peter Cushing, as Sherlock Holmes. The suave and courtly Cushing was his castmate in Curse of Frankenstein and Horror of Dracula as well. He appeared three times as Holmes on screen, most recently in the 1991 telefilm Incident at Victoria Falls, and starred as the detective’s brother Mycroft in Billy Wilder’s The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970). Read MoreFilm Industry Pays Tribute to Christopher Lee Lee also was Rasputin and Lucifer, and his characters executed King Charles I of England and Louis the XVI of France. He relished the evil roles: “As Boris Karloff [his Corridors of Blood co-star] told me, you have to make your mark in something other actors cannot, or will not, do. And if it’s a success, you’ll not be forgotten.” His 1977 autobiography was titled Tall, Dark and Gruesome. Lee played Rochefort of Three Musketeers fame three times and was Sax Rohmer’s Asian evil genius with that distinctive mustache in five films of the 1960s, starting with The Face of Fu Manchu (1965). Ian Fleming, the creator of Bond, was his cousin and frequent golf companion. The author wanted Lee to play the title villain in the 007 film Dr. No (1962), but the job went to Joseph Wiseman. For Bond fans, it was worth the wait after seeing his turn as the wealthy assassin who employs only bullets made of gold in The Man With the Golden Gun. Lee’s considerable body of film work also included Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951), The Wicker Man (1973), To the Devil a Daughter (1976), The Passage (1979), House of the Long Shadows (1983), Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), The Golden Compass (2007), The Resident (2011), Hugo (2011) and five films with director/fan Tim Burton: Sleepy Hollow (1999), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Corpse Bride (2005), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) — though his scenes were cut — and Dark Shadows (2012). Lee, who was knighted in 2009, appeared as Saruman in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and in the director’s two Hobbit films, including The Battle of Five Armies (2014). And he was Count Dooku in the Star Wars installments Attack of the Clones (2002), Revenge of the Sith (2005) and The Clone Wars (2008). Read More “This last decade has been the most extraordinary decade of my life,” he said in a 2012 interview. Christopher Frank Carandini Lee was born on May 27, 1922 (American horror legend Vincent Price was born on the same date 11 years earlier), and attended exclusive prep schools. He went to Eton College and Wellington College and studied Greek and Latin. Read MoreHollywood's Notable Deaths of 2015 During World War II, Lee served in the Royal Air Force and Special Forces and spent one year in a hellacious winter campaign in Finland. He was said to be a spy but never wanted to talk about it, honoring an oath of secrecy. “When the Second World War finished I was 23 and already I had seen enough horror to last me a lifetime,” he told the Telegraph in 2011. “I’d seen dreadful, dreadful things, without saying a word. So seeing horror depicted on film doesn’t affect me much.” Lee was decorated for distinguished service, and after his discharge, he took the advice of his uncle, the Italian ambassador in London, and tried his hand in the film business, landing a contract with the Rank Organisation. The Curse of Frankenstein — a box-office hit and the first film to feature Mary Shelley’s disfigured creature in color — was a big break for him. Lee likely landed the gig because he was so tall. Wilder told him he needed to come to America to further his career, and he took that advice and made Airport ’77, in which his character died under water and he almost drowned. He said the film that made him the most proud was Jinnah (1998), in which he played the founder of Pakistan. Despite his serious demeanor, Lee liked to showcase his offbeat, self-deprecating wit. He hosted Saturday Night Live in 1978, and his show (with musical guest Meat Loaf) reached 35 million viewers, one of its most-watched installments. “As you may know, I first came to public attention as a result of my appearances in certain rather eerie and even macabre films,” he said during the SNL opening. “You may be surprised to know that I haven’t made one in several years. “This is because I have a great deal of respect for this kind of film, and I don’t think that very good ones are being produced anymore. Week after week, I find myself receiving scripts like The Creature From the Black Studies Program ... and Frankenstein Snubs The Wolf Man ... and of course, Dr. Terror’s House of Pancakes.” Later, he played a Russian commandant for laughs in Police Academy: Mission to Moscow (1994). An expert fencer and honorary member of three stuntman unions, Lee also knew how to handle a golf club. He was the first actor to be accepted into The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. How good was he? He thought he had enough cred to offer advice to Tiger Woods on how to play The Masters. Music was important to him. He appeared in operas, sang “Name Your Poison” in The Return of Captain Invincible (1983) opposite Alan Arkin and was among the pack of “convicts” on the cover of Paul McCartney & Wings’ 1973 album Band on the Run. In 2010, Lee recorded a symphonic heavy metal concept album, Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross (he said he was related to the emperor on his mother’s side). Three years later, he released a follow-up that had Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath on guitar. “People never thought I would be a heavy metal performer. Well, I am,” he said in the 2012 interview. Sure, he never was nominated for an Oscar, but he has a Metal Hammer Golden God Award. Survivors include his wife Kroencke and their daughter Christina. Lee, who had a library of 12,000 books on the occult, admitted to being fascinated by the nature of evil during a 2003 interview with the Guardian. “&lsquoGood’ people ... being persistently noble can become rather uninteresting,” he said. “There is a dark side in all of us. And for us &lsquobad’ people, the bad side dominates. I think there is a great sadness in villains, and I have tried to put that across. We cannot stop ourselves doing what we are doing.” Twitter: @mikebarnes4
i don't know
In November 1990 Mian Nawaz Sharif became Prime Minister of which Asian country?
Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Islamabad, Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs PRIME MINISTER OF PAKISTAN MR. MUHAMMAD NAWAZ SHARIF The eldest of three siblings of Late Mian Muhammad Sharif, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was born on December 25, 1949 in Lahore. Mr Muhammad Nawaz Sharif got his early education from prestigious schools and earned his graduation from the famous Government College, Lahore. After completion of his academics, he joined the family business and also participated actively in social and charitable activities. Muhammad Nawaz Sharif started active politics when he joined the Punjab Cabinet as Finance Minister in 1981.He also held the portfolio of Minister for Sports. In the 1985 general elections, he was elected to both the National and Punjab Provincial Assemblies. On April 9, 1985, he was sworn-in as Chief Minister of Punjab. He also served as caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab. After winning majority in the 1988 Provincial Assembly Elections, he was re-elected as Chief Minister of Punjab. He was elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan and held the office from November 1, 1990 to July 18, 1993 when President Ghulam Ishaq Khan (late) arbitrarily dissolved the National Assembly. The Supreme Court annulled the former President’s unconstitutional act and reinstated the National Assembly and Nawaz Sharif’s government on May 26, 1993. However, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif resigned from his office on July 18, 1993 to facilitate fresh elections in the country. He remained leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly from October19, 1993 to 5th November 1996. He was again elected the Prime Minister of Pakistan on February 17, 1997 after his party won an overwhelming majority in the general elections. General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf staged a coup and overthrew his democratically elected popular government on Oct12, 1999.He was sentenced for life and underwent 14 months of imprisonment before being forced into exile by General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf. During previous tenures of his government, a number of mega development projects were completed including South West Asia’s first 367km motorway, linking Lahore with Islamabad. Efforts were made to strengthen the economy with the help of private sector and projects like Ghazi Barotha, Gwadar Mini port, JF-17 Fighter Jet, international airports in Karachi and Lahore, Optic Fibre Project and opening up of Telecom sector are some of the hallmarks of his economic policies. Land was distributed among landless peasants in Sindh. Relations with the Central Asian Muslim Republics were strengthened and ECO was given a boost. His most important contribution was success in re-invigorating the economy of the country by pursuing a policy of liberalization, privatization and deregulation despite economic sanctions. He succeeded in repealing the controversial Eighth Amendment unanimously and the adoption of anti-defection Fourteenth Amendment Bill. In an attempt to end the Afghan civil war after the withdrawal of Soviet Forces, he succeeded in convincing Afghan factions to unite and sign   “Islamabad Accord “for establishing peace in Afghanistan and the region. Mr. Nawaz Sharif gained in stature when his government conducted nuclear tests on May 28, 1998 in response to India’s nuclear blasts. This raised Pakistan’s prestige globally and its security was made impregnable. In May, 2007, he signed the Charter of Democracy (CoD) with leader of PPP Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and other prominent political leaders in London for strengthening and sustaining democracy in the country. Since 2008, he has played the role of a statesman by committing to uphold democratic values and traditions and work for the welfare of the people of Pakistan. His strict adherence to these ideals paved the way for completion of the constitutional term by the elected Assemblies. Pakistan Muslim League-N President Muhammad Nawaz Sharif created history when he was elected as the 27th Prime Minister for the third time by securing 244 votes in the National Assembly. Mr. Nawaz Sharif is a family man, devoted son and an affectionate father. He is God fearing; and his love for the people is manifest when he reaches out to the poor and the oppressed to redress their grievances in their hour of distress. Mr. Nawaz Sharif and Begum Kalsoom Nawaz Sharif have two sons and two daughters who are all married and well settled in life.
Pakistan
Which island is divided among Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia?
Breaking news on Nawaz Sharif - breakingnews.com Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu: میاں محمد نواز شریف‎, pronounced  [nəˈʋaːz ʃəˈriːf]; born 25 December 1949) is the 20th and current Prime Minister of Pakistan, in office since June 2013. A veteran politician and industrialist, he previously served as the Prime Minister from November 1990 to July 1993 and from February 1997 to October 1999. Sharif is the president of Pakistan Muslim League (N), which holds a parliamentary majority since 2013. As owner of the Ittefaq Group, a leading business conglomerate, he is also one of the country's wealthiest people. Born into a wealthy Sharif family in Lahore, he is the son of Ittefaq Group founder Muhammad Sharif, and the brother of three-time elected Chief Minister of Punjab, Shehbaz Sharif. Sharif studied business at Government College University and later law at the University of Punjab before entering politics in the later 1970s. In 1981, Sharif was appointed by the military government as the Minister of Finance for the province of Punjab. Backed by a loose coalition of conservative's, he was elected as the Chief Minister of Punjab, after the end of martial law in 1988, he was elected again as the Chief Minister of Punjab, as a nominee of the center-right Pakistan Muslim League. In 1990, Sharif led the conservative alliance, IJI, to victory, leading him to become the Prime Minister. Investigation into the election would later revel that the election was rigged in favour of Sharif by the Pakistani intelligence through channeling millions of rupees into his election campaign. Sharif's first administration came to an end when then President Ghulam Ishaq Khan attempted to dismiss Sharif on corruption charges. Sharif successfully challenged the dismissal in the Supreme Court, but both men were ultimately persuaded to step down in 1993 by army chief Abdul Waheed Kakar. Sharif served as Leader of the Opposition between 1993 and 1996 and led the Muslim League to a Supermajority in Pakistan's National Assembly. His government amendment the constitution to restrict's the powers of the presidency to dismiss governments. His second administration is notable for holding Pakistan's first nuclear tests in response to neighbouring India's second nuclear tests as part of the tit-for-tat policy. When Western countries suspended foreign aid, Sharif froze the country's foreign currency reserves to prevent further capital flight, but this only worsened economic conditions. With rising unemployment and record foreign debt, Sharif's second term also saw tussles with the judiciary and the military. Sharif was summoned for contempt by the Supreme Court in 1997 after making a speech in parliament criticising recent decisions by Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah. Sharif also forcibly relieved Chairman joint chiefs General Jehangir Karamat from command over a policy issue and replaced him with Pervez Musharraf in 1998. However, after Pakistan's haphazard performance in the Kargil War, his relations with Musharraf also deteriorated. When he attempted to relieve Musharraf from his command on 12 October 1999, the military instead ousted Sharif's government, exiling him to Saudi Arabia. Sharif returned to Pakistan from exile in 2007 while his party contested the elections in 2008, winning majority in Punjab, while eventually forming an opposition in the National Assembly, during which he successfully called for Musharraf's impeachment and the reinstatement of the judiciary. In 2013 elections, his party achieved a simple majority and elected him as the country's 20th premier. Sharif's third term has brought macroeconomic stability with the help of substantial loans from IMF, and signed multi-billion investment deals with China. On security front, the military in 2015 launched an offensive to remove extremist groups in northwestern Pakistan which has decreased terrorist attacks. Sharif's third term is also underpinned by social centrism rather than the social conservatism, which guided his prior two terms. Sharif has faced criticism over the Panama Papers and rising sovereign debt. Links
i don't know
Which ‘ology’ is the search or study of animals whose existence has not been proven, such as the Yeti or Loch Ness Monster?
Bigfoot, Loch Ness monster, Yeti: Legendary beasts might be real Don’t laugh now, Bigfoot might have been real May 26, 20168:54am Next time you want to scoff at a Bigfoot believer, maybe don’t. Picture: Kayana Szymczak/Getty Images/AFP Amanda Bell New York Post BIGFOOT, the Loch Ness monster and more may soon cross over from fiction to fact. You might have been surprised to find your news feed filled with stories about the scientifically confirmed existence of “unicorns” back in March. But for cryptozoologists — those who search for and study creatures whose existence has not actually been proven — this so-called “discovery” was a rather yawn-worthy affair indeed. That’s right: Unicorns’ existence was only a surprise to you. And that’s just the beginning. Cryptozoologists believe that there are many “fictional” creatures that are just waiting to be discovered. Calling all Yetis, mer-people and Loch Ness monsters: Now’s your time to make yourself known. One beast that has cryptozoologists chattering is Gigantopithecus. The now-extinct ape was the largest ever known — and thanks to Disney’s new concept of King Louie in Jon Favreau’s update of The Jungle Book, is enjoying new popularity. “Gigantopithecus is thought to be what the yeti or Bigfoot might be,” Loren Coleman, director of Portland, Maine’s one-of-a-kind International Cryptozoology Museum, explains to The New York Post . Coleman adds that the pop-culture impact of the film’s inclusion of that creature — above the ape or orang-utan, as shown in previous imaginings of the classic tale — has been felt on his end. This is not a “mythical” creature, he’s quick to specify. This is “legendary.” And now people are talking about it again, giving a mini-boon to the interest in this possible Bigfoot brother. “Beneath the smoke, there’s fire,” he explains of the cryptozoological imperative. “What we’re searching for are new species … indigenous people report these creatures — they maybe use the words ‘fantastic’ or ‘monsters,’ but they really think that there’s a real animal out there.” Before you start chuckling at those holding out hope that these creatures have ever existed or might even still — understandable, given the prevalence of false sightings on YouTube or even prop staging, of late — consider some recent advances in the science. In 2003, for example, J.R.R. Tolkien might’ve rolled over in his grave to give two very enthusiastic thumbs up to the archaeological finding of Homo floresiensis, a.k.a. hobbits (!), in Indonesia’s Flores Island. The hairy skull and the bones of some fingers of a supposed yeti are kept in the monastery Pangboche Gompa in Nepal. Picture: Frank Bienewald/LightRocket via Getty Images.Source:Getty Images “The hobbits were a very big deal because they were recently extinct, and they very much match the stories of ‘little people’ — the Menehune in Hawaii and some in Ebu Gogo,” Coleman says. “They weren’t fairy tales or urban legends.” The very next year, Japanese researchers recorded the first-ever observations of a giant sea squid (release the Kraken!) in the wild, and in 2013, a fifth species of the tapir — the long-celebrated dreameater from Chinese and Japanese folklore — was unearthed. The list goes on. There are some creatures, however, that even those among this community of “open-minded sceptics” are willing to discount (although perhaps not entirely). “Dragons, unicorns — those might be based upon known animals” in lore, explains Coleman, who adds zombies, ghosts, vampires and aliens to the list of things not covered by his museum. But among the so-called “legendary” crew of creatures that might have foundation in a distinct species are mer-beings and sea-apes, which “may be names for unknown cryptids,” chupacabras (the two-legged kind from Latin America, not those canine breeds out of Mexico), and Ogopogo, the British Columbia Lake Monster. Don’t discount those just yet. A few in-the-works cases for fantastic beasts on the rise might cause a public suspension of disbelief within our lifetimes. The biggest? If you haven’t already heard of the Orang Pendek, a 3- to 4-foot-tall “hairy ape-like creature” that dwells within the “lost worlds” of Central Asia, you might want to brace yourself for an onslaught in coming years because it’s going be a real doozy in the cryptozoology world. “For the last 25 years, there have been consistently good reports, good sightings, good footprints, and also some hair samples, and I’d say we’re within 25 years of a major anthropological discovery in that area,” Coleman says. “That will really shake up the anthropological world and the zoological world, and it will be an outstanding discovery.” So does that mean there’s hope for the Loch Ness monster and yeti enthusiasts in the crowd? You bet. While there are an estimated 200 different potential species being studied by cryptozoologists at any given time — the discipline works hand in hand with anthropologists, zoologists, palaeontologists and everyone else under the discovering sun — even these so-called “celebrity creatures” are still definitely in the optimistic interest zone, too. Nessie, are you out there? Picture: Keystone/Getty Images)Source:Getty Images “We’re much more interested in whether or not reports of a Bigfoot or lake monster or unknown animals seen in the river might actually be related to new species,” says Coleman, who adds that it’s even a misconception to think there’s just one breed of Bigfoot or Loch Ness monster roaming about. “All the cryptozoologists worth their salt know that there’s breeding populations of different animals out there.” “We’re not evangelical about it,” he adds. “We don’t really care if anybody notices what we’re doing because part of the work of cryptozoology is a passionate interest in animals as well as an incredible amount of patience.” And the reason we won’t soon see a taxidermied version of Bigfoot even if it is sighted by someone in the field to eliminate all doubt? “We’re very much animal conservationists, too. Most cryptozoologists nowadays are not like John James Audubon or the Victorian Era of zoology. They don’t go out and shoot animals to prove they exist. We try for DNA sampling, live captures and photographs.” The areas that are considered habitat hotbeds for new species research right now, he explains, are those which have recently undergone political transformation, like Vietnam and Laos. The end of the Vietnam War, he said, opened up the floodgates for scientific research, leading to the discovery of “new animals that were really kind of ignored during the war.” “Only after these conflicts really subside do you find that ‘Oh, wait a second, let’s think about the animals’” attitude toward the scientific value of an area’s fauna, he says. Central Africa currently lies within that “artificial wall” of human violence that prevents researchers from safely uncovering what hidden gems of Animalia might exist within. One such, at present, is an aquatic rhinoceros that has been reported but that is feared will become extinct before it’s officially discovered. If that is the case, then it, too, will become a “legend” of what once was … but no less real.
Cryptozoology
What is the name of a triangular piece of material that is inserted in a garment to make it flared or for ornamentation?
Pseudoscience Project 2013 - Period 6 Projects Pseudoscience Project 2013 Voodoo Cryptozoology (nick stewart, Jayfey Agudelo, Hirusha Pelaketiyage, aden ibrahim, deven douglas 1. Cryptozoology is the study of animals and creatures that have not been proven as fact such as bigfoot and any other odd animals and their markings that appear. 2. Cryptozoologists contend that because species once considered superstition, hoaxes, delusions, or misidentifications were later accepted as legitimate by the scientific community, descriptions and reports of folkloric creatures should be taken seriously.[12] The popularly reported European discovery of the okapi in 1901, earlier hinted at but unseen by Henry Morton Stanley in his travelogue of exploring the Congo, later became the emblem for the now defunct International Society of Cryptozoology. The mountain gorilla,[13] giant squid[14] and Hoan Kiem Turtle[15][16] are other examples of extant species that were brought to the attention of modern science. The 2003 discovery of the fossil remains of Homo floresiensis was cited by paleontologist Henry Gee, editor of the journal Nature, as possible evidence that humanoid cryptids like the Orang Pendek and yeti were "founded on grains of truth." "Cryptozoology," Gee said, "the study of such fabulous creatures, can come in from the cold."[17] While cryptzoologists are often unable to properly follow the scientific method due to the nature of their work, the vast majority still reject supernatural explanations for cryptid sightings, preferring to keep explanations as plausible as possible without ruling out the cryptid's existence. 3. Cryptozoolofy is a pseudoscience involving the search for animals whose existence has not been proven. This includes looking for living examples of animals that are considered extinct, such as dinosaurs; animals whose existence lacks physical evidence but which appear in myths, legends, or are reported, such as Bigfoot and Chupacabra and wild animals dramatically outside their normal geographic ranges, such as Phantom cats (also known as Alien Big Cats).The animals cryptozoologists study are often referred to as cryptids, a term coined by John Wall in 1983. 4. Cryptolozoology is pseudoscience because it mostly based on statements of people who have claimed to see these creatures rather than actually fact and the scientific method is not used untill ofter the initial realization of the presence of said creature 5. Cryptozoolofy is a pseudoscience involving the search for animals whose existence has not been proven. This includes looking for living examples of animals that are considered extinct, such as dinosaurs; animals whose existence lacks physical evidence but which appear in myths, legends, or are reported, such as Bigfoot and Chupacabra and wild animals dramatically outside their normal geographic ranges, such as Phantom cats (also known as Alien Big Cats).The animals cryptozoologists study are often referred to as cryptids, a term coined by John Wall in 1983. 6. http://www.cfzaustralia.com/2011/07/cryptozoology-science-or-pseudoscience.html http://cryptozoology.freeservers.com/://cryptozoology.freeservers.com/ 8. http://pseudoscience.com/cryptology/about 1. Cryptozoology is the study of animals and creatures that have not been proven as fact such as bigfoot and any other odd animals and their markings that appear. 2. Cryptozoologists contend that because species once considered superstition, hoaxes, delusions, or misidentifications were later accepted as legitimate by the scientific community, descriptions and reports of folkloric creatures should be taken seriously.[12] The popularly reported European discovery of the okapi in 1901, earlier hinted at but unseen by Henry Morton Stanley in his travelogue of exploring the Congo, later became the emblem for the now defunct International Society of Cryptozoology. The mountain gorilla,[13] giant squid[14] and Hoan Kiem Turtle[15][16] are other examples of extant species that were brought to the attention of modern science. The 2003 discovery of the fossil remains of Homo floresiensis was cited by paleontologist Henry Gee, editor of the journal Nature, as possible evidence that humanoid cryptids like the Orang Pendek and yeti were "founded on grains of truth." "Cryptozoology," Gee said, "the study of such fabulous creatures, can come in from the cold."[17] While cryptzoologists are often unable to properly follow the scientific method due to the nature of their work, the vast majority still reject supernatural explanations for cryptid sightings, preferring to keep explanations as plausible as possible without ruling out the cryptid's existence. 3. Cryptozoolofy is a pseudoscience involving the search for animals whose existence has not been proven. This includes looking for living examples of animals that are considered extinct, such as dinosaurs; animals whose existence lacks physical evidence but which appear in myths, legends, or are reported, such as Bigfoot and Chupacabra and wild animals dramatically outside their normal geographic ranges, such as Phantom cats (also known as Alien Big Cats).The animals cryptozoologists study are often referred to as cryptids, a term coined by John Wall in 1983. 4. Cryptolozoology is pseudoscience because it mostly based on statements of people who have claimed to see these creatures rather than actually fact and the scientific method is not used untill ofter the initial realization of the presence of said creature 5. Cryptozoolofy is a pseudoscience involving the search for animals whose existence has not been proven. This includes looking for living examples of animals that are considered extinct, such as dinosaurs; animals whose existence lacks physical evidence but which appear in myths, legends, or are reported, such as Bigfoot and Chupacabra and wild animals dramatically outside their normal geographic ranges, such as Phantom cats (also known as Alien Big Cats).The animals cryptozoologists study are often referred to as cryptids, a term coined by John Wall in 1983. 6. http://www.cfzaustralia.com/2011/07/cryptozoology-science-or-pseudoscience.html 7. httphttp://www.cfzaustralia.com/2011/07/cryptozoology-science-or-pseudoscience.html http://cryptozoology.freeservers.com/://cryptozoology.freeservers.com/ 8. http://pseudoscience.com/cryptology/about Cryptozoology (nick stewart, Jayfey Agudelo, Hirusha Pelaketiyage, aden ibrahim, deven douglas Voodoo VOODOO! 1. Voodoo is an ancient religion that was brought to the western world from Africa during the slave trading days. Voodoo is a West African word that means "spirit". It originates from the term vodun. A widely held image of voodoo is black magic and wax dolls with pins stick out of them. But most of these ideas are myths. The basic idea of voodoo: 1. everything in the universe is connected, 2. nothing happens by chance, and 3. there are no accidents. 2. "As a doll maker and a voodoo priestess, I know that my dolls hold a certain power. For one thing, when I am working on dolls, I am often guided by my spirit guides." 3. It cannot be proven, its in your head. There's no proof to how a doll can be linked to a human. 4. Voodoo is a pseudoscience because it can't be proven. The only people that believe it are the people that have grown up around it or study it. Voodoo is a fake science because you can't link a human to a doll with just a needle, or by writing names on the doll. What you feel or happen to see is all in your head. 5. We started off believing it was fake, once we read more about it our opinions remained the same period. There's no possible way for voodoo to be real because black magic isn't true. No one has actually proved it. Works cited. www.voodoomuseum.com/index.php?option=com_contentview=article&id=41 Names: Heather Welday, Bobby Perry, Hayaley Wooding, Brennan Baisden, Trevor Tate VOODOO! 1. Voodoo is an ancient religion that was brought to the western world from Africa during the slave trading days. Voodoo is a West African word that means "spirit". It originates from the term vodun. A widely held image of voodoo is black magic and wax dolls with pins stick out of them. But most of these ideas are myths. The basic idea of voodoo: 1. everything in the universe is connected, 2. nothing happens by chance, and 3. there are no accidents. 2. "As a doll maker and a voodoo priestess, I know that my dolls hold a certain power. For one thing, when I am working on dolls, I am often guided by my spirit guides." 3. It cannot be proven, its in your head. There's no proof to how a doll can be linked to a human. 4. Voodoo is a pseudoscience because it can't be proven. The only people that believe it are the people that have grown up around it or study it. Voodoo is a fake science because you can't link a human to a doll with just a needle, or by writing names on the doll. What you feel or happen to see is all in your head. 5. We started off believing it was fake, once we read more about it our opinions remained the same period. There's no possible way for voodoo to be real because black magic isn't true. No one has actually proved it. Works cited. www2.webster.edu/~corbetre/voodoo/hati/overview.htm www.wisegeek.org/what-is-voodoo.htm www.neworleansvoodoocrossroads.com/voodoofaq.html www.trueghosttales.com/questionsandanswers/does-voodoo-exist/sites.google.com/site/ www.shanesbiologyperiod1/voodoo-science-or-pseudoscience www.voodoomuseum.com/index.php?option=com_contentview=article&id=41 Names: Heather Welday, Bobby Perry, Hayaley Wooding, Brennan Baisden, Trevor Tate Voodoo Loch Ness Monster The Loch Ness Monster is a monster that is rumered to be roming the lake of Loch Ness in Scottland. He looks like a dinosoure that was mixed with an manatie. The Loch Ness Monster is science because he is a sea animal which would be Marine Biology. Also he is able to tell us about eveluition because he started as a land mamal and then turned into a sea creature. The Loch Ness Monster is Pseudoscience because no one has any documented evidence that he excests. Also he is a myth which has not been backed up using science. We believe that he is a pseudoscience due to the fact that there has been no documented evidence to prove that he exesists. After preforming the research our beliefs have stayed the same that he might be real but that he is pseudoscience and not actual science. www.nessie.co.uk/ henryhbauer.homestead.com/16.2_bauer.pdf Aron Ewald Duncan Cormack The Loch Ness Monster is a monster that is rumered to be roming the lake of Loch Ness in Scottland. He looks like a dinosoure that was mixed with an manatie. The Loch Ness Monster is science because he is a sea animal which would be Marine Biology. Also he is able to tell us about eveluition because he started as a land mamal and then turned into a sea creature. The Loch Ness Monster is Pseudoscience because no one has any documented evidence that he excests. Also he is a myth which has not been backed up using science. We believe that he is a pseudoscience due to the fact that there has been no documented evidence to prove that he exesists. After preforming the research our beliefs have stayed the same that he might be real but that he is pseudoscience and not actual science. www.nessie.co.uk/ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Ness_Monster www.nydailynews.com/.../loch-ness-monster-real-dinosaur-bio news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3096839.stm www.redorbit.com › News › Science henryhbauer.homestead.com/16.2_bauer.pdf Aron Ewald Duncan Cormack Loch Ness Monster Ghost Hunting 1. the process of investing locations that are reported to be hunted by ghost typically they strive to gather information such as sounds or shadows. they use electronic equipment most ghost hunters call them selfs paranormal investigators. no science body has been able to confirm the existence of ghost. 2.there are no articles or summaries stating ghost hunting is a science. it doesn't take a scientist to find ghost so called experts fail anyways. 3. ghost hunting would be considered to be a pseudoscience because there is no hard evidence to prove ghost hunting is real. even though several "paranormal investigators" say there is, but its believed their computers are tampered with. 4. we feel as though ghost hunting is not a actual science because even though people have so called paranormal experiences there is no proven fact or evidence that ghost hunting could be called a science. 5. our beliefs in ghost hunting being a science didn't change because we think once someone can actually show and prove they have encountered a ghost then further investigation can be taken. 6. Wikipedia.com thereverrage.com angelfire.com 1. the process of investing locations that are reported to be hunted by ghost typically they strive to gather information such as sounds or shadows. they use electronic equipment most ghost hunters call them selfs paranormal investigators. no science body has been able to confirm the existence of ghost. 2.there are no articles or summaries stating ghost hunting is a science. it doesn't take a scientist to find ghost so called experts fail anyways. 3. ghost hunting would be considered to be a pseudoscience because there is no hard evidence to prove ghost hunting is real. even though several "paranormal investigators" say there is, but its believed their computers are tampered with. 4. we feel as though ghost hunting is not a actual science because even though people have so called paranormal experiences there is no proven fact or evidence that ghost hunting could be called a science. 5. our beliefs in ghost hunting being a science didn't change because we think once someone can actually show and prove they have encountered a ghost then further investigation can be taken. 6. Wikipedia.com ghosthunters.com 7. csicop.org skeptic blog.com 8. Wikipedia ghosthunters.com csicop.org skiepiticblog.com thereverrage.com angelfire.com Ghost Hunting atrology :) FACTS OF ZODIAC/ASTROLOGY- Kayla Thomas and Meagan Stover <3 -A description of astrology, the study of the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies interpreted as having an influence on human affairs. -a study that assumes and attempts to interpret the influence of heavenly bodies on human affairs. (signs& dates) -aquarius- 20 january -pisces- 19 february -a branch of knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts or truths systematically arranged and showing the operation of general laws. -Study of the skies is basically the earliest form of astrology, dating back to over 6,000 years ago when priest from an old Chaldean watchtower would study the skies. -Zodiac is a Greek word meaning “Circle of Animals” -Zodiac is divided into 12 categories known as “Sun Signs” in western astrology - The signs are basically a symbolic representation of the cycles of evolution. -Astrology elements- Fire, Earth, Air and Water -Fire signs: Aries, Leo and Sagittarius. People tend to be self motivated, inspirational and always mindful of the future. -Earth signs: Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn. The influence makes them materialistic, in a good way usually, practical, and conservative. -Air signs: Gemini, Libra and Aquarius. Very “People” oriented and get along well with others. They also tend to be highly intelligent and communicative. -The reason you zodiac (birth) sign was given to you was to give you opportunities for your spirit to grow and learn. It gives us ways to enrich our life and maybe even build a better life than we could on our own. -Polarity is also something involved with the Zodiac, they are either positive or negative in alternation with each other starting with Aries. Fire and Air signs are considered positive or self-expressive Water and Earth are considered negative or self repressive. Positive polarities are Yang and influences the sign toward and outgoing nature. Negative is Yin with influences more towards withdrawn and introverted. POLARITY CHART Sign Quality Tiplicity Quadruplicity Ruler Aries Positive Fire Cardinal Mars Taurus Negative Earth Fixed Venus Gemini Positive Air Mutable Mercury Cancer Negative Water Cardinal Moon Leo Positive Fire Fixed Sun Virgo Negative Earth Mutable Mercury Libra Positive Air Cardinal Venus Scorpio Negative Water Fixed Mars Sagittarius Positive Fire Mutable Jupiter Capricorn Negative Earth Cardinal Saturn Aquarius Positive Air Fixed Uranus Pisces Negative Water Mutable Jupiter There are also birthstones based on your month, modern, traditional, mystical and other. BIRTHSTONE CHART J Garnet Garnet Emerald Rose Quartz F Amethyst Amethyst Bloodstone Onyx M Aquamarine Bloodstone Jade A Diamond Diamond Opal Quartz M Emerald Emerald Sapphire Chrysoprase J Pearl Alexandrite Moonstone J Ruby Ruby Ruby Carnelian A Peridot, Jade Sardonyx Diamond Sardonyx S Sapphire Sapphire Agate Lapis O Opal Tourmaline Jasper Pink Tourmaline N Y. Topaz Citrine Pearl D B. Turquoise Zicron Onyx EXTRA FACTS Astrology is the study of Correlations of Celestial events with behavior on Earth, particularly correlations which cannot be explained by gravitation, magnetism, or other forces that are well-established in physics or other sciences. No one has proven how astrology works. There are many different views on how or why it might work, but not a single conclusive answer that has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of all astrologers. The lack of clear explanation of why the correlation should exist, or the fact that the existence of such a correlation seems absurd to many scientist and non-scientists alike, does not in itself make astrology unscientific. Scientists can analyze correlations and perfect their ability to predict based on these correlations without knowing why it exists. FACTS OF ZODIAC/ASTROLOGY- Kayla Thomas and Meagan Stover <3 -A description of astrology, the study of the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies interpreted as having an influence on human affairs. -a study that assumes and attempts to interpret the influence of heavenly bodies on human affairs. (signs& dates) -Aries- 21 march -taurus 20 april -gemini- 21 june -cancer- 22 june -leo- 23 july -virgo- 23 august -libra- 23 september -scorpio- 24 october -sagittarius- 22 november -capricornus-22 december -aquarius- 20 january -pisces- 19 february -a branch of knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts or truths systematically arranged and showing the operation of general laws. -Study of the skies is basically the earliest form of astrology, dating back to over 6,000 years ago when priest from an old Chaldean watchtower would study the skies. -Zodiac is a Greek word meaning “Circle of Animals” -Zodiac is divided into 12 categories known as “Sun Signs” in western astrology - The signs are basically a symbolic representation of the cycles of evolution. -Astrology elements- Fire, Earth, Air and Water -Fire signs: Aries, Leo and Sagittarius. People tend to be self motivated, inspirational and always mindful of the future. -Earth signs: Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn. The influence makes them materialistic, in a good way usually, practical, and conservative. -Air signs: Gemini, Libra and Aquarius. Very “People” oriented and get along well with others. They also tend to be highly intelligent and communicative. -The reason you zodiac (birth) sign was given to you was to give you opportunities for your spirit to grow and learn. It gives us ways to enrich our life and maybe even build a better life than we could on our own. -Polarity is also something involved with the Zodiac, they are either positive or negative in alternation with each other starting with Aries. Fire and Air signs are considered positive or self-expressive Water and Earth are considered negative or self repressive. Positive polarities are Yang and influences the sign toward and outgoing nature. Negative is Yin with influences more towards withdrawn and introverted. POLARITY CHART Sign Quality Tiplicity Quadruplicity Ruler Aries Positive Fire Cardinal Mars Taurus Negative Earth Fixed Venus Gemini Positive Air Mutable Mercury Cancer Negative Water Cardinal Moon Leo Positive Fire Fixed Sun Virgo Negative Earth Mutable Mercury Libra Positive Air Cardinal Venus Scorpio Negative Water Fixed Mars Sagittarius Positive Fire Mutable Jupiter Capricorn Negative Earth Cardinal Saturn Aquarius Positive Air Fixed Uranus Pisces Negative Water Mutable Jupiter There are also birthstones based on your month, modern, traditional, mystical and other. BIRTHSTONE CHART Modern Traditional Mystical Other J Garnet Garnet Emerald Rose Quartz F Amethyst Amethyst Bloodstone Onyx M Aquamarine Bloodstone Jade A Diamond Diamond Opal Quartz M Emerald Emerald Sapphire Chrysoprase J Pearl Alexandrite Moonstone J Ruby Ruby Ruby Carnelian A Peridot, Jade Sardonyx Diamond Sardonyx S Sapphire Sapphire Agate Lapis O Opal Tourmaline Jasper Pink Tourmaline N Y. Topaz Citrine Pearl D B. Turquoise Zicron Onyx EXTRA FACTS Astrology is the study of Correlations of Celestial events with behavior on Earth, particularly correlations which cannot be explained by gravitation, magnetism, or other forces that are well-established in physics or other sciences. No one has proven how astrology works. There are many different views on how or why it might work, but not a single conclusive answer that has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of all astrologers. The lack of clear explanation of why the correlation should exist, or the fact that the existence of such a correlation seems absurd to many scientist and non-scientists alike, does not in itself make astrology unscientific. Scientists can analyze correlations and perfect their ability to predict based on these correlations without knowing why it exists. atrology :)
i don't know
Adelost cheese is made in which European country?
Adelost - Cheese.com Find over 1750 specialty cheeses from 74 countries in the world's greatest cheese resource Creative Commons/Halmstad Adelost Adelost is a Swedish blue cheese made from cow's milk. The blue-gray veins running throughout are a distinctive feature of the cheese. It has sharp, salty and tangy flavour. The ripening process is for two to three months. The cheese comes in a drum shape with a rind of pale cream, which is lightly dotted with molds. Made from pasteurized cow 's milk Country of origin: Sweden
Sweden
Charlotte was the daughter of Caroline of Brunswick and which future British monarch?
Europe's Best Cheeses | Travel + Leisure Europe's Best Cheeses Akiko Ida From Roquefort to Reblochon: experts divulge their favorite cheese sources in Europe Everything tastes better on vacation, but that holds especially true for cheese. Do the Camembert and Brie you buy at home have less flavor, depth, and complexity than you remember them having in France?A lot of that has to do with U.S.D.A. import requirements and arcane aging laws. But it might have just as much to do with your surroundings. In Europe, whether you're in a piazza or a country pasture, nothing beats an impromptu picnic to make you feel like a local. If you crave pungent washed-rind cow's-milk Livarot, a creamy chèvre, or salty, nutty blue-veined Cabrales, going to an open-air market or a neighborhood shop is the ultimate way to get your cheese fix. Instead of visiting monuments in search of "culture," you'll be immersed in it. Here, some cheese-lovers from around the globe share where they stock up. England Jamie Oliver, author and host, The Naked Chef Favorite Shop: La Fromagerie 30 Highbury Park, London; 44-207/359-7440; www.lafromagerie.co.uk . "La Fromagerie looks like an old-fashioned English farmhouse kitchen. Patricia Michelson, the owner, really takes care of you. The staff is also a mine of information about everything to do with cheese." Don't Miss: Innes Buttons An unpasteurized, very fresh goat's-milk cheese with a tangy, lemony taste. Durrus A semi-soft washed pinky-beige crusted cow's-milk cheese that's made from morning milk only, which is lower in fat. Montgomery's cheddar It's slightly crumblier than the usual cheddar, very savory and intense. Wigmore An unpasteurized sheep's-milk cheese that is matured until it's velvety, rich, and mellow. Berkswell The nearest a British cheese gets to a Tuscan pecorino. Colston Bassett Stilton Expertly matured so that it's crumbly and has a lovely spicy-blue tangy taste without being overpowering. France Patricia Wells, author of The Food Lover's Guide to Paris (Workman) Favorite Shop: Alléosse 13 Rue Poncelet, 17th Arr., Paris; 33-1/46-22-50-45. "Philippe Alléosse knows more about cheese than any five people in the world, and is an expert at aging cheese. All the shopkeepers have intimate knowledge of every cheese in stock and are incredibly helpful." Don't Miss: Mountain Beaufort A rich cow's-milk cheese from the Haute-Savoie region, in southeastern France. Brin d'Amour An uncooked, unpressed sheep's-milk cheese from Corsica. Abbaye de Citeaux A very special nutty, washed-rind cow's-milk cheese from Burgundy. Daniel Boulud, chef and owner, Daniel, New York City Favorite Shop: La Mère Richard Les Halles, 102 Cours Lafayette, Lyons; 33-4/78-62-30-78. "Madame Renée Richard supplies cheese to all the best chefs in town from this little shop in Les Halles of Lyons. I seek it out every time I go home." Don't Miss: St. Marcellin A cow's-milk cheese from southeastern France. It's a small disk with a runny, strong, nutty center and a moldy rind (which should be cut off). Sometimes it's sold wrapped in chestnut leaves or in a little ceramic crock. Sweden Marcus Samuelsson, executive chef at Aquavit, New York City favorite market: Östermalmshallen 31 Nybrogatan, Stockholm. "Swedes go to this covered market for everything from foie gras to fresh fish to local cheeses. It's one of my essential stops in Stockholm." Don't Miss: Västerbottenost A Swedish country cheese like cheddar, but with the sharpness of Parmesan. Prästost A sharp cheese made from cow's milk. The name translates to "priest's cheese" and dates back to the 16th century, when a village pastor's wife used to make it. Mesost A dark, caramelized goat cheese that's more like a spread; it's usually eaten at breakfast." Switzerland Max McCalman, maître fromager at Picholine and Artisanal, New York City, and author of The Cheese Plate (Clarkson Potter) favorite market: Farmer's Market Moosstrasse, Lucerne. "The Saturday market in Lucerne is a great place to find artisanal cheeses. When you get there, look for Rolf Beeler. He crosses Switzerland selecting some of the most stunning cheeses I've tasted." Don't Miss: Stanser Röteli A Swiss version of the French Reblochon, a washed-rind cows'-milk cheese, but not as powerful. Stanser Schafchäs A sheep's-milk variety of Reblochon. Sbrinz Many people consider this hard cheese the grandfather of Parmesan. It's aged at least two years, so the taste is regal and round in the mouth. Spain Alex Urena, executive chef at Marseille, New York City Favorite Shop: Quimet & Quimet 25 Calle Cabañas, Barcelona; 34-3/9344-23142. "The cheese store I love in Spain isn't really a store at all; it's more of a tapas bar. But it also sells cheese. I like eating cheese there because each one is paired with a different garnish." Don't Miss: Zamorano A hard, nutty sheep's-milk cheese served with chestnuts. Torta del Casar This soft and creamy farm cheese is great with artichokes. Nevat A goat cheese that's often paired with olives and tomatoes. Cabrales The intense flavor of this traditional Spanish blue is matched with simple country bread. Italy Mario Batali, chef and owner, Babbo, New York City, and host, Molto Mario Favorite Shop: Peck 9 Via Spadari, Milan; 39-02/8802-3161; www.peck.it . "Peck in Milan is the FAO Schwarz of cheese. It simply has everything." Don't Miss: Pecorino From all over central and southern Tuscany. Mountain Gorgonzola Piccante Saltier and tangier than other Gorgonzola varieties. Castelmagno A young, semi-firm cow's-milk cheese that gets more intense and spicy as it ages. Many U.S. purveyors import cheeses from around the world. To have those similar to your European favorites delivered to you at home, try Dean & Deluca (877/826-9246; www.deandeluca.com ), Zingerman's Delicatessen (888/636-8162; www.zingermans.com ), or Murray's Cheese Shop (888/692-4339; www.murrayscheese.com ). How to Bring it Home Cheeses brought into the U.S.A. must comply with FDA guidelines. This means that any fromage made from raw (unpasteurized) milk must have been aged for at least 60 days. As a general rule, it's better to eat fresh, soft cheeses abroad, and bring home hard ones, which travel better. Plus, their aroma won't raise eyebrows in the airplane cabin. You can take it with you: Parmigiano-Reggiano, Emmentaler, Gruyère, Appenzeller, Vigneron, Comté, English farmhouse cheddars, Spanish Idiazabal, Manchego. Leave it behind: Unpasteurized cheeses such as young French Camembert, Brie, and Époisses, Irish Milleens, and Spanish Afuega'l Pito. Becoming a Cheese Whiz Before you create your cheese course, here are some serving tips from the pros: 1. Remove cheese from the refrigerator an hour before you plan to serve it. Cold cheese is wasted cheese. 2. Offer three to six varieties. You can work within a theme—say, firm, mountain sheep's-milk cheeses or blue cheeses—or just pick your favorites. 3. Start with the fresher, younger cheeses and move on to the more robust. End with a blue, whose flavor will linger in the mouth far beyond most others. 4. Fruit-filled or flavored breads can interfere with the taste of cheese. A simple baguette or toast is your best bet. If you do want to serve nuts, fruit, or preserves, keep them on the side. Melissa Clark writes for the New York Times, Food & Wine, and Martha Stewart Living. She is the author of 13 cookbooks.
i don't know
The Amazon Rainforest is located in which continent?
Location of Rainforests [ Map | News ] The bulk of the forest in this region lies on the world's second largest island, New Guinea. Australia has small sections of forest on the Cape York peninsula in the extreme northeastern part of the continent near the coast. New evidence suggests that Australian rainforest covers more of Australia today than it did in the past 18,000 years. Under the cooler and drier conditions (rainfall decreased by as much as 80 percent) of the past glacial period, Australia's rainforest retreated and was replaced by dry, fire-loving eucalyptus. When the ice ages ended, small pockets of rainforest (10-20 percent of the coverage that exists today) that survived served as refuges to recolonize the surrounding land. The plant and animal species of New Guinea and Australia, including the original Australoid dark-skinned, frizzy-haired human inhabitants, are similar because during the ice ages, when the sea levels dropped, these two land bodies were linked. As a result, both land masses have an unusually high diversity of marsupials which have filled the niches left vacant by the absence of cats, monkeys, civets, and other mammal groups. Also part of the ancient land mass were the Aru islands, a group of small closely-packed islands of the western coast of New Guinea. The strip of water between these Aru islands and the Kei islands to the west, is the dividing line between the Australian realm and the set of islands connected to neither realm during the recent ice ages. These islands, including Lombock, Flores, Timor, Sulawesi (Celebes), Ceram, Halmahera, are today part of Indonesia and house their own unique species, many of which are characteristic of neither the Indomalayan nor Australian realm. On Sulawesi (Celebes), when bats are excluded, mammal endemism is 100 percent, meaning none of the island's mammal species are found elsewhere. Although technically not part of any realm, oceanic Pacific Islands will be mentioned here. These islands, many of which are volcanic, have never been part of a mainland mass. These islands also have forest cover, although these forests only make up a tiny portion of the world's total. Total land area [ Map | News ] The majority of the remaining tropical rainforest in Asia lies in Indonesia (on scattered islands), the Malay peninsula (Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar), and Laos and Cambodia. Forest once covered a much greater area in Asia, but centuries of tremendous population pressure has significantly reduced the natural extent, and today only scattered fragments remain. Southeast Asia's rainforests are some of the oldest on Earth. Studies suggest that some forests in present day Malaysia may have existed over 100 million years ago. However, these ancient forests did not much resemble the ones of today. These early rainforests had far fewer flowering plants, so species today associated with flowering plants, including many birds, insects, and mammals, had yet to come into existence. Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and other Southeast Asian islands lacked many of the familiar large mammals they have today. When the ice ages caused a drop in sea level these animals migrated from greater Asia to Southeast Asia. Ice ages lock up ocean waters in polar ice and cause ocean waters to condense, causing the existing sea levels to fall. These events meant profound changes for Southeast Asia since much of the shallow South China Sea became dry land. As the ocean levels dropped, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, the Malay Peninsula, and Indochina were connected, allowing mainland and island species to cross over. As global temperatures cooled and glaciation expanded, the tropical rainforest retreated to small pockets and in many areas was replaced by deciduous forest, savanna, or montane forest. The more extensive montane habitats and savanna habitats enabled mountain and savanna plants and animals like guar (a relative of the domestic cow) and the tiger to disperse into the tropics. As the ice age ended, glaciers retreated, and the climate warmed, the tropical rainforest surviving in Sumatra, Borneo, and Malay Peninsula served as a reservoir from which species could recolonize surrounding areas as they returned to forest. This could explain why today the pockets of remaining montane forest like that of Mount Kinabalu in Sabah (Malaysian Borneo) have flora that more closely resembles the plants of the Himalayas and New Zealand. The " Wallace line ," named in honor of the nineteenth century biogeographer Alfred Wallace, separates the Indomalayan realm from the Australian realm. Wallace first documented the odd discontinuity of fauna between Bali and Lombock and is credited, along with the renowned British naturalist Charles Darwin, in formulating the theory of evolution. The Indomalayan realm extends east to Borneo and south to Bali. Sulawesi (Celebes) and Lombock, despite their proximity to Borneo and Java (respectively), are not included because they are separated by a deep channel and were not linked to the Indomalayan land mass formed when the ocean receded during the ice ages. Land-based species, and many flying species deterred by the winds, were not able to cross over and the flora and fauna are quite different and distinct in these adjacent areas. Total land area Pictures of the Amazon Rainforest The Amazon River Basin is roughly the size of the forty-eight contiguous United States and covers some 40 percent of the South American continent. Reflecting environmental conditions as well as past human influence, the Amazon is made up of a mosaic of ecosystems and vegetation types including rainforests, seasonal forests, deciduous forests, flooded forests, and savannas, among others. The basin is drained by the Amazon River, the world's largest river in terms of discharge, and the second longest river in the world after the Nile. The river is made up of over 1,100 tributaries, 17 of which are longer than 1000 miles, and two of which (the Negro and the Madeira) are larger, in terms of volume, than the Congo (Zaire) river. The river system is the lifeline of the forest and its history plays an important part in the development of its rainforests. At one time Amazon River flowed westward, perhaps as part of a proto-Congo (Zaire) river system from the interior of present day Africa when the continents were joined as one as part of Gondwana. Fifteen million years ago (an eye-blink in geologic time), the Andes were formed when they were forced up by the collision of the South American plate with the Nazca plate. The rise of the Andes and the linkage of the Brazilian and Guyana bedrock shields blocked the river and caused the Amazon to become a vast inland sea. Gradually this inland sea became a massive swampy, freshwater lake and the marine inhabitants adapted to life in freshwater. For example, over 20 species of stingray, most closely related to those found in the Pacific Ocean, can be found today in the freshwaters of the Amazon. About ten million years ago, waters worked through the sandstone to the west and the Amazon began to flow eastward. At this time the Amazon rainforest was born. During the ice age, sea levels dropped and the great Amazon lake rapidly drained and became a river. Three million years later, the ocean level receded enough to expose the Central American isthmus and allow mass migration of mammal species between the Americas. The ice ages caused tropical rainforests around the world to retreat. Although debated, it is believed that much of the Amazon reverted to savanna and montane forest (see Ice Ages and Glaciation ). Savanna divided patches of rainforest into "islands" and separated existing species for periods long enough to allow genetic differentiation (a similar rainforest retreat took place in Africa. Delta core samples suggest that even the mighty Congo watershed was void of rainforest at this time). When the ice ages ended, the forest was again joined and the species that were once one had diverged significantly enough to be constitute designation as separate species, adding to the tremendous diversity of the region. About 6,000 years ago, sea levels rose about 130 meters, once again causing the river to be inundated like a long, giant freshwater lake. The massive size of the Amazon and its tributaries make it easy to overlook the other great rivers and forest ecosystems of the Neotropical realm. For example, the Orinoco River flows over 1,600 miles through Venezuela. Interestingly, the Orinoco River system is linked to the Amazon River basin through a unique natural river system called the Casiquiare canal. The Casiquiare canal is the only river on the planet which links two major river systems. To the south of the Amazon is an expanse of forest that lies in the Tocantins river system. A small area of forest, greatly reduced by human activity to less than 5 percent of its original cover, is found along the Atlantic seaboard in Brazil. The highly threatened Chocò rainforest is found along the northwestern coast of the continent in Colombia, while the Pacific coast rainforest runs from Ecuador into Central America. Much of Central America and many of the Caribbean islands were once forested with tropical rainforest, although these have been greatly reduced. Few Caribbean islands still retain any primary forest cover, while rainforest continues to persist in some parks and reserves in Central America. Central America suffered the highest percentage loss of forest of any tropical region between 1990-2005, losing almost 30 percent of its forests. Today South America suffers the highest total loss of forest—around 4.3 million hectares were cleared per year between 2000 and 2005. Most of the forest loss has occurred in the Amazon rainforest where large tracts of land are being cleared for cattle ranches, and to a lesser degree, other forms of agriculture like industrial soy farms. Scientists are concerned that forest loss could escalate in the Amazon due to increasingly dry conditions. In 2010, the Amazon suffered the most severe drought on record, leaving rivers dry and communities stranded. Tens of thousands of fires burned. Total land area Rainforests are generally broken into how many biogeographical realms? The largest expanse of rainforest is located on what continent? Most of the rainforest in Africa is found in what basin? How is African rainforest generally different from rainforests of Asia and South America? What is the world's second largest island? Does Australia naturally have monkeys? What is the Wallace Line? How did the Ice Ages affect islands and forests in southeast Asia? True or False—The Amazon River Basin is roughly the size of the forty-eight contiguous United States. Is the Amazon River the largest river, in terms of volume, in the world? Is the Amazon River the longest river in the world? What continent loses the most area of forest each year? Other versions of this page Continued / Next: Types of Rainforest [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive] Australia's rainforest coverage during the most recent ice ages is discussed in M. Hopkins and P. Reddell (Australia's CSIRO 1998) and van Osterzee ( Where Worlds Collide , New York: Cornell University Press. 1997). T.F. Flannery ( The Future Eaters , New York: Braziller 1995) also discusses vegetation shifts wrought by climate change and human influences. Van Osterzee ( Where Worlds Collide , New York: Cornell University Press, 1997), Quammen ( The Song of the Dodo , New York: Scribner 1996.), and Browne ( The Secular Ark: Studies in the History of Biogeography , New Haven: Yale University Press 1983) provide an easily understandable review of the Wallace line biogeography including the current distribution of flora and fauna in the region and the impact of changing sea levels. Rubeli (Tropical Rainforest in South-East Asia, Kuala Lumpur: Tropical Press Sdn. Bhd., 1986.) discusses the link between flora of New Zealand, the Himalayas, and Borneo. The history of the Amazon River Basin is covered engagingly in Goulding ( Amazon-The Flooded Forest , New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 1990).
South America
What is the name of the plump, clumsy fairy in the children’s television series ‘Willo the Wisp’?
Amazon Rainforest Facts Amazon Rainforest Facts Amazon Rainforest Facts The Amazon rainforest is located in South America and covers 2.1 million square miles of land. Brazil has 60%, Peru has 13%, and Colombia has 10% while other countries have very small parts of the rainforest within their borders. Altogether there are nine nations that enjoy all that the Amazon rainforest has to offer. The Amazon rainforest has existed for at least 55 million years. The Amazon rainforest is home to a very diverse range of species, many of which are not found elsewhere in the world. Interesting Amazon Rainforest Facts: The Amazon rainforest is a moist, broadleaf forest. It covers most of the Amazon Basin in South America. The basin is 2.7 million square miles while the Amazon covers 2.1 million square miles of it. If the Amazon rainforest was a country, it would rank 9th in size. The nine nations that have the Amazon rainforest in their borders are: Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. The Amazon rainforest accounts for more than half of the entire world's remaining rainforests. The Amazon rainforest is home to 10% of the known species in the world. The Amazon rainforest is home to 205 of the bird species in the world. There are over 40,000 different plant species and approximately 2.5 million insect species in the Amazon rainforest. Due to efforts to fight deforestation in the Amazon, rates have been reducing slightly, but it is still an issue today. The droughts in 2005 and 2010 destroyed huge amounts of vegetation in the areas worst affected. It's estimated that if the climate change were to increase the world's temperature by only 3 degrees Celsius then 75% of the Amazon would be destroyed. The Amazon rainforest is also referred to as the ‘Lungs of the Planet' because it produces more than 20% of the world's oxygen. There are approximately 10 million species of animals, plants and insects known to man and more than half of them call the rainforest home. There are approximately 3000 fruits that grow in the rainforest that are edible. Many plants around the world have medicinal qualities. Of the plants known to have anti-cancer properties, 70% are found in the rainforest. Amazon natives use rainforest plants regularly but 90% of the ones they use have not been studied by modern science. In 1500 there were between 6 and 9 million Amazon natives. Today there are only an estimated 250,000 left. There are approximately 170 different languages spoken by the Amazon natives. It is believed that there may still be as many as 50 Amazon native tribes living in the rainforest that have never been in contact with the rest of the world. There are many dangerous species of snakes, spiders and animals in the Amazon rainforest. It is also home to the anaconda. The Amazon River is considered to be the life force of the Amazon rainforest. The toucan is the loudest creature in the Amazon. You can hear it as far as a half mile away. There are vampire bats in the Amazon rainforest as well as poisonous dart frogs. If you were caught in the rain in the Amazon you would have about 10 minutes to find your umbrella. The trees are so tightly packed that it can take 10 minutes for the rain to reach the ground below. Related Links:
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